Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 218: Choice

"We are not ordinary criminals."

The heat-resistant suit made her voice muffled and indistinct, but it was still possible to discern that she was an elderly woman.

"Merciful Angels of the God-Emperor, we are all families of spaceport officials. We implore for your aid."

"She says they are the families of spaceport officials?"

Soshyan asked Sol, his voice laced with surprise.

"She wants to be released."

Sol emerged from the darkness and stripped the heat-resistant suits off the corpses on the ground. Consequently, the warriors discovered that these beings were all actually xenos.

"It seems she speaks the truth."

Sol turned toward the person in the cage and asked:

"Do you know why they abducted you?""I know. They wanted to use us to coerce our husbands and children, to force them to betray the Imperium."

"What kind of conspiracy?"

"We do not know either. They simply imprisoned us here, providing basic food and water every day."

"Who are you?"

Sol noticed that besides this old woman, there was another person in the cell—a young boy.

He was cowering in the back, his eyes wide open behind the dim observation visor of the heat-resistant suit.

"I am Marita, the former stationmaster of the spaceport transfer station."

The woman spoke, placing a hand affectionately on the boy's shoulder.

"And this is my grandson, Nick. His father is the current stationmaster."

The boy looked up, staring directly at the Angels' pitch-black optical visors and their indifferent, scrutinizing gazes.

"Those monsters broke into our house at night and snatched Grandma and me away to this super hot place. The food here tastes awful, and the water is really smelly."

Subsequently, the boy began to complain somewhat clumsily.

"Grandma keeps saying the God-Emperor will save us. Big metal uncles, were you sent by the God-Emperor?"

Someone chuckled over the vox-channel. Soshyan guessed it was probably Armin.

Sol did not reply, merely turning and walking silently away from the cage.

They subsequently held a brief discussion.

"This is illogical."

Sol was the first to voice his opinion.

"They could have directly used infection to control these people. There was absolutely no need to go through the massive trouble of abducting them so deep underground."

"Perhaps they had another purpose?"

Soshyan attempted to analyze the situation.

"These are all families of spaceport officials. Perhaps they were preparing a fallback plan for themselves. But... indeed, simply infecting them directly would have sufficed."

As he spoke, he glanced back at the prisoners.

"Could they have already been infected?"

"It's possible."

Sol nodded slightly.

"The best solution is to wait until the matters here are resolved, then have the Departmento Justitiae take over and conduct inspections."

"But what if they haven't been infected? Leaving them to their fate isn't..."

Suddenly, Armin's voice interjected.

"Even if that is the case, we do not have the spare capacity to bring them along. They are actually safer staying right here."

Armin then fell silent.

Having made his decision, Soshyan walked up to the prison cage and spoke in a deep voice:

"We are executing an urgent mission and cannot take you with us. Stay here for now. Once the mission is complete, someone will come to rescue you."

"Angels! Do not abandon us!"

There were dozens of other prisoners in the adjacent cages. They immediately began shouting and clamoring, pressing as close to the electrified grids of their cells as their courage permitted.

"I understand the difficulties you Lords face..."

The old woman pushed the child forward.

"But at least Nick—"

"I am sorry."

Before Soshyan could finish his sentence, a loud shattering sound echoed, and the blaring alarms instantly ceased.

The silence lasted merely for a fleeting moment.

Accompanied by the violent collapse of the bedrock, a section of the stone chamber's wall caved in. Molten rock surged violently through the fissure. The scorching, blinding-bright jet of magma struck the bare ground and rapidly spread outward.

Only then did Soshyan genuinely realize the true source of the blistering heat.

The xenos had channeled magma into the vicinity, constructing a self-destruct system.

"An anti-escape mechanism."

Sol broke into a sprint, speaking with absolute calm.

"Someone triggered it."

"Move."

Soshyan issued the command over the squad channel. He had absolutely no time to persuade people with reason.

The prisoners, realizing they had been utterly abandoned to their fate, began screaming and wailing in despair, but the Space Marines turned a deaf ear to their pleas.

The magma rapidly spread across the floor. More and more sections of the rock walls on both sides began to violently collapse, merging into the blindingly hot, flowing torrent of molten rock.

When the magma flow finally reached them, the screaming peaked. Even the heavy heat-resistant suits burst into roaring flames.

Soshyan brought up the rear. He could hear the cries, prayers, and curses with absolute, crystal clarity. Armin attempted to open a private vox-channel several times, but Soshyan rejected him every single time.

Suddenly, he still stopped in his tracks. He turned around and strode firmly back through the boiling, scorching heat waves.

The electrical current surging through the cages had already died out due to a short circuit. Soshyan violently tore open the mesh door with his bare hands and reached out toward the boy sobbing desperately in his grandmother's arms.

"I'm not going anywhere without Grandma!"

The boy screamed and curled himself into a tight ball, but the old woman forcefully pushed him outward with a single, firm shove.

"The God-Emperor protects. Thank you for your profound mercy."

Soshyan wordlessly snatched the boy up with a single hand, turned around, and began to sprint.

The rest of the squad had already advanced toward the stairwell. This prison rapidly transformed completely into a literal hell. Absolutely everything was fiercely burning; the people trapped inside the cages were completely transformed into screaming, agonized human candles.

Soshyan absolutely did not turn his head back to witness this horrific scene. Clamping the boy tightly under one arm, he utilized his remaining free hand to begin climbing rapidly.

Very soon, they successfully escaped this inferno.

Sol did not ask Soshyan why he had done this, nor did anyone else question his actions.

Armin, however, felt a profound sense of relief. It was now his responsibility to actively protect the boy until they safely returned entirely to the surface.

The squad ascended gradually. The dim, gloomy mine shafts they passed along the way all firmly appeared completely abandoned. Subsequently, they climbed a series of narrow stairwells, passing through increasingly low, claustrophobic tunnels and railway locomotive transit lines.

Eventually, they returned completely to the familiar mining sectors and discovered that their ultimate objective was already close at hand.

The mine caves here were freezing and damp, perfectly matching the distinct characteristics of a subterranean river actively flowing straight through the area.

Just as Soshyan breathed a sigh of relief over safely returning flawlessly to the correct path, the tunnel they were currently in suddenly suffered a violent explosion.

A terrifying tidal wave composed of dirt and solid rock slammed violently into the ten Space Marines. While battering their heavy armor, it smashed them forcefully squarely into the rock wall on the opposite side.

Armin reacted within a split second. He grabbed Nick securely and yanked him firmly to his left side, shielding the terrified boy with his own massive armored body.

Fortunately, the explosive yield was not particularly devastating and failed to inflict any substantial damage. However, by the time Soshyan firmly regained his footing, the ambushers had already charged eagerly out from cover to finish the slaughter.

Wearing respirator masks and miners' garb, they rushed frantically toward the Space Marines with a sickly, fanatical zeal, their eyes wide and completely unblinking behind the optical visors of their rebreathers.

Laser cutters, impact drills, and even crude, one-handed mining picks were fiercely wielded in their hands.

But what truly drew Soshyan's attention was explicitly the furious battle cry they howled.

"For the shadows! For the Raven Lord!!"

Under the sheer concussive impact of the explosion, mortal opponents would likely only manage to collapse entirely to the ground and await death. However, what they were currently facing strictly were the Space Marines; even situated exactly at the epicenter of the blast, they had not been deterred perfectly in the slightest.

Soshyan drew his Holy Flame Sword and spoke precisely a single word.

"Kill."