Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 208

The thoughts and emotions of psionic beings can be used to create corresponding demons in the warp, or they can be absorbed by existing demons.

A famous example is the future Sapphire King, a demon born from the death of Primarch Phenusmanus.

The intense emotional turmoil experienced by the Legion and Manus at the moment of the Primarch's death gave birth to this demon and endowed it with the attribute of specializing in attacking the Iron Hand.

Therefore, the demons existing in the warp are actually numerous and diverse, and they don't necessarily have to be the four little vendors. Other demons can also respond to people's emotions and thoughts—as long as believers pray in that direction.

Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the power of their prayers ultimately flowed into a destination that was not Hades.

Hades has been feeling all sorts of creepy things lately.

He needs more information.

Hades spoke seriously.

"Kirkland, regarding your so-called 'response,' we still need accurate evidence, not your assumptions."

"My lord! I'll do it right now—"

"You! Don't pray here!"

Hades, with a premonition, thwarted the sage's attempt. Kirkland wriggled twice, trying to express his dissatisfaction, but Hades decisively chose to ignore him.

Hades realized that communicating with a fanatic was useless; even if he asked him to produce evidence, it might be fabricated. Hades then turned his gaze to Margo, the hound of the underworld who had been burying his head in the sand.

Short black hair, golden eyes, and freckles on the face that look like they've been corroded by chemicals—these are typical characteristics of the Galapagos people.

She had a faint burn scar on the side of her face, and based on her profession, Hades suspected that she might have been burned by the high-temperature transport pipes inside the Hound of the Underworld tank.

While the main gunners of the Hades are indeed vulnerable to burns from uncooled equipment when they exit the tank in an emergency, Hades has no intention of widening the tank's width; these hounds need to remain agile.

To be honest, she had a pretty tough time. First, Hades suspected her of being Alpha, and then she was entangled with the Sage Kirkland.

Clearly, Hades' conversation with Kirkland, and Kirkland's harsh words, had frightened this mortal who, apart from the technical sergeant, had little contact with other Death Guards.

However, a person who is terrified is not suitable for interrogation. They will subconsciously follow the interrogator's words and instinctively obey and confess to everything.

Hades cleared his throat and tried to speak gently.

"Margo of the 037th Regiment, don't be nervous. You were actually dragged down by Kirkland. Tell the truth and you can return to the legion."

"I remember you. You were the Hound of the Underworld who followed Captain Soslan during the No. 2 boarding operation. You were the group that went deepest into the enemy fleet. You did a great job."

"You...you sir, I saw you back then."

"Yes, you were near the enemy's command center. I happened to be beheading their leader at the time. You were trying to take them down with you. Yes, I witnessed it."

"A brave and heroic act. This is only my personal opinion. You have proven your loyalty to the Death Guard and to the Empire."

Hades nodded solemnly; he always held a respectful attitude towards these souls who dared to rush forward and sacrifice themselves.

The premise is that she didn't shout "For Hades!" at the time, otherwise Hades would have given her a Wandering Soul Dagger.

Some little secrets that glow green and are exceptionally efficient.

But Hades suddenly realized that he might not have said those things. Appropriate encouragement is effective and can evoke positive emotions, but excessive encouragement can push emotions to another extreme.

The problem is, Hades thought about it, and it seems that from his position, apart from madmen like Kirkland who don't care about class and even dared to curse the Emperor before, most people would be overjoyed that someone of a higher class is willing to talk to them.

Sure enough, Margot trembled even more violently, and it seemed she was about to cry.

Humans are social animals after all. What could be more exciting than having your sacrifices and determination seen and encouraged?

Oh, perhaps the person who witnessed and praised it was someone of extraordinary status.

Hades sighed inwardly. At this rate, he feared the interrogation wouldn't be completed today.

He didn't trust any other tomb keeper to come, in case they made another outrageous statement, Hades could really be cremated right away.

“Margot, I hope you can calm down. There are many things to do and time is tight. I believe you can adjust your mindset.”

Hades smiled, trying to ease the tension.

“I get nervous sometimes, which is only natural. There’s no need to put pressure on yourself because of that feeling.”

It was just words of comfort. They weren't Space Marines, beings whose minds and bodies had been modified; Hades didn't believe such emotions could be suppressed so easily.

Margot remained silent, her head bowed.

But to his surprise, Hades suddenly felt an absurd illusion. In this completely enclosed space, he suddenly felt a slight tremor, like a gentle breeze.

ha?

Sensing something, Hades glanced at Margo on the other side of the judgment table. A bad thought surfaced from the dim, indistinct water—could it be—

Margot was still the same as before, looking ashen and tired, but she was no longer trembling; a deeper weariness and powerlessness enveloped her.

I don't know how to fuck.

The closer the distance, the clearer the senses became, the vague object became clearly recognized, and the path of thought became more targeted, pointing straight to Hades.

The evidence was irrefutable, and even Hades had to admit that he had indeed felt the prayer and responded to it—though he didn't know what he had responded to.

Kirkland meticulously documented the changes taking place in the room.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I have calmed down completely.”

A weak voice sounded, and Margot looked up, but still dared not look at Hades. Her gaze was cautiously fixed on her reflection on the table.

"What were you doing just now?"

"Pray, Lord Hades."

"To me?"

"To you."

"I am not God."

"you are."

Hades felt a sense of powerlessness. It was one thing for the religious guy to go mad—Hades could attribute it to a fragment of a Void Dragon—but now that someone who originally believed in the Empire's truth had turned to God.

Hades decided to deceive; at least compared to Kirkland, who already knew the lie, Margot was not yet corrupted by the information.

"The Imperial Truth states that there are no gods in this world."

"I just happen to have abilities similar to those of a psionicist. I'm essentially just an ordinary human being. I was born, I died, just like you."

Margot fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. Hades only hoped that she wouldn't be brainwashed by Kirkland.

Then the woman spoke cautiously.

"My lord, forgive my ignorance, but I have read those books, and that's what they all say, unless you are a god."

"Then you are God's agent on earth."

Hades nearly choked on a mouthful of blood. When he was driven out of the crowd because of the Black Domain, could he have imagined that he would encounter such a bizarre scene in the future?

When did he need to prove he was human? That's such a bizarre topic.

"Why do you think I am a god? If it's about so-called prayer, I would say it's just a kind of... you can understand it as psionic energy, witchcraft."

Since untouchables are not in the public eye, Hades' direct use of the term "untouchables" is unlikely to be clearly explained.

However, the general public has a high level of understanding of witchcraft and psionicists, especially within the Death Guard, a legion obsessed with anti-psionicism.

Margot remained silent, gazing at her reflection on the table.

For someone who had climbed up from the bottom of Galapagos, the words that came with Hades' identity carried immense weight, and she was naturally willing to believe them.

This man was handsome, but he didn't resemble the gods in the book who were shrouded in golden light or black veils. He didn't wear a plain linen cloak or an olive wreath that would never fade.

But Margot still believed Hades was a god, or at least not a human.

But why did she think that way? If the adults told her not to read those prayers that made her feel drowsy...

Ultimately, she grasped the key.

"My lord, I have been feeling a sense of unease throughout your conversation with the sage, including your conversation with me."

"It is this sense of incongruity that makes me feel that you are not the person I am looking at."

“I’ve been searching for what’s causing this unease, and now I’ve finally found it.”

Hades raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Margot?"

What is it? Can't he just change it?

Margot took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice,

"Sir, you consider yourself a human being just like me."

Hades blinked. Huh? Of course, he considered himself a human being, that's obvious.

"Yes, that's right."

Hades nodded.

A sly smile appeared on Margot's lips; she had found her evidence.

"That's it, sir, that's it."

“You only care that you are human, but you don’t care about what I said before. In fact, no adult would allow me to compare myself to them.”

Margot spoke slowly, enunciating each word carefully.

"God doesn't care about class; only humans do."

God is equal; He looks upon the suffering of all things in the world and does not mock them.

Only a god could possess such flawless qualities; even adults would carry an air of superiority.

If it were anyone else, Margot believes she would have been torn to shreds after saying those words.

“Your conversation just now has consistently placed you on an equal footing with me.”

"Moreover, the way they treat me is no different from the way they treat sages."

Kirkland, who was tied up to the side, emitted an electronic sound that was half admiration and half resistance.

"A legion commander, sir, just now spoke to me as an equal, to a mere mortal auxiliary soldier at the lowest level."

Hades got stuck.

"This is just a quality, and it cannot be the basis for your judgment."

"You're still trying to convince me, sir? Then could you find another adult like yourself?"

“I will repeat what I just said to him again.”

Hades had already begun brainstorming, but he realized that no one like that existed in the Death Guard, not even Vox.

Hades thought about it and realized that perhaps the Barbarus could do it, but the Galapasians were unlikely to be able to.

Hades took a deep breath. He felt he couldn't explain himself clearly, and even if he started to pretend to be angry now, the hound of the underworld wouldn't believe him.

"You can't define a concept of a god yourself and then apply things that fit that concept to it. Maybe I'm an exception."

"What if we also added the ability to respond to believers' prayers?"

Margot spoke rapidly,

"You bear the name of an ancient god, looking down upon all things in the world with equanimity, able to answer the prayers of believers, and expel the pollution of foreign races."

Margot glanced at Kirkland, who quickly picked up where she left off.

"You can also comprehend the Silent Machine, the Rules that banish chaos, the landscape that alters the planet, and the power that symbolizes death—"

Margot opened her mouth,

"Are you merely a special psychic with high moral character, or a god?"

"You possess power, knowledge, and virtue befitting a deity. You have corresponding authority. If you are not a deity, how else should we address such a being?"

It’s over.

Hades slowly realized that he was in a situation he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Although Terra no longer has the Yellow River, and the sea is gone.

And did he really think he was that strong?

These two were so engrossed in their logic that they couldn't extricate themselves, and Hades couldn't point out any flaws in their language.

Based solely on the descriptions of the two individuals, even in Hades's simple understanding, such people would be considered saints.

But that's only based on their descriptions! No, Hades is definitely not that kind of being! These two have deified him!