The Divine Emperor Witnesses Me!

Lucia slowly straightened up, pulling the Chainsword from the chest of the Chaos Space Marine sprawled on the ground.

Even such a simple movement was immensely difficult for her.

Two penetrating wounds at her waist, a fractured left arm, six gunshot wounds across her torso, numerous cracked ribs, severe internal ruptures, her right leg severed, massive blood loss, a mild concussion, blindness in her right eye...

Even for a Space Marine with two hearts and three lungs, these injuries would have been fully lethal, let alone for a mere mortal.

Even if that mortal was a Sister Superior of the Order of the Martyred Saint, she should have been no exception.

"...Divine Emperor, my duty is not yet done."

Her lips moved as she gripped a battered relic Storm Shield and Chainsword, slowly surveying her surroundings.

Twenty-two Space Marines from the Slaanesh-worshipping Chaos War Band known as the Blissful Angels had surrounded her.

The corpses of the Pure Angels Sisters, Lucia's former personal guard, lay scattered across the ground. Their blood had already drained away, pooling into a small puddle.

Lucia stood amid that pool of blood, facing a disparity in strength so vast it inspired despair.

A taller Chaos Space Marine Captain clad in Terminator Power Armor stepped out from the group, approached her, and drew the Power Sword at his waist.

"Let us duel."

From beneath his helmet came a voice reminiscent of some hissing reptile. "Defeat me, and you may live. Fail, and offer your loyalty to the Lord of Pleasure!"

"That rotting corpse on the throne is unworthy of your devotion. What has he given you besides lies and silence? The Lord of Pleasure in the Empyrean welcomes all who cast themselves into His embrace. Only by joining us will you understand how laughable everything you stand for is in our eyes!"

Normally, Lucia would have fiercely denounced the Traitor's absurd words and used her Bolter to teach him the meaning of the Divine Emperor's wrath.

But she no longer had any strength to spare.

Lucia merely calmly raised her sword and shield, one before the other, assuming a stance. The killing intent in her eyes was savage and terrifying.

The Chaos Captain likewise took up a stance, but his mind was not entirely on the duel.

After all, the disparity between them was plain to see. Her body swayed as though she might collapse at any moment. Her relic Storm Shield was covered in blade marks and chips, likely to fall apart after a few more strikes. The Chainsword in her other hand had already stopped spinning and was perhaps less useful now than a monomolecular blade.

Meanwhile, he had remained in the rear directing the battle and was still in peak condition, fully armed: Terminator Armor, Power Sword, Iron Halo... With over two hundred years of combat experience, he reckoned that even if he simply stood there and let this False Emperor lackey hack at him, the recoil alone might kill her. There was not the slightest chance of defeat!

What the Chaos Captain needed to consider now was how to clean up afterward.

The losses from this Boarding Action had simply been too great.

The force under his command had numbered three hundred Chaos Space Marines, including elite units such as Warp Talons, Chaos Sorcerers, Chaos Space Marine Captains, and Helbrutes. Such power was enough to conquer a planet with ease.

Even if their enemy was the Battle Sisters, the Imperium of Man's most elite military force second only to the Space Marines, this should still have been a simple task, easily won.

Yet he had never expected this order of Battle Sisters to be so ferocious. Under that Sister Superior's command, they had fought a brutal slaughter within the Cruiser against the boarding Chaos Space Marines. In the end, they had even launched a countercharge, fighting down to the last soldier and inflicting astonishing casualties upon the War Band.

Only after this battle did he realize that almost none of his Space Marines remained unscathed.

No matter the reason for such an outrageous casualty ratio, according to the War Band's rules, once he returned to the ship, he would face a fate more terrible than death.

"Fortunately, there is still one last option."

The Chaos Space Marine Captain's gaze settled on the Sister Superior before him.

As everyone knew, much like the goblins in certain stories, the forces of Chaos had always delighted in corrupting Sisters of steadfast faith. It greatly pleased the Dark Gods behind them.

"Capture her, take her prisoner, corrupt her... Offer her soul to the Lord of Pleasure, and He will surely grant me a mighty blessing!"

Such thoughts arose in the Captain's mind.

Then, once his power had greatly increased, he would return to the ship, challenge the Chaos Lord of the War Band, defeat him, and seize everything he possessed.

By then, perhaps he too could become a Chaos Lord!

Just as he was envisioning that glorious future, Lucia moved.

Her right leg had been severed, but she drove off with her left foot alone, hurtling like a cannonball toward the Chaos Space Marine Captain. Her Chainsword came crashing down toward his head!

"Hmph, full of openings!"

A flicker of contempt passed through the Chaos Space Marine Captain's eyes. He swung his Power Sword, unleashing a lightning-fast upward slash.

Rather than fear the incoming blade, Lucia silently prayed:

"Divine Emperor, bear witness to me!"

She sharply twisted her foot. Without attempting to block, she merely turned her body slightly to one side.

The Power Sword, sheathed in a pale blue Decomposition Field, cut through her right arm as effortlessly as it cut through air. Blood erupted outward.

"What is she doing?"

The Chaos Space Marine Captain froze for a moment.

Carried by momentum, the Chainsword still clutched in Lucia's severed arm flew toward his face.

"What good will that do?"

Just as the Chaos Captain had expected, the hurtling Chainsword slammed heavily into the deflection shield generated by his Iron Halo. A pale burst of energy flashed—only for an instant, but enough to obscure his vision.

"Not good, I let my guard down!"

His heart tightened, but it was already too late to react.

In a flash, Lucia cast aside the relic Storm Shield in her hand, revealing the killing weapon concealed beneath her forearm.

It was an Exitus Pistol from a Vindicare Assassin of the Assassinorum!

Sister Superior Lucia had acquired this pistol from the corpse of a Vindicare Assassin during a mission to suppress a rebellion.

Afterward, she had asked a Tech-Priest to modify it into a miniature launcher concealed beneath her forearm. Even during the fiercest battles to the death before this, she had never revealed it!

The muzzle flashed. An Exitus Round flew from the chamber, carving a striking straight line through the air. It pierced the Iron Halo and drilled precisely through the tactical visor of the Terminator's helmet, shredding the Chaos company commander's brain.

In an instant, the Chaos Space Marine commander's body swayed before crashing to the ground.

The scene fell into dead silence.

Even the Astartes, with their extraordinary information-processing abilities, were left with blank minds by such an unbelievable reversal.

However, they recovered quickly.

"Click, click, click—"

A volley of Bolters being chambered rang out. Lucia stood calmly, chanting inwardly:

"Divine Emperor, my duty is done."

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang—"

Gunfire erupted as a storm of bolts shot toward Lucia, about to swallow her whole.

Lucia, who had closed her eyes and awaited her soul's return to the Throne, opened them in confusion.

What was going on?

Why couldn't she feel any pain at all?

She opened her eyes weakly and discovered, to her astonishment, that the bolts were deflected the instant they touched her body, as though an invisible force field protected her.

She saw movement among the Traitors. They all seemed to be looking toward the entrance on the other side of the hall.

Lucia turned her head as well, and in her eyes was reflected the figure of a Young Man walking into the hall.

The Young Man appeared unarmed, youthful, and utterly ordinary.

Yet in Lucia's perception, already on the brink of death, an inexplicable illusion arose.

The Young Man was wreathed in what seemed like Wraithbone-colored light, identical to the radiance emitted by the statue of the Emperor she had first seen when she entered the church at twelve years old.

"...Could he be the Divine Emperor's messenger?"