A few weeks ago, when the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet was still roaming the sea of stars.
"Lady Ferris, the ground forces of the 413th Expeditionary Fleet are dying every moment. We need your help! As soon as possible!"
"We understand your urgency, sorcerer."
"But before we met you, we encountered a special guest during our Warp travel," a Terminator personal guard standing next to the Iron Hand said.
"A ship from the Iron Hands. All warships are personally supervised by me, but this one... I have never seen it before."
"Could you have been mistaken?"
"There is no such possibility, but I am confident that I can still recognize the Iron Hand symbol on that ship."
The concept of time is not continuous in the Warp, but whether it was the past, present, or future, Ferris would not leave her own sons to die.
"Stop wasting time. Get the landing gunship ready. Santar, Morne, Xanthus, you're with me."
Ferris said impatiently, sitting on the huge iron throne.
"Sorcerer, if you are willing, you can also come along."
The huge and rusty iron door was pushed open by the great force of an Astartes.
After an unknown number of millennia, the light from a flashlight once again shone into this dim room.
The ship's airtightness was very good. Even after losing the protection of the external force field, the internal facilities were still as clean and tidy as they once were.
Various maintenance tools were still hanging on the steel hatch, and the warnings written in Gothic were still visible.
Various models of weapons and equipment were lying quietly in the cabinets.
Everything was intact, as if their owners had just left.
Several legionaries and the Thousand Sons Librarian, Amal, together walked to the final location of the space hulk—the antechamber of the main bridge.
In front of the bridge's door was a withered identification servitor.
There was no need to do this.
Ferris thought to herself.
As if steel were being offered on an altar, the ship's control system was exaggerated and bizarre, like some kind of crazed product of the Cult Mechanicus, and not something driven by reason.
Humans were not controlling the machines.
It was the machines that were controlling the humans.
"Magos Xanthein, help us with this matter."
"Yes, my lady."
From under his crimson Mechanicum robe, a cluster of mechanical mechadendrites extended.
The mechanical gate was successfully opened, and the main bridge was empty. Apart from more Mechanicum symbols and language, there was nothing here.
"Here."
Following the direction of Ferris's finger, they saw the corpse of an Astartes lying in front of the control center of the bridge.
He was indeed an Iron Hand. The insignia on his shoulder represented his clan.
But he seemed to have died a very tragic death—all the "flesh and blood" on his body, or rather, the machinery, had been sharply cut open and then reassembled.
A murder method full of morbid humor.
Although he still maintained a human form, there was not much flesh and blood on him. Countless layers of steel modifications covered his entire body, and some unknown symbols and totems were even carved on them.
"This is too extreme."
Ferris said after a long silence.
If this was the future, then what awaited the Iron Hands was undoubtedly an ugly and不堪 future.
"!"
A momentary sense, made her turn her head to look at the several legionaries behind her.
It was an extremely bizarre-looking xenos.
It had, from somewhere, leaped onto Gabriel Santar's shoulder and was frantically tearing at his intact right arm.
Its body was indistinct, as if it was undergoing an endless and bizarre transformation.
But one could still feel the beauty of its form.
What a strange thing.
"Open fire!"
Almost at the instant she gave the command, several Iron Hands quickly picked up their boltguns and fired at this damn xenos.
At such a close distance, if the calculation of the bullets was slightly off, it was very likely that Santar would be accidentally injured.
But the mechanical brains of the Iron Hands would not make a mistake.
The bullets all flew towards the vital parts of the bizarre xenos.
As if the creature did not exist in this world, in the face of the whistling bullets, the bizarre monster's figure became ethereal and let them pass through.
Giggling, the spike in the creature's "hand" pierced through Santar's power armor as if it were nothing, and easily tore his right arm out.
"What on earth is this monster?!" Ferris shouted.
As a vanguard of the Great Crusade who had once fought against countless xenos, he had seen many types of xenos.
But there had never been a guy in the world whose body even bullets would pass through directly.
This was not scientific at all.
And after seeing Ferris and letting out a terrifying, strange laugh, the creature instantly disappeared into the space behind it, vanishing without a trace.
As if it were a part of this Warp.
Not only that, but more similar creations emerged from all four corners of this ship.
But she would not be alarmed by this.
Seeing that the bullets were ineffective, she immediately switched to a short knife and, with an extremely fast speed, dismembered the monster.
It couldn't be hit by bullets, but it could be eliminated in close combat.
A strange thing.
"Prepare to evacuate."
"My psionics can affect them!"
As he spoke, the Thousand Sons sorcerer Amal opened a force field to protect everyone from the sneak attacks of the monster xenos.
And with a casual psionic lightning bolt, he shattered a screaming monster into ashes.
In the end, they still returned to the flagship Fist of Iron without any danger.
The seriously injured Santar was taken to the Apothecary to have a new bionic arm replaced. Everyone else was fine.
"My lady... what should we do with this derelict ship?"
Magos Xanthein cautiously came forward and suggested, "Perhaps they can bring us advanced knowledge from two thousand, three thousand, or even more years in the future!"
(Actually, not that advanced.)
"No, Magos."
"Their existence has defiled the honor of the legion."
"As long as I am still alive, this tragedy will not happen."
"Destroy it."
Ferris frowned tightly, recalling the corpse of the Iron Hand she had seen before.
[This is the legion after you are gone.]
[You must be strong, you must lead them.]
A constantly splitting and shattering legion, shattered clans, a twisted desire.
They needed her to be able to come back, to take charge of it all, and to put them back on the right track.
"The Iron Hands do not fail..."
[The Iron Hands do not fail.]
"For my children..."
"I must do so."
What a story of a great flag being raised high.
After hearing Amal's words, Kasjia couldn't help but sigh.
This was going to be difficult.
A daemon from the future had affected the present.
And for a daemon to be able to have such a huge influence on a Primarch, to foster her hatred of flesh and blood in pursuit of greater power...
...apart from The Sapphire King, Kasjia could think of no other candidate.
But The Sapphire King was born from the death of the Iron Hands. How could it travel through time to affect his past self?
Actually, it could.
Just as Loken would meet Samus on Holy Terra, a daemon, after its birth, would exist in all timelines and have an influence.
Samus also came from the death of the Luna Wolf Loken. Daemons never talk to you about the grandfather paradox.
And once The Sapphire King was born in all timelines...
...then it meant that Ferris's dark and desperate fate was already sealed. She would, as a destined sacrifice, become a victim on the gambling table of the dark gods.
Was this all something that he, Kasjia, could change?
But you can't be so absolute.
Who knew if the other party was really him?
What if it was just a small, nameless daemon of Slaanesh that had luckily parasitized Ferris, who had an insufficient understanding of the Warp? It wasn't impossible.
Fulgrim's Laer blade was such a situation.
Who knew if it was The Sapphire King?
What if it wasn't? And he was so scared now, wouldn't that be ridiculous?
To this, Kasjia still held a glimmer of hope.
"Kasjia?"
Seeing the other fall into a long period of contemplation, Amal reminded him a little awkwardly.
"Did this matter make you think of something? And you said that Lady Ferris had encountered something strange. Could it be related to this space hulk?"
It had a lot to do with it.
Kasjia was a little undecided.
On the one hand, due to the promotion of the Imperial Truth during the Great Crusade, the only one who truly possessed the knowledge and ability to deal with Warp creatures was the Thousand Sons Librarian, Amal.
But on the other hand... that was the Thousand Sons!
If Kasjia dared to tell them about the existence of the Chaos Gods, he had no doubt that Magnus would lead his sons to investigate the Eye of Terror in the next second.
This bunch of guys are too good at courting death!
Forget it. I'll just reveal a little bit.
"Then I'll just say it directly—as the Thousand Sons, you must have encountered and come into contact with some intelligent creatures from the Warp, right?"
"Never!"
Kasjia: "..."
The air is thick with the smell of lies.
"Uh... we have indeed encountered them, but I must declare: the contact of the Thousand Sons with them is absolutely within a reasonable and limited range, in accordance with the Imperial Truth—"
"Enough. Just tell me if you have or not!"
"We have."
"Good. Then let's continue."
"You mean to say... the Primarch of the Iron Hands is very likely entangled with a creature from the Warp, and it is constantly affecting his mind?"
"Yes."
Under Kasjia's careful explanation, the Thousand Son finally understood that Warp creatures could affect humans.
This was very rare.
"But the Warp creatures we have encountered are all very friend—"
"Hm?"
"...Pretend I didn't say that."
"Friendly? Hmph, you Thousand Sons should just turn off the Geller Field the next time you enter the Warp, and have a good feel of the 'friendliness' of the Warp creatures!" Kasjia said irritably.
It was one thing for Old Man Gold to be tricked by a ghost when he was young, but where did you guys, who are in a Geller Field, get the confidence to say that the Warp is friendly? Huh?
Isn't that a bit too ridiculous?
If you like playing Pokémon so much, why don't you turn off the force field and have a good game with them?
Speak!
Are you still playing Pokémon or not?!
"...I dare not."
One who has eaten someone's food is short of breath; one who has taken someone's hand is short of stature.
Amal, who urgently needed Kasjia to lift the legion's flesh-change curse, dared not refute Kasjia's words at all.
"Forget it. Remember, be more wary of these things in the future. Don't just believe whatever others say, understand!?"
"...I understand."
"But Commander Kasjia, are you willing to accept our gene-father's invitation to come to Prospero—"
"What time is it now? The Primarch has been affected by the Warp, and you're still talking about this!"
Kasjia was a little impatient.
Perhaps the Thousand Sons thought that even if the Primarch's thinking had changed, with her outstanding judgment, there would not be many problems.
Only Kasjia knew that this was a matter that could burn the galaxy!
"How about this, Amal."
"Help me deal with this matter of Ferris being disturbed by a Warp creature. If it's solved well, then I'll go to Prospero and have a look at your Primarch."
"Really!? Then how can we help Ferris deal with the threat of the Warp creature?"
"That's simple."
Kasjia said, and held up his burning right hand.
"Just burn it with fire."
The Iron Hands Primarch was walking on the bridge.
The Gardinerians, after their long-premeditated assassination had failed, had fallen into a state of absolute panic.
Arrogant and self-important, they could never have imagined that there would be a human who could take a high-energy particle cannon with their bare hands and be completely unharmed.
A beam of light that could easily cut through even the strongest ceramite armor could not cut through human flesh?
This one called Ferris Manus, was she really still human?!
They did not know the combat ability of a Primarch.
And death was the price they would have to pay for their arrogance.
After launching the assassination, they had begged to express their intention to surrender to Ferris through the previously agreed broadcast network.
But it seemed that Ferris, who was not in a good mood at the moment, did not intend to give these fools another chance to provoke her.
Direct bombardment.
They had previously occupied some cities on the main planet of Gardiner as fortresses and had destroyed the planet's surface defense system.
The Gardinerians' shields could no longer protect the entire planet.
Under the high-intensity and merciless orbital bombardment of the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet, most of the defensive facilities of Gardiner on the planet were completely destroyed.
However, Ferris had still preserved those industrial facilities from the Dark Age of Technology as much as possible.
Now, on the main planet of Gardiner, apart from a few small fortresses that were still stubbornly defending the city, the entire planet was almost completely controlled by the Iron Hands.
Now, all that was left was to aim at that foolish core and give them a complete and utter annihilation.
To give all the guys in this world who dared to provoke the authority of the Iron Hands a complete demonstration.
To make all the xenos and pocket empires in the entire galaxy remember this lesson forever.
"Lady Ferris!"
Seeing the Primarch appear, Kasjia, who had been hiding in a corner for a long time, quickly came forward.
The final battle for the planet Gardiner was about to begin. If he wanted to exorcise the daemon, now was arguably the best opportunity!
Once the Gardiner campaign was over, if he were to express his desire to stay on the Iron Hands' ship in front of Fulgrim...
...Kasjia shuddered at the thought of the expression she would make.
So terrifying.
Seriously, Kasjia felt that even without the Laer blade, Fulgrim would still chop off his head.
Viciously.
"I request to challenge you!"
"In the duel cage where you defeated our Second Company Captain of the Emperor's Children!"
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (62 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (90 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (86 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (70 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (72 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (91 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (53 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it