Chapter 274: Reina: What? I

This resting place of the Primarch was truly magnificent; the setting sun and the explosions upon the void shield illuminated the entire sanctuary.

It was an arched hall, with towering marble pillars that seemed to pierce the heavens, their height sufficient for a Warlord-class Titan to stride through without obstruction, and the transport vehicle carrying Belisarius Cawl's sacred cargo entered with ease.

Reina looked up, feeling as though the ceiling—composed of mosaics, gemstones, and obsidian, inlaid with lunar silver—was as hazy as the starry night sky.

Ion braziers burned upon the marble pillars, illuminating the friezes and statues that sang of Guilliman's great deeds.

The scent of incense drifted among those frozen legends, silently falling upon the edges of the stasis field.

Machinery that had not ceased operation for ten thousand years hummed at the end of the hall, enveloping the throne carved from marble, gold, and diamond.

Upon the throne sat a son of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang, a god-like scion, silently enthroned.

His head was bowed slightly, and blood flowed from his neck, as if it were a crimson necklace.

Reina knew the origin of that wound.

The daemon Primarch Fulgrim, corrupted by the Prince of Chaos, had left that scar. Regarding that daemon Primarch, Reina's only impression was the sentence Zhou Yun had casually remarked while chatting with her on the Aeldari ship:

"Truly proud people don't always put it on their lips; Fulgrim is actually a deeply insecure person."

"There were many silent and humble warriors of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's Children who stood in opposition to Fulgrim, proud enough to look down upon their own fallen gene-father and the Prince of Chaos."

Reina did not know if this assessment was correct, but she was captivated by the charm of that history from ten thousand years ago.

Especially when Reina saw the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's Sword resting upon the Primarch's lap—a holy relic once wielded by both the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and Roboute Guilliman.

Just by looking at it, Reina felt a wave of dizziness.

This moment was too sacred; everything nearby seemed as pure as if newly forged, making her even doubt whether she was trapped in some kind of hallucination.

Until the dull thud of Calgar's power armor echoed, and he stepped toward the throne of Roboute Guilliman, protected by Terminators and Grey Knights.

Calgar stood at the foot of the stairs before the throne and turned to face the entire expeditionary force.

The air fell silent, with only the sounds of the intense battle raging across the Hive World outside the sanctuary echoing incessantly.

Calgar's mechanical eye stared fixedly at Belisarius Cawl, and he took a deep breath:

"In the name of our gene-father, in the name of the one you claim to serve... Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, explain your purpose!"

Belisarius Cawl lifted his head slightly, his gaze bypassing Calgar to land upon Roboute Guilliman.

Calgar frowned slightly.

"Magos, I have been too indulgent toward you and those you brought."

"My warriors are fighting a desperate battle outside, and my heart can no longer tolerate more waiting and mysteries."

Hearing Calgar's words, Belisarius Cawl tilted his head silently, data streams flickering in his eyes.

"I once believed that flesh and blood were the most perfect creations of the Omnissiah, but to endure the long passage of time and complete my mission... I transformed myself into this."

Belisarius Cawl spread his frame slightly.

That steel behemoth, which could hardly be called human, was revealed to all.

"Over these ten thousand years, many of my memory units have been damaged; I have forgotten many details."

"I only remember that the Primarch entrusted me with two tasks, one of which has not yet reached the time for revelation."

Before Calgar could speak, Belisarius Cawl continued:

"And I have come here to complete the other."

"Ten thousand years ago, the Primarch anticipated that nothing in the mortal realm is eternal, not even the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's most perfect creations."

"We have lost so many children of the Omnissiah that the few remaining are precious and indispensable, especially Roboute Guilliman himself."

"But the traitors remain, and the Primarch could not leave the front lines, forced to bear the fate of potential death, so... Roboute Guilliman entrusted me with a mission as if he had foreseen it all."

Belisarius Cawl looked silently at Calgar.

Calgar's eyes flickered; he instinctively made a guess, a guess about Cawl's mission.

But his reason and emotion simultaneously told him that if it were true... it would be an undeniable miracle.

"The mission the Primarch entrusted to me was... to bring him back from death, to let the children of the Omnissiah walk among mortals once more."

Belisarius Cawl's voice was soft, but it carried rare emotion.

It was a sigh of relief, mixed with the exhaustion and pain of ten thousand years.

"I have already completed it. I have forged a sacred suit of armor; its internal auxiliary systems will completely heal the wound left upon Roboute Guilliman by the daemon Primarch Fulgrim."

"A living, breathing child of the Omnissiah shall return this day."

Reina's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the floor.

A wave of intense dizziness assaulted her consciousness.

A scion of the God-Hua Hua Hua Di Huang would return this day, and she was witnessing, even participating in, this very moment.

In an instant, from the members of the expeditionary force to the Ultramarines and Grey Knights, everyone—save for Belisarius Cawl himself—fixed their gaze upon the transport vehicle behind the Archmagos.

A hope lay within. A hope that would allow the Primarch to walk among the living once more.

At this moment, Calgar's soul trembled, Grand Master Voldus let out a low gasp of astonishment, and Tigurius's lips curled into a faint smile—

"But before that, he must first die."

At that moment, a cold, gloomy voice, like that of a graveyard, suddenly rang out.

Yvraine's gaze swept slowly over everyone present, her voice interrupting the excitement and shock that had surged in everyone's hearts,

like a bucket of cold water in the dead of night, extinguishing all their passion.

"Xenos, you had better explain yourself clearly." Calgar's expression also darkened.

Yvraine nodded slightly, speaking like a physician describing a surgical procedure:

"The scar exists not only on the fleshly body but also upon the soul, or rather, the wound upon the soul is the true wound."

"To truly heal him and let him walk among the living again, it must..."

Yvraine slowly drew the blade at her waist. In an instant, the Ultramarines leveled their bolters at her.

Yet Yvraine did not care, merely displaying the sword to everyone present.

It was a blade pale as bone, shimmering with a deathly, ghostly blue light that made one's hair stand on end.

"This is the Sword of Sorrow, Ynnead. One of the five Crone Swords formed from the finger bones of Morai-Heg, the Crone Goddess who governs souls and fate."

"The wielder of this blade possesses the power to master life and death, and I am the emissary of the Aeldari God of Death, Ynnead."

"Get to the point, Xenos." Calgar's expression was as dark as a blood-crazed berserker about to roar: "What do you intend to do with that profane weapon?"

Yvraine tilted her head slightly, looking at Calgar: "Kill your gene-father, Roboute Guilliman."

"Of course, this is so that he may be resurrected."

We're doomed!

This thought flashed through Reina's mind in an instant.

An Aeldari witch claimed she could heal the Primarch, but only if she stabbed him to death first.

Such a thing—never mind Calgar, even Reina's first reaction was that it must absolutely not be agreed to.

And then, to immediately suspect the motives of this group...

Reina felt like crying.

Judging by the current situation, the loyalty of the expeditionary force didn't seem as high as Zhou Yun's, who was full of profane jokes.

She had thought she was participating in a legend; how had it turned into a tragedy so quickly?

Grand Master Voldus, face grim, walked to Calgar's side. The Ultramarines and Grey Knights leveled their weapons at the expeditionary force.

"Do you not understand?" Yvraine said slowly: "This is a necessary act."

"And even if it fails, you will suffer no loss; it is merely a man who was already destined to die, walking toward his true death—"

"XENOS!!!! SILENCE!!!!"

Calgar's roar was like fury incarnate, making Reina think for a second of the Khorne daemons she had seen on the battlefield.

"As long as I draw breath, you shall not touch the body of our gene-father with your profane weapon!"

With Calgar's roar, the Grey Knights and Ultramarines quickly surrounded the expeditionary force, their weapons aimed directly at the transport vehicle behind Belisarius Cawl and at Yvraine.

Reina licked her dry lips. She noticed Saint Celestine kneeling, trying to persuade everyone to lower their weapons, while Archmagos Cawl gripped his Omnissian Axe tightly.

Unexpectedly, a flash of realization crossed Greyfax's eyes, and she stood firmly with the others of the expeditionary force.

Only Reina was left in the dark, having no idea which side she should stand on.

She desperately wanted to ask Zhou Yun, but Zhou Yun was wearing that item called the "Blind Spot Star" and was nowhere to be seen.

However, at this moment, Chief Librarian Tigurius, who had been standing among the Ultramarines, stepped toward the expeditionary force.

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused upon him.

Reina became nervous; as a psyker, she knew perfectly well how powerful this Chief Librarian was.

But, the unexpected happened: the Chief Librarian stood beside Cawl and silently aimed the staff in his hand at the Ultramarines and Grey Knights.

"Tigurius..." Calgar questioned, suppressing the anger and shock in his voice.

Tigurius merely shook his head slightly and whispered two words:

"Hope." His tone was firm.

Calgar roared aloud.

His body moved with incredible speed, far beyond what his frame should allow, faster than even Reina's psychic senses could track.

The relic known as the Gauntlets of Ultramar smashed straight toward the expeditionary force—

The hum of an energy field suddenly rang out, and a power hammer engraved with the mark of the Blood Angels appeared silently from mid-air, blocking Calgar's power fist.

The roar of an energy field erupted as the Gauntlets of Ultramar and the Hammer of Baal clashed in mid-air.

Captain Kaelen of the Blood Angels had appeared on the battlefield, and wearing his super-powered gauntlet, he took Calgar's blow head-on.

In addition, twenty-one other Blood Angels warriors, their shoulder pads painted metallic blue, including a Death Company Dreadnought, appeared simultaneously.

The air froze. Calgar looked at this scene in shock and confusion, completely unable to imagine where these Blood Angels had popped out from.

"Since you don't like the Aeldari God of Death killing him, can I do it instead?"

Zhou Yun's voice rang out from the void.

(End of chapter)