"Ngh!"
Yuki was severely injured. His torso was riddled with dozens of puncture wounds, his left arm had been sliced off, and the flesh on the right side of his face had been torn away. His dagger was shattered, leaving only his legs temporarily intact.
However, the Lictor's condition was equally dire. Yuki had smashed several of its spikes and torn off its pair of scythe-talons. In the critical moment, it activated its optical camouflage.
Yuki's vision was already heavily impaired by his injuries, making him feel even more powerless against the Lictor's near-perfect invisibility. Yuno offered no hints. She could provide Yuki with a more powerful body, but combat experience was something he had to earn himself. Furthermore, watching Yuki struggle so bitterly stirred an inexplicable excitement within her.
"Dammit."
The bleeding had stopped. Yuki now possessed regenerative capabilities rivaling those of the Death Guard, but it still wasn't enough. Even a severely wounded Lictor was capable of killing a Space Marine. He had to seize the moment.
The air shifted. In that same instant, Yuki lunged to the side and grabbed the Lictor. It seemed absurd, yet it was reality; relying on a final burst of explosive power, a human with a frame far smaller than the Lictor's had caught it.
The optical camouflage flickered out. Yuki had only one weapon left. Without hesitation, he bit down hard on the Lictor's throat.
Teeth and chitin shattered together. Yuki used a jagged shard of his own broken bone to impale the Lictor's neck.
"Kh!"
The Lictor thrashed violently, tearing away Yuki's left arm entirely, but this was its final act of resistance. Yuki gasped for air, his lungs burning. He needed food. Every cell in his body was screaming for sustenance. As things stood, there was only one thing available to eat.
He couldn't afford to fall into a near-death state again!
He tore into the Lictor's chitinous shell. What should have been indestructible felt crisp and delicious the moment Yuki secreted a specialized fluid. The Tyranids practiced a form of recycling as well; Yuki was simply skipping the step of entering a digestion pool.
Yuno did not stop him. It was a primal instinct of life for the victor to enjoy the spoils. Yuno herself was the most extreme manifestation of life's essence.
Yuki's body began to recover. Chitin started to grow over his flesh. Logically, this should have been revolting food, yet Yuki found it exceptionally tasty. More and more, the Lictor's body grew smaller.
Finally, the Lictor was consumed entirely. Yuki's body underwent strange changes. His severed limbs regrew, but they were no longer human parts—they resembled Tyranid appendages. He now looked like a monster, half-Tyranid and half-human.
"This... this is..."
Through the pool of blood on the floor, he saw his current reflection. A strange sensation welled up within him. Could I actually possess such a cool combat form?
The flesh twisted, the Tyranid features retracted, and his body returned to its original state. Yuno placed her hand on Yuki's shoulder, her tone unusually gentle.
"I knew you could do it, Yuki. Now, you've gained the ability to evolve through consumption."
Evolve...
Yuki looked at his hand. Following his thoughts, the palm began to turn translucent. Optical camouflage—the biological ability of the Lictor—had been absorbed by him.
"Hmm. In that case, maybe next time I can create some Spore Mines. Don't you think the ability to self-detonate is super cool?"
"Self-detonate? Let's wait a bit on that. I need to rest now."
Yuno guided Yuki's head to rest on her lap. She looked down at his face, her hair brushing against his cheeks.
"Looking at it this way, your face isn't exactly small, Yuno."
"Just rest."
...
One year later.
The gang wars in the Underhive had caused nearly a million casualties. For the Mid-spire and Hive City, however, this was still not worth their attention. But for the millions of residents in the Underhive, it was a matter of monumental importance.
The alliance of three gangs—the Yuki Gang, the Raziel Brotherhood, and the Iron Face Legion—now firmly controlled territory inhabited by tens of millions of people. Including areas with looser control, their reach extended to nearly a hundred million. With hundreds of factories and even more workshops, it was effectively a small kingdom in the Underhive.
The people of the Hive City finally cast a glance toward the Underhive: they demanded the three leaders pay taxes.
Looking at the list sent by the Planetary Administrative Department, Yuki couldn't help but lose his composure. There was the Imperial Tithe, the Planetary Tithe, transportation losses, "voluntary" donations to the Ecclesiarchy, "copyright" taxes for the Adeptus Mechanicus, and various other miscellaneous fees.
Totaled together, it came to nearly sixty percent. Sixty percent, with the addition of previously unpaid taxes and no tax exemptions. The Planetary Administration truly treated people like objects.
However, Yuki had ways to deal with this.
"Tell the Genestealers to clean things up. Also, reduce productivity across all factories. Our actual harvest needs to be fifty percent higher than what we report."
Yuki assigned tasks to his subordinates. The number of employees able to reside permanently at the processing plant stronghold had also increased. These were literate individuals capable of handling administrative trifles.
"Boss, Steff and her sisters are leaving. Aren't you going to see them off?"
"Oh? They've finished packing?"
Although Steff could be thick-headed at times, she was much better than the typical Battle Sister he had imagined. The Battle Sisters' stronghold had been converted into a semi-permanent barracks; only within that perimeter would they ever remove their armor.
Today was different. The Battle Sisters had polished their armor clean and oiled their weapons while offering prayers. Having organized their gear, they donned their black robes, looking exactly as they had when they first arrived.
"Yuki, thank you for looking after us during this time."
"I should be the one thanking you. Regular military forces are truly on a different level."
Both could tell the other wasn't offering empty flattery; these were sincere words.
"To be honest, when Bishop Griffith gave me this mission, I approached it with an attitude of contempt. But looking back, I was too naive then."
"Naivety is a necessary step on the path to maturity."
"You've done well here. You will inevitably intervene in the struggles of the upper levels in the future. I hope that when that time comes, you will still stand on the side of the Ecclesiarchy."
Yuki did not answer the question. "Steff, everyone has their own path. No one can say for sure what the future looks like."
Steff's expression suddenly became grave. "Yuki, I don't like saying these things, but... if one day I stray from my current path, I ask you to punish me on the Emperor's behalf without troubling Him. Naturally, if I find one day that you have become an enemy of the Imperium, I will grant you release as well."
Yuki smiled. This was merely a small bit of amusement amidst the coming crisis.
"Naturally. We shall see when that day comes."