"Each step through the ash is a prayer; each death, an offering."
---
"Mommy...?" a small girl whimpered, her entire body trembling as she navigated the blaze-scarred streets of Orario's once-lively roads.
Little Leah had been having a wonderful time with her parents. Her mommy had told her she could go and play with the other kids at the eastern park—and she had so much fun.
But then, everything changed.
Suddenly, loud sounds echoed throughout the city, loud enough to shake the sky, everyone panicked. Leah had hidden in fear, as the adults ran in every direction, their faces terrified.
It wasn't until what felt like an hour later that Leah finally crawled out from the bushes she had been hiding in—only to realize that her parents were nowhere to be found.
Sniffling, her teary eyes blinking through smoke and ash, Leah mustered what little courage she had and stepped out of the park, her tiny hands tightly clutching her teddy bear.
"Mommy... Daddy... where are you?" she whimpered again, her voice cracking under the weight of her fear as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
Suddenly, laughter erupted behind her—cold and twisted.
"Hahaha! What do we have here!"
She spun around in fright. A group of oddly dressed individuals stood there, their white robes stained and tattered. Some had their faces concealed behind eerie white masks.
"A little girl all by herself? What wonderful Evilus times we're living in!" one of them said mockingly, clearly the leader. His comrades cackled behind him.
"Come here, little girl. We'll take you to your mommy and daddy." He extended a hand, feigning kindness.
"R-Really?" Leah asked hesitantly. Their robes and masks were scary—but Mama had always told her never to judge a book by its cover.
"Of course!" he said with a grin, then added with venomous glee, "By sending you to them in heaven! Hahahahaha!"
Leah froze. A shiver ran down her spine as fear took root. She instinctively stepped back.
"N-No... Stay away," she whimpered, tightening her grip on her teddy bear.
The robed figures didn't care. They stepped closer, ignoring her plea.
"Awww, but I thought you wanted to be with your parents?" the leader mocked, stepping ever closer.
Leah couldn't run. Her body wouldn't listen. She was too afraid. The leader reached out, his hand stretching toward her.
"Try not to die too quickly, alright~?"
"N-No!" Leah cried out, shutting her eyes tight, wishing it was all a nightmare. Wishing her mommy and daddy would come and hold her again.
Just as the cultist's hand gripped her hair, intending to lift her cruelly—
A red beam of concentrated light split the air, and the man's head exploded in a flash of fire and blood. He collapsed instantly, lifeless.
"What the fuck?!" one of the cultists screamed, all of them jolting in panic.
Their leader had been a level 2 adventurer. Watching him fall so suddenly unnerved them deeply.
"Who's there!? Show yourself!" another shouted.
Their answer came as another red beam tore through the air—then another. In a matter of seconds, three more cultists dropped, their bodies smoldering.
Only one remained—the lone survivor smart enough to throw himself to the ground in a desperate attempt to stay alive.
"H-Help! Someone help! We need reinforcements!" he screamed, crawling backward in terror, the sound of heavy boots echoing behind him.
It was too late.
With a sickening crunch, a shovel slammed through his neck, instantly decapitating him.
Silence fell.
Leah still had her eyes closed, too scared to look, too scared to move.
Then a voice—flat, cold, hollow—broke through the stillness. It was muffled, as if spoken through a mask.
"Cultists eliminated. Emperor's justice has been served."
Leah opened her eyes—slowly, hesitantly—and what she saw burned itself into her young memory forever.
A man stood there. Clad in a long, tattered grey greatcoat, his clothing was caked in dried mud and blood. A strange helmet rested on his head, featureless save for a scorched emblem of a strange two-headed bird.
His chest and shoulders were protected by visible light armor, scuffed and weathered. But most terrifying of all was his mask—monstrous and inhuman, with twin glass lenses for eyes and a long nose. It looked more beast than man.
The strange figure looked at her. His head tilted slightly.
He stepped closer—his every step heavy, deliberate, like a machine of war that had chosen to keep moving.
Leah felt like she was about to wet herself.
"Civilian," the voice repeated, devoid of warmth. "Return to the loyalists this instance. Cultists have taken control of this district."
Without another word, the man turned and began marching away—stoic, silent, and terrifying.
Leah blinked, too stunned to move. "What's a loyalist?" she whispered. "And what's a cultist?"
If only she'd paid more attention during her mother's lessons.
She watched as the strange man disappeared into the smoke-choked streets of Orario, flames dancing in the distance. Then, slowly, she resumed her search for her parents, her steps quiet and unsteady.
"Child, are you okay?!"
A new voice called out.
Leah turned, startled—then brightened.
It was an adventurer!
"Mister Adventurer, please help me!" she cried, rushing toward him.
She was saved.
Later, as she held her parents' hands—safe, alive—Leah would realize something important.
She never got to thank the monster-looking man who saved her life.
But she would.
She promised herself she would.
Next time.
---
The end
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I don't know Warhammer 40k I just love the idea
I read wiki of the Kriegers and formed this Krieger from what I read
This is a side project for me, I already have another fanfiction to write, I just did this cuz the idea is just perfection.
Idk if there would be a second chapter, in the meantime you can read my other fanfiction which is also a danmachi one
All For One (MHA main villain) getting isekaied into Bell Cranel
Name is: Is it wrong to try to build a criminal Empire?
(It's a slow build and basically my first fic so it might not be top notch)