"Does a C-Rank Simulation have to be this rough?"
The familiar, throbbing pain of a heavy blow to the back of the head washed over him. Kenmei Isayama opened his eyes, clutching his head and grimacing.
"Feels like my brains were knocked loose."
The first thing Kenmei did upon regaining consciousness wasn't to check his surroundings, but to subconsciously lift his hands to inspect them.
It was a trauma response, really. With so many races and factions in the Warhammer universe, every time he started a simulation, looking at his hands was a gamble.
The first time, it was a dog's paw. The second time, it was a massive green hand, which left Kenmei with significant psychological scarring.
Fortunately, this third time—in the C-Rank Simulation—Kenmei finally saw a pair of perfectly normal human hands. No strange scales, no weird patterns. Everything was normal.
Kenmei was currently seated in a comfortable leather chair. In front of him was a desk cluttered with various books and documents.
A peculiar obsidian box on the desk caught Kenmei's attention. He felt a vague, inexplicable connection to it, and his hand naturally drifted toward it.
"Biometric scan accepted. Lord Inquisitor."
As the robotic voice faded, the contents of the box automatically dispensed into Kenmei's hand.
It was cold to the touch. He opened his palm to reveal an exquisite badge. It featured a pale, ferocious skull pinned to a cross, but the overall structure clearly formed the letter 'I'.
The moment his eyes met the hollow sockets of the skull, a flood of memories that didn't belong to Kenmei surged into his brain, causing a splitting headache.
Amidst the torrent of memories, a massive scene played out before Kenmei's eyes.
Inside a colossal Gothic palace, a kaleidoscope of dim light filtered through stained glass windows. Behind him stood a magnificent statue of the Emperor, tall as a skyscraper, overlooking the great hall from a shrine, holding a holy sword pointed toward the heavens.
"Child, from this day forth, you are an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus."
Under the Emperor's gaze, a withered, white-haired old man handed the silver 'I' badge—the symbol of the Inquisition—to the young man kneeling fervently on one knee.
"Remember this: It is better that one hundred innocents die by the Emperor's wrath than for one person to kneel before a Daemon and become a heretic."
"Go, Macarnos. Bring destruction down upon the heads of all heretics."
"In the Emperor's Name!"
That phrase held a magical power, enough to make every warrior who heard it willing to lay down their life.
"In the Emperor's Name!"
Kenmei, his eyes unfocused, muttered the same phrase. Under the assault of the massive memory stream, he was drenched in sweat, his back completely soaked.
"Traitor to the Inquisition... The heretic must die..."
"For the Emperor, all sacrifice is necessary."
"Haa... Haa..."
Kenmei gasped for air, forcibly cutting off the reception of memories. If he kept absorbing them, he'd turn into an idiot.
"What the hell is this guy? A fanatic?"
The memories were filled with darkness, numbness, and bloody slaughter. Images of executions of all kinds of heretics, traitors, and enemies of the Empire flashed by.
Kenmei understood one thing clearly: this body belonged to an absolute executioner. He had slaughtered countless living beings. As long as he deemed someone an enemy of the Empire, he would cut them down without mercy, regardless of age or gender.
To the traitors within the Imperium, this young man was a horror comparable to a Chaos Daemon—a nightmare made flesh.
This body came from the Imperial Inquisition. Whether it was the Ordo Malleus (Daemonhunters), Ordo Xenos (Alien hunters), or Ordo Hereticus (Witch hunters), all Inquisitors were the same. They coldly and efficiently drove chainswords into the chests of the Empire's enemies or severed the heads of traitors.
Macarnos Elfman. Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. A ruthless slaughterer of heretics.
"Heretics and traitors will never receive forgiveness. I will ensure they find no peace in this world or the next."
This was the lingering obsession that welled up as Kenmei occupied the body.
The authority of the Inquisition came from the Emperor Himself, placing it above any other power structure in the Imperium. They were the secret police, each Inquisitor pursuing the mission of humanity's survival in their own way.
Daemons, Xenos, and Heretics posed a never-ending threat to the Imperium, and the three major Ordos existed to combat them.
The Inquisitor Kenmei now embodied belonged to one of these branches: the Ordo Hereticus.
Their mission was to protect humanity from internal enemies—hunting down traitors, mutants, heretics, apostates, and unsanctioned Psykers.
It was safe to say that even the powerful Astartes (Space Marines) didn't enjoy the company of an Inquisitor, regardless of which Ordo they hailed from.
The Ordo Hereticus was the most feared among them. They held ultimate authority over any other organization within the Imperium. They could demand assistance from any other authority, be it the Imperial Navy, the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard), or even the Adeptus Astartes if necessary.
Compared to their brothers in the Ordo Xenos and Ordo Malleus, Hereticus Inquisitors were generally considered darker and more insidious.
Because they focused on eliminating human enemies within the Imperium, they had become a shadowy, paranoid, and intolerant group.
And the skull-shaped 'I' badge Kenmei had touched earlier?
That was the license symbolizing the highest power in the Imperium: the Inquisitorial Rosette.
When an Interrogator or Acolyte was officially promoted to Inquisitor, they received their own Rosette as a symbol of their status and supreme authority, signifying that their actions were carried out in the name of the Emperor!
An Inquisitor was typically ranked on the same level as a Space Marine Chapter Master, a Lord General of the Astra Militarum, or a Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy.
With this starting setup—the status, the position, and the resources at his disposal—Kenmei was already in an invincible position.
This body was also a powerful Psyker. Kenmei could feel the majestic psychic energy surging within him. He was a combat Psyker cultivated by the Imperial system.
Furthermore, the C-Rank Simulation seemed different from the D-Rank one. It appeared to grant Kenmei higher clearance. He was unrestricted in this Warhammer world, with no issued missions or timelines, seemingly left to explore on his own.
Knock, knock... knock...
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Kenmei straightened his clothes and pressed the door-open button on his desk.
"Enter!"
To Kenmei's surprise, the person who walked in was a girl dressed in a white nun's habit.
The nun had blonde hair styled in a simple, beautiful bob cut. Her long legs were visible through the high slit of her habit.
Seeing Kenmei, the nun looked at him with immense respect and said:
"Lord Macarnos..."
But if anyone thought she was just eye candy, they would be dead wrong. Memories regarding this young nun surfaced in Kenmei's mind.
Elena Exica.
She belonged to a combat division just as famous within the Imperium, often working alongside the Ordo Hereticus to purge "heretics" and traitors. Known as the "Daughters of the Emperor"—the Adepta Sororitas, or Battle Sisters. She just wasn't wearing her power armor at the moment.
"We are about to arrive at the Andrea System."
Elena was Kenmei's adjutant, essentially his secretary.
"Shall I contact the Imperial Navy fleet and coordinate with our Inquisition's fleet to initiate Exterminatus on the SPO-2 Homeworld?"