Author Notes:
Hello there! Hope you all been doing well throughout Lunar New Year? Fortunately, Mom and I have a peaceful new year, thanks to all of your good wishes and contributions.
This GSS chapter is a bit of an investment of gray matters on my part. I was in the mood for a descriptive chapter and hopefully it's to your liking.
Now, only a couple of days left on the steep Lunar New Year discount on Patreon! Don't forget to check it out and see if you're eligible for that 35% discount for either monthly or yearly subscription! That's a lot of money save, and more making the Emperor proud, depending on your choice!
In case you haven't noticed, the Imperium's Tithe is facing a sharp decline in the amount collected, which is a no-no for the Emperor!
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Actual Monthly Income Goal 764/880 USD (Ah, things ain't looking good. Tehe~?)
Income Counting Yearly Supporters 952 USD (Yup, it's actually going down a lot.)
Pay your Tithe now, and help build a better Imperium and receives all the benefits it would give! The Emperor demands it!
Weiss C8th:
https://postimg.cc/rRR44Npr
https://postimg.cc/644ZZfQ4
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The fingers that have been frantically typing on a set of keyboards that won't be remiss if it comes from a church organ suddenly go still. Reflecting on those fingers that have been pressing the same keys for too long is the green phosphorus light from a set of cogitator screens. Showing on those screens are the intruders, heathens who have refused enlightenment and denied the blessing of the Changer of Ways. They, the Space Marines, Sisters, and Imperial Guards, have raised the blades of transgression in the name of the Corpse Emperor, seeking to upend the divine machinations of the one true Lord. To prevent the heathens from unraveling the Lord's design, many sacrifices, many concessions with others, and less than agreeable cults have been made. A collective effort has been staged to either eliminate the threats or at least stall them long enough for the noble sorcerers to finish their grand spell. Yet...
They are already here.
The one who has been sitting in front of the set of cogitator screens, a mere headless corpse that is bleeding profusely, is unceremoniously pushed off his crickety chair by an armored hand. Tu'rok has long breached this room, filled with all sorts of half-functional, barely sensible, machinery. Given that the cultists have paid dearly to protect whatever is in this room, the Veteran Sergeant has used his Power Sword to cut down the heretics occupying it instead of going in gun blazing. Magos Hedagine, who is being escorted to this shoddy attempt at a security room, should know what to do with these machines.
"Huhm... Quite a messy state of affairs." Stepping over the corpses and pools of blood, the Magos plants her Omnisiah Axe where the foul liquid hasn't spread as she surveys the room.
Although Magos Hedagine only made an offhanded comment, Tu'rok sees it fit to say.
"My apologies, Magos."
"No need for that. You have been quite helpful in preventing these... Sub-humans from locking down the main cogitators." The Magos replies before pushing away the bloodied chair to approach the largest cogitator in the room. "I believe I can work with this."
From underneath the Magos' robe, data cables emerge on her mental command and plug into the cogitator's connection apparatus. "I will require some time to parse the data."
Tu'rok nods. Seeing the pict-feeds showing the main force fighting for each and every step as they advance, he can't help but ask.
"Is it possible to get the building schematic, or an approximation of it, here? We have been running blind for too long."
However, instead of replying directly, Magos Hedagine lets out a disgruntled huff. "As expected..."
Suddenly, the green phosphorus cogitator screens turn blue, and a digital icon of a cackling vulture head starts bouncing around in the confines of the digital zone.
"This is..." Tu'rok approaches cautiously.
"A corrupted machine spirit. It is blocking me from accessing what we need." Magos Hedagine sighs. "To purify the spirit will take some time."
"Time that we don't have..." Tu'rok says grimly.
At this point, Sister Tsavorae leads a small group, consisting of Sergeant Johnson, Weiss, and me, into the security room. It's only now that I see the utter carnage that Tu'rok wreaked with his now sheathed Power Sword.
[Ein: Daily reminder not to piss off an Astartes. I don't even know where to place my foot without getting all of this blood on my soles.]
[Jingwei: Technically speaking, I don't think you will need to worry about a normal Astartes-level combatant. But I do understand why you would not want to anger one in the first place.]
[Nuwa: I mean, it's kinda like facing a MANTIS, our version of a supersoldier, unarmed. The pressure and combat ferocity a supersoldier can exude is completely different from anything else.]
[Fuxi: I'm seeing this, right? Nuwa speaking facts for once?]
[Nuwa: Why do you keep poking me, sis? We both went through Dr. Mobius, ok!?]
[Xuanyuan: It's probably because you are quite...]
[Nuwa: I am quite what, Xuanyuan? Do finish the sentence.]
[Emperor of Man: What little Xuanyuan is trying to say is... You can be quite a bit of a dork.]
[Nuwa: Oh, come on! Not you too, Emperor!]
And the Chatroom loses it. Honestly, seeing their banter is quite healing after one battle after another.
"Magos, what's the holdup?" Sister Tsavorae asks with a hand on the pommel of her Power Sword.
"A ritual is required." The Magos replies succinctly.
"A ritual?" Sergeant Johnson says, while halfway through lighting a cigarette. "How long would that take?"
"Long enough for it to be an issue..." Tsavorae shakes her head, expressing her disappointment.
Ironically, shooting and killing have been the easier parts. For us combatants, waiting for a 50/50 ritual to finish will be an agonizing experience, especially when we know there's a big fight still. As the Magos prepares to conduct purification of the corrupted machine spirit, I turn to Weiss, who has been quite vocal in her admonishment of my recklessness earlier.
"What?" The Rookie raises an eyebrow behind her visor.
If anything, I notice that she stands a bit closer to my side than usual, not that the close proximity is causing me any discomfort.
"Nothing." I shrug.
Tu'rok, who has been silent for a while, suddenly speaks up. "I will have to report our progress to the main force. Hopefully, they have better fortune than we."
"Chapter Master, this is Sergeant Tu'rok. Do you read?"
After a few seconds of static buzzing, the Vox link goes active with a reply.
"Brother Tu'rok, it's good to hear from you. Give me a situation report."
As ever, the Chapter Master of the Salamander is unfallible.
"We have reached what seems like a security room with important cogitators that may grant us an edge, brother Tu'shan. However, the cogitators are impaired by a corrupted machine spirit, and we are trying to handle the situation as we speak. The road back to the main force has collapsed, and we are now cut off from you until we can find another connecting passage. Thus far, we have taken no casualties when intercepting enemy flanking forces, but our munition expenditure is high. By my estimation, we can safely handle one or two more large waves of Tzaangor and cultists before we are in the red. Over."
"Understood. The Recon unit has done very well thus far. Over here, we have noticed that, without the enemy constantly harassing our rear, the speed at which we advance has increased massively. We have laid waste to two enemy ambush sites and are making good headway to the nearest high-energy zone in this headquarters. However..." Tu'shan's voice takes on a grim undertone at the end.
"What happened, brother?" Tu'rok asks in a low voice.
The sudden severity makes us all tune into the Vox more seriously than before. I even spread my senses to where the main force is, trying to get a more accurate scan of the formation in the far distance. It's only now that I notice the fading lifesigns among the pyres of humanity's finest. Mama Elyzabeth, Chapter Master Tu'shan, and Chief Librarian Vel'cona are still fine. I easily spot the three special lifesigns thanks to my leaving a minute hint of Honkai energy on their armor. Yet, the same can't be said for others in the main force.
Tu'shan continues. "Brother Chairon has reached the Golden Throne before us."
"Chairon?" Tu'rok says in a mixture of surprise and mourning. "We both agreed to exchange pointers on blade crafting at a later date. Yet another promise I have failed to uphold, huh... How was his last moment?"
"It was his finest time." Tu'shan replies with conviction. "His armor was failing him after taking the full brunt of an out-of-control Meltagun explosion. Yet, he rushed in harm's way anyway to protect a Sister Hospitaller treating a critically wounded Cadian medic. He died standing with three blades stuck in his melted armor."
Tu'rok heaves a heavy breath of acknowledgement. "Ah, it truly was his finest... And his Gene-seed, brother?"
"Recovered by the Apothecary, and the Sister Hospitaller carries Chairon's Flamer. I now bear the weight of his helmet. His martyred body is cremated with a Melta bomb, as per his will."
"I see."
Chairon was the first death of the Salamander, and from what I heard, it was a heroic death. However, he isn't the only fatal casualty in the main force. As expected, the mortal troops got hit the hardest, with a dozen deaths and more injuries to a varying degree. Surprisingly, however, Mama's Sisters of Battle remain stubbornly enduring with no fatality. Some heavy injuries exist, but all of them seem to be perfectly capable of keeping up with the formation. I have no idea how the casualty statistics are skewed like that, but I don't mind seeing fewer deaths in the Order of Our Martyred Lady, to be honest. That said, our death tolls will be higher if we include those still fighting in and around the armored vehicles we left outside the enemy headquarters.
Now that I have seen enough, I retract my senses and focus back on my position. As Tu'rok and Tu'shan remain deep in exchanging battlefield intelligence, I notice the chagrin on the others as Magos Hedagine stays locked in the purification process of the corrupted machine spirit. Apparently, the first attempt at purging the tainted has failed, with the demonic symbol showing a smirk as it taunted the Magos.
Still, purification, huh? Well, what do you know? I am somewhat of an exorcist myself.
First of all, I have Psychic Null, which is a no-brainer in dealing with anything Chaos-related. Usually, I never broadcast its aura externally, saving it as a trump card for rainy days. However, it doesn't mean I won't use it to selectively target a Warp-tainted being if the situation calls for expediency. Secondly, I have Atsuko's Gift, but that may not be applicable for a very obvious reason. I can't exactly hide the energy from the purification pulse.
Now, technically, only a truly powerful Psychic Null can permanently kill a Warp entity that is comparable or weaker than themselves, so I will need to pile on something else to eliminate this corrupted machine spirit for good.
Edge of Taixuan, or to be more specific...
Taixuan Eminence.
As aptly put by none other than the cheerful sister Nuwa, Honkai can do anything. And the martial art Hua teaches me, the Edge of Taixuan, which is empowered by Honkai energy, is the everlasting testament to Nuwa's proclamation. Even the Emperor has more than once admitted how utterly broken Edge of Taixuan is when it comes to dealing with formless or supernatural threats. As long as you can mobilize enough Honkai energy, then theoretically, you can singlehandedly blow up a planetary core in one single ultimate move, the Taixuan Eminence. And what do you know, thanks to Abyss Totem Stigmata, I can apparently pull on an endless amount of Honkai energy, provided my sanity remains fine and dandy.
Yet, I do not need a planet-busting attack. What I need is far, far more surgical and innocuous at a glance. I am seeking not to blow up a corrupted set of cogitators; I am seeking to eliminate the tainted that have enroached the machine spirit in front of me. If Psychic Null isn't a sure kill at eliminating the rot that has taken place, then I'm pretty sure that Psychic Null, combined with Edge of Taixuan, will both do that and ensure that I remain incognito in the eyes of the Immaterium.
[Ein: Thoughts on my hypothesis, Emperor?]
[Emperor: I got your back, just do it!]
For some reason, I imagine the Emperor walking around with black pants and a dark green shirt, shouting the last part with full motivation.
[Xuanyuan: Oh, ho ho~? This will be good!]
[Fuxi: Quick, Nuwa, get the camera! Ein is about to do something memorable!]
[Nuwa: Sis, how the hell do you expect me to record this? But anyway, go Ein, go~!]
[Jingwei: Ein, remember that feeling when you first successfully used Eminence. Now focus on it, hone it. I have never done something like what you're intended to do, but I have faith that you will be able to accomplish the feat of slaying the formless. After all, that's what Edge of Taixuan is all about.]
Thanks for the pep talk, everyone. Now..
It's show time~!
Under Weiss' confused gaze, I take my first step toward the thing Magos Hedagine is connected to, my senses spreading and focusing on the malign presence hidden behind layers of machinery and abstracted code. This is my first time trying to see things in the digital realm, but strangely, I find myself perfectly capable of identifying the corrupted codes among the sea of ones and zeroes. A part of me wonders if this ease of detection is due to Honkai energy or something else, but it's a question for a later occasion. Anyway...
This is the Edge of the Blade of Taixuan...
"Ein?"
"Corporal, what's up?"
Due to Weiss' calling out to me, Sergeant Johnson gives me a curious glance while puffing on his cigarettes. Tu'rok, who has been talking to Tu'shan, now turns to look at me.
It is formless yet vast, infinity its span...
"Something on your mind, my friend?" Tu'rok asks, seeing me approach Magos Hedagine's side with Laspistol holstered.
Its essence is divine and ends where it begins,...
"Huhm, curious..." Magos Hedagine spares me a glance after yet another prayer ending in vain. "Well, Corporal Ein, do you have a suggestion for me? Any will do, if it means we can get what we came for."
For there is no escape from the Edge of Taixuan.
[Alert:
- Psychic Null activated. Target selected.]
With a little smirk, I raise my left hand before saying.
"Well, when in doubt, you can always fix it with a good smack..."
And then I swing my hand down in a knife-hand chop that lands on the central processor of the cogitators around.
Taixuan Eminence!
A random corrupted machine spirit: Fading screams of absolute terror.