Chapter 44: Do You Like to Put on a Tough Front?

"Hmph, foolish monkeys."

The Archon, now reduced to a torso-less stump, watched the praying Space Marines and Battle Sisters with a contemptuous mutter in the Aeldari tongue.

The gazes of Cawl and Romulus quickly converged upon him.

Romulus's expression grew dangerous. He had been momentarily interrupted by the sudden outburst of religious fervor and was wondering what to do next, only to suddenly remember they still had a prisoner.

Trying to make his presence felt right here and now, were they?

Of course he understood what the Archon was mocking.

The past history of the Aeldari over a certain period bore a chilling resemblance to the current Imperium of Man.

In ancient times, the Aeldari were unimaginably powerful. Nearly infinite lifespans and technology inherited from the Old Ones made them the undisputed masters of the galaxy for a very long time.

As everyone knows, idleness breeds trouble.

This axiom applied equally to the Aeldari.

Having liberated themselves from labor and lacking any real competitors, the Aeldari began to pursue sensory stimulation. Believing themselves entirely immune to mortal consequences, they degenerated into increasingly depraved and wicked lifestyles.

The countless extreme emotions generated by this process eventually birthed Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, directly causing the collapse of the Aeldari Empire and fracturing them into the three main surviving factions currently gasping for breath on the brink of extinction.

Did this scene not look strikingly similar to the present Imperium of Man?

Ruling the vast majority of the galaxy, yet equally ossified and decadent.

The only difference was that the Aeldari indulged in hedonism out of boredom, while humanity turned to fanatical extremism out of a desperate struggle for survival.

Therefore, in the eyes of the vast majority of Aeldari who understood humanity, the current Emperor was essentially the equivalent of Slaanesh.

And the humans who worshipped the Emperor were, in their view, no different from the Aeldari who worshipped Slaanesh—the very definition of absolute idiocy.

Yet, what right did an Aeldari have to sit here whining and sneering?

It was one thing for their own group to badmouth the Emperor and the Imperium; the Emperor being anthropomorphized and the Imperium being a pile of garbage was common knowledge.

Did creatures who spawned Slaanesh and refused to show even a shred of remorse actually have the gall to put on airs?

"..."

Romulus and Cawl exchanged a fleeting glance, both clearly aware that the other understood the Aeldari language.

Neither of them looked like strangers to dealing with the Aeldari.

Both thought simultaneously.

Romulus had every reason to believe the Archmagos knew how to interrogate an Aeldari, but he had simply chosen not to say. Or rather, the moment the Drukhari boarded the ship, maintaining stability had been his primary objective.

Cawl then took half a step back, gesturing that the disposal and handling of the xenos would be left to them.

"This is your bounty," Cawl stated.

"Mm."

Romulus nodded, turning his gaze to the Archon, who was now utterly unrecognizable, fastened to a coffin of adamantium.

To prevent the Archon from committing suicide, the Carcharodons' Apothecary had immediately conducted a thorough examination—though, being treatment meant for a xenos, the Apothecary's methods could hardly be described as gentle.

"Heh, if you have anything to ask, go ahead and spit it out."

The Archon raised his head, his eyes sweeping across the group with a sinister malice, burning the faces of these monkeys deep into his soul.

The Archon swore he would repay today's humiliation tenfold.

One day, he would add these monkeys to his private collection, torture them with the most horrific torments imaginable, and then toss them to the Haemonculi to be converted into Pain Engines.

"And will you tell the truth?"

"What do you think?"

"I think not. You lot are always fond of weaving intricate webs of conspiracy, never uttering a single honest word. I suspect some necessary measures will be required."

"Oh, perhaps if you beg for mercy right now, I might consider sending you an invitation when the time comes to finally take your life."

The Battle Sisters and Astartes present glared at the xenos with unconcealed fury, wishing they could hack him into a thousand pieces.

Such blatant insults directed at a holy figure pushed everyone's anger to the absolute limit.

"Heh."

Even now, fallen into enemy hands and stripped of all means of resistance, the Archon showed not a single ounce of the submissiveness expected of a prisoner.

His gaze remained disdainful, devoid of any panic or despair. He glanced briefly at the black box imprisoning his underling, and then proceeded to greet each and every person present with the foulest profanities imaginable within his cognitive lexicon.

He had once endured three desolate, dark years in the captivity of a Haemonculus, until his very soul was on the verge of draining away, forcing that unyielding Haemonculus to finally honor their pact and release him.

The Archon refused to believe that these monkeys, who had never even grazed the outer limits of sentient perception, could force him to speak through mere torture.

The Apothecary, growing weary, muffled the Archon's mouth upon Tyberos's silent command.

As for the Heretic Astartes, watching the desperately defiant Archon only felt comical.

Literally comical.

The mere thought that this stubborn creature, regardless of what horrific tortures were inflicted upon him moments later, would soon be weeping hysterically and disgorging every piece of information trapped inside his brain, filled them with amusement.

Compared to the vast majority of Imperial citizens who felt utterly helpless when faced with Drukhari, these transhumans had plenty of ways to handle them.

"Inquisitor Aglaia," spoke Ramses, the team's Librarian.

"My lord!"

Aglaia quickly straightened her posture, though she was somewhat puzzled as to why he was addressing her first.

Her own interrogation attempt had been quite humiliating, yielding zero results while getting her ambushed in return. Thus, upon seeing the captured Archon, she had forcefully suppressed her surging emotions, intending to let Romulus and the others handle him first.

"I am told that across various civilized worlds of the Imperium, upper-crust nobility frequently fall prey to an exotic heresy known as the Cult of Pleasure, characterized by collective, unrestrained debauchery and hedonism?"

Aglaia did not deliberately study daemons, fully aware of the consequences of sinking too deeply into the Warp; nevertheless, she was well aware of pleasure cults—heretical faiths that frequently erupted within the higher echelons of the Imperium.

After all, one could hardly study Imperial history without brushing shoulders with Chaos.

The Horus Heresy research project Aglaia had recently been undertaking was intimately tied to Chaos through the Primarch's betrayal.

"Correct."

Uncertain as to why Ramses was raising this question, and after confirming that everyone present possessed the clearance to hear such forbidden knowledge, Aglaia paused for a fraction of a second before answering in the affirmative.

"According to recorded archives, these types of cults are notoriously difficult to detect, usually only surfacing in the Inquisitor's field of vision after a full-scale demonic outbreak has already occurred?"

Ramses maintained the demeanor of an earnest seeker of truth.

Aglaia acutely caught a subtle shift in the atmosphere. She raised her eyes to meet the Archon's gaze, only to notice that the intense, defiant mockery in those alien eyes had suddenly been replaced by a flash of deeply buried, profound terror.

"Yes. Because these heretics typically embed themselves deep within the ruling elite, even the Inquisition cannot investigate them without due cause. Furthermore, their immense power allows them to effectively conceal their heretical activities, until such cults ultimately fester and erupt into catastrophic disasters," she immediately replied in cooperation.