Narrator's POV
Ryan seemed somewhat mesmerized by the sight, and in some sort of way, he felt that the place felt somewhat like his own home, the atmosphere was weirdly similar to the main city of Shion Island, with the exception of those Starskiff...he still wasn't trustworthy of those flying boats...
"On the Xianzhou Luofu, anything relating to aviation, navigation, and trade falls within the scope of the Sky-Faring Commission, which is one of the six commissions of the Luofu, and as the biggest port on the ship, Starskiff Haven is governed by the Sky-Faring Commission, too" the fox woman presented the place while giving a few steps forward.
"That was totally an NPC Script" Stelle decided to speak though March 7th quickly smacked the back of her head.
"Ignore her Ms.Tingyun! That was pretty informative" the pink haired girl laughed a bit nervous.
In reply, Tingyun let out a soft chuckle. "Anyways, we're safe now, so it'd be better if we go to the Palace of Astrum to let Madam Yukong know about your arrival"
"The Palace of Astrum?" Serval rose an eyebrow.
With a quick nod of her head, the fox woman pointed at a tall building in the distance "that building right there, it's the headquarters of the Sky-Faring Commission, let's go, we don't have much time" she immediately started to walk.
"Is there any reason why we should hurry so much?" Ryan asked a bit curious towards the woman.
Tingyun jumped lightly before sighing and looking at the group. "I don't want to rush you, but if I'm found accountable for not taking you all to Madam Yukong sooner I wouldn't want to be around for the consequences..."
"Huh, didn't you say she was a kind-hearted woman?" March scratched the back of her head.
"No need to worry Ms.Tingyun, we simply have to make a few preparations" Welt gave a step forward talking for the group. "Rest assured, we won't go anywhere, if you can inform Madam Yukong of our arrival, we'll meet you at the entrance of the Palace"
The woman seemed a bit unsure but ultimately gave a nod. "Very well" those were her only words before walking away.
As soon as she left, Welt let out a soft sigh. "She does move quite quickly, It's hard for me to keep up, I've spent too much time in the bench" he then drew his attention to the rest of the group. "Let's catch our breath, looks like we'll have a packed schedule ahead"
"I say we go to places with food...for information" Stelle spoke with a little smirk.
"Not so fast, Stelle" the Adult smirked back at her somewhat pleased with her excitement. "Our meeting with Madam Yukong won't be without risk, she'll have lots of questions for us..."
"Why we're here? How did we learn about the Stellaron? Who allowed us entry? I'm already expecting those kind of questions" Ryan added to Welt's words.
"Exactly, and careless answer will make us look suspicious or even hostile" the senior trailblazer continued.
"But if we are too scripted, it'll make us look like if we're hiding something too, right?" Serval asked with a hand on her chin.
"That's something we have to keep in mind too" Welt nodded.
"One of us is going to blurt out something dumb, I can already see it" March drove a hand to her head.
"I feel personally attacked by that comment" Stelle almost immediately glared at the girl.
"For now, let me do the talking" to Welt's words, the rest of the group nodded their head.
"Worst case scenario, Ryan opens his mouth" Stelle looked at the white-haired who deadpanned at her.
"Worst case scenario, you don't pay attention because you find a shiny trashcan" he talked back to the Racoon girl.
"I honestly just hope we don't get send to any hotel and then wake up being arrested..." March scratched the back of her head.
"Oh right, that happened to you guys in Belobog" Serval smiled with a mixture of amusement and nervousness. "I honestly hope the same"
"The Xianzhou Alliance is better than that...but let's go to the Palace now, we don't want to have them wait for long" Welt let out a soft sigh at the end before starting to walk.
...
Dan Heng looked through the window of the express, the sight of the Luofu gave him an unusual sense of anxiousness, and he felt it even more knowing that his friends were there, close to him, Himeko and Cocolia were sitting on one of the sofas, apparently drinking some coffee together.
"Dan Heng, you've been standing there for while, are you that worried about the others?" Himeko asked slowly putting her coffee cup down.
Instead of directly answering, the boy looked at her. "Himeko, do you have a copy of the Stellaron Hunter's transmission?" His question was quickly answered by her nodding her head. "Could I have a look?"
She thought it for a few seconds before standing up. "Sure"
The red haired woman slowly took her phone and pressing a few buttons, the recording of Kafka's transmission started, showing also the hologram in the middle of the wagon.
"Hmmm~ have any of you heard of the Luofu?"
"The Xianzhou Luofu? It belongs to the Hexafleet of the Xianzhou Alliance" Welt's voice echoed in the recording.
"Good, but what you haven't heard is that it's quite close to you, just a few warp jumps away...And also, 45 system hours ago...a Stellarons Burst occurred on the Luofu, an unexpected calamity, don't you think?"
"You want...the express to go to the Luofu and deal with the Stellaron?" Now, Ryan's voice was the one in the background.
"You see...that Stellaron has nothing to do with us, but the Xianzhou is convinced that we're responsible" the recording of Kafka waved her hand, and soon, another hologram appeared.
"Himeko! Stop it there" Dan Heng immediately perked up and the woman complied.
Staring at Blade's hologram, some sweat started to form on Dan Heng's forehead while his face slowly contorted in a mildly panicked expression, something that neither Himeko nor Cocolia ignored.
"Dan Heng, what's wrong?" Himeko asked with a little frown.
"This man...if he's on the ship, then everyone is in grave danger!" He frowned a little.
"Is he perhaps connected to that past you escape from?" The woman asked again softening her expression a little.
"I can't leave them down there! I...I'm afraid my past caught up to me, and everyone will be drawn in..."
"Dan Heng..." Himeko got close to him. "Is there anyone here who doesn't carry around a past burden? We tread on a path that is hidden from us, the things we see and the trails we blaze all become our baggage, they weigh us down, but they also give us strength to continue the journey." Slowly, a little smile formed on her face as she stared at Dan Heng. "The express spends 7 standard days on each stop, and the passengers are free to do as the please"
Catching on what the woman meant, Dan Heng's expression softened. "Himeko..."
"Don't think about it too hard Dan Heng, if there's something you must do, better do it now before you regret it down the line" with that, she slowly walked back to the sofa, sitting down on it. "Besides, you'll come back and travel with us once it's all over, right?"
He remained silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding his head. "I'm leaving, I gotta be quick"
"I'll be joining you"
Both Himeko and Dan Heng looked at Cocolia after sbe spoke, the blonde woman slowly standing up from her seat and walking close to Dan Heng, her eyes staring directly at his.
"Cocolia? What are your talking about?" Himeko asked, a bit wary of the woman's words.
"Before he left the express, Ryan ordered me to keep an eye on the express, specially on you" her words were directly thrown at Dan Heng. "Seems like he was worried you would be somehow dragged into the situation in this place"
"Ryan...was worried about me?" Dan Heng burrowed his brows a little. "Cocolia, I'm not sure if you should come..."
"I've already recovered physically, these new powers from my path are not as strong as the ones I had before but I can defend myself, and it was also a task given to me by Ryan" she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and talking again. "Will you really doubt Ryan's worry for you?"
"Are you really going to try and guilt-trip me?"
"I am, after all, a path strider of Guilt, am I not?" Her face remained stoic as Dan Heng silently thought about her words.
"...I'm not sure if I'll be able to protect you if things go south, and they'll very probably will"
"You won't have to, keep in mind, we fought against each other, I may not have as much power as before, but I haven't lost my skills"
Dan Heng slowly let out a small sigh. "Fine, but only because of Ryan's order, try to not weight me down, we can't waste time"
"I know, we must leave now" the blonde woman slowly nodded her head.
"So I'll be alone with Pom-Pom here?" Himeko asked a little amused at the other two. "A shame, Cocolia, I don't think it's necessary to say, but please, take care of Dan Heng"
"I'll do my best, Himeko" she bowed her head lightly.
"We're leaving, Himeko" with that, Dan Heng walked towards the door of the Express alongside Cocolia.
"Dan Heng" she called out a last time, making the boy look at her. "Good luck"
With a nod, he opened the door and without a single ounce of doubt he stepped outside of the Express with Cocolia right behind him.
After the Express closed, both of them immediately started to run, Dan Heng quickly pulled out his phone and sent a message to his friends.
________________________________________
[Dan Heng]
"Guys, where are all of you?"
Message Failed to send
[Dan Heng]
"I'll go find you"
Message Failed to send
________________________________________
Seeing the messages not sending, he clicked his tongue, he should probably change service after everything calmed down, he put his phone in his pocket and then looked around somewhat nostalgic while Cocolia silently followed behind him.
"Nothing seems to have changed ever since I left..." He stopped running and looked down. "This..."
"What is it?" Cocolia also looked down, staring at a piece of metal.
He slowly kneeled down, gently touching the piece of metal. "It's a piece of Cloud Knights Armour...they're the equivalent of Belobog's Silvermane Guards"
"Do you think they could've entered in conflict with the Express? From what I understand, the way we got access here seemed... suspicious"
"Not likely, Mr.Yang wouldn't have let it happen..." Even as he spoke, he lightly burrowed his brows.
"I hear fighting ahead, we should go" the blonde spoke up and he nodded.
"Let's go!"
Sushang gave a few steps back, letting out a small growl as she stared at 3 Mara-Struck soldiers ready to pounce at her, behind her, a blonde man stood at some distance with what seemed to be a coffin at his side.
"Stay where you are, this sort of stuff have to be dealt with by professionals" she smiled a bit confident while holding her sword with both.
Even though her face and posture basically showed her confidence, she still gulped lightly, she wasn't as worried about herself as she was worried about the civilian behind her, the three Mara-Struck jumped at her and she immediately got ready to retaliate.
The one from the left received a spear directly on the chest, not piercing its body but the gust of wind accompanied by the thrown weapon sent the Mara-Struck flying backwards, Dan Heng also immediately arrived and caught his weapon mid air.
Cocolia dashed through Sushang's side, the fingertips of her right hand were quickly surrounded by ice forming sharp claws in her fingers, with a quick swipe, she slashed across the Mara-Struck's chest throwing him back.
The girl immediately seemed to react and blocked the attack of the third Mara-Struck, quickly, she kicked him in the stomach pushing him back wards before slashing with her greatsword making a pretty big cut on its chest and also forcing it even more away from her creating some distance.
"U-Uh? Who are you two?!" She asked a bit confused.
"I think we have something else to do now" Dan Heng quickly grabbed his spear with both hands, tightening his grip.
"Y-yeah! You're right!"
"Cocolia! These things can come back to life, strike them down while they regenerate or completely destroy their bodies!" Dan Heng gave advice to the blonde woman who quickly nodded her head.
"Understood!"
The three Mara-Struck attacked again, Dan Heng clashed the long handle of his spear against the blades of the one that attacked him and then pushed it away with his entire weight to separate it from the rest.
Sushang parried an attack and backed off slightly, prompting the Mara-Struck to lunge at her with both blades but she immediately parried it followed by her stepping to the side and slashing down at the arms of the monster cutting them off, the Mara-Struck backed off but the girl quickly chased it down jumping and falling with a downwards slash splitting it in two, as it started to regenerate she immediately started to throw slash after slash to divide the remains as much as possible until all the pieces started to vanish.
Cocolia gave a small step backwards and leaned back to dodge a swipe from the Mara-Struck, rising her left leg, she created an ice spike in her heal and stepping down on the monster's foot she stabbed it pining it down against the floor with the Ice Spike, she then created some distance to dodge another attack of the now stuck monster, leaning forward, she dashed at the Mara-Struck, dragging the Ice claws across the ground before swiping upwards, both slashing her enemy's chest and also making some ice slashes rise up from the ground cutting right through the Mara-Struck, and as it started to regenerate, the blonde woman quickly stapled its chest with her hand, with a small grunt she focused and ice spikes formed inside of the Mara-Struck's body tearing through it completely letting it vanish slowly.
Dan Heng pushed the monster away from him and gave three stabs to the its chest, not strong enough to completely penetrate the monster but still enough to deal damage, as the Mara-Struck got ready to retaliate, he grabbed the extreme of his spear and ducked down to both dodge the incoming attack and also to sweep at the Mara-Struck's legs making it fall to the floor, then he stepped down on the enemy stabbing down at its chest this time completely going through the body and with a strong gust of wind from the tip of his spear he made the Mara-Struck's body burst out and immediately start to vanish.
"Careful!"
Dan Heng rose his head and Sushang moved in front of him, parrying a thrown spear that ended up buried on the ground, a shielded Mara-Struck got close with a new spear appearing in its hand, Cocolia joined the other two and as the fight was about to begin again, the man behind them decided to speak.
"This one seems tough"
As his voice slowly echoed in the place, the blonde man gave a few steps forwards joining the small group while some green and golden flowers bloomed on the ground, one hand gently holding a collar as his other one held a rapier.
"I can't really stay still while the three of you risk your lives, can I?"
Luocha joined the fight.
★ ★ ★
A/N: Another chapter in less than a month yeeeeey, I might start to update more regularly, but with the Silksong announcement I can't make promises
Anyways, hope you enjoyed.