Duanmu Huai chose to lure the Covenant here not only to strike fear into their hearts but also to take revenge on the Prophet race.
Long ago, when the Imperium's expeditionary fleet arrived here, they had suffered heavy losses from fighting the Flood. At that time, they chose to ally with the local Prophet race.
However, as history proved, those who are not of our kind will always betray us. During the Forerunners' war, in order to avoid extinction, the Prophets betrayed humanity. Because of their betrayal, the Forerunners broke through the Imperium's final defensive line and defeated humanity. As a reward for leading the way, the Forerunners spared the Prophets as obedient dogs.
But humanity was not so fortunate. Most humans who swore to resist until the end were decomposed by the Forerunners' Recomposition Machines, which disassembled both soul and flesh. The Forerunners originally invented this technology for themselves, planning to reconstruct their bodies and ascend into a higher state of existence.
However, during experimentation, the Forerunners discovered a devastating flaw: the reconstructed beings lost their consciousness and became mindless, rage-filled machines that only obeyed orders. Thus, the Forerunners abandoned the plan and repurposed the Recomposition Machines for war—hmm, at least that showed they were smarter than those idiotic space skeletons. At least the Forerunners tested the machine first instead of throwing their entire race into it without thinking.
At that time, humanity had barely driven the Flood out of the galaxy and was already exhausted. Yet the Forerunners attacked, and their supposed allies betrayed them. Humanity even debated whether they should lure the Flood back into the galaxy to force a mutual annihilation with the Forerunners. But in the end, they chose not to carry out this plan.
This history deeply moved players. Especially the ending—where the fleet chose extinction rather than unleashing the Flood again and becoming humanity's second great threat. That alone was enough to move countless players. After learning this, the Covenant suffered miserably, and the traitorous Prophet race—players hunted them to extinction, wiping out every one of their planets.
After all, people hate traitors more than enemies.
This further solidified players' belief that all non-human species were untrustworthy. Once again, it proved that aside from humanity, no alien race could be relied upon.
This was also why Duanmu Huai never formed deep relationships with alien species. No matter how friendly or gentle they acted, they were ultimately not human. When faced with the pressure of survival, they would never live and die alongside humanity. Instead, they would be far more likely to sell out or betray humans to preserve their own species.
Look at the Prophet race—they were the perfect example. After the Forerunners vanished, the Prophets were not imprisoned or exiled like humanity. Instead, they formed the Covenant and became rulers of this star region, enjoying centuries of wealth and power. Not only did they completely forget their disgraceful history of betrayal, they even shamelessly proclaimed themselves the Forerunners' heirs?
Heh. The loyal soldiers died on the battlefield, while the traitorous lapdogs gained power and prosperity—well, that ended today.
And the metal monsters Duanmu Huai and the girls encountered earlier were actually the recomposed remains of humans who had been disassembled by the Recomposition Machines.
"...…I didn't expect something like this to be possible...…"
After listening to Duanmu Huai's explanation, the girls fell silent. Ranni spoke softly.
"To disassemble souls and recompose them… that truly is something only gods could do."
"When civilization reaches a certain level, it does become quite similar to divinity."
Duanmu Huai shrugged. In truth, there were indeed races like the Forerunners who ascended, abandoning their physical forms and becoming pure consciousness. But… that wasn't important.
"The enemy must be destroyed. And traitors… must pay the price for their actions."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai pressed a button on the control panel, unlocking the sealed planet.
"———————————"
At the same time, the Covenant fleet patrolling outside Soul's Rest Star also noticed something unusual.
"Report! The planetary seal on Soul's Rest Star appears to be opening!"
"What?"
Hearing this, the Prophet of Truth was startled. It looked ahead and saw the metallic planetary shell slowly shifting, opening a massive gate. But before it could rejoice, a powerful force suddenly grabbed its warship and dragged it toward the planet's interior!
"What's happening?"
"It's a gravity well! We're trapped and can't break free!!"
"No..."
Just like that, the entire Covenant fleet near Soul's Rest Star was pulled into the planet by the gravity well. The Prophet of Truth felt a violent impact and immediately lost consciousness.
No one knew how much time passed before the Prophet finally woke. A Brute quickly approached it.
"Prophet, are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine. Where are we…?"
"We are inside Soul's Rest Star...…"
"Good, excellent!"
Hearing this, the Prophet of Truth instantly brightened.
"Send all forces immediately! Find the slumbering Great Precursor! We must awaken him before the Inquisition arrives!"
"But...…"
"That is an order!!!"
"Yes."
Although Soul's Rest Star was unfamiliar to the Covenant, their centuries of researching Forerunner technology were not wasted. After some effort, they found the location where the Great Precursor slept. Upon learning this, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy personally led the Covenant's elite into the core.
They were desperate to awaken the Forerunner—only he could stop the threat of the Inquisition!
Though they had expected something impressive, when they reached the core and saw the massive black sphere sleeping beneath Soul's Rest Star's deepest layer, the Prophet of Truth trembled with excitement.
"Ah… Great Precursor...…"
It extended its shaking hands toward the giant dark sphere. As if sensing their presence, cracks slowly formed across the surface. Then, with a shockwave, the sphere split apart. A small floating platform emerged, and kneeling atop it was a humanoid figure—the last surviving remnant of the Forerunners, the Preacher.
It had a humanlike body and limbs, but its head was nose-less and covered with hedgehog-like spines. The figure slowly stood. Metal armor floated out from behind it, assembling itself around his body in the blink of an eye.
"It has been… far too long...…"
The Preacher looked at his own body, then turned his head. The Covenant soldiers immediately knelt in reverence, and even the two Prophets bowed. The Preacher approached, looking down on them.
"Honored Great Precursor...…"
The Prophet of Truth trembled under his gaze, raising its hands toward him.
"Please guide the Covenant. Lead us on the holy journey. Only you can eliminate all obstacles and threats before our kind… only you can show us our future...!"
But then a low voice echoed through the chamber.
"No. You have no future."
A shadow plunged down from above, landing heavily before them.
"BOOM!!!"
The Preacher and the Prophets turned toward the sound. A massive titan clad in black armor stepped out of the dust, wielding a thunder-wreathed warhammer. Seeing the hammer and skull insignia on his armor, a cold gleam flashed across the Preacher's eyes.
"You are...…"
"Lowly xenos, and filthy traitors—you're all here."
Duanmu Huai held his Thunder Warhammer and glared icily at the Preacher and the Prophets of Truth and Mercy.
"I have been waiting for this moment, alien scum. You will pay for what you did—for destroying the Imperial fleet, and for everything you did to humanity. And you...…"
Duanmu Huai turned his gaze to the Prophet of Truth.
"Disgusting, ugly traitor. You are no exception. Your homeworld will burn. Your offspring will die screaming in the Inquisition's flames. Their souls will be obliterated in the furnaces. Your civilization ends today. This is the punishment the Inquisition delivers to betrayers! The Covenant is finished. And as an Inquisitor, I will kill the being you worship as a god before your eyes, so you can witness your own insignificance, your helplessness, and the final destruction of your faith!"
"Interesting...…"
The Preacher stared at Duanmu Huai, eyes filled with rage.
"I didn't expect any survivors to remain."
"Survivors? Watch your tone, degenerate alien. With your obscene, sunken face and that foul toy-like armor, you're not qualified to speak to an Inquisitor."
Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer, pointing it at him.
"What you defeated back then was only a single fleet. But your actions still enraged the Inquisition. I came here to deliver judgment—your filthy species, your corrupt civilization, your pathetic history… will be erased, reduced to an insignificant speck of dust lost forever in the Sea of Stars!"
"We shall see whether you have that ability, human!!"
The Preacher roared and thrust out his hand toward Duanmu Huai. A surge of invisible force exploded outward, rushing toward him.
"Prepare to be judged!"
But Duanmu Huai didn't dodge. He roared back, stepping forward as psychic energy erupted beneath his feet, colliding head-on with the Preacher's attack.
"In the name of the Inquisition—I'll annihilate you utterly!!"
With a furious shout, Duanmu Huai raised his Thunder Warhammer and brought it down toward the Preacher.
(End of Chapter)