Chapter 15

"Rule Number Seven! Never leave a footprint behind. I have my own special technique called 'Invisible Snow-Walking.' Helps me throw off pursuers in no time," 

The road was quiet except for Sampo. Honestly, I was starting to consider whether taping his mouth shut was worth the trouble if it meant shutting him up.

"You do know, the more you talk about your rules, the more I'm inclined to believe you're a criminal," I said quite tiredly.

Sampo took a surprised look. Something tells me he was just faking it. "I told you, dear Ethan, I am no such thing!"

"..." Was it wrong for this guy's face to be so punchable from my point of view?

Sampo cleared his throat. "Anyways, that's enough chit-chat, friend Ethan. Now, let's go on to Rule Number Eight! One must—Oh."

Sampo clamped his mouth shut and suddenly came to a stop. I looked over to see what was the cause and saw three people wearing blue outfits, steel plates on their arms and knees, and metal helmets ahead of us. All three of them had weapons, namely poleaxes, an axe that somehow looked like it was infused with a spear.

No doubt about it, they must be from Belobog, the ones Sampo talked about. Looking at them made me wonder. Is this world medieval?

"Who are they?" Dan Heng asked, crossing his arms with a frown on his face as he turned to Sampo.

"Told you he's bad news," I grumbled.

Sampo looked nervous. "Uh, you remember the Silvermane Guards I mentioned? Well, that's them."

"Should we hand him over?" I asked Dan Heng, who looked considerate of that option.

"Ouch, those are painful words, friend Ethan. It's like having a sharp sword pierced into my pure old heart. How can you say that to your friend?"

I looked at Sampo, not amused. "Really? When did I say we're friends—"

"Maybe we should help him, Sampo is all nice to us after all," March tried to point out. I looked at her, exasperated. Before I could speak, the Silvermane Guards shouted.

"It's the suspect and his accomplices! Arrest them!"

"We're not!" I shouted back.

"How can you say that after all we've been through, friend Ethan!"

"Can you just shut up for once?!"

"I don't think they're gonna be convinced," Stelle said. I had to agree with her.

I sighed. "Fine." As much as I don't like fighting, and considering they know about my watch, I doubt they will let me stay idle even if I want to.

Goddamn it, I should really have kept it a secret.

"Yay! I knew I could count on you, friends!" Sampo smiled warmly.

"..." I stared at him before turning to focus. "If somehow we clear our name, we're handing this guy to them," I stated, not bothering to see his reaction.

"That's a good joke, friend Ethan, hahaha."

"..."

"You're joking, right?"

I ignored him as I watched the three Silvermane Guards, who were on alert. Though I wasn't happy with the decision, I had no choice.

All of us pulled out our weapons. March with her bow, Dan Heng with his spear, Stelle with her baseball bat, and me, with my watch.

…Yeah, stating it that way doesn't really do justice to me.

"Everyone get ready," Dan Heng announced as he prepared his spear.

I cracked my neck and raised my wrist. "Elemental Form Lightning!" 

The Silvermane Guards' arms lowered as they appeared surprised, seeing a bright light of electricity that suddenly came out of nowhere. I really can't blame them, even though I don't know how that came to be. I just shrugged it off and called it one of the watch's "unknown bullshits."

"What the heck was that?!" one of the guards shouted, clearly alarmed.

"Stay on guard, men! Just because they spawn lightning out of nowhere doesn't mean we should falter."

"That's the spirit! Way to go, boss!"

I calmly glanced at them with a serious look. I gotta respect them for that, even I would shit my pants if I didn't know better.

Sampo whistled, eyeing me with an interested look. "Nice clothes you got there, friend." He gave me a thumbs-up of approval.

I gave him a look "Thanks" I said before turning to Dan Heng. "Do we really have to do this?"

Dan Heng nodded. "Having Sampo with us acting friendly won't convince them."

"If we acted badly toward him, can't it show we're not his accomplice?"

"I'm right here, you know?" Sampo spoke up.

Dan Heng seemed to consider that option until March added, "But won't it make us seem like the bad guys?"

"Huh? He's already the bad guy. In fact, it should make us the good guys instead," I replied, crossing my arms and giving her an incredulous look.

"But…"

"How about this? We'll let Dan Heng decide." I suggested.

March nodded, agreeing with me. "Alright. Dan Heng is always good with decisions. I trust him!"

And so we waited.

"We're gonna have to stick with the plan."

My face fell to disappointment. Seriously?

"Fine. But I'm still open to ending this peacefully" I grumbled under my breath. "What's the battle plan?" 

"Simple. We knock them out and don't hurt them too much. We don't want unnecessary attention on ourselves on a planet we know little about," Dan Heng replied.

I nodded. Good point. "How about this? I'll distract them and you guys do the offensive parts."

Dan Heng gave a nod back in response before I blitzed my way toward them.

The guards were shocked at the speed I was going. They tried to swing their axes at me but failed to land a single hit. If they tried, I would simply move to the side or behind them in just under a second. It was awfully amusing seeing them try so hard but fail nonetheless.

Is this how some felt after having a greater advantage over the other?

"Too slow."

"Oops, too slow again."

"Try again."

While I was annoying the hell out of the three, March, Dan Heng, and Stelle began their assault.

March let out a barrage of ice pom-poms, pausing the guards' actions momentarily, which gave me an opportunity to strike one in the head. My fist collided with the metal helmet, knocking out the guard in one punch. There was a sharp pain in my hand, but that quickly disappeared. I wasn't really going for the offensive, but seeing one so open, I just couldn't help myself. Hopefully, that hit didn't do any major damage.

Stelle went up to one of them and struck one of them in the abdomen, hurtling the guard backward.

"Ouch," I winced, seeing the fallen guard clutching his stomach. But Stelle didn't stop there. She swung her bat again and landed a strike on the Silvermane Guard's head.

"..." Isn't she doing a bit too much?

Stelle turned around and gave me a thumbs-up with a grin. I stared at her, not knowing whether I should be worried about that girl's psychopathic behavior. That girl is awfully stubborn.

The last one was quickly taken care of by Dan Heng, who had no issue in the fight. Seeing the three on the ground, unconscious, I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"That was… kinda exhilarating." It was my first ever fight with a person. Even though I didn't do much, I did help, and having it be the first time was honestly pretty good if I say so myself.

"That was amazing, my friends! I knew I could count on you," Sampo quickly approached us with a smile. Of course, the dude who was basically a criminal on the run, who didn't even help, just gave us a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, save the pleasantries for later, would ya?" I told him. That's when I heard a shout behind me.

"Enough!"

Just a few meters apart from us stood a blonde-haired dude with armor similar to the Silvermane Guards, but a lot more… what was the term? Noble-looking. However, that wasn't the thing that caught my attention. Rather, it was the thing he was holding at his side. A shield, if it may look like it. From where I stood, it looked awfully like a guitar case. Like seriously, it was shaped like a guitar case.

"Let me handle this!" March declared and pulled her bow, shooting another volley of ice arrows at the blonde dude.

The blonde dude surprisingly blocked all of March's attacks effortlessly as a blue, holographic shield was placed in front of him after setting his palms forward, bringing a surprised gasp from March.

"W-What? How?!"

He did so effortlessly. I thought, wincing at the sight of how easily the ice arrows broke upon contact. Still… What's the use of his guitar shield?

"I got this," I said, curling my hand into a fist. Electricity immediately began coating around my fist. With one foot forward, I dashed at him at an electrifying speed. As expected, he used the same shield as he did to March to block my collision with him, resulting in a terrifying shock wave.

*Crack*

I heard something snap. I thought I got him right there, but I was wrong. Instead, I was the one who was pushed back.

"You okay, Ethan?!" March's worried voice came up to me after I'd fallen to the ground. It wasn't a hard landing, but rather a soft one thanks to the snow.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," I said. With the help of Stelle, I stood up.

When I turned to see how the blond dude was doing, to my surprise, he was doing absolutely fine. Aside from being pushed off a bit further, he seemed unscathed.

That started to make me think that the shield he had was no joke. He was able to block my attack without even moving an inch. Though I did hear a crack, it wasn't able to fully penetrate his shield. Here I thought they were normal humans, but no, supernatural forces just had to be there.

​Not only that, the way how fast he reacted to my attack really proved he's leagues better than those guards. Seriously, here I thought I was really fast. I guess my speed will only take me not that far.

Dan Heng quickly went up to him with a spear in hand. The blond dude stared at the approaching enemy with a calm look. When Dan Heng thrust his spear forward, the blond dude raised his shield just in time, deflecting the blow with ease. That didn't stop there; Dan Heng quickly adapted, and it was followed by multiple thrusts and slashes at him, forcing the blond dude to step back. However, after being pushed back for several seconds, the blond dude shoved the shield forward, nearly knocking Dan Heng off balance. Seeing an opening, he slammed the shield into Dan Heng's side, sending him crashing into a nearby rock wall.

Stelle quickly caught up behind him undetected and attempted to strike him in the head with her bat, but was unsuccessful as the blond dude quickly caught the bat itself, completely halting Stelle's movements momentarily and stopping her cold in her tracks. This pause was just enough to give him an opening to strike her in the stomach, forcing her to jerk back. Without hesitation, he slammed his shield into her, sending her backward and landing flat on the ground.

"I said… Enough!" The blond dude declared, planting his shield on the ground. "I, Gepard Landau, the captain of the Silvermane Guards, order you to relinquish your further resistance—"

Before he could speak further, March intervened by shooting a hail of ice pom-poms above him.

"Now, Ethan!"

While he was distracted, I sneaked in front of him. I caught a glimpse of his eyes landing on me, his arms starting to raise. But no.

It was too late.

I got him.

"Electric punch!" I shouted as my fist slammed into his chest, sending him flying back several meters. 

"Take that," I muttered. The anger I had before diminished after seeing him being thrown off. God, that felt strangely good and exhausting.

Wait, did he just say his name was Gepard? If I remember correctly, Sampo mentioned that name. Old friend my ass; he doesn't even look like he was a friend to him.

I turned to Dan Heng and Stelle with a worried look. "You guys okay?"

Both nodded as they got back on their feet. "I'm fine, but are you?" Dan Heng questioned.

I blinked. "Uhm, I'm not bleeding, am I?" I asked nervously.

"No."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "You had me worried there for a second."

"But you look a lot worse," Dan Heng added, much to my confusion.

"Eh?"

"Anyways, that was a cool name. Electric punch, was it?" Stelle asked with curious eyes. I tensed up. Did they hear that? Okay, now I'm fucking embarrassed.

"Uhm, that was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing," I tried to shrug it off. But I could clearly see a playful smile spreading over Stelle's lips.

I don't think she believed me.

"Do you want me to name some of your moves? I'm pretty good at it," she suggested.

"Uh… I'll get you back on that later," I coughed awkwardly. Damn it, I really should tone down on my chuunibyou side. Can't blame me, though; shouting the move you're about to do was kinda awesome. Like seriously, it's kind of cringe in a way, but can't say I hate it.

I returned my attention back to Gepard, who looked quite alright from the looks of it. Even his armor still showed no signs of damage. Seriously, is this armor made of vibranium or something? I did, however, see a pained look on his face as his sharp glare was directed at me. I think I made him pissed.

Seriously, when does he give up? He was like a shielder or a tank in a video game. That brought me many flashbacks to the many MMORPGs I played back in the day. Ah, the raids—they were good times and bad times.

"Guys! We have a problem. Sampo's gone!"

I turned to March, whose expression was one of pure disbelief.

"What?" Did I hear that correctly? "Did March just say Sampo left?" I asked Stelle for confirmation. She nodded in response.

"He disappeared! He was behind us a moment ago!" March explained with a panicked look, which quickly turned to anger. "When I get my hands on him, I will—"

"Can't say I'm surprised," I sighed. I should be angry, but I already expected much of him to ditch us sooner or later. It was more surprising that he didn't do that sooner.

"So? Change of plans?"

Before Dan Heng could provide a response, Stelle suddenly shouted, pointing directly ahead.

"Watch out!" Our heads turned to where she was pointing. There, we saw Gepard high feet up in the air. The guitar shield he had glowed bright yellow. "In the name of preservation!" Before any of us could react, his shield hit the ground, releasing a powerful shockwave that hurled us as if we were dolls.

I spat the snow out of my mouth and quickly got back on my feet. "Okay, that was something."

Stelle's head poked out from the snow. It was only her head, though, as her entire body was buried in snow. "I don't feel so good."

"Cold?"

"Yes," she answered simply. The way she said it so nonchalantly made me doubt her words.

"Guys, I think I'm stuck," March's muffled voice came from the snow.

"...." It took me great effort to not laugh at her. Hold it, Ethan, hold it.

But I couldn't let her be. Firstly, I quickly helped Stelle out of the snow and told her to help March. She has a greater deal of strength than I do. Dan Heng quickly got himself out of the snow without much of a problem.

My eyes went up ahead and fixated on Gepard. I took on a thoughtful look.

"Let me try something real quick," I said after a moment. If close range won't work on him, I guess I have to take the other option.

"Don't overdo it," Dan Heng reminded..

"Don't worry, I won't," I waved it off in a nonchalant manner. Taking a deep breath, I began pulling as much electricity as I could into my palms. When I felt I had gathered enough, I didn't hesitate and unleashed it all at Gepard in a single blast. The collision was immediate as the burst of electricity cracked through the air like it tearing it right through and what followed was a a loud explosion. Snow erupted from the ground, scattering in every direction, stacking the already snow on the ground atop of each other. I felt like a leaf; my body felt so light that I struggled to stay on my feet. The attack drained me completely. 

Eventually, my legs gave out, and I dropped to my knees, gasping for breath. I gripped my shirt near my chest and breathed heavily. 'Fuck, not gonna do that anytime soon,' I grimly reminded myself. I must have overdone it this time.

"Ethan, are you okay?" Stelle asked worriedly beside me. She extended her hand and helped me get back on my feet.

 "Thanks… again."

She nodded as she turned her head to where Gepard was. And there he was, with his shield in front. Even from afar, I saw the shield contained minimal to no damage at all. When he placed his shield to the side, he looked completely unscathed.

"Seriously? After all that effort?" I muttered to myself, disappointed. "I think I have to sit this one out, guys. I'm famished."

"I don't think that's necessary," Dan Heng said. "Ethan, what you said earlier about ending this peacefully. I think it may be possible in our current situation."

"Huh? After all of that, really?" I asked, doubtful. I mean, I did shot 

"Look." He pointed at Gepard. "Even standing completely without a hint of fatigue. I don't clearly believe it. When you look closer, he is already showing signs of it."

"So you're saying my attack did a number on him?" 

"Precisely. I don't think he is gonna like this fight going on much longer than it already has."

"...." Well, what's this feeling bubbling inside of me? Pride? Excitement? Was I really that strong of an opponent? The mere thought of it was enough to bring me into a daze.

"Do you think he'll believe us that we're completely innocent?" March asked.

"I'm not sure. We have to pick our cards carefully to make sure no suspicions are placed on us. If it works out well, then this will be easy going from there," Dan Heng answered calmly.

"I don't think I'm gonna believe that," I chuckled. First hour on the planet, and we had already gotten into a fight. What's more out there? "So what are we waiting for?"

Dan Heng nodded as we began making our way towards Gepard.

+++====++++

"...and the prime suspect? The one with the blue hair?"

"Apologies, Captain! W-We lost him during the pursuit, and… we can't find his footprints."

We heard them conversing, and as we got closer, Gepard finally placed his attention on us."No matter, we have his accomplices. He'll be close by, plotting his next move." 

Surprisingly, he was awfully calm about this. Should he be? You know? Angered? I guess what Dan Heng said was true. He was getting tired.

"Ahh! It's them Captain! Who knocked us out cold!"

"Can you shut up?"

"Ehh? Sorry Ley!"

"Don't say my real name out loud, idiot!"

Seeing no one responding from our side, I decided to take one for the team. I raised both my hands. "I think this is all a misunderstanding."

Stelle nodded. "We are not his accomplices, trust us."

"Yeah, we'd never teamed up with someone like him!" March added with an angry look.

Gepard seemed unconvinced as his brows furrowed a bit.

"I'm not trying to talk my way out of this, but… we're not friends with that scoundrel," March continued with a growl. "Did you see how fast he ditched us?"

"She's got a point there," I pointed out, but all I got was a glare from the guy. Right, he seemed to hold a grudge against me.

"We rescued him from the snow out of our hearts. We had no idea he was using us to get past you!" March huffed, crossing her arms.

I think I might disagree with that, I thought silently, shaking my head.

"Are you really dumb enough to fall for his—" March tried to add, which Gepard interrupted.

"I'm a captain, not an adjudication panel. As a Belobog citizen, you have the right to defend yourself, but that can only take place under the scrutiny of the Architects, not now." Gepard sternly reminded, gesturing to his guards. "Take them away."

Before his guards could do that, I lifted my finger and spoke. "Aight, not so fast, boys. There's a bit of a problem with what you said, Captain."

"Oh? What may that be?" Gepard turned to look at me, interested.

I gave him a cracked grin. "We're not from Belobog."

"...."

"Do you think that lie could potentially—" The guard tried to say, but I firmly cut her off.

"Not a lie."

"..."

"He's right!" March nodded in agreement.

"Do our clothes even bear any resemblance to yours?" Stelle questioned.

"Silence!" The guard finally snapped. "What kind of nonsense are you—"

"As you were," Gepard suddenly intercepted, bringing the enraged guard into silence. "We must not be tempted into careless judgment. Look at their relics. We've never excavated like them before, and I haven't seen anything similar in our museums."

"Bingo!" I snapped my fingers as a smile spread across my face. "Good to have one with some decent brain cells."

The guard growled at that. I merely flashed her a smile.

"Exactly! We even have photos; want a look?" March stepped forward, holding a photo in hand. "You've probably never seen what your planets look like, right? I took this one; behold, Jarilo-VI."

Several seconds passed after they took a look at the photo. Even with the helmet on, I could clearly see a baffled look among the guards.

"...You mean to say that this… white ball… that's here? That's our home? How can that…" Yeah, the surprise and disbelief were clear judging from their voices. I even wondered if they knew what a planet was.

"..." Gepard placed a hand below his chin in silence before he began. "It is said that a long time ago, strange visitors from beyond the sky would visit us here… but that after the Eternal Freeze, the blizzards made passage impossible and Belobog would cease to witness such arrivals."

"But these people are—" one of the guards tried to say, but was firmly cut off.

"The decision is beyond us. If what they said is true, then only the supreme guardian may decide their fate. Our job is to present them before her. Nothing more," Gepard stated firmly.

I perked up after hearing that. Supreme Guardian? This must be their queen, I thought.

Gepard turned his back on us. "Outsiders, follow me. Belobog lies beyond this blizzard."

"Uhm, is it far?"

"Yes."

They didn't say any more words after that.

I turned to the rest, awaiting their decision on the matter. Seeing no one had spoken anything, I said, "So?"

"We follow them," Dan Heng replied with a serious look.

"We won't get arrested, right?" March asked nervously.

Dan Heng said nothing as he took the lead.

I turned to March with a grin. "Congratulations, March. Welcome to the criminal world."

"Hey! You're one to talk!"