Chapter 63: All Three Sides Make Their Move
The traitor, Zola, slowly, inconspicuously, made his way towards Omega.
He was in no hurry. Everything was under control. The plan was just one step away from completion. The daemons attacking outside would not set foot in the grand hall until they received his signal. Everything that was happening now was just a performance he and the Plague Prophet had arranged.
As long as the threat of Veyl was eliminated, this world would be theirs.
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the central hall, Archmagos Veyl stood alone, meticulously checking for any possible flaws, ensuring that the creation before him would complete its mission without fail: to destroy the entire Grand Manufactorum.
It was a high-yield atomic weapon. From the moment of its creation, destruction had been its middle name. It was not the most powerful weapon in Veyl's arsenal, but it was the most suitable. If it weren't for the presence of the allied forces, the Archmagos would have prepared a vortex torpedo. That would have burned the planet's atmosphere into a vacuum, leaving only barren bedrock.
"I hope it doesn't come to this."
He had already received the message from the allied forces, that the counter-attack had begun, that reinforcements were at hand. But the daemonic legion was closer. Only by resisting could they hope for a chance of survival.
After completing his preparations, the Archmagos decided to go up and see Omega, to see the survivors. When all was lost, he would return here, to offer his final loyalty to humanity, to the Imperium, to the Regent, to the Machine God, and to the Omnissiah.
The "Father's Party" had lost more than half its number since they had set out, but the morale of the survivors was still high. They were very close to their target. They could even hear the roar of the Space Marines fighting the daemons. The nearby daemons had all been drawn to the battle at the warp rift. There was nothing left to stop them.
Their arduous march was finally coming to an end. As long as they could assemble the reactor, the survivors would not only save their property, but also receive a super-sized bonus. The only downside was that a lot of people had died. But that didn't matter. Fortune favors the bold. Without their sacrifice and contribution, this expedition would have collapsed long ago.
Teyedan, as the forge of humanity, does not rain. But on the battlefield at the Teyedan warp rift, a rotting, plague-ridden storm swirled around the mountain-like body of the Great Unclean One, spreading Nurgle's plagues to every corner of the battlefield through the rain.
Nauseating plants spread out from the Great Unclean One like waves, hindering and entangling every Space Marine who tried to get close. The chainswords of the battle-brothers swung ceaselessly. If they were even a little slow in cutting down these plants, more would entangle them, trying to drag the Space Marines into the tide of vegetation and "drown" them.
"Griffin, is there any way to get close to it now?" Ventris asked the Daemonhunter Inquisitor. Only this expert in fighting daemons could solve their current problem.
Griffin's face was grim. He shook his head. "The only way is a frontal assault."
Ventris showed no disappointment at the answer. He had only asked in the hope of finding a safer, more reliable method. He immediately deployed his plan, ordering a staggered artillery bombardment on a designated location, from near to far, at a specific time. He would personally lead a vehicle assault, hugging the artillery line, using the brief window of opportunity when the plants were destroyed by the artillery fire and had not yet recovered, to push forward with the bombardment.
The plan was dangerous. Whether it was the artillery providing the opening barrage or Ventris and his men in the vehicles, a single mistake in coordination would result in them either being swamped by the plants or being blown to bits by their own artillery. But no one objected. They were the Space Marines of the Imperium, the Emperor's Angels of Death. Death was their mission, and their glory.
Outside the Grand Manufactorum, the Plague Prophet Viktor was commanding the Nurgle daemons to put on a show in coordination with the traitor Zola. He had already received news of the surprise attack on the warp rift. He found the struggles of these lapdogs of the Corpse-Emperor, these believers of a false god, laughable.
Viktor was no longer the failed apprentice he once was. He was the Plague Prophet, blessed by the Allfather, one who had touched the truth of the world. The power of the Rainfather could not be shaken by the false demigods the ignorant masses spoke of. They were just bio-constructs made by the Corpse-Emperor. Even the Death Guard warband, who had received the Allfather's blessing, now looked at him with a mixture of awe and jealousy.
The Plague Prophet held a certain contempt for those Death Guard in his heart. They only coveted the power of the Allfather, not knowing that mercy, generosity, and love were the true essence of his greatness. "They are merely dogs of power."
When Viktor had expressed his opinion of the Chaos Space Marines to his beloved family member, Rotigus the Rainfather, Rotigus's laughter had echoed through the warp rift all the way to the Allfather's garden.
Gazing at the fires of battle in the distance, while playing with the Nurglings at his side, Viktor thought to himself: This world is destined to belong to the great Allfather. Offering it to Him is not to gain anything in return, but simply to express my love for Him.
He's here!
Omega noticed that Magos Zola was now not far from him. They had already exchanged a silent glance, but it had seemed like a chance encounter. Neither of them had expressed anything.
Zola's thought: Hmm, a flawless disguise. It's time to give him the item.
Omega, playing the part of "Omega" to perfection, had successfully fooled the traitor. And now, he intended to give Zola a few hints, to further confirm the veracity of the information he had gotten from the daemon. He stealthily gave Zola a wink.
Omega (ಡωಡ)
Zola's thought: Hiss... what's with that expression? Hasn't he gotten used to the new body yet?
Omega's thought: He froze for a second. Is something wrong?
Fearing the daemon would be exposed, and with the situation so favorable, Zola couldn't afford a slip-up at the final moment. He quickly walked over to Omega and whispered, "Take this. When I leave, find a chance to strike."
Omega's thought: So you admit it? This is a bit insulting. Do you know how many plans I came up with to confirm you were the traitor?
"Don't make that strange expression again! You haven't fully accustomed yourselves to his body yet. A blank expression is fine!"
"After you've succeeded, send us a message through this device."
"..."
To confirm the importance of the Grand Manufactorum to the daemons, Omega risked a probe. "We are not completely confident." Fearing his question might arouse suspicion, he quickly added, "This body is too weak. To remain hidden, we cannot twist and strengthen it with our power. Instead of an assassination, it would be better to let us kill him directly with our original power."
Zola wasn't really suspicious of Omega. How could a child be a match for three daemons? He was silent purely because he found the question annoying. But no plan was perfect; failure was always a possibility. Considering the uncontrollability of daemons, Zola decided to warn them not to act on their own and let the situation spiral out of control. He warned the daemon-Omega, "Do not act on your own. Veyl must die suddenly. You cannot give him any opportunity to destroy the Grand Manufactorum!"
Omega's thought: It seems the daemon wasn't lying. Their target is the Grand Manufactorum.
From the daemon, Omega had learned their entire plan, but he had never been able to be sure if the daemon was lying. Now, with confirmation from the traitor's own mouth, he was confident he could escape this.
Let's rewind to when Omega was interrogating the daemon.
"You're saying this is all the Rainfather's plot? He wants to drag this world into the warp?"
"Ah, yes, yes! The Rainfather has always been the Allfather's second-most favored Great Unclean One. He has always worked tirelessly between the mortal realm and the Allfather's domain, trying to offer more souls and sacrifices to the Allfather, to supplant the Plaguefather and become the Allfather's number one favorite. Now, if you'll just stop..."
"Shut up! Anymore useless talk and I'll accelerate..." Omega threatened.
The daemon, twisting and struggling, unable to escape the "Egg of Omega," quickly said, "No, no, don't!"
"So he succeeded?" Omega continued.
"Yes, but only because the Plaguefather, Ku'gath, made a mistake and angered the Allfather and was punished. That's how Rotigus succeeded."
"Oh? I thought you always said your master loved you all the most? He punishes you? Are you lying to me? I'm accelerating..."
"Don't! The Plaguefather led the Anathame to the garden, and a corner of the Allfather's garden was completely burned by the Anathame."
Omega's thought: The Plague War!
Seeing that the Nurgle daemon was no longer very green from being absorbed, and worried that it would be gone before he finished asking his questions, Omega, showing his true capitalist colors, continued to press, "Keep talking! What about the Plague War? What does it have to do with this?"
"Because at that time, the Blood God, the Lord of Change, and the Dark Prince, they did not like the influence of the Plague War making the Allfather greater, so they joined forces to attack the Scourge Stars."
Omega nodded. "Hmm, classic Chaos. Continue."
"Although the Allfather is the greatest of the four gods, he was a little overwhelmed dealing with three at once, so he had the Plaguefather and the Daemon Primarch Mortarion return to the Scourge Stars to help."
"And then?"
"But the Plaguefather was immersed in the God-Plague he was brewing."
"Hmm."
"Mortarion only wanted to kill his brother. He injected Guilliman with the Plaguefather's God-Plague, trying to kill him. But the power of the God-Plague was too strong. It pulled Guilliman into the Allfather's garden. The Anathame possessed Guilliman and used his power to burn the garden. The Allfather was busy dealing with the Blood God and the others and could not stop the Anathame, which led to a part of the Allfather's domain being completely burned."
"So he punished the Plaguefather and let the Rainfather take his place as the chief Great Unclean One."
"Please, stop for a moment. I can't take it anymore," the daemon pleaded.
Omega's thought: You think I want to? I don't want to suck you dry this fast either. But he couldn't show weakness. He had to pretend he could control the eggshell. "Shut up! You dare to bargain with me? I'll accel—"
"No! Don't!" the daemon cried pitifully.
"..." Omega was almost starting to feel sorry for it.
"What does Rotigus's interest in this place have to do with all this? Hurry up and tell me! I'll stop after you're done!"
Omega's thought: Brother, just hold on a little longer.
The daemon continued, "The desperate prayers of the starving people here naturally attracted the attention of the Rainfather, who is also known as the god of harvest."
"He's the god of harvest too? What the hell?"
"The god of rain, the god of life, that's also him."
Can't you just leave the common folk a way to live...
"But this is a Forge World. It doesn't even rain, and there's not much life. Why is he so interested?" Omega asked, racing against time.
"Because the forces that follow the Allfather were severely damaged in the Scourge Stars. The Rainfather wants them to recover their strength faster, so they can continue to offer more souls to the Allfather and expand his influence in the mortal realm. With this Forge World, they can recover faster."
Omega retorted with disdain, "You're lying to me. Isn't he afraid the Imperium will just blow this planet up and all his efforts will be in vain? I'm really going to accelerate and kill you now! Your usefulness is your only capital! Without it, you are nothing! Understand?"
The daemon was about to cry. No, it had been crying all along. It wasn't lying, but no one believed it. It wasn't a blue-feathered daemon of Tzeentch who loved to lie. The daemon explained, "As long as we can perform a ritual here, we can drag this planet into the Empyrean. That way, we can not only avoid the humans, but we can also use the Allfather's power to reshape it."
Omega's thought: Holy scrap... there's a trick like that? No, if it were that easy, the Imperium's Exterminatus would have been a decoration long ago.
"Hmm? Is it that easy? Not to mention, Teyedan is almost in ruins. If it were that easy to drag a planet in, how many planets would be left in the galaxy?"
"It is not easy. Of course, it is not easy. Even the four gods would not use such vast power recklessly."
"Then..."
"The Rainfather has paid a great price for this. But for the Allfather, he is willing. It would have been very difficult for him to do it, but this planet is already enveloped in extreme despair. The veil between the mortal world and the Empyrean has been greatly weakened. This has given him an opportunity."
"..." Omega didn't know what to say. The greatest helper of the daemons was humanity itself. How ironic...
"Although this world is in ruins," the daemon continued, "the foundation of a Forge World is still there. It can be repaired by the people of the Dark Mechanicum."
Omega's thought: I forgot about those heretek cog-heads. I heard they are masters of combining daemons and machines, making machines move on their own. If they come to repair it, they won't even need to replace the broken parts. Just stuff a daemon inside and it's fixed.
"So Rotigus wanted this world from the beginning. Then what does killing Veyl have to do with it? Why are they afraid of him destroying this place?"
"He is the builder of this world, its first master. Only he can erase this world in a meaningful sense. Others cannot."
Omega's thought: "Meaningful sense"? So idealistic? Doesn't that make me, the future second-generation master, look a little weak...
"How much of Rotigus's strength is left now?"
"..." The daemon.
"Speak! If you don't, I'll accel—"
"The Rainfather has been using his power to weaken the veil. Most of his power has been used for this."
"Isn't he afraid that if he's banished, the daemons will reveal his weakness? Give me your true name. Swear your loyalty to me and be my hound, and I will spare your life."
Daemon's thought: Pure threats. Where's the enticement? This little human has no experience.
"Will you speak or not? I'm warning you, in my hands, you will suffer greatly. You've noticed, haven't you? In here, no matter whose name you call, they can't hear you. Don't think I haven't noticed your little tricks!"
Daemon: "..."
"I can wait. I'll wait until you speak. But by then, if you don't even have the strength to speak, don't blame me."
"A mortal cannot approach the Rainfather. He, who is known as the Rain God, is surrounded by the 'Flood of Nurgle.' He, who is known as the God of Life, can make plague-ridden plants grow in waves around him. He is the Allfather's chief Great Unclean One, the most favored. He has no weakness!"
"Oh, then forget it."
"I am willing to be your loyal servant."
"I don't want you."
"..."
"I am willing to offer..."
"I don't want it."
"You lied to me!"
"Hmm, that's right."
"Aaaah, I curse you!"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening, the tortoise is chanting scriptures."
"I..."
"Rebound."
What do you do when you run into the new chief Great Unclean One who's trying to rack up achievements?
Corvus Omega: It's difficult? Then let's not do it at all! (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴