"...One, two..." Datch counted softly as he healed the wounded with his golden hammer. There was no need for surgery or medicine; a light tap was all it took for injuries to recover, bringing the fallen back to life. Of course, only those who were gravely wounded—those beyond help from ordinary treatment and left to die on the battlefield—lay waiting for death, exclamation marks hovering above their heads. Lightly wounded or already deceased bodies did not have such marks.
Tribune Italeo lay on the ground, his throat broken, gasping as if uttering his last words. His armor was shattered, his immortal body a bloodied mass—a mere sight enough to evoke tragedy. The reason for his severe wounds: he had confronted a daemon of Khorne. After wounding his foe, he was beaten and stomped on the floor for several minutes. Honestly, it was a miracle he was still alive. In the past, such a grievous wound would guarantee a trip to the Tower of Hegemon, to be entombed in a Dreadnought's iron coffin. Italeo himself once believed that entering a Dreadnought was his ultimate fate. But now, a mysterious, nameless man approached, leaning in to examine his broken body. Italeo stared back with his one remaining eye. The other party, instead of the usual Custodian armor, wore somewhat whimsical and intimidating pumpkin-themed power armor.
"As expected of the great Corncob; your vitality is truly impressive." Datch sighed twice, picked up his golden hammer, and struck.
Golden light flowed like mercury over the ground, enveloping Italeo entirely. His broken armor and body fused and healed at a visible speed. In just a moment, Italeo was revived, even his old scars completely erased. Stunned, he stood up and stared at his hands—no trace of injury anywhere, not even the smallest scar from past training. Removing his helmet, he tried to express his gratitude, but Datch had already turned away, leaving with a shy expression, alone in the wind.
"Yes! That's how it feels!" Heracleon, who had watched the entire process from a distance, cheered quietly in his heart. He wanted to express his excitement openly, but, considering the battlefield and the recent battles, he suppressed his foolish thoughts.
Oh, honorable Nameless Lord, please keep up that cold attitude and ignore all my colleagues!!
…
Aleya approached Valerian, gesturing in sign language to ask about Datch. Though Valerian had never communicated with the Silent Sisters, she had always learned the corresponding sign language. Aleya's meaning was easy to understand.
"We all respect him as the Nameless One, but none of us know his true name."
"Doesn't the Empire have the best intelligence agencies?" Aleya quickly signed, questioning Valerian. The Custodian had previously ignored their suffering; now, they seemed to be making a formality of it—what bastards.
Valerian sensed Aleya's anger. "We truly do not know the Nameless One's identity. He is too mysterious, far beyond what we can imagine. Believe me, what you're seeing is only the tip of his strength."
"I hope you aren't lying," Aleya signed, turning to leave, but Valerian stopped her.
"I sense indifference and rejection in your words. Why is that?"
Aleya turned back, her eyes burning. "Do you want me to smile? Surely you realize what you've done? You neglected your duty to your master and ignored your allies' suffering." Her gestures grew faster with anger. "I saw you fight—you are the galaxy's strongest warriors, but you hide in your palace, ignoring the Empire's pain."
"We were abandoned to the void, while you enjoyed your splendid palaces."
"The war came to Terra, and this is the bitter fruit of your ten thousand years of inaction."
"Stop your laziness and arrogance—it's not too late to make use of all your strength."
Valerian was left speechless. Others had criticized them before, even claiming the entire Custodes hid in the palace and did nothing. This was a misunderstanding; the Custodian had always served the Golden Throne, never slacking.
"You misunderstand us," Valerian replied. "We do far more than you think."
"A misunderstanding? Hardly. If you truly acted, the enemy would never have come to Terra."
Finished signing, Aleya didn't want to waste any more time and turned to leave. Valerian watched her back, sighed lightly, and returned to cleaning up the battlefield.
The Mechanicum recovered and processed the corpses. If the bodies still had value, they would be recycled and repurposed; if corrupted, they would be incinerated. Such was the Imperium—even in death, the remains are squeezed for every last drop of value.
Datch knew nothing of the Custodes's or Silent Sisters' dramas. He was absorbed in saving people, unexpectedly accomplishing a special feat.
[Battlefield Medical Specialist]
After treating the wounded (indicated by question marks above their heads) and sweeping a wave of experience points, Datch hummed a tune and left the battlefield at Lion's Gate. Checking the minimap's dungeon area, a new quest marker appeared. As a diligent grinder, he could not tolerate any exclamation or question marks on his minimap.
…
Meanwhile, as low orbit over Terra was thrown into chaos by the Battle of Lion's Gate, sixteen Dark Angels, under the guidance of Librarian Mordachi and Sergeant Na-Suise of the Deadwings, launched a near-rebellious operation. They flew two Stormraven gunships, using two fighters as escorts. Although Terra's authorities could not control the airspace, they managed to infiltrate.
The Ravenwing pilots participating in this mission possessed exceptional flight skills and anti-reconnaissance awareness. They dropped sensor decoys at high altitude and flew through the shadows of the scanning systems. Using wreckage from a downed transport barge, they bypassed the palace's shields and warning systems. The four aircraft weaved between magnificent skyscrapers and statues, finally landing at a hidden location.
The Dark Angels assaulted the machinery sanctum operating Dark Cells β-1α, defeating temple guards, paralyzing the core energy stack, and blowing up energy supply lines. By temporarily crippling the dungeon's energy supply, they sought an entry.
But the Dark Cells was the most secure, heavily guarded place on Terra, with protection systems boasting multiple redundancies and backup layers. Even if one failed, another would seamlessly take over.
Normally, these Dark Angels' plan would have worked: a small amount of sabotage to infiltrate and seize Cypher, the second most important Fallen Angel. They didn't intend to inflict irreparable damage on Terra—they just wanted to capture the Fallen, not betray the Imperium.
But fate always deviates from expectation.
When the machinery sanctum β-1α was destroyed, the machine spirit monitoring the energy flow responded instantly, activating backup energy per emergency protocol. However, due to Guilliman's return, pipeline maintenance had been delayed by several days, resulting in faulty parts.
When the backup system activated, surging power overloaded those parts, causing disaster. Explosions echoed through the energy pipeline, melting metal, burning wires, and overloading relays. A third of the upper levels in the dark prison lost power.
Worse still, warp storms and the psychic tides unleashed by the Emperor's recovery disrupted the dungeon's protection and null-field generators. Even though these devices had their own reserves, the power fluctuations pushed them past their limits. Ancient machines sparked and shorted, one by one, shutting down the inefficiency fields and stasis zones.
Prisoners, meant to be locked away until the Imperium's end, seized their chance to escape. Cypher and his companions broke out of their holding cells. Their first priority: recover the sword stolen by the Custodian.
…
Datch followed the minimap's guidance, rushing into the dungeon. The place was chaotic, the sound of fighting everywhere. Soldiers of the Custodian, question marks above their heads, were battling a Roshan-sized monster with hundreds of eyes. The beast howled, striking with tentacled spines, but the Custodes fought back with astonishing speed and power, leaving ghastly wounds on its hide.
BANG! BANG! Dodging another tentacle strike, a Custodian soldier fired his halberd's explosive charge, causing the beast to scream and retreat deeper into the dungeon. Seizing the moment, Datch leaped over and clicked the monster's info bar.
[Borsa Thursk, Shadowkeepers Shield-Guard Captain, Warden of the Dark Cells, Ruthless and Terrifying Warrior]
Seeing Datch, Warden Borsa frowned. Why was the Nameless One here? About to ask, he suddenly remembered orders from the Custodian Chief and bit back his words. The Nameless never waste time on small talk; if he asks whether you need help, just deliver the event and act accordingly.
Borsa felt a strange sense about the Nameless, as if he were chasing some special device.
"I need help. The dungeon's energy supply is destroyed. Many prisoners have escaped. If possible, please help quell the chaos."
A mission panel appeared before Datch:
[Mission: Assist Warden Borsa Thursk in subduing the dungeon chaos.]
Many dangerous inmates have escaped due to the Dark Angels' folly, attacking guards and plunging the dungeon into chaos. Assist the Warden in restoring order before things spiral out of control.
Reward: 1000 XP, 1000 points, +200 Reputation, Magic Bubble Bath Machine x1
Datch unconsciously clicked the reward description:
[Magic Bubble Bath Machine: On use, produces a deluge of bubbles. No matter how filthy or stinky you are, it instantly cleans and leaves you fragrant.]
"What is this for? To wash those stinky soldiers?" Datch thought the item rather tasteless—why not give two bombs instead?! Never mind, consider it a collection achievement.
"I'll help deal with those prisoners."
Datch accepted the mission and dashed deeper into the dungeon.
"Follow me," Warden Borsa ordered his guards. He wanted to see what the Nameless would use to deal with the crisis.
Bounding through the cold, dim halls, Datch encountered the flesh monster previously repelled by Borsa. A group had holed up in a corner, roaring menacingly, tentacles raised to attack.
"Not only daemons play with axes," Datch muttered. "Today, the great Datch will take you down."
He pulled out a purple-gold gourd, ready to subdue the monster bloodlessly. Suddenly, he was embarrassed—he didn't know the monster's name, nor did he have the right Gadget to learn it.
"Ugh, I miss Kairos all of a sudden." Kairos knew countless secrets. If he were here, Datch could just summon him to ask for the monster's name. Damn, why did I let him go? Kairos, never let me lose you again!
"Do you know this monster's name?" Datch asked the warden behind him.
"Flesh and Blood Slave, Nome Sag—devours flesh, steals victims' memories," replied Borsa, looking confused but providing the name.
Facing the monster, Datch intoned, "Flesh and Blood Slave, Nome Sag, I summon you! Do you dare answer?"
The meatball monster roared in defiance. In the next instant, the purple-gold gourd emitted a ray like a black hole, sucking in the monster's massive form. Realizing things were bad, the creature turned and tried to flee.
"Demon, trying to run? Time for you to be collected!" Datch shouted, and the monster was sucked into the light, shrinking as it was drawn into the gourd.
"Perfect," Datch said, plugging the gourd and heading deeper. "Let's go—catch the next one."
Borsa's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the now-empty surface and the palm-sized gourd in Datch's hand. The same went for the other Custodes soldiers following behind. They thought: What… what about all our hard fighting with this monster?!
"Follow!" Borsa, suppressing his shock, ordered the Custodian to keep up.
Datch bounced down the cold corridor, seeking escaped prisoners and observing the dungeon's contents.
"A Graffiti Without Dreams," Datch called to an amorphous shadow-monster writhing like darkness itself. With a hiss, it too was sucked into the gourd. Datch capped it and moved on to the next mission target.
Suddenly, he noticed a giant lizard trapped in an electrostatic field in a large adjacent cell. On the door's holographic display, device operation instructions and the monster's name appeared:
Specimen 682 – The Immortal Lizard.
"Good stuff, an old acquaintance from the SCP Foundation, actually here," Datch mused, lingering with interest but continuing his hunt.
The Immortal Lizard was immobilized by a static field, its own time flow frozen; it was incapable of moving or causing trouble for now. Of course, if Datch ever acquired too many spare points, he could try capturing it with a Master Ball in the future.
Other escaped monsters were no less dangerous. One, a rapidly evolving female statue, brought chaotic mutations to every living thing nearby—her influence growing with time. If left unchecked, every living being in the galaxy would become a twisted monster within years.
Another, the terrifying Laughing Nightmare, would leap from the darkness, feeding on the terror of the frightened. The more fear it consumed, the stronger it grew. Left unchecked, it could devastate an entire planet or even the galaxy.
Nightmare was a monster from the Great Crusade era, infamous for enslaving multiple galaxies and billions of humans through terror.
Each of these monsters was extremely dangerous. Even the Custodes was as weak as infants compared to their prime forms. If they escaped the dungeon and ran rampant among the stars, a galactic catastrophe—or worse—would occur.
Relying on Warden Borsa, Datch methodically captured each prisoner. When the last monster was thrown behind bars, a mission-complete indicator appeared in Datch's field of vision. He received 1000 XP, 1000 points, +200 Reputation, and a Magic Bubble Bath Machine.
Borsa counted the captured monsters; several "fish" had slipped through the net, including the recently recaptured Cypher. Treibune Hekaron was pursuing him, but Cypher was cunning and repeatedly evaded capture. The Warden hoped Datch would help search for Cypher, but Datch ignored him—he didn't work without a task reward, no matter how beautiful the prospect.
Guided by the minimap, Datch leaped along the dungeon's gear doors, searching for Cypher, quest marker glowing above his head.
…
Bonus chapter at 300 PS