On the console, that cold number felt like a malicious verdict.
"Current [Warband Points]: 990."
Just ten points short.
It felt like a carefully designed joke, a twisted sense of humor from the depths of the universe.
Leticia leaned against the warm bulkhead and let out a long breath, a breath that carried a trace of "frustration"—an emotion she hadn't even realized she felt.
She had scoured the entire ship clean. Every corner contaminated by the aura of Chaos had been scrubbed three times over with the power of [Vitality], ensuring it was so clean that not even a trace of spiritual residue remained.
And yet, she was still just one step away from the goal.
Terrania, standing by her side, could not understand the text, but she could clearly perceive the subtle fluctuations in Leticia's emotions.
In those pure golden eyes, the recently established sense of security was replaced by a trace of worry. She extended her slender fingers and, cautiously and tentatively, pinched the corner of Leticia's clothing.
It was an incredibly small gesture, filled with dependence and unease.
Leticia's heart stirred, and that hint of irritation instantly vanished.
She reached out and took that small, cold hand into her own palm, passing on her warm body heat, which carried the fragrance of divinity.
Terrania's body visibly relaxed.
"It's nothing." Leticia turned her head and offered her a reassuring smile. In her pitch-black eyes, all negative emotions were swept away, leaving only a calming peace and confidence. "Just a small problem, watch me solve it."
Having soothed this easily frightened little bird, Leticia turned her attention back to the predicament before her.
Where should the last ten points come from?
She closed her eyes and sank her consciousness into that vast sea of memory.
That purple giant—his every move, every violent attack—played back clearly in her mind.
The roar of the Chainsword, the impact of the Power Fist, the echoes of blasphemous prayers...
Wait.
Impact.
Leticia's eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing across her pupils.
She remembered.
That Chaos Space Marine, while charging toward the bridge, had once used his massive body to slam violently against the bridge's bulkhead door.
Although the system had later used a power akin to genesis to repair and upgrade the entire ship, the physical damage had long since vanished without a trace.
But what about those metal fragments that had been knocked off, melted, or shattered?
The system repaired the "ship," but would it also dispose of the "trash" that had detached from the hull?
A bold guess formed in Leticia's mind.
She did not hesitate any longer; holding Terrania's hand, she walked straight toward the bridge's power section.
In that area with the most complex structure and dense piping, she stopped.
Once again, Leticia closed her eyes.
The emerald-green [Vitality] rune slowly lit up in the depths of her soul.
Her perception, like the most precise radar, spread silently from her as the center, reaching every corner, every crevice, and every inch of space around her.
She "saw" the space between the pipes and the deck, the filter mesh of the coolant circulation system, the insulation of the backup power lines...
Then, she found it.
Right below the main power conduit, deep inside the grate of an extremely concealed maintenance passage.
A palm-sized, twisted, and deformed metal fragment, glowing with an ominous purple color, was quietly stuck there.
It was like a poisonous thorn embedded deep in flesh, wrapped by the surrounding new, healthy "tissue," yet it still stubbornly emitted a faint but incredibly pure aura of Chaos corruption.
That's it!
Leticia opened her eyes, a victorious smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She effortlessly pried open the grate, reached her slender fingers inside, and precisely extracted the fragment.
The fragment felt cold in her hand. Engraved on it was a corner of an obscene and twisted sigil belonging to Slaanesh, and a faint, nauseating psychic fluctuation was attempting to erode her skin.
"The last bit of slag."
Leticia whispered to herself, and the emerald-green light lit up in her palm once more.
The light was softer than ever before, yet also more condensed.
She gently pressed that orb, symbolizing rebirth and purification, onto the fragment.
Sizzle—!
A harsh shriek, as if a soul were being scorched, emanated from the fragment.
The purple metal shed that layer of evil color at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original silver-white.
Almost at the same moment as the purification.
A brand-new notification popped up before Leticia's eyes.
"[Purified Chaos Space Marine Armor Fragment (Elite Level), core spiritual imprint dispelled.]"
"[Obtained [Warband Points]: 10.]"
"[Current [Warband Points]: 1000.]"
The number was finally complete.
Leticia casually tossed the fragment, now just ordinary scrap metal, to the side, and the heavy burden in her heart finally lifted.
The resources were sufficient.
She took a deep breath, no longer hesitating.
It was time.
Leticia turned around and looked at the pure golden eyes behind her that had been silently watching her all along.
"Terrania."
For the first time, she called out this name solemnly.
The young girl's body trembled slightly, and she looked at her, somewhat at a loss.
Leticia walked up to her, said nothing, and simply reached out, using an incredibly gentle motion to tuck a strand of golden hair that was clinging to her cheek behind her ear.
"We are going to a place." Leticia's voice was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable firmness. "A very dangerous place, a battlefield that is currently burning."
Terrania's pupils constricted slightly, and her fingers, which were pinching the corner of Leticia's clothing, tightened involuntarily.
"We are going to meet a... proud yet pitiful soul." Leticia gazed into her eyes; her own pitch-black eyes reflected the girl's small, anxious figure. "He should have been as dazzling as the sun, but he was ultimately consumed by shadows and committed an irredeemable crime."
"But don't be afraid."
A confident and powerful smile tugged at the corners of Leticia's mouth, a smile that seemed capable of dispelling all the gloom in the world.
"This time, I will rewrite his tragedy."
These words exploded in Terrania's soul like a thunderclap.
She didn't fully understand what "rewriting the tragedy" meant, but she could clearly feel the overwhelming determination in Leticia's words, and a divine compassion and mercy that seemed capable of embracing the entire universe.
"Since I've come here," Leticia made the first vow to herself after stepping into this new world, "then I'll take care of all the regrets in this universe!"
This powerful will was transmitted to Terrania without reservation through their touching fingertips.
All the fear and unease in the young girl's heart were replaced at this moment by a brand-new, burning emotion.
She looked at Leticia, looked at that divine smile on her face.
Then, she made a move that even surprised Leticia.
Terrania let go of the clothing she had been pinching, and proactively and firmly used both her hands to grasp Leticia's flawless palm.
Her hands were still cold and thin, yet they carried an unprecedented strength that belonged to her.
She raised her head, and there was no longer a trace of confusion in those golden eyes.
She nodded heavily.
"I... will go with you."
Leticia smiled.
That smile was like the first ray of dawn blooming in the dark night, instantly illuminating the entire bridge.
She said no more, held Terrania's hand, and walked together to the command console.
Before them, in the massive 3D star map, the blood-red dungeon marker was pulsing like a heart.
"[Consume 1000 [Warband Points] to enter the dungeon [Horus Heresy: The Lament of Isstvan III]?]"
Leticia's will, transforming into an invisible hand, landed on the rune representing "Confirm."
"[Confirm entry.]"
The next second, the world lost its sound and color.
An irresistible sensation of weightlessness suddenly seized their bodies.
The bridge, the star sea, the console... everything was elongated and twisted in their field of vision, finally turning into a chaotic stream of light that shattered with a boom.
Time and space lost all meaning at this moment.
Who knows how much time had passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.
When Leticia and Terrania opened their eyes again, the familiar genesis had disappeared.
They were standing on a vast, boundless plaza.
Beneath their feet were shattered white marble tiles stained with dark red smudges.
All around them were ruins of buildings so magnificent they were breathtaking, filled with classical artistic beauty. Massive statues had collapsed to the ground, exquisite columns were broken into several sections, and the pure white walls were covered in gruesome Bolter holes and scorch marks from energy weapons.
The entire city was like the most perfect work of art, shattered by the hands of a god.
The air was thick with a heavy scent, a mixture of death, ozone, and gunpowder smoke.
Silence.
A deathly silence, like that of a tomb, shrouded this white city of ruins.
Suddenly.
Boom—!!!
A dull explosion, seemingly coming from the edge of the horizon, broke the deathly silence.
Immediately following it were more, denser sounds.
The unique "whoosh" sound of energy weapons firing, tearing through the air.
The rhythmic roar of heavy Bolters, like the bellowing of giants.
And... the faintly audible shouts of countless warriors, filled with anger and determination, uttered with their lives.
The war had already begun.
Leticia held Terrania's hand, standing in the center of the ruins, gazing at the sky in the distance, reddened by artillery fire.
There was not a trace of fear or panic on her face.
In those black eyes that seemed capable of swallowing light, there remained only a cold, almost indifferent calm, and... a spark of a flame that had been ignited, named "expectation."
Isstvan III.
She had arrived.
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