Hades was sitting bored in the reception room of the Ultramarines.
The two massive fleets met in the Warp and sailed together towards their destination.
Compared to the silent black ships, the Ultramarines looked busier, but Hades had no idea what they were busy with. They gave Hades the feeling that they just wanted to keep themselves busy so as to avoid thinking about some difficult problems.
Guilliman did not show up. His 19th Captain Aydon brought Hades and Malcador into their fleet. The Glory of Macragge was not here. There was only the 19th Company's fleet here.
Consistent with the stereotype of most Ultramarines, the Ultramarines Ayton was a serious and outstanding diplomat, but now he looked worried. Malcador was aware of the Ultramarines' uneasiness, and the old man decisively chose to comfort the outstanding Ultramarines, leaving Hades in the reception room.
"Someone will come find you."
Malcador threw down these words and left mercilessly.
… Time passes…
In the bright room, Hades' eyes were empty, and he was leaning on the conference table in a daze. On the magnificent wall, the flag of the 19th Company was hung. A sturdy white horse with its head held high was staring at Hades, and the dark blue satin background made its fiery mane even more shining.
Hades began to recall the good memories of his previous return to Mars to see the technical sergeants. His Mars manual has been updated to 3.17, and the geometric signatures of Iron Warriors, Imperial Fists... are enough for the Imperial Fists to build another wall.
There were the most technical updates, with almost all the legions participating in this entertainment that was beneficial to physical and mental health. There were very few updates on miscellaneous topics, most of which were updates from the Emperor's Children and the Word Bearers... To Hades' surprise, he even found a limerick written by the White Scars about traveling in the Martian wilderness...
…By the way, White Scar seems pretty good too.
At the same time that Hades realized this, the door of the reception room suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man walked in, then casually pulled a chair and sat down.
The man was dressed in gorgeous clothes. His well-cut pearl white brocade coat swayed with his movements. Each strand of gold thread on it emitted colorful light depending on the angle. The decorative gold and silver buttons were densely embedded on the coat, but they were not fastened, revealing the shirt underneath.
The shirt was embroidered with gold and silver threads, and had gold and silver embroidery of the same style as the outer coat sewn on it. It was buttoned up carefully and meticulously, and the buttons extended from the hem of the shirt to under the pure white linen scarf at the lapel, still in dazzling gold.
There was a golden olive crown on her long black hair. Hades seemed to have seen a not-so-good imitation of it on Guilliman's head.
The shimmering fabrics seemed tight, reminding Hades of clothes that would be torn apart with a large movement, and the buttons and scarf that were tied too high on the shirt made Hades feel suffocated, as if the clothes were strangling his neck.
Apparently those designers ignored the wearer's comfort for the sake of beauty.
Above this interwoven pearl white and shining gold is ordinary long black hair, an ordinary wheat-colored face, and ordinary black eyes. The eyes seem to be flashing with golden light, which may be reflecting the gold in the Extreme Warrior's room.
His attire reminded Hades of those planetary nobles who suddenly became rich, but his temperament reminded Hades of those miserable office workers who were squeezed to death in the subway, squatting on the ground eating dry bread late at night, with a mortgage at home and a wife who was laid off and raising a child. Although the man did not have dark circles under his eyes, he did reveal a deep, deep sense of powerlessness and fatigue.
The man was staring at Hades calmly and naturally, as if waiting for something.
Hades blinked. From the moment the door was opened, Hades' eyes were on the man, but his mind was obviously still on the White Scars' prairie.
In other words, this man did not have a strong, impressive aura, so Hades did not react immediately -
Until Hades felt that this face was somewhat similar to Mortarion, or Guilliman's face.
-ah
ah?!
ah!!!
Hades wanted to stand up suddenly and say hello or salute or something. At this moment, he had recalled the past when his leader picked up food and he turned the table. But the emperor obviously predicted his behavior. The emperor raised his hand and motioned Hades to just sit down.
Hades swallowed and straightened his attitude and sitting posture.
What should he say? No, in the letter the Emperor had projected to him, he didn't look like this? Did he use psychic beauty
But it seemed that the Emperor did not want to speak first. He was like an NPC in the game. He sat there patiently, waiting for Hades to trigger the dialogue action first.
In a moment of urgency, Hades said what was, in a sense, his first words to the Emperor after he came to this world.
"Emperor...are you okay?"
"It sucks, actually."
The Emperor said this calmly, but the very act of saying it seemed to give him pleasure.
"There is always so much going on - you are not to call me Emperor, Hades."
Hades blinked thoughtfully. The Emperor's words revealed his character, and this was exactly what Hades needed. Although the chances were slim, Hades did not want to fall into the false god line.
He waited patiently for the Emperor's new title... and then... and then the Emperor stopped talking?!
So how should Hades address the Emperor? Or does the Emperor acknowledge that Hades knows his name
Hades spoke tentatively.
"So... what should I call you?"
"It will be all right."
The Emperor said casually.
Wait, everything is OK? What is OK?!
Hades had never felt so tired even when talking to the autistic Mortarion.
"Can you... be more specific?"
The Emperor looked at Hades in surprise.
"You can call me whatever you like, Neos, Moravec, Don Quixote, Aurelianoa, José... You don't need to use honorifics, it's meaningless."
… Hades felt a little numb. What was he doing? What was he saying? Where was he? Who was he
He took a deep breath, Hades tightened his expression, and decisively chose to remain silent.
He looked at the Emperor, Neos, Moravec... They all looked at him with questioning politeness.
The other party also looked at him majestically.
After a silence of not too long, the emperor spoke solemnly. He had the majesty of a superior, but there seemed to be some hesitation in his words, which disappeared in a flash.
"Unlike other humans, your projection in the subspace is similar to a black hole,"
Hades' eyes were stern. Was the Emperor going to reveal the truth to him
"So I can't judge your emotions and thoughts through the subspace projection, which will cause me to make mistakes in decision-making. I hope you will honestly tell me everything you have concealed."
The Emperor still looked at Hades calmly.
"I hope you will give me your loyalty and honesty, just as I trust and honesty in you."
Hades spoke slowly.
"sure."
The result of both sides being honest was that they fell into silence again.
… There was another silence, and then the Emperor spoke,
"If you are afraid of choice, you can call me Neos."
Hades finally couldn't hold it anymore, he opened his hands helplessly and made a gesture similar to surrender.
"Thank you for your choice, Neos. I do have a slight fear of making choices."
After hearing Hades' words, the Emperor smiled.
Yes, is there
(End of this chapter)