Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but Warhammer 40k

Chapter 95 Coronation

Orion nodded without saying anything more. In fact, as long as this demon didn't go berserk here, eating some corpses wasn't a big deal. After all, in the past, many alien races on his ship had a tradition of eating corpses.

In fact, let alone alien races, cannibalism is not uncommon even within human empires.

The old man turned around, his back looking somewhat aged under the dim light, and walked out of the hall.

Henry turned around and glanced at Anastasius.

"Don't wander off, wait for me to come back."

"Don't worry, I'm not bold enough to let a demon explore this ship."

Henry ignored him and followed Orion with Theresa.

As soon as the group stepped out of the maintenance hall, Aldrick, who had been waiting in the outer passage, immediately came to greet them.

The old butler first thoroughly inspected Orion, who was unharmed, and after confirming that his master was safe and sound, his expression finally softened a little.

But when his gaze passed over Orion and landed on Henry behind him, the wariness in his eyes did not lessen in the slightest. He took a half step to the side and used his body to block Orion and Henry.

"Master, you shouldn't trust someone of unknown origin so easily."

"Chaos is full of tricks, and we cannot rule out the possibility that there is another Chaos force here."

"Moreover, the other party is a knight whom no one knows, a knight who is unwilling to reveal his family."

Orion did not stop moving forward despite the butler's obstruction.

"I know, dear Aldrick, but do we have any other choice now?"

"At least I should handle the negotiations; you should take care of your own safety."

"Safety?"

The ship owner turned around and looked at the maintenance hall, which resembled a graveyard.

On the metal deck, the filth and remains left behind after the collapse of the Chaos Egg were everywhere. The giant steel support, tens of meters high, had completely broken and collapsed. The twisted metal structure was scattered all over the ground like the skeleton of a giant beast. Even now, the collapse of the ruins continues.

The source of all this destruction was now walking safely behind him, looking even more vigorous than before.

"Aldrick".

"If he really is a demon, do you think we, with the rest of us, can control him?"

The old butler remained silent.

"He could certainly be a demon—quite possibly—but he could also be an angel sent by the Emperor to help us."

"And I am an old man on the verge of death—even if it has ulterior motives, it is we who are holding it back, aren't we?"

Aldrick still frowned, his face full of worry.

"Master, I still think we should be more cautious."

"Of course," Orion nodded. "It's never wrong to be cautious."

On the other side, behind the passage.

Henry naturally heard their conversation as well; his extraordinary physique made his senses far more acute than those of ordinary people.

A small tumor attached to the surface of the shoulder blade split open, revealing a tiny mouth.

Anastasius had somehow detached a small piece of his own tissue and left it there silently.

The mouth whispered furtively close to Henry's ear.

"They don't believe us, but I can actually make them believe us."

Henry was also curious after hearing this.

"How can we convince them?"

"I can crawl into the head of every single one of them and make them believe in you from the bottom of their hearts."

"I guarantee it will work exceptionally well and won't harm them—at most, they'll feel a bit unwell after a hangover."

Henry felt a throbbing pain in his head and his temples were throbbing.

"Don't do such a thing; it might bring you closer to the devil."

"All right."

Anastasius's mouth twitched in grievance, and the surrounding soft tissue shrank along with it.

"I just wanted to help."

"After all, ever since I've known you, every negotiation you've ever had seems to have gone terribly, always ending in armed conflict."

Henry wanted to say something in rebuttal.

But the various events I had experienced along the way kept popping into my mind.

From the Bohemian countryside to now stepping onto this starship.

It seems that—that is indeed the case.

Thinking of this, a shadow fell over Henry's face.

"Shut up."

"You yelled at me!"

The fleshy parts on the shoulder armor immediately and obediently shut their mouths tightly, even closing their eyes as well.

It was as if it had never existed.

As the demon fell silent, a quarrel suddenly broke out at the crossroads ahead.

"Let me through! I know that knight! We're acquaintances."

Several fully armed soldiers, each holding a gun, surrounded a burly figure.

Balu had four or five dark laser gun barrels pointed at his vitals, but he was already used to being misunderstood and having guns pointed at him.

He kept waving his hands, trying to explain the situation to the tense guards around him.

"I am not the enemy!"

"I'm with Henry!"

"Can you understand human language? Are you humanoid Oglins?"

It wasn't until Orion, who was at the rear, spoke up after consulting Henry that the soldiers let Baru go.

The mercenaries, relieved to see Henry arrive unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, you have no idea how long it took me to find this way."

"I thought you went off to fight some monster all by yourself again."

Henry smiled.

"It's over. You missed the most important moment."

"But I didn't miss the most troublesome time—right?"

"I have reached the most important moment."

A voice came from the depths of subspace.

A road extending from the corrupt garden slowly leads to a massive throne.

The roadside was piled with rotting bones, and huge flies gathered into a dark cloud that blotted out the sun.

Countless Nurgles lay prostrate on either side, singing strange songs devoid of any melody. They laughed, cried, and tore at each other, only to huddle together again in the next moment, like a group of children who would never truly die.

Agrius, the withered overlord, strode forward through the filthy river.

"Now is the time for a bountiful harvest."

His voice echoed slowly in the corrupt world.

Various scenes kept appearing before my eyes.

The imperial capital became a breeding ground for plague, and countless mortals knelt in disease, calling out the name of their benevolent father.

The Death Guard has regrouped, and billions of worlds are sinking into a green, poisonous fog.

And there is a crown radiating boundless divinity, silently floating at the end of this journey—

The crown of corruption.

It should have been a reward from a loving father to his most outstanding offspring, but it was also a gift that tempted noble souls to fall.

Agrius believed that, with his long campaigns spanning millennia and his unwavering loyalty to his father, he would need not undergo any additional trials.

But now.

But like a mortal, it must pass through layers of illusion before it can see the true appearance of the sacred object.

Even—he was a step behind a mortal named Henry.

The belated humiliation gnawed at his soul like a leech, piercing his mind far more than any physical trauma he had ever suffered.

Although he was no longer lucid, what drove him forward was no longer simple.

Finally, the fog lifted, and all the illusions vanished.

The crown floated silently in mid-air, a crown woven from withered wood, white bones, and countless emerald green spores.

Countless tiny lives grow and die within it, in an endless cycle. Corruption and rebirth achieve a strange balance on the same object.

Agrius reached out his hand.

"How beautiful—"

He stroked the crown with an almost obsessive fascination.

Some thoughts also crept into his consciousness along with the crown.

Why—why share this glory with others? Why return to the warband? Why listen to the voices of those foolish colleagues? What right does Brother Morgar, who has questioned me time and time again, have to share the Father's blessings with me?

He is the strongest warrior and the one who truly embodies the ideals of the Death Guard.

He is the most loyal person.

He should carry the Crown of Corruption alone to the feet of the Father, to receive the harvest that belongs to Agrius alone.

The laughter of countless Nurgles echoed all around.

"He believed it!"

"He'll become an idiot too!"

"Everyone does that!"

They patted their fat bellies, rolled around in the mud, laughing and spitting green bubbles at Agrippa.

After the bubble bursts, it becomes a new Nurgle.

They are always so happy, so nauseatingly happy.

Agrius's hand holding the crown began to tremble.

He gradually became confused and lost; he didn't know what he should do now.

Just as consciousness was about to fade away, a figure emerged from the depths of memory.

Dark green power armor, a silent and tall figure.

Holding a giant scythe, he pierced through the poisonous fog, approaching the tyrant who ruled Barbarus, and stood before him. "Pale King—"

The person Agrius could never forget.

Agrius was born in Barbalus, at the foot of a mountain shrouded in poisonous fog, in a world that looked utterly repulsive.

Humans could only live in the lowlands, enduring poisonous gases, diseases, and the oppression of tyrants.

Until the appearance of the great Primarch, Mortarion.

He led mortals in rebellion against the lords of the mountains; his power was so great that even the gods were subdued by his will and perseverance.

Agrius joined the Deathguards because he admired that figure.

Even after Mortarion chose Chaos, he remained the most loyal follower, personally slaying former comrades who believed in the false emperor and purging those who wavered.

He was never loyal to the Empire; his loyalty was always for Mortarion himself.

To this day, he still remembers the vow he made.

I want to continue that great cause of the adult.

The only difference is that the tyrant they must defeat now is far more powerful than the one of the past, and the empire the Death Guards must overthrow is now much larger.

But so what?

A vow is never changed because of the strength of the enemy.

Agripus closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, greed had sunk deep into his heart.

He held the Crown of Corruption in both hands and raised it high above his head.

"Everything is for my loving father."

At that very moment, the entire corrupt garden erupted in unprecedented cheers.

Millions of flies took flight, and countless Nurgle spirits sang and danced around Agrippa, causing the corrupt earth to tremble.