Echoes of Destruction Amongst the Stars I:Azure Snow and Crimson Skies

by Biozardeer00

As the days leading to the final battle to decide the fate of Jarilo-VI come ever closer, fell forces from beyond the skies of Belobog make their descent intending to lay claim to the planet's Stellaron's to use in a bid to twist Destruction to their will and they do not care for whatever force that stands in their way. Caelus x Harem. Numerous OCs are involved. Crossover AU.

3. Carnage on the Red Snow

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 3: Carnage on the Red Snow

"…And now, my great Silvermane Guard brothers, let me 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.

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 a 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?

Within the fortified areas of the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone, a loud alarm echoed throughout the region. Alerting every single soldier within of intruders in a sudden security breach as Serval, Seele, and the Astral Express crew brought down her bandmate Captain Dunn and his forces who unfortunately wised up to her attempts to use the delicate approach or, in other words. Lying.

"Serval... why...we used to rehearse together… does all our time together in the band mean nothing to you…"

"I'm sorry Dunn... Time for a little nap." With a soft strum of her guitar, Serval zapped the downed Dunn to unconsciousness with an apologetic look before rummaging for his encryption key.

"Quick, back to the energy supply hub. Anyone that tries to stop us is gonna find out a thing or two." Serval urged the group to rush their way back before they could get surrounded and captured. Seele looked at the figure of Dunn as they moved further and further. Stubborn fool, yet she had to admit that he was strong for a soldier. Strength like that is something that Wildfire lacks, with Luka busy elsewhere.

'Too bad he isn't here. We could use another pair of hands to back us up here.' March and Dan Heng looked at each other, hoping that Caelus wouldn't get in trouble and get caught because of their failed attempt at discretion.

"We've made it up till now... I could lose an arm and a leg for all I care. I have to lay eyes on the Stellaron." Filled with the desire to witness the very artifact that was a long-time object of research, ripped her bond with Cocolia apart and held the fate of her beloved Belobog within its metallic shell.

"If I'd known he had the encryption key from the start, I could've snuck in and taken it off him myself," Seele muttered, figuring it would've made this whole thing easier by skipping the musician's failed attempt to get it peacefully as the group used the newly acquired key to open the gate.

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda, Seele! Activating the gear bridge alone would've been enough to expose us." Replying to the Wildfire member's words harshly as the only thing the failure did is lose them some time as it would be impossible to do all of this with total stealth.

Opening the gate, she immediately went to work before groaning in frustration at the Mechanism Energy Hub's completely unintuitive operating system and tried to press buttons to find the control she wanted.

Quickly skipping over the Emergency Fire Evacuation System, rolling her eyes at the Rock 'n' Roll Dance Floor Atmosphere Mode that some fan must've added with one of her older songs before finding the control terminal for the gear bridge with a satisfied click of a button.

"There they are, the intruders. Grab them!" Urging the group to run faster than Silvermane Guards reinforced Dunn's position and tried to surround them before the bridge, only for them to manage to outrun the blockade being formed.

"Sorry about this, can't let you fix up that Grizzly." Serval apologized as Dan Heng roundhouse kicked a panicking engineer who tried to repair and activate an Automaton Grizzly, banging his head into its steel hull before he slid off, knocked out completely.

40, 65, 85. Serval impatiently counted as the others covered her while she interacted with the controller, March letting loose a volley of arrows into the approaching guards behind them. Slowing them down as she also made the ground beneath them covered with ice and blocked the roads ahead of them with her ice.

"Haha, it worked!" Cheered March as the guards slipped and crashed into each other as they slid around, falling into a pile before the icy wall before the bridge creaked as it rotated around to where they needed it to be. The loud and deep shifting sounds of the mechanical structure almost reached the level of the blaring alarm.

"Considering our ruckus, your brother may be at the front line, ready to cut us off. Are you sure you can convince him if it comes to it?" Dan Heng did not like her answer as Serval said it barely higher than thirty, much to March's nervous laughter as she remarked how their diplomacy ended up failing more than not.

Dan Heng asked one more question just to make sure, one that needed to be said to ascertain her conviction.

"Of course. My word is my bond. I said that I'd stand with you to the end, and I won't go back on that promise. Even if the entire Silvermane Guard garrison in the zone is with Gepard surrounding us, I won't sell any of you guys out."

On the other side of the bridge outside the zone lies nothing but a boundless Fragmentum where countless warriors have fought in this brutal place until they've lost complete control over their bodies. Even falling to foul recreations of themselves as the days grow darker and colder, greeting even the newly landed invaders with violent intentions.

Before them was the front gate of the Silvermane Guard's fortified position within the zone, a path reaching their destination suspiciously bereft of enemy troops. Practically guaranteeing Gepard's presence.

Blocking parts of the bridge with her hardy ice to slow down the guards still on their tail, March swept her feet behind the group to build an ice wall as stylishly as she could. "Before our next expedition, I need Himeko to teach me some negotiation skills. Beating people up all the time is cramping my elegance!"

Serval had a bad feeling as the road ahead of them was easy, too easy. She knew they hadn't fought since he enlisted. He could never beat her when they were little then, but now, after the taste of true battle and years of military leadership with him, so now…

When they reached the front line, Serval flinched when she saw the look of disappointment on her brother's face deepen with each step she took. The group knew they were completely surrounded. There must be half the Silvermane Guards in the garrison flanking them as they cleared up the mutant corpses from the last attack. Serval noticed Pela amongst the troops, staring right through her. No way she could try to reason with her fellow band member like this.

Pelageya Sergeyevna the Belobogian Intelligence officer is a spectacled girl with blue eyes, long indigo hair that is cut into a hime cut, fringe bangs, and two strands in front with silver pins dressed in a Silvermane Guard uniform consisting of a black beret with gold accessories, a black short dress with gold accents, elbow-length gloves, white strapless clothing that is tied in the middle and has blue tips around the waist, golden, thick lining on the hips above black tights and black boots with white fabric as well as blue-white ribbons, the white fabric around her sleeves, white collar with a blue tie that binds to a lighter color, and white long sleeve-like fabric with a slit, hanging from her dress' sleeve and reaches her knees.

'I'm sorry, Serval but you shouldn't have been caught. Now it comes down to this.' Intelligence Officer Pela thought sadly after she got up from trying to interrogate some of these captured mutants who were extremely uncooperative, neither understood the other and the survivors only laughed and taunted her before turning to look at her blonde friend.

"Gahahahaha, i moíra sou írthe cheimónas genniménos, óra na antimetopíseis tin timoría tou sidírou kai tou aímatos!" The mutants survivors laughed, trying to stand up and intimidate this short human military official only for the Silvermane Guards to bash them back down with the butt of their rifles.

Dan Heng frowned when he saw that Caelus was nowhere to be found. If he was captured then it at least tells him where he was. Seele's finger twitched with her weapon held tightly, knowing full well that the odds of winning this were slim. The loud sounds of battle and screaming outside the gate only made things more tense.

"Good grief, he really did it." March sighed deeply and smacked her own forehead when she saw the Automatons with the Silvermane sporting shiny new trash cans on them as additional armor. She could already tell how those got there.

"When the sentry reported to me, I thought there must have been a misunderstanding. The enemy alarm had to be unrelated to your entry into the restricted zone. Perhaps the intruders had taken you hostage. Step away from the intruders, Serval. Walk over slowly and stand behind me. You're different from them. I'm offering you one chance to stand down."

"I'm sorry... we have an understanding. I stand with them. Give me a few minutes, just a few. I'll explain every-"

"Enough, Serval!" Gepard's words were cold as ice, raising his voice slightly when Serval tried to reason with him. Gone was the boy who cowered behind his older sister. Here was a true soldier of Belobog. A stalwart wall in human form.

As if he was the older brother and she the younger, Gepard lectured her with no hint of comedy. He asked if she had completely forgotten where they were, a place that all Landaus knew more than any. The outer reaches of the front line against the Fragmentum, Belobog's most strategic protective fortress.

Gepard then mentioned how everyone here is ready to sacrifice their own lives to spill their blood in the name of Belobog at any moment. How her actions in leading fugitives, fighting guards, and hijacking the energy hub. Such acts shame them all.

"Are you really worthy of the Landau name? Has your loyalty waned so much to have your heart easily seduced by criminals?" Serval inwardly cringed at his sharp words. She did not lose heart or change her mind, however. She simply looked even more resolute and spoke up.

"Why do you think I've come here? We've found a way to dispel the Eternal Freeze, to seal the Fragmentum. It might be the only lifeline this world has left!" The rocker's words fell on deaf ears as he questioned with crossed arms why she didn't simply bring it to Lady Cocolia's attention instead of sowing chaos amongst her own countrymen.

"You don't understand. The one preventing us from getting close to the truth... is Cocolia herself." Gepard scoffed. The very notion is madness. Sheer and utter madness. It was so preposterous that he rather believed these foreign invaders meant well in their aggressive negotiations during their assaults here instead of the goal of peace.

"You have all seen the supreme guardian in person. Do you think you can act as you please because she didn't recognize your version of events!?" He didn't like where this line of questioning was going. Even more so when she tried to use her knowledge of the origin and spread of the Fragmentum is connected to the Stellaron, the very meteor in the records of the Architects.

"I know the truth about the Stellaron, the object of desire of these fugitives thanks to the Madam Guardian. They are nothing but thieves with ulterior motives, hungry for the treasures of the Architects." Serval knew that she had already failed to convince her brother and already prepared for conflict, Seele and the Astral Express crew had already prepared for the worst.

"The Madam Guardian has warned me before that you were indulging in fantasy, that you'd been exposed to forbidden knowledge, and that you would bring destruction down upon Belobog but even then I believe you, Serval, I believe you think you're acting with loyalty to the people!" Despite those words, Gepard wasn't backing down. Instead, he simply started barking orders to his men to detain Serval and her new-found friends before another attack could happen.

"This isn't like our childhood games, Serval. You won't get any leniency from me. " Gepard said seriously as he readied Serval's guitar case, the huge mechanical case taller than he is by a decent margin.

His fears would soon come true as sounds of gunfire and the whirring of chainaxes could be heard, suddenly far closer than it was minutes ago. Primal screams overpowered Gepard's calm orders as everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to the front gate as something started to beat on it.

"The forbidden is only forbidden to conceal the truth within. Cocolia is afraid that we'll seize on this knowledge so that the truth will spread far and wide: To save the world, we must risk it all."

Caelus bumped his head against the insides as he held his breath. He heard their whole conversation from inside the trash can and kept his mouth shut to not get caught. Then the sounds of battle came and those carnal shouts, it was making this Grizzly move erratically. Giving him a headache as he bumped his head into the metal shell of a transporter.

"Strengthen our defenses. I'll deal with you later, Serval." Cursing, Gepard looked at the front gate buckling under the sheer weight of whatever was out there. It's too late to deal with his sister and her group of fugitives before the next attack. He orders his men to forget about the fugitives for now and focus on manning the guns.

Silvermane Guard Lieutenants that were grappling with Dan Heng and Seele backed off from their foes, March was about to stick a cold one into the Automatons crawling on the ground before looking confused as the mechanical spider scuttled away to a Grizzly.

Dozens of Silvermane Guards assumed formation around the battered gate, pointing lines of firearms and cannons, both handheld as well as artillery, taking cover behind sandbags and barbed wire fencing multiple lines deep.

"T-those invaders are!" Serval put two and two together when she saw chainaxes start sawing through the front gate, the post-human warriors behind it snarling in rage as they hacked the gate down with the strength befitting of the Path of Battle.

She had already seen them before near the bridge, but seeing what they could truly do without a bridge to knock them off of is truly astounding. Not even the Fragmentum monsters could achieve what they did in such short a time.

"Gepard, let me help you. I know you don't exactly approve of my choice of company, but trust me on this as a hunch of an older sister. Let us help." Serval pleaded, a chill up her spine as Gepard looked at her in surprise. He was about to command her to take shelter elsewhere so they could settle their differences without the threat of a foreign invading force upon them.

"Very well, I see it in your eyes. You'd do it even if I refused. I trust that neither you nor your friends there will stab us in the back during the battle." Gepard glared at Seele specifically, who could only scowl in return.

The orange lock on the reinforced steel gate of the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone reached its limit as it was chopped in two after countless hacks. Swinging their axes and swords madly, bloodthirsty warriors of the Blood God originally hailing from galaxies away roared as the gate was tackled open.

"Silvermane gunner and artillery lines. Open fire!" The bolts holding the gates soon fell next as the Astartes shoved each other side to fit in the narrow passage to the front line, two squads of Silvermane were crushed by the falling gates as they never expected in all their years to see the gate that held for so long and just repaired and reinforced fell like trees.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Rows upon rows of cannons discharged their metal contents, blowing through battered mutants as well as wounded superhuman invaders with vicious force. The hail of bullets that were fired, on the other hand, had only any noticeable effect on the mutants, mowing them down until only their larger Aeonite brethren to charge alone.

Some of the World Eaters grabbed the bodies of their fallen comrades and hurled them into the defenders, sending them reeling like bowling pins as the break in suppressive ranged fire allowed them to charge into the fray.

Gepard can only count on Qlipoth's blessings, as many of them had already been crippled by either their cannonry or skirmishes with Fragmentum monsters outside. It barely stopped their relentless speed as even with their arms or legs blown off, they still had their massive bodies that towered over every Silvermane Guard, including himself by two or three feet at least.

The condition of their armor is variable and those with plenty of exposed skin were ripe targets as those with fully covered bodies took an absurd amount of punishment. Spears and larger polearms formed a pointed wall towards the invaders, struggling to fully cover the breach opened by their thrown comrades.

Silvermane troops that were too close to the invaders were hacked apart by chain weapons, their current defensive armaments sadly insufficient against such powerful enemies. Men behind the dead grabbed onto the end of the spears, using their numbers to try to keep the Astartes back as gunners reloaded and cannonballs were primed.

With an inhuman amount of pain tolerance, the Khornate Berzerkers force themselves against the wall of spears and icy halberds, the combatants behind them ramming into the skewered group.

"No matter what, we must keep our formation!" Looking at his sister expectantly, knowing her combat style is extremely useful here. Serval nodded and rained lightning upon the invaders. Seele and the Astral Express crew put aside their animosity toward the very soldiers they were just fighting to fight an even greater threat.

"Gaahk!" Silvermane Soldiers found themselves legless as crawling Astartes dragged themselves across the snowy road with their arms and elbows, their legs and feet having been blown off by Belobogian artillery.

"AAAAHHH! MONSTERS! THOSE THINGS ARE MONSTERS!"

"Steel yourselves men, we've held our line against countless abominations for years and we will not fail now!" March provided elemental protection to the fighting soldiers, letting them take more than a single swing of their weapons as their defensive line buckled against the homicidal frenzy.

The Rampagers roared in pain yet they still forced themselves forward. Some started to hurl their weapons to deal with the Belobogian soldiery that was struggling to hold them back. Eventually, the frontmost lines started to collapse. The Astartes were now able to use the full effectiveness of their genetically superior and Aeon-blessed bodies to full effect, smashing aside the regular human opposition.

BOOM

Dan Heng and Seele grabbed as many Automaton Spiders as they could, throwing them in front of the mass of Silvermane Guards. Buying time for the most injured among them to retreat or be dragged away from the carnage for fresh troops to stem the tide.

"Send for more Automaton reinforcements!" Gepard personally issued commands to the machines present as he charged up Ice elemental energy within him before bestowing his forces an Enduring Bulwark which was far more durable than any March could make.

Even still with the spear wall broken and their bodies Shielded, the guards were getting overwhelmed by the invaders whose strength was fuelled by an ever-growing rage emanating from the nails in their heads. They were getting stronger the more they fought and the few Astartes that were starting to die were the ones with little armor or already crippled with missing limbs.

Outnumbering the dozen or so leftovers by more than five times, they still struggled to bring down the more heavily armored Berzerkers, as they were unable to fire the cannons with allied and enemy bodies so close to each other.

A Silvermane Lieutenant found his own tower shield ripped away by a Caedere otherwise known as a Butcher leading the surviving Rampager squads, the warrior furiously using it as a bludgeon to replace the chain axes stuck in Belobogian bodies to send soldiers flying with broken bones.

He charged with his icy halberd to stop the massacre of his own troops only for the Astartes to snap the polearm in half and shove the blade into the heavy armor of the officer, punching straight through to the lungs before beating him to death with his own tower shield.

With the lieutenant's helmeted head little more than a crushed can, Captain Gharrax let out a victorious roar as he tossed aside the shield to get his own chainaxes back.

"Forget about the prisoners, Pela. Return to the Captain and back him up!" Stated another Lieutenant who grabbed her shoulders and pleaded with her to give up as she tried to do credit to her profession to gain some intel from the laughing mutants that watched the bloodbath with glee.

"EEeeeeeek!" Pela let out a shrill scream as half a Cannoneer landed right next to her with his helmet fallen off and his face in a silent scream before fleeing from the prisoner holding section as the Lieutenant had his back ripped into by a maddened Astartes with revved up chainswords.

"Snap out of it Pela, I know you feel guilty for his death but many more will die without your help." Serval shook the shoulders of her own band mate who muttered gibberish while staring in the direction where a new batch of reinforcements were coming from. She slapped her, almost making her glasses fall off. Bringing her back to her senses.

"Thanks, Serval, you're right. I'm the Intelligence Officer of the Silvermane Guards, not an untrained civilian." Pela fixed her glasses and stood beside Captain Gepard with a calm demeanor, scanning the ever-changing battlefield. Providing support wherever it was needed.

"Just what in the Underworld are these guys?!" Seele exclaimed as she rushed in when one of the World Eaters chopped an entire squad of Silvervane Guard down with great fury before letting out a snarl, she rushed towards him with a scythe at the ready.

Flashing into multiple afterimages as she slashed him from all angles only for the Astartes to swing wildly, clashing with her scythe as she almost staggered by his force of blows.

Trading offensive power for more speed, Seele was barely able to get ahead of this monster in human form as bloodshot eyes tracked her movement with superhuman reflexes to dodge half of her blows. She was barely making a dent in its armor, choosing instead afterward to cut at its gaps in armor to directly cut at his flesh.

"Wh-uh?!" The Wildfire member saw Pela gesture towards her as the soldiers scattered to reorganize themselves, giving the artillery a chance to blast her opponent. Losing his right hand and left leg, the World Eater hopped like a rabbit out of hell, swinging his one remaining axe-bearing arm. He was far more manageable now, even if the holes in his sides gave her more than a little pause.

There was no way that thing was human, Seele thought as she dodged beneath a side swing of his chainaxe to cut at his arm, avoiding a backward elbow charge to slash at it six more times. Repeating it until his limb fell off with a plop.

"RAAAAAAARGGGHHH!" Seele's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he hopped on his last leg as if preparing to jump. She deftly moved to the side as he drove himself downwards into a charging squad, the crashing headbutt forcing a poor soldier's head halfway down his chest. Raising his head to try to do it to his squadmate.

Raising his spear, the Silvermane Soldier managed to slip his weapon at the gap between his opponent's helmet and armor, using his momentum against him as he smashed his head downwards again only to lose not only his helmet but also half of his face as the halberd hooked deep into his cheek.

"BLOOOOOD!" Gritting his exposed teeth, the Rampager chomped down onto the helmet. Breaking them upon the metal but feverishly gnawing it until the head of the Silvermane was exposed, numerous halberds stabbed into his bloody stumps as their own comrade got his head ripped into before they both fell onto the barbed wire barricade behind them. The sight of which made Seele cover her mouth in horror.

Fighting the urge to puke, Seele looked on in disbelief as she had never seen such brutality in all her life in the Underground to this bloodbath.

Within the bloody bits and brain matter of the invader's head, Seele could see some strange device hooked into what was left of his brain. On first glance, it seemed to be metal dreadlocks, but it seemed to be a number of cable tendrils threaded to his nervous system and coiling in a serpentine manner around the spinal column.

Aeons know what was its true purpose, but she has a hunch that it is involved with their unnatural rage and aggression. She'll let the Silvermane Guards deal with the autopsy and research after dealing with this madness.

'They must be stopped here. If even one slipped into Belobog proper or Aeon forbid. Reaching the Underworld somehow, she would never forgive herself for failing to do her very best so that none broke through.'

Dan Heng and March worked with the soldiers, taking advantage of the line of gunners and artillery waiting until more openings showed themselves. Alongside Gepard, March's defensive skills with the power of Ice were pivotal in allowing guards to survive a single direct blow that was nearly guaranteed to be fatal. Letting them fall back to the rear for fresh troops to be sent in.

With Cloudpiercer he struck from the flanks and rear, taking advantage of the fact that more and more Automatons have replaced the lessening human troops. Gepard refined tactics with Pela's advice as they focused on the tactics that worked, focusing on sheer numbers and the heavy firepower they had at their disposal.

Clanging as his spear blows bounced off thick Astartes armor, Dan Heng saw Seele's success and saw Direwolves locking their limbs around the World Eater bodies on their end, trying to restrain their wounded bodies and saw through whatever they could.

A Silvermane Lieutenant called for him and his men to stand back as more Automatons came to bury their foes with their trash can-reinforced hulls.

"FIRE!"

BOOM

Although several Automatons fell, the kills or at least heavy wounds they inflicted on the few World Eaters were more than enough to allow Dan Heng and his Belobogian comrades the chance to finish them off. The stoic warrior made doubly sure that their foes were dead, piercing exposed organs or stabbing through intact heads as their bodies twitched.

At the heart of the battlefield, the lines buckled as Captain Gharrax hewed soldier after soldier. Automaton after Automaton in his attempt to reach the leader of the opposition, a worthy offering to Khorne the Aeon of Battle.

"Fall back. I will handle him. Serval, Pela. Cover me!" With her personal device, Pela shot bolts of frost at Gharrax. The ice shattered upon impact before activating her miniature metal array of elemental turrets, peppering the World Eater with bullets. The armor-piercing rounds having little effect with such thick ceramite built to handle far more dangerous weapons, those that managed to hit his exposed flesh failed to even slow him down.

Forming a satellite array of bright azure, Pela's machinery let out a Zone Suppression pulse that blasted the murderous warrior, slightly sundering his armor before lightning bolts struck Gharrax in a stinging rain.

Seeing her elemental powers being more effective thanks to Pela's quick thinking, Serval's fingers brushed against her guitar string. Paralysing Gharrax as the bullets embedded in his flesh and metal nails in his brain mostly nullified the usually energy resistant armor his ilk usually wore, worsened the Shock coursing through his body.

Blue cape blowing in the cold winds, Gepard crashed his closed fist into the chest of the World Eater with the power of Preservation. Staggering him as he pummelled the stunned Astartes with his empowered fists, taking full advantage of the opening.

Gharrax's nose bled, a normal phenomenon to him and his brothers amongst his Legion, coupled with the electricity made more extreme. His head pounded as he grew more and more enraged before tightening his grip to fight through the thundering fury only for Gepard to bash him with his mechanical case as his sister gave it everything she got.

With a loud roar, the Battle Pathstrider's rage hit a critical level before a protective red aura grew out of him. Allowing him to overcome Serval's power before retaliating with vicious blows.

"Is that all?" The chainaxes chewed through his case, hitting his armor. His own formidable Preservation defenses protecting him from getting ripped in two.

Pela directed Automatons. The supposed improvements may have been hideous, but they did their job in allowing them to take more than a single hit. Aiding their human Captain, Gharrax snarled as chainsaws slashed his body from all angles before he was bodyslammed by a Grizzly.

Caelus covered his mouth as he screamed in surprise into his hand when a chainaxe buried itself at the side of the trash can transporter. He moved away from the weapon being pulled back as the Butcher swung down into the Automatons. Splitting steel in two with ease.

The Grizzly continued to be a potent bastion against the invaders with the touch of Innovation imbued in its trash can reinforced hull as its smaller kin was chopped into pieces. Gepard fought for his life as he reinforced his own shield multiple times each time the Astartes managed to overpower the Silvermane's effort to hit him.

Splitting open steel and flesh alike, Gharrax beheaded two soldiers and swung both axes in a stomach-cutting trajectory. Whirring teeth cut into his sides as his Battle clashed with Gepard's Preservation, two Captains on opposing sides. One sword to defend his homeland and the other seeking to destroy it.

Gepard screamed as his shield was breached, chainaxes ripping into the sides of him. His armor providing little to no protection and his imminent disembowelment was avoided as Direwolves were barely able to halt the ripping chainaxes with their chainsaws. Buying enough time for his men to pull him back so he could rebuild his defenses.

"GEPARD!" Serval let out a horrified scream at the sight of nearly losing her dear brother, sparks growing dangerously around her fingertips as she demanded Pela to keep sending more Automatons to back him up before dropping massive lightning bolts while playing a rapid series of musical notes, crashing into the red aura.

"Hold it until his protection is dispelled, Serval. Pela, synchronize with our gunners and artillerymen." Despite his wounds, Gepards's words were still clear as Pela's machinery sundered his enemy's armor while still being pelted with rifles and hand cannons. They were slowly winning, but by Qlipoth, the losses were horrific. "We have the upper hand."

"None of you invaders will get past me. I swear it in the name of Landau. For the Silvermane Guards are Beobog's Indestructible Shield!" His heart was pounding as he was pumped with adrenaline, his devotion to Preservation made even more apparent as his shield strengthened. The resolve in his eyes was as cold as the freezing blizzards of his homeworld.

Armored gauntlets imbued with everfrost, Gepard dropped his mechanical case and pummelled the Astartes as Automatons and Silvermane Guards alike limited his movements. Locking his arms with polearms and chainsaws alike as their Captain left icy trails as he crashed his fists into his opponent's ceramite.

WHAM

WHAM

WHAM

"GRAAAAAAAHH!" With a relentless barrage of Daunting Smite, Gepard's gauntlets would've broken under the force of his own mighty blows early if not for the shield he gave himself. Icicles started to grow out of Gharrax's body as his blood and flesh began to freeze as his armor was slowly shoved inwards.

With a loud grunt, the brotherly Landau drove his fist deep into his foe's chest. Punching out a heart as the fists of Preservation breached superhuman flesh, massive ice crystals growing out of Gharrax's back as he fell over. His red aura of Battle diminished slightly before his Butcher's Nails sang loudly in his mind even more maddeningly.

Blood boiling like that of his patron Aeon's Neverborn followers, Gharrax's own blood burned blazing hot as he melted the ice in an instant and that of the metal keeping down. Soldiers screamed as their melted weapons dripped onto their bodies, the Automatons silently continuing to fight despite their weaponry being reduced to molten slag.

With Unyielding Will, Gepard survived a decapitating cross slash. His would be lethal wounds healing like cold water upon ice before punching the molten warrior again, steam coming out of his blows upon contact. Pela commanded the Automatons to let themselves melt into the Astartes so that he'd be weighed down by melted metal and Serval continued to gather all her power as she rocked with all her heart.

'Only by becoming a shield for the people is one worthy of the title Architect and serve as their protectors. For the people's Trust must never be betrayed and their Hopes must never be squandered!'

"Years of cold hardens the will. We shall never fall!" Acting as Belobog's Enduring Bulwark, Gepard stomped the ground. Frozen resolve in his eyes, gathering the freezing cold spirit of Belobog itself in his right hand armored in Geomarrow before smashing the deranged World Eater's head upwards in a frigid uppercut into the air, sending him flying upwards.

Serval dropped down tumultuous amounts of electricity at the same time, her attacks glancing off of Gepard's shield as both Landau siblings unleashed their sublime teamwork. Frying the lesser Son of the Red Angel, Gepard waited until all of Serval's energy was spent punching his fist down into his opponent.

Sending the roasted World Eater into the cold dirt, his molten blood finally frozen solid as a veritable glacier arose from where he crashed his bloodied fist into. Gauntlets finally broke as he unleashed more force in his blows than he ever did in his life.

Panting as his shield and energies of Preservation dissipated, the blonde captain staggered back into the arms of his own Lieutenants. At the same time, the last of the World Eaters were finally slain as his ultimate technique gave his forces and allies the protection needed to perform risky yet lethal maneuvers to put down the enemy.

"All enemies have been neutralized, Captain."

"Good, make sure the dead are tallied, and all enemies ensured of their deaths." Letting her leader rest, Pela issued commands for the troops to pierce the flesh of the Astartes repeatedly to ensure none could pull any death-defying tricks.

She had the Automatons start chipping away at the frozen Astartes, meticulously cutting into his flesh. The tired Dan Heng and Seele pierced his corpse multiple times to ensure that the leaders of these monstrous invaders were well and truly killed.

'Lil Geppie has truly surpassed his big sister. Amazing.' Wiping a tear of pride, Serval smiled as the little brother who cowered behind her and needed her to stick up for him has grown into a true protector of Belobog. A true Landau to make mom and dad as well as their ancestors, proud.

Gepard held his sore right arm that was armored with Geomarrow, a medal he earned from the Supreme Guardian herself after his most impressive victories in the past, radiating the light of an aurora borealis before fading completely with his shield.

He looked at his sister tiredly, the blonde rockstar looking like she recalled something before handing over something to him. Explaining everything she could to avoid having to fight after all this with Bronya's letter.

"We fight the enemies of Belobog for the sake of Preservation, yet fighting with a fellow Landau and her allies. I fail to see the purpose. I trust you and your friends will be able to prevent our endlessly unfolding misfortunes." Gepard then gave out the order to clear the path to the outside and scout out whether there were any enemies.

To further cement his unwillingness to turn on those who assisted in the defence of Belobog. Gepard stated to his guards that as Lady Bronya is the commanding officer for the front lines. According to military protocol, if the front-line directives of the commanding officer clash with those of the Architects behind the lines, a soldier must remain at their post and await further directives.

"Oh, thank Qlipoth." Murmured the soldiery, glad they don't have to turn on a former Architect like Serval or the Pathstriders with her after fighting together with them in a battle for life and death.

"For this act, can I ask one favor?"

"Anything for not doing away with us, in the name of the Supreme Guardian." The Landau brother then asked that his sister would help him repair his shield. Earthwork that while made out of an instrument case was now a heavy force field device with gaping holes and tears in them.

"Sure, if- I mean, after we sort out the business with the Stellaron." Serval then giggled, remembering something from years ago. Back during the time, she asked Gepard hypothetically whether he would side with Belobog and its people or the Supreme Guardian. He would choose the former even if it would cost him his life, an Oath of Preservation to Qlipoth that even now he kept dutifully.

Her brother blushed and scratched his cheek in embarrassment when he asked his sister why she acted so. Gepard looked into the sky, recalling his earlier visit when the Supreme Guardian herself was here to oversee the defense personally as an ancient assault was signaled with a cacophony of elegant bagpipes.

"Remember, Gepard Landau. You will defend Belobog and her people at any cost. You will never let down the people you're supposed to protect. Never bring the Landau name into shame!" Smiling while closing his eyes after gazing at the snowy blue sky, he only opened them when Pela came with a status report.

"Over fifty casualties have been reported thus far. We'll need more time to sort out the mass of unrecognizable corpses. All the prisoners have been killed in the crossfire due to friendly fire and our scouts report that the Fragmentum is strangely calm, with the rest of the invaders retreating elsewhere."

A Grizzly partially frozen in his glacial creation, fell backward when more of the ice was thawed out slightly, allowing its frosted bulk to slip out by itself. The trash can carried on its back shattered like glass, a grey-haired man falling out much to the disbelief.

"You're the one I have to thank for the trash cans I presume." Gepard stared at Caelus blankly who sneezed as he shivered after coming out from being frozen. He nodded until the Captain thanked him as the trash cans were extremely effective. Pela gawked at him and after the tacky improvements, Caelus could see his friends silently judging him for that, especially March.

"We'll hold down the fort when you leave with them Serval, we'll barricade the way when you leave." After letting the group recover with their medical supplies and Caelus warming himself with a heater, they were allowed to leave after the road outside was cleared of the dead.

"If you want to advance further northward, you must traverse an area entirely corroded by the Fragmentum. It's the only way to get to the Snow Plains on the other side. I wish you all luck."

Gepard said one last thing to his sister when she left, that she should be more forgiving and understanding of Cocolia's actions. Even more so since they were not only best friends and bandmates. Words that only soured Serval's demeanor and received only silence.

The Corridor of Fading Echoes was unnaturally silent, now a graveyard of the dead. A number of killed Silvermane scattered with the remains of Fragmentum monsters, heaps of dead mutants, and the rare deceased Astartes.

Nothing was stopping them from traversing locked bridge platforms or the many alleyways of old Belobog long lost to the Fragmentum. The group then began to chat so they didn't have to suffer the awkward silence and the sounds of cold winds.

"I gotta admit, I had a lot of misunderstandings about the Silvermane Guards. They're fighting for survival here every day, just like Wildfire. The difference is we're making a stand for freedom while they're just carrying out orders."

Seele muttered, earning her the suggestion of Caelus where he told her to try to be more sympathetic and that they should try to put themselves in their shoes only for her to scoff, stepping over a dead mutant. Easier said than done considering they can't even see each other with the divide between the Underground and those above, even if they all have their own struggles.

Caelus sped his movement up when he saw Serval fairly ahead of them with a less-than-cheery look on her face, kicking aside trash cans and other street objects as her brother's words echoed in her mind.

"This Stellaron cost me a nice, stable job. It's time to get even though I have to admit that I have a more selfish reason." Caelus looked at Serval when she said it, the rockstar letting him guess the answer before continuing when he didn't.

"I want to prove to Cocolia that I was right. Once we've taken care of the Stellaron, maybe she'll go back to how she was. I can only hope that Gepard wanting me to give her another chance won't backfire on me or all of us." She also let out a laugh, maybe if everything went alright. She'll take a picture of the Stellaron and have a good laugh about all this for years to come.

Far above the surface of the planet, two individuals monitored from the Astral Express with a deepening frown on their faces.

"Fragmentum activity is intensifying... Something's happening on Jarilo-VI. Abnormal weather patterns are spiking all over the planet. Shouldn't we go down there, Himeko?" suggested a gentlemanly individual.

"Have faith in them. Besides, this is his first Trailblazing expedition. How will he be able to look back fondly without a few twists and turns?" The red-haired elegant woman answered, feeling that it would make the expedition one to remember for them before giggling.

"Are you bored, Welt? I understand. But we have lots of opportunities ahead of us. Let's leave the memories of this expedition for them~" Himeko's words seemed relaxed when he asked if she truly believed that everyone would be safe on the surface until she checked the scanner again after it was unable to pierce the cold veil that dropped and rose up the last few scans.

"No... we might have a problem here. There was an Emanator imaginary reaction caught on our planetary scanner, and it was massive. One of the highest if not the highest ever detected." Himeko's eyes were wide as she could only thank her lucky stars that there were no Aeon readings. Welt then tried to raise communications or use the teleporter only to realize that the blizzard veil covering the skies of Jarilo-VI returned with a vengeance.

"This expedition is the domain of the young. We can only trust that they can handle this Emanator on their own." Welt looked at his companion with worry as a rabbit-like individual cleaned the interior of the train with joy. He then questioned her about what Path they were from.

"Battle under the Aeon Khorne. I don't know much about their Emanators, their numbers, or any of their specialties other than a focus in close combat." Himeko could still see the planet still looked intact other than the abnormal weather patterns. It would've turned red or brought more forces with it as the systems detected no other vessel in orbit.

Welt frowned as he looked towards the planet. His encounters with those of Battle are limited, but he knows how powerful they are in close-range combat and resisting the elements. Some of which with abilities that utterly counter his to the point that he might as well be moral support.

Back on the planet, the group entered deeper and deeper into the Fragmentum. It was still clear of enemies, though the sensation they felt just by getting further in made them extremely uncomfortable.

"Compared to this, the corrosion we saw in Backwater Pass pales into insignificance." Dan Heng shuddered as March looked around, sweating bullets that turned into hailstones due to the cold as if she imagined invisible eyes stalking them in the frost. Seele rubbed her own arms as she shivered, feeling that it was like having insects under her skin. Making her flesh crawl. Only Serval's guidance kept them steady as they navigated the maze to the Snow Plains to the north of Belobog.

"Are you not that worried about Gepard in his current state? You don't need to force yourself to come with us you know."

"Don't sweat it, Caelus. I wasn't joking when I said that I just had to see the Stellaron itself. I may not be with the Silvermane Guards anymore, but I've still got all my experience from the Technology Division with areas of expertise are Fragmentum and Stellarons. And you can't remain confined to the lab if you want to make a name for yourself in these fields, so I know how to handle myself in places like these, and besides Pela's got Geppie's back."

Eventually, after seemingly stumbling through the dead, the frozen or the nigh-endless alleyways. The air soon grew suffocating and an unnatural chill sent itself down everyone's spine as they investigated objects that did not seem to fit the environment despite Dan Heng's warnings of likely traps in the Fragmentum. The group found a sight that truly stunned them.

Bronya's belongings were on the ground amongst a trail of icily skewered cyborgs and two faint echoes of both mother and daughter in front of a ripped-open metal gate. A delicate snow globe was found in the orphanage.

"Wh-Whoa! Quick, look! That's Bronya! H-Huh? Is that Cocolia too!?" Exclaimed March 7th only for Dan Heng to shake his head, stating that it must be an echo, some type of residual energy replicated by the Fragmentum of past events.

"Even if our connection with the past is completely broken, there are still things that can complete us." Caelus could almost swear he could hear something while checking the item closely, the little toy globe that belonged to Bronya as a child. A snowy owl circled above the snowfields while looking for the best opportunity to hunt the hare depicted within.

The group could hear voices spoken by the echoes when they got close and sounds replicated by the Fragmentum, the sounds of metal and flesh getting impaled by icy spears, or the sounds of gunfire. The sights of abandoned subterranean drilling machines that had frozen or malfunctioned upon planetary deployment with a few even hastily repaired to be launched upwards to the surface upon detection of the second Stellaron located on the frigid planet only served to make the cold trek more foreboding and ominous.

"Bronya and Cocolia must be close. They have to be." The words of both Bronya and Serval may be similar in tone, yet their desires and intent can't be more of the polar opposite, as they were more dedicated than the rest in their approach.

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.