As for the Arbites, they were truly one of the Magistries… He planned to fully turn them into a judiciary department.
He didn't want them on the streets wielding batons and bolters to capture criminals and execute them… Their duty was to enforce the law, then let them do as their name implied—they should be Arbiters, judges, not executioners.
He had thought to put the reformed Inquisition under them, but after some thought, he refused that.
The goal of the Inquisition was to be the ultimate check and balance—to investigate anyone and everyone. For them to do that, they needed to not be under the Judiciary.
However, some arrangements were made to ensure they were accountable as well. They were made independent but answered to the judiciary while reporting to him.
In essence, the Inquisition was allowed to investigate anyone, even him, if they suspected something, but the people would also be allowed to anonymously report corruption wherever they saw it.
For now, if such a system were implemented, he knew that no single citizen of Mordaxis would actually do that.
"Does anyone have a problem with this system?" Bastion asked, hoping to see the ones who would be dismissed first.
However, all of them simply sat looking at him. No matter how confident they were, they understood that it was best to simply comply.
Pride was a very useless thing before a saint.
"If there is none, then Draven, I shall leave it all to you to implement. I am sure that you all will assist him in this… And ensure you get familiar with the new laws to be released later this week," Bastion said as he stood up.
"By your command, Your Grace," Draven said as he bowed.
"Excellent. That would be all, then. I will see you all later when we march into Lorex to liberate it from the hands of the xenos," Bastion said with a smile before turning and leaving.
Draven watched as Bastion left the room with Selene. Turning back to the hololith behind him, Draven couldn't help but sigh. It was becoming obvious why the Ecclesiarchy could do nothing about him.
He outclassed them in every way. With that in mind, Draven—along with some of the generals—immediately hurried forward to send Bastion off, just as they had welcomed him.
As the hovercar took off, a strange feeling suddenly overwhelmed him. Bastion felt nauseous for some reason.
"Land the vehicle here and evacuate the area," Bastion suddenly ordered.
He didn't know why, but something told him it was the right thing to do. So far, he hadn't had any such feeling before, no matter what.
"My lord, I don't think it would be wise to land in the midst of the people in the mid-hive," Selene replied sensibly.
"I know, that's—"
However, before he could finish his sentence, Bastion suddenly felt a massive impact—almost as though something had slapped the vehicle out of the sky.
"Hold me," Bastion said as he quickly grabbed Selene and, just like before, jumped out of the vehicle.
The mid-hive wasn't as high as the upper spire, so there was no danger to him in the slightest. However, his senses were blaring continuously.
Bam!!
The ground cratered as Bastion's feet planted themselves deep in the earth.
Above, he could see a set of bright white lights falling as well—his Custodes Sanctis.
Yet, as if by magic or something else, they all landed gracefully, almost as though they hadn't been falling. They had hovered down.
"Seriously, God really favored the shit out of you guys," Bastion thought before dropping Selene onto the ground.
"Get the Arbites and any enforcer gangs you can find. Evacuate everyone into the upper spire… We will deal with things here," Bastion said as he pulled off the ceremonial cape attached to his clothing and passed it to her.
"Yes, my lord," Selene answered, conflicted.
She had seen His Grace survive what shouldn't be survivable, had watched him fight people she would compare to the Emperor's Angels—if she knew them well enough.
But somehow, she could tell this was different. His Grace was never flustered, yet his expression told her this was completely unexpected.
"Go! Now!!" Bastion shouted, snapping her back to her senses.
Bowing, she immediately left. Whether it was a dangerous situation or not, she understood it would be wiser—and much safer for everyone—if she followed orders.
With her neural lace connected to Bastion's servers, she quickly received an extremely detailed map of the area. Her enhanced body gave her the speed and stamina she needed as she ran to inform all she could of Bastion's orders.
Meanwhile, Bastion watched as the Sororitas landed as though they had been walking on air.
"Your Grace," they saluted.