Chapter 9: "Hero."
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"Run! RUN!"
"I SAID TO FUCKING RUN!"
A man shouted towards some people.
"Once we get rid of these monsters, we'll be safe!"
A tall man, about 6'3 feet tall, shouted as he fired his weapon at the deformed, meat-hungry monsters behind him.
Despite the chaos, he kept track of the twelve people fleeing with him, bravely leading the charge.
Alongside him, three other men were armed and kept shooting at the pursuing monsters, buying precious time for the frightened group to escape to a relatively safe area.
As they fired, reloaded, and shot again, it became increasingly apparent that their attacks had little effect; the monster only grew angrier with each shot fired.
The massive creature, nearly five meters tall, was relentless in its pursuit of the terrified crowd, who demonstrated their survival skills by narrowly dodging its violent strikes.
In a desperate bid to catch the fleeing humans, the monster launched yet another charge—only to crash into a large rock wall in the canyon after the crowd evaded its attack.
But what kind of creature were they running from?
The monster towered above them, its body covered in thick brown armor. It possessed sharp, claw-like appendages, and its head, resembling that of a hairless canine, featured pronounced cheekbones.
Despite its size, the monster was incredibly fast, though its bulk limited its agility compared to the fleeing humans.
Its claws, glowing faintly with blue psychic energy and some green liquid, could easily shred even the toughest materials.
This was a second-generation Genestealer.
Silas Mordren, the man urging the crowd onward, continued to unleash rounds at the gigantic monster with a determined and furious expression.
He had a personal vendetta against this monster. This Genestealer was responsible for the deaths of many innocent people over the past few months.
Fueled by anger, Silas fired relentlessly at the beast, but his bullets had no impact.
The second-generation Genestealer, a hybrid creature and a terrifying blend of human and Tyranid, was stronger than any ordinary human.
Its psychic energy-infused claws could easily rip apart the ceramic steel armor of Space Marines.
The Genestealer, filled with rage, which can think independently for some time, was extremely angry at the humans.
His anger didn't come from the humans fleeing, but because he had to endure a hellish reality on this planet for months.
The Tyranids believed they could overpower the planet's weak defenses to fulfill their Sub-Hive Mind mission, and they did. They killed the entirety of the humans who did the defense.
Yet, when they thought everything else was going to be easy, they found themselves tormented by a single human whose origins remained a mystery.
This lone human had effectively annihilated countless Tyranids, including powerful Tyranid Warrior Primes, Carnifexes, and multiple Bio Titans.
To make matters worse, he had the terrifying ability to raise the dead, turning many fallen Tyranid forces into his soldiers.
Since then, for the first time in existence, the Tyranids had been fighting for survival.
However, not everything went badly for them. Through the months, they discovered hidden groups of humans.
In their furious attempts to eradicate their sense of inferiority and embarrassment of dying to a human, they hunted these survivors.
Yet, they met with unexpected resistance—many of these humans had excellent survival instincts, leading to few casualties.
Today, however, the Genestealers had picked up the scent of flesh.
They followed it to find these humans navigating through the canyons. Consequently, a brutal fight ensued, with the humans battling back against monsters that seemed impervious to their efforts.
But now, as they were fighting, the Genestealer leader, who was leading more Genestealers behind him, felt extremely angry.
Those three humans, who had weapons, shot at him, but their bullets did nothing more than to get him angry.
His targets, the feeling humans, were running faster and faster, and they were getting away from his range. This angered him even more.
Silas, on the other hand, saw how the massive Genestealer was getting closer and closer. He was going to keep shooting, but he heard something that made him freeze in place.
"Boss! We don't have any more bullets."
Silas looked at the two men beside him, and his look said, "Try again." The two men, knowing the meaning of that look, tried to shoot again, but you could only hear the sound of a weapon trying fire something that wasn't there.
Silas himself found out that he didn't have more stock of bullets, either. This situation made Silas begin to overthink, to find ways to escape their situation. Yet, the Genestealer leader was too close for even Silas to do anything.
The Genestealer leader, who saw that the three humans who were shooting at him stopped doing so, analyzed the situation briefly and saw that the humans didn't have more bullets.
With a malicious grin, the Genestealer leader lunged forward with extreme speed, and he got close enough to attack them. The three men could only see in horror how the tall monster was going to kill them.
But...
"BOOM!"
A loud sound of gunfire ended the horrified thoughts of Silas and his three men. This loud gunfire sound even alerted the Genestealer leader, especially when he felt extreme pain around his face, and his consciousness was fading rapidly.
The Genestealer leader was shocked beyond belief, even when he was slowly but surely dying. The Genestealer leader didn't think that the humans could possess such a powerful weapon that could easily penetrate his bio-armor.
After all, the weapons that the humans who were fleeing away from him had were used by the Astrum Militarum, and even those weapons did nothing against him.
The crowd of humans that was desperately fleeing was awakened by the loud sound of gunfire. They couldn't help but slow down their pace and took a few seconds to look back.
They saw that the monster that had been chasing them for what seemed like hours, which was also about to kill their only three men who could fight, fell to the ground motionless.
The crowd of humans was not content with this; instead, they looked even more terrified. Thinking that the Tyranid Genestealers lost their leader, they were going to go berserk and kill everyone.
However, when they looked at the Genestealers, the crowd of humans was shocked to see the Genestealers looking in a direction, terrified.
Every human, including Silas and his men, looked towards where the Genestealers were looking, and they saw a figure on top of the canyon.
From what they could tell, the man was around two and a half meters, or around 8'5 feet tall, and in his hands, he held the gun that killed the Genestealer leader.
The man walked off from the canyon, but instead of falling straight down due to gravity, the man levitated in the air and slowly landed on the ground.
They could see his face, and the few human women who saw his face were left in awe.
How could such a handsome man exist in this galaxy?
Yet, that was not the point; the man's aura was filled with a sense of holiness, purity, and overwhelming power that even the humans around felt the person in front of them was not meant to be fucked with.
Yet, the aura of the person made them feel safe. An aura that not only makes them want to bend towards him but also makes them want to ally themselves with him.
For them, it was as if they were looking at the embodiment of hope. The "Heart" of Hope.
"You are now safe."
The man spoke, and his voice was commanding, dominant, yet soft, as if he were an angel fallen from heaven.
(Imagine the English Voice actor of Sephiroth of the Remakes of Final Fantasy 7.)
Kardia looked at these surviving humans, who were looking at him vigilantly, and spoke lightly, his red-golden eyes glancing over them before turning to the Tyranids.
"You."
Kardia spoke out to one of the Tyranid Genestealers in the crowd, and he began to slowly but surely walk towards them.
"I am sure you know who I am. I am sure your Norn Queen knows who I am."
The voice of Kardia wasn't loud, but his voice could be heard through the canyon as he began to walk slowly but surely.
The Humans saw in awe how, with each step that Kardia took, the Tyranid Genestealers took five steps back as if they were scared to death.
"Can you send her a very important message from my part, will ya?"
Kardia, seeing that the Tyranids were taking a lot of steps back, suddenly appeared in front of one of the Tyranids, and he began patting their ugly and monstrous forehead.
Instead of feeling safe, the Tyranid that felt his forehead touched by the God among mortals in this galaxy felt extreme terror.
It acted like those puppies that were extremely scared, and began to pee themselves because they couldn't control their emotions.
"Tell her this, please. "I'll kill you myself soon." I think I allowed her to "live" for too long."
As he said those words, out of nowhere, a sword appeared in his left hand, and with a single swing of that sword, the powerful genestealer that was scared to death was cut into little pieces.
The other genestealers, seeing the fate of their brother, who faced the wrath of that monster that hunted them for months, tried to begin to flee, but out of nowhere, in the right hand of Kardia, what seemed like a small fireball appeared.
With a simple wave of his hand, the small fireball was thrown towards the Tyranids, but when it made contact with one of them, it was as if the fire of heaven had descended.
The fire spread like a wildfire in steroids, as if the world itself was contaminated, and the fire attached to everything and anything to destroy it.
Kardia, who looked at what he did, didn't know that from the human perspective, this sight was like the sight of a hero.
In Kardia's simple yet complex mind, he actually felt like Young Sephiroth in that cutscene, where he used that fireball to kill all of those soldiers.
After checking that the Genestealers were completely dead, Kardia simply turned off the flames and began to walk towards the humans who were watching him.
Kardia was simply walking towards them, and a crowd of humans saw him like a hero, trying to make sure the people were safe.
However, in Kardia's mind, he was confused as to why he suddenly heard Raphael speak about something.
[Congratulations, Master!]
[You have finally met the requirements to activate the Ultimate Skill "True Hero, Lord of Heroes."]
[And you also met the requirements for the Ultimate Skill, "Fortuna Invicta, Lord of Luck."]
Kardia was shocked, but he didn't think of this; he could think of that later.
"You guys okay?"
Kardia asked, looking at the shorter people before him, concern showing on his face. He was genuinely worried; after all, this group could be the first he interacted with in this world.
Kardia wanted to make a good impression. Having experienced the harsh reality of being hunted by Tyranids, he felt a deep sympathy for them.
Seeing the "giant" approach and speak normally, even displaying concern for their well-being, the survivors quickly gathered and knelt down.
"Thank you very much! Thank you for the rescue, sir!" one of the survivors said, kneeling on the ground to show his gratitude.
Kardia watched in silence, finding it strange that people wanted to kneel, especially since he came from a time when such gestures were uncommon.
"Don't worry. I just happened to come across you being chased by the Tyranids. I helped you because I couldn't bear to see another human fall to these wretched beasts. But if you want to thank someone, thank your luck."
Kardia spoke a half-truth.
Before arriving on the planet, he had sensed the presence of a small group of humans that had separated from a larger one.
Curious about their situation, he had teleported to their location just in time to see the Genestealer leader about to kill the last three armed men.
"Thank you! For the Emperor!" one of the survivors shouted, expressing his gratitude while praising the Emperor, believing Kardia was an agent of his will.
Others in the crowd joined in, praising the Emperor for his blessing. Kardia did not stop them; he understood that they were simply expressing their relief and thanks in a way they were familiar with.
In truth, none of the people present genuinely believed in the so-called "God Emperor" or any other gods.
They thought that Kardia was an agent of the Will of the Emperor, and wanting to "Thank" Kardia the right way, they did that.
Kardia watched indifferently, ultimately sighing as he prepared to leave.
As he turned to go, he noticed the confusion on the faces of the crowd, who were still kneeling and praising the Emperor for sending Kardia to save them.
Thankfully, someone spoke up.
Silas, feeling curious about the disappointment he sensed in Kardia's eyes, asked, "My Lord! A-Are you an Angel of the Emperor?"
Though Silas started off stuttering, he regained his confidence as he continued speaking.
"I am not an angel of the Emperor. I am just a man who has 'quit' the Imperium after witnessing its decaying form. Instead, I fight for humanity in my own way."
Kardia chose to be honest, sharing his truth from a different perspective to assure them he wasn't seen as an enemy, only a person who had left the Imperium to fight for humanity in his own manner.
Although Kardia was never part of the Imperium to begin with, it was better to tell them this lie than to tell them he was someone from an entirely new faction.
Upon hearing Kardia's words, the survivors, who had just been desperately praising the God Emperor to please him, fell silent.
Their expressions relaxed, and embarrassment washed over them, as if they wished to take back their earlier declarations of praise to the Emperor of Mankind.
Kardia also sweat dropped anime style as he saw the scene happen in front of him.
In fact, through his second month in this world, where he went to investigate other planets, Kardia watched a familiar scenery.
Many people from the Bottom Hive, or even a lot of humans in general, from other planets, don't actually believe in the Emperor.
This is because a lot of bad deeds have been committed in the name of the Emperor; when someone does bad in the name of another person, the perspective of the people who are on the receiving end of the stick will associate the person with being a bad person.
The Emperor does not attempt to change the perspective of these people; instead, he views them as individuals who have betrayed the Imperium of Man.
As someone once said, "The Trash of one can be the Gold of another."
The people whom the Emperor does not bless or care about are precisely the ones Kardia can recruit to join his Imperium.
"Why did you stop? Don't you believe in the God-Emperor? Or did you stop showing respect to a 'heretic' like me?" Kardia joked, noticing that those who had been praising the God-Emperor had halted their worship.
He already knew the reason but chose to steer the conversation with his humor. A bad human, but at least it was humor.
"Sir, are you joking?" someone asked.
"How can we, the lowly people of the Bottom Hive, believe in the God-Emperor?"
"We've suffered at the hands of those who claim to follow his will. If the God-Emperor were truly benevolent, he would strike down those hateful nobles, but he doesn't," Silas quickly responded.
Kardia listened to Silas's words, finding them to be true.
Silas continued speaking, likely driven by his emotions, needing to vent.
"Because we can't pay the Imperium's taxes, we are no longer treated as civilians of the Imperium of Man.
"To make matters worse, those damn wretched beasts, the Tyranids, invaded and have been killing people nonstop. We have nowhere to go and are simply wandering, essentially waiting for our own deaths."
Silas spoke, and his anger and repressed emotions were clear.
Many of the survivors felt the same way, some even beginning to cry as they felt betrayed by their own kind—betrayed for being unable to pay taxes to a system that demanded much but gave nothing in return.
They had been cast into darkness. But now, they saw a glimmer of hope—the "Heart" of Hope.
Kardia stood silently, observing the scene. Inside, he was having a silent dialogue with himself.
"I hope you see this, Emperor. I hope you recognize the consequences of your actions. This is what your mistakes have led humanity into: pure despair."
"If you were anything like the historical figures of the past—Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar—I can understand why you lost."
"You didn't care about the people; you only cared about the so-called 'future,' neglecting to look back. And because you never looked back, you failed to see how many people were abandoning you. When you reached a critical moment, you found yourself alone, and you paid the price for it."
Kardia reminded himself not to make the same mistake and even told Raphael that if he ever turned into an emotionless tyrant like the Emperor, she should snap him back to reality.
Kardia was brought back to the present when Silas spoke again.
"Sir, can we, the lowly people, follow you? Even if it means sacrificing our lives, we will follow you. At least... give us some of your hope."
Kardia's ears perked up as he heard that question.
Kardia felt a deep happiness welling up inside him, but he didn't overreact or smile smugly.
This was a moment where a man and those he led pledged their allegiance to someone else they believed could offer them a better future.
There was no need to humiliate or mock them; such behavior is a sign of someone devoid of emotion and filled with darkness.
"Are you sure?" Kardia asked instead.
"This decision you're making for yourself and those who follow you could cost you your life. Can you bear that responsibility? The road ahead may be difficult."
Kardia spoke in a commanding tone but softened his voice to convey understanding as he looked at the people kneeling before him.
"Sir... no offense, but if you think we are afraid of death, you are mistaken." Silas raised his head to meet Kardia's red-golden eyes.
Those eyes were more divine than anything Silas had ever heard the Church claim about the God-Emperor.
"We've had enough of this dangerous life. We are hungry every day, without food and water. We have nothing to survive on, yet we keep fighting."
"We fight until one day we can see the light of hope. I am not exaggerating when I say that we see that hope in you."
As Silas, a man who overcame a lot of challenges, shared his story, he lowered his head again in submission, hoping his words would persuade Kardia to accept them.
After years of struggling to survive under the exploitation of the nobles, they had lost all hope. In fact, they no longer knew why they were living; they just knew they had survived another day.
Silas bowed to Kardia not solely because he had saved them; that was one reason, but it was also because he saw a light of hope emanating from Kardia's very being.
Silas Mordren used to be an employee of a merchant family in the upper class of the second Hive World of the Sicaros Star System.
He had a good knowledge of many goods and had once even seen high-ranking officials and the Blood Angels of the Imperium.
Yet, the clothes Kardia wore, including the ranged weapon that killed the Genestealer Leader in a single shot, along with his display of skill with the sword, made Silas recognize that the man before him possessed technology and a quality of life better than most of them combined.
If they knew that Kardia actually lived a life more comfortable than anyone else in the galaxy while they were suffering, they would likely be furious.
Not really.
As mentioned before, Silas used to work more than ten years ago as an employee of that family. Still, when the planet's governor continued to raise taxes, Silas was laid off because the wealthy family needed to cut costs.
This resulted in Silas being expelled from a powerful family that had paid him a high salary.
Consequently, his entire family suffered from the ever-increasing taxes that no one on the planet could pay, not even some nobles.
This led to extensive battles across the planet, as the nobles, drained of their wealth, began to fight back because they didn't want to lose their wealth, while the Governor also retaliated.
In desperation, some nobles started capturing people who couldn't pay their taxes and turning them into slaves.
Silas, not wanting his wife and child to suffer the same fate, decided to escape the Hive World with them.
He was not alone; many people from the Hive left with him. Unfortunately, during this time, the Tyranids arrived on the planet, forcing his group, which consisted of at least thirty thousand people, to be hunted down one by one.
Only sixteen people out of thirty thousand are alive today. Thankfully, Silas managed to protect his wife and child.
However, his wife, once a gentle woman, transformed into someone who lived in constant fear, but at least she remained by his side until the end.
During their desperate journey to fill her stomach, she once picked up a mushroom that turned out to be extremely poisonous.
This nearly cost her life, but thankfully, a somewhat competent doctor who was with them managed to save her.
In the process, though, she lost nearly her entire jaw and was forced to wear a crude mechanical respirator to survive.
The reason Silas and his people didn't believe in the God-Emperor was simple.
In the past, when they faced hardships, he prayed diligently, hoping for just a bit of the Emperor's grace. Still, in the end, his life and the lives of those with him remained submerged in misery.
Today, when Silas was about to face his own death at the hands of the Genestealer Leader of that Genestealer group, a man saved him.
He met a Hero from legends.
A man capable of killing the Tyranids Genestealers that had hunted his group for months in an instant. A man who seemed to be in good health and had a good life.
A man who saved them and even showed compassion to them. A man who betrayed the corrupted Imperium because he couldn't bear their corruption.
Silas made his life's work to follow this man.
Even if his hero said that he was an existence that betrayed the Imperium, he would follow him. The Imperium had already betrayed him and his people, and with that context, what reason does Silas have to refuse such a hard-won opportunity?
"So you are willing to submit to me? To pledge loyalty to me?"
Kardia asked the question, his red-golden eyes watching the nervous yet serious eyes of Silas, the leader of this group of humans.
While Kardia came here to practically "recruit" these people to his side, Kardia actually heard someone who said they wanted to follow him.
Mind you, this is not Kardia manipulating them with his psychic powers, but Silas's own decision. Kardia was obviously happy, and his originally serious expression softened according to the situation.
Silas, before answering, turned to face his wife and child, and also turned to face the few people who still followed him.
Silas didn't ask the question, but everyone behind him knew the question, and some people, loyal to Silas to the end, nodded."
"Lord Silas, your thoughts are my thoughts. If you want to follow this gentleman, we'll follow you even if it means death."
A person said, and like the domino effect, more and more people nodded, agreeing to Silas's decision.
Silas, who saw his people following him blindly, smiled with a kind smile. He later turned to face Kardia, and he bowed his head down towards Kardia.
"Sir, I, Silas, leader of this group of exiled people, declare that we humbly swear loyalty to you."
Silas spoke, his voice filled with determination, but also with strange emotions.
Kardia, who heard this, saw how, out of nowhere, the screen of his system appeared, and he also heard Raphael's voice.
[Master, do you want to accept Silas Mordren and his group as your loyal subordinates?] Raphael asked, and she asked the question because the system was asking the question.
"Yes," Kardia responded to Raphael's question, and he later turned to look at Silas and his people.
"I, Kardia, the God of Hope, the God of Wisdom, the God of War, the God of Light and Darkness, the God of the Elements, accept your submission to me, Silas Mordren."
Silas and his people, when they heard that Kardia accepted them, smiled, but they were later shocked to death when they processed what Kardia said.
"G-God...?"
A woman in the crowd stuttered her words, but she wasn't the only one, as they didn't know that Kardia was a God.
"Yeah... You heard right."
Although Kardia used to be a "High Human" at the beginning, in the last few months, as he absorbed more and more energy, his divinity has been rising.
Raphael, who noticed this change, quickly began to analyze the reason for it, and after finding out the reason, she began to take action.
The people who have grown strong enough to start the process of Godhood, and later become Gods, have the chance of losing themselves in the process.
Kardia and Raphael didn't want anything like that happening to them, so for that same reason, Raphael quickly began to analyze how to safely become a God without losing themselves in the process.
As you can predict, Raphael, who can analyze concepts, abstract concepts, laws, and even the impossible, quickly found a way to do so.
But before that, she had to fuse the "Godheads" that Kardia had inside his soul.
Kardia, having the Templates of Odin, Hela, Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, Ares, Hepheatus, Hypnos, Thanatos, Acclepius, and Buddha, had multiple types of Godheads.
With the help of the Sub-skill of the Ultimate Skill "Deus Ex Machina, Lord of Machine Gods," "Inverted Fusion," Raphael managed to do something never thought of before in this world.
The skill "Inverted Fusion" first came from the Unique Skill "Reverser" of the character named "Beretta," a demon that Rimuru Tempest summoned to protect Ramiris, the Fairy of the Labyrinth.
This Unique Skill was granted to "Beretta" during the "Harvest Festival" of Rimuru Tempest in the anime.
It was said that Beretta felt Rimuru's feeling of weakness inside the Holy Field generated by Hinata Sakaguchi, and in turn, this skill was created.
The most notable skill of the Unique Skill "Reverser," and later made a sub-skill for Beretta's Ultimate Skill, "Deus EX Machine, Lord of Machine Gods," is "Inverted Fusion."
This ability grants its user the ability to create and fuse opposing natures into a new and contradictory form.
In the light novels, Beretta used this skill to create and fuse with angelic essence, making them something beyond an Angel or a Daemon.
A Heanvely Demon.
Having this skill in stock, Raphael used it to alter Kardia's soul core to embody both the light and the darkness.
After doing so, Raphael later combined all of the godheads into a new contradictory form, giving Kardia complete control over light, darkness, life, death, sleep, war, wisdom, hope, technology, the skies, the seas, the elements, and even the concept of "Heroes."
With that done, with the manipulation of the Laws, Raphael managed to safely make Kardia a God.
This boosted Kardia's power by a long shot.
However, it is still nowhere close to beings that have lived for millions of years, like the main three Chaos Gods, or even the youngest ones like Slaanesh and the Emperor.
Kardia, who saw that Silas and his people were shocked, snapped his fingers, and the sound made them come back to their senses.
"Since you are all willing to follow me, I cannot let you down. Now, follow me, I have to guide you towards your new temporary home."
Everyone was confused as to what their new Leader and God were talking about. Still, when Kardia suddenly waved his hand, a portal was created.
Silas and the others who saw this "godly" performance were surprised to death. They didn't think that they actually submitted to a God.
"Come on, let's go. A lot of things have to be done."
Kardia said as he waved his hand once again, as if telling them to enter the portal.
Silas, a bit confused and cautious, as the leader, seeing that no one wanted to be the first one to come in, decided that he was going to be the first one to enter, to set the example.
When Silas entered the portal and later exited the portal almost at the same time, he was surprised at what he was seeing.
Silas had actually arrived at Kardia's Star Forge Space Station. But for Silas, who heard that Kardia was a God, he thought he was in heaven.
For at least five minutes, Silas looked in shock at the ancient yet modern and futuristic aesthetic of the Star Forge Space Station.
Noticing that no one had crossed the portal, Silas knew that his people were still waiting for him to tell them that it was secure. Passing through the portal once again, Silas returned to where they used to be.
When the people saw Silas return safe and sound, and when Silas told them that he saw heaven, the people quickly rushed in.
As the portal closed, or more like Kardia closed it, Kardia sighed to himself, and he later smiled.
"Well... I guess I need to start working with them. It is going to be a long process, but I know things will go smoothly."
Kardia smiled, and in the next moment, he appeared in his Space Station.
....
End of Chapter 9.