"Very well!"
Nuspe nodded with satisfaction and gave his orders:
"Remember, if you encounter any Atlas units, consider them allies. Avoid any moves that could cause misunderstandings, unless they open fire first!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Then, the now less than a hundred-strong reconnaissance company split into groups.
A dozen soldiers from the third platoon escorted frightened and confused civilians to the nearest subway station entrance, preparing to guide them through the underground network to escape the city. Meanwhile, the remaining first and second platoons continued advancing towards the center of Mombasa.
They were originally dispatched from the 6th Army Division of the UNSC to Mombasa to conduct reconnaissance and assist with civilian evacuation. After being relieved, they naturally resumed their mission.
And the thought of death?
Their "home" had already been invaded by demons, and retreat was out of the question for this reconnaissance company. Besides, UNSC soldiers rarely feared death. If they truly were, they would have abandoned the civilians and looked for escape routes as soon as they were surrounded.
Now, as they continued to penetrate the new city district—
Bang, bang.
Ri~swish.
Nuspe and his team could hear the nearby battles clearly. The sound of explosive rounds and plasma cannon fire grew more intense, signaling that the Atlas "super-soldiers" and the "aliens" were also advancing towards the center of the new city district.
Yet, the reconnaissance team's helmet radars showed few UNSC units in the area.
Most were held up in the old city, focused on evacuating civilians. Only two special operations companies were still advancing towards the source of the chaos.
Seeing this, Nuspe marked a location at a high-end apartment building about two kilometers away and sent a proposal to "rendezvous" with the two special ops companies. Moments later, two "affirmative" responses appeared on his screen, prompting him to relay his orders through the company's communications:
"Pick up the pace; let's meet up with our forces."
"Understood."
As they moved forward quickly, they encountered numerous "Stingrays" or humanoid demons wielding crude weapons and appearing almost comically bizarre. But after concentrating their fire and at the cost of six casualties, the reconnaissance company, now more than half depleted since arriving in Mombasa, finally reached the designated building.
Upon entering the lobby of the high-end apartment, Nuspe ordered his remaining soldiers to prepare defensive positions and secure the area.
Shortly afterward, the two special ops companies, also with over half their members lost, arrived in the lobby.
These special operatives were akin to Helljumper ODSTs within the UNSC, equipped with advanced individual gear. Their snipers and spotters had optical camouflage and high-caliber anti-material rifles. Their combat suits were entirely sealed, allowing them to operate in vacuum and radiation if necessary.
Although these companies were stationed with the 6th Infantry Division, they were under UNSC Special Operations Command and usually operated independently.
But now, no one had the luxury to worry about command structures or hierarchy.
The UNSC and UEG leadership had once again descended into chaos.
This was directly tied to the capture of Volkov, Margaret, and many other high-ranking officials who had obtained their positions through questionable means.
After all, who would have imagined that Mombasa would experience a "supernatural" event?
Atlas' intervention, with their frigates and elite warships descending into Earth's orbit, left the UNSC at a loss on how to respond.
It had turned into a chaotic three-way battle.
Even the 6th Army Division, which had first discovered the situation, strongly urged UNSC's leadership to halt hostilities with Atlas and join forces against the supernatural threat ravaging Mombasa. Yet, UNSC leadership remained mired in arguments over "official face" and status, debating over trivial matters instead of focusing on the chaos at hand.
Casualties among lower-ranking soldiers and the devastation of Mombasa's citizens were just "numbers" to them.
With a population exceeding 20 billion across the Solar System, the loss of millions could even aid in population control. In fact, once the situation stabilized, the absence of the original residents in Mombasa might simplify certain rebuilding efforts, allowing some in power to gain from the reconstruction.
One obvious example was that if the Navy had agreed to collaborate temporarily with Atlas, the skies wouldn't be full of Stingrays. But as things stood, the three Charon-class frigates above Mombasa continued their artillery exchange with Atlas' warship, Warrior's Sorrow. Additional UNSC frigates and destroyers joined the fight, hoping to gain victory through numbers.
With each group fending for themselves, the 6th Infantry Division within Mombasa had lost faith in receiving any meaningful support from higher-ups.
Now;
The three companies, having joined forces, barely numbered over a hundred. Half remained to defend the apartment lobby, preventing demons from cutting off their escape, while the other half used emergency stairs to ascend and secure vantage points to monitor the situation downtown.
Soon, Nuspe led a dozen scouts and several special operatives to a mid-level recreational area within the apartment building.
In the empty swimming pool, they looked out through the floor-to-ceiling windows and finally saw Mombasa's current state with their own eyes.
The streets in the city's new district near the center were teeming with countless demonic creatures. And the two hundred young Astartes and over a thousand elite veterans were forming the first and final line of defense against these demonic entities.
To their surprise, a squad dressed in ancient Greek armor entered the center from the west.
Leading the charge was Pallas Athena, who had aligned herself with Atlas. The armored soldiers were Greek demigods.
As Atlas' specially created anti-warp threat unit, Athena and her demigod squad indeed managed to eliminate or drive off many demons.
But as long as the portal in the city center remained open, the number of demons entering the physical universe would remain "endless."
"Damn bureaucracy!" Unable to contain himself, Nuspe cursed aloud upon seeing the scene:
"We should have been the ones to contain the situation in Mombasa, and now we need outsiders to help? Damn it! Now I understand why the outer colonies rebelled!"
"What can we do?" remarked a special ops major, observing and documenting the scene with specialized equipment.
"Special Ops' job is to quietly eliminate anyone or anything related to insurgents. Get used to the UNSC and ONI's methods, and nothing will surprise you," he said calmly.
"Major..." another special ops captain muttered, looking outside with a grim expression. "Maybe we should contact Command again and report what's going on here? It might—no, never mind."
Halfway through, he realized how naive his idea was. If reporting the situation had any effect, they wouldn't have been left without support for so long.
Boom—
Suddenly, a massive quake, powerful enough to shake the entire building and the surrounding area, erupted from the portal's direction.
Crash!
Immediately after, the swimming pool's floor-to-ceiling windows shattered completely.
"Take cover!"
Startled by the sudden noise, Nuspe and the others dropped to the floor.
Clang!
After a brief pause, they realized that the apartment building hadn't been directly hit. Instead, they heard a louder sound of metal clashing.
?
Hearing this, they returned to the windows to look toward the portal.
They saw a towering creature, with glassy-colored wings and a bird's head atop a human-like body over ten meters tall, wielding a magnificent scepter as it slashed and struck in front of it. But to Nuspe and the others, the creature's movements were just a blur.
In addition to the "birdman," the sky was filled with chaos, where streaks of blue light occasionally flashed, likely from the intensified space battle in low orbit, visible even from the ground.
Clang—
The metallic clashes intensified as they focused again on the bird-headed figure, and now, with the aid of their helmet screens, they noticed another figure. A "giant," clad in custom power armor, about four meters tall, wielding a giant scythe, was engaged in close combat with the "birdman."
Each time the bird-headed being's scepter struck the "giant," or enveloped and scorched him with magic, the "giant" would stand up again. This only made the bird-headed creature's many eyes express irritation and frustration.
Realizing the battlefield's intensity, Nuspe and his men understood they couldn't possibly intervene.
Rescued by the Dark Angels and elite veterans, Nuspe initially thought they might still be able to help.
Now?
Nuspe could only imagine that if he and his reconnaissance team faced that enormous "birdman," they would be burned to ashes by its magic—likely with their very souls consumed.
While he was once a staunch materialist who didn't believe in souls or hell, everything before him shattered his worldview.
How could human effort stand up to gods and demons?
At this moment, Nuspe was convinced that only Atlas could contain the current chaos.
---
Near the portal in the city center:
Clang!
The giant deflected the bird-headed creature's scepter, leaping to its left side before swinging his scythe with full force.
Slice—
The scythe, pulsing with golden psychic lightning, successfully slashed open the bird-headed creature's abdomen, causing its blue-glowing "blood" to splatter through the air.
"You damn brat!!"
The pain of the wound and the scorching psychic energy finally made the bird-headed creature snarl in rage.
"Hmph."
But the giant, none other than Mortarion, one of Samuel Young's descendants, didn't respond
to the taunts.
Upon arriving with Corax, Mortarion took charge of hunting down the source of this chaos, the corrupted Kinsler of Mombasa's police force. Kinsler's hidden deployments and sacrifices had created the portal.
Their suspicion that this was the work of a Daemon of Tzeentch was based on their father's teachings on using psychic power and knowledge of the warp and the "evil gods."
Tzeentch, embodying intrigue, deception, and trickery, had set its sights on the Halo universe, undoubtedly seeking to sow chaos.
What could be more entertaining than forcing humans from two different universes into mutual slaughter? And with so many intelligent species in the Halo universe, Tzeentch would gain ample "emotional fuel."
Kinsler, under Tzeentch's corruption, had nearly absolute control over Mombasa's affairs, making him a prime target. Through sacrifices of human lives, he had opened a temporary portal between the physical universe and the warp.
Tzeentch's Daemon hoped to pit Atlas against UNSC, creating more chaos among the humans, though it hadn't expected Atlas to arrive so quickly.
Especially with a Primarch blocking its path to Earth.
(Note: The rampaging Greater Daemon in Mombasa is not the two-headed liar Kairos Fateweaver.)
Once again, Mortarion lunged forward, denying his opponent any time to cast spells as he slashed toward the wounded abdomen with his scythe, Silent Death.
The Daemon of Tzeentch tried to dodge but, weakened in the physical universe, couldn't escape.
Slice—
A surge of blue-glowing blood erupted from the widening wound.
"Argh! Curse you!"
The Greater Daemon staggered back, now with a hint of fear in its many eyes. Ordinary weapons in the physical universe shouldn't have been able to harm it, let alone cause such intense pain.
Could it be…
Was Mortarion's scythe capable of actually "killing" it, not just sending it back to the warp?
!!!
Realizing this possibility, the Daemon knew it had to flee—and fast.
It flapped its wings, attempting to retreat through the portal to the warp.
Slash—
But its left wing was suddenly severed by a claw, also glowing with golden psychic lightning.
Thud!
The claw then pierced through its back, forcing it to the ground.
"No! I am..."
"Doesn't matter. Die, you bastard!"
The Daemon tried to speak, but the last thing it saw was Mortarion, his body bursting with even brighter golden light.
_________________________
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