Chapter 194: It Is Hard to Say Who Sleeps in the Top Bunk |
"Tell me, Wolf, why are you here?"
Harsh static crackled through the comms channel, masking the speaker's vocal traits as much as possible, as the stiff question blared from the speakers.
Arum's ears twitched slightly, and his brows immediately furrowed.
'What do they mean, why are we here?'
Hearing Nagil's familiar tone, a profound wave of disgust washed over him.
Sure enough, this deeply unpleasant stench was exactly as he remembered.
He turned to Romulus, struck his right fist against his breastplate in a crisp salute, and then took the initiative to cut into the comms channel.
"We answered Ultramar's call for aid. Of course we are here."
Faced with the Consecrators' blatant discourtesy, Arum's voice was as cold and hard as the freezing winds of Fenris.
Silence lingered on the other end of the vox for several seconds. Arum could easily picture the other party's livid expression, which only made the gleam in his wolfish eyes even sharper.
"I am Arum Ironoath, Wolf Guard Retainer of the Champion Grand Company of Fenris."
He deliberately slowed his speech, his hand already resting on the haft of his storm axe.
"Thanks to the Allfather's guidance, we have met in this vast galaxy. According to tradition, we ought to hold a duel of honor."
"..."
He was met with a prolonged silence.
"Thank you for the invitation, cousin."
The buzz of static gradually faded from the channel, replaced by a new, composed, and powerful voice.
This voice carried the solemnity unique to the Dark Angels, though it held a fraction more warmth than Nagil's.
"I am Ezekiel, Grand Master of Librarians of the Dark Angels. I shall lead my knights in this duel of honor shortly."
Aboard the battle barge, he raised a hand to signal Nagil to rein in his hostility and begin preparations for the duel.
The presence of the Space Wolves actually made Ezekiel breathe a sigh of relief. He continued,
"Lord Romulus, the Consecrators Space Marine Chapter will assist you in the recovery efforts on this planet."
"I will be waiting for you aboard The Dawnlight, Grand Master Ezekiel."
Ezekiel nodded, then paid them no further heed and abruptly cut the connection.
It was not their Primarch, after all.
"Lord Romulus, I hope this battle can take place under your witness."
After concluding the call with the Dark Angels, Arum looked toward Romulus.
"Thank you for the invitation."
Hearing this, Romulus expressed his gratitude to Arum.
The Dawnlight had always maintained a high degree of mechanization, so clearing out a dueling arena would be an effortless task.
"The honor is mine."
Arum bowed slightly and took his leave, no longer disturbing the other's work.
At the same time, Romulus signaled his companions to prepare. The transforming structures, modified by the Ironwing, sprang into action to reconfigure the deck area.
"Is this the closest we have ever been to Luther's top bunk?"
Rameses leaned against the console, unable to resist a teasing remark as he began his psychic preparations.
"It is hard to say who gets the top bunk."
Arthur commanded the Dark Angels, ensuring their preparations were flawless.
They had no intention of annihilating an entire Space Marine Chapter right now, but no one could fathom the minds of the Dark Angels in the 40k era. To minimize unnecessary casualties as much as possible, the transmigrators believed they had to be fully prepared—
Even if that meant striking first.
——
The two fleets reined in their aggressive postures, and the deadly tension born of their standoff melted away like thawing ice.
In just three short minutes, all the poised artillery completed their target resets. A searing barrage rained down upon the planet's surface, followed immediately by dense drop-pod clusters plunging through the atmosphere like a swarming hive.
Less than an hour later, reports of victory echoed from the surface. The Chaos corruption had been contained, the heretical forces were entirely eradicated, and the post-war recovery processes could begin at once.
Soon, a shuttle bearing a winged emblem glided out from the Consecrators' battle barge.
As the ramp lowered onto the docking deck of The Dawnlight, Dark Angels clad in dark green armor and Consecrators in black armor disembarked together, striding along the clear path of the main thoroughfare.
Mortal artisans and crew members along the way bowed in respectful greeting.
Ezekiel noticed that aside from the expected reverence, the eyes of these mortals were remarkably devoid of fear.
The Grand Master of Librarians' psychic senses rippled outward, meticulously sweeping every corner of the warship.
As Dark Angels, they had to remain vigilant against any potential corruption, even when facing a supposed Primarch.
Only those loyalists who could withstand such scrutiny would ever earn the true recognition of the First Legion.
Yet, a bizarre sense of dissonance continued to haunt Ezekiel. When he tried to open his prophetic vision, vast patches of empty voids materialized within his psychic sight, much like the time he had briefly lost his power of prophecy over two centuries ago.
"..."
He took a deep breath, suppressing the ripples of unease rising in his heart.
A strange sensation crept up from behind him. Ezekiel could hardly distinguish if it was his enhanced Adeptus Astartes senses or a warning brought forth by his prophecy.
The feeling of being watched prickled at his back like needles. It was not the cold, mechanical scrutiny of the corridor's surveillance systems, but a much more primal glare, projected directly from a living, breathing entity.
Whoosh!
Ezekiel whipped around. His psychic staff was already glowing with an eerie blue light, only for the illumination to suddenly die out as he recognized the figure behind him.
Standing before him was merely an ordinary Dark Angels knight.
The marine was visibly startled by the Librarian's sudden movement, his right hand instinctively dropping to the holster of his bolt pistol.
"My lord, is something wrong?"
The knight asked the Grand Master, his fingers still hovering above his bolter.
"..."
Ezekiel's gaze pierced through the warrior's faceplate, locking onto his slightly tense face. Familiar flashes of prophecy rushed over him like a tidal wave.
This knight, who had not yet been inducted into the Inner Circle, would live a life fraught with endless war yet marked by absolute integrity, eventually dying with immense honor during the explosive destruction of a planet.
The images from the prophecy were so vivid they were almost tangible.
"No, it is nothing."
That oppressive, stifling sensation had vanished without a trace. He glanced around once more, confirming that his powers of prophecy were still functioning perfectly, before leading the knights to rejoin the procession, mentally making a note of the incident.
[Preliminary preparations are complete.]
[Grand Master of Librarians: Ezekiel. Threat Level: High.]
[Cooperation from His Highness and Rameses is required to guarantee the infiltration's success rate. Execute annihilation protocol?]
[Negative.]
Behind Ezekiel, Arthur silently watched the Librarian as he walked side-by-side with the very knight who had just spoken to Ezekiel.
While the procession moved forward, a thoroughly unremarkable cargo shuttle departed after a Tech-Priest signed off on its transport manifest.
Inside its stasis field, several knights lay in deep slumber. Through the observation window of one particular stasis pod, a face perfectly identical to the knight from moments ago could be faintly seen.