Who is "he" referring to?
Although not Slaanesh itself, being worshipped indicates a status of at least a Greater Daemon, a level that ranks highly across the entire galaxy.
For ordinary people, obsessing over the difference between a Greater Daemon and a deity is meaningless. Even the weakest among them would only intervene in events of planetary-scale corruption or launch a campaign to destroy an entire galaxy.
For them, offering a ritual sacrifice of tens or hundreds of billions to their deity is but a small part of their eternal existence, while an ordinary person is merely an insignificant fraction of those billions.
Someone, or something, remembered by such an entity is unlikely to be within the reach of anyone in the decapitation squad.
However, it was clear that the entity had no intention of elaborating on the meaning of its words. Its form further solidified, indicating that it was focusing more attention here.
Although the offerings were clearly insufficient to allow it to fully manifest in the material universe, a Greater Daemon is no ordinary warp entity.
For them, once they have a specific coordinate and a breach, they can actively tear through the veil separating the warp from reality. And with the Great Rift now spanning the galaxy, this has become much easier than before.
Yet, it seemed the entity had no intention of manifesting here. It stopped before fully solidifying into an observable form.
Apart from Zhang Ge, even with the protection of the cross, the others were completely unable to move effectively.
But what difference did it make if Zhang Ge could move? Was he supposed to try blowing the Greater Daemon's head off with a plasma pistol? Or press the elevator button? If it wished, the entity could easily crush the entire elevator.
So he pretended to be motionless as well: Go ahead and kill me if you want. You don't know that I become invincible upon death. Would a Greater Daemon really bother capturing an ordinary person as a collectible?
It would be as absurd as the ruler of Earth personally going to the Moon just to pick up a specific rock.
And honestly, even if the four of them were squeezed dry, it probably wouldn't cover the energy consumed in the few seconds of its spontaneous manifestation.
"Ascalon."
It raised its hand, and a sword that bore no resemblance to Slaanesh descended from the void. The sword looked utterly plain, devoid of any decoration, appearing as nothing more than an ordinary one-handed sword, albeit with a slightly archaic design.
But the name "Ascalon" was anything but ordinary. It originated from Christian mythology, the weapon used by Saint George to slay the dragon.
So, whose avatar is Jesus?
If what it said was true, then this was an ancient relic from at least the 1st millennium of ancient Terra, and one associated with the Emperor. It was so ancient that, apart from Zhang Ge, no one present had any knowledge of the name.
Without delving into details, just the three phrases used to describe the symbolism of Saint George slaying the dragon—"humanity eradicating bestiality, the world protecting the weak, and the innate purity of the human heart"—were enough to convey the significance of Ascalon.
Merely having the sword retrieved and placed at the center of the altar caused the entity's nearly solidified form to vanish completely.
It seemed to go even further than that. The warp corruption within the cavern was also cleared, or rather, drained. As the six rings dimmed, the illumination from the flares in the air replaced the previous pink glow, becoming the light source for the cavern.
The other three naturally regained their ability to move.
Surviving a direct encounter with a Greater Daemon and even receiving a gift... for people like them, it was the kind of thing that, if you reported it to an Inquisitor, they would think you were wasting their time with nonsense.
However, as absurd as the experience was, one thing was undeniable.
Zhang Ge raised his plasma pistol, letting the searing plasma bolt streak through the air and strike the altar.
Stripped of its warp energy, the altar was nothing more than an ordinary stone platform, instantly vaporized into gas and magma. Yet, Ascalon, embedded in the altar, remained unscathed. Even without support, it hovered in mid-air.
Seeing this, the Commissar, who had replaced Zhang Ge at the control panel, reached out and pressed the elevator button without even bothering to have Sister Amilia retrieve her fallen greatsword.
Zhang Ge also had no intention of indulging his curiosity to see what would happen—there was no doubt that doing so would be considered a deliberate act of seeking death.
"It seems you'll have to use a lasgun for a while," Zhang Ge said to Sister Amilia.
But at the moment, none of them were in the mood for jokes. They weren't afraid of death, but among the three, who could guarantee they wouldn't fall to corruption after facing a Greater Daemon? This had nothing to do with willpower; it was simply a matter of the overwhelming disparity in power.
Just as the Custodians were once directly controlled to attack the Emperor, the gap was too vast. Even if their minds remained uncorrupted, it would be meaningless.
This concern reached its peak in the following moments.
The elevator came to a gradual stop after running for some time, but as the doors opened, what lay before them was still the cavern.
"Impossible. The depth gauge was showing a steady decrease earlier..."
By the end of his sentence, even Priest Reid couldn't convince himself.
The Commissar remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"If we can return to the base, I will request a review of myself. The influence of warp entities is powerful, but not beyond the Imperium's ability to handle. Until then, I will take responsibility for containing this sword."
This statement was essentially a death sentence for him. As an ordinary Commissar, directly handling an artifact of a Greater Daemon, even if the review showed no corruption or the readings were within acceptable limits, would likely result in his elimination as a precaution once Ascalon was confirmed to be a Greater Daemon's creation.
If he were truly corrupted, there would be no need for further discussion. But in the other scenario, if it was confirmed that he wasn't corrupted, as long as the Commissar refused to disclose the other members of the decapitation squad—Sister Amilia being a Battle Sister, Priest Reid a member of the Ecclesiarchy, and Zhang Ge merely one among countless Astra Militarum soldiers—the Inquisition would hardly bother expending the effort to investigate further. Not that they wouldn't want to, but the Imperium is constantly dealing with far more severe incidents, and they need to make every second count.
Even if a few landmines were buried that might explode years or decades later... if there's a time bomb in your house set to blow up the entire building in ten minutes, would you spend nine minutes disarming those landmines first?
Especially since this was merely contact with a Greater Daemon's projection, not something severe enough to evade the Inquisition's detection mechanisms.
However, just as the Commissar resolved himself and walked over to the sword, gripping its hilt, he made no further movement.
Because... he couldn't pull it out.
An indescribable awkwardness quietly spread in the tense atmosphere. After visibly exerting more force several times to no avail, he turned his gaze toward the others. Priest Reid and Sister Amilia exchanged glances and also tried, but without exception, they too were unable to budge the sword.
Until Zhang Ge placed his hand on the hilt.