Hao Xuan was standing to the left of the soldiers, watching everything quietly. When the Grandmaster spoke up, his eyes widened and he fell to his knees.
The temple and everything inside it shuddered from the overwhelming pressure from the grandmaster's voice and somehow Hao Xuan was able to feel it as well, although just a small part of it.
The demons that were grinning and laughing a moment ago turned mute. Their expressions turned solemn as soon as they realized what had happened.
"You dare set a trap? For us?" the first demon asked, unsure.
From what they knew, every able-bodied warrior had already left the system. The only ones still here were the women, children, and the disabled, none of which could be a threat to them. Only these few warriors that had returned from the battle were the planet's main fighting force.
They had even sent away all planetary defense forces because they did not believe someone would dare attack the homeworld of one of their precious patriarchs.
The demon became agitated. How could this be true? Did he truly sacrifice more than a billion souls just to lure them in here? Why? For what purpose?!
The Grandmaster remained silent. A weak murmur could be heard coming from his helmet that concealed his face. It seemed like he was in the middle of prayer and only stopped after finishing all the way.
He stood up, revealing a silver hammer embroidered with various depictions of the sun sitting in front of him. The hammer was almost as big as his body which towered over even the demons that were at least 2 meters tall.
The demons took a step back in unison. The Grandmaster did not attack. He was staring at the statue on the throne, his eyes wet from nostalgia.
"Tell me, filth, how long have you served your God? Was it after the traitors revealed themselves?" the grandmaster spoke again, this time no supernatural events followed.
The demon although still nervous, refused to believe its situation.
'He must be lying!' it thought.
It nodded arrogantly, "I have served the Demon Princes after they left the confines of your puny empire and threw away with the shackles of mortality. It has been five hundred years!" it said proudly.
As soon as it finished talking a pressure descended onto the room, but it did little to the last three soldiers on the planet.
The Grandmaster nodded as well, "I thought as much. The older ones rarely ever leave their worlds, cowards even after attaining so-called immortality..."
The demon wanted to rebuke but the Grandmaster did not give him the opportunity. His gaze was fixed on the statue's face that probably did not even exist.
"Do you know, demonkin? Of the Majesty of my Emperor? Of the one we follow, and the one your Demon Princes followed too?" the Grandmaster recalled the events of a distant past.
"Before he came, we were nothing. The galaxy was shrouded in darkness. We did not even have the right to breathe back then. But his appearance was the answer to all of our prayers. He fought with those that called themselves the 'Masters' of our fate, and freed us."
"He created armies the likes of which were never seen before. He taught us to fight, to know what freedom truly is, and in exchange we accepted all that he was."
"His mighty legions swept the galaxy like the force of nature they were. Worlds trembled upon his arrival! The heretics, the traitors, and the naysayers, all fell to his blade!"
"Accompanied by his sons, it was he who created a place for us in this harsh and unforgiving world, and all he asked in return was loyalty, and sometimes not even that..."
His voice lowered for a moment as if contemplating something profound.
"When the word of his arrival would come, even your 'gods' pulled back, such was his Majesty!" but not a moment later it was back to its original fervor.
"When the Emperor walked among us, how many of your kind died by his hands? A mere drop in the ever-growing ocean of blood compared to what has been sacrificed today. But the lives of every individual that "chose" to stay here even after knowing what was to come, they will be remembered for all of eternity!"
The demons who were listening with a mix of curiosity and facetious concern suddenly turned serious again.
"SO YOU DID-" the first demon tried to interject but was cut off again.
"Indeed," the Grandmaster nodded, "My only regret is that I only have one life to offer. But at least I can rest easy knowing that when the Emperor rises for the final time, the ones you call Gods will face the inevitable end of their immortal lives!"
"That is the difference between us, demon filth. You can kill for your God, but I will die for mine! Whose faith do you think will come out on top?!"
The demons did not delay any longer and turned around, fleeing as fast they could.
The Grandmaster looked to his left and right, towards the two soldiers that were standing there, "You can rest easy, my sons. Your foolish father will take it from here," he said waving his hand.
The soldiers fell to their knees, blood gushing out of their armor.
The Grandmaster turned around to face the statue, bowing one final time.
"The 19th Grandmaster of the 'Chapter of the White Sun' bids farewell to the Immortal Emperor. May your majesty rest easy knowing that the system fell long before the guard did. We did not bring shame to our ancestor, to your most beloved of the sons!"
By the end his voice was so loud that the temple's walls started to crumble, even the mountain itself was starting to tear apart.
He picked up the silver hammer and swung it down onto the ground.. A flash of light blinded Hao Xuan and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in his body plummeting through the air.