On a battlefield shaken by roaring artillery, the Crimson Godzilla piloted by Datch looked like a titanic world-destroying giant torn straight out of myth. It ruled over everything in its field of vision with absolute power.
Every step he took made the ground tremble. A deep crimson beam lanced across the battlefield, illuminating the dim wasteland. Demon engines—grotesque fusions of rusted metal and writhing flesh—were blasted out of the sky one after another, detonating in ear-splitting explosions.
Further away, a Withering Tower that had been spewing poison and vicious beams finally met its end as well, under Datch's precise fire.
The blazing red lotus-like ray sliced through the tower like a blade of searing heat.
The towering structure, dozens of meters tall, slowly crumbled in flames, collapsing onto countless chaotic minions who failed to get clear in time and were crushed beneath the ruins.
"Feel fear. Feel the power of Godzilla."
Datch reveled in the unparalleled joy of mowing down daemons, unleashing a frenzied storm of attacks.
At Mecha-Godzilla's feet, the battle between Guilliman and Mortarion was growing ever more ferocious.
"Accept your fate. Your defeat is inevitable."
"The power of the Nameless One is far beyond your imagination. Even if all the gods joined forces, they would still be doomed to lose."
Guilliman's Emperor's Sword knocked Mortarion's scythe aside.
Chaos had also recognized the threat posed by Datch, and steadily ramped up its attacks on him. A dense fog, as if it possessed a will of its own, swirled, coiled, and heaved to either side.
Nurgle's most beloved, Ku'gath, stepped onto the battlefield. With every waddling step, the fat layers of his corpulent body rippled and shook like waves, dripping thick pus. Emerging from the fog, Ku'gath's blubber jiggled with every movement.
His sticky fingers launched warp-charged energy spears, and then he opened his maw wide, exhaling a foul, fish-reeking wind that pulverized ceramite and stripped flesh from bone.
Ku'gath also reached into the folds of his skirt and the gaps in his fat, drawing out flasks used to culture plagues, and hurled them at Mecha-Godzilla.
Under the onslaught, rust spread madly over Mecha-Godzilla's entire frame, eating into the overlapping protective layers as if it were alive.
The intricate internal circuits and energy conduits were corroded into shorts and fractures, spitting fine electric sparks. From the massive joints came a grinding "creak-creak" sound, as if they were about to seize up entirely.
"Damn, this fat bastard is disgusting!"
From the incessant shriek of warning sirens, Datch realized just how drastically the machine's performance had dropped.
He needed breathing room, so he whipped out Golden Hammer and set about repairing Mecha-Godzilla.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clear, ringing knocks echoed out, and a strange golden light rippled across the hull like waves upon water.
The newly spreading rust vanished. Peeling armor plates knit back together. Severed cables were re-linked. Mecha-Godzilla swiftly returned to its previous state.
But this approach couldn't solve the problem.
That fat Ku'gath just kept pulling out more flasks and smacking them into Mecha-Godzilla. On top of that, he shrouded himself again in summoned fog, making it impossible for Datch to pinpoint his location.
"Damn it, don't let me catch you. If I do, I swear I'll ram this super-cannon straight into that overflowing blubber of yours."
In the distance, the Wither Towers and the daemon engines also concentrated their fire on Mecha-Godzilla.
Datch had fallen into a nasty loop: repair, then instant re-corrosion; try to counter-attack, then be forced to stop and patch up again. His combat efficiency plummeted.
Pugh did his best to release emerald-green life energy to counter the plague god's power, but it was useless.
The daemon host had come thoroughly prepared and was working together to wear him down.
"No, if this war of attrition keeps up, we'll lose any chance to counter-attack!"
Realizing he could no longer keep piloting the mech like this, Datch immediately activated Mecha-Godzilla's autonomous control mode and disengaged from the fusion state.
The moment he landed, he summoned his mechanical warhorse, ready to personally beat that fat bastard Ku'gath into the ground.
Just as Datch locked onto Ku'gath's position, he caught sight of Guilliman being pressed back by the winged Mortarion.
Mortarion would occasionally take to the skies, dissolving into poison mist, then dive like a vulture out of the clouds, channeling gravitational potential into lethal sweeping strikes.
Guilliman, lacking control of the air, could only move and maneuver on the ground. He relied mainly on parries and dodges, temporarily forced onto the back foot and thrown into a brief disarray.
Mortarion took off again, circling at an altitude of a hundred meters before dropping straight down like a javelin.
The massive scythe in his hands screamed as it tore through the air, cleaving down with all the force of his fall toward Guilliman, who barely had time to raise his sword and brace for defense!
CRAAASH!!!!!
A terrible roar shook the battlefield.
The ground at Guilliman's feet cracked little by little. His arm muscles bulged, and the servo systems of the Armor of Fate entered an overload state, barely enduring this thunderous blow.
The two Primarchs were locked in a struggle for supremacy, their eyes blazing with hatred.
"Victory belongs only to the Supreme Heavens! You stubborn trash could never understand that…"
Before Mortarion could finish his taunt, he was body-checked mid-air by Datch on his mechanical warhorse.
"Ugh!"
The mocking words twisted into a shocked grunt.
The colossal daemon primarch was knocked off his trajectory, spinning sideways like a kite with its string cut, before plunging into the dense fog far away.
"Nameless One…" Guilliman's tension eased, and his face lit up with excitement.
Are you so afraid that I might get hurt? They always come to help so fast!
Datch stared at Guilliman in speechless silence.
This questline's NPC really sucked at gaming and loved to mess around.
The moment he realized he couldn't beat someone, he just bolted. Did the devs forget to code in any logic for retreating with dignity?
Then again, if you looked at it from another angle—
As the player, weren't you basically just cleaning up the NPCs' messes?
If they never committed massive blunders, how else were you supposed to land those high-paying jobs?
Thinking of it that way, Datch felt suddenly relieved, even a little pleased. A smile crept onto his face.
Seeing that smile on the Nameless One's face, Guilliman almost yelled "Yes!" out loud.
The Nameless One must have acknowledged that the two of them were the perfect combo. That was why he smiled.
Datch turned his head back toward Ku'gath, wheeled his horse around, and charged straight at the Great Unclean One, who was still busy lobbing flasks at Mecha-Godzilla.
On his way, whether it was ferocious Nurgle daemons, bloated Plaguebearers, or unlucky chaotic traitors who failed to dodge in time, all of them were ruthlessly trampled underhoof.
Nothing could be done about it. One of the mechanical warhorse's features was "Knock Up."
Seeing Datch barreling toward him, Ku'gath let out a rolling chuckle.
He stopped throwing, raised his rusted plague greatsword, and adopted a fighting stance.
He was going to make use of his sheer bulk and weight to smash the opposing rider and mount.
But when the charging mechanical warhorse slammed into him, Ku'gath's small, mocking eyes were instantly filled with baffled disbelief.
Bang!!
It felt as if some force in defiance of physical law had struck him.
His enormous body was ripped off the ground, hurled backward out of control, rolling over a mass of unlucky Nurgle daemons before finally crashing into a dilapidated building and coming to a stop.
This… this makes no sense!
They were so small, and he was so huge—how on earth could they have blown him away?
Dizzy and disoriented, Ku'gath scrambled to his feet, his mind a complete blank.
After initiating his charge, Datch quickly realized he'd been surrounded by Ku'gath's underlings.
These were Septicus, Famine, Beggar, Throat Disease, Dwarfism, and the Black Death—each exuding a suffocating presence and a stench fit to kill.
"Fine then, today I'll take on seven by myself."
Datch raised his sword and roared as he launched into battle against the seven Great Unclean Ones.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield—
The ever-shifting daemon prince Amon Chakai emerged like a specter from a mass of twisted shadow.
He appeared before the Changeling, who had been toying with a cult coven using sorcery.
"It has been a long time, my cunning brother, Changeling. The gaze of the Lord of Change has never once left you." Amon Chakai spoke. "The Changer of Ways has seen your plight and values your patience and long concealment."
"Wait just a little longer. When the time comes, our Lord will use His supreme power to free you from this ridiculous bondage."
"For now, continue as a deep-cover agent and remain by the side of that Nameless One. Unearth his deepest secrets. That will be the most precious gift you can offer to the Ever-Shifting Labyrinth."
The Changeling ceased his spell. A face formed of smoke and phantoms turned toward Amon Chakai, watched him for a long while, then let out a derisive laugh.
"Hmph. Vile daemon."
"Don't ever come looking for me again. The Nameless One might misunderstand."
Amon Chakai: "…???"
Had this guy been driven mad by that Nameless One?
The Changeling spoke in a tone filled with eerie reverence.
"These past few years, following the Nameless One, I've finally witnessed what true change looks like."
"Go back and tell your master Amon Chakai this: I'm never coming back. From now on, only the Nameless One will be the sun in my heart."
Amon Chakai's birdlike head stared at the Changeling in utter disbelief.
How could he have become a traitor? How could a being of the Immaterium seek solace in a creature of the material world? Where was his loyalty and dignity as a warp daemon?
…
Deep in the Immaterium, in Tzeentch's realm, at the heart of the Ever-Shifting Labyrinth—
Scenes from the battlefield of Pamenio were projected onto crystalline walls.
The two heads of Kairos the Fate-Weaver turned in unison toward the master who dwelled in the depths of the crystalline maze—a master woven from countless possibilities and lies—and cautiously asked:
"Master, is this… also part of your grand plan? Is it for the sake of some even greater deception?"
That being, its form and color in constant flux, maintained silence for nine minutes and nine seconds before answering, with absolute certainty:
"Of course. All of this is according to plan."
"I have already calculated everything and devised the perfect final scheme."
…
In the material universe—
"You'll regret this, Changeling," Amon Chakai said. "There is no good end for those who betray the Warp and the gods."
"Go back," the Changeling replied with contempt. "Someday I will return to the Warp, but I will never go back as a nobody."
"Since long ago, I've always respected the high-ranking ones favored by the God of Change. I dreamed that someday I could become an exalted being like them."
"But no matter how hard I tried—no matter that I risked annihilation to infiltrate the Brass Citadel and pull pranks on Khorne—I never got a chance to advance."
"But here, things are different. From the Imperium of Man I can receive the power of faith. Step by step I'll climb to the summit and become the new master of Universal Transmutation."
Amon Chakai's eyes widened. He wondered if the man before him had gone completely insane.
He watched as the Changeling raised his hand and gathered the shamanic flames suffused with the power of faith.
Seeing that he had nothing to gain here, Amon Chakai turned himself into a brilliant beam of light and departed.
…
"Brothers, forgive me if I raised my voice a bit earlier. Don't mind it."
Datch, astride his mechanical warhorse, was now facing off alone against seven towering Great Unclean Ones.
To be honest, this feat would be astonishing whether in the material universe or the Warp.
Unfortunately, Datch's personal power was still a bit lacking.
Before they had even traded many blows, he was slammed to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Septicus drove a massive sword straight through Datch's body, pinning him to the earth.
Ku'gath, who was nearby, suddenly widened his eyes. He swiftly pulled out a specially made brass vial and drew a single drop of blood from Datch.
"It's ready. The blood of a Primarch and that of the Nameless One—both prepared. Everything is in place. Only the final step remains."
Letting out an excited cackle, Ku'gath immediately withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the Plague of Axes world.
There, he intended to use those two precious drops to brew a plague potent enough to kill even gods.
"I wanted to fight you as a man, and you pull something this despicable on me?"
"Fine. No more acting—Emperor's Armor…"
Resurrected, Datch transformed into the Emperor's Armor, ready to take revenge on the Seven Great Unclean Ones.
Just then, time seemed to slow across the entire battlefield.
Instinctively, Datch turned his head and saw the girl possessed by the Emperor glowing with light.
She was the source of the anomaly.
As time passed, the power hidden within her had grown stronger and stronger, until now she could manipulate time itself by sheer force of will.
The girl slowly floated into the air, her bare feet lifting off the ground. Her body shone from within with a pure golden radiance, like a rising sun.
Her long hair swayed though there was no wind, every strand gleaming gold. All shyness had vanished from her eyes, replaced by boundless majesty—the kind that looks down upon the world and pierces the illusions of reality.
"In accordance with the will of the Master of Mankind…"
A solemn voice echoed within the hearts of everyone on the battlefield.
The girl raised both hands.
BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
Matchless golden fire suddenly erupted, surging outwards in all directions from her center.
The sea of golden flames instantly devoured the thick poisonous fog and smoke that had blanketed the field, purifying it.
The long-awaited sunlight speared through the heavy clouds unhindered, bathing the devastated battlefield in brilliance.
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Countless lesser daemons were reduced to ash within the flames before they could even struggle.
The slightly stronger ones burned fiercely, their bodies wreathed in fire as they screamed in agony.
Even the greater daemons were struck by the golden inferno, writhing in torment, their roars filled with pain as charred streaks spread across their bodies.
But at that moment, the Four Chaos Gods themselves also intervened in the war.
After the Great Rift had torn open, the structure of the material realm—already fragile—had become much easier for the evil gods to flood with their power.
The tear that the Emperor had ripped open was swiftly patched over by a layer of thick, viscous clouds.
With the light of the sun cut off, the battlefield was plunged into darkness once more.
The girl in the white dress had unleashed the Emperor's power once, but cracks had appeared across her body, showing that a second release was already beyond her.
The Emperor's authority was ultimately far too great; no human vessel could fully withstand it.
The battle once again reached a stalemate as the two sides clashed anew.
"I told you, the power of the gods is far beyond your imagination."
"Guilliman, surrender. Everything you've done is meaningless."
Mortarion's smile grew even brighter.
Moments ago, the Emperor and the gods had waged a direct contest of power, and the gods had clearly come out on top.
In the end, victory would belong to the Supreme Heavens. No matter how hard Guilliman struggled, he could not overturn that result.
"Who wins in the end is still far from certain."
Guilliman firmly believed that the Nameless One would find a way to turn the tide—even against the Four Gods.
…
"Old Emperor, you prepared for so long, and all you get is just one turn??"
"Is this guy just putting on a show for my sake?"
Seeing the girl in the white dress land and be surrounded by battle sisters, Datch was stunned into speechlessness.
He had thought the Emperor was going to unleash some overwhelming move that would wipe out all enemies.
And in the end, she did play the ultimate card—only to be suppressed by the Four Gods in short order.
Datch grumbled for a while, but in the end he had no choice but to transform.
Clad in the Emperor's Armor, he prepared to ascend to his strongest mental state. Whatever happened, he had to find a way to complete this mission.
At that moment, the Masque of Slaanesh, Skarbrand, and the others broke through the encirclement and made their way back to Datch.
"Everyone, focus that fat bastard!"
Datch pointed at Septicus, who was right beside him, still howling in pain from the Emperor's flames and not yet fully recovered.
They immediately tackled Septicus to the ground and laid into him with a savage, inhuman beatdown. Pus and blood flew everywhere, fat quivered violently, and his life force rapidly ebbed away.
Meanwhile, the other Great Unclean Ones had recovered from the Emperor's blast and rushed to Septicus's aid.
Datch ordered Skarbrand and the other Servants to hold them off. Taking advantage of the opening, he pulled out the Magic Bubble Bath Machine and hurled it to Pugh.
"Hmph. Go. Toss that fat bastard who was almost beaten to death into this thing and scrub him good!"
With so many daemons around, they had no choice but to rely on some tricks.
Datch wanted to see if he could use the Magic Bubble Bath Machine to turn a hostile NPC into a friendly one.
If that worked, then he wouldn't need to trigger the Emperor's Armor's ultimate form.
After giving his orders to Pugh, Datch, clad in the Emperor's Armor, raised his sword and charged at Famine, one of the Great Unclean Ones, plunging into a fierce battle.
"Pugh! Pugh!!"
Pugh, brimming with enthusiasm, hefted the Magic Bubble Bath Machine and ran on his short legs toward the downed Septicus.
Wherever he passed, green grass sprouted from the scorched earth, bloodstains blossomed into flowers, and a path of vibrant life spread behind him.
"Utterly repulsive."
Septicus, enraged at this blatant insult to his loving father, tried to rise and kill Pugh.
But empowered by the Emperor's faith, Pugh was now stronger than the half-dead Septicus.
He reached out with his plump little hands, hoisted the mountain of Septicus in one go, and with a hiss of air tossed him neatly into the Magic Bubble Bath Machine.
The device roared to life.
"No!!"
Septicus screamed as he was swallowed up by foam.
Bzzz—!
Gurgle gurgle… splash splash!
Within mere seconds, the fresh scent of a forest after rain, mingled with floral fragrance, began to drift from the machine, wiping out the stench of plague across a hundred-meter radius.
Immediately after, a slender figure burst out of the Magic Bubble Bath Machine—
A being with a tall, graceful body, smooth skin glowing with healthy radiance, a noble and sacred visage, and clear green gem-like eyes. Horns crowned their head; a pelt of deerhide draped over their form.
Most striking of all, on the angelic being's back spread a pair of wings woven from countless emerald-green leaves, and in their hands they held a wooden scale that symbolized the balance of all things.
The moment this Angel of Life appeared, the entire battlefield fell into a deathly, eerie silence.
The Emperor and the Four Chaos Gods alike were watching.
They could understand Nurgle's conversion.
After all, Nurgle was the weakest.
But what did it mean to transform a Great Unclean One into an Angel of Life?!
Was that even remotely reasonable?
Greater daemons were the most powerful beings in the Warp, second only to the Chaos Gods themselves.
For the material universe to twist one into an Angel of Life—had reality gone mad? Had the Warp gone mad? Surely the entire cosmos had lost its mind.
This was too absurd, too far beyond any clear conclusion.
No—perhaps it should be said that things had become too chaotic.
….
In a manor hidden deep within a garden, a filthy creature was so stunned by what it saw that it completely forgot about the soup simmering on its stove.
What in the world was this?!
How had Septicus deteriorated to such a terrifying extent?
My beloved child, my filthy child!!