It was weird for Lencillus to see how casually Gerhard talked about his encounter with Lesser and even a bloody Greater Daemon of Tzeentch. The unimaginable recklessness of him, to allow himself to be frozen in time, only to bait the Lord of Change into trying and getting into his mind...
Lencillus didn't even have words for such a thing. He almost lost his composure, which not even the Horus Heresy had managed. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought Gerhard might truly be one of the Changer of Ways' followers. And if he knew what Gerhard truly did with the Lord of Change... ooofff, yeah, no one would ever find out about that.
Albeit, the sheer dread one felt when he entered the command deck, as Gerhard had the [Blank] skill active, told him all he needed to know.
To be honest, Gerhard, in his blank state, reminded Lencillus of Jenetia Krole, the Soulless Queen.
Krole had been the Knight-Commander of the Silent Sisterhood and Chief Investigatus-Militant of the Divisio Astra Telepathica during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. She led the Silent Sisterhood during the Battle of Prospero and the War Within the Webway. She was one of the Emperor's three main advisors and a lynchpin of his war council during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, alongside Constantin Valdor and Malcador the Sigilite.
She had been a striking woman. But her 'pariah-ness' was so powerful that even the Adeptus Custodes, who were highly resistant to the null-aura of typical blanks, could barely see her or understand her sign language.
At times, she was invisible because the brain couldn't place or navigate that. It was insane, and Gerhard was already approaching her level and about to push beyond it.
Gerhard looked around and saw that most of the crew were dead at that point. Their souls couldn't bear possession, and then the vicinity of Gerhard in his blank state. Captain Erefan was still clinging to life, although barely.
Gerhard walked towards him and touched his body. His senses and skill in the usage of the Warp had experienced a massive leap in this fight.
[Remove Curse]
[Remove Curse]
[Remove Curse]
After that, Gerhard healed the Captain and left him on the ground, making his way through the voidship to see where he could help otherwise.
The Geller Field was back online, thanks to the efforts of Hans, and the Warp drive pushed them out of the Warp, giving them a momentary respite.
Aleya was the first to encounter Gerhard and Lencillus on their 'clean-up'. She signed using Thoughtmark very quickly, but Gerhard understood.
"I'm on my way," he said, and they got a move on.
.
Former Planetary Defence Force Lieutenant, Sera Vahl, was not having a great time. Gerhard had outfitted her with the best armour he could make that wasn't Power Armour.
That meant she was wearing what looked like the finest crafted Carapace Armour there was, but wasn't at the same time. Gerhard had worked hard to be able to use Ceramite, Carapace and even some Polymorphic Alloy, and create the best version of the armour she could wear comfortably.
In short, Sera Vahl was now a Tempestus Scion, but with even better equipment. And that was saying something.
The standard equipment of the Tempestus Scions, also known as Stormtroopers, which were the elite shock troops of the Militarum Tempestus, was superior to that of regimental Guardsmen.
This typically included Carapace armour, which offered better protection than the standard Flak armour used by Guardsmen. Scions were armed with the Hotshot Lasgun, also known as a Hellgun, a more powerful lasgun equipped with a targeting system.
Additionally, they carried both frag and Krak grenades, with the option to use Melta bombs.
Scions may also be issued special weapons, such as Flamers, grenade launchers, Meltaguns, plasma guns, and Hotshot Volley Guns.
Scion leaders had access to even more advanced weapons, including power weapons, Bolter weapons, and plasma pistols.
Depending on the mission, Scions could deploy a greater variety of specialised equipment. This could include grav-chutes for performing aerial insertions, as well as Chimeras or Taurox Primes for ground transportation.
The masked helmets worn by Tempestus Scions were designed for inhospitable environments and allowed for the delivery of nutrient gruel and oxygen to the wearer.
Sera was outfitted with all of that good stuff and then some.
She and Gerhard had developed a type of brother-sister relationship, where she was the grumpy, hard woman who could kick ass all day long but still followed his lead on basically everything.
So Gerhard wanted her to be as safe as possible. All of the equipment, meaning armour, as stated and weapons, were created by Gerhard and were, to date, legendary grade.
She had a Bolt Pistol, which could fire all day and had insane ammo capacity for its small magazines; a Chainsword, which she asked him to create; and a Plasma Pistol, which had a -99% heat generation bonus.
Those were only the smaller weapons, though. They could be placed on the armour she wore and weighed less than they would if they were Imperial-grade weaponry. That was not to hinder her movement. Because the main weapon she used was the Hotshot Lasgun, which packed a serious punch as a legendary-grade weapon, and Gerhard went nuts on those things.
For movement, he included grav-chutes, which she could use at will, to increase her movement.
Long story short, Sera was a force to be reckoned with who was starting to get close to an unnamed Space Marine, if she fought smart and didn't get killed right away.
...
However.
The situation on the Cadamara was not anything Sera Vahl had ever experienced. The danger of being in the Warp was something she hadn't understood until the Geller field had been broken through and the attack started.
The air became hard to breathe, even with the specially designed helmet. The mind was attacked directly; she started to see things, her stomach turned, and she started to bleed for no apparent reason.
It was a horror for her.
Still, she was who she was and refused to give up without a proper fight. So long had she endured the mediocrity and life as a Lieutenant of the PDF, so hard had she fought against the Archenemy, so hard had she endured the presence of the Anathema psykana and seen how Gerhard grew stronger and better daily, while sparring with literal demigods like a former Custodes...
And yet, through all this, Gerhard had never forgotten about her, even taking valuable time of his day to create this glorious piece of armoury for her. She wasn't going to give in to pathetic creatures.
The Hotshot Lasgun was so powerful that she managed to kill several Lesser daemons of Tzeentch. She switched between melee and long-range weaponry, using her grav-chutes to get higher ground, dodge swarms of Horrors and throw melta bombs and krak bombs at the vermin.
When her right arm was injured, she already had the Chainsword in hand and brutally cut through the creature, while using the Bolter Pistol to kill swathes of them. When she was finally out of grenades, she overcharged her Plasma Pistol and hurled it at the enemy, causing an enormous explosion and taking hundreds of them before they could overwhelm her.
She even endured terrible burns from Flamers thanks to her armour, but eventually, it was too much, and she was taken down.
Broken and defeated, and with a bloody grin, she had thought of, once again, ending her own life. Sadly, that didn't work out as she'd hoped. While Gerhard's armoury, weapons, and items were relatively corruption-proof, thanks to the Mana he used to create them, Sera was not.
.
Gerhard, Lencillus and Aleya rushed through the Cadamara, all 950 meters of it, and cleared every single room of Warp corruption and daemons. Gerhard purged all corruption and healed those who were still holding on, though they hadn't fully given in.
Corruption and full possession were two different things, and Gerhard had found out that using [Remove Curse] did technically work, but it also killed the human being possessed, as there was no soul left that could be cleaned.
They made it to Slovo's citadel and saw Hestia, bloodied but unbroken, as she had made sure the Navigator wouldn't be possessed. Lencillus jumped into action and cleared any remaining filth together with Aleya.
Gerhard walked up to Hestia and touched her shoulder.
[Burning Spirit Principle]
[Burning Spirit Principle]
The healing skill had already levelled up a lot since he had used it the first time. After using it twice, Hestia was back to full health, and her stamina had recovered as well. She felt fresh and ready to go again. The reason for that was that the skill also affected the recipient's soul.
And although the Anathema psykana didn't think that they had souls, it still seemed to have an effect. That's the Gamer system for you.
"Everything is cleared here. We can commence," Lencillus said.
Slovo was in bad shape, whimpering on the ground and sweating like a pig. What he felt and the proximity to Hestia and Aleya were almost driving him insane. Then there was the sheer horror of the Warp, and he wasn't inside his protective tank.
"Easy there, Navigator. You'll be fine," Gerhard said.
"No... no, noo. We're were in... still in... the Warp... need to stay out!!"
[Burning Spirit Principle]
[Burning Spirit Principle]
Gerhard used the healing skill twice for the Navigator. The results were visible right away, as his sweating and grey complexion gave way to a healthy complexion. Slovo felt better than he ever had in that moment.
"Wha... what was that? What did you do? Are you a psyker as well? Why don't I sense any psyker potential from you?" Slovo rattled off his questions.
"Calm yourself. We are already out of the Warp, so you don't need to worry too much."
Aleya scoffed at the Navigator's state, which she found pathetic. Gerhard turned to her, keeping a calm and polite tone.
"Please try to be more sympathetic, Aleya. Even for a Navigator, one who stares into the Warp as a vocation, it is very hard on the mind to see a true form of a shedim, especially for a psyker. They are usually the source for nightmares and more than capable of sending a mortal to insanity."
Aleya didn't say anything, knowing that Gerhard was right. Hestia also agreed with that. A mortal had to struggle not to listen to the daemons, but not the Blanks. What was an unbearable horror to a mortal, a temptation beyond endurance, for the Sisters of Silence, it was merely disgusting and dangerous, something that had to be stepped on and ground to dust.
They continued through the ship until they reached the final bulk, where Kaelen and Liora were engaged in a brutal fight. Seeing them, Gerhard was about to eradicate the possessed, until he recognised who they were fighting.
"No..."
'Sera.'
"She has been possessed," Lencillus stated.
'She has to die,' Aleya signed.
She looked around and saw that no one was moving forward to take action and help her sisters, so she was about to do it herself.
Before she could interfere, though, Gerhard grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from doing so.
Being touched by him angered the spirited woman, and she kicked him away.
Or she tried at least.
She was surprised by how hard it was and by Gerhard ignoring her. He started walking forward. Angered that she had been ignored, Aleya was about to go after him when Hestia stopped her this time and shook her head.
The young woman was angry at the wider galaxy for the treatment she and her sisters had received, but Sera was like a sister to Gerhard. Seeing her like this was hard.
Kaelen and Liora had been trying not to harm the enemy in front of them. They were still human, and after spending months with Sera, they were a bit reluctant to kill her.
They were just about to do it, no questions asked, but now that Gerhard was here, they might be spared from having to do it themselves.
~Ahhhh, the special one. Hehehehehe, how this one cared for you, such delicious drama... what will you do? Kill me? Will you kill the person who sees you as a little brother, huh? Hahahaha...~
"Shut up," Gerhard said, pointing his index finger at the creature.
~Ohhh, did I hurt your feel--~
[Six-Rod Mana Restraint]
A small spark of yellow energy appeared in front of Gerhard's finger, which suddenly summoned six thin, wide beams of Mana that slammed into the possessed Sera's midsection and held them in place.
~WHAT?!~
But Gerhard wasn't finished.
[Magical shackles of binding]
Thick light blue Mana shackles appeared next and wrapped around the metamorphosed body of Sera, restricting all of its movements and speech indefinitely.
The skill was actually insanely powerful, as Gerhard trapped the daemon's energy and severed its connection to the Warp.
Still, it wiggled and fought against the bindings, screeching curses and the like, wanting to hurt Gerhard and itself to cause Gerhard pain.
"Such arrogance. You think you get to have the last word in this? Allow me to teach you," Gerhard said and started to chant.
[Instant Dungeon]
Gerhard entered an instant dungeon with those around him to hide what was coming next.
[Theft]
[Mana]
[Amplify]
[Absorb]
[Forever]
Five blue balls of pure Mana materialised. They moved around the ground, around Sera's body, and started to paint runes on the floor.
If those present hadn't known Gerhard, they might have thought he was about to perform heretical sorcery.
The runes started to burn with blue fire, coating Sera's terribly malformed body as the spell finally activated.