"How is this possible?"
Eli was sent crashing to the ground by a single blow. Broken ribs pierced her lungs, and bloody foam bubbled from her mouth, yet Yuki's movements did not falter. He surged forward instantly, his fist aiming to shatter the Canoness's skull.
However, the bolters of the Battle Sister squads forced him back. The clothing he wore could deflect small-arms fire, but it struggled against the concentrated overlapping fire of two full squads.
"Yuki! Have even you been tainted by Chaos!"
Yuki had to finish these people here. He darted through the iron caverns of the Underhive. The Canoness had already hoisted her heavy flamer, spraying high-temperature promethium directly into the surrounding hab-blocks. Yuki could feel the searing heat; if not for his recent "exchanges" with Chaos cultists, his lack of combat experience would have already left him a charred corpse.
Spikes protruding from the wrists of his uniform skewered one Battle Sister. The others didn't hesitate for a second, drawing combat knives and chainswords; those who couldn't switch to melee weapons in time simply swung their rifle butts. Yuki tore through their power armor, piercing their skulls and throats.
By the time the Canoness pulled the trigger on her flamer—ignoring the safety of her own comrades in the chaotic melee—Yuki had already slain most of the Sisters. Killing no longer felt special; he was simply eliminating enemies, nothing more.
Flames licked across Yuki's body. The flammable liquid clung to him, the high heat scorching his flesh and beginning to compromise the structure of his uniform. Seeing Yuki still capable of fighting while wreathed in fire only deepened the Canoness's conviction that he was a heretic.
"May the Emperor forgive my sins."
Yuki broke through the wall of fire. The Canoness raised her chainsword.
"I have committed an unforgivable crime."
She swung at him. Yuki, still burning, was protected by a temporary mask deployed by his uniform.
"God-Emperor, let me kill just one more."
Yuki tackled the Canoness, seized her hands, and ripped them away with brute force. He straddled her, raining punch after punch upon her until her head was reduced to a pulp.
As the flames slowly died down, his body was severely burned. He had to get the people from the cathedral out; at the very least, they were innocent. As he stepped out of the alleyway, the Imperium's cleansing of its own citizens had already begun.
He saw tank-mounted flamethrowers spewing jets of fire thirty meters long, igniting entire buildings. Melta charges and various heavy weapons were being used to demolish structures. They were creating a dead zone—a scorched-earth policy. For what they were about to lose, they held the belief that it was better destroyed than captured by the enemy.
Ignoring the screams, Yuki rushed toward his destination: Tex Cathedral. Where was Yuno?
He then mocked his own stupidity. Did Yuno really need him to worry?
...
Yuno knew that humans would abandon their own kind in moments of necessity, much like certain insects severing their tails to survive. This was true both in the world of Warhammer and in the world she had learned about through the internet. Yet, as she experienced it firsthand, rage surged within her.
The Tyranids had only one Hive Mind. To Yuno, using weak or injured units to recycle biomass was like clipping nails or cutting hair. But humans were different; every human had their own thoughts. As enemies, they could be slaughtered at will, but as kin, why do this to one another? If Yuno were to encounter another of her own rank, she would never bear to kill them.
More importantly, their target included Yuki!
Using her spider-like limbs, Yuno moved rapidly through the Underhive, killing every armed creature she saw. An Astra Militarum artillery battery? Their barrels were already turned toward the residential areas. During this rare lull in the enemy's assault, they intended to finish their task quickly and retreat.
Yuno appeared among them, piercing their bodies, slicing their skin, and absorbing their organic matter. She ate in a hurry; Yuki's uniform wasn't enough to protect him in a real war.
Squads of Seraphim and Zephyrim appeared—warriors equipped with jump packs and thrusters, the renowned elite of the Imperium.
"New xenos detected! New xenos detected! Requesting rear support!"
Yuno leapt down, skewering the lead Seraphim. The remaining elites surged forward, brandishing thunder hammers. They had fought side-by-side for years, facing countless dangerous foes with seamless coordination.
Yuno's physical strength was nowhere near what it had been at her inception. This was a body she had manifested using psychic energy from beyond the galaxy, using the corpses on this planet as raw material. As time passed, this vessel carrying the Hive Mind's consciousness would gradually break down; "feeding" only slowed the process. Her current strength was roughly that of an elite Tyranid Warrior—or perhaps a Lictor, given her agility.
Of course, she had other means.
"My love... please don't let anything happen to him."
She could only confirm Yuki's life and approximate distance through her psychic mark.
In the midst of her thoughts, she had already pierced several more Sisters, hoisting them high before flinging them away. Their armor was shattered, their bones pulverized. Yuno hurried to finish them off. Just as she confirmed their deaths and prepared to feast, a disturbance in the psychic field stopped her.
She left the corpses behind. Immediately, the residents who had been hiding in the shadows emerged. They hadn't received enough food since the military takeover and were now ravenous. What can hungry people do? It goes without saying.
Yuno charged forward. She had sensed Yuki's position; she just needed a little more time. She could see the spire of Tex Cathedral in the distance, now surrounded by flames.
Armored units, Astra Militarum, Arbites, Sisters of Battle... she saw thousands of trained soldiers noticing her.
"Damn them! Abominable! Why do humans always stand in my way? Even when I am trying to save another human?"
Drenched in human blood, Yuno plunged into the enemy ranks. She wouldn't waste time; Yuki was in danger, and she could feel his pain—a pain that pained her as well.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
A ring of blue energy expanded rapidly from Yuno. There weren't even screams. Black liquid leaked from the eyes, noses, and ears of thousands of soldiers—a mixture of brain tissue and blood. They collapsed one after another, as the sheer malice of the Great Devourer was unleashed upon them.
The psychic shockwave fried their brains, turning their minds into mush.
Yuno sprinted toward Tex Cathedral.
"I have to make it!"