The Sister Superior's small prayer room.
There were several similar rooms throughout the Tex Cathedral, serving as offices for dozens of Sisters Superior. Yuki only knew the one who had first accepted him.
He had already completed his investigation into Sister Ax's private sale of the cathedral's charitable supplies. She was in league with black market traders outside and certain members within the church. If it were just one person, Yuki could have handled it quietly himself. But since it involved a group—including mid-level figures—he had to come here to ask.
"I see..."
Sister Superior Eli fell into a brief silence. "Have you told anyone else about this?"
Yuki rested his hand on the back of a chair. This question usually signaled an unfavorable turn of events; he was ready to clash with Eli at a moment's notice.
"No."
"That's good. If others found out, I'm not sure how I could protect you."
"Protect me?"
Yuki could guess what she meant, but it only fueled his irritation.
"Brother Yura, I know your heart is as pure as quartz, but we cannot survive on purity alone."
"Are you involved too?"
"I am not. But I cannot stop it either. As you know, the cathedral requires resources and funding to operate. Do not blame Sister Ax too harshly; she is also a person with ideals."
Yuki took a deep breath. "Fine."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"What else is there for me to say?" Finally, he asked, "Is Hopper involved?"
"She doesn't know."
As Yuki left Eli's room, he actually felt a sense of relief. He had almost started to believe the State Church was different from what he had imagined. After learning about the history of Tex Cathedral and witnessing their previous acts of kindness, Yuki had nearly convinced himself that they were all saints.
Now, he felt much more at ease. His previous efforts to do good in this cathedral seemed entirely unnecessary. In the world of Warhammer, aren't the people of the Underhive just consumables?
Yuki sat in the square in front of the cathedral, watching the passersby and the fully armed soldiers. He could only sigh.
"The person who created this world really ought to be forced to live in it."
"What's wrong? Disappointed?"
Yuno sat down beside him. In the hustle and bustle of the crowd, no one paid them any mind. Yuki remained silent.
"Don't feel so resentful about it! You and I both know that the differences between human factions are as vast as those between two different species." Yuno looked at the humans struggling to survive. "I really didn't want you to come here. if I ever find out who brought you, I will fight them to the death."
"I act according to my conscience. What others do, I am powerless to change."
"Don't belittle yourself, my love. Humans always possess surprising strength. For example, the Ultramarines—honestly, they've caused me quite a bit of trouble." Yuno began counting the things she knew. "And Dante, whom I'll face in the future. That old man actually managed to defeat a Swarmlord I was personally controlling. To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing."
Yuki noticed something strange. According to the timeline, the 13th Black Crusade hadn't begun yet. Cadia hadn't exploded, Guilliman hadn't awakened, and the Blood Angels likely didn't even know they'd have to fight the Devastation of Baal yet. But a Hive Mind that knew the future...
"What are you worried about? Don't worry, I'll follow the timeline and attack Baal."
"Why?"
"Because I'm stubborn. I don't believe that now that I know the plot, I still won't be able to take Baal! When that time comes, I'm going to focus all my energy on the military side!"
Will she win?
Yuki didn't know if he should hope for a different outcome. On one side was his race, and on the other was his girlfriend. Who could have imagined a day when their race and their partner would be at war?
"By then, I'll probably be gone anyway. We'll see."
"I actually hope that in the future, you'll be able to lead one of my tendrils. Those node-consciousnesses I split off aren't that independent..."
Yuno's loving words sent a shiver down Yuki's spine.
"But if you're unwilling, I won't force you. After all, with or without you, it's ultimately just a matter of attrition."
Yuki spent a long time in a daze, maintaining his vitals with meager amounts of normal food supplemented by corpse starch. The war between the Hive and the Genestealers continued. It was said that Death Cultists and Chaos worshippers had joined the fray.
The frequency of the cathedral's sermons increased. He chewed on the corpse starch, which had a strange, fishy smell. Yuno remained hidden in the underground pipes; she never told Yuki how she fed, and Yuki never asked. Both mature minds knew that some things were better left unsaid.
The number of refugees grew. More frontlines collapsed, and more troops arrived to suppress the chaos. Astral Militarum gear and weapons even appeared on the black market; Yuki bought one and gave it to Hopper.
The reclamation trucks came every day, collecting bodies from corners and alleys to transport them to the corpse processing plants. The corpse starch factory left behind by Heilai was no longer meeting demand, so excess raw materials were sent to even larger processing plants in the rear.
Yuki's daily routine consisted of helping the cathedral with odd jobs and occasionally clutching a scripture to preach the Emperor's grace to the people. In his spare time, he stayed with Yuno, chatting about Warhammer and the future, just as they used to.
Sometimes Yuki wondered: if this life could continue forever, would it be considered a good ending in the world of Warhammer? In this world, it wasn't rare for an Underhive rebellion to last over a hundred years.
Only when Yuki woke up startled in the middle of the night would he look outside. You couldn't see the sky here at all. He knew this was completely irrational—a normal world wasn't supposed to be like this—but what could he do? What could a bottom-tier transmigrator do, who relied on his non-human girlfriend just to stay alive?
He was powerless.
Unable to become a Space Marine, join the Adeptus Mechanicus, or become an Imperial Guard, the people of the Underhive were merely fuel for the fire.
On the thirty-second day of his arrival in the world of Warhammer, Hopper brought news.
"The Sisters of Battle are here!"
"What's so strange about that?"
"They're from the Order of the Bloody Rose! There are a thousand of them! The caliber of their flamethrowers is bigger than my fist!"
Dominions or Retributors?
Regardless, those who had arrived could be considered the core forces of the Battle Sisters.
"And those tanks! Heavens, I actually saw the Sisters of Battle! Can I fight alongside them?"
Let's hope things don't get that desperate.