First Battle (V)

"You're funny," Karyl said. "Actually, very funny. It's the first time I've ever met such an honest monster like you."

"I'm not being honest, sir. I just need to appear honest to you. Nine truths, eight left."

The sound emanating from the flickering Radiance was extremely faint; the Veil was repelling it, without a doubt. But its master was Deceit the Veil for it, obscuring its current location.

This gave it a little extra time.

"Pretended honesty is worthless." Karyl raised his right hand, and a cold wind gathered, causing the blade to reform.

The monster in the Radiance couldn't help but wonder: Would he immediately send me back?

With the emergence of this question, countless possible future directions immediately came to mind. It could only see one of them clearly, but it was still extremely excited by this rare glory, and a joy welled up from the depths of its soul.

But this joy did not come from the Tzeentch's brief indulgence, but from something else.

It was almost moved to tears by the only truth it could see clearly; everything else faded away. Its existence was for this moment, for this ultimate joy, this ultimate reward.

Its owner prepared it centuries ago, and today it will achieve honors that no other of its kind has ever attained.

It will manipulate an unborn god with the most honest words—and it can see the future; it knows it has succeeded.

"Before you drive me away and brand me with the mark of your hunt."

The Radiance flickered, slowly rising, illuminating the darkness of the fiftieth floor. "You need to know one thing, something very important."

"Of the nine true words, seven remain."

Karyl sneered.

It was a completely open conspiracy; he could almost hear the maniacal laughter of the thing behind the Radiance: Whether you listen or not, the choice is always yours, and my messenger will never lie to you.

Yes, it would never lie.

He squinted, gazing at the pulsating Radiance, and nodded slightly without uttering a word. The latter, however, made no attempt to conceal his desire and spoke directly, his voice filled with immense ecstasy.

"Harkosus I is different from II and III, sir. There is only one city on I, not because the people of Harkosus are stupid, but because of the unique nature of I."

"Number One is very special, so special that it even possesses those cumbersome robots that Number Two and Number Three never had."

"You've already seen them, you've seen those combat suits and rifles. Isn't it very strange that a civilization that can't even conduct long-distance travel possesses these things?"

"But the answer is actually quite simple, sir, because these things did not come from the Harkosus people, but from another species."

"They reside beneath Harkosus I, where they have lived for centuries. They possess more land Harkosus; in fact, they are the true Harkosus compared to most people who know absolutely nothing about it."

"Burning Fire is their symbol, and one of the signs that they are favored by our Lord, but they have also paid a price for it."

"The Veil did not allow them to achieve such a great deal of evolution in just a few centuries through cheating methods, so they lost their ability to reproduce and could only obtain new companions by infecting other organisms."

"Therefore, cooperation with humans became a foreseeable outcome, and with my encouragement, the Harkosus people transformed from a constantly warring and bloodthirsty barbaric tribe into the commercial federation they are today."

A joyful laugh came from within the Radiance; it paused for a moment, then spoke again.

"Of the nine truths, six remain. Would you like to hear more?"

"Such a long passage, does it only count as one sentence to you?" Karyl nodded. "Such a flexible standard of judgment."

"Yes, sir, there are five lines left. Would you like to hear more?"

The Radiance began to dance alluringly.

"For example, the truth about this spire, why it has such tight and incongruous security, and how those creatures infected humans. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you."

"Is this considered one of the nine truths?"

"No, but this line counts, sir. There are four lines remaining."

Karyl smiled and nodded again. "Alright, then let's do as you say—tell me the truth about this spire, shall we?"

The Radiance began to throb wildly.

--

Fer Zalost felt like he was being burned.

The feeling came so suddenly, striking him like a tidal wave when he saw the Harkosus men lying on the operating table.

But it did not disappear.

In fact, after Fer finally figured out what this heavily guarded underground facility was all about, the feeling became almost like a poison, tormenting every cell in his body.

No one can tolerate the existence of Xenos —no one.

What's more, it's this kind of Xenos.

He turned his head, and the crimson visor reflected a slender creature. The thing was wearing a brown robe and was huddled in a corner, trembling.

Its skin looked disgusting; it was a smooth, pale blue. Its head was an oval-shaped mass of eighteen eyes crammed together, blinking grotesquely.

It has no lower jaw; instead, it has two tentacles joined together, with two symmetrical patterns imprinted on those broad tentacles, resembling burning flames.

Fer took a deep breath, the sound of which sent shivers down the spines of the prisoners in the darkness—this giant in somber armor had just done something they would never forget.

Feeling their fear, Fer suppressed his own cold rage, turned and walked deep into the facility.

He had already received a message from the Primarch on the communications channel. After walking for three minutes, he met Konrad Curze Curze, who was walking ahead of the First Company.

The latter, still wearing his helmet, nodded to Fer and asked in a low voice, "What are the specifics?"

The Third Company Captain approached his Primarch, leading the way while beginning to explain.

"We've now been able to confirm what that so-called 'Kindling the Body ritual' really is. The Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce is essentially just a front, a product of collusion between these Xenos and the three leaders of Harkosus."

"They provide these Xenos with humans who can be converted, while the Xenos provide them with technological advancements. By the time you arrived, I had already interrogated four Xenos. That's all the intelligence I've gathered."

"Do you communicate with them using psychic powers?" Konrad Curze Curze asked, his scarlet cloak fluttering in the darkness, the source of which was unknown.

"Yes, Primarch."

"Well done, but don't do that again after this is over."

"Understood, Primarch."

The Eighth Legion moved with extreme silence, barely audible. They passed through a large hall, two wide, downward-facing corridors, and a forcibly dismantled door, finally reaching the deepest part of the facility.

The place was decorated with a strong religious atmosphere, with candles burning in all directions, and the metal that made up the floor and ceiling was covered with densely packed words that looked terrifyingly like they were writhing.

The soldiers of the Third Company had herded the Harkosus in the facility to another room ahead of time, leaving only twenty-three Xenos here. The Eighth Legion stared at them without uttering a word, and the atmosphere had quietly become terrifying.

The creatures trembled, their tentacles parted, and they made soft gurgling sounds, as if begging for mercy. Konrad Curze Curze ignored them, but simply gestured to Fer, and the Third Company Captain stepped forward solemnly, a deep blue Radiance surging within his scarlet goggles.

The Xenos screamed; the giant had just done that too, and they almost thought he was going to do it again, but he didn't.

The giant did not come forward to grab any more of his companions, nor did he tear their bodies apart bit by bit.

In fact, quite the opposite, he stood still and didn't move at all.

Then, a voice resounded in the heart of one of them.

Tell me, how exactly do you perform your so-called "Kindling the Body ritual"? How do you transform humans?

There was no answer. The Xenos that had been asked the question screamed, covering its eyes with its withered, disgusting hands, which began to blink rapidly.

Konrad Curze Curze made a gesture without saying a word, Van Cleef immediately drew his Boltgun and killed it. Unlike blood, which splattered with slimy fluid, the alien's ruptured brain tissue covered the walls and floor. The Xenos convulsed and collapsed, its body contorted.

"Continue," the commander of the Eighth Legion ordered expressionlessly.

There was no bitterness left in his heart—while they were still on the Emperor's Dream, Fulgrim had clearly told him what the Xenos had done to humans.

In this galaxy, no Xenos race deserves human kindness. To humans, they exist in only two states.

One is death, the other is waiting for death.

Fer nodded to his Primarch and resumed using psionic powers. He randomly selected a Xenos and reconnected to its abominable mind. Doing this almost made Fer want to vomit, but he didn't, because he had to complete his mission.

Tell me, how exactly do you perform your so-called "Kindling the Body ritual"? How do you transform humans? Don't try to remain silent or do anything else, or you will suffer the same fate as just now.

A scream came from the Xenos's mouth. Van Cleef raised his Boltgun again, but Curze did not give the order because Fer's eyes were still glowing blue.

The Xenos knelt on the ground, constantly emitting alternating muttering sounds from its tentacles. The Third Company Captain remained silent for a moment, then turned his head and gave his Primarch the answer.

"It didn't answer the question, Primarch." Fer Zalost paused with difficulty. "It only said that the Tower of Gods is about to collapse, and through their sacrifice, the God of Burning Fire will descend upon Harkosus."

Update complete.