Disclaimer, I don't own Honkai Star Rail or Warhammer, Mihoyo and Games Workshop does, I only own my OCs and my ideas. Reviews, suggestions, and critiques are welcome but flames are to be extinguished.

Chapter 2: Aeonites of the Pact

Within the very heart of the only remaining above-ground settlement on Jarilo VI lies the Administrative District, comfortably rests Qlipoth Fort named after the Aeon of Preservation. The magnificent residence of the Supreme Guardian and command center of the planet's final stronghold against the Eternal Freeze.

A blonde woman grimly reads the reports on her desk given by her butler Sebas written by her Intelligence Officer Pelageya Sergeyevna of the Silvermane Guards, of falling stars and crimson invaders from the skies beyond. Of blood-soaked warriors and hazard-striped besiegers that landed in drop pods, attacking anything and everything that moves.

She was Cocolia Rand the eighteenth Supreme Guardian of Belobog, clad in the magnificent white and blue finery of those expected of a Supreme Guardian with the symbol of the Belobogian snowflake and a green cloak symbolizing her divine authority decorated with military medals. Thigh-high Guardian boots and crystalline gloves further display her imposing yet regal figure as the ruler of the Towering Citadel.

The creaking sound of a door woke her from her musings as her head continued to ache for a few hours and she widened her eyes in worry as she heard the voice of her beloved daughter.

"Mother, I have returned."

"Bronya! I thought... I thought I'd lost you." Laying her eyes on Bronya Rand, her adopted daughter. A young woman with long gray hair and matching gray eyes. She wears a short white dress with blue and gold details, two purple and blue earrings, thigh-high Guardian black boots mirroring that of her mother's, and translucent gloves. She has a blue and black hair tie and wears a golden symbol on her left breast that has the appearance of a mask.

Bronya shook her head when her mother offered to call their butler when she voiced her worry about any personal injuries. She told her that she simply got into a few skirmishes in the Underworld and that there was no reason to worry about her. The very mention of the subterranean underground of Belobog makes her eyes narrow in distaste, she then hardens her regal visage and asks for a report treating herself as Bronya's military leader rather than a mother.

"After the failed pursuit at Backwater Pass, the wanted outsiders and I were somehow taken to the Underworld. Because of the difficult situation we were in, we formed a temporary alliance to help the residents of the Underworld resolve a few... issues of survival. We also defeated an ancient robot known as "Svarog," and learned some truths... about the Stellaron."

Those very words only increased her displeasure yet she doesn't say or react much other than asking for her daughter to continue.

"Madam Cocolia, it is my firm belief that the visitors from beyond the sky are not the villains we had imagined before. I witnessed them take up arms in the name of justice, and risk their lives for the sake of others. I can also ascertain that they did come for the Stellaron, but only to relieve the disaster it has brought upon Belobog. Mother... you've always known the truth about the Stellaron, haven't you? The responsibility of bearing that truth will fall upon me one day. Such is the burden of being guardian — to carry these secrets for eternity."

Her daughter's words only served to sour her expression which only further turned into a deepening frown when she continued.

"So... I ask you to forgive my defiance, but I believe that the order to dispatch the outsiders was a mistake. To solve the problems brought on by the Stellaron, the Architects waited hundreds of years, and those outsiders may be the..."

"ENOUGH! Arrogant, ignorant... Oh, you disappoint me, Bronya." Halting her daughter's passionate speech, Cocolia looked extremely disappointed at the very words she was currently hearing. The rubbish she learned down below flew in the face of the very values she instilled.

She was utterly outraged that her daughter's heart and mind had been poisoned by the subterranean riff-raff and that now after everything she's done for Bronya. She has the gall and sheer audacity to question her orders.

"Guards! Take Bronya away. Maybe sometime in isolation will free her mind from the lies of the underground scum." The guards stationed outside the office hesitated and were slow to react when they entered to see mother and daughter arguing viciously.

"The Underground is many things but they are not scum! My entire life, everything you ever kept from me... I remember it clearly now. This time... this time I'm standing my ground, Madam Guardian! And please, stop dismissing me with vague excuses. Tell me what you have seen. What exactly it is you are hiding... Why do you send the Silvermane Guards to die in the Fragmentum? Why have you abandoned the people of the Underworld? And why... why did you have that sudden change of mind?"

Upon hearing those words, Cocolia remained silent for a moment before dismissing the guards that just entered with a wave of her hand. She closed her eyes as the pounding in her head subsided for a while before taking sighing deeply.

"I knew this moment would come sooner or later... I just didn't expect it would be so soon. You want to know why I gave those orders... is that right? Do you believe you are ready to learn the truth?"

Bronya nodded her head, She'd been prepared for the truth ever since she came up from down below to confront her mother. To bring her back to her senses and see reason.

"Yes. I am ready... Mother. For the truth about everything."

"Then come with me, Bronya. It is time you heard it... the voice of this dying world."

Approaching her beloved daughter, Cocolia instructed Bronya to follow her. Her very words brought great pain to her head, so much so that she had to hold it to try and stop the pounding. She shook her head as she heard a twisted voice echo in her eardrums.

Come…Come…

Back outside the chilly streets of Belobog's Administrative District. Seele and the Astral Expressers managed to return to the surface with little trouble with the help of Sampo who had somehow slipped away from them the second they stopped looking.

"Ah, we're finally back! ...I forgot what fresh air tasted like... Nom, nom, nom." March dramatically made eating motions as she breathed in the cold fresh air of Belobog, the smell a fresh change from the one below. All that awful dead cyborg smell and monster stench, yuck.

Seele looked around and sourly commented that the slimy Sampo had vanished like the slippery salesman he was. There truly is no one around that could sneak away like Sampo.

March, Caelus, and Dan Heng noticed the Silvermane Guards guarding the Goethe Hotel, quietly discussing their next destination to plan the next step to help Bronya.

Seele stared at the foreign environment like a fish out of water, bewildered at how much things changed since she came up here.

"What's wrong, Seele?"

"Nothing, Caelus. It's just a little…new to me. All of this, the last time I was on the surface, I was still a child. I have no memory of any of this. The Overworld and the Underworld... We've... We've been cut off for so long from one another that it takes a while for me to get used to it.

March and Dan Heng debated on where they should go. Shooting down the hotel immediately as well as the idea of running back to the Express to beg the seniors for help. They eventually landed on looking for help from the Landau siblings.

"Likely not Gepard, we should be careful with him. He's a top Silvermane Guard and he'd probably get a medal for every one of us he brought in so he's definitely out unless Bronya's letter persuaded him."

"I think it'd be best to pay a visit to Serval Landau. Her workshop's probably not the first place the Silvermane Guards would think of searching for us." The rest of them agreed with Dan Heng's words, seeing that her little place was not that far from where they were in the district. The last thing they want is to get caught, hogtied, and tossed into a prison cell with the key thrown away.

Keeping a low profile and acting as normal as they could with Silvermane Guards seeming unnaturally busy trying to get as many citizens to stay indoors until the emergency was resolved, they avoided patrolling guards and reached the workshop that was located right next to the steps leading to Qlipoth Fort. There was a closed sign yet the sounds of activity inside showed that Serval was not out.

Knock knock knock

"Who is it? Shop's closed today, you'll have to come back tomorrow!" Thinking of a way to get Serval to let them in before any guards catch sight of them. Caelus moved his head closer to the door and opened his mouth.

"It's a big customer with bigger pockets!" Serval's response was not what he expected as she simply laughed at the very idea that someone would think she'd accept money to turn the closed signed into open just like that. "Ha, not interested. I need time, not money!"

Upon further thought, as she felt that the voice seemed similar, Serval opened the door to reveal the three outsiders she met before. Looking around, the Landau quickly ushered the group to get in before the guards saw them.

Serval is a tall, blue-eyed woman with blond hair that has dark blue streaks and light blue tips at the ends. She has a single hoop earring, a black choker, black nail polish, and a purple lightning bolt tattoo on her waist which is an unusual look among the locals. She wears what appears to be a black tube top stitched together with half of a white lab coat. The labcoat trails down to her ankle and has a burn hole near the bottom. She wears detached sleeves that match the color of each side of her top, with two belts wrapped around her black sleeve and a blue feather pin on her white sleeve. She has mismatched fingerless gloves, with a black leather glove on her right hand and a pink cloth glove on her left.

She also wears a royal blue miniskirt with a cutout over a pair of navy blue shorts, fastened with a black leather belt. She wears a set of pantyhose, with a black thigh-high stocking on her right leg, and black ankle boots with gold lining. With such a getup, Serval looks more like a musical rebel than any mere tinkerer of mechanical gizmos.

"Why are you still strolling around the city? Do you know the Silvermane Guards are looking all over for you and upholding a curfew? Quick, act natural, and get inside. Don't get spotted!" Shutting the door, she knew that they should be safe inside considering there are not many customers these days and that the workshop is soundproofed enough to keep any unpleasant eavesdroppers.

"Just what crime did you commit exactly? They recalled a bunch of Guards from the front line to track you down even after a lot of them were deployed when all those stars fell from the sky, it's unprecedented. Now they're patrolling the city, forcing people indoors and everyone's in a panic."

"Oh, we just-"

"Shush, not yet, March. Bronya said we could trust you completely."

Serval gave the group a sharp look when he simply nodded, as if offended at the hurtful words which made Caelus quickly act to try and explain things in case Dan Heng messed up.

"Good! That's smart of you. But you needn't worry, Cocolia and I aren't even on speaking terms. It was she who ejected me from the Architects — I refuse to stand with her. I don't believe you guys would do anything bad, and the Architects are gonna need conclusive and publicly available evidence for me to think otherwise. Besides, I know the Architects, and if they did have any evidence, they would've released it by now."

Her voice is bitter, showing that she has more than a little history with Cocolia. Serval stated that she knew her style of leadership, demagoguery where she gets everyone into a frenzy with fiery words and impassioned speeches so that they'd not ponder the details and jump at her bidding like trained dogs.

"Do you know Cocolia well?"

"Hehe, you could say that. We were like sisters once, inseparable like balls of snow on a snowman. Of course, that was all before she became the supreme guardian and she drove me out." Serval's voice was less than happy, bringing up bad memories of shattered friendships. Saying that after Cocolia did a one-eighty, she now spends her time fixing things in the workshop and playing music. An all in all carefree existence.

"If I'm not careful I'll start boring you all with sob stories from the past so forget about me. If long-lost Bronya told you to come here, you must have something important to tell me. You can trust me. I know our paths have only crossed once before, but my intuition tells me you guys are good people. And I've got good intuition by the way, haha."

Serval could feel cool vibes from the group even Seele who looks like a bit of a grouch and an old ironsides type with a heart of gold.

Visibly relaxing that they have someone they can truly trust in the dangerous city, they started to tell the eldest Landau sibling about what happened down below that led to all this. The group told them about Wildfire, Svarog, and the strange cyborg soldiers that came from above in strange drilling machines which piqued her interest.

"So that's what's been happening — no wonder we hadn't heard from Bronya recently. After all these years in isolation and without a single word from below, this is what's become of the Underworld. What an absolute mess with an underground war brewing. I believe you, there's no way you could have invented all those twists and turns. What's more, we have Miss Seele here as living proof. As for the Stellaron... heh, I know why Bronya got you to find me."

Serval stated that she was one of the Architects working in the Scientific Research Division, tasked with researching the Stellaron until she was expelled by the other Architects no thanks to Cocolia. She said that only a very few people in Belobog know of the existence of the Stellaron and those that do would never associate it with the Fragmentum or Eternal Freeze.

According to the data recorded in that robot, Svarog. The Architects dug out the truth long ago. The research results were purposely hidden away to ensure that the outside world would never know of them as it would undermine their authority.

"Just my luck... Out of all the research topics I could've chosen, I insisted on the Stellaron. It's clear now that anyone who wanted to get closer to the truth would have been expelled or "abandoned." Maybe I should be thanking Cocolia. All she did was push me out... She could've decided to take a more permanent measure like some of the other poor fellows that got on the wrong side of the new Cocolia."

"How much do you know about the Stellaron?" The question sounded more personal than a mere request for clarification, Serval could sense that there was something else Caelus wanted to ask about it but kept her mouth shut until he told her more about it at a later date of his own volition.

"I figured out that the Stellaron and the Fragmentum were linked, so I was already close to the truth. It's a shame that the Architects ejected me before I could discover that the source of the Fragmentum was the Stellaron itself. Before I lost my position, I was applying for permission to survey the Stellaron directly. It was my research topic, but I'd never even set eyes on it. My research was all based on historical data and lab simulations. Not long after I submitted my preliminary report and application, I received my punishment. It was obvious that somebody didn't want my research to continue, maybe someone at the very top."

When he asked her if she had an inkling about Cocolia's ultimate goal. Serval looked saddened when she recalled painful memories of her past, stating that they've not spoken for many years and that they're friends so close they share everything together as if she were her sister Lynx.

"That she became a completely different person when she took on the supreme guardianship. The convictions she once held, her enthusiasm… it was like they were drawn out of her by some mysterious force like some sort of parasitic entity. She gave the order to expel me herself and refused to see me...I never understood that behavior and I gave up trying to use logic to work it out a long time ago."

Serval toyed with the idea of whether she really did become a different person or was it actually who Cocolia was all along, that the woman she knows is a facade. Was that possible? Perhaps there's a single guardian's consciousness that gets handed down from generation to generation and the real Cocolia has already vanished. Consumed, perhaps absorbed into the greater consciousness like those Fragmentum monsters that take the shape of Guardians.

"Is she being compelled by previous generations of guardians to make such baffling decisions or is there more to the Stellaron than we previously thought? Who knows but this might? It would make for good songwriting material if nothing else."

When the subject of Gepard came up, Serval laughed. Stating flatly that while he's a decent guy, he's also famed amongst the guard as uncompromising like a wall. Always obeying orders even if it's Bronya or her letter slapped on his forehead permanently. Shrugging, the musician stated that she might be able to do something even if it is a long shot.

Nodding when the group asked if she knew where the Stellaron was. Explaining that while she never observed it directly, she used lab simulations and outbound surveys to detect it north of Belobog somewhere in the vastness of the Snow Plains.

"We must locate it as soon as possible — ideally before Cocolia takes action. Can you tell us the way?" Dan Heng requested, thinking it is pivotal that they manage to secure it before Cocolia executes whatever plan she has in motion.

"Not a problem, I was thinking the same thing! But I'm afraid telling you might not be enough. The area to the north of Belobog has been more or less swallowed up by the Fragmentum. If you want to get to the northern Snow Plains, you'll need to get past the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone on the front lines first and then the heaping of Fragmentum beyond it. I also some of the falling stars crash near there so whatever they are, you'd be dealing with those as well."

It wasn't a joke, Serval saw how panicky and active the Silvermane Guards were after they landed. It stands to reason that whatever came out of those must be extremely dangerous, maybe something new cooked up by the Fragmentum or they're some manner of extra-terrestrial creature ready to pile onto Belobog's many woes.

March lost heart at the sound of the road ahead, loudly wondering if they should ask for more reinforcements from the Underground. Quickly saying to a glaring Seele that she doesn't mean that she's too weak or anything, just that things would be smoother if they have many times their number with Dan Heng's dourness about the lack of time not helping things.

"Hey, enough pessimism! Back in my "official capacity" days, I spent a lot of time in the north — I got to know the soldiers and officers on the front line very well. This calls for brainwaves, not "brawnwaves." How about I take you over myself? After all, a small group will be way easier to smuggle through than an army. Besides, it's also my chance to see the Stellaron for many decades for myself."

Caelus remembered something and took out something from his pocket. An exotic weapon that ran out of fuel at a most inopportune moment. Excited at seeing a new piece of technology, Serval took the curious object and went behind the counter to tinker with it.

"Those cyborg soldiers dropped this, you say?" Asked Serval as she dug through her old gadgets and personal projects after she managed to open the slot required for fuel. It's not like any piece of technology she ever witnessed both during and after her time in the army, somehow it looks both archaic and extremely advanced at the same time.

Seeing that her first attempt to reactivate it failed, she replaced the irregular fuel slot for the Energy Blade. She noticed an illegible name for its type of Sollex-Aegis before trying out other small fuel canisters she only had because she likes to tinker with irregular projects. She doesn't dare bother with the Sollex focusing crystals or even the Aegis Data that seemed beyond her current understanding.

"Hmmm. Quite the peculiar power source." Stated Serval as she could tell that the amount of energy this fusion cell produces was immense yet dangerously volatile. She carefully put it away even if it is drained and activated the weapon again with more experimental sources of power in it.

"Incredible. This kind of technology is far ahead of ours." She could feel the intense heat coming from the energy blade and swung it at an expendable piece of spare scrap she had lying around. Splitting it in half perfectly in an instant before turning it off, handing the potent yet dangerous weapon back to a waiting Caelus with a warning about its dubious time needed to be refueled again.

"How morbid…" Muttered Serval when Caelus told her what the cyborgs were like in the Tech-Priests and Skitarii. The others agreed when he gave greater detail about what he saw in their camp during capture, omitting what they did to his Stellaron of course. The engineer quietly decided to only research their technology, not use them unless it was possible for her or the other Belobogians to recreate a less morally abhorrent version.

The smaller humanoids were utterly subservient to their larger, bulky masters. Upgraded to the point that barely any part of them could be considered human anymore and even then, plenty had their human flesh look tainted somehow. As if their skin could rust or grow animalistic traits, their overlords are worse.

Cruel, cold, ruthless, and calculating. Pragmatism if unchecked by the boundary of morals, is like a twisted reflection of the Architects of Qlipoth. Serval shuddered, the description of them abducting people left and right to turn into their twisted experiments. How they would create horrific machines powered by monsters, she heard of the mechanical wonders built by the Belobog of old but these machines sounded like pure malevolence made manifest.

Serval imagined such vile individuals subjugating the already terrible creatures of the Fragmentum to do the same, and the problems that Belobog would have to deal with would intensify since he told her that they retreated from their defeat by united inhabitants of the underground. She knew the risks of technology being abused during her time in the army and these alien cyborgs seemed to be the very incarnation of that.

KNOCK

Serval jumped when she heard a loud sound coming from the door, she panicked when she remembered that her brother would be around today.

"D—Darn it! How could I forget that Gepard would show up… Find somewhere to hide, quick. I'll handle him!"

A blonde man appeared from the open doorway, armored and battered. It was Gepard who was tall, well-built with fair skin, blue eyes, and blond hair. He is dressed in thick white clothing with blue and gold trimmings and gold garments, alongside a breastplate and armor for his right hand which appears to have a blue, crystalline design. He wears tall black boots with gold buttons extending up to his knees with also a fur accessory hanging at his side.

Obvious battle damage can easily seen on his person, as if chainsaws and large blunt weapons were swung at him. Nicking him to damage his metal clothing but not enough inflict flesh wounds and give him more than a few bruises to boot.

"G-Gepard! A-are you-"

"Ah, I'm fine Serval. Some new monsters showed up from the Fragmentum, they were tougher than I expected but nothing I couldn't handle. Enough about me, I'm here on official business away from the front. There's something wrong with the Barrier Generator Device and the engineers in our unit don't know how to fix it. I need you to take a look before the Fragmentum gets active again."

Serval sighed, disappointed that the engineers of today over there are too rigid and unable to think outside the box. She told her brother to leave it here so she can take a look at it later. Gepard curtly apologized for troubling her when the workshop was closed.

"Why are you being so polite? Oh, and why's the city under curfew all of a sudden? Has something happened?"

"I... I've been instructed to keep it quiet."

"Lil' Geppie... So grown up now... Looking down on his civilian sister. Oh, how much you've grown~" Embarrassed, Gepard tried to say something to defend himself only to sigh. Knowing that Intelligence Officer Pela will let his sister know eventually. He then explained that Lady Bronya suddenly appeared and entered Qlipoth Fort around the same time stars started to fall from the sky, the Supreme Guardian then ordered a curfew and ushered as many civilians back into their homes, she was also worried that the three intruders might have tailed the lady and might have something to do with the strange phenomenon outside.

The eldest Landau daughter expressed her worries for the Supreme Guardian's daughter, and Gepard only shrugged his shoulders. Saying that she hasn't left the fort and the Supreme Guardian has said nothing else about it. The words shocked Seele and the others with her, still hiding from sight.

She mentioned that Pela may have tipped her off about the disappearance, saying that her workload doubled and practically confined her to her work. Hoping that her brother would go and leave now, Serval almost panicked when she noticed him move towards the hiding spot.

"She really does tell you everything. Oh, by the way, I left my Goethe Hotel limited-edition flask behind the last time I was here. Let me have a look at it. I think I left it over." Serval rushed to action, reaching out to stop Gepard before stopping just in time when she realized that it would make her look even more suspicious.

"W-wait! I-it smells really terrible over there, all those flowers that you neglected to death are piled over there during my spring cleaning." The excuse was sloppy and Gepard expressed his doubts about Serval's cleanliness and she might be up to forbidden research. The very notion of it enraged Serval.

"Am not! How dare you! What do you take your sister for? I'm not a slob!" Sighing at the emotional outburst, Gepard gave up immediately and backed off. He had no time to fight with his own sister for trivial reasons.

Stopping Gepard again, Serval asked about the crimes of the intruders to warrant all this action. "They're plotting to overthrow the Architects and bring harm to the city."

Caelus and the others stayed quiet as they heard Serval mention how similar it was to the accusations Cocolia threw at her and that her methods are as iron-fisted and harsh as ever with her brother shaking his head at the unproven accusation born out of a personal grievance than cold hard fact.

"You're telling me off again. Fine, whatever bro. You better be going, come listen to Pela and my next rehearsal." Waving her brother off, Serval impatiently waited for Gepard to leave who took his sweet time stating that he would before finally going out the door. Taking a load off her back, in case he's still out there. Serval quietly gestured towards the hiding place for them to come out.

"W-wait hold on Seele!" Caelus and March 7th struggled to hold back the worried Seele from marching out of the workshop and right into the fort. Ruining everything they've done up to this point in discretion.

Their discrete trip to the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone was quiet outside of Serval alleviating Seele's worries about Bronya's wellbeing thanks to their newly forged bond and promise. Moving as nonchalantly as possible, avoiding guard patrols, and taking advantage of the curfew with most people staying indoors until the crisis is resolved. They've managed to get all of their unique wanted posters off the walls, at least the ones they can get within sight and get away with it. The group wanted to leave Sampo's alone, but Caelus decided otherwise.

"Relax, she's the strongest girl I've ever seen."

"Mm…I can believe that. It's just that with her mother not in her right mind and everything else…" Muttered Seele, knowing that it's more than just friendship however new it was. Bronya's the best chance for the two worlds to reconnect, building a bridge long destroyed by Cocolia. No one up above is in the position to link the Underground and the surface together outside of Bronya, even Serval and Caelus' group. Even if it costs her, her life. She has to ensure Bronya's survival for the good of all.

After passing through silent streets and alleyways, using shortcuts Serval knew to avoid the bulk of the guard and when her knowledge faltered. Dan Heng's instincts would pull through to help them avoid detection. The group would finally reach the zone where complete stealth is no longer an option. Worried about their entry with the heavy presence of Silvermane Soldiers, March asked the blonde if she had any brainwaves to cook up an idea to get in.

'So much wounded…' Caelus observed the camps in front of them, filled with the wounded and dying that were obviously recent. Their injuries were many times worse than what happened to Gepard. Those least injured had deep cuts and those that weren't killed in battle against whatever those mysterious falling stars were, lost their limbs in a gruesome manner.

Medics ran from one place to the other, to stabilize and stop the bleeding. Already using up the six months worth of medical supplies including bandages and disinfectant, whatever these savages were they were a new breed of monster even if they looked human. They already had to rely on using up their reserves to keep this stream of wounded from dying in the cold.

'No one should suffer like this.' Thought Seele as she heard the pained grunts of the surface soldiery, she may not be the biggest fan of the Silvermane but this is not what she wanted them to go through. Bronya really softened her up to those up on the surface.

Serval did her job, convincing her old comrades to believe that they're all contracted maintenance worker stand-ins that assist her. The particular soldier named Franz expressed his doubts about the energy line malfunction which was easily handled by the engineer.

"Oh please, this is a Technology Division issue. Why would they tell you guys? Come on, let us in already. If the heating system goes down in the middle of the night, are you gonna be responsible for all the frozen corpses in addition to all this?" Her words did the trick, Franz easily caving seeing that the one entering is the captain's sister so it should be fine. He issued them temporary entry passes into the zone and that was that.

"Thanks, Franz. I'll put in a good word for you with my brother and get him to promote you!" Franz simply shook his head, knowing that this cheap way to go up the ranks is under the table as it gets. A method his captain hates since he's so straight-laced.

Moving through the zone was now practically a cakewalk, the Landau's presence more than enough to convince the garrison that their intentions are true. The few that were curious, were convinced with the presence of the temporary passes.

"Wow, you convinced them quickly. You're Gepard's sister alright!"

"Hmph, I don't want people to see me that way. I'm doing this for you and the mission. Otherwise, I wouldn't be using my brother's name to get my way."

Reaching the center of the Restricted Zone that overlooks the rest of the defensive area, Serval pointed towards the mechanical gear bridge that was currently in use by soldiers. Mentioning that it's hell on earth on the other side.

"Imagine an endless Fragmentum, a few exhausted Silvermane Guards... and the stench of death in the air. A place almost too cold to bear, covered in snow and ice."

BOOM!

'I didn't mean literally!' Thought Serval as she and the group scattered as large balls of flame and explosives were launched from the area beyond the Restricted Zone, long lost districts of Belobog abandoned during the Fragmentum's growth until finally stopping.

They looked for cover as the long-ranged siege attacks crashed into the zone, dealing substantial casualties before the sounds of battle roared near the gate leading out of the military base. Serval and the others saw the Silvermane counteroffensive fail as squads returned from their charge forwards in a broken retreat, too late to shut the gate to keep them out from charging down the chokepoint.

"MAIM! KILL! BURN!"

"Fall back! Fall back!" A Silvermane Lieutenant yelled out as he and several squads were forced back by the invaders, he stood his ground with his large shield to buy time for his men as Silvermane Gunners with Cannoneer support fired into the charging Aeonites of Battle from elevated positions, firing every round they could.

Enraged warriors, some clad in advanced yet rusted red suits of armor while others were ancient gladiators. Many with deep wounds and missing limbs due to the battles they had in the Fragmentum, their rage allowing them to continue to fight for their Aeon, their Blood God until they literally can't.

The degenerated gladiators fell far more easily than their larger Khornate brethren, whether gunfire or cannonfire they simply kept going.

The lieutenant staggered as one of the berserkers crashed into his shield, roaring and snarling in blind anger with only one arm as he punched the Silvermane shield until his bare fist was bloodied and broken.

Everything ached yet the soldier stubbornly held on as more and more of his comrades got on the gear bridge and fled to safety. Smiling as he did his duty, he stumbled as the broken shield was knocked out of his aching hand.

"Hrrrrrrkkk!" A berserker knocked his fellow Aeonite aside and shoved his chain sword right into the lieutenant's armored chest. Ripping into it with the greatest of ease as if the armor was paper with monomolecularly-edged teeth, revving it up as he spilled the blood of one of this planet's defenders.

"Blood for the Blood God! Battle for the Aeon of Battle!" Feeling relief at his fresh kill as blood splashed onto his face, the captain felt the damned buzzing in his skull subside for a brief moment until the pain returned. It was voicelessly urging him to find his next target to stop the pain for even a brief time.

The body of the lieutenant fell backward, red waters pooling on the ground around him before his slayer grunted. Swinging his chainsaw blade in a decapitating stroke, he grinned as it meant another Skull for the Skull Throne before looking furiously at the fleeing Silvermane troops with bloodshot eyes.

Panicking guards tripped over themselves to get onto the metal platform, many gladiators and a few berserkers hot in pursuit.

"ACTIVATE THE TERMINAL!" The gear bridge rotated, making the still-charging Aeonites of Battle fall right into the endless pit below. Killing dozens as the invaders that got on the bridge were split up from the main force, running on instinct as they split into two. One to chase the soldiers and the second to get at the defenders hidden behind the gear platform's wall.

"Bring the Direwolves forward!" Mindlessly charging towards the line of guns and cannons, the Aeonites crashed into the wall. The bullets only felled a few before the rest tried to climb over each other to swing their blades and axes at the Silvermane who were backing up.

One of the gladiators was about to get over the wall before a cannoneer blasted him in the face before the Direwolf automatons reached the line and hacked the swinging limbs of the enraged invaders off with mechanical swings.

One of the berserkers with armor pierced heavily by the monsters of the Fragmentum to reach this human defensive stronghold, bigger and stronger than many of his brethren threw dead gladiators at the Direwolves to send them reeling before climbing over the dead to get over the wall.

The devotee of Battle, merely roared as bullets filled his body. His helmet was the only mostly intact piece of power armor, enough to deflect the bullets on a successful shot. The enraged giant of a man crashed onto the ground as he got up with twin axes in hand, the thing in his brain dulling his sense of pain.

"He's a monster!" Screamed one of the gunners who fled behind a line of halberd-wielding soldiers, they shook in fear as they slowly advanced while pointing their spears at the unstoppable warrior.

Direwolves managed to saw through his arms only for the Aeonite to smash their heads with his elbows, despite only having stumps for arms. He merely grabbed one of his power axes with his own mouth as he staggered to his feet as the gunners ran out of ammunition.

His right eye shone with the mark of his patron Aeon, getting ready to take at least one more kill for Khorne. This sight terrified the Silvermane Guards even more as his eyes were glowing red before he charged into the line of spears.

Serval's eyes widened as his maddened visage struck fear into the depths of her soul as she poked her head out of the upper platform to see the current assault hopefully getting repelled without much trouble.

"Look out!" If it wasn't for Caelus, Serval would've been a head short as the axe whizzed through the platform's fencing and spun around in the air with malefic strength before landing in the skull of one of the soldiers beside a certain Franz who shat himself at the sight of his comrade dying at the backlines in a single second.

March was kept down by a cautious Dan Heng while Seele hid below the walled section of the overlook with wide eyes, horrified by the assault. She thought better and respected the Silvermane Guards more. The surface, another level of brutality beyond anything she has ever seen underground even today.

Serval poked her head over the hole in the fencing with Seele and the Astral Express crew to see the Aeonite skewered from all directions by the soldiers, her would-be killer panting as both of his hearts were pierced by halberds before he slumped on the polearms and finally died. His soul was claimed by a proud Aeon.

The other half of the Eight Star Pact invaders were dealt far more easily at the other side of the gear bridge, a line of Silvermane Lieutenants stood ready with their massive shields and crystalline halberds to hold the line against the gladiators.

They were cut down by halberds and what was left was knocked into the deep pit by two Automaton Grizzlies who stood at the flanks of the bridge.

"Utterly pathetic. The Sons of the Red Angel, the so-called Eater of Worlds were too mindless to stop themselves from falling to their deaths." A hazard-striped commander sneered in disappointment as his brothers wrapped who they could in chains to be dragged back to be used in another assault by beating the Aeonites of Battle that put up a struggle into submission, he turned from the gate and left the entrance of the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone.

"Forth Grand Company, fall back with the World Eater survivors. Phobos Company, prepare to assault in waves in standard siege strategy." Warsmith Erasmus stared down the mutated human auxiliary leadership who withered under his imposing gaze before running back into the Corridor of Fading Echoes to prepare.

Serval led the group down the overlook past rushing groups of Silvermane Guards who were busy moving the wounded to the rear and transporting reserve munitions to resupply their frontline that was being cleaned up. She put on her best working face and inspected the power terminal from their side of the bridge which rotated again before they arrived, not liking what she saw.

"Argh, this terminal is offline, we can't control it from here. We'll have to find another." March asked if there was anything wrong only for Serval to quietly say out of Silvermane's earshot that someone might have severed the energy supply to keep the bridge in place to keep any more would-be attackers blocked with the walled bridge portion.

"They must have rotated the bridge to make it impassable. Then they cut off the energy supply to the terminals to avoid accidental repositioning or to prevent deserters from escaping. If the front line were to collapse or an offensive failed like you saw before, the invaders could be split up or even slowed down."

"H-how terrible" Gasped a horrified March as Dan Heng admitted that it was wise tactics, Seele staring at the bridge the whole time before raising her head. Admitting verbally in a low voice that Bronya was right, that the Silvermane Guards were truly risking their lives to protect Belobog.

Serval nodded at that, saying that her brother said that the guard had to use extreme measures to repel the Fragmentum monsters even before this. March commented that she would've never guessed that she and Gepard were brothers and sisters, she didn't blame her.

"I can't say I blame you, we're nothing alike in personality or interests. In our family we have a strong military tradition going back generations, many a Landau has died in their prime. I've seen cousins pass away in the line of duty. There's not a lot of "brother and sister time." Everyone just does their best to get on with their life. That scene in the workshop is rare. Now, let's go. We have another terminal to check."

A hand suddenly grabbed Caelus' shoulder when he was about to get up. "Hey, you're one of the fixer folks with Serval, right? Mind helping out with a few of our machines before the enemies come again?"

Caelus looked at Serval who nodded with a smile, seeing the confidence in his eyes that he could do it. She allowed him to stay as she and others dealt with the energy problem. If she said no, then it would be suspicious with so many assistants with her. March gave the Trailblazer a cheerful wave as Seele and Dan Heng followed Serval across the bridge.

"Ever fixed a Direwolf up, boy?"

"A bit, sir. Most of the time I handle the smaller drones, especially the fliers." The Silvermane Guard, nodded as Caelus went over to the damaged Direwolves to fix them up. He was impressed, this guy looked young but it seemed he was a deft hand with machines. No wonder he was one of Serval's assistants.

With a spark of Innovation in his eyes, Caelus quickly fixed the circuitry without the usage of additional resources other than the repair tools he had been given. Somehow he managed to clock the automatons into a seemingly costly overclocked state with the cost of a normal mode.

"Not bad! Not bad at all! Shame you're one of Serval's helpers, we could use an engineer like you stationed over here." The Trailblazer, nodded saying that it was a shame before going over to fix up the machines being brought over of his own volition. Thinking that it would be good to get in the Silvermane's good graces.

He had to admit, fixing up all these machines. Even 'upgrading' them was more fun than he remembered that time went really quickly. In fact, seeing the damaged Direwolves that were overclocked gave him an idea. A dumb sounding idea that seemed really stupid, but one nonetheless.

"You have any trash cans near here?" The lieutenant looked confused but nodded, Caelus feeling excited told him to get his men a couple of them here to replace the damaged parts of the Direwolves.

The Trailblazer patiently waited, overhearing several conversations. One with guards talking about promotions, reassignments, and preserving. The other with a Guard Captain whipping up fresh reservists pulled up from the rear to cover for the dead and wounded before the next assault.

"I'm aware that there are those among you who see the reserve units as a vacation. Well let me set one thing straight: You are gravely mistaken! This is the restricted zone. The Fragmentum before you conceals monsters that watch your every move and the new creatures that chewed up the boys before you pretty bad. Behind us, we have a band of conspirators that have infiltrated the city. The situation is critical. The lazy and undisciplined among you will lose your lives to the forces surrounding us! As such, starting today, we will be adding 200 bench presses and 30 extra minutes of one-arm planks to our daily drill! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!"

Caelus, upon hearing that the guards were still on the lookout for certain infiltrators. Acted clueless as the captain made his men start doing bench presses. He looked relieved when some of the Silvermane hauled a number of trash cans, all empty, and placed them beside him.

He had them cut some of the cans open with their halberds so that he could replace the damaged metal parts of the Direwolves and some of the automatons. The watching guards were speechless, the results were hideous but somehow none of the machines malfunctioned as if Qlipoth personally blessed them to Preserve Belobog no matter what.

"Well, I'll be a Grizzly's uncle. You're a damned miracle worker. None of the other guys I know are crazy enough to try this and succeed. But why trash cans though?"

"Oh, I have a certain affinity with them~"

Continuing with the spark of Innovation in his eyes, Caelus went wild with his upgrades. With a touch of perhaps even madness in his eyes, he used the trash cans as additional pieces of armor for the machines. An idea so crazy but with the Trailblazer's confidence, even the Silvermane were willing to try and give it a shot.

When the attack wave came, Caelus grabbed the arm of a guard who ran to turn on the alarm only to urge him to wait and let the automatons do their test drive first.

"Heh, well it couldn't hurt." Shrugged the lieutenant as mutated humans of the Eight Star Pact ran through the open door towards the newly fortified wall of the gear bridge. Detecting enemies, the overclocked machines rushed to the attackers who slowly made their way up the wall with ladders only to be singlehandedly repelled by the Direwolves and Hounds. Their sped-up swings, slicing through the minimally armed mutants like butter before the second wave could even arrive.

"By Qlipoth. If you were one of us, you'd get a medal for this!" Praised the Silvermane commander as a Grizzly staggered forth with some Spiders. Ensuring that the next four waves were singlehandedly by the machines with none of the guards having to do a single thing. At this rate, they might as well urge Serval to hand this guy over when he gets back, it would reduce casualties and increase efficiency so much that they might actually have days with zero fatalities again.

"Look alive men, Captain Gepard is coming this way!" Upon hearing the statement from the guard tasked to instruct the reservists who had just been punished for gawking at the sterling performance of the machines. Caelus panicked inwardly and thought of a way to hide himself since Gepard would recognize him for sure.

"…And now my great Silvermane Guard brothers, let me personally test this Grizzly's capacity to transport objects and personnel around. I repeat, don't let me out until this Automaton drops the trash transporter prototype!"

Speaking in a confident yet awkward voice that sounded highly exaggerated, Caelus rushed behind the returning Grizzly and climbed onto its back to get into the trash can that acted like a backpack. It was meant to be a random experiment to test the usefulness of the noble trash can but here it was his only protection from getting arrested like a criminal.

'Keeper of Secrets, hide me in your cavernous insides! You're the only thing keeping me from the confines of a jail cell!' It was a close call too as the Trailblazer managed to close the lid on the thankfully empty and clean holder of garbage before a walking Gepard could move within eyesight. The Silvermane soldiers that helped him out with the machines looked dumbfounded but snapped out of it soon enough to stand at attention as Gepard came by.

Caelus had no idea when or if Gepard would leave, and patted the steely insides of the can. Deciding to trust it until he can get an absolute guarantee that Serval's lawful brother will not immediately catch him and put him in the slammer. A voiceless golem of cleanliness should be able to keep a secret of his magnitude, right?

Author's Note: Similar to how the polls for my Genshin fanfic work, there will eventually be polls put up soon to decide which characters will become Caelus' harem members and possibly join the Astral Express crew. Some are already guaranteed, others would need a miracle and some like the children will not be considered.