Zso Sahaal, Captain of the Eight Legion, felt as if he had returned to his childhood.
Back in the Terran prison, he would huddle warily in the corner of his cell.
His only joy then, in the hazy state between waking and dreaming, was to sketch the figure of Lord Nareth, based on others' descriptions.
Clad in black armor, he would follow Lord Nareth's back, charging towards the xenos.
Just like now.
Zso Sahaal followed his battle instincts, outpacing Gren Vosotho, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines First Company, who fired bolts at the xenos from behind cover with carefully calculated precision.
The rushing wind buffeted him. His lightning claws met the metal tendrils of a construct.
Adrenaline surged, tinging his pale skin slightly red. The Claw Master suddenly erupted.
Like a bird of prey, he leaped, meeting the tooth-filled maw that suddenly opened within a construct.
The crackling energy field tore through the construct's sharp fangs and the maw itself.
'I must catch up to Lord Nareth.'
The moment he landed, Zso Sahaal charged forward.
Urian Vendraig's sword parried the bony blade of a tendril. The piercing shriek was drowned out by the rushing wind.
He saw the Mark III Iron Armor, the crimson son's left shoulder bearing the symbol of blood red, a skull, and black wings.
'The Claw Master is this strong?'
Zso Sahaal saw two disgusting xenos, nearly three meters tall.
They had a pair of arms and seemed to have two legs beneath their dark, hooded robes.
Their hands were entirely masses of maggots. One hand gripped a corroded scepter. Where a human face should be, there was only a mass of writhing worms.
Two purple-clad figures each charged a worm-creature.
Lucius, wielding a single sword, charged his worm-creature, the scene of Lord Akurduana's instant defeat flashing through his mind.
The "Pugilist" gripped his sword with both hands, with full force meeting the scepter wreathed in emerald energy.
The moment they clashed, the "Pugilist" was thrown back several steps.
The "Pugilist" felt not fear, but joy. Lord Nareth had said the Slaugth varied in strength. This opponent was within his capabilities.
Switching to a one-handed grip, he charged again.
"Your time is up, meat-thing." The Slaugth Overseer's synthesizer spat out broken but recognizable Low Gothic, hissing like rotten, decaying phlegm. "I will savor your flesh."
Emerald energy flashed again. With a crack, a necrotic beam passed through where Lucius had just stood, reducing a section of wall to dust.
The "Pugilist" zigzagged, leaping and rolling, reaching the Slaugth in moments.
A piercing clash. The scepter parried the ornate blade.
"Meat-thing, foolish."
Worms surged towards the "Pugilist." Necrotic fluids crackled, rapidly melting through the power armor.
Just as the Slaugth Overseer prepared to savor the non-rotten, less flavorful meat, it suddenly found the meat's body intact.
The "Pugilist's" body had weakened the supernatural influence. His clenched fist shot out, slamming into the worm-creature's head.
With a thud, worms scattered.
A perfect smile graced Lucius's handsome face.
'Punching a head off is unexpectedly satisfying!'
As Lucius pondered, he saw two beams of golden light fall from above, encapsulating the worm-creature before him in amber.
Lord Nareth.
'I offer my Lord what he desires. He will surely be pleased.'
'Perhaps I will soon receive another bestowal of power.'
'But... I don't seem to have fully mastered the "Pugilist's" power yet. I still prefer using my sword.'
As Lucius thought, he glanced at the other "Pugilist."
Lord Akurduana's reforged armor had shed the excessive golden ornamentation that was markedly different from the Emperor's Children.
Were it not for Lord Nareth's prohibition, both he and Akurduana would inscribe the crown and wings of Shadows of Order on their armor.
Akurduana's purple armor was intact. Athena was still being reforged. He held Timur in his right hand. Maggots crackled and fell from his left fist.
'Lord Akurduana is still stronger than me.'
'Both before, and as a "Pugilist."'
Lucius clenched his fist and charged the next Slaugth.
As Zso Sahaal passed Akurduana and Lucius, he saw the two golden beams descend and quickened his pace.
Then he saw Luther, as tall and robust as any Astartes, throw his head back and roar.
Zso Sahaal's ears rang. His steps faltered.
He watched dumbly as Luther, like a Space Wolf or War Hound, crashed into a worm-creature.
With a thud, he scattered a stunned worm-creature.
Golden light fell from above. Luther didn't slow, charging another.
But this worm-creature wasn't stunned like the previous one. It moved swiftly, swinging its long scepter.
Just as Zso Sahaal regained mobility, a tremendous crash sounded.
His transhuman senses perceived the force of that blow.
'Luther is this strong.'
The "Barbarian" felt the power leaping within him. Excitedly, he let out a "Savage Howl" and swung his sword.
The Slaugth Destroyer's evil will momentarily stagnated, then recovered. It angrily shrieked.
The "Barbarian's" thoughts stalled. His eyes lost focus.
Then, his exceptional mental strength snapped him awake. He saw the Slaugth's scepter-arm rapidly retract.
Its other arm instantly expanded, slamming towards his chest.
The "Barbarian" was sent flying. slime melted the black-terracotta armor. A series of cracks sounded from his powerful body.
The Slaugth Destroyer raised its scepter. Emerald light flared. Just as it aimed at the meat-thing, a great sword blazing with the light of dawn swept towards it.
Zso Sahaal saw clearly. Thierry Viera sheathed his twin swords. As he raised his hand, a gleaming two-handed great sword coalesced from thin air.
The "Dawn Knight" swung the "Sword of Dawn." Each strike carried a purifying effect.
Large clumps of worms scattered, blackened the moment they hit the ground.
A golden light fell from above. Amber sealed the wounded Slaugth Destroyer within.
Luther, rescued, looked enviously at Thierry.
'He must have received a greater bestowal of power from my Lord. I must strive diligently, serve my Lord faithfully, and gain more.'
As he pondered, he saw over a dozen worm-creatures charge Thierry and quickly warned.
"Careful!"
The "Dawn Knight" was unfazed. He thrust the "Sword of Dawn" into the ground before him.
The great sword dissolved, becoming fragments of dawn-like light.
Innumerable fragments, countless, formed a blinding, violent, razor-sharp hurricane that swept the area.
The terrifying, destructive blow of the "Hurricane of Light" enveloped all the Slaugth Destroyers.
Their bodies instantly disintegrated. Large clumps of worms were torn to shreds.
The "Dawn Knight" exerted himself to focus the "Hurricane of Light's" center. Four Slaugth Destroyers, along with the fluids within them, were torn apart by the overwhelming light fragments in an instant, their evil wills purified along with their bodies.
Feeling his psychic energy significantly depleted, the "Dawn Knight" knew he could not cast another "Sword of Dawn" for some time.
Calmly, he drew his twin swords from his belt and watched the falling golden light encapsulate his offerings to the Black Emperor.
Zso Sahaal passed through the amber prisons one by one, finally catching sight of Lord Nareth.
He was about to rush forward and join his Lord in battle.
Suddenly, a shrouded worm-creature emerged from the shadows, hugging the ground.
The Claw Master angrily swung his arms. His crackling lightning claws met the emerald-wreathed scepter.
With a sharp crack, the force fields shattered. His lightning claws snapped.
Shock filled Zso Sahaal's eyes. The worm-creature they were fighting was this strong?
Zso Sahaal was sent flying. He saw the xenos' strange weapon aim at him.
He knew that evil energy could pierce his power armor.
Zso Sahaal sighed faintly in regret. Then, a silvery-white light blazed in his eyes.
His eyes wide, he saw Lord Nareth before him. His blade spun, piercing the worm-creature's body.
Lord Nareth raised his left arm. His power gauntlet flashed again and again. The worm-creature was sealed within an amber prison.
The Bloody Chain, coiled around Nareth's right pinky, shimmered as his spiritual energy rapidly recovered.
Using "Imprison," he had harvested a total of fifty-two Slaugth.
Feeling his psychic energy restore, he fixed his gaze on the approaching Slaugth.
Maintaining the third level of the Thelema mindstate, he could still perceive its powerful, evil will.
Nareth raised his arm. His twin-linked bolt gun and Perturabo-forged plasma gun roared in unison.
Bolts thundered. Plasma beams blazed.
Two maggots fell. The wounds healed instantly.
Nareth's golden wings beat. The Slaugth moved accordingly.
The "Baron of Corruption's" left arm bulged. He twisted his waist and back, swinging his arm, unleashing a punch like a cannonball.
BOOM!
The fist met the scepter. The resulting crack made even the Astartes' ears sting.
The outcome was decided in an instant. The scepter pushed the Slaugth backward, skidding.
'The Slaugth that knocked away Alpharius's Pale Spear in one blow? Its strength is nothing special.'
The "Baron of Corruption" took one step and was before the Slaugth.
The Slaugth dared not clash head-on with the black-armored giant again. Maggots writhed. Its arm instantly expanded.
The "Baron of Corruption's" eyes flickered. The Slaugth's arm suddenly skewed. The necrotic scepter, originally aimed at Nareth's ribs, struck its own abdomen instead.
'Hmm?' The "Baron of Corruption" had used "Distortion" intending to retract the attacking arm.
The powerful Slaugth was not completely dominated by the extraordinary ability, only its direction was "Distorted."
The "Baron of Corruption" flicked his wrist. The sword's tip pointed at the scepter.
Feeling its arm out of control and seeing the sword tip coming, the Slaugth dared not resist. Its worms quivered, and the scepter retracted sharply.
Then, seeing the gleaming gauntlet rise, it rapidly retreated.
The Slaugth then saw the gauntlet slam into the ground, yet strangely, it made no sound.
As it puzzled, it suddenly flew forward.
The "Baron of Corruption," through that punch, had channeled his erupting psychic energy into the ground, tracing a circle.
As he rose, the "Geometric" figure, pulled by psychic energy, was rapidly dragged before him.
Blinding blue-white light instantly erupted. The Slaugth hurriedly parried.
Amidst the crackling clash, the Slaugth felt extremely uncomfortable, as if losing control of its body. Its worm-arms kept slipping.
Stranger still, no matter how it moved, it couldn't distance itself from the black-armored giant.
And the difference in strength was too great. With each collision, worms were destroyed by the force.
Its space to stretch and contract shrank. It was confined to a narrow area by an invisible prison.
The "Baron of Corruption's" psychic energy surged forth. The spinning "Geometric" ring prevented the Slaugth from retreating.
"Distort" limited the worms' stretching and contracting. The Slaugth was like a training servitor controlled by a program.
Amidst a series of cracks, the Slaugth's worm-arms exploded. The necrotic scepter crashed down.
The blade turned. Points of blue-white light, like stars, burst within the Slaugth's body.
Nareth raised his power gauntlet and thrust it forward.
Layer after layer of viscous, almost solid, transparent liquid enveloped the writhing worms.
Nareth looked at the Slaugth in its amber prison and sneered.
'The Slaugth that overwhelmed Alpharius? Not so impressive.'
.....
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