The Unyielding cruised past the wreckage of a Murder Class cruiser, steel fragments scraping against its armored belt, emitting a piercing noise.
All the enemy's attacking vessels had been reduced to dust in the void. The Imperial Navy and the Blood Angels, at the cost of only minor damage to some of their ships, annihilated the entire Khorne fleet.
"Finally, we've taken care of these amateurish scum." Commodore Peru took a warm, damp towel from his orderly and spread it over his hands, wiping the sweat from his face and neck.
He removed his soft silk scarf, which was so soaked it could be wrung out.
"Now, it's time for our triumphal return. This battle has thrown us off course so much we're almost at Talakanis! It's utterly ridiculous. Let's search for any unfortunate survivors who flew into the void, and then see if there's anything good in the wreckage."
"Understood, Captain."
"Alright, Gentlemen, it's time for us to rest. This has been quite exhausting."
The Captain looked at the orderly and said, "Go prepare the Captain's office. The Gentlemen and ladies need a good rest before we return."
—
Aboard the Blood Angels' battle barge, the vengeance blade.
Inside the opulent Blood Drinker's lounge.
"Are you sure?" Captain Afiel, elegantly sipped a cup of Kalash wine mixed with fresh blood.
Seated before him were the Blood Angels Second Company Holy Blood Priest, the Second Company's Holy Blood Priest, who was also the company's Apothecary.
Also present was Roman Roland, still blindfolded, and a dozen veteran soldiers in golden helmets who had participated in the battle at the Church of the Celestial Woman.
"We did indeed see an angel in golden armor and a golden mask above the young officer's head," the veteran Sergeant solemnly stated.
The Holy Blood Priest, who was examining Roman Roland for the bloodletter, paused his movements upon hearing this.
"Brother Company Commander, I suggest reporting this immediately to Lord Dante. He might very well be a Holy Blood Transmitter," the Priest whispered to the Company Commander.
This was one of the Blood Angels battle group's secrets, and precisely why Voltaire, the Priest, only uttered such an obscure and difficult-to-understand term.
Many Blood Angel veterans who had served for centuries didn't know what it meant.
But Aphael, as a Company Commander and Watch Master, had one of his duties to discover and report Holy Blood Transmitters.
It is said that every 13-year cycle of St. Giles Festival, under the blessings and prayers of all Imperial citizens, the fragments of The Ninth Legion's Gene-father in Immaterium will emit a glow due to the power of faith.
Under the illumination of this glow, Sanguinius's soul fragments will reveal a prophecy to a Blood Angels Librarian.
The prophecy can be significant or minor, perhaps a battle, a large-scale enemy raid, or a major event.
Its information is relatively important to the Blood Angels battle group, having helped them reduce many casualties on several occasions.
At the same time, within the vast expanse of the Imperium, nine individuals will appear, manifesting the miracle of an angel's descent on that day.
These individuals upon whom miracles descend are collectively referred to as Holy Blood Transmitters.
They could be mortals, descendants of Sanguinius, or even a Chapter Master.
It is precisely due to the existence of Holy Blood Transmitters that one important mission bestowed upon the mysterious Blood Angels battle group Librarians is:
To ascertain the prophecy, and then to remotely gaze upon these blessed individuals through the power of the Warp, monitoring their situations in real-time.
In each prophecy, among the nine chosen individuals.
Only the last survivor will become the angel's choice, the key to ultimately reversing the prophecy's disaster.
This process may take decades or even centuries to produce the angel's final choice.
The Blood Angel must not interfere with the fate of any of them.
Otherwise, the ultimate Holy Blood Transmitter cannot be screened.
Then the entire prophecy will become irreversible, just like Sanguinius's sacrifice aboard the Vengeful Spirit.
When destiny selects the final chosen one.
The elite of the Blood Angels battle group will spare no effort to protect his life before he fulfills the mission bestowed upon him by the golden-armored angel, even if it means sacrificing themselves.
This is also a hidden duty of all Watch Master of the Blood Angels battle group.
"Please send for Brother Messenger Officer."
"As you wish, Brother Company Commander."
Captain Afiel, looked at Roman Roland, then turned his gaze to the Holy Blood Priest and Holy Blood Priestess who were examining him.
"How is Roman Roland?"
"He's blind," the Priest said, extracting Roman Roland's blood and dripping it into a golden chalice.
Soon, a faint, rippling black-red appeared in the chalice.
"It is indeed the Black Rage, and it has not fully receded. It is not like Lord Mepheston, who has controlled the power of darkness."
"But I can sense something! I still have my sanity!" Roman Roland exclaimed excitedly.
He did not want to leave his beloved Blood Angels Second Company, to be locked away in the Black Tower, living a life of perpetual confinement.
"Voltaire, the Priest, what is your suggestion?" Captain Afiel, asked with a solemn expression.
As a battle group chaplain of his own company, he also did not want his brother to be painted black, marked with two red crosses, and transformed into a suicide squad to charge into battle.
The Priest was silent for a moment.
"Brother Company Commander, the bloodletter is inherently innocent.
I believe only Lord Mepheston, who has overcome the Black Rage, or the Chief battle group chaplain, has the authority to decide this matter," Voltaire, the Priest, intoned.
Soon, a tall Messenger Officer walked over.
His power armor was an unusual blue, with only the shoulder pads being red.
At first glance, it bore some resemblance to the Ultramarines battle group's cousins.
But this was the exclusive color scheme of the Blood Angels battle group's Librarians.
The armor came with heavy psychic equipment, looking like Terminator Power Armor.
An Epistolary is a member of an Astartes battle group's Librarian team, with only one in each Blood Angels company.
They are the only ones in each company with the authority to directly contact the Chief Librarian or the Chapter Master to transmit confidential information, and they are also outstanding veterans who have seen much combat.
Because they are psykers, they usually live and work in a sealed, dark chamber with a psychic field, their skin paler than anyone else's.
He is also responsible, along with another Librarian of lower rank, a Scriptor (Librarian novice), for managing the entire company and the archives on the entire warship.
battle group chaplain and Company Commanders rarely disturb their work, unless there is a special situation like today.
The tall Messenger Officer's head was covered with neural implants, so dense they even resembled the Butcher's Nails on a World Eater's head.
But these are merely psychic regulators, tools used to assist him in controlling the power of the Warp and operating psychic equipment.
Captain Afiel, decided to leave professional matters to professionals.
The veterans recounted their experiences and observations from the battle at the Church of the Celestial Woman to the Messenger Officer verbatim.
The tall Astartes psyker was silent for a moment.
"You were not mistaken, Brother Company Commander, Brother Priest. This is indeed a Holy Blood Transmitter. Everyone, please come with me to the Astropathic Chamber," the Messenger Officer said in a magnetic, ethereal voice.
The power of the Warp distorted his voice, but this was normal for Librarians.
The Blood Angel walked into a vast chamber within the spacious flagship, resembling a cathedral.
This place was usually off-limits to idle individuals, and the same applied to the battle group chaplain.
Only at important moments, led by the Messenger Officer, would the Blood Angel step into this mysterious place filled with the mighty power of the Warp.
The Messenger Officer inserted the neural implants from his head into an Astropathic Communicator.
Soon, his entire body began to tremble, and his eyes glowed with an eerie blue-violet, tinged with gold.
Whoosh—
Above the instrument, a Warp rift seemed to tear open, slowly expanding into a black-purple oval, like a magic mirror.