Chapter 72: A Chaotic World, A Fractured People
The underhive conduits, the spire levels—chaos was everywhere.
Refugees and routed PDF troopers surged up from the underhive, fighting over scraps of food, not even leaving the blades of grass in the hydroponic parks untouched. They had to hoard as much food as possible.
The terrifying xenos and the forces of Chaos were a threat, yes, but in a hive city of this immense size, the probability of them finding you was actually not that high. But the hunger and madness that came with the collapse of order would claim your life in an instant.
The transmigrators looked at this hellish scene and then recalled the images of the Genestealer Cultists before they were annihilated.
Close cooperation, perfect order...
"The Imperium is in a constant state of turmoil, but don't ask why," Karna sighed on the internal channel as he led a contingent of Sisters and supply vehicles towards the Ecclesiarchal Shrine.
The reason a thing like the Genestealer Cult could spread so rapidly among the lower classes of humanity was that, for them, the process wasn't all that bad. Sometimes, trying to tell people who are already born in hell about the dangers of hell was a truly comical affair.
"And now for the most ironic part," Ramesses said, pressing a hand to his forehead. "The Genestealer Cult is just another chocolate-flavored turd."
"Pheromone-linking plus psychic brainwashing. It's not that humans couldn't do it, but nine times out of ten, it would lead to a Chaos outbreak and everyone would get wiped out," he continued. "And look at how these 'stealers treat the old and the weak. Individuals whose bodies are beginning to fail and the first-generation infected young, because they are 'useless,' can all be collectively sacrificed. Literally, as food. If humanity becomes like that, then there's no saving them."
Even the utopia depicted by the Genestealer Cult was merely a means to a more evil, more terrifying end—a malevolent illusion twisted by psychic power. With the arrival of the Great Devourer, all of these lives would eventually be rendered down into a biomass soup, becoming a part of the endlessly hungry will.
Another story filled with classic Warhammer-style black humor.
"And there's something even more humorous," Arthur, who had been scouting the Upper Hive ahead of them, said, having silently rejoined the group. "I've checked out all the nearby human communities. Here's the data."
He shared the intelligence he had gathered.
The Space Marines who were fighting alongside the elders suddenly felt the elders' bodies go rigid, almost in unison. The Carcharodon Librarian, Te Kahurangi, immediately threw up a psychic barrier under the death-glares of the numerous Black Templars, thinking it was some kind of Chaos attack.
"..."
Looking at the video files in his head, Romulus for the first time regretted having trained his reading comprehension skills to such a high degree.
Just look at the leaders of these human communities.
The mad, the hedonistic, the ones who had surrendered to Chaos... they had carved out their own little kingdoms in the midst of the chaos and were now engaged in abstract atrocities that were difficult to describe in words, but were somehow even more abstract than the most abstract works of art they had ever seen.
It was a full display of human diversity.
"..."
Romulus lowered his gun, took off his helmet, and rubbed his eyes. The cold metal pressing against his eyeballs cooled his overloaded brain slightly. He felt like he was going to get a stye if this kept up.
"Is that all of them?" he asked.
"This is just one district surrounding the Shrine of the Bloody Rose. The Upper Hive is vast. It would take me a long time to walk through every block," Arthur said, shaking his head. His flamer pistol was not idle, helping the team deal with the enemies ahead. "I've completely cleansed the ones tainted by Chaos. I've also dealt with the leadership of the communities with excessively high mortality rates. The others, I haven't touched. Besides them, there's a large transient population. Their composition is very complex, from all social strata. It will require a significant number of personnel to conduct a proper census."
"So the rest of them..."
"Yes. We can't manage them. We don't have enough people," Arthur nodded. He had only redistributed the food. Theoretically, it should be enough to keep everyone alive for ten or fifteen days, but only theoretically. Because of the ever-present threats, Arthur couldn't just confiscate their weapons. With the influence of Chaos seeping deeper into the planet, it wouldn't be long before another wave of looting began.
"Sigh. Is the only choice this universe gives humanity to fall along with the rest of it?" Karna sighed again, his power lance reaping the lives of xenos and heretics with increased speed. He couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow for the fate of those humans.
"Let's get to the Shrine area first," Romulus said, guiding the convoy around a collapsed crater, a rescue plan already forming in his mind. Theoretically, it was impossible to expect the Imperial Administratum to handle this. But with the support of the transmigrators and the administrative capabilities of the Ecclesiarchy, it was possible to improve the environment of the Upper Hive. As for the specifics, he still needed to sort through the available data. Fortunately, they still had some time before they reached the Shrine.
"For the Emperor! Slaughter these filthy xenos!"
With the support of the elite forces, the massive transport convoy dealt with a few minor troubles and arrived at its destination.
The Shrine of the Bloody Rose.
This massive shrine extended from the Upper Hive all the way to the Spire, a counterpart to the Mechanicus Temple. They were the two most revered buildings on the planet.
"Let the flames purify all!"
Before the convoy could even approach, the thunderous war-cries of the Sisters of Battle echoed from ahead. The members of the convoy quickly grabbed their weapons and joined the fray.
Romulus, taking potshots at the chaotic Genestealers, observed these Sisters, whom he had only ever known through written descriptions. Clad in crimson, these Sisters wielded chainswords to cut down the xenos, waves of fire sweeping past them to incinerate the enemies in the distance. They seemed to have no regard for their own safety, only charging forward with the most fervent zeal to slaughter the enemies of the Emperor.
Furious, violent.
A completely different demeanor from the Order of the Sacred Rose. Compared to the Sacred Rose, who liked to hum hymns during battle and were gentle and quiet in their daily lives, these—
He saw a Sister impale a still-struggling Genestealer on an iron hook, use a winch to hoist it onto a burning bronze pillar, as the chanting servitors piously recited the holy words of the Imperial Creed, drowning out the creature's screams in the flames.
Yes, "zealous" was indeed the word.
If the Order of the Sacred Rose was a tide that slowly and calmly drowned everything, then the Order of the Bloody Rose was a fire that fervently burned everything to ash.
"Salutations to you, honored Angels of the Emperor, and to our serene sisters," a Sister said, taking off her helmet after the conflict was quickly ended by the pincer attack. She saluted Romulus and the others.
The transmigrators looked closely and saw that her eyes burned with a fire-like fanaticism.
"...Salutations to you, brave sister."
The group exchanged brief greetings, then turned their gaze to the accompanying Sister Arabella.
These kinds of Sisters... they couldn't handle them.
(End of Chapter)