Should We Go Back to Sleep Some More?

"Is this the treasure you found?"

Ordon Peyton couldn't understand why anyone would be excited about something that looked so ordinary.

It was a rectangular metal box that looked like it had been scorched by a fire—it was hollow inside, and he could sense that something seemed to be hidden inside.

The charred metal casing still emitted a foul sulfurous smell, and the remaining bloodstains seemed to tell of the fierce battle that had taken place before it was obtained.

But the metal was still incredibly hard.

No flame or cutting method can leave any mark on it.

The Augur Array ticked and emitted several high-pitched low sounds that made him uncomfortable—although the timbre of the Augur Array sounded no different from before, everything about it sounded indescribable to him.

Disturbed.

"Tell us again how you got this thing?"

"This is a treasure we fished out of hell."

The person who said this was a recycler, a guy who collects waste and scraps all over the world and reassembles them into usable items for humans.

"Hell?"

Captain Peyton tapped the long metal bar in front of him with disdain, and it emitted a dull echo.

These idiots have probably listened to some stupid talk from the Imperial Cult and believed the lie that demons exist in this world.

"Hell? Where in this world is there hell?"

"Don't let those charlatans in the church blind you."

They say that mostly so that they can sell this thing for a good price.

But that didn't fool old Peyton.

"Absolutely true!"

The leader of the Recyclers seemed somewhat anxious as he raised his right hand. "I swear to Him on Terra, we really, really went to Hell and brought this thing out!"

"We lost most of our brothers for this, just so that this thing could be sold for a good price and used to pay for our brothers' funeral expenses."

"Fine, don't try that on me. Just give me whatever price you ask for. Tell me what's so special about this box."

These days, which captain hasn't taken a life?

"We're not entirely sure about that either."

"Don't understand? If you don't understand, why are you selling here?"

"This story begins with that hooded man. It was he—"

"Hooded man?"

What are all these things?

"Yes, a few of us were working at the recycling center when that guy suddenly told us he had a big deal that would make us a fortune."

"You don't recognize him? Then don't you suspect his identity?"

"I don't know how, it was like I was being controlled. He said we could go, so we brought all the tools and followed him."

"And then what? What does all this have to do with hell?"

"That hooded man—he's incredibly powerful! For some reason, I suddenly felt a chill, like frost had formed, and then a Portal straight to hell suddenly appeared in front of us!"

"Hell! That really is hell!"

"He said it was some kind of Daemon World. Anyway, it was like hell. When we went in, we saw that the land was covered with dry and cracked earth, burning sulfur wildfires and spewing lava, and the rivers on the ground were the color of blood."

"And demons! They're crimson hell demons with enormous horns and powerful bodies. They kill each other for pleasure in this lava field, and the wounds and severed limbs they inflict on each other heal instantly. And..."

"Enough, I didn't come here to hear your wondrous and legendary adventures to hell."

"Get to the point."

"Yes, Captain. Please forgive my over-excitement—but under the protection of that hooded man's magic or sorcery, those demons couldn't detect our approach at all."

"With his sorcery, we successfully infiltrated a huge hall—it must have been made of brass. We don't know what those demons were guarding. But—"

Tocchi, the leader of the recyclers, pointed to the rectangular metal object.

When he entered, the rectangular metal shell was covered with countless intricately carved inscriptions and heavy chains. But all of these vanished with a wave of the hooded man's hand.

In the end, only this unidentified object encased in rectangular metal remained.

"But the moment you touched this coffin, it emitted a bright light that terrified all the demons, who then rushed to stop you from breaking the seal?"

"My old Tocchi, don't try to use those stories of tough guys from those novels who fight their way through hell to add a price to your coffin—sorry, that trick won't work on us."

Captain Peyton stood up, his eyes showing considerable impatience.

"Captain, don't go! I swear I'm telling the truth! We—"

"If there's nothing else, I have a business deal to discuss. Please leave."

"Captain! Captain!"

"Hey! Captain!!!"

"It still hasn't sold."

The dark coffin lay quietly beside old Tocchi.

He couldn't understand how the hooded man possessed the ability to tear through space and open Portal to other worlds at will, just like Wizard in a storybook.

Why were they chosen? Why was he chosen as the one to venture into hell?

Why did the hooded man disappear without a trace after escaping hell with great difficulty, leaving behind only this heavy and useless piece of scrap metal?

His recycling station, which he had run for most of his life, had completely collapsed. After losing so many of his brothers in the battle in Hell, he sold off the entire station to give as compensation to his employees.

As for him, he could only return to his "home" with his precious child after losing everything.

In this desolate and Hive City district, all that remains now is him and the metal coffin beside him—as for the latter, he cannot even move it without Servitor.

"Alas, who destroyed that Emperor statue like this?"

Old Tocchi's eyes glanced behind the metal coffin. This used to be where the statue of the Emperor was placed. Decades ago, he left here to make a name for himself, but when he returned years later, he found that everything here had withered away and the people had long since gone to other places to make a living.

Even the Emperor's statue wasn't spared—without any repairs, its head had long been smashed off by nearby thugs, and its body was covered with countless blasphemous and ignorant sarcastic words.

These damn young people

Old Tocchi angrily stepped forward and tried to wipe the graffiti off the Emperor statue.

For many young people growing up in Hive City, this guy called Emperor is a stranger.

Why worship a person who died ten thousand years ago?

Given her tragic birth, did she truly receive any favors from the Emperor?

Aside from those lunatics who worship the Imperial Cult, who else would believe that a guy sitting on the Golden Throne who can't even save himself could save them?

"Never mind, let them be."

Seeing that the paint on the statue was not something Old Tocchi could wipe off, he angrily sat down on the ground and lay down next to the statue.

Let's rest here for a while, since he doesn't have anything valuable on him anyway.

Hell, flames.

And there were endless demons, coming from that Portal another world, ravaging the world as if hell itself had descended—

"This is--"

Old Tocchi must have been half asleep.

How could he possibly have gone back to hell?

It's just that hell has returned to this world.

Unbeknownst to him, the recycler, after nearly ten thousand years of stagnation, those beings in the abyss who refused to remain forever silent have reappeared today.

Fire.

The sulfurous fires of hell were burning everything in the lower levels of this Hive City. Half-asleep, I heard screams and roars coming from a crowd in the distance.

As the building collapsed in the melting furnace, old Tocchi seemed to see bloodied severed limbs falling from the haphazardly falling steel supports.

He saw one of the demons leap down from above, its claws covered in keratin gripping a massive blade, its eyes scanning and searching. There seemed to be an additional emotion in the demons' eyes—anxiety, an extreme anxiety, as if they had lost something of utmost importance.

Found it.

The other person seemed to have also seen Tocchi and the huge metal coffin beside him, and was running rapidly toward him.

That was an expression of joy, if demons and humans could even share a similar expression.

The object the demon had been searching for was right here. Although Tocchi didn't understand why a demon from hell would appear in the real world, Tocchi nimbly dodged behind the dark metal object as it gleamed with a gleaming brass blade.

He may not have much fighting ability, but anyone who can be a space junk collector for several years and make a clean getaway is no ordinary person.

When!

Before it could retract its force, the demon's heavy blow struck the metal shell directly.

Then, the metal seemed to come alive, flashing an urgent red light, followed by an even brighter light that exploded before everyone's eyes!

The demon was horrified to find itself unable to move from the object it feared, as if it were emanating a powerful suction that prevented it from drawing its brass sword.

Then, the burning golden-red flames began to spread across the originally black metal, burning until the demon shrieked and perished in this world.

The flames never subsided—as the code demon was consumed by the flames, a golden-red light, and even more frenzied fire, began to burn across the entire metal pillar, until—

Everything about the metal casing was exposed, and inside, sealed away, was a purple-gold coffin with patterns from an ancient era.

Old Tocchi knew nothing about this, but his years of experience as a recycler had taught him a great deal about archaeology, so when he saw this magnificent coffin...

He still couldn't understand anything.

Click.

The next moment, a golden-red Guanghua shot into the sky, and the purple-gold coffin, like a giant construct, continuously assembled and transformed.

"This is."

Old Tocchi's eyes widened as he watched the coffin transform, gradually becoming a humanoid suit of armor.

"The Emperor's Angel?!"

In the 40K era, the Astartes warriors, as the Emperor's Angel, were the subject of much speculation throughout the galaxies.

Some say the Astartes are extremely brutal super soldiers who will stop at nothing to defeat their enemies; others say Astartes are merciless executioners of the Emperor, who will kill any traitor who dares to rebel against the Imperium and the Emperor; still others say they are the Imperium's most steadfast guardians, and that the Imperium will endure forever as long as they remain.

Opinions on Astartes are mixed, but no one would consider the Emperor's Angel Astartes to be weak.

Especially now, the Emperor's Angel are being assembled right before his eyes.

"Is this how Emperor's Angel are created?"

Click.

As the final assembly was completed, the helmet, which had been lowered, was raised again, its eyes blazing with fire.

"Demon."

The flames of the super soldier in his purple-gold armor, accompanied by a deep rage, instantly engulfed all the creations in the lower level of the Hive City.

"This is not a place for you."

The most unimaginable thing happened in front of old Tocchi.

Under the baptism of that golden flame, all the burning sulfur fires were once again covered by golden-red flames, and then everything began to return to normal.

The graffiti-damaged Emperor statues once again shimmered with the mirror-like luster of marble, and the fallen Hive City buildings rose again as if resurrected, displaying a clean appearance he had never seen before in his life.

Even more terrifying were the demons. Those hideous, crimson demons that had been rampaging in the upper levels and slaughtering the common people of the Hive City were reduced to nothingness in the flames as they howled.

Old Tocchi, however, could only feel the warmth of the flames, as if he had returned to the prime of his life.

What kind of miracles are these?

The moment the flames were released, the neighborhood, which had been invaded by a large number of demons, fell silent again. The Psychic Flame he released instantly turned all the seemingly unstoppable demons to ashes!

—He knows Astartes is powerful, but surely not this powerful?

"Grown ups."

"Hello." The Astartes even turned around to greet him, a lower-ranking man, which made Tocchi feel flattered. "What time is it now?"

"I'm not quite sure, sir. If the clock is working correctly, it should be a little past 3 a. m. in standard Terra time now."

"I asked about the year." The Emperor's Angel seemed somewhat speechless. "What millennium are we in now?"

"The fortieth millennium, my lord."

The fortieth millennium, huh?

The warrior in the purple-gold armor, Kasgar, lowered his head in deep thought.

Waking up to find demons rampaging is not a good sign.

Especially the second moment when he realized he had slept for ten thousand years.

It's even more painful now.

"The name of this planet, and the person in charge of this city."

"Now, tell me everything."

"My lord, the planet we live on is called Byzas. This is the Kinna III Hive City Hive World Gena III. Our Governor is in the highest tower. If you want to go up, you need to take the elevator from there—"

"Okay, take care of yourself."

Kasgar could no longer stay in this lower-level Hive City, nor did he have time to spare to protect the old man.

Before leaving, I used Psychic Flame to burn him, which helped remove years of accumulated ailments from his body. This was the fastest way to help him in a hurry.

Of course, this was nothing out of the ordinary for Kasgar, but old Tocchi truly felt the blessing and arrival of a miracle!

All the fatigue and pain vanished in an instant!

What kind of divine power is this?!

Moreover, it's clear that even the Angel of the Imperium couldn't possess such power and magic to instantly kill all the invading demons and destroy the Emperor statue behind them—

Wait, the Emperor's statue has been restored!

Looking at the majestic Emperor statue that seemed to still radiate a soft light, old Tocchi was instantly moved to tears.

Possessing divine power, they can slay demons and cure diseases!

In other words

He is the Emperor!

"The Emperor! The Emperor has appeared!!!"

Elevator?

Kasgar launched itself into the air like a rocket with a powerful kick, ignoring all the steel bars and scrap metal blocking its way, and headed straight for the upper deck of the Hive City.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

After waking up, Kasgar was also constantly adapting to his surge of power.

The most important thing is the surge in Psychic Power.

With the Gold-Red Flame burning in his heart, Kasgar's combat power is now almost comparable to that of Primarch-level like Magnus, and he might even be able to fight against top Primarch like Horus and Sanguinius.

As for the danger of exploding— Kasgar moved his body, feeling the power armor that covered his entire body.

This armor appears to be the product of collaboration between the most advanced Master Armorer known to Kasgar and an equally great biologist: a power armor that can keep his body from exploding instantly, allowing Kasgar to freely unleash Psychic Flame without fear of exploding to death.

—Kasgar could sense it with his Psychic Power. In a small, intricate place on the armor was written the beautifully artistic word for "Destiny."

"This Master Armorer must be Belisarius Cawl, and as for the expert in biology, there is no other candidate besides Melusine."

It's like the original timeline having two super scientists Cawl and Bayer, working together to serve him.

This is truly a blessing for Kasgar.

"But why did they all go to such lengths to forge this Armor of Fate of destiny for me, only to wake up in some unknown Hive City?"

There wasn't a single familiar face around; it was all invaded by demons, like beings from hell.

What exactly happened during the 40K era?

Silently climbing upwards, Kasgar also observes the Hive City and gathers any possible clues.

It seems that the environment in Hive City is much better in this timeline than in the original 40K.

It's roughly the same as the living environment in the original 30K era, with varying degrees of advantages and disadvantages depending on the specific circumstances, but overall it's about the same.

—The buildings here are very much in the style of Ultramar, perhaps because Guilliman has been Lord Regent for so long that all the worlds have become somewhat Ultramar- ized.

This point was mentioned by an Imperial Truth Propagandist during the 30K era.

Oh, right, Imperial Truth.

It seems that Chaos had almost exhausted all its cards in the Horus Heresy to barely drag the Emperor into the fray, and apart from Tzeentch's Thousand Sons, Nurgle's Deadly Guard, Slaanesh's Iron Hands Legion, and Chaos Undivided's Word Bearers, there were simply not enough Chaos Legiones Astartes to replenish its forces.

During this period, even if the Dark Gods wanted to cause trouble, they were willing but unable to do so.

Chaos, forbearance!

As Chaos fades away, although the Imperial Cult continues to gain faith in the world, without the Chaos enemy, the Cult of the Emperor also loses its meaning.

Judging from the structural layout of the Hive City in Kasgar, none of these Hive City bear the mark of the Ecclesiarchy.

"Both Chaos and the Ecclesiarchy have been suppressed, which could also be the work of Guilliman."

"Never mind, the Governor's Building is just ahead. I'll go ask him myself."

"My lord! We discovered unidentified enemies in this area of the lower Hive City, but they seem to have vanished completely by some mysterious flame not long ago—"

Snap!

The glass window shattered with a crash, and a fully armed man in purple-gold armor strode straight into the Governor's building.

"What a magnificent building! If I didn't know it was the Governor of Hive City, I would have thought it was the Emperor's palace."

Kasgar thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

"Who! The Emperor's Angel? My lord, what brings you here?"

"If possible, may I ask which Space Marine Chapter you belong to?"

The bailiffs and guards in the building instantly became obsequious and servile.

An Emperor Angel arrived in their Hive City. Although the local Planetary Governor had hired a Space Marine as a private bodyguard, these minor figures could not afford to offend such a powerful figure.

Chapter.

It's not a legion, it's Chapter.

Kasgar grasped the key words in the other person's words.

It seems that the god-like figure who could instantly destroy all Loyalist legions still wrote that holy book.

"These are not the key points. Summon your Governor of the Hive City. I have some questions for him."

"Grown ups--"

A splendidly dressed, short and stout old man strode forward with some difficulty to meet the giant-like Kasgar.

"No need to say much more. Next, I will ask questions, and you will answer."

"Okay, I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability."

"Who is now in charge of the entire Imperium of Man?"

The Governor Hive City his attendants exchanged bewildered glances.

Is this first question really that pointed?

"It is a joint rule by the High Lord. Ever since Lord Regent Guilliman in the thirty-seventh millennium due to a one-on-one duel—"

"Okay, I understand."

Guilliman is that simple and easy to understand.

"What internal and external troubles does the Imperium currently face? Does Chaos count?"

"My lord, what is Chaos?"

"No, has the Zerg swarm already arrived nearby?"

"That's right, sir. Ultramarines Chapter Calgar is currently in Ultramar fighting off the Tyranid swarm invasion."

"What about the green-skinned Ulano, or rather, Amigidoton?"

The Governor and his attendants exchanged bewildered glances once more.

"Who was the leader of the most recent Orks invasion? The Bonegrinder? The Beast?"

"Shaking your head? The War of the Beast hasn't even started yet?"

Kasgar sensed something was wrong.

Because Guilliman had been operating for over seven thousand years, he had almost everything in place before he fell from grace.

But he could not have foreseen that the problems of the Imperium would continue to accumulate after he fell into a coma.

In other words, according to the cycle, now is the time for a major outbreak.

"Okay, so who's guarding the Maelstrom now? Is the Chapter Master of Star Phantoms named Hurons?"

"Yes, sir, that is indeed the case." The person answering this question was a man in military uniform near the Governor. "Currently, the Imperium is negotiating with them regarding their tax resistance."

Oh dear, the Badab War didn't even take place.

"Which other Legiones Astartes participated in the rebellion, and what were their ultimate fates?"

"My lord, I need to look up some information about this."

As he spoke, one of the servants quickly ran behind him.

"What? You're saying that Angron and Perturabo established a small Imperium on the Imperium's frontier?"

"And because our Chapter lacks legion organization, we can't defeat the enemy?"

Oh My God.

There are also rebel legions to fight.

"What about the Black Legion? That guy with the pointed head, Abaddon, does he also frequently launch expeditions into the Imperium?"

"What? It's already been launched twelve times? Twelve times in the three millennia that Guilliman has been lying there?"

"So, you're targeting Cadia next???"

Kasgar felt the ambition he had when he first woke up was fading away.

How come it all fell on my shoulders?

This is not how you guys should be cleaned up after!

—How about we go back to sleep now?

"Tell me what the High Lord is called now. I need an answer other than Vandire."

The Governor looked at each other again in bewilderment.

Then he nodded silently.

Grass!!!

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have been smashed into mincemeat by Horus's hammer back then!"

The Governor hesitated, as if he doubted whether he should say what he was about to say.

"Sanguinius, sir."

"I didn't ask you that!!!"

"Wait, the power of Chaos is growing in the Hive City below."

Just as Kasgar was about to give this thing a good scolding, suddenly, a chilling coldness began to spread throughout his body.