The third day.
This was the deadline set by Justice. Yuki had not yielded; in fact, he even spent the day engaging in a "game" with Yuno. After the couple finished their pleasant diversion, he finally asked Gake about the status of the library.
Gake had sent men to set up the library. Those sent for the initial task were killed by a second wave of assassins before they could report back, and those assassins were in turn killed by new ones. This cycle of bloodshed repeated several times before finally settling. Gake had personally killed the last group and was now here to report.
"Boss, the Inquisitor has looked through them," Gake said. "He took one book, and the rest were burned to ashes."
"Hmm, excellent. I was worried about what we'd do if he didn't take one."
Yuki's goal was simple: let the snipe and the clam fight so the fisherman could reap the rewards. He would reveal the truth of the Fallen to Inquisitor Justice, then let the Dark Angels know that Justice possessed this knowledge. As long as he remained hidden during this process, he could sit back and watch the Space Marines clash with the Inquisition. Even the Space Wolves hadn't come to blows with the Inquisition yet in this era; he wondered if the Dark Angels would do something even more interesting.
Neither side could afford to ignore this. The Dark Angels were obsessive about hunting the Fallen and guarding their Legion's secrets to the point of madness. If necessary, they would even storm the Imperial Palace and clash with the Custodes. Compared to the risk of an Inquisitor leaking the Legion's shame, a single Fallen like Hermit was suddenly secondary.
As for the Inquisitor, as the Imperial saying goes: "To know is to be guilty." The moment he learned the secrets of the First Legion, he was finished.
"Now, how do we let the Dark Angels know about this?" Yuki mused.
"No need. They already know," Yuno's voice echoed via psychic link.
"How do you know?"
"I'm watching them. The Dark Angels went there long ago. It's a stroke of luck; if things had gone slightly differently, your men would have been spotted."
Yuno remained calm. Yuki thought for a moment; this matter was bound to explode, and his priority was to distance himself as much as possible. His lips curled into a slight smile, and he sent a messenger to Justice: "Tell him that I, Yuki, have made a major xenos discovery and need him to come in person!"
Information traveled slowly in the Underhive, but Justice had provided Yuki with a dedicated communication channel, so the message reached him quickly.
"Dammit! That bastard actually refuses to see me in person now? Does he really think he can oppose me?" Justice was no longer the composed man he once was. He was facing a far more pressing issue, one so grave that even an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos had to put xenos affairs on the back burner.
Logic told him to bury this secret in his heart and never let anyone know. But his loyalty to the Emperor and his duty told him this could not be overlooked. The First Legion—and the current Dark Angels Chapter—did not follow the Codex Astartes and acted of their own accord. Their hunt for the Fallen could be viewed as heretical behavior. If not dealt with severely, it would eventually pose a greater threat to the Imperium.
"Tell Yuki to come see me... No, wait. Charlie, take the men. See what he has to say. If it's worthless, execute him on the spot." Justice didn't have time for games. He needed to resolve the issues on this planet quickly and return to Terra to report this personally to the Inquisition, the High Lords, and perhaps the Emperor himself. Until then, he had to keep the secret safe.
"Deploy the Arbites and the Astra Militarum. Purge the entire Underhive. Time is short and the task is heavy; I cannot linger here."
Two days later, unexpected news arrived. Charlie was dead, and the men with him had suffered gruesome ends. Their bodies were found in the Mid-level with several witnesses present. The witnesses claimed a tall figure in a black robe had killed them—punching Charlie's head into his chest cavity before gunning down the rest and fleeing.
Combined with the information he had just acquired, Justice had a suspicion. Could it be... the Dark Angels? Was the "library" a trap? Had they set it up to assassinate him? Space Marines and the Inquisition were often at odds, but why would they take such a risk to expose their own secrets to him?
...
Ansel needed more clues. The Inquisitor's fate was sealed, but many mysteries remained. Who had placed that "library"? Who was the mastermind, and why? Ansel suspected a scheme by Tzeentch designed to spark conflict between the Dark Angels and the Inquisition. The problem was that the Dark Angels had no choice but to engage; even knowing it was a trap, they had to hunt the Inquisitor.
Ansel needed more time to think. He had infiltrated the area where the Inquisitor was staying. It was a difficult place to hide, but the Order of the Dying Rose had been willing to assist without knowing the full details. He disguised himself as a devout believer and moved closer to the Inquisitor to gather intel and prepare for the assassination. Most importantly, he needed to find the Inquisitor's database.
If...
"Hello. May I have a moment of your time?"
Ansel turned to see two young women. One wore a lavish purple dress and held a violet-black parasol—elegant and poised, like a lady of a high house. The other was dressed simply, her eyes closed and scarred, clutching her cloak.
"What is it?"
"I was wondering," the woman in the purple dress said. "Are you a member of the Inner Circle of the Dark Angels Chapter?"
What?
This was Yuki's twisted sense of humor. The Inner Circle was a secret organization born alongside the Fallen, and was itself one of the First Legion's secrets. Ansel didn't know the reason behind the question, but the day's events had made him jumpy.
The First Legion has no secrets!
The moment he moved to strike, his left arm was snapped, and his mind was invaded by psychic power. Yuno's parasol spun slightly, spreading a psychic fragrance. Everyone within a several-kilometer radius suffered a cognitive blockage; nothing that happened here would be noticed.
Eleven spent about fifteen minutes making it look like Ansel had died after a fierce battle. Yuno was satisfied.
"In that case, let's see just how big this mess can get."