The two Laer warriors slammed the captive down against the steps. One of them drew a power sword from his waist and raised it high.
In that tense, frozen standoff...
The hoisted Imperial Auxilia soldier violently broke free from the grip of the two Laer warriors.
He crashed onto the rubble, stumbling forward two paces, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.
His uniform was in tatters, the exposed skin heavily mapped with deep, bone-exposing gashes.
Blood poured down his legs, leaving horrifying trails across the shattered ground.
But he stood up.
He raised his head, and on that blood-smeared face burned a fanatical, almost deranged expression of... absolute loyalty.
And then, he spoke.
His voice was hoarse and weak, as if drawing on the very last ounce of strength in his body.
"Don't mind me!!! Open fire!!!"
Down in the plaza, the bodies of countless soldiers shuddered violently.
Fulgrim's eyes shot wide open.
[All According to Plan] stumbled forward another two steps, his posture like a devout believer walking toward his altar.
He tilted his head back, gazing up at the night sky and the unseen sea of stars.
His voice grew louder, sounding like a prayer, like a final sacrifice: "For the glory of the Imperium!!! For the glory of the Emperor!!! Emperor above! With my last breath, I curse these xenos bastards!!!"
His body trembled violently as fresh blood poured from the corners of his mouth. "The Emperor's light will incinerate you all!!! Oh Emperor, witness how your servant offers his soul to vengeance!!!"
He abruptly turned to face the Laer warriors, his eyes shining with glorious light. "Forgive my weakness, Emperor! My gun shall burn for your glory until the very last moment!!! My name will eventually be forgotten... but the Emperor's radiance is eternal!!! The warriors of the Emperor's Children Legion will remember perfection and glory, splendor and duty. Sacrifice is the greatest loyalty to the Imperium! And equally, it is the greatest perfection for the Imperium!"
The final few words were a raw roar squeezed from the absolute depths of his chest, tearing through the night sky.
The plaza fell into a dead silence.
Everyone...
The Emperor's Children, the Solar Auxilia, the Imperial Auxilia... all stared blankly at that crumbling figure.
They looked at those eyes, filled with an incredibly resolute will and faith, and that posture that remained fiercely upright despite being bathed in blood.
In that moment, the eyes of countless men welled with tears.
Those ordinary Imperial Auxilia soldiers, the mortals conscripted from countless worlds, the cannon fodder struggling on the brink of death every single day...
They looked at this man who was just as ordinary, just as lowly, and just as likely to die at any given second as they were.
They watched him scream those words in the final moments of his life.
Fulgrim stood there, his purple and gold power armor gleaming.
What absolute loyalty was this?
He looked at that figure, looked into those eyes, and listened to the words: My name will eventually be forgotten... but the Emperor's radiance is eternal...
The warriors of the Emperor's Children Legion will remember perfection and glory, splendor and duty. Sacrifice is the greatest loyalty to the Imperium! And equally, it is the greatest perfection for the Imperium!
He felt as if something deep within his chest had been struck hard.
The greatest perfection?
What exactly is true perfection?
Is it flashy swordsmanship? Elegant postures?
Or is it... this ultimate loyalty forged with one's very life?
His lips parted slightly; he wanted to say something...
But the two Chaos players standing behind [All According to Plan] had already moved.
The cold light of power swords flashed in the night.
The two blades pierced his back and burst straight through his chest, followed by a frantic, brutal flurry of continuous stabs.
[All According to Plan]'s body violently stiffened.
He looked down at the crimson-stained sword tips repeatedly punching through his chest.
Slowly, [All According to Plan] raised his head, taking one last look at the purple silhouette.
His lips moved, soundlessly mouthing three words:
"For... the... Emperor..."
His body crashed down onto the towering temple steps with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Those eyes, still carrying that radiant light, remained wide open, staring up at the night sky.
Staring toward the unseen direction where the Emperor resided.
A deathly silence hung over the plaza.
Everyone stared at the corpse lying in a pool of its own blood.
They stared at the dense, horrifying cluster of wounds covering his body.
They stared at the frozen, almost saintly expression etched onto his face.
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing] snapped his head up, shouting in a hoarse, aged voice: "Humans! This is your fate! Your Emperor cannot save you! You will ultimately fall into an endless cycle of death!"
Another voice shattered his roar.
Fulgrim's voice slowly rang out. It wasn't loud, but it ensured every single person heard it with crystal clarity.
"Open fire."
His violet eyes were now burning with pure, unadulterated fury.
"Open fire!!!"
The roar of the very first bolter tore through the dead silence.
Then came the second, the hundredth, the thousandth.
A dense storm of mass-reactive rounds poured down onto the temple entrance like a torrential downpour, completely shredding the twenty-plus Chaos players—along with the elderly priest, [Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]—into a carpet of minced meat.
Those Chaos players were ripped to pieces before they even had a chance to type a final message in the chat.
A thick blood mist hung in the night air, mixing with gunsmoke to completely obscure the temple doors and their pale green glow.
Deep inside the temple, the hooded Laer priest stared at the bloody paste on the ground, his face deathly pale.
"Hayes... what... what are you doing..." he muttered to himself, his voice shaking.
But there was no one left to answer him.
--
In the [Wings of Freedom Regional Chat], messages were flying by in a blur:
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Badass!!! The plan was executed flawlessly!!!"
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "[All According to Plan]'s acting and lines, I give it ten thousand points!!!"
[Number One Handsome of the Soul Hall]: "Heh heh heh... Fulgrim is definitely going to grab that sword now! The Great Slaanesh's assist plus this scene, double stimulation!!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "How were my lines?"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Absolutely brilliant! You old bastard!"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] quietly dropped a message: "o(╥﹏╥)o I was wrong. You guys are the real professionals."
--
[Crimson Dawn Regional Chat]:
[Selling Flatbreads at the Terra Palace Gates] looked at the twenty-plus corpses lying in pools of blood, their IDs slowly turning gray. His mouth twitched as he typed a single letter: "F."
[Have You Been Loyal Today?]: "That play... I yield."
[Abaddon Shines My Shoes]: "Are all Warhammer fans this good at acting?"
[Dragon Bro Never Yields]: "I feel like the Avatar Reconstruction Service in the shop has been completely abused by these guys."
[Shinnosuke Eating Lemons]: "Oh man, Warhammer fans are too devious."
--
[Light of the Emperor Regional Chat]:
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood] stared at the corpse and muttered, "This is... more loyal than our Imperial faction."
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "If it weren't for that black ID, I'd seriously think he was a martyr."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "These Chaos players... are way too good at acting."
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "What do we do now?"
Vance stood exactly where he was, staring intensely at the still-twitching corpse on the steps.
He was completely speechless.
Those Chaos players... were just too damn good at acting.
To think they would actually use this method to push Fulgrim's emotional state over the edge.
And that [All According to Plan]—for the sake of the plan's success, he actually willingly endured that level of torture.
Even with a 70% pain reduction, the agony of being repeatedly run through with a sword was absolutely not something a normal person could handle.
He took a deep breath and spoke softly in the regional channel.
"Tell [Love Eating Grox Cans] to get ready to move. If Fulgrim actually goes to grab that sword... we blow the platform."
Up on the ruins, Fulgrim slowly walked down, his steps taking him toward the temple stairs.
His white hair blew gently in the wind. On his flawless face, there was anger and a deep thirst.
And a trace of... a greed that even he himself hadn't noticed yet.
He whispered softly to himself.
"The Blade of the Laer."
"The perfect sword."