Chapter 74: Go and Do What You Believe is Right!
Why not concentrate their forces to fight after consolidating the major communities?
Why waste manpower and resources to gather the scattered populace?
What could these people contribute to a war?
Another mouth to feed?
The transmigrators fell silent. They had all carefully reviewed the strategy Romulus had proposed. The plan was detailed and would not interfere with the Inquisition's investigation into Chaos or occupy the forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Even the formation of a crusade army was just a bargaining chip to persuade the Ecclesiarchy. The transmigrators had already done their best to make the people they were saving contribute their "value." They were just a bit "greedy," hoping to use their unique powers and the help of the Imperial Cult to try and save more people.
"...My Lords?"
Except for the Sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose, no one could understand why these lords were stumped by such a simple, dismissible question.
For an Imperial world, how many people died during a war was not important. What was important was that the world still belonged to the Imperium after the war.
This was not malice directed at any particular group. It was the default setting.
The default setting of the entire Imperial high command regarding the state of humanity. The default setting of humanity itself regarding the dark laws of this universe.
A chilling, horrifying default.
The vast majority of the Imperium's high command did not lack the resolve to make sacrifices. Their gazes were always fixed on their colleagues and their enemies. They never even looked down.
"The Emperor needs anchor-points. We must protect their lives," Ramesses suddenly said with a serious tone. He was currently making non-stop psychic phone calls to the Emperor in the Warp. "This planet is filled with the power of xenos and heretics. We need a group of the faithful, the more, the better."
The other three immediately looked at Ramesses. They didn't really understand this aspect of things and had only asked. If the Ecclesiarchy really couldn't accept it, they would just do it themselves. There was no need to force an excuse.
Romulus shook his head, accepting the situation, then spoke.
"Our reconnaissance forces will continue to fulfill their duty of investigating Chaos alongside the Inquisitorial retinue. A force composed of Cadians and Carcharodons will move to seize control of the ground-based void shields and anti-aircraft arrays."
"Once a crusade army, based on the faithful, has been established with the Ecclesiarchy as its core, our own combat forces will be freed up. The Black Templars will then conduct the rescue mission independently. There is no need to worry about delaying the investigation of the Chaos taint and the Word Bearers."
"Now, I wish for us to proceed with the plan. Canoness Arabella, the coordination with the Shrine of the Bloody Rose is in your hands."
With that, Romulus turned to leave. The U-shaped insignia embroidered on his cloak swept past the Sisters' eyes, the cobalt-blue thread shimmering like flowing water in the light.
You people...
At the rear of the group, Aglaia, who had remained silent, was at a loss for words. Everyone else was thinking about how to break through the chaotic front line, to gather their strength and reach their respective objectives. But these ancient warriors, in the high-pressure environment of the Upper Hive, intended to push themselves even further, to save more people?
Madness? Naivete? Selfishness?
"Why?" the young Inquisitor whispered, clutching her stylus.
No one answered. There were no grand speeches, no passionate explanations of humanism or the importance of life.
They just walked forward.
"We just want to show you, and show them—"
After taking a few steps, one of the Angels turned back. He tapped his finger to his forehead, then pointed at the Inquisitor, and then at the distance.
"—what else humanity can do in a situation like this, besides die."
They knew very well that they couldn't save everyone, just as life could never be perfectly united or truly equal. But why, when you are at rock bottom, must you sink into the filth around you? Why can't things just get better? They would try their best to save more people, because they held the chips to bargain for life in their hands. So they would try.
Because their choices would not be twisted, and their will would not be misinterpreted.
This fire of hope should not, and would not, be extinguished.
And what else was there to say? Arthur sighed softly. Pretty words were useless at a time like this. If a deeply ingrained mindset could be changed with a single sentence, then there wouldn't be so much ignorance and foolishness in this world. It was better to act first. Romulus could handle the propaganda side of things. Just like on the Dawnlight, it would be a long process. But when the children who were gathered and educated together grew up, it would, eventually, bring about some positive change.
Wait, why are my bros so fired up?
Ramesses suddenly felt it was necessary to make his friends properly understand what the Warp was, and what faith represented within it.
How could saving people be meaningless?
They could provide food and water, the Ecclesiarchy could provide fervent faith, and the Emperor could manifest his power through it.
"Faith is like high ground. If you don't occupy it, the heretic and the xenos will," Ramesses explained in detail as he felt the others' eyes on him. "The fewer humans who believe in the Emperor, the less power he can project onto this planet, and vice versa. This planet is already in peril. Every bit of strength is something we must fight for."
He then emphasized, "They have value in being saved." He hated that he didn't have Arthur's eloquence, that he couldn't get on the same wavelength as these Imperials. But the other three didn't have a deep understanding of the power of faith; due to their past education, they mostly saw the Imperial Cult as a tool for incitement.
Hearing Ramesses's words, the other three transmigrators only felt a deeper sense of sorrow.
How tragic. That saving a person's life has to be justified with 'value.'
But this was the underlying logic of this damned universe.
"...Sigh." Ramesses was about to say more, but then he saw the situation in the Warp and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
The Emperor was finally willing to act like a decent person.
The Canoness Superior was the first to hear the sound of something shattering. It was like someone was tapping on glass from across the galaxy. The neural interface in her armor suddenly burned, and afterimages of the Emperor's holy sigil began to flash on her retinal display.
The pure gold Aquila at the top of the Shrine began to melt. A pale golden liquid seeped from the scriptures on the obsidian surface of the Shrine. The droplets dripped down the wings of a suffering angel and landed precisely on the paper document in her hand. The golden drops then spread out, embossing the text in gold, adding the exchange between Romulus and the Bishop.
Only the Canoness Superior's own question was left unanswered. The meaning was self-evident.
"This is..." The Canoness Superior's hands began to tremble. The Bishop at her side also looked on with a fanatical gaze.
This was a blessing.
And blessings were a power that only a god possessed.
To be able to invoke a miracle from the God-Emperor, one could only be a saint.
And the words of a saint were the words of the Emperor.
"We will obey the commands of the Saints!" The Canoness Superior and the Bishop knelt on one knee before the four figures, who were now shrouded in a golden light.
All doubt was gone.
"...I'm starting to believe the Emperor is a person after all," Romulus said to his companions. All the necessary elements were in place. As it stood, it was almost impossible for humanity to shake off the Imperial Cult. Because their god could actually perform miracles. But a tool was just a tool. Its effectiveness depended entirely on the person wielding it. And for now, the Emperor sitting in that position was probably the best possible outcome for humanity.
"Then the original plan stands. If you have any material needs, just let me know," he then commanded, his voice filled with a rising passion. The Emperor's timely miracle had undoubtedly proven to the people of this world that their decision was correct, giving them the confidence to lead these faithful in bringing about change.
Arthur and Karna exchanged a glance, preparing to go and capture the military nodes around the Shrine of the Bloody Rose. Ramesses found a quiet place; he intended to take advantage of the commotion in the Warp to catch a few more "pixies" to work for him.
None of them had intended to change the path they had chosen, yet in that same moment, they were all filled with an unprecedented passion. A passion to wager their chips, to make things better.
Sigh... people... when they have chips in their hands, they can't help but want to win more. And when people are young, they often don't know their own limits.
"..."
In the Warp, the cold sun once again retracted its light and began to gather its strength. He had performed a miracle only because He could not let these four abandon humanity. He had to bind them with their own faint hope. He wanted humanity to have more.
"Heh heh heh..." On a distant planet in the Sol System, called Terra, a corpse on a throne let out a low laugh. The god had not realized that He, too, had been swept up in their cause.
Go. Go on.
Go and do what you believe is right!
"Arabella, have I disgusted the holy warriors?" the Canoness Superior asked, a look of shame on her face as she watched the departing figures.
"No. The holy warriors would never condemn anyone who has dedicated their life to humanity, because they know it is not your fault," Arabella said, shaking her head. "What they hate are the evil things that prey on humanity. They hate the ugly customs that are born from them. They hate the vermin that, like hyenas smelling blood, rush forward to tear at the flesh of a single shred of human conscience."
"Filth and corruption have twisted goodwill, distorted conscience, and turned what should have been a noble person into a beast."
"They want to tear it all to pieces. They want to show people that kindness can be rewarded. They want to awaken the little bit of conscience in the hearts of humanity, even if it's only in a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand people."
"But that number will eventually grow. It will eventually increase with the passage of time. Even if the process is met with challenges, at least they are still on the path."
She spoke softly, her words clear and distinct.
"...A great ideal," the Canoness Superior said. "Will we live to see that day?"
"Do you remember the question I asked when we first met, Canoness Superior?" Arabella asked, not answering directly.
"Have you found the relic that will allow you to end your pilgrimage?"
"Yes," Arabella replied without hesitation.
"I have found it."
(End of Chapter)