Imperium of Man Terra Aeterna Season 01: Rise of Humanity's War Machin

When Busujima Saeko came out of the bathroom with Alice, the little girl was already dressed in clean pajamas and looked much fresher. Her tired face now had a faint glow—though traces of trauma still lingered behind her innocent eyes.

Saeko glanced at the dining table and was surprised to see the amount of food Reuel had prepared. There was rice, crispy fried chicken, warm soup, a few sandwiches, fruits, and light snacks. Without wasting any time, she guided Alice to the table.

"Look, all of this is for you," Saeko said gently.

Alice's eyes widened. "Wow... that's so much!"

The little girl immediately sat down and started eating eagerly. Her stomach had been empty for a long time. During the long escape from the zombies with her father, she had barely eaten anything. Now, this sense of safety and fullness felt like a luxurious gift she had never imagined before.

Reuel appeared from the kitchen side, pouring a glass of cold orange juice into a clear glass, then placing it beside Alice's plate.

"Eat slowly, don't choke," Reuel said as he patted Alice's head.

"Thank you, big brother," Alice said, her face brimming with gratitude as she kept shoveling food into her mouth.

"Her name is Alice," Saeko said, standing next to Reuel. "She's eight years old. Very polite, and... very cute."

Reuel only nodded slightly as he listened. His right hand took a small plate from the rack, then filled it with some meat for the puppy in the corner of the room. He placed the plate on the floor.

"Woof! Woof!" The puppy barked happily and immediately devoured its food with enthusiasm, its tail wagging non-stop.

Reuel looked at Alice softly. "Now you have an older brother," he said with a smile.

Alice looked up, her eyes shining. "Do you have a little sister?"

Reuel gave a faint smile. "Yes, her name is Angie. She's a little girl who's a bit... mischievous," he said, recalling their last argument and chuckling lightly.

Alice seemed to think for a moment, then her expression turned uneasy. "Then... will your little sister like me? She won't hate me because I'm living here, will she?"

The question came out in a rush, her tone slightly panicked. The typical fear of a child, afraid of being rejected, began to show.

Reuel immediately crouched down and looked at her gently.

"Alice is such a sweet girl. Anyone who meets Alice will definitely like her. Angie will like you too. But... for now, she's far away, in Terra Aeterna. Later, I'll take you to meet her, okay?"

"Really?" Alice's eyes lit up again.

"Yes. So don't worry. For now, eat as much as you can."

"Okay, big brother!" she replied energetically.

"Finish your meal quickly. It's getting late."

After Alice finished eating and freshened up, Saeko guided her to the bedroom. The little girl fell asleep almost instantly, her small body completely exhausted after a long, tense day.

Meanwhile, Reuel didn't go to sleep.

He walked out to the balcony, lit a cigarette, and slowly exhaled the smoke into the cold, dark night air. His eyes gazed far toward the city, still drowned in chaos, flames, and screams—a sign that the world wasn't truly safe... not even for tonight.

Reuel was still standing on the balcony, gazing into the darkness of the night while listening to the screams and groans of zombies echoing from a distance. Sounds that once made his heart race had now become background noise—something he could ignore entirely, as if this kind of world had become his everyday life.

"What are you thinking about?" came Busujima Saeko's soft voice from behind.

Reuel didn't turn around. He took a deep breath, then replied flatly, though a faint emotion colored his tone, "I'm not thinking about anything... I just don't know how long life like this will last."

"Yeah..." Saeko stood beside him, staring out into the distance as well. "The whole world's turned into hell. I don't even know if it can ever be restored."

Reuel turned to look at her. "If this world really does recover one day... what will you do?"

Saeko was silent for a moment, her eyes distant. "Maybe I'll open a fitness center, or a dojo... like the one my father used to have," she said nonchalantly, though there was a hint of longing in her voice.

Reuel raised an eyebrow. "So why aren't you with Alice tonight? Staying with her while she sleeps? Or... are you just curious about where I actually come from?"

Saeko looked at him directly. "Alice is asleep. But yeah, I'm curious. Where did you get all that food earlier? I didn't see you cook."

Reuel gave a small smile. "Well... I have spatial abilities. I can move instantly, and store things in my dimensional space. Like this."

With a simple hand gesture, Reuel summoned a bolter pistol. A massive weapon from a world not their own appeared in his grip, radiating deadly energy even without being used. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished again.

Saeko stared in awe, her eyes wide. "That's... incredible. So you'll never run out of supplies or weapons?"

"Exactly. I've got enough food and water to survive more than two years without leaving the house even once. And none of it... will ever spoil."

Saeko gave a slow nod, her expression softening. There was a trace of trust in her eyes. Reuel had opened up to her more than she expected, and for now, that was more than enough. Everyone has their own secrets, she thought. She wasn't going to force him to reveal everything tonight.

"You always look like someone who doesn't care, like the world could collapse and you'd still be calm. But when you spoke to Alice earlier... I could tell you actually care more than you let on."

Reuel gave a faint smile. "My family's safe. No one can touch them. Even if aliens showed up, they still wouldn't be able to harm them."

But deep inside, Reuel knew one thing: No being in the universe was insane enough to attack Terra Aeterna—the place where every soldier was from the Imperium of Man, and he himself was the Emperor of Mankind.

"Forget about me," he said next. "What about you? You haven't tried looking for your father? Don't you want to know if he's okay?"

Saeko took a deep breath. "My father... he's stronger than I am. If I've made it this far, I believe he has too. So... I choose to believe in him."

Reuel gave a slow nod. He was silent for a moment, then asked in a relaxed but loaded tone, "Sweetheart... have you ever had a boyfriend?"

That question hit like lightning in the quiet night. Saeko reflexively dropped her wooden training sword. The thing clattered onto the balcony floor with a soft clang, but it sliced through the moment like a blade.

"W-what?" She stared at Reuel in shock. Her face flushed bright red, like someone who had just lost control of herself.

Reuel remained calm, as if he'd been waiting for exactly that reaction. "Sweetheart, what's wrong with you?"

Reuel knew everything about Busujima Saeko—not because he was a mind reader, but because he had read her story in a manga, in his previous life. He knew this woman carried a knot in her heart. A silent burden she had never shared with anyone. A deep wound… that she kept buried inside.

Even though Reuel had called out to her several times, Saeko still didn't respond. Her gaze was empty, as if she were trapped in memories flashing back one after another. Her expression shifted—sometimes sad, sometimes lit with faint energy—but all of it ended in silence.

"Baby, what's wrong with you?" Reuel asked gently, his eyes fixed on Saeko with worry. "If something's wrong, I can help you."

But Saeko remained silent. Reuel knew he couldn't force her. If the time was right, she would talk. If not, he would simply sit beside her, keeping her company in silence.

Saeko's thoughts were a mess. Memories from the past surged like a tidal wave—loud, painful, unstoppable. Scene after scene flashed in her mind, each one cutting deep.

Until now, only her family knew about that wound. No one else. None of her friends knew. It was a knot she had never untied… until now.

Now was the time.

She turned to look at Reuel. Her violet eyes were wet, but her gaze was steady.

"This might mean nothing to you… but would you still be willing to listen?"

Reuel recognized this moment. He knew Saeko was about to talk about that incident—the time she almost killed someone. Just like he had read. But seeing it firsthand, hearing it from Saeko's own voice… it was nothing like reading a manga panel.

"Don't worry," Reuel said softly. "Whatever you tell me, I'll keep it safe. No one else will ever know. Just me."

Saeko looked away toward the night sky. With the city lights out, the stars were clearer than usual. The cold wind brushed her cheeks, but she didn't shiver. She simply took a breath and began to speak.

"When you asked me earlier if I'd ever had a boyfriend…"

Her tone changed. Soft, but heavy with sadness. This wasn't the cheerful, sharp Saeko Reuel had seen all day. This was a fragile girl, wounded.

"I'm a girl too, Reuel. I've liked someone before. But I never had a boyfriend… I never even had the courage to confess my feelings. Because I felt like I didn't deserve to…"

Reuel stayed quiet, but gave her a small, sincere smile.

"Sweetheart, you're a good woman… and incredibly beautiful. Any man in this world would fall for you."

He knew that line wasn't enough to heal such a deep-rooted scar. But he hoped Saeko knew he meant it.

Still, Saeko shook her head slowly, tears slipping from her eyes before she even noticed.

"You don't understand, Reuel. If a guy found out… that I almost killed someone… would he still like me?"

Her voice cracked. Her eyes trembled. The tears fell freely now, and she couldn't hold them back anymore. The wound had finally broken open—and Reuel knew, this wasn't something words could fix.

He didn't answer.

He just stayed silent.

Because sometimes, not all wounds need advice.

Sometimes, they just need someone to listen.

"Four years ago," Saeko began, her voice low and trembling, "I was walking alone at night when a man attacked me."

Her gaze was vacant, as if staring straight into the past.

"I had a wooden sword with me. And that man… he was no match for me."

"I fought back without hesitation—and beat him to a pulp. His bones broke in several places. He nearly died by my hand. As I turned to go home… the police showed up."

She paused for a moment. Reuel didn't interrupt, just listened.

"They didn't arrest me. They took me home. No consequences. But… the moment I stepped inside my house, I realized—I was happy. Really happy."

Saeko's expression shifted, bitter and wounded.

"That was the first time I realized… I craved blood."

"I'm still a woman. I still have the heart of a girl. But inside me—there's a demon. A killer. Something dark and filthy."

She turned her eyes on Reuel, sharp and unflinching, as if daring him to still stay.

"Who could ever love a woman like that?"

Reuel wanted to respond, but he knew the time wasn't right.

"Since that day, I've tried to change. I've tried to become normal again. And I thought… I succeeded."

But she let out a small, bitter laugh.

"But when you asked me earlier if I'd ever had a boyfriend… that's when I realized: I never changed. I just fell asleep, living in a fake sense of peace for years."

She drew a deep breath, then looked up at the pitch-black night sky.

"And ever since this zombie outbreak began… my true self has come back. Killing zombies… makes me feel alive. Makes me feel satisfied. Makes me feel… whole. That's who I really am."

"The woman named Busujima Saeko… is a woman who thirsts for blood."

Reuel observed closely. His eyes caught every subtle shift in Saeko's expression—sometimes confused, sometimes brimming with dark desire. Her gaze turned wild. Her face flickered between fear and self-acceptance.

Reuel muttered silently to himself.

She almost killed someone… and the scar runs this deep?

If she knew who I really am—the Emperor of Mankind who commands millions of soldiers in the Imperium of Man, who's ordered the genocide of entire alien species… she'd see me as a monster far worse than her.

But Reuel didn't step away. Instead, he stepped closer.

"Sweetheart, just imagine I'm the same as you. When I fight zombies… I thirst for blood too. I also feel satisfied seeing them die."

Saeko shook her head violently.

"It's not the same!" she snapped, her eyes blazing. "I'm a woman—and I enjoy the violence. No man could love a bloodthirsty woman like me!"

She was unraveling. Her voice rose, trembling, eyes glossy with tears.

"You do it because you have to. To survive. For others. For me! But me… I enjoy it! I kill with a satisfied smile on my face! I'm a monster, Reuel! I—"

She stood up abruptly, ready to leave.

But before she could take a step, Reuel moved swiftly. He grabbed her hand—and pulled her into a firm, warm embrace. Saeko froze, her body stiff with shock.

Then Reuel's lips met hers.

The kiss wasn't forceful. But it was deep. Gentle. Warm. Calming the storm inside her.

Saeko melted in his arms, her body trembling, eyes wet.

After a few moments, Reuel slowly pulled back, looking into her eyes.

"You're wrong, Saeko."

"How could you say no man would love you… when I've been in love with you since the moment I first saw you?"

"Busujima Saeko—the heroic, strong, beautiful woman… and the perfect wife."

Those words pierced Saeko's heart deeper than any sword ever could. She stared at him, wide-eyed, then… the tears fell.

She lowered her head, then threw her arms around Reuel, hugging him tightly. Desperately. As if afraid he would vanish if she let go.

She said nothing.

But Reuel knew—tonight, the knot in her heart had begun to loosen.

And in his heart, Reuel whispered:

Tonight, I'll let Saeko bloom completely…

But before that, I'll shatter the guilt in her heart.

Until there's no more doubt in her…

About who she is—

And who loves her.