You Should Be Glad I'm Not You

Alex silently watched the Emperor's Angel, his gaze meeting eyes like blades, as if they could pierce through everything.

He did not look away.

"I believe you, Commissar."

The terrifying pressure dissipated.

The brief standoff quickly ended. Arthur raised his head and looked at every warrior.

Suddenly, he felt that this world still had hope.

Perhaps that hope would ultimately fade amid endless war and suspicion, but now, at this very moment—

Arthur sincerely hoped it would endure alongside these people's lives.

"I believe in all of you."

He spoke loudly.

"So the Emperor will not let his warriors die at a celebration after victory, nor on the road to their next victory."

Arthur neither understood nor agreed with the Imperium's practice of tolerating no threats, to the point of indiscriminately exterminating any being that had come into contact with, or might have come into contact with, Chaos.

"The path of sacrifice for humanity may be short, or it may be long."

"But—"

Arthur removed his helmet. His face was exceptionally young, slightly long golden hair falling loose as his emerald eyes swept across everyone present.

Everyone held their breath. Through those deep eyes, they seemed to see a Red Dragon that had restrained its flames and claws.

"No matter how long it lasts, I, Arthur Pendragon—"

He clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it heavily against his heart.

"I will walk on with you, to witness the death of glory."

Arthur's thoughts were simple. He did not want these soldiers to simply die, fall into the Warp, and become material for Demons to devour.

He wanted these soldiers to live, fulfill the duties they intended to spend their lives carrying out, and then go to the place where they belonged.

"For the Emperor, for humanity."

"For the Emperor, for humanity!"

"Now that is loyalty."

Karna sighed quietly. These Astra Militarum soldiers' loyalty to the Emperor was truly unshakable.

As for their bunch of Warhammer nerds...

He gnawed on a chicken wing and tilted his head toward the two people crouching before the astrolabe, doing who knew what.

Ask either of them, and they would say they were loyal. Call for either of them, and neither would come.

"So, are you done praying yet? And couldn't you study this mutation slowly? Who just charges in after a sudden idea? Perform surgery and give them mechanical prosthetics to save their lives first."

In a dark corner, Romulus punched Ramesses in the head.

"Don't you think this atmosphere is perfect for it? Besides, it doesn't conflict with anything. We've gathered everyone together, so we might as well try."

Ramesses adjusted his slightly crooked mask.

"By the way, how is Arthur so good at this? I wanted to ask when the meeting started. Where did he learn to speak so coolly?"

"Focus."

Romulus smacked his helmet again.

Thanks to the psychic isolation, no one paid attention to the ridiculous commotion in the corner.

"They're almost done over there."

"Relax, it should be fine. At worst, we won't be able to summon the Emperor. No one will die, for sure. With my strength in the Warp, anyone below a Greater Demon dies if they come."

Holding the astrolabe used to observe the Warp, Ramesses possessed an inexplicable confidence in his own operation.

"Should be?"

Romulus ignored the string of assurances that followed.

"It's my first time doing this. How can I be certain? Eighty-twenty odds. Eighty percent chance it works."

Ramesses carefully watched the movements in the Warp, trying his best to add all sorts of elements associated with the Emperor.

Judging from Realspace, even though the Great Rift had not yet opened and all manner of monsters and freaks had not fully revealed themselves to the Imperium's citizens, the Emperor's influence over the Realspace certainly could not be weaker than that of the Chaos Gods.

The Ecclesiarchy spread everywhere was not just for decoration.

"Chaos rituals can draw in the Chaos Gods, so why can't a prayer ritual draw in the Emperor? There's no reason for it. This is discrimination against the Emperor!"

"Let's hope so."

Romulus did not particularly like this kind of "surprise attack." It was only right to have the necessary trust in one's companions, especially since they were not the sort to miss every shot and then yell that the enemy was almost dead after being instantly killed.

Still, the feeling of being completely unprepared was truly unpleasant.

He looked resentfully at Arthur, who was surrounded by the crowd, afraid that several Astra Militarum soldiers would explode into piles of Demons that leapt out.

Arthur was the same. He actually dared let Ramesses do this.

Arthur, however, did not particularly care.

If Ramesses wanted to pray, then let him pray. It would be a good thing if he could summon the Emperor, but if he could not, was Arthur supposed to simply ignore these Astra Militarum soldiers?

They had to be dealt with regardless. If the Emperor responded, they would have more confidence; if not, then they could only do their best themselves.

Arthur did not intend to bite off more than he could chew either. Most of the Astra Militarum soldiers had mutated severely, and many could barely even stand. If Karna had not scanned the Adeptus Mechanicus' prosthetic data while wandering around earlier, Arthur would not have had much confidence at all.

"At least make more attempts. Do as much as we can."

After having the Commissar and Colonel go to the Sisters to settle the wounded, inspect and categorize in advance the areas that needed amputation, Arthur summoned the accompanying Tech-Priest.

These Adeptus Mechanicus priests, who believed in the Omnissiah, were another pillar of the Imperium. From the weapons used by every Imperial military branch to the warships cruising through space, almost all of them came from the Forge Worlds under their control.

"I do not recommend doing this, my lord."

Faced with the modifications Arthur proposed, the Tech-Priest in orange robes advised against them.

"The vast majority of them are not elite individuals qualified to use mechanical prosthetics. From a statistical perspective, even among elite individuals, most of them will be unable to repay the Omnissiah for this mechanical blessing before their deaths."

"Of course, I am not suggesting that you completely destroy these individuals. From a more economical standpoint, they should be converted into Servitors and continue serving the Omnissiah..."

How could a human mouth say something so cold?

Arthur took a deep breath and repeatedly reminded himself that this was Warhammer style. This world's Adeptus Mechanicus personnel all viewed humans in this damned way, and he would still need to rely on these people to perform mechanical modifications on the soldiers later.

In the end, he managed to restrain the urge to punch this man's head off and send him to meet the Omnissiah.

The Tech-Priest also wisely stopped speaking.

"You should be glad I'm not you."

Arthur stared at the Tech-Priest, whose body below the waist had been transformed into a spider-like powered exoskeleton.

"I still retain reverence for human life and dignity, which is why you can stand here intact."

"At the same time, I do not wish for some abnormal factor to make me judge a priest as Xenos, or as some other being that cannot be called human."

The Tech-Priest remained silent. The heat-dissipation pipes trembling slightly from overloaded operation exposed his nervousness.

"We will provide the mechanical components for the modifications."

Behind him, Romulus said in a deep voice, "You only need to follow orders."

After hearing this, the Tech-Priest immediately nodded.