"Shut up, you traitor!"
"My lord, it's him! He's the one! Hurry and arrest these traitors!"
His loyalty earned him no praise from Burn. Instead, Burn swung his Power Scepter at him, venting his pent-up rage.
"You've dirtied my things, you wretch."
Burn looked toward the underhive dwellers.
But the skinny boy wasn't afraid of him. He stared straight at Burn as if he could see right through his soul.
A wretch dares to look at me like that?
Even—
That unflinching stare made fear well up in Burn's heart. It reminded him that his so-called noble status was nothing more than a layer of skin separating him from ordinary people.
Lord Burn forced himself to remain calm.
I have the High Lords behind me, and they're just my slaves. I stand above them. They wouldn't dare kill me. Even if I'm at fault, only the High Lords of the Imperium can judge me and pass sentence.
Even if they kill me, the High Lords of the Imperium can use psychic divination to learn everything that happened to me.
They'll suffer a deadly reprisal from the High Lords of the Imperium.
Even the Astartes wouldn't dare bear that cost.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Heavy footsteps rang out.
Cyrus's towering figure emerged from the crowd.
The crowd parted on its own to make way.
They looked up at the envoys from the Imperium, their eyes filled with reverence.
Only the gaunt man at the very front of the resistance refused to move aside.
His gaze, sharpened by reason and fury, remained fixed on the nobles opposite him. He knew the original sin wasn't his comrades' betrayal. It was the oppression and enslavement imposed by the nobles before him.
Talon glanced down at the Prototype in his hand. It had stopped beeping long ago, so he switched it off.
Cyrus's towering presence put immense pressure on the mortals opposite him.
Clad in Power Armor, the giant, nearly three meters tall, strode toward Lord Burn.
His stern rebuke left everyone else too afraid to move.
"The Imperium bestowed immense power upon you."
"Yet you used that power to nurture the Imperium's enemies."
"You betrayed the Imperium! You betrayed the Emperor!"
"In the Emperor's name, I strip you and your dynasty of your titles."
"As for you..." Cyrus turned toward the retainers beside him. "Will you atone for your sins, or continue to serve Chaos?"
Behind Cyrus, Blue produced evidence that they had sided with Chaos.
A Chaos-twisted mutant, its body warped with horns and scales, wore the uniform of one of their guards. Burn's family crest was emblazoned on it.
The mutant hit the ground with a sickening thud, sending a shock through their hearts.
The moment it fell, the retainers panicked.
All they could think of was the Imperium's Officio Assassinorum and how the Ecclesiarchy treated the corrupted.
The dynasty's ties were tenuous. They had come together purely out of self-interest.
After Talon showed them signs of Chaos corruption, some of the retainers immediately pledged their allegiance and agreed to attack Burn's guards and private soldiers in exchange for a chance to atone.
The so-called retainers in the room had to consider whether resisting would really let them escape punishment.
Seeing the others give up resistance,
Cyrus advanced step by step.
He raised his Bolter and pointed it down at Lord Burn's head.
"And you."
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
The light in Cyrus's helmet paused for an instant, then hardened with resolve.
"There is no choice."
He pulled the trigger.
He fired.
Bang!
A head exploded in front of everyone.
The others, including the retainers, hadn't believed Cyrus would really kill Burn. Even an ordinary Chapter would struggle to bear the consequences of killing a Rogue Trader.
If they were regarded as the aggressors, they would face harsh punishment from within the Imperium and be called to account by the High Lords.
But Cyrus had still killed him.
As if he had made his final decision.
"Captain."
"Captain."
"I gave the order. If there's a problem, come to me—Cyrus." Cyrus glanced toward a point in the empty air, as though speaking to someone.
Magnus came in from outside, interrupting Yalta and the others as they reached for their guns to silence the witnesses. "Captain, I checked the Astropath's navigation records. They sent word about this place several times. The Astropath was 'corrupted' too."
"Understood."
This ship had seen battle against Chaos and had long since been tainted by corruption.
As a means of psychic communication for the Imperial Fleet, Astropaths were exposed to more Warp energy. Their corruption had been only a matter of time.
If the Astropath had sent word about this place, there were two possible outcomes.
One was good: the Imperium never received the message, or chose to ignore it.
The other was bad: the message brought down the Imperial Tithe, the Inquisition, or the High Lords. Any one of those could deal a devastating blow to this fragile world, which nonetheless had limitless potential.
First, Governor Cisrain had to strengthen his position and build up enough power along this frontier.
Only then would there be a chance to join forces with the Ultramar World.
Only then could they accomplish something great.
They would have a chance to push him into power, replacing those corrupt and stubborn High Lords.
Those positions were meant for humans. They couldn't take them, but they could put more reliable humans in them.
Cyrus walked toward the mortals.
The moment he killed Lord Burn on his own, he knew he would face severe censure and judgment from then on.
But it didn't matter anymore.
If he didn't kill these useless fools,
they'd only drive up the price of the Imperium's Golo Beasts!
Cyrus paused in front of the skinny boy.
He studied the boy's gaze.
A spirited lad. He seemed not to know what fear was. Perhaps he'd amount to something.
Then Cyrus continued toward the exit. "Clear out everything on this ship. Salvage whatever can be used. Throw the rest into the star."
If they relied only on the Prototype in Talon's hands to scan for corruption, it would take them a long time.
And even if they thoroughly cleansed the warship, there'd still be a risk of Chaos remaining hidden aboard.
Throwing it into a star would settle the matter once and for all.
"As for these people..."
Blue came over to report to Cyrus.
"There are still quite a lot of them."
"Fine. Since the governor needs people, let the governor and the others deal with them!"
Cyrus would have preferred to dispose of those who might have been corrupted by Chaos, but these people were also a resource. The governor's domain had gotten a late start and needed a large population. More workers would be useful.
"Yalta!"
"Captain." Yalta gave the retainers who had pledged their allegiance a long look, put his gun away, then followed Cyrus. "What is it?"
"You and Talon help them move these people. I'll go with them to the Gamma World. The governor wants us at a meeting."
"What's going on there?"
"An STC Template from the Golden Age."
"Oh."
"Huh?"
"WHAT?!"
Before you continue