In the ruins of Hera Fortress, Datch, wielding his mithril pickaxe, became a one-man demolition crew, clearing collapsed buildings and rubble.
Unlike the roaring plasma cutters and cranes of the Mechanicus, Datch's work was silent and efficient.
He approached a mostly-collapsed wall, swung his pickaxe, and with a soft sound, the wall instantly disintegrated into neat, equally-sized cubes, revealing the solid foundation below.
The efficiency was staggering.
Mechanicus engineers, operating their giant machines, stared in disbelief.
Their proud, hymn-singing machines seemed clumsy and slow before Datch.
A cold, logic-breaking sensation swept through their datastreams. This mysterious angel violated mass conservation, materials science, even the fundamental laws of physics!
Some low-ranking Tech-Priests, unable to process the contradiction, froze in place, emitting buzzing error tones.
Adoli 4556 and his fellows, following Datch, looked on with pity at their crashed colleagues.
Such ignorance—just witnessing the Machine God's power broke them. How could they ever enter the halls of truth?
After clearing the rubble, Datch put away his pickaxe and skipped over to the team of architects.
The architects, arguing over blueprints and dataslates, grew tense and confused at Datch's approach.
Ignoring them, Datch simply took the highlighted Hera Fortress reconstruction plans from the table.
"This is a big project. I'll need the right tools."
He glanced at the densely annotated plans, muttering to himself.
He pulled up his shop menu, browsing the construction section:
Instant-Set Universal Cement
Indestructible Scaffolding
And many more, each with unique strengths.
Datch finally settled on a cost-effective tool:
[Item: Engineer Identity Card (3 days)]
Use this card to become a super-efficient engineer. As long as you have the materials, you can build anything.
Review: For three days, from foundation to dome, you'll be the hardest-working builder. Just remember to stock up on bricks and rebar!
"This one!" Datch confirmed the purchase.
A beam of light enveloped him.
When it faded, an SCV engineering mech—painted yellow and white, radiating industrial might—stood where Datch had been.
Sitting in the cockpit, Datch's vision was filled with high-tech readouts.
The world was now a 3D wireframe of virtual blueprints, showing where every part should go.
"Let's get to work!"
Datch, now with the engineer identity, controlled the SCV with ease.
He put all the materials into his inventory, walked the mech to the foundation, and began construction.
The mechanical arms moved too fast for the eye, placing materials exactly as the wireframe showed.
The high-energy welder didn't spit fire, but shot blue energy beams that fused materials at the molecular level.
Prefabricated parts clicked into place as if magnetized; cables and pipes snaked into position under invisible forces.
Before everyone's eyes, a fully-armed bastion tower, with sensors and weapon platforms, rose at lightning speed—built from nothing in barely ten minutes.
Faster, even, than the orks' crude Waaagh-technology.
Archmagos Cawl, arriving in haste, stared in shock—his data core nearly overloaded.
Inquisitor Greyfax instinctively gripped her bolt pistol, a reflex for any incomprehensible xenos or heresy—but what she saw wasn't psychic or witchcraft, but a kind of technology beyond current human understanding.
Saint Celestine was equally stunned.
"Is he…a living STC?" asked Captain Agemman of the Ultramarines, turning to the others for answers.
The STC, or Standard Template Construct, was a relic of humanity's Golden Age, providing designs for building anything, anywhere.
Agemman's only explanation was that Datch was a sentient STC.
"No, even an STC isn't this fast. STCs provide blueprints, but construction still takes time and follows physics. This…is more like editing matter itself—something we can't comprehend."
High above, Guilliman was equally shaken by Datch's efficiency.
His mind raced, trying to fit what he saw into his vast, logical worldview.
After a moment, he admitted defeat.
The abilities of this mysterious Emperor Angel were beyond his understanding.
"Is this really a gift from you, Father? Why does it feel like his power surpasses yours?"
Guilliman watched as Datch, like a magician, installed a weapons platform atop the new tower in under a minute.
Guilliman took a deep breath, tamping down his inner turmoil.
"At least, for now, he's on our side. That's enough."
Meanwhile, in the SCV cockpit, Datch watched the progress bars shrink, humming tunelessly.
"We workers are mighty! Hey! Busy every day, every night~"
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
With the last building finished, Datch completed the reconstruction of Hera Fortress.
[Congratulations! Mission completed: Rebuild Hera Fortress.]
[Reward: 1200 EXP, 1200 Points, +180 Reputation, Captain America's Vibranium Shield x1]
Datch pulled the shield from his inventory.
[Item: Captain America's Vibranium Shield]
Effect: Blocks bullets and energy beams, absorbs kinetic energy.
Review: Having Cap's shield doesn't mean you have his famous america's butt.
Because of his Terminator armor, the shield was small for Datch—but he quickly solved the problem by mounting it on his arm as a buckler.
Datch tested its abilities—deflecting lasers and explosions, absorbing kinetic blows.
"I can do this all day."
Datch played with the shield, quoting the classic line.
Next time he met Abaddon, he'd say this right to his face.
During these three days, Guilliman was busy too—clearing Chaos from Macragge, organizing production and logistics, restoring order.
Reinforcements arrived from all over; dozens of Ultramarines successor chapters braved the warp storms to see their Primarch.
With so many forces gathered, Macragge's Chapter Master proposed a grand victory parade, to announce the Primarch's return to every world and inspire the Imperium.
After careful thought, Guilliman agreed.
...
Bonus chapter 100 PS