40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 92 90. Traces of Killing (End, 4k)

Robert Guilliman knew the University of Jericho well, in fact, very well.From the library to the teaching building, to the huge debate arena with many seats, he is so familiar with these roads that he can even pass them with his eyes closed.

The reason is simple, he has been here for a long time.

Jericho is famous for its debates. It has a huge debate arena transformed from an arena. Whenever the debate starts, many people come from all over Macragge to watch the debate.

This sport is so popular in Macragge that almost every member of the House of Elders had to achieve certain results here when they were young.

Robert Guilliman was naturally no exception. Although he was not sure at that time whether he wanted to enter the House of Elders in Macragge, one thing was certain.

When he was a teenager, he used to prepare for debates day and night just like everyone else, wanting to win everyone in the debate field.He has a thousand victories here.

A thousand victories and one defeat.

His achievements led the University of Jericho to proudly hang his portrait in the Hall of Fame even before he became Lord of Macragge as he is today.His eloquence laid a solid foundation during this period
However, failure is sometimes more memorable than victory.The only person who beat him was called Kang Nuo.

But now, on the way to the debate arena, he seemed very silent.

The footsteps of him and Karyl Rohars broke the silence of the night on the cobblestone-paved forest path. Next to it was a pool of quiet lake water, which was now sparkling with the breeze.

This night scene is a beauty that does not need to be described in words.It is a favorite place for students to relax and unwind.This tradition has existed since the University of Jericho was founded 300 years ago.

Guilliman thought about these far-fetched things in silence, his boots collided with the inlaid stones on the road. If it was another time and another identity, Guilliman would be happy to stop and admire them.

But not now.

Now, he just wants to know the truth.

He raised his head, looked at the giant walking in front of him, and calmly prepared to speak to adjust the atmosphere.

He hadn't walked this road for a long time, but his memory told him that they would soon reach the end, the ancient building that shared a bloody and civilized history.

So he had to be like this, his previous brief emotional outburst was very undeserved.As a mature politician, he should have used more natural means to get Karyl Rohars to tell him the truth willingly.

Robert Guilliman thought he could do it.

So he spoke softly and asked gently: "Instructor Khalil, have you visited Captain Van Cleef yet?"

Ask knowingly.Guilliman thought.A must for every politician.

"Yes." Khalil replied calmly, the voice came from in front of him. "He's still alive."

Suspended, Guilliman pursed his lips.

In all fairness, he knew about this result early on, and the medical officers followed his orders and kept reporting to him.

The first company commander of the Eighth Legion was severely burned. The medical officers couldn't even remove the armor without cutting open his power armor. Most of his skin and muscles had turned into sticky blood, and his nerves had no possibility of healing. His entire body was almost useless.

Frankly speaking, it is a miracle that he is still alive now.

Therefore, if you want to fight again, there is only one way to go.

"However, you don't need to worry about it."

"What do you mean?"

"He's already told me what he wants."

Khalil walked calmly, without stopping, with soft and slight footsteps.

"He asked me to fix him."

fixed?Guilliman frowned.I was speechless for a moment because of the terrible determination revealed in these words.

"...Macragge can provide a Contempt Dreadnought."

"No, there is no need, Mr. Robert Guilliman, I will no longer pass my responsibility to others."

Khalil stopped, and Guilliman stopped with him.He knew that they had reached the end.

His guide turned his head and asked softly, "You want to see the truth, don't you?"

".certainly."

Guilliman nodded firmly after a brief silence, temporarily putting the matter of Captain VanCleef behind him.

"That's why I followed you here. Is this the place? The debate arena?"

"Do not."

"But we are standing at its gate."

"Yes."

Guilliman's brows began to wrinkle more and more. He got the answer, and stood outside the door of the truth, but couldn't get an inch in.The feeling was almost unbearable to him.

He stepped forward, forcing himself to ignore the calm eyes of Khalil Rohars - he came to the heavy solid door of the debate arena, and began to sniff carefully, trying to catch every trace that might remain in the air.

but.

There was no smell, no smell of blood, no trace of battle left.

Guilliman turned his head, intending to ask again, but suddenly found a hand on his shoulder at some point.Khalil Rohars stood behind him with a calm expression, staring forward, his gaze was on nothingness.

"."

Silently, Robert Guilliman followed his line of sight and looked over again, but he could only see the two heavy doors closed together.

"You want to see the truth, Robert Guilliman. But I can only reveal part of it to you."

Khalil spoke in a low voice, his tone was light and terrifying, as creepy as if he wasn't here.Lord Macragge swallowed the question rising in his throat, and began to wait for the next sentence.

However, there was no next sentence.

His guide slowly clenched his right hand, his five fingers sank deep into Guilliman's flesh and blood like steel, and the cold blue light exploded violently in an instant.Guilliman's eyes widened and his muscles began to tremble.

He felt no pain, just a sudden pang of fear.

Then, in the next second, something came rushing from the darkness of the ancient building that had stood for thousands of years.
-
It was cold, so cold that it was almost suffocating, and every instinctive breath let the dead ice enter the nasal cavity and respiratory tract, scratching it, and soon, Robert Guilliman felt a fishy sweetness.

He opened his eyes in silence, and found that he was already standing in the debate arena.There were empty seats on all sides, the place where the long tables had once stood was now empty, and the sand waited quietly at their feet.

What about Caryl Rohars?

Guilliman turned his head slowly, and unsurprisingly saw him behind him.

The giant of giants waited calmly, deadpan isn't quite the right word to call him, but it's foolish to expect to see something from above.

Guilliman stared at those eyes, and after staring briefly, he found the answer he wanted in them again.

Then, he suddenly realized something.

——With his permission, I can peek into his thoughts again and again from his eyes.

"What about the truth?" Robert Guilliman spoke slowly. "Even if it's part of it, I accept it."

Khalil didn't answer, just held out his right hand.His skin was as pale as a dead man's, and the color of his arms was no exception.

Robert Guilliman has listened to too many riddles tonight, seen too many strange things that cannot be described in words and thought with his brain.But he still chose to believe in Khalil Rohars, so he is only standing here now.

He should have reached out and shook his hand, as they had done in the study that afternoon.It's just a handshake, what's the problem?
But he didn't.Robert Guilliman stopped moving.

The Lord of Macragge stared at that right hand, silent.On the playground, Khalil's hands were clean and pale without any stains.But now... His hands are full of blood.

That's not human blood.

Absolutely not—human blood wouldn't be so filthy, so horrible, even hissing and sluggishly boiling on the skin.Human blood also doesn't emit a hazy blue light that makes people feel dizzy.

Guilliman tried to look away, to free himself from the things, but he couldn't, because the broken feather caught between Khalil's nails had taken over the blood and the blue light to attract his attention.He looked at them, and felt a bone-chilling chill while breathing.

"Hold it," Khalil said quietly. "You can see the truth."

"What is this?" Guilliman asked softly, his voice was as soft as a baby's unconscious raving in its mother's womb.

"The truth you want," replied his guide. "I killed nine of them, and here they are. Formless, monsters in the dark"

He raised his head, glanced at the dull sky, then lowered his head again, and smiled softly.At this time, Guilliman noticed that there was still a little helplessness in his smile.

"Do you feel bad?" Khalil asked. "Such ambiguous, mystical remarks. Do they irritate you?"

Guilliman admitted it, why wouldn't he admit it?He nodded, and replied simply and neatly: "Yes."

"I apologize, then," Khalil said. "I didn't mean to make you angry, or irritated by your trust in me. In fact, the trust you showed in me surprised even me a little."

"During the day, you chose to come forward to talk to me when you discovered Van Cleef's true intentions, and then you chose to ignore him afterwards. You were willing to talk to me alone, and even believed my words that sounded like alarmists. I extend my apologies to you."

Guilliman pursed his lips, and a little anger appeared on his face again: "I trust you because of what my brothers say about you."

"Rogge said that your determination is comparable to his. Fulgrim praised your compassion. Ferrus said that you have a will like steel. Lorgar was the most vague and seemed unwilling to talk about you, but under my questioning, he still admitted your moral superhumanity. I believe you because of them, so I don't want your apology. Your apology is useless to me."

He took a step forward and held that hand without hesitation.

"All I want is the truth," said Robert Guilliman.

"Okay." Khalil Rohars nodded slightly. "The truth is right in front of your eyes."

As if struck by lightning, as if burned by flames, Guilliman's eyes widened, and a heavy sense of oppression swept over him.Day and night were reversed, the sky and the earth were shattered, and the screams were endless.He blinks, and it's all gone.He blinked again, and it all started all over again.

Like the law of the tide, along his breath, he travels back and forth to the imperceptible sea of ​​spirit world.Suddenly, his vision became clearer.

Khalil Rohars' voice sounded softly but firmly in his ear: "Look, Robert Guilliman."

Look.

What to look at?
Guilliman shook his hand blankly, a chill came over him, and then, he saw it.

He finally saw it.

A huge creature with colorful feathers.It was nailed to the rough and uneven walls of the arena with its own bones.Its body was dissected, and all the bones and internal organs were ripped out, keeping a close relationship with its skin just right.

Its eyes had disappeared, its sharp beak was wide open, and two blades burning with deep flames crossed the sides of its cheeks, tightly trapping its tongue.

Its wings were spread wide, but every feather was torn off abruptly, and the heads of eight other bird creatures with different dead shapes were nailed to its wings.

".What is this?" Guilliman asked at a loss.

He almost thought it was some kind of horrible vision, that the thing wasn't a bird, definitely not.

The bird's blood would not be twisted, blue-glowing maggots, nor would the bird's body be so gigantic.Birds are creatures that soar freely in the sky, and they are definitely different from such ugly monsters.

He didn't wait for an answer, and after a full 13 seconds of silence, he heard an answer.

"The truth you want," Khalil Rohars replied softly. "The invisible form is before your eyes, Robert Guilliman."

"I said, what is it—?!" Guilliman growled.

A deep, hidden fear had surfaced in his rage, and his rationality had kept him from understanding what these things were, in fact, his rationality had prevented him from understanding what these things were.

Even if he already had a vague answer.

"Something you're not supposed to see," Khalil said. "I stripped them of their tainted nature so you could see them. In other words, I killed them so you could see them"

silence.

There was a thunderous silence.

Holding his hand, Guilliman began to breathe hard, his breathing was so violent that one almost thought he was ill.But he didn't, he was perfectly healthy, he just had a hard time.After a long time, he closed his eyes and shook his head, his throat rolling.

"...No, no, if that's the case," he said. "So they're—"

"—they're nothing." Khalil interrupted him, and a force forced Guilliman to open his eyes and meet his gaze.

This strength comes from reason and calm, and it is transmitted through the hand that holds him.And then Robert Guilliman heard the last words he'd gotten from Khalil that night.

"It is time for you to rest, Lord Macragge. Remain rational."

　After the update is complete, I will start posting chapters starting tomorrow, so the update time may seem erratic.It's tentatively scheduled to be Chapter [-].If the number of words posted is less, the amount of information is insufficient, and it is easy to quarrel between posts. I am still quite afraid of seeing quarrels.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)