About three Terra hours later.
The first to return to the Bridge was the Custodian.
"My apologies, Lord Adam, I have bad news. This strike cruiser, in my judgment, has lost its Warp travel capabilities."
Leonardo strode into the Bridge, his terminator armor gleaming golden. "The Geller Field and warp engine have both been corrupted by Chaos sorcery. When purified by the glory of Our Lord, they suffered irreversible damage.
Furthermore, most of the weapon systems are offline. Some macro-cannons could still be fired with enough manpower, but the vast majority of the point-defense cannons, which had fused with the battleship under the influence of the Warp, are essentially scrap."
"Alright."
Adam quickly accepted the news.
He had been mentally prepared for this.
Even now, Adam could control the machine spirit of this vessel, but that didn't mean the strike cruiser no longer needed a crew; some equipment still required crew operation.
Adam looked at Leonardo and asked, "Do you know how to repair and manufacture warp engines? If so, I could use your memories and my Reality Warping Ability to fix them."
"My apologies, Lord Adam."
Leonardo shook his head. "Even though the knowledge base of the Custodians is vast, I still do not understand how to construct a new warp engine or the structure of devices like the Geller Field."
"Okay, I understand."
Adam nodded. "So, this vessel now only has the ability to travel within a star system, similar to a Charter Fleet, unable to travel faster than light."
"I understand the situation. Thank you for your help."
Leonardo surveyed the Bridge, hesitated, then asked, "Lord Adam, you... manufactured so many weapons and equipment here?"
As soon as the Custodian entered the Bridge, he noticed the drastic change in the environment.
It was clear that Adam hadn't been idle during these two hours, just waiting. Instead, he had used this time to repair the Bridge space with his Reality Warping Ability, and traces of the fierce battle were mostly gone.
In one corner of the Bridge, numerous types of Astartes equipment were quietly parked—including MK7 Artificer Power Armor, Tartaros Pattern Terminator Power Armor, and even a dozen dreadnoughts.
Hearing this, Adam smiled faintly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes: "These are the 'wonderful little tools' we'll be using next."
Seeing this, Leonardo knew he couldn't dissuade him.
Although his time interacting with this 'human' who called himself Adam, shrouded in much mystery, wasn't long, he had a rough understanding of him.
This chosen one of our Lord was extremely opinionated and possessed rich combat experience. Though his appearance was no different from an ordinary mortal, seeming harmless, he was in fact exceptionally dangerous.
Remarkably, Leonardo believed Adam also possessed astonishing wisdom and an endless stream of ideas, with an extremely broad mind, a rare type in the now rigid Imperium.
And what was even harder to say whether it was good or bad was that his so-called Reality Warping Ability could manifest all the marvelous ideas that emerged in his mind.
Perhaps, this was why our Lord chose him to save the future of the Imperium of Man.
After waiting a while longer, Sibylla and Lucia returned together.
Following them into the Bridge were numerous Chaos Space Marines, levitated and suspended in the air by psychic power.
These Astartes had all been stripped of their power armor and weapons, bearing various marks of mutilation and mutation. Most had fallen into a coma, and even the few who were conscious were powerless to resist.
Adam glanced over and counted them.
—There were a total of one hundred and thirty-three.
"These are all the heretics we successfully brought under control. Some resisted too fiercely to be captured alive, so they were killed on the spot. As for our original vessel, the situation is not optimistic."
Sibylla spoke first, reporting, "I thoroughly searched with psychic spells and found no other survivors. They all perished under the continuous pincer attack of xenos and heretics."
Adam nodded, indicating he understood.
He walked towards the Chaos Astartes who had just been set down, sprawling haphazardly on the floor.
Fortunately, the Bridge space was large enough to accommodate so many people.
These Chaos Astartes looked up at Adam as he approached. Their appearances were truly repulsive: pale skin, twisted and mutated limbs, hollowed-out facial features, completely inhuman faces, enough to fill any sane person with fear and disgust.
At this moment, those who were still conscious began to speak, making a cacophony of sounds:
"Ha, running dogs of the False Emperor, when did you become so kindhearted?"
"Hehe, do you want us to serve you? Sure, as long as you bring me pleasure... Hahahaha..."
"Lord of pleasure be praised! Slaanesh be praised! Ahhh!"
Even though their limbs were tightly bound, some even severed, they still writhed in a chaotic frenzy, as if they had forgotten their current predicament.
Adam said nothing, a faint pity in his gaze.
He drew the Caladbolg hanging at his waist, activated his Reality Warping Ability, and channeled the Emperor's holy power contained within the sword.
Instantly, illusory golden flames rose, engulfing all the Chaos Astartes.
A Chaos Astartes opened his eyes in confusion.
Then, memories flooded his brain like a tide, and the psychological distortion caused by Chaos corruption was instantly lifted.
He stared blankly around him, seeing non-human, twisted faces everywhere, and in the dark eye sockets of his former battle-brothers, he clearly saw his own fallen appearance, exactly like theirs.
"No, no..."
A line of clear tears slowly slid down his cheek. "What monstrous things have we become, all for the sake of so-called 'perfection'!"
As all the Astartes gradually regained consciousness, cries, shouts, and agonizing wails echoed through the Bridge.
Some even found the inner pain and condemnation unbearable, attempting to violently smash their skulls against the Ceramite floor in search of release.
"Hmph, what a bunch of foolish heretics."
As a daemon Inquisitor, Sibylla still showed a disgusted expression even at this sight, saying coldly, "Lord Adam, I don't think this is a good idea."
"These deeply fallen heretics no longer deserve to bask in the God-Emperor's glory!"
Although Leonardo and Lucia remained silent, their eyes implicitly expressed their displeasure.
After all, this scene was utterly inconsistent with the extreme ideologies of the Imperium of Man.
They all adhered to one principle: never try to understand the thoughts of traitors, for contemplation breeds heresy.
"...There will be appropriate arrangements, I promise."
Adam reassured his team, then stepped forward to face the confused crowd.
"[Silence]!"
A soft command, carrying an invisible power, swept through everyone's minds like a gentle breeze, gradually calming them.
"Undoubtedly, you have committed great wrongs."
Adam's voice was clear and strong, echoing through the Bridge, "But I, Adam, as the Emperor's contractor, will give you an opportunity for atonement. If you can find release in the endless battles to come, you may return to the Golden Throne and let the Emperor judge your sins."
"You will receive no rewards or glory in the coming battles, nor any pleasure or leisure. You will merely atone, save more humans, and create greater good."
He paused slightly, then pointed to the large quantity of power armor displayed nearby:
"If you are willing, then stand up. These power armors will become your new prisons."
Adam's words were powerful, etched like a carving knife into the hearts of every former Astartes of The Blissful Angels Chaos Warband.
Finally, they struggled to their feet, supporting each other, and walked towards the power armor.