40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 88 86. Between the Stars (2, 4.5k)

The hatch of the transport ship slowly opened, and the fresh air of Macragge rushed in, along with the high-pitched string music.

A whole orchestra—or two—begins to play the music with almost manic enthusiasm.

The civilians began to cheer, applaud, and spontaneously offered poems they had written. Along the red carpet, petals were sprinkled by shyly smiling girls, who had garlands waiting in their baskets.

They had been informed of this as early as yesterday, and the first thing Robert Guilliman did after rushing back was to announce to all Macragge that his brother's legions were coming - although he did not say exactly what There were many, but the citizens of Macragge felt that they must not disgrace Robert Guilliman.

However, the people inside the transport ship were not as excited as they thought.

Gloomy, quiet, and solemn—this obvious atmosphere suddenly hit the face of Robert Guilliman, who walked forward quickly, and the smile on his face stagnated.

There is no doubt that this is not an appropriate attitude. However, before he had time to question, his attention was attracted by a giant standing at the front of the crowd. There was a pair of completely dark eyes on that pale face, staring at him calmly.

In just a moment, Robert Guilliman knew who this was.

and what he should do next.

He stretched out his right hand, stopped abruptly, and stopped his butler on the long red carpet.

Tarasha Euton exclaimed softly and almost fell. She couldn't keep up with her adopted son's reaction speed, but that was not the most important thing. She quickly stood firm, and when she raised her head, she saw a familiar face that was frighteningly serious.

The housekeeper's expression suddenly fell into one of anxiety.

The bands were still going on, the people were still waiting, but the Ultramarines were slowly gathering around. They could see what was happening here, and could detect the change in the atmosphere on their primarch's face.

"No."

Robert Guilliman expressed his attitude in a simple voice. Like a boulder separating the waves, he stood in the center of the surrounding Ultramarines, firmly blocking his mother behind him.

He stared closely at the pale giant - to be precise, at the Astartes standing next to him.

The unique paint of the Eighth Legion, gloomy blue, black shoulder pads, MK1 type, which means that he has experienced the Unification War and is the emperor's old department - other than that? anything else?

Nothing left, except for a right hand resting on a pauldron.

It stayed there calmly, as if it had existed since ancient times, with no movement in its fingers, but the owner of the shoulder armor was firmly bound in place.

Guilliman sensed it as quickly as one of the hundreds of other details he caught in those two short minutes.

He loved to study, read, and compare over and over again. Such is his nature, and so is his acquired habit.

So he immediately noticed how strange and strange the Astartes' standing posture was.

Full of threats.

Then, in his imagination, he removed the hand that bound the Astartes.

After five seconds, he took a deep breath.

"Stand behind me." Robert Guilliman turned around and whispered. "Ask nothing, ma'am, don't ask anything. I swear I will explain it to you, but for now, please stand behind me."

If that's your wish. His adoptive mother answered him with her eyes, which were firm and full of perseverance, completely opposite to her thin image.

You need to know one thing - Thalasa Yuton is not respected for being Robert Guilliman's chamberlain.

Therefore, she stood quietly behind her adopted son, letting him go away, completely blocking her with his back.

Robert Guilliman began to walk towards the transport ship with strong steps. This was not the first time he saw the soldiers of the Eighth Legion, but this was the first time they looked so uneasy.

He cast his gaze behind the pale giant, his eyes so sharp that they seemed to pierce through the helmet. After taking twelve steps, his posture became less tense. Forty steps later, he reached the edge of the red carpet and the helipad where the ship was moored.

Behind him, his adoptive mother, and his sons - began to wait anxiously.

"Good day, first meeting you," Robert Guilliman said to the giant. "But I didn't expect that our first meeting would be like this."

"I think you need an apology." The giant replied quietly, his voice soft.

"No, I don't. What I need is an explanation." Guilliman said. "If there is no fault, there is no need to apologize."

"actually"

Khalil slowly turned his head and looked at the trembling first company commander. "some."

"You have done no wrong of any kind to me, or anyone else on Macragge," Robert Guilliman said firmly. "So I'm asking for an explanation now. Mr. Khalil, my brother's adoptive father, the instructor of the Eighth Legion, I really need an explanation."

"Five minutes," Khalil said calmly. "Give me five minutes - Siani, you go down first."

Guilliman frowned and saw a warrior walking out of his original formation and stepping off the transport ship. He lowered his head, not like he was visiting, but like a prisoner. It wasn't until he was reminded by one of his brothers that he straightened his back.

Robert Guilliman turned around and put on a smile. He could feel that his adoptive mother was observing him. He also knew that his adoptive mother could see the worries he was hiding at the moment, but it didn't matter.

As long as she's okay.

Smiling and waving, Robert Guilliman turned around, only to see two flashes of blue light.

What.?

He had no answer. He only knew that amidst the heart-wrenching sound of metal twisting, the Astartes trapped under Khalil Lohars' right hand slowly lowered his head. His shoulder armor shattered with it, as easily as glass.

——

Where am I?

There was no answer in the darkness.

Where am I?

There was no answer in the darkness. This is normal, the darkness will not answer me, how can the darkness answer my words?

No, no, who am I?

The long silence was as disturbing as death. A smell broke into my nasal cavity, and it took me a long, long time to realize what it was. It was the smell of death.

I've smelled it countless times. I've smelled it in the underground laboratories of the Seragon enclave. I've smelled it in Europa. I've smelled it in Croesus. I've smelled it in countless places that need me. I've smelled it on the battlefield.

I actually saw it when I was very young.

The first thing I remember is my father's death.

He was the son of a criminal, and so was I. It was a dark underground cave. My mother killed my father, but the blood on her hands was crying sadly.

Isn't that ironic? The descendants of criminals also have feelings. My mother is pale and strong, and my father is equally pale and strong. They are also fierce, but their fierceness is to protect themselves.

Then my father died.

Then, my mother died too.

Then, I became a member of the Eighth Legion.

The Emperor himself came to take us away, I saw him, I'm proud to say it, even though seeing him with my own eyes blinded me for four and a half weeks. My pauldrons prove this for me. I fought in the Unification War and am lucky to be alive to this day.

I was reborn because of the war, and lost many things in the successive wars, some of which I didn't care about, and some of which I cared about very much.

But no matter what, I have become inseparable from my armor. Although I could still take it off, I could no longer leave my duties.

I can not. Just like I can't leave our Primarch.

Primarch?

Conrad Coates?

What do I want to say?

My words seemed to fall into disarray. Like my consciousness. What was I asking initially?

Yes, yes, I remembered.

who I am?

who I am?

No answer, no one answered.

I was a little angry and didn't understand why I didn't get an answer. But I actually want to know where is this place and why can't I see anything?

Why can't I get an answer?

There are so many voices whispering in my ears, but I can only hear them.

No, that's not right.

Who is speaking?

Is that you, Siani? Or Leonard?

I'm sorry for expelling you from the company. I'm sorry, Leonard. But I have no choice, you have to leave. I can still take off my armor, but you have become one with it. You have forgotten what we are fighting for. I feel so sad about this, but I have to do it, we all have to do it.

us?

who are we?

Father, Mother, Legion, Primarch, Emperor?

Who are you?

where are you?

Is anyone here? Please answer me, anyone is welcome, anyone is fine, please, who am I?

"You are Van Cleef," said a voice. "You are the First Captain of the Eighth Legion, and you are standing on the ground of Macragge. You are going to kill Tarasha Yuton."

who?

"Talasha Euton, a mortal."

I only kill sinners, I am the judge.

"She is the sinner, VanCleef. She and her adopted son have sinned against your Legion, and against your Primarch."

Really?

"Of course it's true, can't you see her?"

I saw it.

Through the eyepiece, I saw it. At the very end of the red carpet, there was a woman standing there. I also heard something, and I saw something.

Why can I see again?

I heard the sound of the transport ship's engine gradually shutting down, and the jet of air made the petals fly. The woman stood in the middle of this beautiful scene. What is she doing? Is she smiling? Wait, where are the others? Why can I only see her?

No, no, that's not right. Who is she?

"She is Tarasha Euton, your target, VanCleef. Kill her, and all bets are off. Kill her, and stop the whispers in your ears. I know you don't like them, right?" You want quiet, you need solitude."

I only kill sinners.

"She is the sinner."

What crime has she committed?

"She and her adopted son Robert Guilliman sought to infiltrate your Legion and your future homeworld. She sought to turn against your Primarch."

She is just a human being.

"Sometimes, wanting to achieve something has nothing to do with status. She is a mortal, but she is also Robert Guilliman's chamberlain. You know that, right? You met her a long time ago."

Have I seen her?

"Of course you have, Vancleef. You have seen her plotting in her mansion. You have seen her and her son Robert Guilliman's sinister smile."

"Macragge, the empire's state within a state. The Ultramarines, a group of freaks who have assumed more political responsibilities and identities besides warriors. What does Robert Guilliman want to do? He wants to accumulate power for his own purposes. capsize.”

"He was once your primarch's brother, but he is not anymore, and his mind has been tainted with the venom of Thalasa Yutun. Your primarch's brother is now an ambitious schemer, and he is targeting North. Telamo sent five hundred Ultramarines, why should he do this if he shouldn’t?”

"Five hundred Ultramarines, what does he want? Couldn't some mortal Archon serve the same role? Robert Guilliman deserves to die, but his death does not need to be decided by you, Van Cleef, my lord has no right to him." useful."

"And you only need to judge Tarasha Yuton. So break free from the shackles of Khalil Lohars. He foolishly rejected his own essence and even gave part of it away."

"I will help you, Van Cleef. With my help, you only need one second to kill that woman. Khalil Lohars has already noticed that something is wrong, but it doesn't matter. You just have to judge her, and you can do it if you give your life."

who I am?

"*Sigh* Damn it, the curtain blocked my power, otherwise you should have been completely controlled by me from the beginning."

Why do you sigh?

"You are Van Cleef, you are the first company commander of the Eighth Legion, and you are going to kill-"

"--Shut up."

who is it?

Wait, this is the second voice. This is not the first voice. Who is speaking? I heard something screaming in the dark

"Van Cleef."

who?

"Talk to me in your voice, Van Cleef, not the voice they gave you." The second voice said to me in a voice as cold as steel.

He seemed to be fighting. I don't know where this feeling came from, but I could sense his anger, that anger.

By the way, Tyra, who is he? No, no, who am I?

"I am Khalil Lohars, instructor of the Eighth Legion, and you are Van Cleef, the first company commander of the Eighth Army. Wake up, Van Cleef."

Something is emerging before my eyes.

I saw a shining golden giant, a giant walking among us, weeping with compassion for our experiences.

He became my lord after that. He reshaped my body with the blood of his son. He wore armor and held a sword and rushed to the front of the battle line with us. He was surrounded by his personal guards.

I saw a group of sinners who turned humans into monsters. They huddled in the darkness and shivered, terrified of the coming judgment.

But there is only anger in my heart. I don’t understand why they dare to do this, why they dare to open the door to the abyss and start studying dangerous psychic powers with a little superficial knowledge.

I killed them, feeling angry as I did so, my rage seemingly unending, until Leonard stopped me.

He said never forget what we are fighting for.

Leonard, Leonard.

I remember now.

Leonard, who has forgotten what he fought for, I remember, Siani of Terra, I remember, I—

The original body, the original body.

I am VanCleef, Primarch. I am your First Captain, I swear allegiance to the Emperor, and I swear allegiance to you until death.

I--

I heard a sigh.

"Van Cleef." The second voice spoke to me in a low, weeping voice that I had never seen before. "Are you really going to do this?"

"Yes, instructor." I replied in a low voice. "It cost me my life, it left a mark on my heart, I can see it. So I'm going to destroy it."

I already know who I am.

I am First Captain of the Emperor's Eighth Legion, son of the Primarch Konrad Curze, and I am VanCleef of Terra.

I will die.

Also, let’s talk more today, I know how uncomfortable everyone is getting stuck.

By the way, do you want to guess whether the first company commander will die?