The Blood Ocean dimension violently churned, enraged by Khorne's will. The colossal avatar, a symbol of the essence of slaughter, clearly perceived the transformation occurring deep within the Blood Ocean in that tiny soul, a metamorphosis beyond its control. A power, somewhat alien even to it, was brewing within Dorian. It wasn't mere submission or corruption, but something... more dangerous, more resolute.
There was no more time to wait.
"Blasphemy... must be... annihilated!"
A wave of thought, mingled with the roars of billions of battlefield souls, swept across the Blood Ocean like a physical shockwave. On the colossal body of Khorne's avatar, the wailing skulls seemed to be infused with new pain, emitting even sharper, silent shrieks. The flames burning within its four-horned skull suddenly surged, as if to incinerate this domain it had created!
Its four muscular, pillar-like arms rose high again. This time, each arm condensed a terrifying concept, distinct yet sharing a common origin—
The front right arm condensed the purest will of "Slaughter," stripped of all emotion and impurity. Where its fingertips pointed, space itself seemed to be sliced by an invisible blade.
The front left arm was entwined with a viscous, dripping torrent of "Blood," seemingly composed of countless eons of accumulated gore, exuding a sickening sweetness and the scent of life's end.
The rear right arm: seethed with boundless "Fury" flames, enough to burn through sanity. These were no ordinary flames, but the direct manifestation of rage scorching the soul.
The rear left arm: solidified into countless pale, twisted, ghostly "Skulls," as if still silently screaming, representing the ultimate spoils of conquest and death, exuding the cold finality of demise.
The four arms represented the four pillars of Khorne's authority: Slaughter, Blood, Fury, and Skulls. At this moment, they were simultaneously driven to their peak, carrying terrifying power capable of crushing souls and redefining rules, like four falling crimson stars, crashing down fiercely and simultaneously into the seemingly calm, yet turbulent, Blood Ocean below!
This strike was intended to utterly erase Dorian, along with the restless sprout within him, from the plane of existence!
However—
Just as those four arms, imbued with destructive concepts, were about to touch the surface of the sea!
"Boom—!!!!"
The Blood Ocean below erupted upwards as if billions of tons of explosives had been dropped into it! A colossal black silhouette, no less massive than Khorne's avatar, burst through the surface, like an awakened ancient god, bringing with it towering blood waves and an even purer, more ferocious aura of slaughter!
It was also a Khorne Daemon! Its muscles were solid and gnarled like steel mountains, its body covered in a thick, dull, blood-like carapace. Countless jagged bone spikes and horns grew savagely from its joints and spine, exuding a primal, brutal beauty. And most striking was that it also possessed four incredibly thick, destruction-laden arms!
This newly appeared Daemon, with its four newborn arms, also imbued with terrifying power, precisely and firmly braced itself, like four iron clamps, against the four colossal fists of Khorne's avatar, which represented Slaughter, Blood, Fury, and Skulls, respectively!
The collision of fists produced no great sound, but instead unleashed silent energy ripples that warped reality! The Blood Ocean was pushed aside by the force of the impact, forming a huge, temporarily vacant depression!
For the first time, Khorne's avatar's burning eye sockets clearly revealed an emotion called "astonishment." It gazed at the Daemon before it, similar in form and sharing a common origin of aura, yet carrying a disturbing "foreign" sensation, especially the power contained within its four arms, which clearly originated from its own domain but was wielded by a more resilient will!
This newly appeared Daemon was Dorian!
Deep within the Blood Ocean, on the edge of conscious oblivion, the Emperor's phantom brought not a direct gift of power, but an enlightenment, a catalyst. It was like a mirror, reflecting Dorian's innermost, never-corrupted essence—not pure goodness or gentleness, but Dorian's most primal protective obsession and unyielding fighting spirit. This essence unexpectedly resonated with the "pure" part of Khorne's power, free from trickery and corruption, and under the restraint and guidance of his firm belief, "I believe in the Emperor," it completed the "purification" and "mastery" of this power!
He did not abandon Khorne's power, but in an unprecedented way—with his own will and faith as the core—he "catalyzed" it to its extreme, making it his own! At this moment, he was an unprecedented entity, bearing the form of Khorne's power, yet dominated by the will of the Ultramarines Dorian!
Dorian's Daemon-like head lifted, his eyes, burning with interwoven Golden and crimson flames, stared fixedly at Khorne's avatar, letting out a roar more violent than thunder, more scorching than a volcano, a sound that made the entire Blood Ocean dimension tremble:
"Come on!!!"
"Don't you claim to be the God of War and Slaughter?!!!"
"Come and try... to defeat me!!!"
Amidst the roar, Dorian's four arms suddenly exerted force! The power, catalyzed to its extreme and mixed with his own ferocity and protective will, surged forth like a breached stellar river!
"Crack—!!!"
"Pfft—!!!"
"Boom—!!!"
"Bang—!!!"
Four soul-shaking sounds of shattering and explosion, almost simultaneously!
Khorne's avatar's four arms, each embodying the concepts of Slaughter, Blood, Fury, and Skulls, were, starting from the fists, actually crushed and shattered by Dorian's terrifying power! The will of Slaughter was crushed by a purer fighting spirit, the torrent of Blood was evaporated by boiling battle intent, the flames of Fury were consumed by a resolute inner fire, and the ghostly Skulls were scattered by an Unyielding Will!
Immediately after, Dorian's head, covered in jagged carapaces, slammed forward! A fiercely powerful headbutt, imbued with all his rage and resolve, brutally struck Khorne's avatar's gigantic four-horned skull!
"Clang—!!!!!"
Like a great bell being struck! The four curved, grotesque Daemon horns, symbolizing Khorne's authority and majesty, snapped off! The shattered horn fragments scattered like meteors, falling into the Blood Ocean and stirring up ripples!
Khorne's avatar let out an incredulous, silent shriek, mixed with pain and fury! It could not comprehend how a mortal soul could wield and, in turn, destroy the manifestation of its will!
But this was only the beginning of Dorian's counterattack!
His colossal Daemon body, like the most ferocious battering ram, slammed into Khorne's avatar's embrace! His four arms became a storm of destruction, giant fists raining down like blows, each impact containing mountain-splitting power, fully showcasing his fighting style—brutal, direct, effective, belonging to Dorian!
Bone spikes were smashed off by fists, newly regrown arms were torn directly from the shoulder blades and thrown into the Blood Ocean, heavy kicks landed on the avatar's knee joints, making its colossal body stagger!
Dorian, like a tireless, pain-impervious engine of destruction, frantically dismantled and destroyed the avatar of this deity before him. In this ultimate outburst of violence and rage, his consciousness seemed to detach, falling into a warm glow of memories.
He saw years ago, on the 7th Company's Strike Cruiser, the Unyielding Will. At that time, they had just taken in young Lina, who had lost everything. The little girl, timid and dirty, was like a thorn, piercing precisely into the softest part of Dorian's heart, reminding him of his own miserable childhood on Skull-Crushing Star, where it was dark and he had to fight beasts for half a piece of bread. At that moment, he swore in his heart to protect this girl, to give her everything he could, and never to let her experience the hardships he had endured. Later, Eiras came to the warship, that mischievous but equally insecure little one, and he also included her in his clumsy but sincere circle of protection.
He saw himself making mistakes and causing trouble countless times. When he nearly wrecked the company's thunderhawk gunship, it was Luna, with little Eiras, who secretly performed emergency repairs in the hangar overnight, her hands covered in oil, just to help him cover up his mistake, keeping it from the furious Captain. It was Gaius, who time and again, after Dorian acted impulsively and broke discipline, silently stepped forward to explain to the Captain on his behalf, taking on most of the punishment. It was Lieutenant Golden, that officer like an elder brother, who countless times in the dead of night, would quietly look at a photo of the four of them—Golden, Gaius, Dorian, Luna—from when they were still in the Third Company, his eyes revealing a longing for the old days that could never return, yet still doing his best to mediate, offering tolerance and guidance after they caused trouble.
He saw Captain Cassius, that hot-tempered First Company Captain who would roar loud enough for the entire company to hear, called into Chapter Master Marius Calgar's office and reprimanded for almost a whole day because of Dorian's incorrigible recklessness. When he nervously awaited the final punishment, he saw the Captain emerge, looking tired but feigning calmness, merely waving his hand and telling him to "go to the training ground and do five hundred more sets of strength training," bearing all the pressure alone. The Captain truly had a love-hate relationship with him, hating that he couldn't live up to his potential, yet unable to truly abandon this warrior he had personally trained, who had obvious flaws but was fundamentally good.
These faces—Captain Cassius, who was exasperated yet deeply caring; Gaius, steady and reliable as a rock; Luna, quiet but always standing behind him; Lina and Eiras, whom he swore to protect; Lieutenant Golden, his mentor and friend; and Champion Draculas, who always wore a stern face but would secretly give him pointers on the training ground—they seemed to cross time and space, piercing through this bloody illusion, appearing clearly before him one by one.
They did not speak, but merely watched him silently, their gazes filled with trust, worry, and a silent encouragement. Their presence seemed to shout at him:
'Dorian! Stand up!'
'Don't be fooled by this false power!'
'You are always you! Always Dorian from Skull-Crushing Star, who chose protection and loyalty! You are always our brother!'
This power, stemming from memories and bonds, was stronger than any deity's gift! It was like the final purifying fire, completely incinerating the last trace of brutality and chaos remaining in his heart from catalyzing Khorne's power, leaving only the purest, most resolute self!
"Ugh ah—!!!"
Dorian suddenly reopened his eyes! Now, the flames in his eyes were no longer tinged with any impurity, only the coldness and resolve of tempered steel! He looked ahead; Khorne's avatar had been shattered and battered by his furious counterattack, its four arms completely broken, its body covered in cracks and dents, and its four-horned skull reduced to only broken roots, its burning flames significantly dimmed.
Dorian's four massive arms suddenly stretched out, gripping like four iron clamps the limbs and torso connections of Khorne's avatar's broken body! His waist and leg muscles bulged to their limit, unleashing terrifying power that shook the entire Blood Ocean dimension!
"Lift—!!!"
With a roar, Dorian actually lifted the colossal, mountain-like Khorne's avatar above his head!
Then, he exerted force with all four arms, throwing the broken shell representing the will of the God of Slaughter, like an unsightly piece of garbage, towards the far end of the Blood Ocean!
"Boom—!!!!!!!!"
The avatar's colossal body traced a long arc, finally crashing heavily into the Blood Ocean far away, stirring up colossal, tsunami-like waves! The crimson seawater churned wildly, unable to settle for a long time.
Having done all this, Dorian's massive Daemon body, step by step, walked steadily through the surging blood waves towards the blasphemous Chaos God.
His battle was not yet over.
His redemption was also not yet complete.
The Blood Ocean surged, the waves unsettled. The broken remains of Khorne's avatar, thrown by Dorian like discarded waste, struggled on the distant surface of the sea, slowly rising again. Its head, with broken Daemon horns, shattered eye sockets, and only half a skull remaining, appeared grotesquely comical and terrifying, dark red, viscous energy flowing from the fractured parts like festering wounds.
Despite its shattered form, as an extension of Khorne's will, the destructive desire emanating from the god's very essence had not extinguished; instead, it grew more fervent and reckless due to the setback. Its remaining half of a massive maw suddenly opened, as if all the surrounding air had been sucked out. Endless murderous intent, thirst for blood, raging fury, and obsession with skulls—the four core concepts constituting its existence—converged and compressed with unprecedented intensity!
No longer dispersed among its four arms, but entirely concentrated into a single point!
Before its gaping maw, space violently twisted, and a dark-red energy sphere, with a diameter far exceeding anything before and appearing to contain billions of wailing, burning souls, formed at an astonishing speed! Black electric arcs that tore reality danced across the sphere's surface, and at its center was an ultimate darkness, representing absolute void and annihilation. This was the Daemon Prince's final strike, unleashing all its remaining power—the ultimate annihilation energy, fusing the four authorities of slaughter, blood, rage, and skulls!
"Aaaargh—!!!"
A single syllable, mixed with endless malice and destructive will, squeezed out from its half-skull.
The next moment, the massive annihilation energy sphere, radiating a tremor that made the entire blood-sea space ripple, shot towards Dorian, who was still steadily advancing, like a falling dark sun, carrying the absolute will to annihilate everything in its path!
Wherever the energy sphere passed, the blood-sea evaporated, creating a vast vacuum tunnel. The skeletal remains of the continent below silently melted like snow under the sun, and even space itself bore twisted, shattered marks.
Facing this terrifying strike, capable of completely erasing even a lesser Daemon Prince from existence, Dorian's massive demonic body showed no sign of dodging or blocking.
He continued his steady, mountain-like advance, step by step, unswervingly moving towards the Daemon Prince. His eyes, burning with interwoven Golden-red flames, calmly watched the incoming destructive energy, showing not the slightest ripple, as if what approached was not an end, but merely a breeze to walk through.
"Boom—!!!"
The ultimate annihilation energy sphere struck Dorian squarely in the chest, without any fancy maneuvers!
The anticipated earth-shattering explosion did not occur. The moment the energy sphere touched Dorian's body, it displayed its terrifying "annihilation" characteristic—decomposition, assimilation, erasure!
Dorian's thick, dark-chitin-covered skin and muscle on his chest rapidly dissolved and vaporized at a visible rate, like metal thrown into strong acid! The grotesque bone spikes broke and dissipated under the energy's scour, and the powerful demonic chitin peeled off in brittle fragments, revealing the rapidly melting, Golden-red glowing energy meridians and deeper structures beneath.
Excruciating pain! A pain far beyond any previous attack, as if his soul was being torn apart inch by inch, surged through Dorian's nerves like a tsunami!
Yet, his steps did not falter in the slightest.
He continued forward, step by step, enduring the relentless, madly eroding ultimate annihilation energy. His body continuously thinned under the energy's scour, and a massive, ever-expanding hole appeared in his chest. But his four arms, his demon-horned head, and his eyes, burning with resolute flames, remained intact, and... grew brighter!
That annihilation energy could destroy matter, and it could decompose energy, but it could not annihilate the soul core, constructed from the purest will and faith!
Finally, with his body ravaged by the annihilation energy and his chest almost completely pierced through, Dorian reached the Daemon Prince.
He raised his right forearm, ignoring the continuous stream of annihilation energy still spraying and scorching his arm, and precisely and powerfully... clamped down on the Daemon Prince's last remaining half of a jaw!
At the same time, his right rear arm, like a cannonball, slammed a punch into the Daemon Prince's hollow eye socket, where its eyes once were!
"Bang—!!!"
The remaining bones and energy structures completely shattered under this punch!
Immediately after, his two left arms shot out like iron pincers, firmly grasping the two broken demonic horn stumps on the Daemon Prince's head, which were now only rough roots!
The Daemon Prince's broken body trembled violently, and the annihilation energy spray became unstable. It felt... a long-forgotten, primal fear? No, it was something more fundamental, a threat it could not comprehend!
Dorian's face, blurred by the energy's scorching, showed no expression, only absolute focus and coldness. In his heart, like the most devout worshipper performing a final prayer, he silently recited the sole creed that had sustained him to this moment and granted him the power to transcend the shackles of a god:
'For the Emperor.'
The next moment, the muscles on his four arms instantly bulged to their limit, like coiling steel cables! The power, catalyzed to its extreme, a blend of Khorne's power and his own immortal will, erupted like four intertwined galaxies!
"CRACK—!!!!"
A colossal, teeth-grinding shattering sound, as if the very foundation of the entire blood-sea space had been shaken!
The Daemon Prince's remaining half of a skull, along with the neck connected below, was forcibly... broken in half by Dorian's unparalleled strength!
Dark-red energy surged out from the fracture like an erupting volcano! The shattered torso lost its power support, convulsed violently a few times, and finally, like a collapsing mountain, crashed backward into the churning blood-sea below, splashing towering waves, then slowly sank without a sound.
The blood-sea space fell into a brief, deathly silence. Only the sound of churning blood waves and the faint hum of energy flowing within Dorian's broken body remained.
However, this silence did not last long.
A majestic, ancient voice, seemingly containing all the violence and wrath from the universe's genesis, no longer using the Daemon Prince as a conduit, but directly, like a law, resounded in every corner of this space, filled with undisguised disappointment and the ultimate fury of a god repeatedly provoked by an ant:
"You... have... disappointed... Us..."
"In that case... then... die here..."
As these words of ultimate judgment fell, the eternal crimson sky of the blood-sea space underwent a drastic change!
The thick, viscous clouds, composed of countless vengeful souls and murderous intent, were violently torn apart to both sides as if by an invisible giant hand! Beyond the clouds was not a starry sky, but a deeper, more terrifying... void!
Immediately after, at the center of that void, a point of light ignited.
That light was initially faint, but in an instant, it expanded and blazed, transforming into a... colossal, indescribably massive sphere of flame!
It was not an ordinary star, but a fireball forged from countless souls enduring eternal torment in Khorne's domain, burning with ultimate pain and fury! This was the legendary "Summoned Sun" of Khorne's domain, the ultimate manifestation used to purge all unworthy creations and execute final judgment!
This "Summoned Sun" was so vast that when it fully manifested, Dorian's body, which was still mountain-like even after demonization, appeared as tiny as a speck of dust in a storm before it! Fiery-white flames tinged with crimson wildly leaped and surged across its surface. The intense heat, even before fully descending, had already begun to evaporate large sections of the blood-sea below into crimson steam, instantly charring the floating bones into pale ashes. Even space itself twisted and blurred under this extreme heat!
The Summoned Sun, carrying the will to judge all, slowly but irresistibly, descended towards Dorian, towards the center of this blood-sea space! The heat and destructive energy it contained were enough to completely evaporate and reset this domain constructed by a god's will!
Facing this truly ultimate wrath of a god, this destructive spectacle capable of instantly crushing any mortal creature, and even most Daemons, into kneeling pleas, Dorian's broken body remained ramrod straight.
He knew no fear. From the moment he chose to uphold his loyalty and confront the Chaos God, the emotion of fear had been completely stripped from his soul.
He would always be Dorian. Always a warrior of the Ultramarines Chapter's First Company. Always loyal to the Emperor, loyal to Ultramar, loyal to... his brothers.
He slowly spread his legs, adopting the most stable, weight-bearing stance, rooting himself deeply into the rapidly vaporizing, disintegrating ground beneath his feet. His four remaining arms simultaneously lifted upwards, the knotted muscles on his arms bulging like awakening giant dragons, and the dark-blue energy meridians beneath them pulsed wildly, glowing with an unyielding light.
He closed his eyes. In his final moments, what flashed through his consciousness was not fear of death, nor clinging to power, but the vivid faces of his comrades—Calgar's steadfastness, Luna's quietude, Captain Cassius's fiery but implicitly caring gaze, Lina and Eiras's relying smiles, Lieutenant Golden's helplessness and tolerance, Champion Draculas's dependable back... These were the treasures he truly wished to protect with his life, the ultimate source of his strength.
The next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes!
By then, the massive "Summoned Sun" was already almost upon him! Its destructive heat and light threatened to completely ignite his shattered body!
"ROAR—!!!!!!!"
A primal and utterly resolute battle cry, as if to burn his soul to ashes, erupted from Dorian's chest! The already overburdened ground beneath his feet instantly shattered and collapsed under this explosive power!
His broken body, like a salmon swimming upstream, like a moth rushing into a blazing fire, with a tragic momentum of going forward no matter the odds, suddenly... soared skyward!
His four arms, like four colossal pillars supporting the firmament, carrying all his will, all his strength, all his unyielding spirit and loyalty, fiercely... braced against the very bottom of the descending "Summoned Sun," which burned with the flames of countless souls!
"THUD—!!!!!!!!!!"
An indescribable impact sound, like the mournful clash of two worlds!
The moment of contact, the tough chitin and muscles on Dorian's four arms instantly carbonized and shattered under the extreme heat and impact! But the Golden-red glowing energy skeleton and surging torrent of power within his arms firmly held, as if welded to the surface of the "Summoned Sun"!
His feet sank deep into the ground below, which had melted into churning lava due to the intense heat, and the immense pressure almost buried half his body.
The Summoned Sun's descent... was actually... forcibly... halted!
Flames, like living vipers, fiercely coiled around and scorched Dorian's body, further destroying his already broken form. But his four arms, like the strongest load-bearing shafts, did not bend or retreat in the slightest! He tilted his head back, his eyes burning with flames, staring fixedly at the boundless inferno above, as if engaged in a final, silent standoff with the divine will behind it!
Power was rapidly depleting, and his body was quickly disintegrating. But his will, like refined steel tempered a thousand times, became even purer, even... indestructible, under the scorching flames!
The discipline of the Ultramarines, the glory of Ultramar, the faith in the Emperor, the bonds with his brothers... all of it transformed into the final, strongest power that enabled him to lift this "Summoned Sun"!
Who knows how long passed, perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.
As Dorian's power and will burned to their most brilliant peak, and as the flames of the "Summoned Sun" seemed to be suppressed by this Unyielding Will—
An indescribably brilliant and pure... white light suddenly erupted from the core point of contact between Dorian and the "Summoned Sun"!
The light was so intense that it instantly consumed everything! It consumed Dorian's figure, consumed the flames of the "Summoned Sun," consumed the churning blood-sea, consumed the endless bones... consumed this entire crimson space constructed by Khorne's will!
After the light, all was silent.
The battle of wills between Dorian and Khorne concluded in this pure white light.
Drathemiandas, once a thriving planet, a fusion of industry and faith, had now completely devolved into a burning inferno. The sky was covered by bloody scars torn open by Warp Gates, and the earth groaned under the trampling of Daemons and the ravages of war. The air was thick with the stench of blood, gunpowder, and the foul odor of chaotic energy.
As Angron, using the soul-echoes of tens of millions of innocent dead as sacrifice, forcibly ripped open the barrier between reality and the Warp, dozens of massive Khorne Warp Gates, like festering boils, appeared all over the planet. Pouring out from these gates were no longer low-level Bloodletters and Berserkers, but the true backbone and terrifying symbol of Khorne's legions—Bloodthirsters! Looking out, in the ruins of the Hive City, at the edge of the Shrine World, and even in the orbital void, more than fifty roaring Bloodthirsters were charging forth, an astonishing number! Their colossal, mountain-like bodies, eyes burning with blood-flames, and terrifying great axes capable of cleaving starship armor, brought devastating pressure to the battlefield.
The Grey Knights immediately reacted with the most effective countermeasures. Under the command of a Grand Master, approximately forty Grey Knight Terminators quickly dispersed into several combat teams, like silver blades, precisely cutting into the demonic tide. Their objective was clear—intercept and prioritize banishing the Bloodthirsters that posed the greatest threat to mortal forces and regular Astartes. Pure psychic flames clashed violently with the Daemons' blasphemous Warp energy. Each swing of a nemesis force halberds was accompanied by the Daemons' pained roars and intense spatial fluctuations.
Meanwhile, the main force of the Grey Knights, over ninety Terminators, led by another Grand Master, along with Lion El'Jonson and Konrad Curze, formed the core of the hunting party for Angron. They were like a constantly shrinking encirclement of silver and dark, trapping Angron, who had just unleashed his terrifying ritual and whose aura was somewhat unstable, firmly in the center of the chaotic battlefield in the lower levels of the Hive City.
Angron stood atop the ruins. The process of tens of millions of souls being forcibly extracted and integrated into his Daemon Primarch body seemed to have intensified the torment of the butcher's nails on his remaining sanity. His massive body swayed slightly, and a deep growl, a mix of pain and fury, emanated from his fanged maw. His chainaxe, "world ender (angron's chainaxe)," spun wildly in his hand, emitting an ear-splitting shriek. His eyes, burning with blood-flames, slowly swept over Lion El'Jonson, Konrad Curze, and the ninety-plus solemn Grey Knights surrounding him, his gaze filled with pure, condescending destructive desire, as if appraising a group of ants about to be crushed.
"For the Emperor! Banish the blasphemous!"
The Grey Knight Grand Master's stern and resolute voice was like the clarion call for a general assault.
The next moment, over ninety pure silver psychic energy beams shot into the sky, intertwining with Lion El'Jonson's deep green Primarch radiance and Konrad Curze's icy shadow power, forming a net that enveloped Angron! The final battle to banish a Daemon Primarch had officially begun!
At the same time, in other areas of the battlefield, the main air-dropped forces of the Ultramarines and Blood Angels, like a timely rain, precisely landed at critical points of the precarious defensive lines.
The deep blue "Macragge's Honour" and the red-gold "Red Tear" poured the Imperium's wrath and hope onto the ground like two giants. Countless drop pods, like meteors of steel, slammed into the densest demonic areas. Their doors opened, revealing squads of steel-willed, well-equipped Astartes Brother.
Chapter Master Marius Calgar and Dante, two legendary warriors hailed as "first among those below the Primarchs," personally led their forces, descending upon the most strained sections of the front where Bloodthirsters were most rampant.
Their appearance instantly turned the tide of the local battlefield.
A Bloodthirster spotted Dante's conspicuous golden mask and flowing cape, letting out a bloodthirsty roar. Wielding its massive flesh-cleaver, it charged like an out-of-control flesh-train! Its power, enough to cleave a leman russ tank in two, carried a terrifying air-ripping force!
However, Dante's figure, seasoned by a millennium of warfare, did not even retreat half a step. The power axe "Indomitable," passed down from Sanguinius's era, was wielded with effortless precision, sweeping upwards. The axe blade burned with the Blood Angels' unyielding battle spirit!
"Clang—!!!"
A deafening crash exploded! The Bloodthirster's mighty downward chop was firmly parried by Dante's seemingly casual strike! Amidst the showering sparks, Dante flicked his wrist, and the Indomitable Axe, as if alive, traced an arcane arc, deftly deflecting the immense force. He then followed through with a downward chop, leaving a bone-deep wound on the Bloodthirster's thick, chitin-covered arm!
Simultaneously, the Sanguinary Guard behind him, as if in perfect sync, attacked with Bolters and power swords, precisely targeting the Bloodthirster's exposed weaknesses from its injury! Dante himself moved like a dancing angel of death, his footwork agile. Every swing of the Indomitable Axe inevitably inflicted a fatal wound on the demon! That powerful Bloodthirster, under the tacit cooperation of the ancient Chapter Master and his guard, was like a child being toyed with, possessing furious strength but unable to unleash it. Finally, amidst unwilling roars, Dante's axe severed its massive, horned head!
On the other side, Calgar's fighting style was more direct and efficient. He didn't even give the Bloodthirsters attempting to charge him a chance to get close. He stood like a calm battlefield commander in the center of the line, surrounded by his Ultramar Praetorian/Custodian Guard, whose heavy weapons—assault cannons, lascannons, and whirlwind missile launchers—were already primed.
When another Bloodthirster broke through the barrage and roared, trying to approach, Calgar simply made a gesture.
The next moment, it was like a volcanic eruption! Several assault cannons spewed a dense hail of bullets, instantly enveloping the demon's frontal armor, making it stumble backward; closely followed, lascannons precisely targeted its joints and head, scorching out charred craters; finally, several whirlwind missiles, trailing plumes of smoke, like the kisses of death, precisely burrowed into the wounds created by the previous firepower—
"Boom—!!!"
A violent internal explosion occurred within the Bloodthirster! Its massive body suddenly swelled like an overinflated bladder, then was torn to shreds in a shower of blood and gore!
Calgar's Honor Guard, like his sharpest blades, patrolled the outer perimeter of the line, specifically slaying scattered Daemons that broke through the Praetorian/Custodian Guard's firepower and charged into their ranks. Their combat skills were exquisite, their coordination seamless, like a blue whirlwind of death. Wherever they passed, Daemons were annihilated.
As more Ultramarines drop pods, especially those carrying Terminator squads, landed on the battlefield, deep blue, mobile fortress-like figures joined the fight. The once-shaky defensive line was rapidly consolidated and strengthened. The roar of Bolters, the shriek of chainswords, and the bellow of Daemons together played the fiercest movement of this final battle.
Just as the main battle raged, a thunderhawk gunship, emblazoned with the First Company insignia, ignored the chaos and danger below. Its engines spewed dazzling blue exhaust flames, and like a stubborn petrel, it charged unhesitatingly towards the Hive City's top level, an area still enveloped by an unstable spatio-temporal force field.
Inside the gunship, First Company Captain Cassius Venus, clad in heavy Ironclad Autarch terminator armour, stood like a silent iron giant. His helmeted face showed no expression, but his tightly clenched Power Fist and slightly forward-leaning posture revealed his inner anxiety and determination. The five Ironclad warriors of the Remus Terminator Squad, along with Champion Draculas, stood behind him like loyal bulwarks. Their objective was singular—find Sanks Squad, dead or alive.
At the Hive City's top level, the core of the time-shattering force field.
Karlos and Gaius's battle had reached a fever pitch. Unlike their confrontation in the imagos ten years ago, the current Karlos seemed to have undergone a fundamental transformation. It was no longer merely a planet dependent on Tzeentch's power; the cunning and power of fate it exuded were like a self-igniting star, radiating an ominous light!
Each seemingly casual flick of its gaunt, bird-like fingers through the thick book of fate would cause violent fluctuations in reality as runes and prophecies flowed from the pages! Sometimes, dimensional rifts capable of slicing through power armour would appear out of thin air; sometimes, it was an energy shockwave imbued with resentment from a past point in time; sometimes, it even directly twisted the physical laws around Gaius, making gravity instantly double or disappear!
Each swing of the staff in its hand, studded with countless eyes, was accompanied by a completely different, yet equally deadly, Tzeentchian sorcery. Corrosive energy arrows, mind-twisting illusory whispers, time-freezing ice cages... endless and impossible to guard against.
Gaius had no choice but to muster two hundred percent of his attention, using his Daemon Prince body—a blend of Kolesa's psychic power, the Emperor's blessing, and a portion of Tzeentch's power—to painstakingly contend with this storm of attacks. The two-colored power sword in his hand spun like a halo, and a silver-blue energy shield flickered around his body. What distracted him even more was that he had to constantly maintain the silver psychic barrier protecting his eight brothers, which greatly dispersed his strength and focus.
He could clearly feel that the soul essence and psychic power of Kolesa in his arms were rapidly dwindling and dimming like a candle in the wind. The price she paid to awaken and sustain him in this form far exceeded imagination, and she was already close to exhaustion.
Just at this critical juncture, an unexpected change occurred!
Dorian, Luna, and the six members of the Deathwatch Kill Team, who had been kneeling, unconscious, suddenly went limp almost simultaneously, losing their rigid posture. Like marionettes with cut strings, they collapsed to the ground!
Gaius's heart tightened, but then, an indescribable sensation came from the invisible link between him and Dorian—it was not the scent of death, but a kind of... vitality, weak but truly present, after breaking free from shackles! Dorian... had won! He had overcome Khorne's will in the blood god's domain!
A mix of relief and an even heavier sense of responsibility flooded Gaius's heart. His brother was free; the remaining pressure now fell entirely on his shoulders! He had to deal with Karlos as quickly as possible, otherwise, once Kolesa's psychic power was completely exhausted, not only would he be reverted to his original form, but all his unconscious brothers would be exposed before the Lord of Change, to be slaughtered at its mercy!
"Can't drag this out any longer!"
A fierce glint flashed in Gaius's eyes. He abruptly plunged his power sword into the ground, and his Daemon Prince body suddenly erupted with an even more dazzling silver-blue light! The next moment, his body disintegrated like a sandcastle, transforming into countless shimmering, powerfully energetic dust particles that instantly diffused, filling a large expanse of space!
The four eyes on Karlos's two heads simultaneously flickered, and countless future possibilities rapidly flowed and were simulated before it. It tried to lock onto Gaius's true location, but each of the countless energy dust particles emitted Gaius's aura, and each could be real or fake!
Just as Karlos tried to discern, the countless energy dust, simultaneously from dozens of different directions, like a swarm of living bees, launched an incredibly swift assault on Karlos! Every particle of dust could turn into a fatal energy needle, and every stream of light could contain a sword glow capable of severing fate! This was an attack simulating "all thoughts turning to ashes," brought forth by Gaius with all the power he could muster at that moment, with dozens of attack paths. If even one could successfully break through Karlos's defenses and touch its body, it would be enough to severely wound him!
However, Karlos was, after all, Karlos.
Facing this seemingly unsolvable encirclement, its two heads did not even show the slightest panic. The Past Head let out a hoarse, low laugh, as if it saw through everything, while the Future Head showed a hint of pitying mockery. Its gaunt fingers, unhurriedly, once again turned a page of the book of fate.
On the page, an ancient rune representing "Spatial Displacement" suddenly lit up!
The next moment, Karlos's massive, geometrically shaped body, as if erased by a rubber, instantly vanished from its original spot! When it reappeared, it was already a hundred meters away, perfectly outside the core coverage of Gaius's dust-filled attack!
Gaius's true form was forced to re-coalesce in the distance, his face turning a few shades paler. Continuous high-intensity spellcasting and form-shifting were a huge drain on Kolesa's psychic energy.
Karlos looked at Gaius, whose aura was visibly weakened, and the bird-like beaks on its two heads simultaneously curled into a strange arc. It no longer gave Gaius any breathing room; its slender necks slowly intertwined like venomous snakes, and the heavy book of fate in its hand, as if losing all weight, slowly floated up, suspended directly above its two heads. The pages turned on their own, rustling, exuding a majestic aura of controlling all destinies.
Its two gaunt arms simultaneously raised the bizarre staff, and the largest eyeball at the staff's tip fixedly locked onto the charging Gaius!
As Gaius's figure lunged forward like lightning, and his power sword was about to strike down—
Karlos gathered a colossal amount of Tzeentchian primordial power that he could currently summon, and through the staff, he slammed it fiercely... into the ground!
"All is Dust!"
A cold and nihilistic voice, as if from the end of the universe, accompanied the staff's impact, echoing throughout the entire Hive City's top level!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no brilliant energy burst.
Only an invisible wave, yet one that seemed capable of rewriting the fundamental rules of reality, instantly spread out from Karlos, engulfing the entire area!
Gaius bore the brunt of it! He discovered with horror that his Daemon Prince body, painstakingly supported by Kolesa's psychic energy, was rapidly melting and peeling away under this bizarre law-wave, like ice in the sun, uncontrollably! The powerful strength, the blasphemous form, seemed to be forcibly stripped away like a disguise, quickly peeling off and dissipating from him! In the blink of an eye, he was reverted to his original form—back in his deep blue master-crafted power armour, kneeling on the ground, his face deathly pale, his aura extremely weak!
And this was just the beginning!
Centered on Karlos, the entire top level of the Hive City seemed to be dragged into a bizarre, constantly looping temporal cage! Everyone within the range, even the collapsed building debris, began to move in strange and discontinuous trajectories! They seemed to be acting according to one of the countless possible behaviors that might occur in their future seconds, and then, upon reaching a certain node, they would instantly return to the starting point, like a videotape rewinding, and begin executing another possibility!
A Grey Knight might have just raised his weapon, only to find himself next to the drop pod the next moment; a Bolter round fired by a Sister of Battle might curve back into the chamber in mid-air; a collapsed pillar might instantly restore itself and then collapse again... Everything was caught in a chaotic, meaningless loop of possibilities!
And just as Gaius was reverted to his original form, his consciousness momentarily dazed by the stripping of his power—
A chilling, bone-piercing, ghostly blue flame, as if capable of directly freezing the soul, erupted from within his body without warning!
This was no ordinary flame; this was Karlos, through the book of fate, briefly peering into and interfering with the future timeline. At some point in the "future," he inflicted this malicious "Soul Flame" upon Gaius's soul, and then, using the law effect of "Cycles and Chaos," he forcibly brought this wound from the "future" back to the "present," silently attaching and detonating it deep within Gaius's unsuspecting soul!
"Ugh ah—!!!"
Gaius let out a muffled groan of extreme pain; the agony of his soul being scorched instantly overwhelmed all his senses! He could no longer stand; his vision went black, and he fell forward, completely unconscious.
In his last moment of consciousness, he could vaguely feel that Kolesa's soul power within him, now as faint as a firefly, like a final instinct, frantically surged towards the burning Soul Flame, attempting to resist and extinguish this fatal damage... Karlos's two heads looked down at the unconscious Gaius, four eyes gleaming with complex, unreadable light. The Past Head held a hint of regret, while the Future Head was full of profound meaning.
"Even if you... rejected My Lord... and walked... a different path..."
Its voice was like a sigh, and also like a prophecy.
"But My Lord... still... appreciates you..."
"We... shall... meet again..."
With that, it lingered no longer. Its gaze swept over the Bloodthirsters being gradually annihilated by Imperial forces on the main battlefield, and Angron, who was tightly entangled by the Grey Knights and Primarchs. The bird-beak-like corners of its mouth seemed to curl into a mocking arc. Then, its figure slowly faded, like ink dissolving in water, finally disappearing completely into the chaos of dust and twisted timelines, as if it had never appeared.
With Karlos's disappearance, the "All is Dust" law effect that enveloped the Hive City's top level receded like a tide. The chaotic timeline returned to normal, and the endlessly repeating, meaningless actions abruptly ceased.
Except for Gaius, who was unconscious due to soul trauma, and Dorian, whose consciousness still seemed to be immersed in some deeper confrontation, everyone else—Luna, and the six members of the Deathwatch Kill Team—suddenly awoke from their collapsed state almost simultaneously!
They gasped for breath, their eyes filled with the dazedness of having survived a catastrophe and an indelible exhaustion. Their memories were still stuck in the bloody Arena, in the endless, brutal struggle against reflections and self-doubt. Looking around at their familiar comrades and the ravaged battlefield, they suddenly realized that the nightmare, it seemed... was finally over.
However, the true war was far from over.
At the heart of the main battlefield, the hunt for Angron had entered its most brutal phase. Over ninety Grey Knight Terminators, like a tireless silver tide, crashed against Angron's massive Daemon body wave after wave. Every swing of their psychic weapons left scorching marks on the thick chitin and flesh, as pure psychic energy clashed violently with Khorne's Warp energy, erupting in blinding flashes and teeth-grinding sounds of erosion.
However, the power of a Daemon Primarch was truly terrifying. Every one of Angron's berserk swings, every stomp, contained the power to tear apart mountains. His chainaxe, the world ender (angron's chainaxe), was like a whirlwind of death; even with the Grey Knights' elite prowess and fearlessness, warriors were occasionally caught by his furious attacks, their silver armour shattering like paper, their bodies pulverized under the roaring chainaxe, with only their pure psychic energy erupting in a final flash at the last moment, attempting to purify the blasphemous things it touched.
Lion El'Jonson, the Lion King, was like the spearhead and shield of this hunt. From a loyal Lion Guard, he received the shield of the emperor, an ancient shield passed down through the ages, its edges engraved with the Imperial Aquila and the maxims of Caliban. Now, he gripped the great sword "the lion's due/loyalty (great sword)" burning with golden psychic energy in one hand, and the ancient shield emanating a steady glow in the other, engaging Angron in the most direct and dangerous close combat.
He did not directly match Angron's strength; that would not be wise. Instead, like a master bullfighter, he exploited the relative clumsiness of Angron's massive body and the opportunities created by the Grey Knights' constant harassment, delivering precise and deadly strikes.
At one point, Angron raised his chainaxe, bringing it down on Lion's head with the force to crush everything! The berserk momentum seemed to want to split the entire battlefield in two!
Lion did not retreat; instead, he surged forward! He deftly sidestepped, the shield of the emperor tilted at a precise angle, not blocking directly, but guiding the massive axe blade to slide along the shield's surface, sending up a long stream of dazzling sparks and a hair-raising screech of friction! The instant the axe blade swept past his side, Lion pushed off with his feet, rapidly climbing up Angron's thick arm like a nimble ape!
Angron clearly hadn't anticipated Lion employing such an "unconventional" fighting style, and his movements showed a fleeting moment of delay.
Now!
Lion climbed onto Angron's shoulder, his eyes flashing with cold light! The great sword "the lion's due/loyalty (great sword)" in his hand, with a sharp cry that seemed to tear through the void, slashed fiercely towards the side of Angron's head, which was covered in rotating, vibrating butcher's nails!
"Crack—!!!"
A crisp and heart-stopping snap!
One of the butcher's nails, deeply embedded in Angron's skull and constantly releasing signals of pain and fury, broke with a resounding crack! The broken metal nail, mixed with dark red flesh and energy, splattered everywhere!
"Aow—!!!!!!!"
Angron let out an unprecedented, terrifying roar mixed with extreme pain and rage! The agony of the butcher's nails being forcibly destroyed far surpassed ordinary physical wounds; it was an ultimate torment directly affecting the depths of his soul, which had long since merged with the butcher's nails! His massive body swayed violently, and the remaining butcher's nails seemed stimulated, spinning even more frantically, emitting a denser and more piercing hum!
Just as he momentarily lost himself in pain, his movements stiffening, Lion did not hesitate for a moment! Using the instant he gained purchase on Angron's shoulder, he wielded the shield of the emperor in his other hand like a giant brick, slamming the shield's edge fiercely and precisely... onto Angron's massive, chitin-covered nose bridge!
"Boom—!!!"
A muffled, utterly deafening thud! As if a colossal steel hammer had struck an ancient bronze bell!
Angron's hard nasal bone, under the shield of the emperor's powerful strike, imbued with the Primarch's strength and the weight of faith, snapped with a resounding crack! Dark red blood surged like a fountain from his twisted nostrils, instantly staining half of his grotesque face!
Suffering successive heavy blows, Angron completely plunged into a vortex of madness and pain! He wildly flailed his arms, trying to dislodge Lion from his shoulder.
Lion had already lightly flipped down before he could exert force, landing steadily back on the ground, his great sword held horizontally before him, his eyes still cold.
And the Grey Knights seized this excellent opportunity!
A Grey Knight Terminator, taking advantage of Angron's blurred vision and imbalanced movements due to his facial injuries, surged forward like a silver lightning bolt! The nemesis force halberds in his hand, with an unyielding resolve, stabbed fiercely towards Angron's relatively unprotected waist and abdomen!
"Whoosh—!"
The nemesis force halberds, with their pure psychic tips, deeply pierced Angron's daemonic body!
The psychic energy, specifically designed to counter Chaos, was like a red-hot branding iron, instantly causing a violent energy conflict and purification reaction around the wound, emitting a sizzling burn sound.
Large gushes of corrupted blood mixed with purified Warp energy smoke surged out!
"Ugh!" Angron let out a pained roar, and with a backhand slap, like swatting a fly, he unleashed a terrifying force!
"Bang!" Despite the Grey Knight's best efforts to block, he was directly sent flying by this enraged blow, crashing into a pile of architectural debris in the distance like a cannonball.
Clear dents and cracks were left on his silver armour, and his fate was unknown.
But the Grey Knights' spirit of sacrifice was boundless!
Almost simultaneously with the previous comrade being knocked away, another Grey Knight, like a phantom, cut in from Angron's blind spot!
The nemesis force halberds in his hand had a clear target—Angron's ankle, which supported his massive body!
"Crack—!"
The halberd tip precisely pierced the joint connection of the ankle!
Psychic energy instantly erupted, tearing ligaments and scorching bones!
"Roar—!!!"
The excruciating pain from his ankle, enough to make a mortal instantly faint, made Angron unable to maintain his balance!
His colossal body suddenly swayed, and like a collapsing mountain, he crashed forward!
If he hadn't reacted quickly, bracing himself on the ground with his thick, powerful arms, his nose, which Lion El'Jonson had just broken, would probably have had another intimate encounter with the earth, suffering secondary severe damage!
However, at this precious moment, as his arms braced the ground, his head was lowered, and his vision was restricted—
The Grey Knight Grand Master, who had been commanding the entire situation like a steadfast pillar, charged forward!
The head of the Daemon Hammer in his hand, ancient in design yet exuding a terrifying power fluctuation, had already gathered an immense amount of pure Grey Knight psychic energy!
The psychic energy burned fiercely on the hammerhead like a substantial silver flame, compressing and emitting a destructive aura capable of making even a Daemon Primarch tremble!
The Grand Master let out a low, firm battle cry, pushing off the ground.
His heavy terminator armour did not hinder his speed; he was like a silver meteor, instantly rushing before Angron, who was sprawled on the ground!
Using the momentum of his charge, he powerfully twisted his waist, swinging the warhammer, which gathered endless purifying power, from bottom to top, fiercely striking Angron's lowered side face, covered in scars and broken horns!
"Clang—!!!!!!!"
It was like the ringing of a sacred bell, yet filled with unparalleled violence!
Silver psychic radiance erupted at the point of contact!
Angron's massive head was struck by this hammer blow, imbued with terrifying power and purifying will, and was violently flung sideways!
His upper body, which was bracing the ground, uncontrollably twisted in another direction, almost making him lose balance again!
The successive blows, especially this psychic heavy strike containing power specifically designed to counter Chaos, pushed Angron's fury to its peak!
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with blood-flames, now only containing the purest desire for slaughter against the Grey Knight Grand Master who dared to hammer his head!
He ignored the harassment from other directions, struggling to lift his massive chainaxe, vowing to cleave and crush this silver "insect" and the space around him!
Just as he lifted his chainaxe, his attention completely drawn to the Grand Master, at this critical moment—
An inconspicuous, pitch-black bat silently, like a falling leaf, lightly landed on the blade of Angron's newly lifted chainaxe.
Angron's movements, due to this sudden, insignificant little thing, showed an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible... hint of hesitation.
His gaze subconsciously flickered to the bat on the axe blade.
The moment his gaze fell!
The black bat, like a phantom, suddenly vanished!
In its place, Konrad Curze's ghostly figure appeared out of thin air!
He seemed to leap directly from the shadow where the bat disappeared, moving faster than the eye could follow!
His right hand, covered by a Lightning Claw, like a venomous snake poised to strike, carried a chilling shadow power, and with lightning speed, fiercely... pierced into Angron's eye, which was burning with furious flames!
"Pfft—!!"
Shadow energy erupted!
The eyeball was instantly crushed, and viscous, Warp-infused liquid mixed with shattered tissue splattered everywhere!
"Aow—!!!!!!!"
Angron let out a more agonizing and painful roar than when the butcher's nails had broken before!
Both eyes were destroyed!
The complete darkness and the excruciating pain of having his eyeballs destroyed, like the final straw, almost crushed his already chaotic nerves!
And just as he fell into a momentary confusion and extreme pain due to this sudden blinding strike—
The Grey Knight Grand Master made a move that surprised everyone!
He didn't take the opportunity to attack; instead, he slammed the psychic-infused Daemon Hammer he held into the ground.
Then, with an almost reverent posture, he took down an older, more majestic double-headed nemesis force halberds from the weapon rack behind him!
The shaft of this nemesis force halberds was a dull silver, covered with ancient prayers and banishing runes personally inscribed by the Emperor, imbued with supreme power and an ultimate hatred for Chaos!
It was not standard equipment, but a holy relic within the Grey Knights Chapter, which only the Grand Master was authorized to use, and only brought out when confronting the most powerful abominations!
The Grand Master gripped the halberd shaft with both hands, pouring all his remaining psychic energy into this holy halberd without reservation, like a bursting flood!
"Buzz—!!!!"
The holy halberd seemed to be completely awakened!
The Emperor's prayers on the halberd shaft lit up one by one, erupting with a dazzling golden light like the birth of a star!
The light was so intense, so pure, as if it contained the absolute will to judge all heretics and purify all defilement!
The powerful energy fluctuations distorted and boiled the surrounding air, even temporarily suppressing the Khorne Warp energy emanating from Angron!
The Grand Master let out a roar, expending all his strength, and with his last ounce of power, he hurled this holy halberd, which had transformed into a pure golden pillar of light, towards Lion El'Jonson!
"Your Highness Lion! Catch it—!!!"
His voice was hoarse with exhaustion, yet filled with an undeniable resolve and trust.
Lion El'Jonson instantly understood the Grand Master's intention!
Without the slightest hesitation, he deeply plunged the greatsword "the lion's due/loyalty (great sword)" in his hand into the ground beside him, and swiftly returned the shield of the emperor to his back, freeing both hands.
He steadily and precisely caught the flying holy halberd, which had transformed into a golden pillar of light!
The moment his hands gripped the halberd shaft, an indescribable, vast, and majestic power surged into his body like a tide, creating a strong resonance with his own Primarch power!
"In the Emperor's name!"
Lion El'Jonson let out a battle cry like the roar of a lion, shaking the four fields!
His arm muscles bulged as he raised the radiant holy halberd high above his head!
At the same time, all Grey Knights on the battlefield who still possessed combat capability, no matter where they were or what kind of daemon they were fighting, at this moment, with a telepathic understanding, simultaneously raised their psychic weapons!
Streams of pure, vast silver psychic light, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, converged from all directions, spanning spatial distances, and furiously poured into the holy halberd in Lion El'Jonson's hand!
Lion El'Jonson also pushed his own Primarch power to an unprecedented extreme!
On his dark green power armour, golden ancient runes seemed to faintly emerge, and his majestic face, illuminated by the holy light, was like a true, divine lion from the age of myths!
The light on the holy halberd, after gathering all the Grey Knights' psychic energy and Lion El'Jonson's Primarch power, did not continue to expand; instead, it began to compress and condense intensely!
The dazzling golden light gradually solidified and condensed, finally forming an immense, ethereal golden holy halberd, composed purely of destructive psychic energy and Primarch might, appearing almost tangible!
The length of this phantom even surpassed Angron's height, exuding a terrifying aura of final judgment that made the entire planetary battlefield tremble!
Angron also seemed to sense this fatal threat; he struggled, trying to raise his chainaxe by perception for a final resistance, but the confusion and excruciating pain brought by his blindness, and Koz's shadow harassment like a persistent ulcer, made his movements slow and clumsy.
Lion El'Jonson's gaze, like two burning golden swords, locked onto Angron's massive, daemon body, twisted with pain.
He gave his opponent no more chances.
"Traitor!!!"
Accompanied by this final battle cry, imbued with endless responsibility and the will to protect the Imperium of Man, Lion El'Jonson used all his strength, as if throwing the entire Empire's wrath and hope, fiercely—hurling the ethereal golden holy halberd, which had gathered the faith of all present Grey Knights and his own Primarch power, directly at the center of Angron's forehead!
The ethereal golden holy halberd transformed into a golden streak of light that traversed the battlefield, tearing through all darkness and defilement, its speed transcending the constraints of time and space, as if the moment it was thrown, it had already... hit its target!
"Pfft—!!!!"
A faint sound, yet it seemed to echo deep within everyone's soul, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
The ethereal golden holy halberd, with unparalleled precision and no obstruction, pierced into Angron's forehead, deeply embedding itself until the hilt was gone!
Time, it seemed, froze at this moment.
Angron's massive body suddenly stiffened; all struggling movements instantly ceased.
His eye socket, blinded by Koz and still oozing corrupted blood, and his forehead, just pierced by the holy halberd, both seemed to lose all light.
The next moment—
An indescribably brilliant and destructive golden light erupted from within Angron's head, like a supernova!
The light was so intense that it instantly engulfed Angron's figure, devoured everything around it, and even plunged the entire tumultuous battlefield into absolute, blinding pure white and dead silence at this moment!
The light persisted, seemingly eternal.
When the dazzling light, enough to scorch the soul, finally slowly receded like a tide, all survivors on the battlefield, both friend and foe, subconsciously looked towards the center of the light's eruption.
There, Angron's mountain-like daemon body still maintained a stiff posture.
But his head had vanished, replaced by a huge, smooth fracture with molten and purified edges.
Golden psychic flames still stubbornly burned at the fracture, purifying the last trace of residual defiling energy.
His massive body, deprived of its power support, swayed slightly, and then, towards the side and back, crashed down!
"Boom—!!!!!!!"
The heavy body hitting the ground caused a violent, earthquake-like tremor, and the stirred dust rose like a mushroom cloud.
The Daemon Primarch, Angron, after enduring madness and pain, was finally successfully banished through the combined efforts of Lion El'Jonson, Konrad Curze, and all the Grey Knights!
The price of victory was suffocatingly heavy.
Drathemiandas, a planet that once merged industrial might with sacred faith, was now utterly transformed into a desolate ruin. The skeletons of Hive Cities twisted and broke, pointing like the carcasses of giant beasts towards the still blood-stained sky; the temples of the Shrine World were reduced to scorched earth, holy icons shattered, with only smoke and blood lingering over them. Most heartbreakingly, the tens of billions of mortal inhabitants on the planet, whether nobles or workers, believers or innocents, had all perished in the Daemons' revelry. Their blood soaked the soil, and their anguished cries seemed to still echo silently in this dead silence.
Even the victory of the core campaign to banish Angron could not dilute the heavy weight that permeated the hearts of every survivor. With the full participation of two Primarchs—Lion El'Jonson and night haunter Koz—and the no-holds-barred siege by over a hundred of the Imperium's most elite Grey Knight Terminators, the battle was still incredibly brutal. Angron's destructive power, in his final, frenzied counterattack, claimed the lives of dozens of Grey Knights. Their silver armour was shattered, their pure souls returned to the Emperor's throne, and only the lingering, not yet fully dissipated psychic glow on the battlefield spoke of their ultimate sacrifice and fearlessness.
As Angron's demonic body crashed down, the Khorne portals he had forcibly torn open across the planet began to destabilize, flickering on and off. However, this did not mean the end of the war. Large numbers of Daemons still poured out of the gates that had not yet fully closed. They had lost their unified command but became even more chaotic and disordered, driven by instinct to launch their final, desperate charge against any perceived life signs. The defensive lines in the rear were still under immense pressure.
Lion El'Jonson slowly planted the borrowed, now dim Grey Knight halberd into the ground, supporting his body which trembled slightly from exhaustion. He surveyed the scene of destruction he had personally helped create. His face, as resolute as a glacier, was etched with fatigue and a hint of an imperceptible... heaviness. He took a deep breath of air, thick with the smell of char and blood, and was about to give orders for the Grey Knights who still had strength, along with him, to immediately reinforce the Ultramarines and Blood Angels who were struggling in the rear.
However, just as he raised his arm, before the words could leave his mouth—
A sudden change occurred, without any warning.
On the battlefield, the sky-high dust and ash stirred up by Angron's fall, which had not yet fully settled, seemed to be pressed to pause by an invisible hand, all eerily... frozen in mid-air! Floating particles, swirling smoke, everything solidified, forming a chilling, static tableau that utterly defied the laws of physics.
Lion El'Jonson's sharp eyes suddenly narrowed, and an intense sense of crisis washed over him like ice water! He abruptly looked up, towards the center where the dust was frozen.
The next moment, the static, boundless dust and ash, as if pulled by some invisible force field, began to converge, compress, and solidify madly towards a single point in the center, at a speed visible to the naked eye! It was as if time was flowing backward, or as if an invisible hand was using it as material for some blasphemous sculpting!
This process was faster than imaginable! In just a few breaths, the dust that permeated the battlefield vanished, and in the central area it had once covered, a familiar, colossal, gaunt figure, composed of countless shifting geometric shapes and ethereal blue light, materialized from nothingness, suddenly appearing!
Karlos! Lord of Change!
It had actually returned! And in such a bizarre, incredibly unbelievable way, appearing directly at the very core of the battlefield, before Lion El'Jonson and Koz, who had just endured a fierce battle and whose strength had not yet recovered!
Its two heads, covered in ethereal blue bird feathers, with four eyes gleaming with endless cunning and the secrets of fate, simultaneously locked onto Lion El'Jonson and Koz. Its appearance brought no demonic legions, but it brought a terrifying pressure far more unsettling than a thousand armies, a pressure stemming from fate itself being manipulated.
There were no words, and none were needed.
Lion El'Jonson and Koz, two Primarchs of vastly different temperaments, even filled with ten millennia of animosity towards each other, displayed astonishing tacit understanding at this moment. Almost at the exact same instant Karlos's form fully solidified, both of them, like two arrows from a bow, lunged at Karlos from two completely different directions, left and right!
Lion El'Jonson drew the halberd from the ground. His dark green figure was like a charging lion, the halberd tip pointing directly at Karlos's head, which symbolized "the past"! The Primarch's power surged again, carrying the absolute will to crush all trickery!
Koz, meanwhile, seemed to merge with the shadows themselves. His movements were silent but as swift as a ghost, his hands, covered in Lightning Claws, tore through the air, aiming directly at Karlos's head, which symbolized "the future"! Shadowy power coalesced around him, carrying the deepest chill and deadly killing intent of Nostramo!
The enraged strike of the two Primarchs had enough power to instantly cripple or even kill most Greater Daemons! They sealed off all possible escape routes for Karlos, and their attacks arrived almost simultaneously!
However, facing this seemingly fatal situation, the beaks on Karlos's two heads simultaneously curled into a bizarre arc, full of mockery and pity.
It didn't even make any defensive or evasive movements. It merely... slowly raised the eerie staff in its hand, studded with countless eyeballs. At the staff's tip, the largest, central eye, as if containing all the trickery of the universe, suddenly... opened!
That was not a biological eye; that was... the "Eye of Fate"!
The moment the eye opened, no light shot out, no energy exploded. There was only an intangible, formless, yet seemingly reality-rewriting, bizarre wave involving the concepts of "existence" and "non-existence," emanating from Karlos like ripples and spreading out instantly!
The wave swept past the charging Lion El'Jonson and Koz, past the terrifyingly powerful weapons in their hands, and also past... Karlos itself, and the headless, massive demonic corpse of Angron that lay behind it!
The next moment, something happened that astonished even the two Primarchs!
Lion El'Jonson and Koz only felt a blur before their eyes. Their certain-to-hit attacks actually... missed! No, not missed, but their targets—Karlos, and Angron's corpse behind it—at the instant the Eye of Fate opened, as if erased by the most skilled illusionist, suddenly... disintegrated into scattered, fundamental dust!
Not invisibility, not teleportation, but a true... forced temporary dissolution from a state of "existence" into a state of "non-existence" as dust!
And Lion El'Jonson and Koz, who were at full sprint, their attention completely focused on the attack, had no time to check their momentum or change direction!
"Dong—!!!!"
A muffled, utterly extreme crash, accompanied by the sound of twisting metal, exploded in the center of the battlefield!
Lion El'Jonson and Koz, having lost their targets, their Primarch bodies imbued with unparalleled power, under the force of inertia, unceremoniously and squarely... collided head-on! Especially their heads, covered by heavy helmets, made an intimate, unbuffered contact like Mars colliding with Earth!
The immense impact caused both Primarchs to feel a violent dizziness, their bodies staggering backward uncontrollably for several steps before they managed to regain their balance. A subtle crack even appeared on Lion El'Jonson's majestic lion helmet, and Koz's grim, bat-faced helmet groaned under the strain.
When they shook their somewhat dizzy heads and looked, shocked and enraged, at where Karlos had been, there was only slowly falling dust, formed from Karlos and Angron's corpse, as if carrying a mocking implication...
Karlos, once again, in such a nearly playful manner, easily escaped before the two Primarchs. It didn't even deign to engage them in direct combat, merely like a lofty chess player, casually moving a piece, leaving two powerful opponents in disarray.
Lion El'Jonson clenched the halberd in his hand tightly, his suppressed fury almost erupting from his eyes. Koz's face, hidden in the shadows, also grew colder, as if it could freeze the surrounding air.
As for Karlos, he was nowhere to be found, leaving behind only ruins, and the silent trampling of a Primarch's dignity.
Meanwhile, in the strange sea of mist that lies between life and death, reality and illusion.
Gaius's consciousness, like rootless duckweed, drifted slowly in the eternal grey mist. The extreme pain brought by the "soul flame" of Karlos, which burned his soul, had gradually subsided, replaced by a deep weariness and... a sense of nothingness. He could not feel his body, could not feel the passage of time, only this boundless, all-consuming mist.
"This time... it should really be over..." A bitter ripple spread through his consciousness. The continuous high-intensity battles, Kolesa's complete exhaustion of psychic energy, Karlos's unpredictable schemes, and especially that final, fatal blow directly to the soul... He could find no reason to still be alive. This sea of mist, perhaps, was his final destination, the last peaceful place before his soul completely dissipated.
He gave up struggling, gave up thinking, and simply waited peacefully for the final, eternal silence to descend.
However, just as his consciousness was about to completely merge into this mist and return to nothingness—
A faint, yet incredibly familiar and gentle touch, like the softest feather, lightly brushed the depths of his soul, which was still stinging from the flames.
It was Kolesa's psychic energy!
Although it was as weak as a candle in the wind, as if it would be extinguished at any moment, it was indeed there! It had no great power, no grand aura, only an almost instinctive, pure intention of protection and solace. It was like the most delicate trickle, gently flowing over every wound in Gaius's soul, and its cool, life-giving essence gradually soothed the burning pain and nourished the parched, cracking essence of his soul.
Under the comfort of this gentle power, Gaius's almost stagnant consciousness stirred with a faint ripple.
Immediately after, that faint psychic energy, as if possessing life, began to slowly gather and flow before his ethereal "vision." Finally, it once again condensed into Kolesa's form—not a physical entity, but a clearer, more complete psychic projection composed of fragments of her past memories and emotional imprints.
Gaius once again became a silent observer, compelled to watch Kolesa's past. But this time, the images were more focused, more... profound.
He saw the dreamlike, magnificent star garden of the Ark World of Aethel's Tear. Young Kolesa and the Aeldari warrior named Kai sat side by side, starlight showering upon them. Kai's eyes were gentle and firm as he held Kolesa's hand and gently placed a necklace, crafted from a strange jade-like stone that seemed to contain stars and glowed softly, around her fair neck. They whispered vows, their eyes filled with anticipation for the future and their unreserved love for each other. They promised to be together forever, no matter what storms they faced.
He saw Kolesa in a spacious, brightly lit dance studio, practicing the elegant and psychic Aeldari dance steps to a silent rhythm, her figure graceful, like an elf under the moon. Her father, the dignified and powerful Autarch Warlock, stood quietly at the doorway, his eyes filled with pride and expectation for his daughter. Kolesa ran to her father, nestled against him, and in a clear voice, declared her resolve: "Father, I will definitely become a Warlock as powerful as you!"
The scene shifted, finally settling on an evacuation point filled with tension and oppression. In the distance, the artillery fire and psychic glow of the Black Templars Chapter were already clearly visible. Kai, fully armored, tightly embraced a tearful, trembling Kolesa. His eyes were still firm, yet filled with the pain of farewell.
"Live, Kolesa... for Isha's Weep..." he said hoarsely. Then, as if having made a decision, he solemnly placed a spirit stone, unique to the Aeldari and flickering with a faint soul fire, into Kolesa's hand, alongside the star necklace. "Take this... and this... Remember me..."
However, just as they were swept away by the crowd and hastily evacuating, passing a chaotic corner, perhaps due to excessive panic, or perhaps the trick of fate, the spirit stone and the star necklace slipped from Kolesa's trembling hand and fell into a crack in the corner! Kolesa cried out in surprise, wanting to bend down to pick them up, but was pushed away by the surging crowd behind her, able only to watch helplessly as the two tokens, carrying her love and promise, disappeared into the darkness, never to be found again... "Damn it! Why do you always show me this!!"
An uncontrollable surge of anger, mixed with irritation, heartache, and a jealousy he himself was unwilling to admit, erupted from the depths of Gaius's consciousness! He looked at the Aeldari man in the vision, embracing Kolesa intimately, at the pure and fervent love between them, at Kolesa's profound pain and despair at losing him, a pain he had never seen before... He wished he could rush up now and kill that Aeldari man named Kai again! As if that would erase that unforgettable past from Kolesa's heart, as if it would make him the only one in her life.
This violent and childish thought made him feel a trace of astonishment and shame.
With his violent emotional fluctuations, the illusion before him rippled violently, like water disturbed by a stone, and then... slowly dissipated.
Kolesa's psychic energy, which had been comforting his soul, also completely exhausted itself, as if having fulfilled its final mission, merging into the surrounding mist, no longer perceptible.
The illusion dissipated, the psychic energy exhausted.
Just as Gaius thought everything would return to nothingness and silence, he was astonished to find that in his "hand"—that ethereal "hand" condensed from consciousness—there were... two more things!
One was an Aeldari spirit stone, flickering with a faint yet incredibly pure soul fire. The other was precisely the necklace crafted from the strange, star-containing jade, which he had seen in the illusion!
They existed tangibly in his perception, emanating a cool and familiar touch, as if they had traveled through time, appearing directly in his hand from the moment Kolesa lost them!
"This... what is this..." Gaius's consciousness was filled with unbelievable confusion. How was this possible? Was it an illusion? Was it another one of Karlos's tricks? Or... Before he could figure it out, he clearly felt that the spirit stone and the necklace in his hand, as if possessing a life of their own, were emitting a faint but distinct pulling force! They pointed in a direction, as if urging him to go towards a specific depth of that mist...
To go? Or not to go?
Ahead could be complete destruction, or another trap carefully laid by Karlos.
But... this was also the last scene Kolesa's psychic energy had guided him to see, and her tokens were guiding him.
Gaius was silent for a moment. He remembered Kolesa's selfless sacrifice, and the gentle comfort of her soul's last moments. He chose... to believe.
He no longer hesitated, following the faint guidance, taking "steps," and walking deeper into the unknown mist, step by step.
He did not know how long he walked; it felt like only an instant, yet also like an eternity. The surrounding mist began to thin, and a faint light seemed to emanate from ahead.
The light grew brighter and clearer... Finally, when his consciousness completely penetrated the membrane of mist, a dazzling white light instantly engulfed all his senses!
In the last moment before losing consciousness, he vaguely "saw" a few familiar figures—First Company Captain Cassius Venus, clad in terminator armour like an Iron Knight Autarch, standing like an iron giant, and First Company Champion Draculas, whose aura was as sharp as a sword, standing beside him. Their helmeted faces seemed to be directed towards where he was... Then, boundless darkness enveloped him, and he completely lost consciousness again.