The Keeper of Secrets—a Greater Daemon created by Slaanesh—typically leads entire legions of the Dark Prince's followers. Each individual possesses unique traits, and every one of them represents a catastrophic threat to humanity. Naturally, the power gap between different Keepers can be vast, but for the current Yuki, even the weakest among them was a formidable arch-nemesis.
"Heeheeheehee... you are even more resilient than I imagined. I wonder, if I were to enter your body from behind, would you let out a scream of agony?"
"Yuno? I can't handle this one alone. Yuno?"
Yuki looked back. Yuno had closed her eyes, and the various objects floating around her indicated that she was frantically channeling psychic energy. The next second, the Keeper of Secrets was already in front of Yuki. A slender whip, moving as if it possessed a life of its own, lashed toward Yuki's throat.
"Back off!"
Yuki held his ritual dagger. Empowered by psychic energy, he severed the lash in a single strike. Yuno's Shadow in the Warp was still active, suppressing the Keeper's strength. Yuki realized that he might actually have a chance to win this fight.
"Heehee... little Yuki, stop struggling. Why not take your little girlfriend and come with me to the Palace of the Prince of Pleasure? Think of the eternal ecstasy you could enjoy." The Keeper of Secrets licked its own wound with relish. Every movement caused wind to whistle through the hollows in its body, producing a sound like mourning cries. "If you don't like being penetrated, I could let you penetrate me instead."
"Shut the hell up!"
Yuki had reached his limit. He lunged at the Keeper of Secrets, and man and daemon clashed in a blur of violence. Every inch of the Keeper's body could become a lethal weapon, while every inch of Yuki's body was capable of regeneration. The Keeper was faster, but Yuki's strikes were more vicious.
The Keeper abandoned all defense, and Yuki knew that to win, he had to maintain a relentless, suicidal offensive. He punched a hole through the Keeper's shoulder, but in exchange, his own left eye was gouged out.
Dammit.
Yuki retreated several steps. If this continued, he would truly have to "restart" his life. Yuno was currently fighting something else—perhaps Slaanesh attempting to intervene, or maybe even another Dark God. Her strength in the physical world was limited by her vessel, but once the battlefield shifted to the Warp, she was a match for the Four Gods.
Even if it felt surreal, Yuki knew he couldn't let this Keeper of Secrets interrupt Yuno's battle.
"Come on!"
Yuki took a combat stance. The Keeper of Secrets laughed maniacally and charged, spreading its arms as if for an embrace. "Darling, let's have a hug!"
"Get away from me!"
The moment Yuki threw a punch, he sensed something strange. An indescribable restlessness surged in his heart. Time seemed to freeze, giving him ample opportunity to scrutinize his own soul. A force was guiding him to tear open his own heart.
What were you thinking when you saw those tortured Battle Sisters?
Was it sympathy? No. Yuki knew his own psychology well. In that first moment, he had felt only curiosity and... excitement. He was interested in the moment blood sprayed from a body. He was interested in the dried blood around the lips of a decapitated Battle Sister's head. He wasn't a good person; he had known this fact even before he transmigrated.
Yuki felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
"For me... use the Haymaker on it."
"Don't daze out, little brother!"
The Keeper of Secrets laughed and embraced Yuki. Hundreds of spikes protruding from its body impaled him instantly. "Quickly, scream! I know you're in pain. Come on, come on, scream into the depths of my heart!"
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
Yuki flashed a mocking smile. What could be more entertaining than shouting the name of Khorne in front of a Slaaneshi Greater Daemon? He tore himself free from the Keeper's restraints and slammed a fist into its chest. A red phantom appeared behind Yuki. As Yuki's fist struck, the red phantom punched as well.
The Keeper's body disintegrated instantly. Its eyes were filled with pure shock before they shattered; it had never imagined it would be torn apart by the power of Khorne. Not only that, the sheer, violent force banished it directly back into the Warp.
"Destined one... such power is but one ten-thousandth of what you can receive from me. Do it again. Say the words again. I will make you my vanguard. You shall have infinite power and blood." Khorne's voice became fervent, carrying a terrifyingly seductive quality that stirred Yuki's deepest primal instincts. "Come, become an existence worthy of the Great Devourer. Be my Chosen."
Yuno had managed to disengage from her struggle with Slaanesh at some point. She looked at Yuki, but she didn't move to stop Khorne's influence immediately. Instead, a spike appeared in her hand, wrapped in the unique psychic threads of the Tyranids.
Yuki stood motionless. After a long moment, his lips moved.
"Yes... that's it. Say it. Tell me, what do you want to be?" Khorne became incredibly excited.
"I am Rogal Dorn!"
Yuki roared with laughter. Just as Khorne was hit with the memory of that rock-solid man, Yuno moved. The spike in her hand pierced the gap between the Warp and realspace, stabbing directly into the Empyrean and severing Khorne's hold over Yuki.
"My love, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I managed to win by a stroke of luck."
"I miscalculated. I didn't expect Slaanesh to be able to send a Keeper of Secrets here. I was tied down by her just now."
"Good thing Khorne was around, right? I never thought I'd say that."
Theoretically, Khorne was someone who just wanted to see a good fight—the Chaos version of an Ork. As long as there was fighting and blood, he was happy; he didn't care who was bleeding. Not to mention being able to mess with Slaanesh. Yuki had used Khorne's power to take out Slaanesh's daemon and then mocked him. Khorne probably wouldn't mind too much.
...
The Warp. The Brass Throne.
"I am Rogal Dorn..." Khorne muttered to himself. That man had left a deep impression on him, perhaps because the Primarch he had actually obtained during that great war was... unsatisfactory. "What a sharp-tongued brat."
Khorne looked down at the countless daemons slaughtering each other beneath his throne. In the distance, a shrill, piercing shriek echoed through his domain. An infuriated Slaanesh had arrived.
"You paraplegic waste! Come let your big sister teach you a lesson!"
"You androgynous slut! Bring me your head!"
The legions of Khorne and Slaanesh mobilized. The eternal war between the two Chaos Gods had begun once again.
...
"Can any of them be saved?" Yuki asked Yuno after clearing the remaining enemies in the room.
Yuno looked carefully at the mangled Battle Sisters and shook her head. "Most of them stopped breathing during the fight. Only the one at your feet is still alive, but do you think she can be saved?"
The sister at Yuki's feet had lost her eyes and tongue. Her scalp had been sliced off, her limbs severed, and her body was covered in countless wounds with mangled muscle. Even if she lived, she would exist in eternal agony.
Yuki took a deep breath and ended the life of the last breathing Battle Sister. "May your soul return to the Golden Throne."
As the words left his lips, a furious voice roared from the doorway: "Yuki! What have you done?"