18 Interlude ll

(MC POV)

Tens of thousands of vat-bred abominations and thousands more cybernetic horrors filled the arena as all Twenty Primarchs battled filling the arena with blood.

The arena was emptying very quickly as the horrors were very quickly reduced to stains of flesh and blood on the ground.

I watch my sons watch each other's backs and turn abominations into dead pieces of meat.

A thousand genetic abominations captured during the conquest of the Caucasian Ethnarchy entered the arena.

They were the last remaining after all previous etnarchic monster were killed in the arena.

The difference in strength was so great that in less than eight minutes they were all reduced to a mixture of flesh and blood on the floor.

The arena was empty of enemy and there were only twenty demigods in it.

In their armor and weapons they moved gracefully and powerfully like the ancient heroes of Terra's myths and legends

And then a loud and rumbling cut was heard and a giant mechanical dragon entered the arena.

That dragon was captured by Arik Taranis during the fall of the Ethnarchy and was now even taller and stronger, upgraded by me to withstand the fight with the Primarchs.

The dragon landed on the ground and opened its mouth, letting out a loud and terrible roar of pure rage.

The machine released bursts of superheated plasma and metal that would atomize any ordinary warrior. She directed her long tail to attack the twenty demigods.

With a speed that made normal human beings only see blades mass and that was faster than sound, each of the twenty demigods escaped from the Dragon's attack.

Each pointed their weapon at the Dragon and began to attack.

The tough Dragonskin upgraded to withstand worse things has only worn a little.

Angron jumped into the air and landed on the dragon's skin, striking it with his sword and distracting it.

While the dragon focused his attention on Angron, Sanguinius used the moment to fly and land on the top of his head and tried to hit him right in the eyes but failed.

The dragon very quickly noticed the stranger on his body and shook his head with all his might, throwing Sanguinius off him.

While Sanginius was falling, the dragon tried to hit the falling primarch with its tail, but Khan intervened, and as the fastest primarch, he jumped, grabbing his falling brother and taking him to safety.

The dragon's attention was caught by Pertuabo and Ferrus Mannus who opened fire with their modified bolters.

The dragon's attempts to defend themselves from the attack were overtaken by Konrad and Corax who, hiding in the shadows, took the opportunity to strike the beast using their swords.

The dragon adapted to the attacks very quickly, fighting back and switching from defensive to offensive.

The fight then dragged on as almost all the Primarchs joined the fight.

An hour later the fight was still going on and the Dragon as well as the Primarch armors were reduced to a shell of their former selves.

If the fight had lasted just half an hour, the Dragon would have been destroyed and the fight would have been over.

But I saw what I wanted.

I pull out the flaming sword and jump into the Arena and with a speed faster than the sound and the ability of the human eye to perceive anything, I start at the Dragon.

With one swing of my sword I strike the dragon and turn it into rubble.

The speed and power of my strike was so strong that I passed through the Dragon's body very quickly.

KABOOM!!!

The sound of an explosion was heard as the dragon exploded.

I stand before the Primarch.

"Father, why did you interfere, we would have destroyed him soon?", asked all the primarchs out loud.

"I've seen everything there is to see. You were all very good," I answer with a smile and add "But now it's time for dinner. Your need to rest from the hard training and wear something more suitable. We'll talking about everything you learned in training, because it is not appropriate to talk here, it is better to talk in a pleasant atmosphere."

With my answer, I quickly return to the top of the Arena in a burst of golden light.

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(Uriah Olathaire POV)

People might think that the position of Ecclesiarch of the Imperial Faith is easy.

You are constantly in the presence of the God-Emperor and surrounded by luxury.

Anyone who thought his job was easy was sorely mistaken. Being around the Emperor may make him no longer age or feel tired, but it does nothing for mental fatigue.

Documents for document had to be reviewed, read carefully with a focus on details and answered.

With the exception of the Emperor's sons, it was the youngest member in the Emperor's inner circle, given that Malkador was a respected member of his order even before Stara Night. Taranis, Valdor and Jenetia were as old as the Imperium and fought in the first battles. The ancient squatter Zamora traveled with the Emperor during the Old Night and could only guess at the origin and age of the Angel the Emperor brought during his first visit to his church.

The fact that he was the youngest made him feel unworthy of the duties he was given.

If he had not received knowledge and increased charisma, his job would have been even more difficult. He preached to billions, conveying the truth and convincing the masses of the Emperor's divinity. He honestly didn't lie that the Emperor was the only one worthy of worship, considering that the gods that the unenlightened worshiped and sacrificed so much were at best myths, and at worst, parasites that feed on them.

He wasn't lying when he said the Emperor inspired or was responsible for almost all human religions. Over the millennia, the emperor was called by the names of numerous supreme gods.

He would not have believed the Emperor's claims before, but now he does, considering that there has been a return of human myths to Terra. As Terra turned green again they returned. The Dryads returned to the virgin forests, the Spirits of the Earth returned again, the Sirens returned to the seas and other things from myths are back.

He would admit that he is not afraid at all, but he would be lying. He wasn't afraid of any creature, no matter how scary or disturbing they were, but in a sign of irony, he was afraid of Angels.

The high priest is afraid of the main creations of his god, what irony.

He wasn't afraid of seductive succubus, or scary Vampires, or any more terrible horror, but he was afraid of the calm and composed Emperor's angels. Among all the creations, they were the most terrifying, so still, mostly cold and inhuman in appearance, and they radiated a golden light. They demanded only blind obedience on behalf of their master, and their very little show of emotion beyond blind obedience sent shivers down his spine.

They started every conversation with anyone with the words spoken in an emotionless voice: 'Don't be afraid'.

Two Angels they were with him, helping him and protecting him from all potential threats, but he felt uneasy.

In addition to a pile of papers, it was necessary to organize the Imperial Faith, centralize it, combine numerous legends, myths and religions into one whole.

When he asked the emperor about the possible name of the holy book, the emperor answered with a big smile 'The Orange Catholic Bible'.

He tried to ask the Emperor what was so funny but he just continued to laugh loudly for over ten minutes before he calmed down and replied that the holy book would be called 'Lectitio Divinitatus'.

He still didn't know what the Emperor was laughing at.

He's had a lot more work lately considering that the Astronomicon could be discovered anywhere in the Galaxy by most psykers worthy of the label. To the surprise of all but perhaps the Emperor, a surprising number of these Psykers managed to organize exodus from the hellholes they came from.

Vast fleets of migrants followed the psychic beacon to Terra. He does not use it as a focus and mapping point as a navigator, but as a simple beacon to draw into port. Every month a few more ragged ships unworthy of being called Voidships appeared on the outskirts of the solar system. At first, these refugees were forced to pass through Xeno Slaver attacks to reach Imperial space. Now the Emperor had adjusted the Astronomikon so that its beacon would lure the ragged fleets to protected positions.

These refugees worshiped the Astronomikon in many different forms. The Psykers even identified its source as a being and pledged undying rapturous loyalty to the Emperor. The psychic light of the lighthouse had a strange effect on people, all but the most psychically dull could sense it in some way. A soothing soothing warmth to the soul that soothed all those exposed to it from the horrors of the Warp.

The refugee fleets were righteous fanatics whose faith was as strong as adamantium. With them came numerous masses that they took with them, and with the great influx of population came thousands of different interpretations of the imperial cult and different customs.

All of this had to be reworked, everything inadmissible and harmful removed, merged with the Imperial Faith and talked to believers to change their interpretation.

The only significant group of refugees that was extremely difficult to persuade to change their interpretation was, ironically, the first group to arrive, which was also the most fanatical group.

The Bearers of the Light of Salvation, as they called themselves, escaped from the orc WAAAGH into the void and warp at the behest of the cult's founder and saint, Petronila Dorovna.

Her views on Xeno may have gone against the current thinking that Xeno needed to be conquered and converted, but they were a minor issue and very widespread and he saw no need to change. Other opinions were inadmissible to her, anyone who did not show enough fanaticism in her religion was declared a heretic and asked to be flogged and forced to do penance or burned.

He talked and argue with her for weeks without success. In the end, out of desperation, he brought his two angels to help him.

He was successful and even got her a meeting with the emperor and gave her control over a new faction of the faith that considered Astronomicon the true face of the emperor. She received the status of a saint later because of her devotion to religion.

In addition to the main faction worshiping the Emperor as a reborn god, the church also had a Technological faction led by the Mechanicum, a Biological faction led by the Selenari.

Now a new faction has appeared, the Astronomiconi, led by Dorovna. Faith obviously needs a psychic faction consisting of Psykers. Faith already has a mechanical and biological faction, next when a psychic faction will appear that preaches the superiority of psychic powers over flesh and metal.

He snapped out of his thoughts and fixed his gaze on the last document on the table.

The document titled 'Ezekyle Abaddon' contained all the necessary information he needed.

He still wondered how the emperor had obtained so much useful information because that document contained the most intimate secrets and desires.

The emperor obviously knows about potential traitors even before they are born and has already come up with effective solutions to turn them from the biggest dissidents into the most ardent fanatics.

He finished reading and stood up from his chair, Ezekiel Abaddon's assessment required his personal involvement.

He did not regret choosing to follow the Emperor because he was truly the true God-Emperor of Mankind.