Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim

Page 382

This is the fate of all Chemos.

As for those who defy this fate, or anyone who displeases the demigods or the upper nobility, they will be thrown out of the magnificent city built of high walls and turned into a skeleton in the desert storms of Chemos.

Even if they survive and reproduce, their descendants will still bear the mark of sinners, destined to wander endlessly in this wasteland, never to enter the city's halls again.

As a wanderer, the lowly and inferior can only plead with the gods to forgive his tormented soul and to gain their favor in the next life.

"We beseech the great Lord to lead us to ascend into the city... Great Lord, please have mercy on our souls and forgive our suffering!!!"

The once fierce and menacing leader of the wanderers no longer showed any of his former ferocity; he simply bowed his head again and knelt down on the ground in devout faith.

His head was almost bleeding from being ground down by the gravel in the wasteland, but he didn't care at all.

In order to become a member of that towering city, even if it's just a fleeting possibility of ascension, we must hold on tight.

—As for why he thought the possibility of ascension was far-fetched, it wasn't that he thought the ancient legends were unbelievable.

At the very moment this miracle occurred, almost all the lower classes knelt and prayed before the radiant tail flame, hoping that the god would save them and lead them away from endless suffering.

But clearly, compared to the docile herds, the gods would not favor a stubborn wanderer like him, burdened with original sin.

But... he still longed to be a citizen of the city.

He had heard from the servants who served the demigods that in that city built of high walls, there were delicacies beyond anyone’s imagination—delicacies that they had even obtained from the distant stars under the guidance of the gods.

The delicious aroma of the food alone was enough to make his mouth water.

Besides, there were beautiful views—everywhere you looked from the upper levels, but it seemed that there were some areas that servants like him, whose eyes hadn't been gouged out, couldn't enter... He could only imagine from the outside how beautiful those areas must be.

If only I could enjoy that kind of life of privilege...

"Great God!!!"

"Please...please save us!!!"

The leader of the vagrants knelt down and prayed again, hoping that his sincerity would be granted by the gods and that he could live another life as a superior person in the city.

But just as everyone bowed their heads and knelt in worship, a short figure walked quickly past their kneeling bodies.

"quick!"

"It's right in front of the site where the miracle is about to happen! Let's hurry over there to welcome the arrival of the gods!"

He shouted excitedly, his bare feet running across the pebbly rocks.

The legend of the appearance of gods filled him with unparalleled excitement—if gods really existed, what would they look like, and what magical powers would they be able to use to bring this world, which was nothing but wasteland, back to life?

He was unaware of it, but he was incredibly excited about his impending discovery.

Like a pirate who has discovered a teleported treasure, his running figure was stretched long, very long in the afterglow of the setting sun in Chemos.

"quick?"

"Hurry up my ass!"

Just as he was about to overtake the kneeling leader at the front of the group, a hand with thick calluses slapped him on the head with heavy force.

"Come back here!"

"Is that a place for someone like you?"

Only the glorious offspring of the gods have the right to welcome the gods back—they, being so lowly, are only fit to bow and wait in afar, hoping for a chance to be spared by the gods.

God is merciful; He would not want to see anyone suffer.

Therefore, no being who has suffered is worthy to appear before a great god.

This is a rule established by the Son of God for the Chemos.

Anyone who breaks this rule will suffer the cruel torment of the Son of God, a fate worse than death.

By then, even death will be a luxury.

"Humph!"

Even so, the boy only snorted in dissatisfaction.

"God is right ahead, I must go and meet Him!!!"

Even after that blow, it still couldn't break his determination.

He believed that God was far away, waiting for him at the point where he had crashed among those mountains.

He continued forward without looking back, heading in the direction where everyone was bowing and kneeling in worship.

They began running across this desolate, yellowish wasteland.

"That stupid kid has a death wish!"

The leader of the wanderers sneered as he watched the reckless boy running off into the distance.

He will be punished...

That's right, the gods will punish this arrogant brat...

In this group, he was simply someone no one recognized. He had just been thrown out of that city and had no idea what the basic rules of this world were.

Even without the child, the motorcyclists can still struggle to make a living in this desert.

Without them, that kid would just be another foolish, dying man in this barren desert.

In the vast deserts of Chemos, there is no shortage of fools.

People like this don't live long.

Countless experiences have proven that the kid will die, while he will live.

Thinking of this, the exile, enveloped in piety, continued to kneel and prostrate himself on the ground.

He believed that God could save them all.

as always.

.......

"hehe......."

In the vast, yellowish-brown earth, a little boy was still running.

The wanderers' procession had already gone far away, and now only he remained in the dim light, still chasing the distant falling star.

A solitary figure, yet he persisted in running.

Although the landing point of the god, which appears to be very close like a shooting star, actually makes you feel how far away the other person is when you run.

Too far.

...It's too far.

He believed he had enough energy and aspirations to see what the gods would look like when they returned to the world.

But in reality, the long journey only made him feel exhausted and overwhelmed. His legs seemed to be rebelling against him, and his lungs felt like they were about to explode as he breathed heavily in the not-so-clean air.

He's about to collapse.

But once he falls in this endless wasteland, he has no chance to stand up again.

He must persevere...

The gods are ahead; they will save everyone on Chemos.

That includes him.

In that dazzling, decadent city, he had seen far too many people and things beyond his comprehension.

There are so many, so many that everyone takes them for granted and becomes accustomed to them.

He believed that was not right.

He felt that people shouldn't treat each other like this...so cruel, so painful...

But he didn't know how to refute them; they were powerful demigods, people who could drive him out of the city with a single glance.

After getting used to all of this, he began to wonder if they might be right and he might be the one who was wrong.

But now, he no longer has time to think about these ridiculous and presumptuous questions.

Surviving in the Chemos desert is his top priority right now.

numbness.

Walking through this wasteland, lacking food and water, numbness had crept into every corner of his body.

He was so hungry and thirsty that he could almost hear the scorn of those who had driven him out of the city.

That's right... he was indeed overestimating himself; he ridiculously tried to oppose this system that had lasted for millennia with his shallow thinking...

But he still believed he was right.

Just as he was about to give up this nonsensical "belief," a god from ancient legend descended from the sky and gave him the final courage.

He is a force, a force that can create ripples, like a pebble thrown into calm water.

Only He could change Chemos and his future.

Chemos didn't experience day and night... It seemed he had been running for too long, and his body felt a very different... coldness in the desert.

It was snow-white frost that had condensed at my feet.

It wasn't anywhere else, it just appeared at his feet!

Even the world seemed to be trying to stop him. The boy thought pessimistically.

"We must... find the God... He can save us—"

"......us"

The next moment, it was as if a miracle had occurred, or perhaps a strange hallucination he had experienced in his extreme exhaustion.

The world is spinning.

In short, in his eyes, the impact landing site, still emitting wisps of smoke and dust, seemed to be right in front of him.

That is--

A hope, a goal for which one can strive and fight without regard for personal safety.

......

It's right ahead.

The boy tried to calm his lungs, which felt like they were about to burst, and his aching legs. Filled with immense excitement, he—

and many more!

It's someone else's voice!

"I really don't know what the people above are thinking, that they would suddenly hold another rehearsal like this."

"In order for those lowly scum to work hard, we have to go out and clean up. Sigh."

"Stop complaining. It only happens once a year, so changing it to twice a year isn't a big deal."

"Hurry up and retrieve them, before those idiots figure out anything."

"See through the clues? If they really had that kind of brain, they wouldn't be relegated to the lower class."

“That’s right, sir. If they were that smart, they wouldn’t have lived their whole lives like animals.”

Accompanied by a low, humming mechanical sound, several elegantly dressed high-ranking police officers suddenly stepped down from a floating mechanical device that the boy had never seen before.

Of course, they were respectfully surrounding a giant, no, a demigod, dressed in extremely magnificent purple-gold full-body armor.

His face, revealed when he removed his helmet, was enough to captivate anyone; the blessings of the gods granted each of God's children a near-divine appearance.

The noble and beautiful demigod descended from the humming machine and cast her gaze toward the point where the meteorite had fallen.

"No?"

No, there was only a dirty boy trembling and hiding to the side.

......

“Sir, I’m so sorry there are still homeless people here,” one of the military police following behind him immediately knelt down on one knee and begged for forgiveness. “I will drag him away and kill him right away so as not to offend your eyes, sir.”

"slow."

Having grown weary of prolonged pleasure, the demigod-like armored giant crouched down, smiling as he looked at the other.