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Stepping out of the school gates, Ignis let out a long breath. Having lived two lives, he had built wind power farms for his homeland and purged xenos for The Emperor, but pretending to be someone else's guardian was truly a first for him.
Seeing the giant finally leave, the security guard at the gate also relaxed at last. The man was simply too intimidating. Even if he claimed to be a student's uncle, being summoned as a guardian was enough to keep the guards on edge for quite some time. The main reason was his overwhelmingly massive build, and that shiny bald head that reflected the light far too well.
This high school looked more like what he remembered a university to be. The facilities were remarkably complete. Growing up in a small county town, he had never seen things like swimming pools or grand auditoriums with dance halls at the high school level. Back then, there had only been a single teaching building, a permanently locked laboratory building, and a rarely used athletic field.
Ellen's homeroom teacher was a stern middle-aged man. Although he tried his best to remain composed when facing the Salamander, the hand holding his thermos was trembling nonstop, to the point that tea leaves were shaking out of the cup. He was deeply suspicious of Ignis's identity, or rather, he could hardly not be.
Even though the Thiren species was incredibly diverse and its genetics poorly understood, no matter how one looked at it, a gorilla-like Thiren did not resemble Ellen's uncle at all, not even a distant one. This giant nearly brushed the ceiling when he stood up. What kind of mythical beings must Ellen's grandmother's generation have been?
Still, Ignis held a fairly good impression of the teacher. Calling in Ellen's guardian was not simply to scold her for poor grades. The teacher could tell that Ellen was actually quite outstanding, deliberately keeping her performance at a level that barely allowed her to pass exams. He was worried that this attitude would affect her future education and derail her prospects.
This made the Salamander think of one of his own high school teachers. Though only from an ordinary school, that man had been exceptionally responsible. He tried his best to avoid expelling any student. Even if their grades were terrible, as long as they were not criminals or delinquents, he would do everything he could to keep them in school. Ignis had heard that this teacher's bonuses were docked quite heavily, yet the man never complained.
As that teacher used to say, "Isn't this still better than letting them go ruin themselves?"
As for Ellen, even when her homeroom teacher expressed concern for her future and acknowledged her talent, she showed little reaction. She simply stared blankly into the air, eyes unfocused, her thoughts wandering far away. Ignis could understand that well. At her age, he too had been deeply resistant to adult lectures. For adolescents, there was a fearless courage within them. The world belonged to them, and there was nothing they believed they could not do.
Meanwhile, the Salamander kept offering polite reassurances to the teacher, trying to soothe his emotions.
Naturally, such talk achieved little. When the person involved did not care, no amount of talking would help. The homeroom teacher did not seem unfamiliar with situations like this, especially with Ellen. According to him, among all of Ellen's elders he had met, Ignis was the most distinctive-looking, and also the most reasonable.
At that moment, sweat began to bead on the Salamander's skin. If this whole matter were exposed, it would be unbearably awkward. Fortunately, the teacher seemed to understand without words and did not press the issue.
After leaving the school, there was still some distance to the subway station. Inevitably, he thought of another female student he had once encountered.
Iori. The girl with cinnamon-toned skin, a star swimmer, whose neck he had twisted. She… must have lived in a school like this as well. She would have had her own friends, teachers and classmates who cared about her, boys who secretly admired her.
A life that should have bloomed in beauty had been torn to shreds by the minions of Chaos. She never even had the chance to strike back at those damned creatures.
Under the blazing afternoon sun, Ignis looked at his right hand, a bone-chilling cold flooding his heart. The giant once more felt the sensation of that girl gripping his massive hand, slowly guiding it to her slender neck.
I will avenge you… I will make those hateful heretics suffer tenfold, a hundredfold pain. They will scream your name as I burn them all to ash.
Ellen's school occupied a vast area, and the surroundings were rather quiet. On a weekday afternoon, there were hardly any pedestrians. No one noticed a dejected giant slowly making his way toward the distant subway station.
After turning a street corner, Ignis collided with someone. It was a woman in a white dress, wearing a white sunhat. Judging from her exposed brown skin, she bore tan lines similar to those left by swimwear.
"Sorry." The Salamander reached out and caught her wrist, preventing her from falling.
"I've never seen someone look so desolate." She lifted her head. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of purple, giving her features a unique charm, pure yet laced with subtle allure.
She wrapped her arm around Ignis's arm, her soft body pressing against him.
"Do you need company? If your offer is reasonable, you could spend a wonderful night with me. Of course, you could also choose to walk me home. I live quite close to here."
Her voice was captivating, like a siren from legend, carrying a bewitching power that made one want to obey.
The Salamander pulled his arm free from her embrace. The young woman clearly looked displeased.
"You're so young and beautiful. Why degrade yourself like this?" The Salamander tried to step around her, but she stubbornly blocked his path.
Her crystal-like eyes gazed at him as she let out a soft sigh. "Dennies don't grow on trees, sir. I've got a mountain of debt to pay off, and a mouth to feed. No one in this world gives me a free lunch."
"I'm not interested. Step aside." Ignis had no desire to get entangled with her. He would rather go home and continue reforging his autocannon. However, the girl in white did not move. She let out a string of silvery laughter, which gradually became distorted, transforming into an eerie shriek.
Ignis felt a burning pain on his cheek and immediately swung his fist at the girl before him. The tremendous force, amplified by his muscle coils, slammed into the ground, blasting a massive crater into the hardened pavement.
"Just like the rumors say, such a boring man." The girl in white dodged the strike. "I thought I might be mistaken, but you really aren't carrying any weapons. What a gift from the heavens."
Her body began to warp. Her neck elongated and thickened, splitting open as a barbed, thorn-covered tongue extended outward. Her clothes exploded apart, pink-violet scales growing across her skin. Her legs bent backward like a lizard's, feet transforming into vicious claws.
She was right. Considering he was visiting a school today, the Salamander had not brought any weapons with him, not even his usual hammer. Running into a Slaanesh-corrupted mutant under these circumstances was indeed troublesome.
"If I kill you, I'll get tons of Fantasy! Damn it, ever since the source got wiped out, this stuff has been so hard to come by!"
Muffled, frenzied words poured from her swollen throat.
She was nothing more than a mutant. To a Space Marine, even without weapons, there was nothing to fear. The enhanced body of an Adeptus Astartes was itself a weapon.
What was more, he was already drowning in sorrow over Iori, and now a piece of Slaanesh filth had delivered itself to him.
"Come, listen to my song! Mortal! Be reduced to dust by my voice!" The monster roared, its throat bulging as gleaming teeth opened and closed. Its back arched like a panther as it let out a deafening howl at the Salamander.
The massive wave of sound slammed into him like a warhammer, tearing up the hardened road along its path. The space was too narrow for evasion. Ignis had no choice but to take the attack head-on. The sonic blast made his ears ring violently, pain blooming along his ribs. At once, the Salamander called upon the psychic power granted by The Emperor, forming a shimmering barrier around his body.
As golden light flared to life, the pressure instantly eased. He charged the mutant. The black-clad giant surged forward like a heavy armored vehicle, the sonic attacks no longer able to harm him. She fled in panic, but how could she ever outrun a Space Marine?
An obsidian-like fist seized her by the neck. With a brutal squeeze, her mutated spine shattered. Her head lolled limply, yet she did not die. The blessings of a Chaos God had granted her terrifying vitality. This level of injury was not enough to end her life.
"Tell me, monster. Where is your nest? Perhaps I'll consider granting you a swift death." The Salamander's eyes burned, holy fury about to ignite his foe.
"Pain! Stimulation! Give it to me! Give me more! Break more of my bones!" The creature shrieked wildly. Instead of submitting, it grew even more excited.
That made things difficult. The Salamander was momentarily at a loss. Slaanesh things did not fear torture at all. In fact, the more painful it was, the more they enjoyed it.
"Come on, come on, ravage me! Tear off my limbs, set my body ablaze! I can take it, I won't say anything! Hurry!"
Damn it. This was the first time he had ever heard of something begging to be tortured. This utterly deranged Slaanesh spectacle left Ignis completely stunned. How was he supposed to handle this? Torture just made it enjoy itself.
Seeing the Salamander fall silent and not strike, it did not lose heart. "Not moving? Letting me anticipate it, imagine what torment is coming? That's just… just…"
"Too! Exciting!"
Ignis deeply regretted even considering torturing a Slaanesh creation. It was nothing but indulging it. Damn these things were twisted beyond belief. Extracting information through interrogation was basically impossible.
Enough. End it. The Salamander converted the psychic power bestowed by The Emperor into golden flames, the most classic manifestation of His divine might.
The mass of Slaanesh corruption was engulfed by the psychic golden fire, body and soul reduced to ash together. This time, the pure essence of The Emperor's power brought no sensation, no emotion. Only absolute destruction remained.
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