Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 49: Holy Flame Sword

Soshyan's guess was correct; Loken's greatest problem right now was how to wrap this situation up, or rather, how to wrap it up gracefully.

Although the traitors had been completely wiped out, they had still caused exceedingly severe personnel and equipment losses. And where there were losses, someone inevitably had to step forward and take responsibility.

In the official eyes of the Imperium, terms like "force majeure" and "innocence" simply did not exist. As long as they wanted to find one, there was always some dereliction of duty to uncover. Moreover, Loken himself believed that the main reason things had escalated to such a disastrous scale this time was primarily due to human error.

But the most troublesome part now was that the primary individuals who were supposed to bear the responsibility were all dead. Therefore, in principle, as the second-in-command of the orbital station, Tech-Priest Loken had naturally become the optimal scapegoat.

He could perfectly envision what would happen next.

Those people would have him brought from the orbital station back down to the surface, and the moment he landed, he would immediately be arrested and stripped of all his authority.

Following that would be a rigged trial; he wouldn't be given any chance to defend himself, and every crime would be meted out with the harshest possible sentence.

All of his personal assets would be confiscated, including his cat-eared medical servitor (crossed out).

Then he would be stripped of his red robes, his cog necklace would be taken away, all his mechadendrites would be detached, and he would be publicly proclaimed excommunicated from the Cult Mechanicus.

And after that, he would be sent to a processing manufactorum for a brutal frontal lobotomy, and those who hated him might even subject him to even more excessive augmentations."...No! I don't want to be turned into a rectal-massage servitor by those perverted bastards! Omnissiah above! That... that's just..."

Looking at the weeping Adeptus Mechanicus priest before him, Soshyan realized the man's interpersonal relations must have been incredibly poor, to the point where there were people constantly waiting for a chance to take his life.

If such a Tech-Priest were allowed to join them, what consequences might it bring?

"Adept Loken, I sympathize with your plight, but..."

Soshyan shook his head.

"...The Adeptus Astartes is not a sanctuary. It is an organization that stands ready to sacrifice everything for the Imperium and humanity at any moment, just like the over seven hundred brothers of ours who died in battle."

"I-I am also willing to sacrifice everything for humanity and the path of the Omnissiah!"

Loken hurriedly held up the mechanical cog on his chest with both hands.

"If you and your men hadn't arrived, my Lord, I would have used my final override authority to destroy the entire orbital station, ensuring the 'Glorious Saber' would not fall into enemy hands!"

Soshyan looked at Loken, more or less convinced that the man was likely telling the truth.

However, none of that mattered.

"This will be an arduous and perilous path. Once you set foot on it, there is no turning back. Have you truly made up your mind, Adept Loken?"

"I've made my decision, my Lord! No, Chapter Master!"

Without a trace of hesitation, Loken nodded heavily.

"Very well. Then I, Soshyan Alexei, Chapter Master of the Astral Knights Chapter, formally invite Brother Loken to join the Astral Knights as a Tech-Priest aboard the 'Starfire'."

"Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

Loken nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice. Suddenly, he remembered something and smacked his head hard with his cog emblem.

"Damn it! I almost forgot about that!"

He raised his head and said to Soshyan:

"Chapter Master, there's something I almost forgot. It was left behind by my mentor. It's said to be... uh, an artificer-crafted longsword commissioned by a certain Chapter Master of your Chapter a century ago. My mentor poured a lot of heart and soul into it. He originally intended to send it to the Obsidian Fortress along with this batch of supplies, but before he could complete the final step, he... but I have already completed that final step!"

As he spoke, he pointed toward Warehouse Five.

"Chapter Master, please follow me."

Soshyan truly hadn't expected such an unexpected boon. After following Loken into Warehouse Five, he discovered a massive stockpile of munitions, though they all appeared to be weapons meant for mortal use. The most numerous among them were standard-issue lasguns used by the Astra Militarum.

Deep within the warehouse was an isolated compartment. Loken used his biometric codes to unlock it, and Soshyan had to duck his head to squeeze inside.

But the moment he entered, his gaze was instantly captivated.

Suspended within a stasis field at the far end of the compartment was a crimson longsword, looking from afar like a flowing stream of magma.

Its length was a quarter longer than the power swords typically wielded by the Astartes, but it was also a third narrower, making it appear slightly slender and elegant.

Soshyan stepped closer to observe. He couldn't tell what material the blade was forged from; the metallic surface bore wondrous patterns resembling swirling flames. A thin blood groove ran down the center of the blade from the tip all the way to the guard.

The crossguard was fashioned in the shape of outspread, flaming aquila wings, and the hilt was wrapped in tight coils of golden wire, clearly the result of meticulous craftsmanship.

"My mentor didn't tell me much about this sword either. He only told me its name is the Holy Flame Sword, and the materials used were provided by the Astral Knights. The disruption field generator on it can produce incredibly high temperatures when activated, and if the surrounding environment is also high-temperature, it can even automatically draw power... But what caught my attention the most is that this sword can connect to the thermal regulation system of Power Armor through the isothermal coils on the hilt, transferring heat directly to the user..."

Loken scratched his head as he looked at the longsword.

"...You have to understand, the heat generated when the field activates is enough to instantly carbonize a person. Even if the transferred heat is only a tiny fraction of that, it's enough to cause a man to pass out from heatstroke entirely. I don't really understand the purpose behind this function; it was a modification I installed per my mentor's wishes."

Hearing this, something stirred in Soshyan's mind. He realized that this sword, whose crafting had begun a century ago, was absolutely not meant for the Chapter Master of that era.

Rather, it had been left for him to use a century later!

Every time he invoked the devastating power of the Grey Marrow, those biomatter metals would frantically siphon the heat from his body, a rate of absorption that even the Power Armor's thermal regulation systems couldn't compensate for.

But with the Holy Flame Sword acting as a supplementary "heater", the duration he could utilize the Grey Marrow would be greatly extended, and he wouldn't face the awkward predicament he had just experienced in battle.

"Its purpose..."

Soshyan reached out, his hand plunging into the stasis field. Pushing through the slight resistance, he firmly grasped the hilt of the Holy Flame Sword.

"Is immense."

The moment he drew the sword from the stasis field, Soshyan's thumb brushed the activation rune of the disruption field generator. The blade instantly became shrouded in a deep red mist, accompanied by a low thrum.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

The instant the field activated, a wave of heat radiated outward with Soshyan at its center. Loken felt as if he had been shoved into the great smelting furnaces of Makand II and immediately jumped back, yet the edges of his robes were still scorched and curled from the intense heat.

Soshyan looked at the longsword. The wave of heat could be felt even through his Power Armor, and the very air warped wherever his gaze fell.

Accompanying it was a current of heat that spread up his arm, traveling all the way to his neck.

Sweat immediately beaded on his skin, and Soshyan promptly deactivated the field generator.

Turning his head, he saw Loken huddled in a corner wiping away sweat. Soshyan immediately realized he had nearly roasted the man alive and said apologetically:

"My apologies. I didn't realize the space in here was so confined."

"I-it's fine. Does the Holy Flame Sword suit your hand?"

"It's magnificent."

"That's wonderful. I believe that in your hands, Chapter Master, it will undoubtedly drink its fill of the blood of the Imperium's enemies."

As Loken spoke, he took down a scabbard from the adjacent wall and presented it to Soshyan with both hands.

"It will."

Soshyan gave a slight nod, then sheathed the sword and secured it at his waist.