Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 130: Temporary Chapter Monastery-Fortress

After the trial came a continuous thirty days of rest, recuperation, and meditation.

These activities were all conducted in isolation within the Astral Knights' temporary Chapter monastery. Only after this were all the Candidates brought together for intensive training.

Initially, 500 people had participated in the Survival Trial, but now only 61 remained.

So one could imagine how stiff the atmosphere was on the first day—the boys had previously been forced to kill one another, but now they had to sit together.

However, the bitterness born of introspection eventually gave way to the joy of victory.

Everyone's depression did not last long.

The monastery they were in was originally an almost-abandoned ancient abbey built into the cliffs of Soms Peak, thousands of meters high. Because the terrain was excessively steep, the number of priests within decreased year by year, and the poorly maintained stone structures gradually collapsed.

When the Astartes arrived, there were only five or six elderly priests and a stretch of tottering ruins left, seemingly ready to fall into the abyss at any moment.

Subsequently, with extremely high efficiency, the Astral Knights mobilized the Adeptus Mechanicus forces on the planet, rapidly rebuilding and expanding the scale of this abbey.

Normally, a Space Marine Monastery-Fortress should have the following facilities—Chapels: The most commonly used places of worship. Every company has a chapel located within its own company sector. This form of worship is part of the disciplinary code of the Battle Brothers.

Punishment Cells: Any guilty brother who violated the rules is detained here to undergo repentance and punishment to make amends for their mistakes, and occasionally they might suffer some physical pain. (Things over at Caliban might be a bit stricter.)

Officer's Quarters: These are private offices and rooms for the use of the Chapter's command echelon, including the Chapter Master, Master of the Fleet, and Master of the Forge.

Brother's Cells: These individual cells are the living quarters of the Adeptus Astartes. They are distributed across 10 sectors based directly on the arrangement of combat squads, with each sector representing a company. Each sector also has a small administrative office and the Company Commander's private room.

Public Dormitories: These are the living and resting quarters for the Chapter's non-combat personnel, including Servants, technical staff, and naval personnel.

Guest Rooms: Relatively luxurious rooms prepared for important visitors, such as Battle Brothers from other Chapters, and envoys from the Inquisition or the High Lords of Terra.

Foundry: The Foundry is where Space Marines produce and repair weapons and equipment. The Battle Brothers in charge here are known as Techmarines. Not only do they manufacture and repair gear here, but they also evaluate weapon performance in the adjacent testing grounds. The Master of the Forge manages them.

Ship Silos: Most of the Chapter fleet remains in planetary orbit. Only the transport ships needed to travel to the fleet are kept within the fortress, primarily including communication and transport vessels.

Teleportarium: Generally speaking, teleportation chambers are distributed across four locations within the base. They are the primary method of transit between the fortress and the fleet. Most of the time, Teleportarium One is used to receive visitors.

Landing Pads: Most of the aircraft belonging to the Chapter are stationed on the suspension racks of the landing pads, including fighters, large transports, and high-speed reconnaissance crafts.

Armory: This massive underground complex is used to store weapons and ammunition. The security of the entire complex is the responsibility of the Master of the Forge. The Armory can only be entered when he is present. Opening the main doors requires his genetic signature and encrypted signal. Only in emergencies can the Chapter Commander bypass this protocol by verbally dictating a confidential password.

Apothecarion: This area contains all the buildings used for medical, research, and biochemical laboratories. It is also where Mortals undergo surgery to be augmented into transhumans. Above the Apothecarion are the private quarters of skilled medical personnel, while the lower levels contain the dormitories for Servants and nurses.

Great Hall: Usually the largest area in the entire Monastery-Fortress, featuring a high and wide dome. It can accommodate the entire Chapter and is primarily used for grand conclaves, ceremonies, religious festivals, and special banquets.

Reliquary: Generally carved out from a corner of the Great Hall, it is entirely dedicated to ritualistic activities. The devout High Chaplain manages the Reliquary, which holds the Chapter's sacred Holy Relics as well as many of its most precious spoils of war.

Refectory: This area is primarily used for dining, and it includes the Kitchen, Storage Room, disposal units, and Purification Tanks. After arriving, the Brothers typically offer a prayer of thanksgiving first, then eat in silence (with the exception of the Space Wolves).

Lecturnum: Several narratoriums are distributed throughout the entire monastery. They are used for private meetings, teaching, briefings, and small gatherings.

Librarius Archive: This is the private domain of the Psykers within the Chapter. Not only does it house tomes, but it also serves as the central record storage room and main communications hub. The Chapter's Astropaths spend most of their time here, monitoring and broadcasting messages from the base. The Chief Librarian has overall responsibility for recording history, internal and external base communications, and base defense.

These defensive facilities are controlled via the armory within the archive. Inside, there is also a Chief of Communications and numerous Librarians, Astropaths, and technical support staff.

Librarium: This is the place where Brothers query information, as well as the primary study area for Recruits. Here, unencrypted Librarius files can be directly accessed via computer terminals, allowing users to select, browse, and input new entries into the main Librarius.

Chamber of Penance: This is the quietest area in the monastery, providing a place of silent contemplation for the Brothers. A Brother who seeks elevation or is troubled in mind must examine his soul and dissect himself here to prove his worth.

Dungeon: The Dungeon is located deep beneath the Apothecarion. It holds regular prisoners, not Brothers who need to enter the punishment cells. The walls are lined with reinforced adamantium and deployed with a vast number of sensors.

Crypt: This is the burial place of warriors and the home of ancient heroes.

However, the Astral Knights currently had limited resources on hand. Although Nathan IV could make up for some of it, many pieces of high-tech equipment still could not be provided.

Therefore, this temporary monastery actually lacked quite a few facilities, but it was already sufficient to accommodate these Recruits.

Today was a special day; Bahram and the other boys had gathered in one place.

The 61 boys stood at the assembly point, blankly awaiting their fate.

Among them, the first batch would officially undergo the Augmentation surgery.

The main doors leading toward the Apothecarion opened, revealing a great hall and another grated wall inside.

Only a small door was open on that inner wall. Bahram couldn't clearly see what was inside; this area remained extremely mysterious to him.

Chapter Servants paced back and forth from this residence. Every time, they would solemnly pat a certain boy on the shoulder, signaling him to follow them inside.

While waiting, the boys were permitted to sit down.

Bahram promptly sat on the ground, tightly hugging his knees, as the boys who had died because of him flashed before his eyes.

Perhaps most people had already cast the past aside, but he remained deeply unsettled by his own actions.

They weren't enemies, nor were they people he absolutely had to kill. Their deaths were solely because his own desires required it.

Bahram could comfort himself by saying this was a necessary evil enacted to serve the Emperor, but he knew the truth was that their deaths were entirely due to his own desire to become an Angel.

So many people had been killed by his own hands or died under his command; to him, both were equally unforgivable.

Now they were all gone, become dust in history.

He buried his face deeply into his knees, listening to their dying cries echo in his mind.

During this process, the boys were taken into that mysterious room one after another.

There was no indication as to whether these people ended up becoming the first batch. Everyone was required to remain silent when leaving and not allowed to disclose any information.

An hour later, Haomo was also taken over. He took long strides forward without looking back once.

But when Robin walked up to the main door, he turned back and gave Bahram a meaningful smile.

Bahram waited for a long time.

Name after name was called, and the remaining number slowly decreased.

The boys were all entirely expressionless, while Bahram remained constantly doubtful of whether he could become an Angel.

He was not cruel enough, unable to bear the truth of killing his own kind. He would definitely still be eliminated.

Even so, he did not feel any regret.

He might never be able to fight as a monster.

Finally, when he was the only one left, his name was called.

Bahram stood up and walked inside alongside the Servant with a calm state of mind.

After going in, he found nothing special inside. The Servants were packing up equipment. The Apothecary looked at him and said only one sentence.

"Bahram, prepare yourself mentally. Your Augmentation surgery will take place in three days."