"Aaargh!" The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh let out a piercing scream.
At that moment, it could not understand why. Why had its master sent it to confront such a terrifying entity? This level of being was simply not something it could handle.
Even if all the Greater Daemons attacked together, they would still not be a match for the monster before it.
Could it be that its master no longer wanted it? Was it merely a disposable tool? That could not be right. It was the foremost warrior among all the Keepers of Secrets. It had hunted Khorne's champions and slain Khorne's own Greater Daemons on occasions.
"Don't be hasty, you still have five arms left," Axis said with a smile, but his actions were as violent as a child tearing apart a toy.
With a series of sickening rips, one by one, all six of Shalaxi Helbane's arms were torn from its torso.
Axis held its body like a tattered rag doll, leaving the daemon utterly powerless to resist.
"Disgusting," Axis muttered.
He leaned in closer. "Now, take a message back to your master. Next time, send someone who can actually fight. Trash like you don't need to bother yourselves."
After he spoke, Axis formed a small energy sphere in one hand and pressed it gently against Shalaxi Helbane's chest.
The Greater Daemon's entire body began to glow with a golden light as its skin started to crack like porcelain.
"Bye~"
A tremendous boom followed as the golden light consumed the Greater Daemon's form, annihilating it in a storm of exquisite agony.
As none of the three present had a way to permanently destroy a Greater Daemon's essence, this attack could only banish it back into the depths of the Warp.
Axis clapped his hands together, dusting them off, and turned to face Magnus and Sanguinius. "All taken care of!"
Magnus was silent, thinking that this man was more terrifying than any Daemon.
Sanguinius also said nothing, wondering if Axis perhaps harbored some kind of sadistic tendency.
After the Greater Daemon was vanquished, the two Primarchs worked together to completely seal the Warp rift that had been torn open.
This small interlude seemed rather meaningless.
Why would Slaanesh dispatch such a comparatively weak Greater Daemon? Although Shalaxi Helbane was the most formidable of all the Keepers of Secrets, it was still no match for Axis.
Even Primarchs could have easily dispatched the creature.
While the Chaos Gods were certainly powerful and possessed countless schemes, their direct influence in the material universe was limited. Their most powerful agents were their Greater Daemons, Daemon Princes or mortals champions.
"Alright! It's time for us to head back," Axis announced.
"Indeed," Sanguinius said, and Magnus nodded in agreement, "Axis, it is time we parted ways as well. I look forward to our next meeting."
After bidding each other farewell, they returned to their respective ships.
Magnus used his psychic abilities to alter the memories of his entire crew, making them believe they had simply arrived, successfully carried out the Exterminatus, and were now returning home safely.
Sanguinius returned to his Gloriana Class Battleship, the Red Tear, bringing with him a new genetic son, Sanguinior, who was to join the ranks of the Blood Angels. The sight of this new brother, who possessed white wings just like their father, filled the other Blood Angels with astonishment.
"Welcome, new brother!"
All the members of the Blood Angels legion cheered for the newcomer Sanguinius had brought back. This new brother bore a striking resemblance to their father, another beautiful angel with a handsome face, though his ears were slightly pointed.
Those pointed ears even led some Blood Angels to wonder if their new brother possessed some trace of Xenos blood.
"Be silent, my sons," Sanguinius's voice commanded their attention, "In the time to come, you will each undergo a replacement of your gene-seed template. I have consumed the fruit of the Tree of Might, and through it, I have obtained a stronger and more perfect physical gene-seed. You will now be implanted with this new seed.
"It is far more perfect, and the probability of our Legion succumbing to the bloodthirsty curse will be drastically reduced." He was eager to share this wonderful news with his genetic children.
"Our highest reverence to you, great Father! You have saved us!"
"We are proud to be the sons of Sanguinius!"
A wave of celebration swept through the entire Blood Angels Legion, and they immediately began the meticulous process of transplanting the new gene-seed.
The old gene-seeds were removed and replaced, while Sanguinior used the power of his Ki to purify all the remaining gene-seed in the Legion's stores, transforming them into safe and perfect specimens.
Meanwhile, Magnus, now in possession of the complete knowledge from the Black Library, dedicated himself to his research with even greater fervor, forgetting to eat or sleep as he perfected his legendary tome.
The next time they met, he was determined to create an even more powerful psychic ability to show Axis.
…
Aboard Solus Prime, Axis had made a successful return.
"Welcome back, Lord Father," a holographic image of Solus Prime materialized on a nearby screen and bowed deeply.
"Thank you. Were there any incidents while I was away? A Warp rift just opened nearby, I trust it didn't affect you?" Axis asked.
"Lord Father, I have not detected any particularly abnormal... situations..." the Solus Prime replied.
The distinct hesitation in its voice did not escape Axis's notice.
"Oh, I see," Axis said, nodding with understanding, "Go and bring Cassandra to me. We will not be traveling through the Warp this time. We will use the Webway to return."
Now that he had access to the Webway, Axis intended to make full use of it. It was far safer and faster than navigating the treacherous tides of the Warp.
"As you command, Lord Father."
At Solus Prime's summons, Cassandra, who had been meditating in her private chamber, was guided to the bridge.
"Lord Axis, you summoned me," Cassandra said, kneeling on one knee before him.
The Aeldari woman was no longer wearing her former Harlequin motley.
Instead, she was dressed in formal Aeldari robes of blue and white. The garment perfectly accentuated her slender figure, revealing her long, elegant legs.
Her makeup was meticulously applied, and she had even removed the troupe mask she always wore. Aeldari beauty was considered among the most exquisite to human eyes, and Cassandra was considered stunning even by her own people's standards.
A faint, purple aura emanated from her body, almost imperceptible as it slowly diffused into the air.
"Why the change of clothes? I thought you preferred your Harlequin attire," Axis asked, his suspicion growing. Something was definitely wrong. This elaborate change in appearance confirmed it.
Slaanesh would never send a Greater Daemon on a simple suicide mission.
"Lord Axis, I have completely severed my connection to She Who Thirsts. I wanted to be myself again, to say farewell to my past, so I changed back into my old clothes. Do I look beautiful?" Cassandra said with a captivating smile, twirling gracefully.
"I am in no mood for a fashion show. Go and inform your companions that I wish to use the Webway to return to the planet Macharia," Axis said flatly.
Did she really think such a transparent ploy would work on a Saiyan? Of all races, Saiyans were the least susceptible to such temptations.
Cassandra smiled faintly and rose to her feet, her fingers brushing languidly through her long hair. The gesture seemed natural, but Axis detected something unnatural.
Deep within her pupils, a strange purple light flickered. That confirmed it. What was going on? How could an Aeldari Harlequin, one who could even perform the role of the Great Enemy, become possessed by a Daemon of Slaanesh?
"Of course, Lord Axis," her voice suddenly dropped to a low, seductive whisper, tinged with a sweetness that did not belong to her, "But, before we do that… don't you wish to 'relax' for a while?"
She leaned forward slightly, the collar of her robe slipping to reveal the pale skin of her shoulder. A cloying, sweet fragrance filled the air, a scent designed to bypass reason and directly inflame the senses.
Axis narrowed his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Oh? And when did you learn to offer this sort of hospitality?"
Cassandra's smile became even more bewitching as her fingers traced a line across her collarbone. "I have always wanted to… thank you properly! We ancient Aeldari have many diversions, experiences of a kind that you humans have never even dreamed of. I can show them all to you. We have repressed our emotions for millennia. Now, my passions are erupting like a volcano."
"I do not appreciate roundabout games," Axis's voice was like ice, "Let me just say, your tricks are pathetically transparent." With that, he shot his hand out and seized the Aeldari woman by the throat, lifting her effortlessly into the air.
"Hee hee hee! Oh, Lord Axis, is this what you prefer?" the thing possessing Cassandra giggled. "You can hang me up if you like! I can prepare a whip for you, one with thorns, or perhaps even spikes."
Axis lips curled in disgust, and his eyes flashed with golden light. A brilliant golden aura erupted around him as his hair shifted from black to a blazing gold. When he transformed into a Super Saiyan, his physical power was not the only thing that was enhanced.
His psychic abilities also received a fifty-fold boost.
An immense torrent of sacred psionic energy, raw and overwhelming, flooded into the Aeldari's body, seeking to expel the demonic entity within.
"Get out of her!" Axis roared.
"Hahaha! Why would I?!!! this is such an exquisite body why would I levae it behind! HHAHAHA!" the possessed Cassandra cackled, "Go on, kill me if you have the nerve! If you can really bear to destroy m—ugh!"
Before the entity could finish its taunt, Axis's fist shot forward, plunging straight through her chest and emerging from her back. A spray of crimson blood splattered across the deck.
"As you wish then," Axis growled.
What kind of delusion was this creature under? Did it really think I wouldn't dare?
"Cough! You… you bastard!" The purple light vanished from the Aeldari's eyes, and a strange mist of violet energy drifted out from the mortal wound.
This was no mere Greater Daemon. This was an avatar, a sliver of Slaanesh's own essence.
The sliver of Slaanesh hissed in disbelief as it stared at Axis, "How could you be immune to me? ME??!!! It is impossible! You should have been captivated by me."
Though it was just a fragment of its consciousness, the Chaos God had absolute confidence in its power. Whenever it personally chose to seduce a mortal, no prelude or deception was necessary.
No living being could resist its charm. That was its divine authority as a God of Chaos. By all rights, this mortal should have fallen instantly. Only the most powerful gods possessed any sort of immunity, and even that was never total.
It had observed this man carefully. He was no god. He was incredibly powerful, perhaps even stronger than some minor deities, but he was fundamentally mortal.
"To be honest," Axis replied coldly, "you are the one Chaos God least likely to ever corrupt me. I do not suffer from the same intense desires that plague other mortals."
"Oh fuck you!" Slaanesh shrieked, "The pleasure you derive from that bizarre transformation of yours far exceeds anything I have ever witnessed. If it were not so, you would not have caught my attention in the first place!"
The boy clearly had a wife and they played around every day they were together, was it to believe that this bastard was without attraction to the opposite sex.
Why couldn't it seduce him?
"Tch. Your methods are truly pathetic," Axis snorted. He unleashed a powerful wave of psychic energy infused with his Ki, and the vaporous remnant of Slaanesh's consciousness was instantly obliterated.
"Lord Father! You finally destroyed it," the hologram of the Solus Prime reappeared, its image flickering with relief. "When it first came aboard, I dared not make a sound. I was terrified that it would notice me."
To a certain extent, the ship's AI was also a unique soul born of the Warp. If that Chaos God had detected its presence, it would have been doomed.
Axis nodded and knelt beside Cassandra's body. He placed his hand over the gaping hole in her chest and infused her with life-giving energy.
Within moments, her condition stabilized. He then had the Solus Prime bring a diluted dose of juice from the fruit of the Tree of Might and poured it down her throat.
"Aah! You will not have my body! Get out of me, you wretched monster!" Cassandra screamed, scrambling upright in a panic, as she regained consciousness.
"It is alright," Axis said calmly, "I have already taken care of it."
If not for the unique nature of his Ki and his pure soul, he could have very well have fallen into the trap.
...
...
ps?