When Mephisto's crimson sword, Vitarius, pierced Hargon's shoulder guard, the Psychic power imbued in the blade had already destroyed the Chaos Champion's vitality.
"Your atrocities are nothing but galactic dust." The Chief Librarian's power firmly restrained the Chaos Champion, who still wished to make a desperate struggle, until the last flicker of light in his eyes vanished.
Although Hargon was a Chaos Champion, his combat effectiveness was actually above standard.
If it were a Space Marine from an ordinary Chapter, it would have been very difficult to block his attacks, but unfortunately, he was facing the Blood Angels' Chief Librarian, Mephisto, one of the Imperium's strongest Psykers.
As a result, a dignified Khorne Warband Champion died so silently.
When he fell, the Warband he brought with him was still fighting the Blood Angels' Death Company.
Mephisto watched his brothers who were still fighting and did not rashly re-enter the battle; he needed to ensure that these brothers, who had just been awakened from the Black Rage, would not fall into the Black Rage once again.
Having once been deeply engulfed in the Black Rage and assigned to the Death Company for a final honorable charge, Mephisto knew what it felt like to fall into the Black Rage.
Blood Angels who fall into the Black Rage relive the memory of their Primarch, Sanguinius, dying in the Great Rebellion's final moments aboard the Battleship Vengeful Spirit, mistaking their current enemies for Horus, and fighting and destroying everything with endless madness and fury.
This is a curse echoing in the Sanguinius's sons' genes; every Sanguinius's sons, when losing their sanity and falling into uncontrollable rage, will awaken this memory, becoming the Primarch himself on the Vengeful Spirit at that time, fighting against an imagined Horus.
This rage is so intense that when Sanguinius's sons fall into the Black Rage, they can even inherit some of the Primarch's power.
This also makes Blood Angels who have fallen into the Black Rage far stronger than usual; they are fearless, even impervious to pain, and can continue fighting even with fatal injuries.
However, before the advent of sanctus wine, once Sanguinius's sons fell into the Black Rage, they could never regain consciousness.
Their will could not resist the angry will from Sanguinius in their bloodline and genes, even if it was just the Primarch's last echo at the moment of his death.
Throughout the Blood Angels Chapter's history, approximately three individuals have managed to escape the Black Rage: the current Chapter Master, Dante, was slapped awake by a manifested Sanguinius just as he was about to fall into the Black Rage, and Mephisto himself encountered a manifested Sanguinius after being buried by a collapsing building.
Mephisto is also hailed as the only person in the Blood Angels Chapter to have overcome the Black Rage, representing the entire Chapter's hope.
And besides these two, Death Company Chaplain Lemartes is the only Sanguinius's sons who has restrained the onset of the Black Rage with his own will.
(In the old codex, Lemartes was the first Blood Angels to control the Black Rage, but after 8th Edition, it was changed to Mephisto.)
However, despite their cases, for ordinary Sanguinius's sons, trying to control the Black Rage is still an almost impossible task.
It is precisely for this reason that Mephisto pays close attention to these Death Company warriors; they are too important to the Blood Angels.
However, it seems that because the current battle is not intense, these Death Company warriors show no signs of falling into the Black Rage again.
Especially after the Ashen Knights Chapter's Terminators teleported into the fray, the battle turned into a one-sided affair, and there were no conditions that could cause the Blood Angels to fall into the Black Rage again.
This finally put Mephisto's mind at ease, and he sincerely praised the blessings bestowed by the Emperor, although for Space Marines, they rarely truly worship the Emperor as a god.
But this time, Mephisto was truly praying to the Emperor for all Blood Angels, thanking the Emperor for his blessings and salvation.
—
On the other side, Titus, wielding his Chainsword, easily cut down a group of cultists, his expression still somewhat unsatisfied.
For this former Ultramarines Second Company Captain, it had been a hundred years since his last battle.
Although he was mostly confined in a stasis field during these hundred years, Titus was still able to feel the passage of time due to the Inquisitor who imprisoned him occasionally interrogating and torturing him.
A hundred years is an exceptionally long period, even for a Space Marine.
Especially during those hundred years, he had to face the Inquisitor's torture and constant loyalty tests, which severely tormented Titus's spirit.
Although he has been released now, not being able to rejoin the Ultramarines is still something Titus cannot accept, even considering it a humiliation.
After all, the accusation of 'traitor' is very serious; it almost negates all of Titus's past honors.
This also caused a great deal of resentment to build up within Titus, which he wanted to vent through slaughter.
But these 'unqualified' enemies were clearly unable to satisfy Titus's desire for battle.
However, as a seasoned Astartes with two golden service studs embedded in his forehead, Titus still controlled his emotions very well, suppressing his anger.
He just asked, still unsatisfied, "Are there any other worthy enemies? Slaughtering these heretics can hardly be called a battle."
"I'm afraid we're too late; this Chaos Warband ran into the Blood Angels' Chief Librarian and the Death Company he brought," Gutierrez, who was now aware of the Blood Angels' deployment of the Death Company to end the battle, regretfully told Titus.
They had arrived quickly, but unfortunately, they had bad luck and did not encounter the main attack direction of the Chaos Warband, so they only got some cultists, not even a single 'can' (referring to a Space Marine).
But this is not surprising, after all, strictly speaking, there are three Space Marine Chapters involved in the Starport battle, totaling almost a hundred Astartes.
Not to mention that among them are strong individuals with names like Titus and Mephisto, who are enough to fight those fallen Legions; this nameless Chaos Warband is truly not enough for these 'lords' to kill.
Especially since the Blood Angels deployed two full Death Company squads, and the Ash Knights also committed all their Terminators to the battle.
"It was truly... a battle difficult to feel glorious about," Titus could only lament in the end.
Gutierrez had nothing much to say about this, but the Kill Team he brought gained some experience from this battle, and he himself completed a temporary combat mission to 'expel the Chaos Warband from the Starport,' earning 200 experience points and 100 mission points.
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The story doesn't end here 😉 The next chapter is already up on Patreon, you can read it here: [patreon.com/TripleCrown07]