God Emperor’s Angel of Death

The Arbitration Court of the Ministry of Military Affairs of Bakashin is a magnificent place. It is as huge and gloomy as an Imperium mausoleum.

The sound of countless trials echoed in the ancient courts that stood for thousands of years, including both military courts and civil prosecutions.

On the huge stained glass, the portraits of the God Emperor and the saints stare tirelessly, weighing the guilty or innocent souls.

The tapestries hang down from the dark marble walls, and the scattered colors they peel off form a sharp contrast with the atmosphere of this room.

As a political commissar in the Imperium army, Arek will go wherever the God Emperor asks him to go. It couldn't be easier.

So now, he is patiently standing in the dock, enduring the discomfort of the unfitting uniform, and waiting for the beginning of the interrogation.

Perhaps he is not a tall man by Astra Militarum's standards, but he is muscular and powerful.

Since he was escorted from the Unbound Soul by the representative of the Ministry of Military Affairs, in addition to some daily exercises, he can only stay in his cell with nothing to do after eating and drinking. .

The benefits of this life are obvious. He is about to recover the waist and weight he has lost since being dispatched to Valledo.

His previous military coat was worn out. He didn't expect to get a new one at first, but with the help of some kind of "mysterious power", he still got a new military coat. Contains some kind of hint.

But he has no interest in showing off one's military strength like a noble-born official. Yarek is a soldier.

Today’s air is very dry. A row of servo skulls holding charcoal are floating in the air, but it won’t be much warmer until the beginning of the interrogation. This will expose the guilty shivering at first. The soul comes.

But for Arrick, this is the worst. Only the God Emperor can control his destiny, just like until now.

Then he moved his gaze to the center of the window in the hall, watching the shining portrait of God Emperor.

"The light of all mankind..."

He whispered, not caring whether the bailiff behind him would hear it.

"I was born for the battlefield, I serve what you wish, and may grant me to dedicate myself to this."

At this time, someone on the right side of Arek coughed, and the answer was Surrounded by the stone walls, until submerged in the shadow of the high ceiling, he turned around.

"Actually, Yarek."

A man sitting alone on the juror’s bench said with a smile:

"It is necessary to Was he so depressed early in the morning?"

This is his former superior. He seems to have enough sleep and is in good condition. The depression on his cheek disappeared from the days of fighting.

His oiled black hair was as shiny as when they first met, and the symbol of his class, the big brimmed hat everywhere, rested on the bench beside him.

"It's just that I didn't sleep well last night."

Arek nodded, he was surprised that he felt a little comfort when he saw this person attending.

No matter what happens in this trial, the appearance of this person will be the most surprising of them. He played his role in the whole incident and understands the truth.

But how would he testify?

Despite certain guarantees, this is still one of the things that Arek can't fathom.

He is brave enough, yes, and he has also proven his loyalty and dedication to the God Emperor, but he is also a "defiled", one who has looked directly at the most terrifying enemy of Imperium Survivors, this kind of person should not end well.

A pair of silhouettes on the balcony above the bench attracted Arek's gaze. He raised his gaze from the old officer and saw a pair of weird men sitting in the front row of the balcony.

The two men met his gaze directly.

It is a man and a woman, although it seems inappropriate to describe the former with the word "person".

The woman sat there with her shoulders shrugged, her head almost buried in the black ruffled collar of her robe.

She is hunched over in her old age, and she does not look taller than a ten-year-old child, but from the shadow of her hood, she can see sharp and wise rays of light flashing in her eyes .

Is she also a juror? Or from other institutions?

Anyhow, her eyes made Yarek very uncomfortable, but he couldn't explain why.

The person sitting next to this old ugly woman makes her appear smaller. The man looks like a living statue carved out of a piece of marble. His skin is as white as snow in the sun. , And the plain robe can't conceal the huge body underneath at all.

He is a bald head, which reinforces the illusion that he is basically made of rocks.

But this illusion was broken after Arrick noticed his gaze. His eyes were scarlet, even where they were supposed to be white.

In all the journeys of his service, Yarek has never seen such a terrifying and strange person.

Who are these people, and what the hell is happening in this interrogation?

Suddenly, the door banged loudly when it was pushed open, and the sound of messy footsteps rushing into the marble floor wrapped in the air.

A mixture of military officials and Astra Militarum officers poured in, and the room trembled in the noise of their search for their seats.

Arik scanned the crowd, trying to find a few familiar faces, but he couldn't find one of his people.

This is not unexpected.

Arik withdrew his gaze from the crowd and turned to the front, just in time to see the door of the judge's room opened.

A burst of orange rays of light overflowing with enthusiasm spilled into the hall, and the military arbitrators walked in slowly in a line.

When the bloated silhouette of the presiding judge appeared in the line of sight, Arek couldn't control himself from appearing weird on his face.

This is a handicapped person, fixed on a multi-legged mechanical seat that can be directly controlled through the neurofeedback slot at the bottom of the skull. The seat fluently takes him to On the trial bench, the badge on his body showed that he had the rank of lieutenant general.

Arik raised his right hand to his eyebrows and saluted with a quick but reluctant gesture.

"In the name of God Emperor."

The legal clerk announced:

"All stand up."

In the auditorium The people moved noisily, and the interrogation of Arek’s political commissar began.

For the next three hours, Yarik remained frowned, gritted his teeth and listened to people who had never set foot on the front line scolding him, and belittled the heroic dedication of those soldiers, and blamed every death. To him.

The trial came to an end after four hours.

Behind the arbitration table is the general who is bound in the mechanical seat that sustains his life. He will read the verdict himself.

The arbitration hall remained deadly quiet.

The arbitration committee ended their whispered discussion, and then turned to face Yarek in the dock.

Installed with sensors and recording devices, the servo skull, which has been yellowed by the years, descended from the top of the head and floated in the air with a low buzzing noise using an anti-gravity engine.

They recorded every sentence in the hall, whether it was a formal speech or a conversation with an observer. These records will be carefully screened to identify dissidents and potential troublemakers.

"Stand up."

An old wrinkled official near the general commanded.

"Stand up, Sebastian Jarrek, the sentence is about to be pronounced."

These days of endless questioning and retelling of things in Valledo over and over again Already he was exhausted and struggling, and his old boss on the far right terrace gave his own report on his personal qualities and abilities, but he was ordered to evade during those hearings. , So I don’t know the content of the report at all.

The general cleared his throat with a cough and began to use the electronic microphone installed in the seat to make a sound.

"The entire hearing of this trial covered a wide range of statements from witnesses, analysts, and evaluators—"

The general’s small black eyes swept across the entire Meeting place.

"We heard how the defendant tried so hard to get rid of the core of suspicion, and heard how he used to influence low-level soldiers. We also heard in detail about the loss of command of the 4337 Infantry Regiment. What are the consequences of the situation of the whole war?"

Aric’s stomach squirmed silently to remind him that he had not eaten after dawn, and he started to feel hungry, but his protesting stomach had to wait a while. .

"Honorable committee members."

The general continued.

"They carefully heard all the statements before reaching a conclusion. We consulted the think tank and rummaged through our glorious military history books to find precedents."

Yarik noted The general glanced at the two strange silhouettes on the terrace, just as he did throughout the interrogation.

This further confirms Arrick’s conjecture: The general is afraid of the stranger.

Based on this result, he made further inferences.

These two people are probably the entourage of Magistrate, or his "friends".

The general continued to speak, but Yarek was convinced that the man’s electronic voice sounded lacking confidence.

"We have finally reached a conclusion and are ready to announce here, in the name of Emperor of Mankind, it is now up to me to pronounce the final decision of Political Commissar Sebastian Yarek of the 4337th Infantry Regiment."

According to the regulations, Yarek salutes his verdict.

"Some members of the committee believe that, given your role in the catastrophic defeat of Valledo, you should be relieved of all duties for the rest of your life, while others believe that merely depriving you of your duties is too much. If you are kind, you should choose one of the two punishments: long-term imprisonment and exile."

This time, Yarik felt that the general was pretending to be calm and deliberately not looking at the terrace. Silhouette of.

"In any case, the actual situation of the counterinsurgency in Valledo has undergone a dramatic change in a short period of time, and this war has also attracted the attention of certain Imperium authorities, who exercised In view of this, the court was forced to acknowledge your decisive role in the follow-up battle and assisting the two glorious Astartes in the battle. The above-mentioned contribution is honorable."

The general's eyebrows frowned in frustration as he continued.

"The testimony of your former boss is also under consideration. In his testimony, he described your courage, piety, and excellent combat skills in a long form. Taking these factors into account, the court judges you The current position will be maintained."

After that, the general was clearly sighed.

"In view of the complete destruction of the 4337 Infantry Regiment, under these powers, the court will grant you a new position and resident until the formation of a new regiment, at which time you will immediately return to the frontline troops."

The audience's reaction to the Arbitration Commission’s statement filled the court hall noisily, and people started chattering and sharing opinions with those sitting next to them.

Arik was also surprised.

"The new location? Can you tell me where it is?"

"The original commission should be signed by yourself, well, since you asked."

The general took out a commission and glanced at the place names on it.

"Your new residence is... Armageddon."