The relationship between the Adeptus Custodes and the Grey Knights was not good.
Shield-Captain Valerian knew this deeply.
But this bad relationship was different from that with other Space Marines.
Towards other Astartes, the Adeptus Custodes' mentality was often one of contempt, suspicion, and disgust.
Astartes, like mortals, were prone to corruption; they were all potential heretics, and indeed, they had launched a brutal rebellion that caused so much suffering to the entire race.
Many among the Adeptus Custodes despised the imperfect Astartes. But the Grey Knights were different, completely different.
The Grey Knights were the Emperor's last creation, a powerful weapon, a blade forged to counter the great enemy in the Warp. In fighting the enemies of mankind, they were more skilled than the Adeptus Custodes.
And in Valerian's view, the Adeptus Custodes also had to admit that the Grey Knights had indeed performed better over ten thousand years.
They were the last legacy the Emperor left for humanity, the Emperor's will, the last struggle for the human species.
But this fact made the Adeptus Custodes uneasy.
The Adeptus Custodes never belonged to the current Imperium of Man; they were created for a future that had never arrived, a future in the Emperor's vision.
The birth of the Grey Knights seemed to suggest that that vision was no longer possible. The Emperor had to choose to use the power of the Warp to constrain the Warp, which is why there were the Grey Knights, all of whom were psyker.
The Adeptus Custodes therefore maintained a cold relationship with the sons of Titan.
The Adeptus Custodes forever guarded Terra, while the Grey Knights could only be stationed on Saturn's moon.
But now Terra needed the Grey Knights, and only the Grey Knights could arrive, and only the Grey Knights could provide timely support.
As long as the Adeptus Custodes agreed, as long as the Adeptus Custodes requested, they could go to Terra.
Valerian was already prepared for rejection, simply because the current Adeptus Custodes were curled up deep within the Imperial Palace, confining themselves behind the Lion's Gate, unwilling to break free from the shackles of the restriction order.
Valerian knew that Trajan Valoris was making his efforts, trying to bring the Legio Custodes back into the world.
But the Grey Knights didn't know; the Grey Knights could very well refuse Valerian's request, after all, guarding the Imperial Palace was the Adeptus Custodes' duty.
Valerian was already prepared to lose his dignity, prepared to be humiliated, even prepared for the entire Adeptus Custodes to be humiliated.
He had to do this, at least Valerian was not so proud as to refuse to speak when he needed help.
Moreover, the mortals were fighting on the front lines; if Valerian didn't do this, many of them would die in vain.
But the Grey Knights agreed, without hesitation.
"We have been waiting for a long time."
"In the name of the Emperor, cleanse the world and eliminate daemons."
Compared to Valerian, Reyna's mood was a little more complex.
Especially when she found out that the support she received was from the Grey Knights.
Reyna didn't know much about the Grey Knights.
This Astartes Chapter seemed very mysterious; even on Cadia, Reyna had never heard of their name, which was very strange.
She knew about the Grey Knights entirely because she had fought alongside Grand Master Voldus of the Grey Knights' Third Brotherhood once or twice while on Macragge.
Aside from that, her understanding was... when Reyna was still in Ashford, Alexander had given her a half-joking warning:
"When you encounter a crisis, and the Emperor's Death Angel comes to support you, don't be happy yet."
"First, look carefully at the color of their power armor."
"If it's dark blue armor, it's most likely Ultramarines; unless the battle requires it, you'll be fine."
"If it's red armor, check if your wallets are still there. If they are, it's Blood Angels; if not, it's Blood Ravens. In most cases, you're safe."
"If these red-armored guys grow fangs, then sprinkle some salt on yourself; don't cause trouble for the noble sons of Sanguinius."
"If black armor is mixed in with these red-armored guys, then this is the Death Company. Pray you're not bald, otherwise they'll mistake you for Horus."
"If it's only black armor, then see what mental illness they have."
"If they have hysteria, it's most likely Black Templars; as long as you haven't been tainted by Chaos, you're safe."
"If they have cyber-psychosis, that's the Iron Hands, but like their father's head, they generally don't have much presence."
"As for the Raven Guard, although they also wear black armor, you most likely won't even notice them."
"If it's green armor, look at the skin color."
"If it's dark-skinned, you've hit the jackpot; these are the Salamanders, most of whom are good people."
"If it's light-skinned, that's the Dark Angel; you'd best pray there are no little secrets of theirs nearby."
"If it's yellow armor, then it depends on their luck."
"The more unlucky and occasionally wiped-out ones are the Imperial Fists; they are stubborn but relatively easy to get along with."
"The especially unlucky and frequently wiped-out ones are the Cryptek; they are all good people, but it's best to stay away from them."
"Oh, right, there's also silver-gray, those are the Grey Knights."
"If you encounter them, you'd best pray there's a group of barbaric men in grey-blue power armor nearby who think you're good lads."
"Otherwise, you can gloriously return to the Golden Throne."
Originally, Reyna just thought Alexander was joking, but after this series of events,
Reyna realized how accurate Alexander's judgment of the Space Marines was. From Grand Master Voldus' fighting style, the Grey Knights really would strike at their own allies, at mortals.
And Reyna vaguely remembered that she seemed to be an illegal psyker.
But with the battle at hand, Reyna had no time to consider these issues.
The Grey Knights were obviously more concerned with daemons than with these mortals.
At the same time, the Grey Knights were also slowly shrinking their lines; they clearly had no intention of holding the already shattered Eternal Wall.
Slowly retreating to the vicinity of the Lion's Gate was clearly a better option; they could concentrate their strength to defend against the daemons' assaults.
"Support the Grey Knights!"
Reyna's voice reached the ears of every Cadian 184th Regiment member through the communication channel:
"They are experts at fighting daemons; cooperate with them to tighten the line!"
"Hmm?"
Reyna suddenly noticed that the Grey Knights who were fighting the daemons suddenly stopped their movements.
Their ancient and peculiar Crusader-style helmets were pointed towards Reyna, seemingly staring intently at her.
They seemed to be asking Reyna with their gaze, asking her how she knew of their existence?
"..Hmm?"
Reyna was so stared at that she started to sweat profusely.
She suddenly realized something, a possibility,
That is, the reason why the Grey Knights were unknown, the reason why they silenced mortals,
Was there a possibility, could it be, that the existence of the Grey Knights was actually a secret?
And Grand Master Voldus didn't silence anyone on Macragge merely because of the pressure from the two Primarchs and Saint Doraemon?
Reyna was sweating profusely for a moment.
"What kind of inexplicable pricing standard is this?"
"Why is a promethium transport pipeline five hundred, and a Slaanesh daemon six hundred and sixty million?"
"A Great Unclean One is only equivalent to more than a hundred thousand pipelines? Does the 22nd century need pipelines to build sewers?"
"For bolt guns of the same model, those listed as relics are more expensive than ordinary ones? Does cultural value also count?"
"Also, why is the Tzeentch Great Unclean One the most expensive? What if a Tzeentch Great Unclean One is weaker than a Slaanesh daemon?"
"Are individual differences between Great Unclean Ones not calculated? Is it based on the Great Unclean One's reputation?"
The brown-haired boy frowned tightly, the silver-haired boy's corpse drooped beside him, his weak fingers holding a pen and paper, recording the price of each item.
Guilliman had actually done this too, but he ultimately couldn't find any pattern in it, as if these prices were just randomly filled in.
"This probably won't yield anything from research," Alexander said, rubbing his brow.
"No," the brown-haired boy shook his head, looking at the price list written by the silver-haired boy's corpse.
"It's precisely because there's no pattern at all that it has value. This indicates that behind your four-dimensional pocket isn't some rigorous system or objective law."
"Instead, it's one or a group of subjective entities setting prices... I even think these prices are adjusted in real-time."
"Based on the demand from the other side, and also based on your current situation."
"Hmm?" Alexander's eyes lit up slightly: "You mean..."
"The Future Department Store, in the 22nd century, should genuinely exist."
The brown-haired boy put down the price list in his hand and said:
"But I can't be sure that it's the 22nd century from 'Doraemon.' Why aren't they willing to help us?"
"If it really were that 22nd century, it would just be a flick of the wrist for them."
"..Could it be that they can save us, but it just costs money?" Alexander raised an eyebrow, a little strangely.
He remembered the Future Department Store in the original work, which was purely like a profiteer.
"Ah, they may not have the resources" the brown-haired boy shook his head.
Alexander shrugged: "Or they're greedy."
"Time is still money, the price," the brown-haired boy ignored Alexander's sarcasm and said thoughtfully.
"I'm going to do a test. I will try to cut off as much power and authority as possible for you."
"You tell me how much those powers and authorities can sell for."