A Gentle Father

Their fathers were reasonable and law-abiding human beings, while they are scum with the blood of sinners flowing through their veins.

How ironic!

"Laxus, you speak."

Upon hearing Curze's voice, Laxus felt immense regret; he regretted letting Curze remember him.

He was the first soldier that Curze remembered after entering the army, but his background was not honorable; in fact, one could say that he was stained with the blood of a criminal.

"I was born in prison, sir."

"I was born in Mine Hive, child."

"I have never seen my parents since I can remember. Perhaps my birth was just a mistake they made after indulging in hedonism."

"I was adopted by my father when I was a child, and it's only now that I've reached this point."

"Including myself, all the brothers in the entire Eighth Legion came from prison; we were all born in prison."

"We are born to be in the dark, we are born tainted with sin, and no one wants to associate with us."

"We are Gang, criminals, thugs. We are Nostramo people, mostly Miners. We are not even worth a pile of slag, not even worth a single gear."

And so, Laxus and Curze continued their back-and-forth conversation.

Laxus froze at this point.

The others in the training ground were also stunned; they hadn't expected their Gene-Father to have such a past.

They didn't know what to say.

"And now, I am the Grand Inquisitor, my brothers are the Jurors, the Judges, and my Legion is the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion."

"Child, do you know why?"

Laxus shook his head blankly.

"Because of education."

Educate?

To be honest, these people born in prison have never heard of the word "education."

They were simply conscripted by the Imperium authorities upon reaching a certain age, and after passing the examination, they underwent the life-or-death Astartes modification surgery.

Then came the Great Crusade, and nothing else.

"This is what my father taught me, the Father of Night you see. Without my father's teachings, I might have become a mad and fanatical Order- seeker amidst the devastating Prophecy."

"Therefore, to me, it is not shameful for you, born in prison, to join the Eighth Legion."

"You are human beings just like us; you simply lack an opportunity, an opportunity to receive an education."

"Now, if you are willing to accept my teachings, then from this moment on, I will teach you how to be a person."

"As for your sins, they were cleansed the moment you pledged your loyalty to the Imperium, participated in the Great Crusade, and conquered countless worlds for the Imperium."

"Now, in my capacity as the Grand Inquisitor of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion, I pardon your past sins."

In fact, from the very beginning, when facing these loyal soldiers, Curze did not care about their past sins.

But he knew very well that these people were just like they had been back then.

They can't get over that hurdle in their own hearts.

Even if they were personally forgiven for their sins, they still couldn't overcome this obstacle.

"No, Father, we are still guilty."

"Don't be so stubborn, child. We've been through this too. We understand how you feel."

"Now I only ask you, only ask you whether you are willing to accept instruction?"

"Willing!"

Twenty thousand people roared out at the top of their lungs.

"Prepare paper and pen; today I will teach you the Evernight Code."

"You just need to memorize the content; I'll teach you the rest later."

"Yes!"

All the soldiers returned to the barracks as quickly as possible and began preparing paper and pens.

Looking at the empty training ground, Curze glanced at Shen.

Tell me your thoughts.

"Law Enforcers."

Curze nodded; Shen had the same idea.

These people stubbornly believe they are guilty, so they will spontaneously atone for their sins, but their methods of atonement inevitably tend to be extreme.

This is not the outcome Curze wanted to see.

Therefore, we need to give them a framework and a code of conduct.

Before long, everyone had prepared paper and pens and sat down on the drill ground.

"From now on, I will gradually teach you the Evernight Code, but before that, you need to understand the history of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion, as well as the Nine Laws of the Night Bats."

"Once, I was just an orphan adopted by my father, and my Judge brothers were just Nostramo Gang."

"I received my father's education for a short time, but he taught me everything he knew."

"To protect my father, I left the Mine Tide and formed my own team, which initially consisted of 800 people."

"Your predecessors, your Uncles, Sevatar, Shen, Talos, Agrid, Cyrion, they were all among the original 800."

"Later, the team of 800 people grew larger and larger, and the entire Justiciar Legion began to take shape, reaching a size of 5,000 people."

"To this day, the entire Justiciar Legion has not expanded its ranks. With the initial Legion core in place, we began to govern the Planet, and governing Planet requires a guiding principle."

"The original code of the entire Eternal Night Justiciar Legion consisted of only nine articles, which were known in Nostramo as the Nine Laws of the Night Bat."

"This is the original Law, superior to the Evernight Code, and it serves as the Evernight Code."

"Three rules for execution."

Anyone who actively consumes, manufactures, or sells any type of hallucinogen or stimulant shall be killed.

Anyone who has a blood debt, and more than one blood debt, shall be killed.

Those who committed countless atrocities during the riots, targeting only civilians, should be killed.

"Secondly, there were three rules regarding the arrest and exile of people."

..."

Curze spoke slowly as he recounted the nine Laws.

Similarly, the members of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion were also listening to Curze recount the nine Laws; they were not listening to the Law, but rather to the path they had taken.

Before long, the nine Laws had been explained, and Curze looked at everyone in the lectern.

"Now I have only one requirement for you: I need you to remember these original nine Laws, then interpret them, and then debate with me."

"Once I accept your answer, then your first step in atonement has begun."

Atonement!

Is Father really... so gentle?

In fact, the Gene-Father had forgiven them from the very beginning, but they couldn't get over their own conscience, so the Gene-Father said that their first step in atonement had begun.

Their Gene-Father patiently guided them, and in their hearts, this was as memorable as, or even more memorable than, the return of the Great Angel.

"Then, I'll give you one week. After one week, you'll need to take a law exam."

"As long as you pass the exam, you can join the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion."

"At that time, you will become the sharpest blade of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion."

"You will be the Enforcers."