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Page 352
For everyone's sake.
He opened his eyes.
—Because only we know the outcome of the future.
Chapter 212 How about we go back to sleep now?
"Is this the treasure you found?"
Captain Payton couldn't understand why anyone would be excited about something that looked so ordinary.
It was a rectangular metal box that looked like it had been scorched by a fire—it was hollow inside, and he could sense that something seemed to be hidden inside.
The charred metal casing still emitted a foul sulfurous smell, and the remaining bloodstains seemed to tell of the fierce battle that had taken place before it was obtained.
But the metal was still incredibly hard.
No flame or cutting method can leave any mark on it.
The oracle ticked and emitted several high-pitched low sounds that made him uncomfortable—although the timbre of the oracle sounded the same as before, everything about it sounded indescribable to him...
disturbed.
"Tell us again how you got this thing?"
......
"This is a treasure we fished out of hell."
The person who said this was a recycler, a guy who collects waste and scraps all over the world and reassembles them into usable items for humans.
"hell?"
Captain Peyton tapped the long metal bar in front of him with disdain, and it emitted a dull echo.
These idiots have probably listened to some stupid talk from the Emperor's Cult and believed the lie that demons exist in this world.
"Hell? Where in this world is there hell?"
"Don't let those charlatans in the church blind you."
They say that mostly so that they can sell this thing for a good price.
But that didn't fool old Payton.
"Absolutely true!"
The leader of the Recyclers seemed somewhat anxious as he raised his right hand: "I swear to Him on Terra, we really, really went to Hell and brought this thing out!"
"We lost most of our brothers for this, just so that this thing could be sold for a good price and used to pay for our brothers' funeral expenses."
"Fine, don't try that on me. Just give me whatever price you ask for. Tell me what's so special about this box."
These days, which captain hasn't taken a life?
"Well...we're not quite sure either."
"Don't understand? If you don't understand, why are you selling here?"
"...This story begins with that hooded man. It was him—"
"Hooded man?"
What are all these things...?
"Yes, a few of us were working at the recycling center when that guy suddenly told us he had a big deal that would make us a fortune."
"You don't recognize him? Then don't you suspect his identity?"
"I...I don't know how, it was like I was being controlled. He said we could go, so we brought all the tools and followed him."
"And then what? What does all this have to do with hell?"
"That hooded man—he's incredibly powerful! For some reason, I suddenly felt a chill, like frost had formed, and then a portal straight to hell suddenly appeared in front of us!"
"Hell! That place...it really is hell!"
"He said it was some kind of demon world... basically the same as hell. When we went in, we saw that it was filled with parched and cracked earth, burning sulfur wildfires and spewing lava, and the rivers on the ground were the color of blood."
"And demons! They're crimson hellish demons with enormous horns and powerful bodies. They kill each other for pleasure in this lava field, and the wounds and severed limbs they inflict on each other heal instantly. And..."
"Enough, I didn't come here to hear your wondrous and legendary adventures to hell."
"Get to the point."
"Yes, Captain. Please forgive my over-excitement—but we are protected by the hooded man's magic... or rather, sorcery, so that those demons cannot detect our approach at all."
"With his sorcery, we successfully infiltrated a huge hall made of brass... or rather, brass. We don't know what those demons are guarding. But—"
Toch, the leader of the recyclers, pointed to the rectangular metal object.
When he entered, the rectangular metal shell was covered with countless intricately carved inscriptions and heavy chains. But all of these vanished with a wave of the hooded man's hand.
In the end, only this unidentified object encased in rectangular metal remained.
"But the moment you touched this coffin, it emitted a bright light that terrified all the demons, who then rushed to stop you from breaking the seal?"
“My old Toki, don’t try to use those stories of tough guys from those novels who fight their way through hell to add a price to your coffin—sorry, that trick won’t work on us.”
Captain Peyton stood up, his eyes showing considerable impatience.
"Captain, don't go! I swear I'm telling the truth! We—"
"If there's nothing else, I have a business deal to discuss. Please leave."
"Captain! Captain!"
"Hey! Captain!!!"
......
"Still no sales."
The dark coffin lay quietly beside old Toki.
He couldn't understand how the hooded man possessed the ability to tear through space and open portals to other worlds at will, just like a wizard in a storybook.
Why were they chosen? Why was he chosen as the one to venture into hell?
Why did the hooded man disappear without a trace after escaping hell with great difficulty, leaving behind only this heavy and useless piece of scrap metal?
His recycling station, which he had run for most of his life, had completely collapsed. After losing so many of his brothers in the battle in Hell, he sold off the entire station to give as compensation to his employees.
As for him, he could only return to his "home" with his precious child after losing everything.
In this desolate and dilapidated city district, all that remains now is him and the metal coffin beside him—as for the latter, he cannot even move it without a transporter.
"Sigh, who ruined that imperial statue like this..."
Old Toki's eyes glanced behind the metal coffin. This used to be where the statue of the emperor was placed. Decades ago, he left here wanting to make a name for himself, but when he returned after many years, he found that everything here had withered away and the people... had long since gone to other places to make a living.
Even the emperor's statue wasn't spared—without any repairs, its head had long been smashed off by nearby thugs, and its body was covered with countless blasphemous and ignorant sarcastic words.
These damn young people...
Old Toki angrily stepped forward and tried to wipe the graffiti off the imperial statue.
For many young people growing up in Nest City, this guy called Emperor is a stranger.
Why worship a person who died ten thousand years ago?
Given her tragic birth, did she truly receive any favors from the emperor?
Aside from those lunatics who worship the Emperor, who else would believe that a guy sitting on the Golden Throne who can't even save himself could save them?
"Never mind, let them be."
Seeing that the paint on the statue was not something Old Toki could wipe off, he angrily sat down on the ground and lay down next to the statue.
Let's rest here for a bit... anyway, he doesn't have anything valuable on him right now...
......
Hell, flames.
And there were endless demons, coming from that portal to another world, ravaging the world as if hell itself had descended—
"This is--"
Old Toki must have been half asleep.
How could he possibly have gone back to hell?
It's just that hell has returned to this world.
Unbeknownst to him, the recycler, after nearly ten thousand years of stagnation, those beings in the abyss who refused to remain forever silent have reappeared today.
fire.
The sulfurous fires of hell were burning everything in the lower levels of this nest city. Half-asleep, I heard screams and roars coming from a crowd in the distance.
As the building collapsed in the melting furnace, old Toki seemed to see bloodied severed limbs falling from the haphazardly falling steel supports.
He saw one of the demons leap down from above, its claws covered in keratin gripping a massive blade, its eyes scanning and searching. There seemed to be an additional emotion in the demons' eyes—anxiety, an extreme anxiety, as if they had lost something of utmost importance.
found it.
The other person seemed to have also seen Toki and the huge metal coffin beside him, and was running rapidly toward him.
That was an expression of joy, if demons and humans could even share a similar expression.
The object the demon had been searching for was right here. Although Toki didn't understand why a demon from hell would appear in the real world, he nimbly dodged behind the dark metal object as it gleamed with a gleaming brass blade.
He may not have much fighting ability, but anyone who can be a space junk collector for several years and make a clean getaway is no ordinary person.
when!
Before it could retract its force, the demon's heavy blow struck the metal shell directly.
Then, the metal seemed to come alive, flashing an urgent red light, followed by an even brighter light that exploded before everyone's eyes!
The demon... The demon was horrified to find itself unable to move from the object it feared, as if it were emanating a powerful suction that prevented it from drawing its brass sword.
Then, the burning golden-red flames began to spread across the originally black metal, burning until the demon shrieked and perished in this world.
The flames never subsided—as the code demon was consumed by the flames, a golden-red light, and even more frenzied fire, began to burn across the entire metal pillar, until—
Everything about the metal casing was exposed, and inside, sealed away, was a purple-gold coffin with patterns from an ancient era.
Old Toki knew nothing about this, but his years of experience as a recycler had taught him a great deal about archaeology, so when he saw this magnificent coffin...
He still couldn't understand anything.
Click.
The next moment, a golden-red light shot into the sky, and the purplish-gold coffin, like a giant construct, continuously assembled and transformed...
"This is......."
Old Toki's eyes widened as he watched the coffin transform, gradually becoming a humanoid suit of armor.
"The Emperor's Angel?!"
In the 40K era, the Astartes warriors, as the Emperor's angels, were the subject of much speculation throughout the galaxies.
Some say the Astartes are extremely brutal super soldiers who will stop at nothing to defeat their enemies; others say they are merciless executioners of the Emperor, who will kill any traitor who dares to rebel against the Empire and the Emperor; still others say they are the Empire's most steadfast guardians, and that the Empire will endure forever as long as they remain.
Opinions on Astartes are mixed, but no one would consider the Emperor's Archangel Astartes to be weak.
Especially now, the Emperor's angels are being assembled right before his eyes.
"Could it be that the Emperor's angels... are all created in this way?"
Click.
As the final assembly was completed, the helmet, which had been lowered, was raised again, its eyes blazing with fire.
"demon......"
The flames of the super soldier in his purple-gold armor, accompanied by a deep rage, instantly engulfed all the creations in the lower level of the nest city.
"This is not a place for you."
The most unimaginable thing happened in front of old Toch.
Under the baptism of that golden flame, all the burning sulfur fires were once again covered by golden-red flames, and then everything began to return to normal.