章 42: Chapter 39: Death Guard

The Endurance.

Now.

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In the slightly barren personal room of a Space Marine, Hades sat on the edge of the bed, holding a mirror in one hand and a round incense burner in the other, lost in thought.

His original goal had been to survive on Barbarus long enough to become a Space Marine.

Although the process had not unfolded as he had imagined, the result was the same.

However, after becoming a Space Marine, his confusion only grew.

Hades thought about it and realized that the key to determining his stance might lie with the Emperor.

What he was sure of was that after the battle on Barbarus, it was the Emperor who saved Mortarion.

That meant the Emperor had seen Hades as well.

Hades couldn't believe that with his strange constitution, the Emperor hadn't noticed something.

But what was the reason the Emperor only healed him and then returned Hades to the 14th Legion?

Hades touched his left brain, feeling its smooth, metallic texture.

Did the Emperor participate in his healing? If he did, was the change in his Black Domain caused by the Emperor?

Or was it due to his near-death experience?

Or was it because he had been transformed into a Space Marine?

No, the more he thought about it, the less sense it made.

And these hypotheses couldn't be proven.

Hades couldn't ask the Emperor for answers.

He had no way to approach the Emperor.

Mortarion probably didn't know either. If he did, he would have said something about Hades.

And besides, Hades thought to himself, sometimes thinking too much meant you were being watched by Tzeentch!

Hades had barely managed to pull Mortarion away from Nurgle; he didn't want to get caught in Tzeentch's gaze.

Forget it, thinking too much was pointless. In the end, it would be one step at a time.

Hades originally wanted to figure out how to use his new brain and left eye, but since Mortarion was waiting outside for him, he couldn't delay much longer.

He got up, ready to find Mortarion—

It was only when he stood up that Hades realized he had grown taller!

He was now at least 2.6 meters tall!

Not only that, but Hades now felt an immense strength flowing through his entire body.

Tight muscles sent signals of power, two hearts beat powerfully, blood rushed quickly through his veins, and his lungs steadily expanded and contracted.

His mind was incredibly clear.

Hades had never felt such complete control over his body as he did now.

He felt like jumping or sprinting; he was strong, so strong!

Suppressing the urge to punch the wall, Hades threw the mirror onto the bed, gripping the incense burner as he headed out.

Gray-green and dark gray were the dominant colors of the corridor.

The wide, plain hallways stretched long and narrow, with deep gray floors and dark green walls, edged with off-white where they met the floor.

Aside from some essential lighting, the corridor was dim, like the misty, overcast days on Barbarus.

Identical doors, like Hades' room, lined the long hallway.

This should be the personal rest area for the Space Marines, Hades thought.

At this moment, the only other person in the hallway was Mortarion.

Mortarion was leaning against the wall, absentmindedly playing with a round incense burner.

When he saw Hades approaching, Mortarion came back to reality, ready to show Hades around the Endurance.

Hades walked over and handed the incense burner back to Mortarion.

Although the air still had a slightly pungent smell, Hades could endure it.

He thought, "I don't want to become a walking gas tank."

Mortarion looked at him.

"No need? I can give it to you."

"No, no. If the future is going to be like this, I need to adapt quickly."

Hades quickly declined, though he was tempted to tell Mortarion more, he managed to stop himself.

Respecting others' preferences starts with you.

"Alright."

Mortarion casually took the incense burner and hung it back on the bronze chain on his shoulder.

"Come on, let me show you around the Endurance. This will be our second home from now on."

Hades shrugged.

It was true.

After becoming a Space Marine, most people completely cut ties with their past.

But Hades would still remember.

Seeing Mortarion start to move, Hades followed him.

"This is the personal quarters for Space Marines. This floor, and the two floors above and below, are all your personal rooms."

"Originally, the rooms were assigned by company, and the Endurance would not house the entire army. Some companies are stationed on other warships."

"But currently, the Legion is still in a period of adjustment, so for now, all companies are stationed on the Endurance."

"And the newly added Barbarusians haven't been assigned to any companies yet."

"This Legion... was originally called the Dusk Raiders, but after I took command, I renamed it the Death Guard."

Mortarion smiled.

"In honor of the warriors of Barbarus."

Yes, those brave and fearless warriors.

Mortarion paused for a moment and then, with a serious tone, said:

"You are my unbroken blades. You are the Death Guard."

Hades recognized this phrase.

Mortarion had said the same thing the first time he met the Dusk Raiders.

That phrase had also been engraved above the airlock door of the Battle Barge Reaper's Scythe.

After that, the 14th Legion ceased to be the Dusk Raiders.

What remained was the 14th Legion, the Death Guard.

The dull and monotonous footsteps continued to echo in the corridor, maintaining their steady rhythm.

Mortarion went on to explain the newly restructured Death Guard to Hades.

"I've divided the Death Guard into seven companies. Of these, the First, Second, and Seventh Companies are special."

"The captain of the First Company is the First Commander, currently led by Barasine of Terra."

"The captain of the Second Company is the Commander, currently led by Tetsus of Terra."

"The captain of the Seventh Company is the Battle-Captain, currently led by Garo of Terra."

With deliberate emphasis, Mortarion used the name "Terra" in Barbarusian with every sentence.

Hades understood exactly what Mortarion was thinking.

The 14th Legion was like Mortarion's personal toy.

Naturally, he wanted to get rid of anything he didn't like.

Mortarion wanted to infuse the Legion with new blood.

In truth, nearly every Legion went through a similar process.

Once their Primarch was found, the old glory of the Legion was overshadowed by the Primarch's return.

Not every Legion was willing to immediately submit to their newly found Primarch.

Even with the genetic link, these battle-hardened veterans wouldn't easily bow down.

This inevitably led to conflict.

Hades knew this was bound to happen.

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Note:

After Mortarion restructured the Death Guard, they became a highly ordered and obedient force. But I feel there must have been conflict between the old and new Legion members. Many other Legions experienced this kind of internal strife, and during the betrayal, you can see from the depiction of the loyalists that the Legions weren't a unified whole. Hence, this portrayal.

Enjoy reading! 😊

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