When the shaky ship finally appeared above Terra, Hades and Malcador both breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though they both had a lot in common about this shitty world, these sporadic friendships were no match for the nausea Malcador felt when he used his psychic power to hold down Hades's black domain to allow the ship to sail smoothly through the warp.
Now Malcador felt like vomiting when he saw Hades, and for the first time, the patient and cunning psyker had a slight mental imbalance.
Powerful control over psychic energy means sharper senses, and facing Hades, facing this damn black domain, only loyalty to the Emperor and a sense of responsibility to the Empire prevented this dedicated psyker from throwing this damn Hades out while navigating in the warp.
Hades was not much better. Compared to the Emperor's psychic suppression, Malcador's psychic power was more... simple and crude. This might still be because Malcador's psychic skills were not sophisticated enough.
During the voyage in the warp, Hades felt as if Malcador was using his psychic power to force him into a large vat full of vomit. These chunks of vomit were still spraying sticky saliva at Hades and making inexplicable whistles in his ears.
Hades began to struggle subconsciously with the Black Domain, and his remaining rationality controlled him not to struggle too violently, otherwise he would be spit out of the warp. At the same time, his rationality also controlled him not to punch Malcador in the face -
He could see that Malcador was also controlling his remaining little sanity and not using his scepter to strike Hades on the head.
Until the last leg of the voyage, the exhausted Malcador and Hades, who was about to ascend to heaven, both felt the world's unparalleled malice towards them.
The encounter between Psychic and Untouchable is doomed to be a tragedy, and both are acutely aware of this.
Hades leaned exhaustedly on the floor-to-ceiling porthole. He looked out and saw bustling ships surrounding the fluorescent throne world, completing their day-to-day work.
There were no oceans on Terra; it was a dirty brown planet, as Hades had realized when he first went to Mars.
This is fundamentally different from the Earth in his memory.
This did not cause Hades to feel any spiritual shock. He just looked at this seemingly barren and crowded planet, feeling as if he had finally reached his destination and survived a disaster.
He hated the Warp.
Malcador slowly walked to Hades' side. There was obvious disgust on the old man's face, and so was Hades - they tacitly kept a certain distance from each other.
But even so, the old man was still introducing Terra to Hades. Hades was not sure whether this was out of Malcador's diligence or the host's courtesy to the guest.
"Isn't this very different from where you came from?"
The old man said slowly,
Hades blinked. He didn't know whether Malcador was referring to Earth or Barbarus, but both were obviously very different from the Terra in front of him.
He nodded.
"Terra, the home of human civilization, was not originally so ugly."
Malcador sighed and spoke. He seemed to be lamenting the appearance of Terra, but Hades always felt that he was also mourning the current human civilization.
Malcador stared at the brown planet. At the Emperor's call, they unified it and started a great expedition that would change the history of human civilization.
Malcador spent a great deal of time on Terra, and he devoted a great deal of his life to it.
Perhaps in the eyes of other humans, arriving at the throne world, Terra, is an exciting and trembling thing. They will sing praises to the sacredness and beauty of Terra, the heavy epics carried on every inch of soil, and the miracle of human history.
But only he and the Emperor knew that Terra had lost its beauty.
It became dirty and ugly, the blue ocean disappeared, replaced by barren scorched earth.
And now... Malcador thought, what would Hades, the outsider, say about Terra? Praise its holiness
No, if Hades had known the good old days, if their world had not been as hopeless as it is now, then he would never have praised it, praised these potholes of suffering.
… Would he feel sad? Would he realize the hardships of human civilization, that he was about to climb a mountain that would never end and lead to sacrifice
Malcador thought of the desolate heart of Bahar on Terra, a vast slum where even on Terra, on the most sacred of human throne worlds, there was no shortage of suffering souls.
"Terra's ocean was stolen by a female tyrant. Since then, Terra has lost its last ocean."
Malcador calmly introduced Hades. He keenly noticed that Hades' lips moved.
"If you have any opinion, feel free to talk, Hades. For my own personal reasons, I am curious about your opinion of Terra."
Hades's eyes shifted hesitantly to Malcador, as if to say, Are you sure
Malcador answered Hades with a resolute silence.
Hades turned his gaze back to Terra. He looked at Terra and commented,
"I feel..."
Malcador waited. Hades was the one chosen by the Emperor, and he had successfully and perfectly fulfilled their expectations of him. He was not as hopeless as Malcador had initially thought. On the contrary... some amazing wisdom lurked beneath Hades' appearance.
Malcador looked forward to Hades' answer, which would help the old man better understand Hades, analyze him, and better deal with him in the way Hades liked.
"… not as good as Macragge."
There was a brief pause before Malcador realized what the damned Hades was talking about, and then he let his instincts take action - instead of letting them pass through his mind first.
With new and old grudges, Makado couldn't bear it anymore.
Malcador transformed his scepter into a club, using his psionic powers to increase his strength and agility, and then struck Hades in the calf with a stun club.
"Bang!!!"
Hades howled exaggeratedly and hugged his calf, then he looked at Malcador resentfully.
"We agreed that we can discuss anything! You have no moral principles, old man!"
Malcador took a deep breath, and then another deep breath, and his disgust for Hades successfully turned into anger.
"As far as I can remember... you've never been to Macragge?"
Hades immediately said seriously,
"Guilliman sent me a tapestry of Macragge, which I have seen, of course."
…For the first time, Malcador felt a dislike for Guilliman.
——————
"Thanks" to Hades' exquisite "humorous jokes", Malcador no longer talks about any humanistic insights in front of Hades.
Malcador ignored Hades's rebuke; the Ultramarines' ceremonial ship was far more luxurious than this.
After that, the Seal Bearer speechlessly took Hades to visit several places that pilgrims generally liked to go to, as well as several more solemn buildings that the old man had enthusiastically selected for the outsiders.
He should have said something, a cunning politician using the art of words, Malcador could easily stir up emotions in people - mostly sad loyalty, or heavy mourning, in order to better enable them to fulfill their mission.
When weak emotions accumulate, even the weakest person will choose to sacrifice heroically.
Malcador had the same idea at first about Hades. He used language and humanity, history and civilization to hold this outsider, so that he could work hard after leaving the Death Guard... The Emperor chose to trust Hades directly, which was still somewhat illogical in Malcador's eyes.
But Hades made Malcador realize deeply that some people really don't need logic.
For example, the Emperor and Hades.
Malcador's logic and reason had been shattered by Macragge. He suddenly realized that in Hades' eyes, the outsider had seen through the Sigillite's thoughts, and he ended Malcador's attempt with a ridiculous joke.
But is it really just that Hades is simply unaware of all this
Malcador didn't know it, but his mind was now filled with Macragge blue.
He took Hades to visit the Winter Corridor, the Crystal Observatory, the House of Discipline... countless attractions, big and small.
Then Malcador calmly took Hades to a restaurant in the palace prepared for the great nobles. Under the instructions of the seal holder, the restaurant did not receive other people today as the chefs had already made preparations.
Malcador looked at Hades with a numb expression and then he showed a surprised expression.
This suggestion was made to the old man by Jin on Mars.
He vaguely thought of Mortarion, the Primarch who always acted indifferent, and would grab the pistol and the Lantern at his waist the moment he heard the word "psychic", or when Malcador appeared in front of him.
…birds of a feather flock together.
Malcador stared expressionlessly at Hades as he surveyed the restaurant's decorations, and made his conclusion.
The restaurant in the palace was naturally more magnificent than one could imagine. Everywhere one looked, there was glittering gold, and precious wood that had been extinct for tens of millions of years emitted a faint and charming fragrance. But these were just the steps one stepped on when entering the door.
Any wall with exquisite carvings of figures is adorned with countless diamonds, pearls, amber, agate, and fist-sized rubies embedded in the pupils of wild beasts, which are then chopped to the ground by warriors holding silver halberds.
Everything here, even the faint scent of incense in the air, exudes an expensive atmosphere.
Malcador watched as Hades suddenly turned his head and stared at him expectantly.
"Um... Malcador, it's not the kind of dish I imagined, where you only have one bite at a time, right?"
"Won't."
Malcador said calmly, the old man casually raised a hand, signaling the servants to move.
Although the Master himself was unwilling to admit it, he had indeed grasped Hades's weakness in human nature.
The aroma of carefully roasted meat wafted through the air, mixed with the layered scent of expensive spices. Hades could already hear the slight sizzling sound, which was the wonderful smell of the meat just taken off the stove.
In one hand, Malcador held the wine glass brought to him by the mechanical servant. The rich scarlet wine in the glass exuded an intoxicating fragrance.
The seal holder took a sip. The torture inflicted on him by the Black Domain made him lose interest in tasting the wine. No matter how strong the wine was, it could only wash away the nauseating taste on his taste buds.
But apparently there are always people who can maintain their appetite amid the mutual dislike between psychic power and the dark realm.
The carnival main course of stacked layers of meat was placed on the table by multiple robot servants. The tight meat fibers exuded a glossy luster, and the crystal clear gravy hung on the mountain-like steaks, reflecting the swaying light in the restaurant. The roasted green spice leaves lay quietly on the side of the white plate, emitting a complex and layered aroma.
Malcador took another sip of his wine, the strong taste making him want to vomit.
The seal holder accepted Jin's suggestion. He directly asked the robot servants to bring all the dishes. There was no need for etiquette. People from Barbarus did not care about such things.
… More like Ruth.
Malcador put away his unfounded associations and continued to admire Hades' actions.
Hades, the Ghost of Barbarus, Commander of the Death Guard, Devourer of Souls, Lord of the Order of Silence... Hades is clearly unaware of all these titles he has, and how the outside world views him.
With each dish served, the light in Hades' eyes brightened a little, it was a kind of pure joy.
The milky soup of giant fish, the marinated seafood with special flavor, the pudding covered with syrup, the risotto filled with ingredients...
Hades took a breath and stared at the fish soup that was still bubbling and steaming, with a strange light flashing in the fish's eyes, thinking about which one to eat first.
"Malcador, are these just for the two of us?"
Hades spoke hesitantly.
"These are all yours,"
Makado took a sip of wine slowly.
"Due to table restrictions, the dishes are still not served. You can check the menu and replace the ones you don't want."
He watched Hades pause for a moment with satisfaction, and a subtle sense of confidence was restored after being toyed with by Macragge.
Hades seemed to want to rebuke Malcador for his wastefulness and extravagance, but apparently, faced with a table full of food, the Lord of the Order of Silence flexibly adjusted his bottom line.
"Then I'll be welcome."
Hades spoke quickly, and Malcador watched the food disappear at an alarming speed, so fast that Malcador even doubted whether the Black Domain could also devour food, because Hades' movements were not very large and he still maintained normal table manners.
Malcador thought about it, and the old man finally decided to ask directly without beating around the bush, otherwise he might be fooled as the price of playing with vague language.
The old man spoke,
"What was your original motivation, Hades? What do you want?"
Apparently, Pluto, who was immersed in the food, no longer had his damn sense of humor. Hades, who was in a good mood, gave him the answer.
"Whatever happens, if I suddenly see a child falling into the water on the roadside, my first reaction is to save him. I have to save him."
"You can't keep thinking about loyalty and honor..."
Hades raised his hand and signaled the robot servant to take down a plate. Unlike these damn extravagant nobles, he, Hades, swore not to waste!
“When you’re on the Barbarus, you realize… this thing is so far away.”
Malcador looked thoughtful.
4k words, no more today
Yay!
(End of this chapter)