Chapter 20: Awakening
A massive silhouette rose from the Underhive, spreading its wings. He was like an indestructible fortress built of muscle, his copper-red skin as hard as armor, tightly wrapped around his mighty frame. Enormous ram's horns gleamed like two sharp, curved blades, his bull-like hooves seemed capable of crushing the earth with a single step, and his two gigantic bat wings loomed like clouds that blot out the sun, proclaiming his unparalleled status.
Dos stepped back instinctively. This was a Daemon Prince, a trusted servant of Khorne. Seeing the gigantic Axe of Khorne in his hand, Dos recognized him at once. He had truly ascended, a true Greater Daemon!
The Greater Daemon swooped down from the sky like a hunting hawk, striking precisely at a vital joint and toppling the Paladin Knight onto the ground. The Predator's rear missiles barely had time to launch.
The Errant Knight aimed its thermal cannon and reaper chainsword at the daemon simultaneously.
A storm of superheated energy and whirring adamantium teeth struck out, yet they could not wound him in the slightest, and he shattered the cockpit with a single backhand blow.
He ignored the attacks from other Armiger-class Knights and another full Knight, ripped open the cockpit, dragged the noble pilot out, then squeezed hard, watching the flesh burst gave him immense delight.
Is this what power feels like? His yellow eyes brimmed with ferocity. The last Crusader Knight used its thermal cannon, firing a Stormspear missile from its shoulder at full power, but the Greater Daemon's bat wings blocked the fierce barrage.
To preserve the dignity of the knightly nobility, the Crusader Knight engaged him in close combat with its thunderstrike gauntlet, only to be brutally slain by the Greater Daemon in the same manner. Even a Knight is as helpless as a lamb before such a being!
Bodies littered the battlefield. From then on, each sweeping strike was like autumn wind clearing fallen leaves, harvesting the lives of Armigers and ordinary soldiers.
After the revelry, the Greater Daemon charged toward Dos. The surrounding PDF soldiers scattered, leaving only Dos and 0361 standing.
And 0361 even struck a fighting pose. YOU FOOL.
Dos fled immediately, knowing the Greater Daemon was after him. He could lure it into the ruins of the Hive City.
Sure enough, the Greater Daemon pursued Dos relentlessly, like a serpent chasing its prey. Dos ran blindly, but what to do next, he did not know.
Debris rained down behind him. The Greater Daemon smashed wall after wall, raising countless clouds of dust and shattered brick. Sturdy steel frames could not hinder him in the slightest. The complex terrain slowed his pursuit, but Dos's stamina would not last long; this was only a slow death.
0361 watched the direction where the Greater Daemon vanished, tightened his grip on the melta-lance, and struck harder.
After a long chase, Dos felt his legs weighed down as if bearing a thousand-pound burden, each step a battle against the weight of the world.
His lungs seemed scorched by flames, agony overwhelming, as if being torn apart. Fear of death and physical pain together forged a cruel trial for his will, like struggling in a dark abyss with no glimmer of light.
Dos planted his feet. He even began to doubt himself, whether he should give up, for on this planet there were no Titans, and the dawn of victory had never shown itself.
Dos slowed his pace, then turned his run into a walk. Gasping, he drew his power sword, pointing it at the daemon above. This was a duel that challenged the daemon himself. Rather than be toyed with like prey until death, he would duel and die, at least die like a man!
Above the clouds, lightning flashed again. Dos was certain that Khorne was indeed watching this duel.
"Bang!"
The Greater Daemon free-fell from the sky, crashing into the ground and raising a massive cloud of smoke. Then his wings flapped, blowing the dust away completely.
"Come, prove yourself! Prove you are worthy of my master's gaze!" the Greater Daemon taunted. He gripped the Axe of Khorne and advanced toward Dos. The axe seemed to automatically adjust its weight and size according to its wielder, truly a divine artifact.
Dos chuckled bitterly at his power sword. "You've caused me enough trouble already."
"Look directly at me, mortal!" The Greater Daemon raised the axe, its force like a thousand tons. In the instant before the axe fell, time itself seemed to slow, as if Death granted a brief mercy, allowing Dos to calmly recall his entire life.
Nothing remarkable, an utterly ordinary mortal. Yet an unnamed fury rose within him, resentful of fate. He only wanted to survive, but why? Why? Why are they allowed to dictate my life and death!
A surge of powerful psychic energy erupted from Dos's body, flinging the Greater Daemon away. He lifted his sword with one hand, pointed it forward, and rejected death's embrace.
Psychic light gathered above Dos's head, growing wings for him, tinting his pupils gold, and coating his power sword with holy radiance.
The Greater Daemon steadied itself. Feeling Dos's massive psychic wave, the Greater Daemon muttered, "My Master, I sense it! Is this the challenge you gave me? I will sever his head and present it to you!"
The Greater Daemon opened its fang-filled maw and spewed scorching magma, but Dos brushed it aside with a single sweeping strike.
As the Greater Daemon charged, its massive axe slammed down, flashing with brutal lightning. Dos adopted a hanging guard stance, shedding most of the force, then turned, slashing the daemon's lower leg, leapt back, and created distance.
Realizing the opponent's agility surpassed his own, the Greater Daemon began tearing at the axe's head. The axe melted like liquid metal, splitting into two pieces.
One piece became a short-hafted axe and a long whip. The other transformed into brass armor covering vital points and joints. The true battle was just beginning.
Dos, like a bolt of lightning, used his speed to circle the Greater Daemon. The daemon grew cautious, no longer closing in recklessly, and instead acted like a tireless machine, constantly swinging its long whip to weave an impenetrable barrier. Sonic booms and afterimages clouded Dos's judgment, leaving him vulnerable.
Twice, Dos nearly got caught by the serpent-like whip, yet he did not lose heart. His feathered wings fluttered lightly like a sprightly skylark, soaring instantly to the heights. The psychic feather arrows, dense as rain, shot toward the Greater Daemon.
The daemon shielded its head with both hands, resembling a retracted turtle. Its massive wing membrane wrapped it tightly, but the brutal feather arrows pierced the membrane like spears, sinking deep into its flesh.
Suddenly, a vague shadow like a wraith struck Dos's side. He fell like a meteor, crashing straight into the rubble. Dos's throat filled with the sweet taste of blood as he coughed up a mouthful, gritting through the pain and using psionics to forcefully stabilize his wound.
Dust settled around the crater.
Damn! How careless.
That sly creature used its wing membrane to cover itself, merely to hide its strike. Dos reflected deeply on his own mistake. He knew he was still just a mortal body, without psychic aid, that single whip could have torn him into a cloud of blood mist.
It seems feather arrows can only be a last-resort trump card. They cannot be used lightly, as those feathers also provide a degree of impact-absorbing defense.
Dos grasped with his left hand, and feathers flew out from the Greater Daemon's body, reforming his wings. Though a bit battered, there was good news: the wounds he'd inflicted on the daemon seemed unable to heal quickly, improving his odds.
Seeing Dos survive his own whip and still stand, the Greater Daemon felt a hint of surprise, but quickly regained composure.
As an excellent warrior, it understood that focusing solely on the enemy's neck and heart was insufficient. Disrupting the opponent's rhythm was also crucial. It then retrieved a trophy from its belt and tossed it to the ground.
Dos stared at the broken ceramite. The object rolled shakily before him, a helmet forged of ceramite, once belonging to a sergeant of the Salamanders Chapter. The helmet was riddled with dents, appearing battered beyond recognition.
Both ocular lenses were broken. One red glass lens had shattered into fragments, leaving only a fragment of its frame clinging on.
"He was strong. I almost lost my duel with him, but my master watches over me; his doesn't."
Dos sneered. "The Emperor granted you a transhuman body with two hearts and three lungs and ceramite armor, yet you betray the Emperor and slay your own brother. Now you still flaunt your shamelessness before me?"
He then performed an Aquila salute.
The daemon, seeing Aquilla salute and hearing his words, immediately went into frenzy, "NO! I did not want to hurt my brothers. It was not me who betrayed my brothers; it was the false emperor, it was he, THE LIAR! THE DECIEVER! The False Emperor is Unworthy of our service, our trust, our sacrifice. He is a complete liar! And you, Deceivers pawn shall have my WRATH!"
Dos, almost instinctively, recalled the badge Tzeentch had given him. No, perhaps this is Tzeentch's plot. He must not be fooled.
[End of Chapter]
Sorry for the late update. Couldn't do much work in the hospital in peace.