Since Raziel's death, Iron-Face had not been in contact with Yuki for a long time.
She didn't know the specifics; from her perspective, Raziel had simply overdosed on drugs one day and led his men on a suicidal charge into Yuki's territory, only to be kicked to death by Yuki himself. The balance of power she had tried to maintain between the three gangs was instantly shattered. With her own strength, resisting Yuki was a delusional fantasy.
However, if a more powerful force assisted her, that would be a different story.
"What has the Yuki Gang been up to lately?"
Justice sat behind the desk that originally belonged to Iron-Face. To these Underhive dwellers, the status of an Inquisitor was supreme. Iron-Face had chosen to submit without much hesitation.
For Justice, the thoughts and feelings of these low-lifes were irrelevant. He was an Inquisitor of the God-Emperor, a righteous executioner. The only thing that could stop him from performing his duties was the unknown enemy hidden behind the target. Yuki still held secrets; he and his woman were definitely not as simple as the current investigation suggested. Were they xenos, heretics, or daemons? Before clarifying this, Justice would continue to interact with Yuki.
"Recently—yesterday, to be precise—a library appeared in my territory," Iron-Face reported. "I don't know who set it up. It appeared suddenly, and I've already ordered men to guard it strictly."
A suddenly appearing library. Such a description sounded like the work of Chaos. It wasn't surprising; the Underhive could contain almost anything, and a Chaos library was trivial.
"Is there anything inside?"
"None of us dared to look. We were afraid... of corruption."
"A wise choice. You lot can rarely handle matters of such complexity and depth. They should be left to me."
Justice arrived at the site. The so-called "library" was actually a small, exquisitely decorated stall that had appeared out of nowhere. It was unattended, with several books laid out upon it.
"Where are the guards you arranged, Iron-Face? My men don't see anyone here."
"This... I'm not sure. I did assign men to stay here."
"Idiot. Regardless, you should have set up a patrol rotation. Forget it. Charlie, go and check if there's any danger."
The man named Charlie was a former Guardsman who had served on Catachan. After surviving that monster of a planet, he had been scouted by Justice and now served as his personal bodyguard. With his experience, he could easily judge the safety of an environment. It was said his individual combat capability was extremely high, having once escaped single-handedly from a squad of Chaos Space Marines.
Although Justice could request support from the Deathwatch, their duties were heavy. They would not arrive until a major xenos threat was confirmed.
"Report: no danger found! This appears to be an ordinary book stall."
Justice did not let down his guard as he and his escort approached. His relationship with the Officio Assassinorum was terrible, so requesting their support was unrealistic. His greatest asset was his self-made "Justice Assassin," a crude imitation of a Vindicare Assassin. After confirming his assassin was protecting him from a distance, Justice stood before the library.
The books had black covers. Upon opening them, he found they were written in High Gothic.
"This..."
Justice's pupils dilated. What was written there was a hidden history regarding the Emperor's Angels of Death—the Dark Angels Chapter. It was a secret of betrayal, a story spanning over ten thousand years.
In an instant, he realized exactly what kind of secret he had just learned. This secret was enough to destroy the honor and mysteries of a First Founding Chapter. He had best bury this secret in his heart; he could never let anyone know he possessed this knowledge. Anyone else who had seen these books had to be killed!
Suddenly, the Justice Assassin sent a warning to his master: "Someone is observing from the shadows."
...
Ansel had been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of personally investigating the strange library. The leader of the Fallen hunting squad was a Dark Angel Chaplain; this team had temporarily detached themselves from a distant battlefield to fulfill the Legion's ten-thousand-year goal.
However, something even more terrifying had surfaced. A library appearing in the Underhive that actually recorded that sinful, damned word: Fallen.
Ansel hoped it was just a coincidence—perhaps an ancient myth, a legendary novel about the struggle between angels and fallen angels, and not the same concept he and his Battle-Brothers pursued.
When his Battle-Brothers finished clearing the people around the "library" and he could devote himself fully to the investigation, his heart felt incredibly heavy. Opening the black book, Ansel used the High Gothic he had spent years learning—the reason he was chosen to read this.
"The Dark Angels Legion, the First Legion...
"One of the oldest Legions, once aided the Custodes in purging the Thunder Warriors. Their Primarch was Lion El'Jonson..."
This was the Legion's history, much of which even Ansel had never heard. When the records reached the end of the Great Crusade, both of his hearts skipped a beat simultaneously.
"Lion's homeworld, Caliban, and the Dark Angels stationed there launched a rebellion. The Legion finally split. The Dark Angels were no longer the most loyal Legion. The existence of the Fallen became a secret the First Legion had to keep at all costs."
Ansel raised his hand, making a gesture for maximum alert. The squad assembled.
The Chaplain decided to report this to the Legion while simultaneously destroying the "library" and finding out who had built this place. Furthermore, they had to investigate everyone who had looked at this library. The contents could not be allowed to leak. This would become one of the most important matters within the Legion. Anyone who dared associate with the Fallen would be judged by the Dark Angels and forced to repent!
"Report! Someone is coming. It's that Inquisitor."
The Dark Angels felt something was wrong. They had a sense of being manipulated, as if they were caught in a massive web. Everyone vaguely sensed what would happen next. Ansel watched as the Inquisitor entered the library, picked up a book, and showed a subtle change in expression upon reading it.
"Disastrous."
"If we clash with the Inquisition..."
"The Inquisition cannot stop our mission."
All the Dark Angels knew that regardless of who the mastermind was, they were now embroiled in this mess.
"Follow this Inquisitor. Find an opportunity to eliminate him. Conceal our tracks as much as possible."