"Right here."
Fadix's words were as cold as a deep, lightless night, causing Irthu and the other two High Lords to shiver.
A cold blade emerged from the darkness, pressing against Irthu's neck, and against the necks of the other two High Lords.
"By order of the Regent of the Imperium and Imperial Marshal, Roboute Guilliman."
"When you commit an undeniable act of defiance, you become a target for assassination by the Officio Assassinorum."
Fadix pronounced Irthu's fate in a dull, hoarse high gothic.
The High Admiral and the Minister of Justice were dumbfounded, completely unprepared for such an outcome.
They trembled with fear.
Not because of the Callidus Temple Assassins who emerged from the darkness, nor because of the blades at their throats.
But because they felt an invisible pair of hands—Roboute Guilliman's hands.
Those hands were like shadows, constantly enveloping them.
They had all been dancing within these hands, believing they were resisting Roboute Guilliman, but they had never escaped his grasp.
Only when the hands closed in, and death was near, did they realize that all their actions had been within his control.
What a terrifying political monster, what an ambitious act!
Their livers and gallbladders split, their faces ashen like death.
Irthu, however, facing the dagger at his throat and the impending death, felt a sense of relief.
He calmed down, his body no longer trembling from his nervous and psychological ailments, and his voice became much more even.
"I lost."
He said calmly:
"But don't kill me now; let me first rescind the orders I gave to the Minotaurs Chapter."
"There's no need to cause more damage."
"There's no need for that, Lord Guilliman has already visited the Minotaurs Chapter via an anywhere door, and the Minotaurs have pledged allegiance." Fadix calmly told Irthu.
Irthu looked at Fadix, a look of near sadness on his face.
"I didn't expect you to betray me. I thought we shared the same values; I thought we were friends."
This was a secret between Irthu and Fadix.
Long before the Primarch's return, Irthu and Fadix had formed a private friendship.
They shared the same values, both believing that imperial law was the Emperor's will, and that the Emperor's will was perfect.
It was for this reason that Irthu and Fadix felt a mutual understanding, forming a consensus and friendship.
This was rare among the High Lords, and Irthu had always cherished this hidden friendship.
He never expected Fadix to betray him.
"I am indeed a Conservative Party member, Irthu."
Fadix's voice also carried a hint of sadness; he and Irthu did share a friendship:
"Like you, I adhere to the Emperor's will and believe it to be flawless."
"And flawless reform does not exist, so the Imperium's reforms can never succeed."
"Then, why?" Irthu's voice was desolate and low.
"Because this isn't all. The Primarch's arrival indeed shook all of Terra, and old-fashioned people like you would naturally begin to resist."
"But your resistance is meaningless. You cannot defeat the Primarch. Perhaps in your youth, you could have contended, but Irthu, you are old; your era has passed."
"More importantly, even if you didn't resist, Guilliman could never succeed. He could freely reform everything, but all of it would be useless, destined to be stifled."
"Because his enemy is not external; it is the Imperium itself—an ancient, vast, and ponderous Imperium."
"Even a Primarch would grow weary; even a Primarch's will would be driven mad. The Imperium will crush him, stagnation will prevail, and imperial law will naturally return."
"This is what former Grand Master of the Assassinorum Vagorich taught the Officio Assassinorum, and it is why the Officio Assassinorum has always maintained sacred silence, and why I lean towards the Conservative Party."
Fadix's tone was full of sadness:
"This is the only truth and the only outcome. Neither the opposition nor the reformists can defeat the Imperium itself."
"Perhaps in twenty or thirty years, Lord Guilliman's reforms are bound to fail."
"Then why did you choose to side with Guilliman?" Irthu calmly leaned his head back against the chair, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position, and asked.
"That Lord, Lord Sanguinius, convinced me. Resistance is for survival. If we do not resist, we will die without a burial place today."
Fadix said softly:
"It has nothing to do with whether we succeed or not. The key is that we cannot face destruction without resisting. Even if death is inevitable, we must believe that hope remains in this moment."
Irthu calmly accepted Fadix's words, smiling and nodding at him.
The other two High Lords, however, were wide-eyed with disbelief.
"You have a mental illness." The High Admiral said.
The Minister of Justice also nodded: "You're a bit too twisted."
"Shut up." Irthu adjusted his posture, telling his two colleagues: "That's enough; it ends here."
"It's not so bad. We are all too tired, having borne responsibilities far beyond our capacity. It's time to rest."
Then Irthu looked at Fadix, nodding at him.
"Let me rest." Irthu said: "Thank you, Fadix."
"I have only one last request. My assistant minister, my child Nessus, is innocent. Spare his life."
"He was only following my orders."
Fadix's expression was slightly strange. He did not answer Irthu, but merely extended his hand and waved it gently.
The Callidus Temple Assassins gently wielded their phase swords, lightly slicing through the bodies of Irthu and the other two High Lords, taking their lives.
Fadix looked at Irthu's corpse with a touch of sadness.
"Where has the proud, quick-witted Irthu gone?"
"The position of High Lord is truly cruel, turning us all into twisted and ugly beings."
Fadix sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"Report on the status of other targets."
A Vindicare Temple Assassin, responsible for intelligence gathering and acting as a human search engine, came to Fadix's side.
The Vindicare Temple Assassin extended his wrist, and glowing, floating windows appeared around him.
"We have begun purging spies, traitors, cultists, and daemons lurking within the Adeptus Administratum, the Ministry of Justice, and the high ranks of the Navy."
"Among them, three Lords of Change were discovered. Two were assassinated and banished by the Culexus Temple Assassins, and another was banished by the Inquisition and Grey Knights."
"Furthermore, we also discovered a Greater Keeper of Secrets who had somehow infiltrated the Terran nobility. The Keeper of Secrets accused us of incompetence for only now banishing him. He has now been banished by the Culexus Temple Assassins in cooperation with the Eversor Temple Assassins."
"Then, within the Adeptus Administratum, the Aeldari human Psyker specialized abhuman Harlequins discovered changeling, a famous daemon under the Lord of Change. changeling was jointly banished by the Harlequins after completing his work handover."
"What about Nessus, the unidentified individual who was lurking beside Irthu?" Fadix asked in a low voice.
The spy named Nessus was the highest-ranking infiltrator in the entire Terran administrative system, and his true identity remained unknown.
"All the Assassins we dispatched have been killed by this individual. The Harlequins are currently in pursuit, attempting to trap him."
Fadix's expression suddenly turned grim.
Nessus darted and twisted through the Imperial Palace like a nimble viper.
And the Harlequins and Assassins moved like shadows around Nessus.
But Nessus was not in a hurry. In his hand was a short blade shimmering with a snake-scale-like light, seemingly part of a larger weapon.
He lightly wielded this short blade, his movements agile, swift, and fluid.
A bizarre shriek, originating from beyond the real universe, echoed in the void, like the synchronized cry of a Hydra.
And the short blade in his hand continuously flickered, as if constantly warping between the material universe and other dimensions.
In the blink of an eye, the Harlequins and Assassins pursuing Nessus let out wails of agony.
Fatal wounds appeared on their necks, but no blood flowed from them. The flesh itself at the wound showed no signs of tearing, but instead turned into a strange, oily smoke that dispersed into the air.
He took the opportunity to twist his body and disappear into the deeper streets, his entire body continuously glowing with a faint blue luster. His flesh, appearance, and physique constantly changed, as if he was about to transform into another person—
"What a splendid trick." However, at this moment, a mocking voice suddenly sounded from in front of Nessus.
A Harlequin, his face covered in thick greasepaint and dressed in the attire of a Harlequin troupe leader, appeared before him with a somersault.
"Harlequin Avatar." Nessus recognized the being before him.
"I am Cegorach." The Harlequin bowed gracefully to Nessus.
That was the Harlequin Avatar who played the Laughing God Cegorach in the Harlequin troupe, equivalent to the Aeldari Laughing God's avatar walking among mortals.
Then, a colder, more obscene, and blasphemous power slowly surged from behind Nessus.
It was another Harlequin, wearing a horned daemon mask and with a seductive and charming physique.
"I am Slaanesh!" She sang in a dazzling coloratura.
Dark Jester, who played Slaanesh in the troupe, stealing Slaanesh's power to walk among mortals.
Nessus slightly tightened his grip on the snake-fang short blade, gently lowering his body.
He believed he still had a chance to break through.
However, at this moment, a desolate, deathly, and destructive aura suddenly surged forth.
A Harlequin, naked from the waist up, with brown-painted skin, long hair, and a Mesopotamian-like face, emerged from his left.
"Selling hooks! Selling hooks! Sir, do you buy hooks?"