This is the bonus chapter for reaching 600 Powerstones.
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"That is precisely my intention."
Inquisitor Daverna removed her greatcoat, revealing the power armor beneath—a lighter, force-feedback variant distinct from the massive plate worn by Space Marines.
"The duty of an Inquisitor is to purge all heresy." She walked slowly toward the center of the room, her gaze coiled tightly around the Iron Golem.
"Reveal your true nature to me, and to everyone here."
If the Iron Golem before her showed even a hint of anomaly, she would have sufficient reason to strike immediately and purify it.
"Before the test begins, please allow me to explain the Iron Golem's behavioral logic once more," Zeke said.
"In addition to attacking units that directly harm it, the Iron Golem will also attack any hostile creature that harms the entity it is protecting."
"So, what you mean is," Daverna stopped a few meters away from the Iron Golem and the recruit, her hand gripping the chainsword at her waist.
"Any action involving harm to this young soldier will be intercepted?"
"Yes." Zeke nodded, while adding a reminder. "You know this is just a test, right?"
To be honest, Zeke didn't trust this paranoid woman not to pull something crazy.
Daverna did not reply; she moved.
For the first attack, she clearly held back her power and controlled her speed. The tip of the blade deviated slightly at the last moment.
It was a standard feint to test reactions.
The Iron Golem shifted half a step sideways, placing its left arm horizontally between the recruit and the sword.
The attack was blocked.
"This proves nothing." Daverna retreated immediately after the strike, taking two steps back.
The scene of Bloodhowl being sent flying was still vivid in her mind; she dared not let this big guy hit her even once.
"Perhaps it is merely a pre-programmed reaction, or a more sophisticated camouflage."
"I'd like to see just how long this facade of yours can last." This time, she held nothing back.
She became a storm. Her power armor was driven to its maximum, allowing her to twist and turn within the small area so fast she left only afterimages.
The chainsword struck at the pitiable recruit from the front, back, left, and right.
Every strike aimed for a vital point, and every strike was intercepted by the Iron Golem at the last moment, sometimes even taken directly with its body.
The Iron Golem acted like the most faithful reef, standing firm before the trembling recruit.
It allowed the Inquisitor's attacks to crash against its body like ocean waves.
Of course, the Iron Golem attempted to counterattack, but its fatal flaw—slowness—was fully exposed.
However, this stance of using its own body as a shield began to cause a subtle shift in the mentality of the onlookers.
"It can actually hold out to this extent?" an old Cadian soldier muttered, clenching his fist.
Loyalty. This quality, supreme to the Imperium, was exactly what the Iron Golem was demonstrating at this moment.
Castellan Creed's gaze grew deeper.
Watching the scene unfold, his judgment of the Iron Golem began to lean towards trust.
Later, after verifying it with Magos Klein of the Adeptus Mechanicus as an added insurance measure, the Iron Golem could definitely be put into service.
"You may stop now, Inquisitor," Creed's voice rang out. "Everyone has seen the Iron Golem's performance."
Yet, Inquisitor Daverna seemed not to hear.
She gritted her teeth. The Iron Golem's actions were indeed flawless; she couldn't pick out a single error.
Could I really be wrong? Is this fellow of unknown origin, and his creation, truly loyal?
A sense of humiliation mixed with unwillingness churned within her heart.
Her movements became sharper, even carrying a trace of killing intent that she herself failed to notice.
The recruit let out a short, sharp cry.
Although ignorant, he sensed the dangerous aura radiating from the Inquisitor.
The big white thing was protecting him. Realizing this, he shrank further into the Iron Golem's embrace.
People said Inquisitors were fanatics, and now Zeke believed it.
These lunatics. Zeke raised his Adamantine Shield, preparing to intervene.
The Iron Golem's red eyes clearly reflected the Inquisitor's attack, which was breaking through its defenses once again.
It had become sluggish from taking continuous hits; it knew it could no longer block them all.
Countless unfamiliar memories flooded the Iron Golem's mind.
It seemed that in another space-time, it had wanted to protect a creature called a Villager, and it had always ended in this same outcome.
So, am I to fail this time as well?
No!
Steam erupted violently from the Iron Golem's crevices.
The meaning of my existence...
The Iron Golem's body gradually turned crimson, like red-hot iron.
I must protect...
By any means necessary...
A resonant bell toll burst from deep within the Iron Golem's chest.
"Praise the Omnissiah... This... This is..." Magos Klein exclaimed, the mechadendrites on his back trembling uncontrollably.
Zeke lowered the shield in his hand. As expected of my Iron Bro. Reliable.
Everyone in the venue stood up in unison, all looking at the white figure in the center of the stage—no, the figure that had now turned red.
The Imperium believed that within all mechanical devices existed a rudimentary consciousness known as the Machine Spirit.
The Imperium possessed many complex and tedious rituals to please the Machine Spirit, because when the Machine Spirit was delighted, the machine could unleash power far beyond the ordinary.
Amidst the steam and red glow, the Iron Golem moved.
Its movements were no longer heavy; its body seemed to lose its weight.
In an instant, only a trail of steam remained.
Inquisitor Daverna felt an oppressive aura appear behind her flank.
She didn't have time to turn around; she only heard the whistling of the air.
The Iron Golem's crimson right fist, moving with speed that transcended its limits, smashed toward her waist.
Crap, someone's going to die.
Zeke didn't necessarily like the Inquisitor, but he didn't want his Iron Golem to be branded a killer of an Inquisitor, even if she had asked for it.
So Zeke moved. Before attending this meeting, he had specifically taken off his Diamond Armor.
He opened his inventory, equipped the Diamond set, grabbed his Adamantine Shield, and accelerated to intercept the Iron Golem's giant fist.
The Iron Golem saw its creator blocking its path and tried to retract the attack, but the massive inertia made it impossible.
The fist still slammed forward.
A deafening noise erupted against the shield, causing the mortals at the meeting to cover their ears.
It was the first time Zeke had seen the Adamantine Shield enter a 'shield break' state. If that punch had hit a body, wouldn't it have turned them into paste?
Zeke blocked the attack and breathed a sigh of relief.
After this strike, the Iron Golem in front of him seemed to deflate. It sat slumped on the ground, its red body gradually cooling and looking even more dilapidated than before.
Inquisitor Daverna's breathing grew heavy.
She had killed many things: Chaos cultists, mutants, xenos, corrupted machines...
But this Iron Golem before her...
She remembered a saying: Do not listen only to what a person says, but watch what they do.
Words can weave lies, but actions often reveal the essence.
So, after all this, am I the villain?
The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly. The creed she had held for so many years wavered, just a tiny bit.
"I hope you can fulfill your duties, Golem. I will be watching you."
With that, the Inquisitor walked straight to the auditorium doors, pushed them open, and vanished outside.
Zeke rubbed his eyes. An Inquisitor self-reflecting? How could I be having such a dream?
That's about as impossible as the first sheep you meet in a Minecraft world being a Pink Sheep.
"It looks like you conquered everyone with your actions." Zeke gave the Iron Golem a thumbs up.
"I give you 100 points for this interview."
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