"What do we do? What do we do!"
The paupers working in the factory alongside Ilia were paralyzed with terror.
"The Ray Gang—they have a particular obsession with 'human products.' If we fall into their hands, we're finished!"
Ilia scanned her surroundings. The gates and walls of this abandoned factory were still structurally sound. If they could hold the entrance, they might stand a chance.
"We have to hold out until Mr. Yuki returns. He can fix this," Ilia declared.
"Take anything you can find that can serve as a weapon! Everyone, get ready! We can block them if we use the factory as a fortress!"
In the distance, those who hadn't made it back to the factory in time were overtaken by the thugs. Blades rose and fell, hacking the unfortunate souls apart. Yet, the horror didn't stop there. Many of the thugs halted their advance, and as if to terrorize those still resisting, they began to perform unspeakable acts with unspeakable things.
Many of the victims weren't even dead yet, though with their wounds being forcibly enlarged, they weren't far from it. This scene made the paupers huddled in the factory retch in horror. Even Ilia and her brother felt a physical wave of nausea.
Dammit, is the Emperor still in these people's hearts?
Can we actually stop them?
To be honest, with the unique appearance of Ilia and her brother, their fate would be unimaginably grim if they were captured. Although she possessed immense strength and could technically function as two people, without proper weapons, four hands were no match for dozens.
As they drew closer, Ilia could see the grotesque grins on their faces and the unidentifiable organs still twitching in their hands.
Damn it. Damn it all.
If Ilia said she wasn't afraid, it would be a lie.
"Leave this place."
She heard a low hum. Yuno had appeared behind them.
"Leave this place."
Yuno's lips were moving, but Ilia heard no sound. The girl frowned, her exquisite face twisting slightly— a sight that frightened Ilia so much she stumbled back two steps, hitting the wall.
Yuno had no way to communicate with other species; even Genestealers could only receive her commands in fragments. If she were to use her psychic voice directly, their heads would likely explode on the spot.
Ilia tried to interpret what Yuno was trying to express. "You want us to leave?"
What is this creature talking about?
Yuno truly hated speaking to other biological entities. She couldn't understand them, and they couldn't understand her.
The thugs were nearly at the gate. Yuno gave Ilia a hard shove. This time, the conjoined twins were certain: the "Boss's Wife" wanted them gone. Ilia knew Yuki and Yuno weren't ordinary people—even a fool could see that. She made a swift, correct decision.
"Follow me! Leave this place to the Boss's Wife!"
Though some hesitated, Ilia didn't look back, and the rest followed her lead.
Once she was sure no one was watching, Yuno let out a sigh. Dammit. I am the Great Devourer, the supreme existence of the Warhammer world, and here I am playing house with these insects.
Well, she did love Yuki. A little amusement in her eternal life wasn't out of the question.
With a wave of her hand, she used her psychic power to fling open the heavy iron gates. The ignorant, brutal humans were closing in. Yuno rarely bothered to look at the faces of humans. Even when she appeared on a battlefield, she didn't observe through physical means. From a psychic perspective, she only saw flickering, weak soul-sparks.
The Tyranids didn't just consume biomass; they consumed the souls of these creatures. Souls nourished the Great Devourer's power and more effectively sated its eternal hunger.
"Boring."
Yuno reached out, twisting her hand through the air. The charging thugs dropped dead instantly. Their souls had been plucked out by her fingers. She held them like a bouquet of flowers, lightly placing them in her mouth.
Just a small snack.
Yuno glanced around. There were more enemies nearby, but Yuki had returned. After a moment's thought, she chose not to interfere. Yuki sometimes did things she didn't understand, but wasn't love about mutual understanding? As the Great Devourer, possessing supreme authority and power, she should naturally be more tolerant of Yuki.
Yuki felt it—Yuno was watching him. There was nothing else in that gaze but pure affection; it was the same look she gave him every single time. Such a gaze was more terrifying than eight hundred and eighty-eight legions of Khorne's Bloodthirsters.
Yuki turned his attention to the front. The bastards were gearing up for a fight.
You scum, you really dare to come looking for trouble?
Yuki had a fire burning in his chest. It was a feeling hard to describe. He knew exactly what kind of place the Warhammer world was, and he had prepared himself. His experiences hadn't even been the worst of it. But lately, he felt as if he had done nothing—he was just being pulled along by fate.
Dammit, am I truly capable of nothing?
Is this world so messed up that I don't even get a chance to struggle?
Can I not stand on the same line as Yuno through my own strength and will?
Yuki punched straight through an enemy's torso. The sheer visual impact stunned the thugs. They had been sent by their superiors, promised corpse-starch and the right to do as they pleased as payment. They had planned to indulge their darkest desires after dealing with the fools here.
They thought they were hunters, but what emerged from the steel jungle was not a mere beast.
"Kill!"
Yuki tore through the corpses of the charging enemies. The sensation of blood and slaughter gave him a rush of excitement. But he had no need to fear being noticed by the Warp. His soul was now linked to the Hive Mind; if anything in the Warp wanted to cause him trouble, it would have to go through Yuno first.
The brutal combat didn't scare off the thugs. After a brief shock, they became even more frenzied.
"Hahaha! That's it!"
"All together now! I'm going to rip his arms off!"
Yuki was shocked once more. Are these guys truly not insane? Have they already been tainted by Chaos?
Is this a normal human mindset?
Knowing these people were beyond reason, Yuki decided to end it quickly. Within minutes, every thug lay dead.
Afterward, Ilia and the other workers gathered the remains. The carnage Yuki had left behind was comparable to a battlefield. After counting, the harvest for Yuki's "scrap factory" was massive: a full eight tons of raw materials.
And Yuki made a decision.
"The Ray Gang... well, I was just thinking about how to expand my influence."
He would use them to sharpen his blade!