"Die!" Magnus roared, face twisted with rage. His previous arrogance and scorn vanished, replaced by endless hatred and murderous intent.
The Crimson King stretched out his hand, making a grasping motion at Datch. Datch, unable to resist, was lifted off the ground by invisible force. His Terminator armor bent and groaned as though squeezed by a giant's hand. Heavy plates crushed inward, joints warping; servos and circuits sparked and finally shattered. In a split second, Datch was crushed by the unseen force, blood spurting from the cracks in his armor—a gruesome sight.
Seeing his foe's misery, Magnus sneered.
"Pathetic… ants."
Guilliman roared, charging forward.
"Magnus! Your death is today!"
The Emperor's Sword blazed, slashing sideways. Its power was terrifying, able to cleave even daemonflesh in two. Magnus's body vanished like an illusion, dodging Guilliman's blow.
"Still as impulsive as ever, Roboute. Even after dying once, you haven't learned to be careful," Magnus taunted, his form reconstituting nearby.
Before Guilliman could turn, the Crimson King struck. His speed was blinding, leaving afterimages in the air. The tip of his staff became a blade, slashing down at Guilliman's head with mountain-splitting force.
CLANG!
The Emperor's Sword collided with the staff, sparks flying. The duel of two primarchs was fearsome—the shockwave exploded in a spherical blast, hurling everything nearby away.
They grappled, and Magnus's body slowly grew, soon towering over Guilliman. The Crimson King looked down at his brother, sneering:
"Ten thousand years, and you're still like this… Pathetic."
Even after ten millennia, he hadn't learned to suppress his arrogance.
Guilliman replied coolly,
"I can see you haven't had much fun these past years."
Magnus sighed,
"You're still so shortsighted. Maybe you really are no match for me."
He raised his hand, showing Guilliman the warp-tinged energies cloaking him.
"Look, this is true power—red-skinned, one-eyed Ogryn."
Guilliman didn't argue, unleashing his power directly. With just a few words, Magnus's pride was shattered; his single red eye glowed with psychic fury.
Guilliman was caught off guard, sent flying by a psychic blast, crashing down a tower. Magnus's huge form trembled with rage, his staff aimed at his brother.
"How dare you insult me with such a filthy name?!"
Guilliman, getting up, smirked.
"You're wrong. Your mind is probably even duller than an Ogryn's."
"Horus burned Prospero by allying with the gods, but you, a coward, blamed Russ and Father, begging like a beggar before the gods for their blessing!"
"Shut up!" Magnus bellowed.
"You know nothing! It was your father who ordered the destruction of the Thousand Sons, and Russ who carried it out! My life's work ruined, my home burnt to ashes, my children slaughtered! Everything I did was to resist injustice and take revenge!"
Guilliman laughed, his voice mocking.
"Father gave that order? How long has that lie been festering in your sad heart? How can you say it so confidently and self-deceptively?"
He shook his head with contempt.
"I take it back. Comparing you to an Ogryn is an insult to Ogryns."
"At least Ogryns are simple but know who takes their food and who to fight for. What about you?"
"Father ordered Russ to bring you back to Terra, Magnus! Horus's deceit and the chaos gods' schemes caused Prospero's tragedy!
You keep talking about avenging your home and your people, but you willingly submit to their true destroyers. You hate the father and brother who tried to save you."
"Magnus, this is the first excuse I've heard from you since I awoke… the most ridiculous, saddest, most disgusting joke!"
"Silence!" Magnus's face twisted with anger and panic.
"Shut up! You have no right to judge me!"
The daemon primarch charged, killing intent blazing from his single eye. The two primarchs clashed, their weapons colliding, starting another dangerous wrestling match. Their immense power cracked the ground beneath them.
At that moment, Datch, donning a stone hat and wielding a super shotgun, leapt out and shouted:
"Hey, brainless red-skinned, one-eyed Ogryn!"
He had already resurrected, but knowing he couldn't interfere in a primarch duel, he'd donned a pebble hat to hide, waiting for his chance.
Magnus turned, his single eye wide with shock. Why was this ant still alive? And how did he get so close without being noticed?
BANG! BANG!
Datch pulled the trigger before the daemon primarch could react.
"Eat this—!!!"
After taking two blasts from the super shotgun, Magnus howled in pain and rage.
"Despicable worm! I'll rip out your soul and make you howl in the fires of eternity for ten thousand years!"
Magnus summoned the energies of the warp, conjuring a shield to protect and heal himself. He abandoned his duel with Guilliman and turned to face Datch, pointing his staff and unleashing chaotic flames, incinerating Datch to ash.
In the next instant, a flash of light—Datch resurrected, whole and alive, right in front of Magnus. Magnus stared in shock. How was he still alive?!
Pushing Guilliman back, Magnus summoned countless blades, shredding Datch to pieces. But in the next moment, Datch resurrected again. Beheading, suffocation, electrocution, mutation… Datch died and resurrected, over and over.
After his 100th death, a prompt appeared before Datch:
[Achievement unlocked: Write a sorrowful line after dying 100 times.]
"Huh, you get achievements for dying enough?"
"That's hilarious."
Datch was amazed.
But Magnus, fighting Guilliman, was finally breached. The man resurrected again, still smiling. He must be laughing at Magnus's helplessness. This bizarre man even reminded the Crimson King of another brother, Vulkan, who had once defeated him in the Battle of Terra with his own immortality.
"Honestly, how many times do I have to kill you?!"
Magnus howled.
"This game is amazing! Watching a boss's defense break is the best!"
"Indeed, human happiness is always built on the enemy's suffering."
Datch smiled at the flustered Magnus.
...
Bonus chapter at 300 PS
Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode