...
The sergeant slowly stood up, the overhead light illuminating his shoulders, which trembled slightly with each breath.
Despite his battered armor being soaked in blood, his steps remained resolute.
He did not look back, no longer glancing at the children who still clung to hope. Instead, he walked straight toward the door.
Each step was heavy yet firm, as if he were defying fate, or perhaps preparing to pave a path of escape for the children with his own life.
His hands trembled slightly, but they still firmly pressed the switch for the rolling shutter.
With a faint mechanical sound, the shutter began to rise, connecting the storage room to the darkness and chaos outside.
As the gap widened, the scene outside gradually came into view.
In the distance, the footsteps of the Sons of the Emperor grew louder, their low growls and the fanatical cries of the heretics intertwining, as if the entire world were delivering its final judgment upon him.
The sergeant took a deep breath. He knew he had no other choice.
Behind him, the children silently watched.
The youngest among them, his eyes filled with fear and confusion, suddenly stood up, realizing that the sergeant seemed prepared to sacrifice himself. He wanted to stop the sergeant's decision.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words caught in his throat, unable to come out.
Another child quickly reached out to stop him.
The children all knew that the sergeant's actions were not impulsive but a carefully considered decision.
In this hopeless situation, staying silent and following orders was the only way to buy themselves a slim chance of survival.
Even though they were young, they understood that in this life-or-death moment, any irrational action could lead to fatal consequences.
Their minds seemed more mature, more intelligent.
Reality was not like the movies. While middle schoolers might have rebellious tendencies and be at the peak of their "troublemaker" phase, they already possessed a wealth of common sense.
Under the Empire's strict control, this generation of children was no longer the mindless, easily swayed youth of the past. They knew that murder and crime, regardless of age, would be met with the appropriate consequences.
This meant that the dozen or so middle schoolers trapped in the storage room would never act like the characters in horror movies from the previous century of the main universe, who would scream "Ah!!" or panic and run around in circles when faced with danger.
Moreover, their schools had taught them from a young age how to remain calm in the face of danger and how to make rational decisions in critical moments. They had also participated in various drills from time to time.
Even though their hearts were filled with fear and the instinct to survive, reason still drove them to sit quietly, not letting the sergeant feel their anxiety.
Each child's eyes held a trace of despair, but they all tried to hide their emotions, knowing that all they could do at this moment was wait patiently, trying not to burden the sergeant or interfere with his decisions.
As the rolling shutter fully opened, the air outside rushed in, carrying the stench of Chaos and gunpowder.
The children's hearts pounded violently, and the approaching footsteps of the Sons of the Emperor grew clearer in their ears.
However, after the sergeant stepped out of the storage room, he casually pressed the switch outside.
As the sergeant's figure grew fainter and farther away, the rolling shutter closed once more.
Now, only these unarmed middle schoolers remained in the storage room.
Even so, they did not fall into complete despair, for they still held onto a sliver of hope, waiting for the sergeant or fate to deliver a final answer.
---
Outside the storage room;
The air grew heavier and colder as Chaos continued to erode the surroundings. The sky outside the parking lot resembled a dark curtain, pulled back by invisible fingers to reveal a "dazzling" pink-purple glow.
Moreover, the figures of the three Sons of the Emperor gradually came into view. Their armor and skin were fused together, the corrupted metal surface reflecting a faint, eerie light.
They stood before the sergeant, their gazes filled with disdain and mockery.
"Hahahaha! Look! Look! This kid actually has the guts to come out!" one of the Sons of the Emperor let out a rough laugh, his voice brimming with arrogance.
Another grinned, his eyes scanning the sergeant. "Oh, brother, have you finally come to your senses? Are you ready to join us, or are you going to die a heroic death like those loyal to the False Emperor? Huh?"
Their voices were low and hoarse, each word dripping with malice and provocation.
"Who cares!" the third Son of the Emperor sneered, his voice filled with glee. "Tearing this kid apart and then having some fun with those little brats is what I want to do most!"
These creatures were in no hurry to act. Instead, they circled the sergeant slowly, like cats toying with a mouse.
They had already deemed the sergeant a dead man, believing his appearance to be nothing more than a futile last stand. The mockery and malice in their eyes grew stronger.
To them, the sergeant was merely an amusing prey, capable of providing a moment's entertainment.
As Sons of the Emperor, they had long since abandoned honor and duty, leaving only the satisfaction of corruption and a thirst for pain.
Nothing excited or pleased them more than tormenting and defiling those who remained loyal to the "False Emperor."
Yet, despite being covered in wounds and breathing heavily, the sergeant showed no fear.
He stood tall, like a rock engraved with glory, unyielding no matter how turbulent the situation.
"Heh." He stared at the three enemies before him, letting out a cold laugh of his own, and retorted:
"The 'False Emperor' you speak of has made humanity stronger and more prosperous! It is under his leadership that we dare to stand tall in the face of various alien threats, that we have the confidence and pride we possess today.
And you, you fallen ones, chose to betray your comrades and embrace corruption, spewing filth and committing unspeakable acts of blasphemy. You are nothing but willing slaves to sin, reducing yourselves to embodiments of evil."
The sergeant stepped forward, his eyes as firm as steel.
His voice echoed in the darkness, as if the very air trembled at his words.
"And more! If your father had truly cared for and understood you from the beginning, perhaps you wouldn't have become so pitiful.
Your fall may be precisely because no one ever truly treated you as human beings—how tragic!"
His words were like a sharp dagger, piercing the most vulnerable parts of these three Sons of the Emperor—
The bottomless void and loss within them.
This speech was not just a counterattack but also a final interrogation of their once-glorious memories, like tearing open a festering wound to reveal the deepest pain and resentment beneath.
Moreover, the sergeant's words struck deep into their souls, stirring a long-forgotten sense of unease and turmoil.
Though they had long lost their reason and humanity, the sergeant's resilience and determination still managed to touch something deep within them.
Soon, anger took over. The three Sons of the Emperor became even more ferocious, their armor glowing with a sinister pink light, as if responding to the sergeant's provocation.
"Kid! We gave you a chance to join us. Since you want to experience endless pain, we'll grant your wish!"
Before the words had fully left their mouths, one of the Sons of the Emperor lunged forward, his movements like a beast pouncing on its prey.
He swung his chainsword at the sergeant's neck, the attack as swift and deadly as a storm, leaving no room for mercy.
!!
The sergeant instantly became alert. Driven by instinct, he quickly raised his chainsword to block.
However, just as he was about to forcefully meet this fatal blow, he suddenly sensed something "off."
The attack speed of the Son of the Emperor seemed to slow down drastically in his eyes, as if the flow of time itself had been reduced.
Everything before him blurred, and even the steps the Son of the Emperor took toward him appeared clumsy and sluggish.
Additionally, the sergeant's wounds no longer caused excruciating pain. Instead, his body was healing at an astonishing rate.
He also felt a surge of scorching "heat" flooding his entire being, granting him unprecedented strength.
His body, which had been pushed to its limits, seemed to receive some unknown stimulus, unleashing a powerful reaction.
??
This left the sergeant deeply confused.
What was happening?
But he had no time to ponder the changes in his body, nor to think deeply. His movements were already accelerating involuntarily.
His body acted entirely on instinct, tilting to the left with incredible speed, effortlessly dodging the Son of the Emperor's deadly strike.
The blade narrowly missed the sergeant's body, its sharp rotating edge cutting through the air with a piercing screech.
Just as the Son of the Emperor prepared to swing again, the sergeant reacted with impossible speed and launched a counterattack.
With a backhand swing, his chainsword roared to life, its sharp chain cutting through the air like a storm.
Hum—! Ssshh—!!
The high-speed rotating blade of the chainsword collided with the corrupted armor of the Son of the Emperor, producing a grating metallic screech.
This single strike cleaved through the thick, corrupted armor and into the flesh beneath.
As the blade dug deeper, the sound of tearing grew sharper, the destructive force ripping the Son of the Emperor's body in two.
Its organs, muscles, and twisted bones were torn apart as if by a machine, its corrupted blood spraying out like a fountain, filling the air with a nauseating stench.
Thud—!!
The Son of the Emperor was cut in half at the waist. As it fell, its once "mighty" body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
It instinctively tried to struggle, but its spine had been completely destroyed, the wound a mangled mess.
The sergeant, adhering to the tradition of "finishing the job," though unsure of what was happening to him, raised his right foot and brought it down hard on the Son of the Emperor's head.
"No—!"
As the magnetic boot's sole was about to make "intimate contact" with its twisted face, the bisected Son of the Emperor let out a scream of extreme terror.
It keenly sensed that if it were killed by this sergeant, its soul would be "condemned to eternal damnation," perhaps even annihilated entirely.
Not even the "god" it served could bring it back to life.
Moreover, it was not significant enough to draw the attention of its "god."
But with its lower half completely missing, how could the Son of the Emperor possibly dodge this fatal blow?
Splat—! Crunch—!!
With a sickening squelch, the Son of the Emperor's head was crushed, its body now a headless corpse.
As the sergeant crushed its skull, a faint, pink-purple "glow" drifted out from its body. Just as this "glow" seemed about to dissipate, it was sucked away as if by a vacuum, directly "absorbed" into the sergeant's body.
The entire process happened in an instant, almost too fast to perceive, with both sides moving like blurs.
??!!
But for the two remaining Sons of the Emperor watching from the sidelines, they had clearly witnessed everything.
And what left them utterly stunned was...
What had just happened?!
Their brother, who remained loyal to the "False Emperor," had been severely injured, his movements and reactions slower than usual. Moreover, his power armor was heavily damaged. By all logic, there was no way he could have turned the tables.
Not only that, but what left these two Sons of the Emperor even more bewildered was that they sensed their brother had truly "fallen."
His very essence had been destroyed!
"What."
At this moment, the sergeant, unlike the two stunned Sons of the Emperor, did not dwell on what had happened to him. Instead, he steadily approached the fallen scum and said:
"Has something you can't comprehend or accept scared you back to your true forms? Huh?!"
Thud, thud—!
As the sergeant's words fell, he took heavy steps forward, charging at them.
!!
The two Sons of the Emperor, unsure how to respond, could only raise their melee weapons to block.
Clang—!!
Clash—!!
But even working together, they could barely withstand the sergeant's relentless assault.
Soon, one of the Sons of the Emperor, before being sent flying by an elbow strike from the sergeant, accidentally caught a glimpse of the sergeant's eyes, which were emitting a faint golden light.
That single, unintentional glance was like staring directly into a "cold" yet "blazing" star.
And that mere glance instantly burned its eyes.
"Ahhh!!"
The soul-rending pain caused the Son of the Emperor to let out an agonized scream.
!
The other Son of the Emperor, barely dodging the sergeant's slash, quickly realized what was happening and cried out in terror:
"It's the False Emperor! It's the gaze of the False Emperor!!"
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