9 Chapter 8: Enter Jarilo-VI

Narrator's Pov

Ryan simply stood on the couch as he pulled out his phone and realized he had gotten a message from Herta.

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[Herta]

"I saw the Express leave, remember to be careful of what you do"

"If you notice a change tell me, ANY kind of change"

"And if you need someone to talk to, don't come to me, the Express would be a better emotional support"

[Ryan]

"I'll keep that in mind"

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He sighed deeply and looked through the window of the Express, they were already doing the jump, and he saw the multiple lights of the stars, as if they were following the Express.

"I really have to be that careful uh?"

He felt and saw the Express suddenly stop, he stood up from the couch and looked through the window, seeing the planet of Jarilo-VI, completely covered in Ice and snow, he looked a bit amazed at first but then he quickly calmed himself a bit and looked to the side, seeing March 7th also intently looking at the planet but soon after she took a quick pic with her camera.

"March are your okay?" He asked looking at the girl.

"Uh? Oh y-yeah I'm fine don't worry" she smiled a bit nervous.

"C'mon, tell me what's in your mind" he crossed his arms above his chest.

"Uhm...I wonder if this planet has some answers about me, I don't remember anything about myself before I was frozen, and the Ice in which I was in wasn't even normal Ice! It was six-phased ice...Mr.Yang theorized that someone either exiled me or tried to protect me, but I'm not sure..." She sighed deeply and looked at Jarilo-VI.

"Well, you can go, maybe someone there recognizes you?"

"I don't think so...but hey! It doesn't hurt to try, does it?" She smiled and then looked at Ryan. "I'll go prepare my stuff!"

Ryan saw March excitedly leave the Parlor's car and then he looked at Dan Heng doing the same, Himeko entered a few seconds later and approached Ryan.

"Ryan, I think you should go too"

"Uh? And why is that?"

"Well, as an Aeon in the making, experiencing different places, cultures and even some people might Influence in which kind of Aeon you'll be and what you will believe in, besides, having some adventures from time to time can be quite fun, of course, If you don't want to go into Jarilo-VI I won't force you to go, you can decide" Himeko smiled and then sat on the small table.

"Hmmm...I'll think about it, miss Himeko" he nodded with his head. "Oh right, I almost forgot...we won't be having more trouble with my magic deflecting signals.

"Oh? You managed to fix that?" Himeko asked a bit curious.

"Yeah, while Herta was experimenting with me, she asked if I could somehow stop my body from irradiating magic...it's something very simple, so with stopping my body from letting out magic is enough to let the signals pass safely." He explained while he crossed his arms.

"Good, having complete control over that magic is a good signal, are all people from your home like you, Ryan?" Welt asked a bit curious and slightly excited.

"Not many people hide their magic, I'm used to doing it because mages kept detecting me quite easily and I had to learn to be more stealthy in that regard...pure mages can be incredibly powerful" he sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. "The woman who taught me magic when I was a child told me she once disintegrated an entire mountain."

"She sounds like someone incredibly powerful." Welt complimented with a smile.

"Yes...she is" Ryan smiled a bit

"What is her name?" Himeko asked with a little smile.

"Orly, I...never really knew if she had a surname, not many people from my world have surnames"

"Do you have one Ryan?" Welt asked a bit interested.

Ryan simply kept himself silent for a few seconds hesitating on if he should tell them his surname until he finally nodded with his head and replied, it's not like if they would recognize his surname.

"Chevalier, my full name is Ryan Chevalier"

"Chevalier...from where I'm from, that means 'Knight', a pretty interesting surname" Welt spoke smiling a bit.

"Yes... I'm the 9th generation of the Chevalier's"

"Sounds like an important bloodline" Himeko crossed her arms above her chest with a smile.

"It kind of is...but that doesn't matter" he sighed a bit and then turned around slightly.

"Okay! I'm ready~!" March entered into the Parlor's car with a smile.

"How will they go down to Jarilo-VI? Is there a railway like in the station?"

"We have a pod! We can throw it into the planet to land there!" March smiled as she put her hands on her waist.

"How...many of those pods do you have?" Ryan asked a bit nervous.

"We have a few, but they are reusable, we just have to make sure to get them back after we're done with our mission." She looked away a bit ashamed. "I used to be the one to choose where to land but after an...accident, I'm not allowed to pick where we land"

"She crashed the pod and made a hole in the Taikiyan Stadium" Dan Heng spoke as he approached alongside Stelle.

"H-hey! We agreed to not talk about that!" March looked a bit embarrassed.

"We spent 2 weeks doing community service" Dan Heng added and March quickly covered his moth with her hands.

"Please stop, Stelle is not going to let me forget it ever." March spoke sobbing.

"Well I suppose that in March 7th that stadium opens up the ceiling." Stelle spoke and immediately everyone looked at her. "Okay I'll stop..."

"Thank you very much" Ryan sighed a bit. "Himeko, i'll be going too"

"You chose quite quickly" she smiled softly and nodded her head.

"Wait, Ryan is coming?" March spoke and Stelle immediately chuckled.

"Stelle, not a word." Dan Heng warned the trailblazer.

"Aeon stuff...I don't get it yet, but experiencing this universe might help me to decide on what kind of Aeon I want to be..." He sighed a bit but then smiled. "The good thing is that it's my first real adventure in a long time"

"That's great Ryan! Be careful though, I heard that in Jarilo-VI there's a plague named 'ligma'." Stelle warned Ryan and the boy tilted his head to the side.

"What is Ligma?"

After a few minutes, the pod of the Astral Express fell slowly on some snow, one of the doors slowly opened and the group of four came out of it, Stelle having now the mark of a hand on her face.

"I can't believe you facepalmed me so hard you let your hand printed on me..." Stelle groaned a bit rubbing her face.

"Remember that when you make another joke of the saw con" Ryan scoffed a bit.

"Saw con?" Stelle looked at him a bit weird but then her expression filled with horror. "Don't you dare-!"

"Saw con my bal-"

"Ryan! Don't be influenced by the grey gremlin" March grabbed Ryan's shoulders shaking him a bit.

"Enough you three, let's go, I found some coordinates with a temperature high enough for normal life to exist."

"Yeah...this place is kinda cold" Stelle hugged herself a bit.

"The trailblazer path gives us some adaptability to harsh environments, so don't worry!" March smiled but then looked at Ryan. "Ryan, you're not a Trailblazer, how are you doing?"

"Uh? I'm fine, this low temperature it's actually kind of refreshing" he smiled a bit. "Besides, it reminds me of a place I...visited some time ago"

"Uh? How was it?" March asked a bit curious.

"Cold, white, a bunch of snow...and a tribe that wanted to sacrifice a little girl."

"What kind of world do you live in?!" March blurted out.

"Anyways~ let's go, Dan Heng, you go in the front." Ryan smiled towards Dan Heng and he nodded with his head.

"Yes, let's go" he spoke and then started to slowly walk.

The four of them walked through the snow, a small storm making the snow fall on them, they reached what seemed to be a house buried under the snow, only the roof of the house was visible, which meant that the snow had been falling for a long...very long time.

"This must be the work of the Stellaron..." Dan Heng frowned a bit.

"Do you think that people still live around here?" Ryan asked.

"I can't say...but the place we're going to is a first good place to explore, let's continue"

"Wait!" March stopped them suddenly. "I-I think I saw something moving"

"Are you sure?" Stelle asked looking at the girl.

"Yeah! My eyesight is perfect!"

"Uhm...let's go, be ready" Dan Heng spoke and again started to walk.

They kept walking through the snow, trying to see if they could see what March spoke about, they did indeed see something slightly blue move, and hide inside of a small mountain of snow, they stopped in front of the bunch of snow and stared down at it.

"Pst!" Ryan muttered a bit catching the attention of the other three. "It's a person, I can hear his breathing."

"You can hear his breathing? That's some good hearing." Stelle looked at him a bit amazed.

"Hmph!" March got close to the bunch of snow. "Hey! Get out of there, you'll freeze to death!"

"...."

"Holding your breath now won't work! My friend already heard you!"

"Don't worry March~" Stelle smiled and pulled out her bat. "I think he's stuck, a little push will help him."

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Dan Heng crossed his arms.

"Dan Heng is right..." Ryan started and then approached Stelle rising up his hands. "Let me use some strengthening magic on you."

"Yeah~ buffing time."

Ryan pointed his hands towards Stelle, a magic circle appearing under her feet making her body glow a bit, the trailblazer smiled and rose her bat above her head, the baseball bat started to glow, and then she flung the bat down.

"AHHHHH!!!"

a bunch of snow was thrown towards the air, the big amount of snow fell on the group of four, Stelle having an innocent happy smile, March seemed to be a bit nervous, Ryan seemed oddly proud and Dan Heng just looked a bit irritated.

"W-what the hell was that?!"

The man hidden in the snow screamed a bit scared looking at the group of four, clearly shocked by the absurd display of strength.

"Good, looks like you're alive after all" Stelle smiled happily.

"D-don't you know that Gepard is my buddy?!"

"Uh? Who?" March tilted her head to the side.

"Wait...you guys are not with the silvermane guards? Then why didn't you say so earlier?!" He quickly got up, still a bit shaky. "Turns out we're on the same side, the name's Sampo Koski, glad to see some friendly faces in the same line of business"

"Fine, Sampo...where are you from?"

"Oh? From our dear Belobog of course! No need to act like if you didn't know~ we are all between friends after all"

"What were you doing hiding in the snow?" Dan Heng asked rising a brow.

"Well, would you blame me? I was out here searching for relics when I suddenly saw all of you stomping over here, I thought you were the silvermane guards paying me a visit" he ruffled his hair a bit but then grinned widely. "But it's not your fault~ there're no hard feelings."

"We don't know who those Silvermane Guards are." March spoke crossing her arms above her chest.

"Wait you...you really don't know?" He looked now a bit confused but quickly cleared his throat. "They are Belobog's soldiers, enforcers and police, they might not be the most flexible though" he smiled looking at the group of four. "All of you really seem to be new in this line of business, so as a senior, I'll give you some free guidance."

"No need to" March spoke looking at Sampo a bit cautious.

"Just take us to the city, we don't know our way around." Stelle crossed her arms above her chest.

"T-the city? Already? I haven't even started to trade, showing the way is easy enough, missy, but it'd cost-" he quickly stopped talking and cleared his throat. "It'd be my pleasure! 'kindness' is Sampo Koski's middle name, follow me, my friends! And keep quiet, we don't want the guards to notice us." Smiling he started to slowly walk, letting the other follow behind him.

"What kind of business do you do?" Stelle asked.

"The usual, my friends~ trade, exchange, charity, of course some Guards don't like that I go around offering good deals, they don't want the poor to have good things..." He seemed to start sobbing as he rubbed one of his eyes.

"He's part of a Black Market or something isn't he?" Ryan raised an eyebrow looking at Sampo.

"Always remember my friends! Rule number one; never leave footprints!" Sampo smiled but then suddenly stopped.

The 5 of them stopped walking as they saw 3 guards approaching, they wore blue jackets, black pants with boots, and a black helmet besides holding halberds on their hands.

"Who are they?" Dan Heng spoke softly.

"You remember the Silvermane Guards I mentioned? Those are them...help me, old friends! I don't wanna be caught!" Sampo spoke loudly and then started to run away.

"Hey! It's the suspect and his accomplices!"

"H-hey! Where do you think you're goi-!" March followed Sampo with her eyes.

"March, watch out!"

Ryan quickly put himself in front of March and grabbed the halberd with his hands, cutting his palms a bit, he quickly moved the weapon to the side letting it crash against the snow and he quickly gave an open-handed strike to the guard's chest before hitting his stomach with his elbow throwing him to the ground.

"I really need to get myself a new weapon..."

"Hey! We haven't done anything yet!" Stelle pointed her finger at one of the guards.

"Yet?!" The guard on the ground screamed as he got up.

"Goddamnit Stelle..." Dan Heng looked a bit irritated at the girl.

"Arrest them!"

The three guards got into position and ran towards the group of four, one of them roared whole charging at them, but most of his body was immediately frozen by a couple of arrows and then he fell to the ground.

Another one of them attacked Dan Heng but he quickly sidestepped and gave him three quick pokes on the chest before hitting his legs to make him fall and then he sat on his back.

The third one went towards Stelle but she gave him a strong hit with her bat on the crotch making him groan and fall on his knees, she gave him a kick on the face making him fall and started to kick him repeatedly.

"Fight back bitch!" Stelle looked down on him as she kept kicking him. "Fight back!"

"Are these really trained soldiers?..." Ryan looked at them with a bit of pity.

"I feel like a bully now" March sighed a bit.

"Relinquish your resistance now!"

The group of four looked to where the voice came from, seeing a blonde man with silver armor and holding what seemed to be...a giant suitcase? In reality, it was just a very big shield.

"I hope that using suitcases as weapons isn't something normal here..." Ryan looked at the blonde with a nervous smile.

"I Gepard Landau, captain of the Silvermane Guards, order you to relinquish your futile resistance!"

"Hey! It's not our fault, that Sampo guy tricked us!" March spoke a bit angry. "Ugh! You know what? Fine, catch hands now and talk later."

"March!" Dan Heng looked at the girl.

"Enough! If you insist in resisting-" Gepard gave a stomp with his shield and a blue aura surrounded him. "I won't hold back!"

Gepard quickly ran towards them, throwing a strike with his suitcase towards Dan Heng, he tried to block it with his spear but the force still pushed him back quite a lot, the guard under Dan Heng quickly got up and grabbed his halberd.

March quickly shoot three arrows towards Gepard but he dodged the first two and blocked the third one with the suitcase, he then run towards her but Stelle got in the way throwing an attack with her bat, he easily blocked it making Stelle bounce a bit because of the block, Gepard quickly bashed his shield against her throwing her away.

"Guards! Surround-!"

Gepard turned around to see to the guards but they were piled up one over he other, completely unconscious, he quickly turned around to see at the others, but he watched how Ryan was in front of him, an ethereal Katana on his hand, he threw a quick slash against his neck, Gepard concentrated on strengthening his shield, but Ryan quickly dashed away standing alongside the others.

"He backed away? He realized I made the shield stronger?"

He felt something warm dripping down his neck...

He quickly drove a hand to his neck and looked at his fingers, he had a small superficial cut on his neck, he frowned and looked at Ryan, that simply dismissed the ethereal weapon and crossed his arms above his chest.

"There's no need to continue, let's talk" Ryan spoke while looking at him.

"You've proved your point..." Gepard closed his eyes but then straightened his posture looking at the group seriously. "Explain yourself, now."

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A/N: And that's today's chapter! Yet again, could've made the fight better but meh, I think it was alright.

Stelle is becoming more gremlin-like by the minute, and the gremliness is affecting Ryan too.

Anyways! Hope you enjoyed.