Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 63: Death Eagles

"Just who are you."

Sol stared at the Dreadnought's shell, clean enough to reflect light, but received the same answer as before.

"Just consider me merely a nameless nobody."

"A nameless nobody wouldn't know the words 'Death Eagles'."

"Because I have lived too long, long enough to experience most events, but I am still curious how you and your brothers survived the flames of Isstvan III."

The Isstvan III Incident was also the first shot of the Great Rebellion.

The four legions—Sons of Horus, World Eaters, Death Guard, and Emperor's Children—used the pretext of quelling a rebellion to deploy all warriors loyal to the Emperor to the surface. Subsequently, they dropped virus bombs on the planet and ultimately ignited the entire world.

However, the prearranged purge plan was discovered early by the Captain of the 10th Company of the Emperor's Children, Saul Tarvitz. He personally piloted a gunship to the surface, delivering an early warning to the loyalist forces.

Before the virus bombs fell, the loyalists of the four legions largely managed to retreat into bunkers and evaded the initial strike.

Realizing the loyalists had not truly been annihilated, the renegade Warmaster Horus was forced to deploy ground troops. Led by exceptional warriors like Sol and Loken, the loyalists fought valiantly against the traitors, turning a battle that should have ended in a day into one that lasted for months.In the end, without reinforcements, the loyalists resisted to the very last moment. After thoroughly bombarding the entire planet, Horus left behind a dead, silent wasteland and advanced toward Isstvan V.

Therefore, in the official records of the Imperium, including the histories of Space Marine Chapters, there were no survivors of the Isstvan III Incident, other than the seventy brave men who escaped early on.

Looking down at the scroll recording the events of Isstvan III that Soshyan found on the bookshelf, Sol merely glanced at it before rolling it back up.

"The ancient ruins beneath the Choral City saved our lives."

Returning the scroll to Soshyan without trying to hide anything, he spoke very straightforwardly:

"The Warmaster thought he knew that planet inside out, but he was bizarrely wrong, just as he thought the galaxy was destined to fall into his grasp... There were very ancient ruins beneath the Choral City. When the bombardment began, these ruins were exposed. I led the remaining warriors swiftly into that deep underground canyon."

"Who dug you out of Isstvan III afterward?"

A rare tone of curiosity appeared in Brother Zayd's voice.

"The Imperial Regent, Malcador. He dispatched Garro and his company to return to the ruins of Isstvan III. He seemed to know we were still alive."

"Malcador again... That makes sense. The Death Eagles appeared almost at the same time as the Knights-Errant."

"There are no Death Eagles anymore."

Sol shook his head bitterly.

"No more."

"Then how did you end up alone on a Word Bearers ship?"

"After the outbreak of the Great Rebellion, we kept fighting the traitors, swearing to extract a blood debt for our fallen brothers... Battle after battle, our numbers dwindled. During the battle on the planet Oblivion, the last three hundred of us fell into a traitor ambush. After a bloody fight, I and the remaining thirty warriors seized a warship and departed the battlefield."

"Only to encounter the Word Bearers?"

"Exactly. We were ambushed by the Word Bearers on our way back to Terra. Before the warship was destroyed, we made one last stand, a boarding action."

"Thirty men."

"Yes, thirty men... Naturally, we failed. Most of the warriors died. I played hide-and-seek with them on the lower decks, killing many of them. Helplessly, they decided to summon some Warp construct to deal with me."

"Those bastards are just that incompetent; Lorgar's sons are all trash."

"They used those captured warriors as sacrificial offerings to summon something they couldn't control. That thing dragged the entire warship into the Warp and devoured everyone."

"Except for you."

"It couldn't devour me because it couldn't digest the fire within my heart. It couldn't shatter my convictions."

If everything was true, Soshyan had to feel deep respect for this tenacious warrior.

In such a hopeless environment, continuing to fight, continuing to resist, even depriving the daemons of any opening in his mind.

What incredible willpower.

What exactly kept him going?

After hearing this, even Brother Zayd fell silent.

It wasn't until a minute later that his vox-caster chimed again.

"Do you hate him that much?"

"Eternal blood feud."

Sol uttered these four words softly.

"So when he appears before you—"

"I will swing my sword without hesitation."

Brother Zayd's body sank slightly, as if observing the sword in Soshyan's hand, a humble longsword that remained sharp despite the passage of ten thousand years.

The hilt of this sword featured swept-back eagle wings, but not twin wings—it was a single wing, closely resembling the emblem of the Emperor's Children.

"What is its name."

"Solomon's Hatred."

"Ah, the Second Company Commander... He was indeed a passionate warrior."

At that moment, Sol suddenly turned around and looked at Soshyan.

"I've answered what I should. Now it's your turn to answer my questions."

His eyes stared straight at Soshyan, a gaze so sharp it made the young Chapter Master subconsciously want to look away.

"How can a Blank become an Astartes."

As he spoke, he paused.

"But you're not one anymore."

Then he looked sideways at Brother Zayd.

"And you, Venerable One, your memory is a bit too good, isn't it? I've interacted with quite a few Dreadnoughts, and over time, their memories deteriorate rapidly. You've gone through ten thousand years, yet your memory is similar to that of a young man under fifty."

Only a few dry chuckles came from Brother Zayd's vox-caster.

"We are the Astral Knights, a successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists. Company Commander Sol, you might not know this, but after the Great Rebellion ended, the Primarch of the Thirteenth Legion issued a Codex Astartes, demanding that all Legions be dismantled and turned into smaller-scale Chapters."

"I see."

For the first time, a smile appeared on Sol's face, but there was not a trace of warmth in it.

He extended a hand toward Soshyan, palm up, then abruptly reached out and squeezed Soshyan's cheeks before the latter could react.

"Mmh!?"

Soshyan subconsciously spat out a mouthful of saliva. Then, before he could draw his gun, Sol withdrew his hand.

"Apologies."

Sol apologized to Soshyan, then raised his palm.

"Brother Zayd, you, are lying."

A faint wisp of smoke was slowly rising from the center of his palm—Soshyan's saliva was corroding his gauntlets.

"You are not some so-called successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists at all."