Over the past month, Reuel and Mira Han had been engaged in diplomatic meetings with all the world leaders—both of major and minor nations—within the Underworld universe.
Their primary goal was to ensure the successful integration of all these territories into the sovereignty of the Imperium of Man.
As part of this framework, each nation was required to pay a population tax and to hand over custody rights of abandoned or orphaned children—especially those neglected by the state—to the authorities of the Imperium.
Reuel had a grand plan for these children. Those between the ages of 7 and 13 would be transported to Terra Aeterna.
There, they would undergo rigorous screening. Candidates who met the required physical and mental standards would be trained to become Adeptus Custodes, the personal guardians of the Emperor. Meanwhile, those exhibiting extraordinary psychic potential would be directed into training as Grey Knights, the sacred order exclusively reserved for elite psyker warriors.
Reuel was determined to personally train these children once he returned to Terra Aeterna. Aware that without the geneseed of the Primarchs he could not create Space Marines, he chose instead to build power from a deeper, more human foundation.
Children who were not selected for elite military programs would be enrolled in the Imperium's formal educational institutions.
They would be groomed to become the future backbone of the Imperium—a new generation destined to fight and build the civilization of mankind, both on the frontlines and in administrative and technological sectors.
Reuel understood that the results of this program would not be seen immediately. It might take years, even decades. But he was patient. He was the Emperor of mankind—not just for today, but for millennia to come.
After the Inquisitors and the Adepta Sororitas established their official branches on Underworld Earth, Reuel decided it was time to return. Control over the planet was handed to Mira Han, who was appointed as the Planetary Governor. Should Mira ever need to accompany Reuel on expeditions, a deputy appointed directly by Reuel would act in her place temporarily.
All armed forces from the various nations were disbanded. The military structure of the old world was dissolved. Soldiers were reassigned into the ranks of the Planetary Defence Force (PDF). All modern weapons and vehicles were recycled by Imperium tech-priests. Nothing was wasted—everything was repurposed for the future of mankind.
To the world leaders, Reuel offered a singular path: they were allowed to lead new colonies in the name of their nations, but must adhere to the population tax system, which would be enforced twenty years after the colony's founding.
Tycoons, entrepreneurs, and political elites were also given a choice. They could continue their businesses, so long as they abided by Imperial law and prioritized civilian welfare.
Reuel emphasized that no one was above the law. Should any serious violations occur, the Inquisitors would intervene directly—with no compromise.
Furthermore, those interested were given the opportunity to join the official structure of the Imperium: as members of local governance, holders of a Warrant of Trade, or as part of the Merchant Houses. Reuel left that freedom to each individual, provided they followed the structure and hierarchy of the Imperium.
However, a firm warning was also issued: if found guilty of major crimes, they would face judgment from the High Lords of Terra themselves, and the Inquisition would arrive without warning.
Meanwhile, the Adeptus Mechanicus began constructing their headquarters branch—a New Mars in the Underworld universe.
Once Reuel felt his mission in the Underworld had been sufficiently accomplished, he decided it was time to return to Terra Aeterna, located within the Resident Evil universe, the supreme seat of power for the Imperium of Man.
He did not travel alone. Selene and Amalia accompanied him aboard the Battlecruiser Behemoth. Behind them, trailing in formation, were approximately forty Hercules-class colony transports.
These vessels carried tens of millions of orphans from the Underworld, ready for the new future that awaited them at the heart of the Imperium.
After ensuring all affairs in the Underworld universe were settled, Reuel reopened the dimensional channel leading back to Terra Aeterna—the grand capital of the Imperium of Man, located in the Resident Evil universe. The channel resembled a Webway, an ancient interdimensional pathway stretching across time and space.
The Behemoth-class battlecruiser was the first to pierce the dimensional gate, followed by the forty Hercules-class colony ships transporting thousands of orphans from the Underworld—children chosen to become part of the Imperium's future.
In the skies of Terra Aeterna, a spatial rift tore open the heavens. Plasma light and arcs of energy lightning swirled around the channel as the Behemoth emerged into realspace, followed one by one by the colony ships. The fleet then slowly made its way toward the Lion's Gate Spaceport, the largest orbital port in the central sector of the Imperium.
After landing, Reuel stood on the command platform and summoned one of the Astra Militarum officers.
"Lord Emperor, what are your orders?"
"Send all these children to the Imperium's educational institutions. Prioritize placing them in the Schola Progenium, together with the newly arrived Scholam."
"Understood, Lord Emperor."
The command was executed flawlessly. Lines of children in plain uniforms were guided by soldiers toward transport vehicles headed to education centers. They were no longer citizens without a future—they were now part of humanity's foundation under the banner of the Imperium of Man.
Meanwhile, Amalia and Selene stood silent, awestruck. Their eyes swept across the skyline of the capital, filled with colossal structures, megastructural monuments, and towering gothic spires that seemed to defy the very sky. The Imperial Palace, Reuel's seat of power, stood as an absolute symbol of the Imperium's might—majestic, sacred, and ever-expanding.
Reuel took the two women on a tour of the palace complex, introducing the primary structures, administrative halls, and military and theological centers. After an entire day spent showing them the outline of the Empire, they returned to the Golden Palace—Reuel's personal residence, vast and inhabited by his chosen women.
In the palace's family lounge, only Shizuka Marikawa was seen lounging leisurely. Meanwhile, four little girls—Angie, Little Alice, Airi, and Marina—were playing in the inner courtyard. Their uniforms showed they had just returned from classes at the Schola Progenium.
The other women—Big Alice, Claire, Jill, Richelieu, and Belfast—were still busy handling Imperium administrative affairs in the central sector.
Reuel issued a command to the palace's AI, the Red Queen.
"Call all residents of the palace. Tell them I've returned."
Moments later, shrieks of joy rang out from the courtyard.
"Big brooo! You brought more pretty women!" Angie cried, running up to Reuel and clinging tightly to his leg.
Her eyes quickly darted to the two figures behind Reuel—Selene, calm and enigmatic, and Amalia, graceful and radiating a natural charisma. In an instant, Angie came to a conclusion: her playboy brother had brought home more potential wives.
"Big brother, are they going to be Sister Alice too?" Little Alice asked innocently.
Reuel chuckled softly and patted the little girl's head gently.
"Of course. This is Sister Selene and Sister Amalia. You should listen to what they say. They're very strong."
"Hi, sisters. I'm Angie," Angie introduced herself, staring at Selene with intense curiosity.
"Hello, two sisters," added Little Alice. "My name's Little Alice. This is Airi, and that's Marina. They're my friends."
Selene and Amalia responded with warm smiles and offered polite greetings.
Behind them, several Astra Militarum soldiers carried crates filled with gifts from the Underworld universe—local toys, clothes, and sweets. The four little girls eagerly received them with joyful squeals.
Not long after, Big Alice and the other women arrived at the palace. Upon seeing two new women at Reuel's side, their expressions tensed… but only briefly.
Reuel recognized that look instantly: the instinctive alertness of imperial wives when the number of concubines increased again.
But what shocked Selene and Amalia was... the warm welcome. Instead of conflict, they were immediately pulled into the group and met with light-hearted conversation.
Selene glanced at Amalia, confused. They had mentally prepared themselves to face the typical harem palace power struggles. But this?
What they faced instead was harmony, laced with dry wit and the solidarity of women who already deeply understood the Emperor's... habits.
As the atmosphere grew livelier, Reuel spoke to one of the palace servants.
"Prepare dinner for everyone."
When evening arrived, all the palace residents gathered in the grand dining hall. The room looked different from the last time Reuel had set foot in it.
The lounge had been renovated. A massive round table now stood proudly in the center of the room, large enough to seat more than twenty people. The glow of plasma candles, walls of golden marble, and the aroma of the palace's finest cuisine filled the air that night.
And at that table, the Emperor of Mankind sat with his family—the women who followed him, the children destined to inherit the Imperium's future, and two new souls from another universe... now part of that family as well.
"What? You're blood races?" a voice rang out loudly across the dining hall—a woman from the Resident Evil or Highschool of the Dead group, clearly shocked.
"Amalia has lived for thousands of years, and Selene for more than six centuries!"
When Amalia and Selene calmly stated their absurdly long lifespans, every woman present froze. Some instinctively glanced them up and down, as if looking for signs of inhumanity.
"Wait a minute… if you're vampires, aren't you supposed to be afraid of sunlight?" Jill asked, eyes narrowing with sharp curiosity.
"Yeah, exactly," added Takagi Yuriko, seated beside Emilia with her arms crossed. "Amalia, how can you sit so casually under sunlight? Don't vampires burn from that?"
Emilia—who had undergone a transformation from pure vampire into something more human—smiled serenely.
"Now, Selene and I are no longer like regular vampires. We're not afraid of sunlight, we can eat human food, and… we're no longer dependent on blood." She looked at each of them gently. "All thanks to Reuel's help."
The women's reactions were mixed—part relief, part admiration. They hadn't expected Reuel to have ventured into the world of vampires and lycans and returned bearing the most precious legacy of their immortal kind.
Reuel stood and turned to Jill.
"Jill, this is perfect blood—the blood of Alexander Corvinus himself. Give it to the White Queen and Archmagos Belisarius Cawl for analysis."
He handed her a glass vial containing golden liquid that seemed to radiate vital energy.
"Order the White Queen to extract the components that prolong life and vitality. Let Cawl attempt to adapt it for Astra Militarum use—just make sure it doesn't turn them into vampires or lycans."
Jill accepted the vial, one eyebrow arched, then smiled playfully.
"Alright. I'll send it straight to the White Queen and the Tech-Priests. After all… we'd also like to stay young, so you won't abandon us when the wrinkles start showing."
Jill's gaze was sharp, but Reuel ignored her and turned his attention to Alice.
"Alice, prepare an area within your military base. I want to build a robot factory there."
Alice tilted her head, curiosity evident on her face.
"A robot factory? What kind of robots? Isn't the Imperium strictly against all forms of artificial intelligence?"
Reuel simply shrugged, looking relaxed.
"Don't worry about it. Leave it to the Adeptus Mechanicus. They'll perform the purification rituals according to the Machine Cult dogma. Let them implant Machine Spirits, modify the units however they like." He waved his hand as if it were a trivial matter.
"The robots, if I recall correctly, are NS-5 units—multi-purpose. Once mass-produced, you can use them to support administrative work across colonies and Hive Cities."
Alice gave a slow nod, accepting the explanation without pressing further.
"Alright. I'll begin preparations tomorrow."
But Reuel wasn't done yet.
"Also, Alice... prepare a special forces unit from the Astra Militarum. I have something that might be useful for them."
He signaled, and a servitor behind him opened one of the large metal crates. Reuel lifted a clear vial filled with deep blue liquid—faintly glowing under the room's light.
"This is a base-level gene serum for super soldiers. I've got 10,000 units. It's not the most advanced version, but good enough to boost the performance of new troops."
He handed the vial to Alice, then added specific instructions:
"Distribute 5,000 to your forces. A thousand units for research purposes. The remaining 4,000—send them to Lord Castellan."
Alice nodded right away, understanding the strategic allocation.
"Understood. I'll deploy Legion Alice for this. Actually, the Red Queen already named them a while back—it's a combination of former Umbrella Division members and modern military troops. We now call it the Alice Security Service. ASS for short."
Her tone remained serious, though the acronym drew a few stifled giggles from nearby women.
"Five thousand personnel," she continued. "All of them retrained to Cadia Shock Trooper standards. We're ready to move whenever you need us."
"Good," Reuel replied curtly. "I don't care about the name. What matters is that the serum is injected selectively. Prioritize enhancing physical strength and combat reflexes."
Reuel spoke as if he were handing out daily vitamins—when in reality, he had just laid the foundation for the next generation of super soldiers under the Imperium of Man.
"Give them to Rika Minami. She's leading that unit now," Alice said, glancing toward the military-clad woman at the far end of the room.
"Alright. Rika, I'll hand over the vials to you tomorrow. Make sure distribution is smooth and injections are done immediately," Reuel said, then turned directly to Rika and added more.
"Also, tomorrow, reinforcements will be arriving. Same number as last time."
Reuel paused briefly, remembering something.
"Oh right. Almost forgot. There's still one division of modern troops from the Underworld world that I haven't transferred yet. And their numbers aren't small."
He exhaled lightly, then looked at Alice with a contemplative expression.
"I'm concerned the Legion Alice barracks are already full. Even the three military bases we have now aren't enough to house them all."
Alice furrowed her brow. She hadn't expected Reuel to still have another reserve force tucked away.
Even though she had gotten used to Reuel's surprises, the size and scale of his summoned forces always exceeded expectations.
These soldiers... were brutal, fanatical, and loyal to the bone. They didn't talk much, didn't ask questions—only submitted themselves fully to one name: Reuel.
Some of them even uttered that name like it was divine.
And that's why Alice and the other women never asked.
No one questioned where those troops came from. No one challenged how armies from Warhammer and StarCraft could appear out of nowhere—complete with spaceships, heavy tech, and full formations of elite troops standing like living fortresses.
They all knew one thing: if Reuel brought them, then they belonged to Reuel.
And by extension—they belonged to all of them.
"Let's build a new military base next to it," Reuel decided without hesitation. "By the way, what's the status of those zombie corpses?"
"All the zombie corpses have been processed by the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus," Ada Wong answered calmly. "They've been converted into servitors and are now involved in the construction of the Imperial Palace, alongside the Universal Bulins."
Reuel, standing beside her, gave a small nod, accepting the report.
"Good," Reuel added. "Once the NS-5 units begin mass production, logistics and administration will be much more efficient."
"Let those robots work alongside the yellow chicken Manjuus and the shipgirls," he added casually.
Hearing that the Imperial Palace's construction was progressing smoothly, and that the Manjuus would get robotic assistance, Reuel seemed satisfied. But before he could say anything else, Claire interrupted.
"Reuel, what are you going to do with the female soldiers?"
Claire's question brought a brief silence to the room. Reuel turned.
"Female soldiers?" He raised an eyebrow. "What happened to them?"
Claire looked at him seriously. Reuel immediately remembered the women from the world of Highschool of the Dead—those who had joined the Adepta Sororitas and trained under the supervision of the Sisters of Battle.
"They're doing fine," Claire finally replied. "But their training... is brutal. They're not afraid of hardship, but their physical endurance still doesn't meet the full standard of the Sisters of Battle. Even so, their capabilities are already far above regular soldiers. Honestly, they're unmatched by any modern troops currently undergoing retraining."
Claire bit her lower lip, visibly frustrated.
"I was assigned to oversee them... but honestly, I feel powerless. I want to help, but every time I witness their extreme training, I just can't bring myself to stop them."
Reuel looked at Claire for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
"In that case, I'll give them the super soldier serum," he said firmly. "Not the advanced version, but it's strong enough. Think of it as a junior tier—still far beyond normal human limits."
He estimated their number at around ten thousand. With the support of scientists from the Mobius Foundation, reproducing the serum wouldn't be a problem. Genetic cloning and biomolecular replication had already become daily routine in their labs.
---
That night, after dinner, the atmosphere in the main meeting hall felt warm and relaxed. Reuel and the women around him enjoyed a rare moment of calm, exchanging stories and sharing updates on their respective duties and lives.
Amalia and Selene—the two women who had just joined them from a different universe—quickly blended into this large, unconventional family. They sat with Claire and the others, speaking of their homeworlds, their histories, and the things they had experienced throughout their long, nearly immortal lives.
"To be honest... living this long is boring," Selene said quietly, her eyes momentarily distant. "We've seen too much."
"But now, you have a place," Amalia replied with a faint smile. "And maybe... something worth fighting for again."
Their conversation continued late into the evening, as if filling the hollow space they had left unattended for far too long.
Reuel only watched them in silence for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet. He turned toward two women standing not far from him.
"Shizuka. Saeko. Come with me," he said calmly.
Without a word, both of them followed Reuel as he ascended the stairs to the upper level.
Meanwhile, Alice and the other women exchanged brief glances, understanding the situation without needing it explained. Without hesitation, they stood as well, gently taking Amalia and Selene by the hand.
"Come on," Alice said with a faint smile. "The night is still young."
And that night, they were together.
Until the break of dawn.
(What happens next—use your imagination.)