Scourges Gather

Clang~ clang~ clang~

The road to the Navigator Sanctum was somewhat silent.

Arthur quietly hacked people apart at the front of the group, while Romulus hung back behind him, mechanically firing his Bolter in low-frequency bursts, clearly distracted.

He had used the large chunk of points that had suddenly popped up to summon a few troops, helping the Astra Militarum hold the various strategic passages throughout the cruiser.

Crunch~

With one slash, Arthur split an Ork apart, then raised his foot and crushed a Gretchin that had been sneaking away with its boss's teeth. He noticed that aside from the Astra Militarum stationed at those Defense Nodes, there were visibly fewer living creatures still moving.

Whether xenos or human, in the chaotic region of the Warp where there were no supplies to speak of, they had gradually bled out their final drop of blood amid the melee, leaving behind nothing but death.

"Arthur, are you okay?"

Romulus, still micromanaging numerous Ultramarines as they cleared the decks, looked at Arthur and asked.

Ever since they had killed that Chaos Space Marine, something had been off about Arthur's state of mind.

"I'm fine."

Arthur shook his head and gripped his sword tightly.

"I'm just a little frustrated."

Cypheris Gage had faced a battle of attrition and, despite his armor's backpack being damaged, had still reclaimed sixteen Gene-seeds from those honorless Chaos heretics.

Such an unyielding warrior had died right before him. Arthur, who had always held special feelings toward heroic figures like that due to his past education, found it hard to let go.

"Relax. He definitely returned to the Golden Throne already. The Warp is Old Man Gold's home turf."

Romulus was much calmer.

Or rather, he had already experienced a Warhammer 40k-specific cultural shock before meeting Arthur.

"But even the Emperor isn't omnipotent in the Warp."

Arthur answered sadly. If the Emperor could protect his warriors, then this attack from the Warp could never have happened.

If not for them, that warrior and the Gene-seeds he had protected might even have become part of a Warp sacrifice, forever unable to reach the Emperor they believed in.

A typical case of good people getting no reward—fighting for humanity to the death, only to end up tortured by a Chaos God.

"Ugh."

Even Romulus could not help sighing this time.

After all, besides Grandpa Emperor, there were four piles of shit in the Warp.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about this anymore. The more we talk, the angrier I get."

Arthur shook his head, flinging those negative emotions out of it.

"Still, is it really okay to chat while micromanaging?"

"It's fine. My brain can handle it for now."

Romulus did not care.

"Besides, you know how it was when I played games. I multitasked plenty back then."

"You're seriously ruthless."

Arthur could not help giving him a thumbs-up. Even though his brain was pretty superhuman now, his way of thinking had already been set. He still could not process multiple threads at once.

"Hmph."

Romulus shrugged, accepting the compliment, when Arthur's next question came over.

"So, what are we doing after we get out?"

"You're planning to return the Gene-seeds?"

How could Romulus not know what his good brother was thinking?

"Yeah."

Arthur nodded.

"Since I promised, I have to do it."

"True."

Romulus nodded in agreement.

Leaving aside the fact that none of them could violate their own moral standards by breaking a promise to such a great warrior, Arthur had even sworn to the Emperor, so they had to see it through.

Because gods genuinely existed in the 40k universe. If you swore to some sorcerous old salted meat and still dared break your word, the next time you made a Warp jump, he might toss you into some godforsaken corner because you stepped out with your left foot first.

After all, no matter how much the Emperor himself denied it, believing in him really did work.

Though Romulus guessed they were most likely noble Lesser Gods of the Warp themselves, or at worst some kind of existence packed with absurd tricks, practically immune to interference from other Warp powers.

But then again, they had received a proper education. They were not those piles of shit in the Warp. They still had the basic morality to keep their promises.

"Let's discuss it together after we find the other two. We can exchange information while we're at it and decide on our plans for the future."

Sharing the Ultramarines' vision, Romulus watched severely mutated Astra Militarum soldiers beg the demigods to grant them honorable deaths.

"..."

Romulus shut down emotionally.

With their own worries on their minds, the two continued all the way to the Navigator Sanctum, where they found a Blood Angel with his head lowered, dozing off.

"Oh, you're here."

Compared to the crazed state he had been in when they first met, Karna now looked remarkably optimistic. The lazy air in his voice seemed ready to spill out of the screen, something not just anyone could pull off.

"Yeah, the Geller Field situation's handled. Now it depends on whether Ramesses II can pull the ship out."

The two waved in greeting, and Romulus replied.

"Then go on in first. With you two there, maybe you can help him think it through."

Karna stepped aside. Only after both of them had entered did he trail along at the back of the group.

Buzz~~

The moment they entered, blinding light filled their vision.

The sudden shift in brightness did not trouble their superhuman eyesight. Their pupils adjusted in an instant to the overly bright surroundings, allowing Arthur to clearly see the scene within the sanctum.

Twisted corpses covered the ground, with shattered flesh and metallic dust scattered everywhere, like a mischievous child had knocked over a paint can and spilled it all over the floor.

In the Navigator's seat within the sanctum floated a Red-armored Iron Rider Terminator.

"Thousand Sons?"

Arthur had thought that aside from their Imperium Secundus group, the remaining ones would be other Loyalists.

"Ramesses II doesn't play Space Marine 2, but he plays Thousand Sons on tabletop. The starting appearance probably has something to do with the Chapters we subconsciously like."

Romulus guessed.

"It wasn't easy getting him to play with us once, and he came straight over."

Karna smacked his lips.

"He cried the hardest right after we got transported here. Well, Arthur probably doesn't know much about that."

"He was busy chopping people up when he got transported. He hacked away for half the day before he ran into me."

Romulus could not help complaining. He truly admired his childhood friend sometimes.

He looked refined and gentle on ordinary days, but once he got worked up, he usually solved problems with his fists, and he hit brutally hard. Back in elementary school, he had beaten the little brats who tore up his homework until they cried for their parents.

"...Khorne the Second would definitely like you."

"Romulus already said that."

Arthur ignored his companion's teasing and asked, "What about you?"

"I figured it out. Instead of tormenting myself from within, I might as well enjoy life."

Karna had an indifferent expression.

"You really know how to take things in stride."

"I can activate Black Rage and let it take over, so I have plenty of time to think."

"..."

The three chatted idly for a while before finally staring together at Ramesses, who was still floating in the air and glowing like a lightbulb.

By now, almost every living thing aboard the ship was dead. The Geller Field had been preserved, the Chaos Space Marines who had entered the vessel through the ritual had been dealt with, and the ship's core area was under control. It could be said that everyone had done what they needed to do.

Now it all depended on whether their buddy could get them out of the Warp.

"Quack!!!"

Just as the three waited silently, Ramesses, who had been quietly guiding the cruiser through the Warp, suddenly began struggling like a drowning fish.

What followed was a tremor that spread throughout the entire ship.

"?"