Machado is old.

When he saw the palm prints in reality again, the idea came to Carlil's mind in that instant.

Machado was as fast as ever with his scepter, his figure looking thin under his pitch-black robes. Carlil could see through the robes on his bony shoulders, and his gray hair had changed color. It is no longer the white of aging, but a very pale white that is almost faded.

These details stacked together to make the smile on Carlil's face disappear. The Palm Printer glanced up at him, his eyes under the hood still full of energy, but his expression was implicitly warned.

+ I'll explain afterwards, don't mention it at this time, I don't want to bother with them. + Through psionic powers, said the decrepit old man.

Carlil agreed to the proposal, only carefully keeping the existing emotions hidden. Conrad Coetzes was sharper than ever, not to mention that the Lord of the Night had always focused on him. He didn't want Coates to discover these emotions at this time.

At least not yet.

"Since you're here, does that mean my father's will can't be changed?" Robert Killiman asked.

The expression of the Lord of the Thirteenth Legion could not be described as pleasant, he had been pleasant when he had spoken to Conrad Coetzes before, but now he looked like a prisoner in a cage. He looked at Machado wistfully, as if he was waiting for an acquittal or something like that.

But Machado didn't say that, and as a jailer, the only thing he could say was one sentence.

"Yes."

The Palm Seal replied majestically, his eyes shining very brightly, and a strong, unchangeable will boiled in them: "The perfect city must be destroyed. ”

"What about the believers, then? What about the residents? Conrad Coetzes took the conversation, his brows furrowed, his eyes sharp to the point of strangeness. Carlil was slightly stunned, at this time, the passage of eighteen years had a little reality.

In his perception, he was only away for a few minutes, but what about the others?

"Execute them all together, and leave none behind."

The cold reply of the Palm Printmaker provoked a silent echo in the room, which was not large and, like most of the rooms on the Nightfall, had a quiet, dark atmosphere. Now, that atmosphere has been shattered.

Robert Kiliman's eyes widened unbearably.

"This is a blatant atrocity, Machado." The Makulag man's body movements fully showed his resistance at the moment, and his expression was even more complex than to explain.

"I can't believe what Luo Jia will think when she hears this."

"His thoughts have nothing to do with you." The Palm Sealer kept his coldness, ignoring Killiman's protests.

"The tulle that was placed in front of your eyes was torn off a long time ago, Robert Killiman. You know what lies in the dark, and your actions over the years can prove it. So, do I need to explain to you why your father gave such an order? ”

“.”

Kiriman was silent.

Yes, he didn't need to explain - he knew what was hiding in the dark, otherwise he wouldn't have been actively communicating with the untouchable all these years, and even quietly pushing behind the Astral Court's proposal to form an anti-psionic force

However, the current situation is a different story.

"You must tell me and Conrad the situation in its entirety, Machado."

The blue eyes of the Lord of Otlama were now extremely dull, his voice was as low as thunder, and his eyes were like the sea before a storm. Calm, yet terrifyingly deep.

"If my father asks the Ultramarines and the Midnight Blade to commit such atrocities, we have the right to know the truth."

Makado calmly moved his neck, his eyes stagnant as if he were some kind of machine, and looked at Conrad Coetzes in this manner.

"What about you, Lord of the Blades?" The palm printmaker asked, his tone rather calm. "Do you think the same way as your brother?"

"The slaughter of an enemy and the slaughter of a city totally loyal to the empire are two very different concepts, Machado." The Lord of the Night shook his head slowly.

"I don't care how many evil things we've done in the Great Expedition, or how many rumors people spread about it. In any case, there are people like Bellos among them who know the truth. But it's different, it's completely different. The Midnight Blade can bear the name of an executioner, but it must not kill the people of the Empire without psychological burden. ”

"Okay."

After a long silence, Macardo finally relented. His reaction was inevitably a relief to Robert Kiliman – he knew very well what would happen if Machado was adamant not to let go.

At that point, they would have to ask Karil to come and communicate with the Palm Sealer. However, Carlil would not necessarily be on their side, though he remained silent for now.

"You want the truth, don't you?" Makado asked slowly, his fingers moving little by little on the scepter, and the golden double-headed eagle at the top suddenly lit up with a cold blue light.

An icy will began to creep through the room, and both Robert Killeman and Conrad Coetzes were feeling a tremendous pressure at this moment.

Carlil's eyes narrowed, and he glanced up at the ceiling with a flash of psionic light.

After a few seconds, after the room was completely covered in the pressure, Macado finally spoke again.

"Lorga Aurelian is a fanatical believer." The palm printman spoke in a calm tone, without any disparagement.

"He was kneeling and weeping when he first saw his father. He had seen his father in a dream a long time ago, and even foresaw the birth of that moment"

"His faith in his father was pure and unblemished, and even if the base was dirty, his own spirit was not stained in any way. But unlike the City of Perfection, the exemplary symbol built by him and his legions was an outright lie from the start. ”

"Someone muddied its clarity with his blood-soaked hands. Something was wrong with its faith, and so did the inhabitants that it had to be destroyed, and so did they. ”

Robert Killiman was explained. The explanation he wanted, the complete explanation, was his doubts solved?

No.

His worries did not diminish in the slightest, and could even be said to be increasing. He pondered in silence as Conrad Coetzes stood beside him, the five fingers of his right hand habitually rubbing against his palm.

After a long time, Carlil broke the silence.

"Where is Lorga Aurelian now?" He asked softly.

"On the other side of the galaxy, it will take him at least nine weeks to get back." Macado replied coldly. "Totally enough for you to do anything with the city."

Robert Killiman clenched his fists unbearably at his description, and even Conrad Coetzes showed a slight hint of displeasure. Carlil laughed.

"You sometimes talk in a way that makes me wonder if something he influenced you, or did you influence him? Or are you influencing each other and imitating each other? ”

Machado didn't answer, just looked at him disapprovingly.

"Don't look at me like that, old friend. You know very well that I don't like your description either. Carlil said. What about the fleets of the Whisperers? Isn't it there either? ”

"They were transferred four months ago."

"In other words, this incident was premeditated?" Carlil sighed regretfully.

"You should know that these things will eventually be linked together by Lorja Aurelian, right? Whether he wanted to or not, his primordial-level mind would piece together the truth for himself. When the time comes, how are we going to face a mad primordial? ”

"By then, you've already left."

"And then never meet him for the rest of your life? No, forget it," Carlil chuckled softly.

Coates looked at him, and suddenly felt a strange familiarity.

Strange because he hadn't seen Carlil like this for a long time, familiar because he had seen it many times before.

Carlil stood slumped in place, his hands on his chest, smiling. There was nothing on his pale face but this soft, cold smile, and unconsciously, Conrad Coetzes arched his back.

"He'll find out, and then he's going to go crazy. Whether it is a false believer or a fanatical believer, when he sees with his own eyes that the proof of his faith is burned. So, just tell me, Machado, what is he going to ask you to do? ”

The Palm Seal silently stroked his scepter.

"Don't tell me you've come all the way from Terra just to get a word of his face to face." Carlil smiled and continued.

Now, even Robert Killiman, who had never seen him like this, sensed that something was wrong.

"What else is he going to ask you to do?"

"I'll keep Lorja Aurelian in control when he goes berserk, and I'll do it."

"And then?"

"Convey to him the message of his father. and, to punish him for his wandering in the Great Expedition. ”

"More than that, right?"

Machado finally frowned.

+ You know what to expect, his tolerance for Luo Jia has reached its limit. He can get Luo Jia to preach, ignore the truth of the Empire, and even play a stupid religious game with him, but now it's no longer the so-called father-son playtime. +

+ Lorga Aurelian's stupidity contributed to the destruction of the City of Perfection. If he had been fully aware of his beliefs, rather than preferring to be kept in the dark and puppeted, this would not have happened at all. +

+ In the final analysis, it was his own stupidity and carelessness that forced his father to make this decision, for which he must be punished, and so did his legions. +

+ I will not judge you for your maintenance of him. According to your words, the Bearers will be humiliated in public by their Emperor after returning to see the ruins of the City of Perfection? +

+ They don't believe in the emperor. +

Carlil's eyes narrowed.

"That's all for the conversation." He turned and walked to the door of the room. "How much time do we have to prepare?"

"Three hours." Machado clenched his scepter and said.

——

Conrad Coetzes wearing his armor. Usually, this is done by dozens of thrifts with the help of mechanical arms, who will methodically cover the body of the Lord of the Night with the armor of Midnight Blue in turn. But this time, he chose to come on his own.

He squinted his eyes and stood beneath the stars with his right hand moving, the pure gold armor slightly open by gold and scarlet. The sharp fingers cut through the air, as sharp as the nails of the original body itself.

The place where he wore his armor was a stargazing platform, with fifteen large stained-glass portholes forming the ceiling and walls, and mechanical arms moving underneath the observation deck, transporting the other parts of the armor one by one.

The air was cold and bright, refracted by stained glass to a point where it almost shouldn't be, and he was used to it, and before every battle, he was used to being alone here for a while.

Gaze at the stars, or look at the stained glass. I don't want to do anything, just wait for the armor to be put on. There was a low, melodious singing voice all around. It was the work of Terra artist Taloni, Night, that's what it was called.

Conrad Coetzes loved it and played it from time to time. In the past, he would even hum softly at this time, but not today.

Not today.

"You've grown a lot, Conrad." Carlil said.

"What? You're not happy for me? Coetze said without looking back.

"I don't know if I'm happy or sorry right now. What happened to Corax and his legion? ”

The Lord of the Night's movements paused.

"Why do you ask this all of a sudden?" He asked back in an ordinary tone.

"I have to know if my lost eighteen years have ever yielded a good result." Carlil smiled bitterly.

"It's good, there's a great chemistry between the Saviors and the Terrans who remained, and the Raven Guards often work with us, and their tactics and style of action are quite compatible with ours."

Conrad Coetzes turned, and Power Armor's servo came into operation, and it began to hum. Now, he's just missing a helmet. There was a look of a seemingly smiling expression blooming on that pale face.

Carlil sighed, "Don't do that, Conrad. ”

"He blamed himself, after I explained it to him." Conrad Coetzes continued, ignoring Carlil's words. "He thinks it's his relationship that makes you look different. I told him he didn't have to care. ”

"My father, Karil Lohals, was one such person who would help others without mentioning the price he had to pay. Always like to put yourself in danger, always like to hurt me with absence. ”

"I'm not the kind of person who would use absence to make sense of existence, Conrad."

"You're not." Conrad Coetzes nodded. "You don't need to be absent at all."

I apologize for that, Conrad." Carlil said. "I have lost my prudence and abused my powers. I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to come so quickly. ”

Conrad Coetzes stood still, looked at him for a moment, and then chuckled.

"Whatever you want." The Lord of the Night said listlessly, smiling, it was genuine, but Carlil saw something deeper.

He saw some tears as red as blood, tears that were hidden.

"You apologize, you comfort me, you feel sad and blamed for it from the bottom of your heart. But you won't change, and if the next time, you see injustice and hear the call of a group of wrongdoers, you will still use your power without hesitation. ”

"Just like what we're going to do next, Father. We will kill hundreds of millions of Imperial citizens with our own hands. They are also the ones who died in vain, and they will call you. ”

"This time, I won't use it." Carlil replied in an extremely soft voice.

"Yes, you won't." Conrad Coetzes nodded, echoing Carlil's words rather firmly. In the soft tune of "Night" and the singer's soft humming, his smile gradually became real.

"The power of prophecy is supposed to be a curse, father." Midnight Ghost hissed. "Landing in Nostramo is a curse within a curse. I don't believe in fate, but if it exists, then the path it prepares for me is to become a monster. I'm pretty sure of it. ”

"I've thought about it many times in these eighteen years. Sometimes, I can even smell a foul smell. It came from Quintus back then, from another me. ”

"He was ragged and skinny. He lives in the sewers of the city and feeds on rotting and diseased corpses, and he is a brutal and ruthless monster, a schizophrenic serial killer. If it weren't for you, he would be me. Or rather, he's what I'm supposed to be. ”

Midnight geist spreads its arms.

"But, look at me now." He said with a smile. "You keep the curse at bay, father, you teach me how to use it"

Carlil's expression grew complicated. At the same time, in another place, a land of broken glaciers. The pitch-black water is condensing into ice.

"I didn't let you down, I used it well. I've seen many futures, many one-sideds, that should have hindered me and allowed me to spend the rest of my life in fear and madness, but I didn't. ”

He raised his left hand, and a sharp blade popped out of the compartment of the armor's wrist, and he held it in his hand. The blue light suddenly rose and spread through the air like a shadow. A long, narrow blade was held in Conrad Coetze's hand.

He held it up and held it close to his forehead.

"Look at me, father." The Lord of the Night spoke softly. "What do you see?"

Carlil didn't answer, he didn't know how to answer.

"You know what people call me? Hero, Lord of the Blades, Savior, Inquisitor, Incarnate of Justice."

"Listening to them, I sometimes wonder if I'm dreaming. I would feel like none of this was real, and I didn't realize it was all so real until I see you now. You have paved a path for me, a path that I can walk with my head held high without looking back. ”

"It's you who turned monsters into heroes, it's your every stupidity that made me who I am today, what I am today. So go ahead, Father. Do whatever you want. Do Caryl Lohars. ”

The Lord of the Night chuckled, put down his blade, and put on his helmet.

This chapter is 5k, counting 3k at one o'clock in the morning, for a total of 8k. Owe 2k, pay it back tomorrow.

(End of chapter)