"A bomb? A melta bomb?!"
Herod's eyes darted around. His first thought was no longer why Raul had managed to get a bomb, or why it had suddenly ended up in his hands at this moment.
These minor details were insignificant.
Right now, he only wanted to see the damned Kasjia blown to smithereens!
And this bomb was the only way to take him down with him!
"Good!"
His eyes were sinister and vile, his plan reckless and vicious.
A purple radiance flickered, and Herod's eyes filled with a madness brought on by jealousy.
At this moment, the focus of the crowd was on the stage; no one would notice the dirty deed in their hands.
The perfect time to strike!
Pushing through the crowd, Herod charged forward; reaching the front of the stage, he yanked the pin in his hand in an instant!
"Wh—"
In that single moment, Fulgrim, who was immersed in the crowd's admiration, finally noticed Herod's last-ditch effort.
She wanted to stop it.
But unfortunately, it was too late to plug the leak in the middle of the river.
Even if she was not afraid, the workers filling the venue and Kasjia beside her could not escape.
At the critical moment, she pushed her speed to its absolute limit, turned her back to the explosive, and pulled Kasjia into her embrace.
The once-noisy world fell silent in that instant.
BOOM.
The sound of an explosion echoed in the center of the crowded plaza.
The bomb detonated, as expected.
At such a close range, even with the protection of a Primarch, Kasjia could not escape the fate of certain death.
Could he?
Would this soon-to-be-wed couple be torn apart before their union could even take flight?
Would Fulgrim be left to feast on eternal loneliness atop the towers of Chemos?
Or perhaps...
...only the deepest, most painful tragedies are the ones that are truly savored, forever etched in the heart?
—NO!
The story would absolutely not end so carelessly!
Although the bomb had gone off, she felt no expected shockwave, only a few gasps from behind her.
Could it be—?
When she turned to look, what explosion was there?
Only the sound of party poppers and a gush of colorful streamers!
Multicolored ribbons fluttered down, adorning their formal attire.
Countless sparkling streamers, along with the thrill of surviving a near-death experience, instantly filled the entire upper fortress.
"This... this is impossible!"
And there in the center stood Herod, dazed, watching the party favors bloom in his hands.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
After a moment of silence, the people burst into loud laughter, mercilessly mocking the crestfallen clown.
So all of this was a scheme by Fulgrim and Kasjia!
To make this despicable, selfish noble add to their celebration with the party popper in his hands!
To not only kill the person but also attack their heart—what could be a more bone-deep humiliation than this?
Looking at the tightly embracing couple and the ashen-faced saboteur, the crowd once again erupted in thunderous cheers!
"YES!"
"Under the leadership of Fulgrim and Kasjia, we will all find salvation!"
But unnoticed by everyone, Raul, the follower who had been beside Herod, had vanished without a trace.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Kasjia struggled, breaking free from the chest of the still-recovering Fulgrim.
If he hadn't died in an explosion but had suffocated here instead, it would have been a truly absurd and comical play.
"Was this your plan?"
"To trick Herod with a fake bomb, making his retaliation a joke and his revenge a clown show?"
Fulgrim asked in disbelief.
Even in her own self-proclaimed perfect plan, she had never thought to add such a twist as a grand finale to push the atmosphere to its peak.
It seemed Kasjia could bring far more surprises than she had ever imagined.
"I don't know."
Kasjia's heart was also filled with confusion.
He had never possessed such a talent for deception, let alone the ability to create a perfect replica of a melta bomb with a party popper, especially with the lack of resources.
At this moment, he could only feel something foreign clutched in his hand.
—It was a crumpled clown's mask, which had appeared in his hand at some unknown point.
On it was a line of ornate, small text, written with a light and artistic flair:
My brother, my friend. Prithee remember: Only laughter can cure the poison of thirsty desire.
The carnival lasted for a long time.
The laughing crowds experienced the colors of the world for the first time.
Scrolls from noble houses, songs from the age of ancient legends, and a dazzling array of flowers from the upper greenhouses.
They flew into the eyes of ordinary people amidst a continuous stream of amazed gasps.
Like a bird imprisoned for many days finally breaking free from its cage, the people laughed freely, letting go of all inhibitions.
The people of Chemos had truly endured for too long, just to survive.
After the trial of Herod and the others was completed, they sat around the plaza, asking Fulgrim to explain the meaning of her proposal.
Yes, love. That was love.
But what was love?
Before, people like them had no time to care, to cherish others.
Looking at the puzzled crowd, Fulgrim, as if she had been waiting for this question for a long time, raised her left hand.
More accurately, the Sagittarius Golden Ring on her left hand.
"That's right, it's this Sagittarius Golden Ring."
"When we first met, he was still from the Sherlock family—"
"Sis! I'm begging you, don't—mmph!"
"Sorry, Kasjia... Kasjia is still a little shy, isn't he cute? Now, where were we?"
Fulgrim giggled, her tone full of pride.
"Oh right, he looked at me then and said solemnly: 'Wherever you may ride in the future, I will be by your side...'"
So that was the Sagittarius Golden Ring, that was the meaning of love.
After listening to Fulgrim's vivid retelling, the crowd looked at each other.
What a splendid and romantic story.
In their hearts, the meaning of the Sagittarius Golden Ring was now vastly different.
So, love was still allowed to exist in this world.
What about us?
Can we be the same as them?
After hearing Fulgrim's story, many impatient individuals began to exchange "Sagittarius rings" made of grass or screws.
Some were successful, and some were not.
The successful ones raised their heads in excitement, as if to announce their happiness to the world; the unsuccessful ones could only shake their heads with a bitter smile and leave with regret.
Laughter and anger, joy and sorrow, all became stories.
Whether successful or not, it was better than the numbness of not knowing why one lived.
For the first time, they understood the starry sky and themselves beneath it.
For the first time, they felt like they were living in the world.
The people of Chemos still had much to learn.
But fortunately, they still had time to reshape this world, bit by bit.
The carnival ended, and everyone had returned home.
Soon, the Kalliston Fortress would redistribute housing to ensure that every resident of Kalliston would have their own place to live in the future.
A beautiful future awaited everyone.
As for now, Fulgrim's hand held Kasjia's tightly, unwilling to let go for a moment.
Although the bomb hadn't exploded, a faint fear seemed to linger in her heart.
"Kasjia."
Seeing that the plaza was empty, she turned and whispered in his ear.
"What is it?"
"Praise me."
There it was again.
But there was nothing to be done about it; that was just Fulgrim's personality.
A Primarch who forever pursued perfection, forever longed for recognition.
Even for a small fortress like Kalliston, she needed it to submit to her from the bottom of its heart, to love and respect her as its flawless monarch.
If the liberation of Kalliston was not done perfectly, then it was still not perfect.
This was the greatest strength of Fulgrim and the Third Legion, and also the main reason for their future fall.
"Everyone today is praising this perfect performance. I'm afraid there's no need for me to add anything more."
"Mmm... but I only want to hear it from you."
"When the bomb was about to go off, I was so scared..."
Kasjia felt her nuzzle against his shoulder.
"...Please."
"Praise me."
Kasjia could only look helplessly at the soft woman leaning against him.
Damn it.
How can this woman be so cute?
"Ah! The great Fulgrim!"
"Your performance was sublime, your work a masterpiece; not even the most learned playwright could weave such magic with their words."
"Mmm," she hummed softly.
"Your wisdom is discerning, your swordsmanship divine; under your leadership, the people of Chemos will break free from their old shackles."
"Mmm... more, praise me more..."
Good girl, you're a very good girl who's great at performing opera, very thoughtful, very human, and very, very strong in a fight.
Kasjia, wracking his brain for words of praise, felt her hand gripping his tightly.
He felt her lingering fear.
Perhaps this unexploded bomb had served as a harsh wake-up call for Fulgrim, who was immersed in her own glory.
Of course, it wasn't just Fulgrim.
Kasjia also felt a sense of blame.
In the face of various crises, his participation was somewhat powerless.
Unlike Fulgrim.
His strength was far from matching his dreams.
He needed to work harder, much harder.
"New shoots sprout, green returns to the old land;"
"The villain's evil is exposed, the enemy's plot is thwarted."
Embracing the young woman, Kasjia was still worried:
The reclamation of Kalliston Fortress was a success, and the splendid opera was nearing its end.
However, the story would not end here.
Humming a cheerful little tune, a thin, tall clown in comical attire walked through the wind and sand outside the city.
"The purple and gold radiance returns to the world, the bell of truth rings out once more."
"The new leaders are ambitious, new ideals return to the old capital."
"A golden phoenix rises from holy fire, a purple phoenix descends in water."
"Will they repeat the mistakes of the past? Can they break the shackles of the cycle?"
"The great wave of time still roars, the twilight of Chemos has no beginning and no end."
His cheerful steps slowed to a halt. He tilted his head slightly, as if pondering how to compose the final verses for this performance.
"..."
"Sigh."
In the very, very end.
A sigh echoed in the wind.
[The Play: Kalliston]
[Curtain Fall]
-------
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