Mephiston and the restaurant owner's eyes twitched as they watched Alexander applaud.
"Don't believe his nonsense. With just one Sheath Wing Fortress and a few scattered outposts nearby, where would there be a galaxy? Or Terra?"
The restaurant owner said in a hurry.
The voice broadcast from the loudspeaker seemed to possess a strange power of delusion. Many people, after hearing it, inexplicably fell into hallucinations and madness, believing in the worldview of the so-called "Emperor."
Alexander slightly adjusted the brim of his cap and gave the restaurant owner a reassuring look: "I just thought he spoke very well."
"Didn't you say you'd rather sink into the dream of Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings? How come you're not happy when it's the 'Emperor' instead?"
The restaurant owner snorted softly: "When I was only suspicious, the fake could be treated as real."
"Once I truly saw everything clearly, how could I treat the real as fake?"
"We are indeed a group of blasphemous xenos monsters, not true Sons of Sanguinius, but we also understand the Five Virtues, and we know the harmony and camaraderie between people, knowing that we should treat our own kind like family."
"I've believed in this for decades. Everything else is fake; only this morality is real."
As he spoke, the restaurant owner sighed, stood up in front of Alexander, and spread his three arms.
"Every day, when I look at this body with clear eyes, I feel pain. I once thought I was a Blood Angel in crimson power armor, fighting to eliminate the ghouls in Angel Keep who fed on mortal blood."
"But when I woke up, I found out it was fake, all fake. There are no ghouls in Angel Keep who feed on mortal blood, nor do they hold banquets to draw mortal blood. No ancient ghouls rule them, and there are no pale wizards returned from death. They are truly noble warriors, full of honor and glory!"
Sitting beside Alexander, the pale wizard, oh no, Mephiston, disguised as an Ogryn, was a little restless.
Alexander's gaze also shifted slightly.
Is there really none? There shouldn't be.
The restaurant owner shook his head:
"I can't lie to myself. I will keep this restaurant open here and wait for death. Perhaps soon the true Sons of Sanguinius will arrive, and I look forward to dying under their boltguns."
"If you are willing to sink into a new illusion woven by others, then go ahead; at least it's a comfort. If not, feel free to come eat here. I still have some food stockpiled, enough for us to eat until we meet death soon."
With those words, the restaurant owner walked back into the kitchen alone, leaving the outside to Alexander and Mephiston.
Alexander calmly adjusted the baseball cap on his head.
His thoughts instantly became clear.
Item: Sherlock Holmes Suit
[Item Name: Sherlock Holmes' Deerstalker Cap]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 251.M2]
[Function: Mimics Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker cap, sold bundled with the Clue Magnifying Glass, Radar Cane, and Detective Pipe. The deerstalker cap can make the wearer's mind clear, allowing them to organize clues discovered by the Supporting facilities tools and deduce solutions to events.]
This was one of the items from the Sherlock Holmes Suit Alexander had exchanged for. This item could enhance the clarity of Alexander's thoughts, making his mind more effective.
Alas, an increase in intelligence is indeed the most immediate improvement.
In an instant, Alexander felt as if he had become an Astartes with a superhumanly modified brain, a species reproductively isolated from those mortals whose intelligence had not been enhanced.
The vastly different worldviews of these genestealers members were clearly due to different genestealer vying for the position of patriarch.
After the death of a genestealer patriarch, individuals within its brood eligible to become patriarch would begin to compete.
However, this was the first time Alexander had heard of such vastly different worldviews appearing among patriarch candidates.
Alexander speculated that this might be because Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings, whom they once worshipped, had a faith that did not solely point to the hive mind.
Part of Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings' faith pointed to the hive mind.
Another part pointed to Sanguinius himself, to the two angels of black and gold in the legends of Baal, and to Sanguinius' words, "my Black Rage."
In short, Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings was too mixed.
After the original patriarch died, the faith of Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings disintegrated, and the new patriarchs might have each only occupied a portion of it.
So, which one was Alexander looking for?
Alexander pondered for a moment with the superhuman wisdom granted by the deerstalker cap.
Then he pulled a magnifying glass from his four-dimensional pocket.
Ta-da! Sherlock Holmes Suit: Clue Magnifying Glass!
[Item Name: Sherlock Holmes' Clue Magnifying Glass]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 251.M2]
[Function: Mimics Sherlock Holmes' clue magnifying glass, sold bundled with the Deerstalker Cap, Radar Cane, and Detective Pipe. Through this calm, one can see clues related to objects, helping to solve events.]
The superhuman wisdom granted by the item tells me it's time to use another super item!
Alexander picked up the lens and held it to his eye.
He saw a black tower hanging upside down underground, its external style very much like the xenos that originally inhabited Baal.
He saw a room in the inverted spire of the tower, filled with murals carved from black metal.
The murals had many complex carvings, revealing a unique aesthetic amidst their chaotic disorder.
Alexander saw scenes of the xenos sacrificing to the two angels of black and gold, and heard the xenos wailing in disaster.
But the scenes presented were too blurry, and Alexander couldn't make out more details.
Then Alexander noticed a throne in the room, and beside the throne stood a larger four-armed Tyranids creature.
"The clue is here?" Alexander raised an eyebrow slightly.
This inverted tower wasn't hard to find; it could be seen at a glance from outside.
This tower was one of the largest buildings within the entire Sheath Wing Fortress, and its style suggested it was some kind of sacrificial site. Perhaps in those days, the xenos sacrificed to the two angels of black and gold in this tower.
Adding to that the throne and the four-armed Tyranids creature in the magnifying glass... The restaurant owner had also just said that the middle and lower parts of Sheath Wing Fortress were mostly occupied by the "Emperor."
Is it really that fake "Emperor"?
Is the answer that simple?
Even if Alexander took off his deerstalker cap, he could easily figure this out.
But he always felt it was a bit too simple. Alexander originally suspected that the hive mind was behind that fake "Emperor"!
Nevertheless, he still had to go. Since the murals in that tower recorded the past events of the xenos priests sacrificing to the two angels of black and gold, perhaps Alexander could discover something from them.
"You have a clue?" asked Chief Librarian Mephiston of the Blood Angels, who was sitting next to Alexander, disguised as an Ogryn. He noticed Alexander's expression of having found a clue.
"Yes, let's go kill the Emperor."
Alexander adjusted the deerstalker cap on his head, a smile appearing on his lips as he said:
"I witnessed it with my own eyes: Mephiston killed the 'Emperor.'"
Mephiston's eyes twitched slightly, and he sighed softly.
His reputation within the Blood Angels was not good, and he was already suspected.
If anyone heard Alexander's words, he would likely face more suspicion.
With that, Mephiston stood up with Alexander.
"Boss, your food was delicious."
"If there's another chance, I might come back to eat."
Alexander called out to the kitchen.
"Good!" the genestealers boss in the kitchen called back: "I'm just afraid you'll go mad like them and not come."
"That won't happen. I left you a gift."
As he spoke, Alexander reached into his four-dimensional pocket:
"Wait until you really have no other choice to use it. I still want to eat your food again."
With that, Alexander and Mephiston walked out of the restaurant.
The boss in the kitchen hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked out of the kitchen.
He saw a boltgun placed on the seat where Alexander and his companion had just been sitting.
The restaurant owner was silent for a moment, then picked up the boltgun from the table and examined it.
A bloodstone was embedded in the massive weapon, entwined with exquisite carvings made of gold.
The content of these carvings mainly depicted Sanguinius' achievements, the warrior's code, and the Five Virtues.
"Focus, Humility, Benevolence, Restraint, and Forgiveness."
The restaurant owner recited the Five Virtues carved on the boltgun.
Different illusions intertwined in his eyes, causing him immense pain, but the restaurant owner still managed to find the truth within them.
He gripped the boltgun tightly. A slight burning sensation emanated from the gun, as if scorching his blasphemous body.
"A great mercy, a dignified exit."
"I have no right to swear allegiance to Sanguinius, but I swear allegiance to my own morality and truth."
"If the time truly comes when I must use this boltgun, I will grant myself mercy."
The restaurant owner placed his three arms on his chest, pressing the boltgun against his mutated chest.
The burning sensation emanating from it seemed to transform into a kind of warmth.
Scyarnus is dead.
Gavriel Loken, Captain of the Luna Wolves' 10th Company, gripped the power sword in his hand, his jump pack on his back, and thought with anger.
The Warmaster had ordered Captain Hastar Scyarnus of the 4th Company to negotiate with the fake "Emperor," hoping it would submit to the Great Crusade fleet.
However, that fake "Emperor" cruelly killed the noble Scyarnus with a group of strange, invisible warriors!
So the Warmaster issued an order, to give them enlightenment. Loken naturally obeyed, vowing to avenge Scyarnus with the blood of these invisible warriors.
Loken's power sword was heavily pulled from the chest of an invisible warrior, blood flowing out with it.
These warriors, when invisible, would slightly disturb the flow of light and shadow; he had caught this flaw.
The invisible warrior let out a sharp shriek and fell heavily to the ground.
However, the invisible warrior's shriek was so inhuman, like the cry of an insect, that it startled Loken.
He looked in horror as the invisible warrior on the ground transformed into a mutated xenos covered in some kind of chitinous carapace, retaining a hint of human appearance.
He also discovered that his power sword had turned into some kind of biological claw, tightly connected to his arm.
And his jump pack had also transformed into some twisted, stunted xenos wings.
All of this made "Gavriel Loken" dizzy.
"Loken, are you having hallucinations again?" A pair of sharp claws rested on Loken's shoulder, a monster covered in a thicker chitinous carapace stood behind him.
"A little."
Loken shook his head. The monster transformed into a noble Luna Wolves warrior in Terminator power armor:
"I'm fine now, Ezekiel Abaddon, First Captain."