Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 18: Sacrifice

"Cough cough—"

The massive impact left Soshyan dizzy for a long while. By the time he regained his senses, the air was already filled with choking smoke and dust, and the residual heat and shockwaves from the explosion had also severely burnt out his Power Armor's auto-senses.

At first, he thought his entire body had been buried, but when the smoke and dust began to disperse, he discovered that only his legs were pinned beneath shattered, collapsed support pillars, and the Bolter in his hands was nowhere to be found.

A hundred meters away, another section of shattered support structure had smashed onto the wreckage of a Necron Obelisk. Leaking coolant froze the surrounding rubble, making it look as if it were a machine flattened by a single strike from a frost giant's club.

Further away, several puddles of leaked substances had ignited with green flames, further accentuating the feeling as if this were another world.

This structure had almost entirely collapsed. The cratered road surface was littered with depressions smashed out by giant boulders, as well as Canoptek Spyders that had been smashed until they burst open. In a certain sense, this truly had become their "tomb."

Soshyan observed for a moment. After confirming there was no enemy presence, he initiated his armor's internal self-diagnostics. Very fortunately, he had only sustained minor damage.

Subsequently, without expending much effort, he kicked aside the slanted architectural wreckage composed of rubble and metal. After pushing himself to his feet, a panoramic view of everything that had transpired shocked him.

Scattered everywhere upon the road were shattered Necrons. Some were completely flattened, while others had been smashed to pieces by direct hits from giant boulders.

He switched his comms to the company's open channel. A string of frustrating, hissing static noise transmitted into his ears. He couldn't receive any messages from within the squad, let alone the company."Ned? Axel? Acknowledge, acknowledge."

After determining he was unable to reach his Battle Brothers over the comms, Soshyan began searching the ruins for any trace of the two of them.

After inspecting the metallic corpses smashed everywhere within the ruins, it appeared he was the only thing to survive the indiscriminate bombardment of the shower of rubble.

Suddenly, his auto-senses received a faint signal transmitting from the left side. He immediately sprinted toward that direction.

After traversing an obstacle piled high with black rubble, he saw an armored arm jutting out from tons of stone material, and immediately recognized this as Ned's hand.

"Brother! I will get you out right away!"

Soshyan immediately used both hands to push upward, simultaneously attempting to stabilize the sliding wreckage while digging out rubble and hauling away sheets of unknown building materials from that pile of ruins.

Soon, he managed to reveal Ned's right arm and head, but neither of them were moving. Furthermore, his helmet had shattered and was covered in dripping fresh blood.

Following redoubled efforts, Soshyan dug out Ned's torso. During this period, with the help of his armor injecting adrenaline to enhance his strength, he removed a massive chunk of stone material that was almost as heavy as he was.

"Urgh..."

Along with Soshyan's movements, Ned's right arm twitched, his fingers extending.

But Soshyan knew very well his condition hadn't improved much at all.

A massive pool of fresh blood had spilled across that razor-sharp stone, and there were dozens of places with cracks and dents on Ned's armor. His left arm was even gushing fresh blood, as if his blood-clotting organs had lost their effectiveness.

"Ned! Ned! Wake up!"

After Ned helplessly patted one side of his already severely smashed helmet with his hand, Soshyan immediately realized his intent. He subsequently bent at the waist, twisted the helmet, and broke the seal.

Following the hissing sound of air, Soshyan yanked off the helmet, revealing Ned's bloodstained, scar-riddled face.

Only then did he thoroughly see the other party's shocking wound clearly. Numerous skull fragments protruded from one side of Ned's injured head, and the ear on that side had already vanished, reduced to a puddle of meat paste along his jaw.

Opening both eyes and seeing Soshyan, Ned slowly nodded his head, forcing a smile that revealed bloodstained teeth.

"I knew you could survive. The officers... were right. You are destined for greatness."

Looking at Ned's bloodstained smile, Soshyan suddenly realized who had pushed him away at the very last moment.

"Why?"

He asked in grief and indignation.

"My life is not greater than yours."

"I cannot say..."

Ned whispered, then let out a low groan due to the agony. Subsequently, he wrenched his right hand free from the garbage, presenting his own Bolter to Soshyan.

"The Chapter Master... made it so I had to use my life to protect..."

After this final effort, Ned, the companion who accompanied Soshyan from his growth as a recruit into a warrior, died.

Soshyan accepted Ned's pistol, discovering the gene-lock on it had already been disengaged, and the ammunition was actually completely full—it was very obvious Ned had already made preparations to transfer his weapon to Soshyan.

He gazed at his fallen brother's face, remaining silent for a long time.

"Soshyan."

At this moment, Axel's voice rang out from behind him. Soshyan violently turned around, seeing the other party limping about amongst the ruins while clutching his waist.

"Brother!"

Soshyan immediately ran over like the wind, grabbing the other party's pauldrons with both hands.

"You're still alive, that's wonderful."

Yet Axel's gaze bypassed his shoulder, looking toward the other Battle Brother atop the pile of rubble.

"Ned..."

Soshyan nodded his head in deep sorrow.

"He has already returned in glory to the Emperor's side."

Axel let out a heavy gasp, and a converging stream of fresh blood subsequently dripped down from his waist.

Soshyan looked down, discovering the armor at Axel's waist had already shattered. But it didn't look as if it was smashed apart; rather, it looked like it was split open by a sharp instrument.

"Just ran into a few Xenos bastards who weren't dead."

Axel's tone was very relaxed, yet his breathing carried a hissing sound. Soshyan didn't even need to look to know the wound was definitely exceptionally deep, and it was extremely likely it had already injured internal organs.

"Let's go. There shouldn't be any enemies ahead."

As he spoke, Axel turned around and walked toward the other end of the grand hall. Soshyan followed behind him. At this moment, it was as if the identities of squad leader and squad member had been swapped.

After walking for two minutes, Soshyan abruptly opened his mouth and said:

"Axel, were you also carrying out a mission?"

The other party's pace stagnated for a second, and then maintained its original frequency once again.

"Aren't we all carrying out a mission?"

"No, what I mean is a mission that I do not know about."

Axel didn't reply, instead silently walking forward, just like a guide.

"Answer me, Axel."

Soshyan stopped in his tracks, gazing at the other party's receding back.

"Ah."

Subsequently, Axel's helpless sigh echoed within Soshyan's helmet.

"My brother, from the moment you entered service, have you not realized you are so special?"

"I have realized it."

"Yes, the Chapter Master entrusted us with a secret mission. This mission was precisely to sacrifice everything to ensure your safety."

"Why."

"I don't know either. I didn't go ask, nor will I go ask. We merely execute. This is what it means to be a Space Marine; do you not understand, Soshyan?"

Axel's answer was like a giant boulder, pressing heavily upon Soshyan's heart. Confusion was never his normal state, but everything that occurred today was truly far too bizarre.

He was like a blind man in a theater; while everyone else was playing their respective roles, he alone believed he was playing himself.

"Alright, let's keep walking. Perhaps the Chapter Master can answer your questions, assuming we can still leave here ali—"

Just as he was speaking, a majestic surge of energy abruptly swept over. Without another word, Axel immediately turned around and tackled Soshyan to the ground.

(End of Chapter)