40K x AOT: Warden of Sorrows

3 days had gone by with Cloudius showing no signs of fatigue or slowing down in his purge of the abominable titans. During this time he noted that more and more settlements began to appare the further he ventured.

He knew he was getting close. However, his mind was elsewhere. The equipment bestowed upon him by the Emperor were sacred items. Not just because of the demon warding inscribings written and placed onto the gear, but also because they were the most advanced weaponry produced by the empire.

As of now, for nearly a week he had moved around in armor with layer upon layer of dried blood. It was unsightly and blasphemous to not keep the power armor in an unkept state.

The armor didn't just represent the chapter he hailed from, but also the purity of his mission and purpose. He longed to find some source of water to scrub his armor and wepons clean; he longed to see the gleaming armor he once wore.

This inadequacy had put him in an extremely sour mood, violently killing every titan he crossed, making them suffer unnecessarily.

'Brother Argentus was right, it always helps to keep some water in our power packs. Instead I opted for extra ammunition and talismans.' He mentally cursed himself.

Taking one more scan of the area with the ai installed in his helmet, a settlement was located up ahead. A fort of some kind, but this one housed life.

He found himself treading over and hill and as he made it to the top, he was astounded by the fact it was still operational and had living humans working within it.

Silently, he stared at the fort. A small and pitiful one by his standards.

'I am a Grey Knight. I do my work in secrecy. I expect no valor, no honor, no recognition and no reward. Our existence is to be as if we dont existence at all.' He found himself questioning if he should kill them as they always did to civilians that saw them.

However, these are warriors. Arming and protecting a fort from a very formidable threat to them. Their small and weak bodies were knowingly fighting behemoths, they are no citizens, but warriors.

He will treat them as such.

Without a word and without moving from his position he spoke to them through their minds.

{Hear me, I have come to purge this world of its demons and abominations. Present me to your leader and ready yourselves to take charge in a direct assult on the vile creatures that roam these lands. Equip your gear, steele your hearts and say your prayers, for today may very well be your last.}

He watched as the occupants of the fortress scurried around in a panic, front searching for the origin of the voice they all heard without hearing a thing.

{I shall be upon you shortly. In that time, prepare your captain to greet me at your doorstep as you would a friend.}

Finishing his message he moved himself and descended down the hill. As he got closer, the scouts atop towers watched him through binoculars and a force of 20 began to gather atop the walls.

With their blades drawn and at the ready, Cloudius applauded them for their guts. They watched as something that could only be described as a war machine marched towards their location. Covered from head to toe in a dark red color, a glowing blue visor menacingly raised towards their position and a huge wepon of unknown origin in its hand.

With a distance of only a yard separating them, Cloudius stopped and continued to look upon the residents of the fortress.

"Do you fear me?" He asked, the augmented voice from the helmet doing well to install greater fear.

Receiving no answer, he took his helmet off and stored his wepon. His sharp eyes carved into the soldiers, some quivering at his sheer presence.

"Y-YOU, STATE YouR BUISNESS!!" A short haired man ordered in a gailed attempt at intimidation.

Aside from the crack in his voice, Cloudius could see the man was trying to take charge in their exchange. However, a certain degree of respect was expected from them as aell.

"Lower your tone and rest your wepons. I come as ally not enemy. You have no hopes of besting me in combat. I will only exchange words with the leader of your group. Would I be right in assuming that is you?" Cloudius replied with a strong voice.

"I-"

He interrupted the man swiftly.

"I won't continue to look up at you and I won't continue to be looked down upon. Come down and speak with me face to face; as a soldier should." He demanded in a serious tone.

After a second of silence, the soldiers sheathed their blades an in unison they leaped off the wall. Before landing they turned and fired a grappling stake into the wall and used the wire to descend onto the ground.

They marched up to the space marine and the perturbed look on their faces grew in intensity as they were only a few feet away from him.

His size. His weaponry. His aura. It became all too clear they were in the presence of something greater than human. Something that was possibly more inhuman than the titans themselves.

They looked up at the towering figure in awe and anxiety.

"Now, as I stated before, I am friend not foe. I have come to gather you for a direct assult on the creatures that violent your world. As I traveled, I noticed you all have been fighting tirelessly against these monsters. I have come to save you all and fulfill my sacred duties."

As he spoke, their anxiety lessoned, but wasn't completely extinguished.

However, now was the time to be a leader.

Clearing his throat, the captain spoke with a voice fitting of a soldier. He straightened his posture and put his right fist to his heart, his left behind his back and his soldiers followed.

"Joshua Rowling, Captain of the 18th Survey Corps Brigade! It is our mission to explore titan infested areas outside of the wall and secure areas to create a new frontier for the nation of Eldia and and all of mankind!"

Cloudius looked upon the man, then he looked upon the soldiers both man and woman.

"Then our mission is the same. I am Cloudius Asmodius. I hail from the Grey Knights of the Terminator Squadron. From here on I propose a unified force that will lead a direct assult on these titans. Come with me and we will cull these creatures into extinction!"

The corp soldiers were perplexed. They didn't know if it was because of his eyes, the armor, his weapons or his confidence...but they believed every word he spoke.

"That's..."

"Captain, a Titan has appeared 100 yards west!" Yelled a scout from that stayed watching from the surveillance tower.

"It's too far out for it to notice us. There's no reason to enga-"

*POOO~*

The captain stopped in his words as he watched Cloudius blast what looked like a missile from a blaster on his wrist.

"D-DIRECT HIT!! IT'S DOWN FOR GOOD!!" The big smile on the scouts face from the event was enough to know that what just happened was spectacular. Something far from what their capable of executing.

Cloudius turned back to the soldiers with a look of dissatisfaction.

"No reason to engage, you say? These beasts have nearly ran your kind into extinction, yet you do not act at the immediate site of their kind? Even the soldiers of the Imperial Army would scoff at you. Perhaps I was wrong in my judgment."

"Surely you don't think you alone can rid the world of titans? Please, come inside and let's discuss this more while I call for my superior!?" Pleading with the war machine in front of him, Joshua turned his head and waved three fingers at the scouter.

Immediately a smoke signal was shot into the sky with a purple trail. Futher away another purple signal could be seen spreading in the sky.

"Follow us inside, I can send a messenger pidgion directly to the Corp Leader." Joshua said.

"Nonsense, I can't sit here while they continue to roam about the lands. Give me the coordinates of your nation and I shall go there myself."

"Eh!? We're more than 2 weeks of travel away even on horseback. Not to mention there's significantly more titans just outside the wall. It'd be suic-"

"In my travel here I've slain well over 400 of those creatures. Whether it had been a single or a dozen, it matters not to me. My duties come before my life in any situation!"

Just what was this man that stood before them?

An angel of death sent to their world as a savior?

A man of sheer will and conviction that put his life before duties?

What was he!?

He is a soldier.

"It is my duty as a Grey Knight of the Empire!" Without saying another word his eyes gleamed a shimmering, grey light as he began to expand his senses.

'Just 5 kilometers due east is what could be considered a kingdom.' He thought.

The Survey Corp soldiers looked at the huge man with a shimmering aura around him and stared in awe.

THIS WAS NOTHING SHORT OF MAGIC!!

"Give your finest map. There's no need to send word through bird as I will make it there before the creature itself." With a stern voice and a cold gaze, they knew he wasn't asking.

"Fine, however we'll still send a pidgion to inform the military of your actions and proposal. Although I'm just a nobody captain, I should still have some sway in judgment." Joshua waved his hand and one of the corp members ran into the fort snd came back with a rolled up map.

Joshua extended the map with a trembling hand, but not from fear, but rage!

"Please, I beg you! These titans! These monsters have taken everything from us! Our livelihood, our families, our friends, our comrads! PLEASE HELP US CUT THEM DOWN TILL THEIR NUMBERS BECOME KNULL!!"

Cloudius smiled at the firey rage in the young mans eyes and put his hand over the Liber Daemonica on his chest and swore not only to the soldiers, but all of humanity that he would fulfill his duty as a Grey Knight.

"However, before that, spare me a watering well."

"Ah, oh, sure."

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2 more chaoters before the week break!

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Cya tmr for another chapter!