"You're not enough either."
Yuki kicked aside the daemon whose physical form was disintegrating. The special training with the Lictor had certainly paid off. While he might still struggle against elite units or Space Marine Captains, enemies of this level posed no threat to him.
With two daemons slain and two altars destroyed, the surrounding Warp energy was visibly weakening. Good, this is working.
Yuki pressed forward. Three altars remained. These altars were clearly temporary structures, far less stable than the ones he had discovered during previous purges that had taken decades to build. Slaanesh must have found a crack in the Shadow in the Warp, slipped through to seduce Raziel, and forced this gateway open.
He accelerated. This time, Slaanesh seemed to be playing for keeps. If he didn't settle this quickly and Slaanesh managed to send a Keeper of Secrets—or worse—it would be...
The mere thought was chilling. Yuki cleared his mind and rushed toward the next objective.
The third altar. This one was guarded by a swarm of Daemonettes and Fiends. They were numerous, but they still couldn't stop Yuki. Using a combination of psychic powers and his biological weaponry, he successfully demolished the third one.
The expected "Soulslike" progression—where every altar featured a progressively stronger boss—hadn't materialized yet. Maybe Slaanesh hasn't had time to project more of her power here, he thought.
However, when Yuki reached the final altar, a sense of visceral dread washed over him.
In his field of vision, tens of thousands of people were packed together in a dense mass, slaughtering and "entertaining" one another. Blood had risen past their ankles, yet they were laughing hysterically. Every sense was being bombarded by stimuli—pain, pleasure, and the exquisite agony of nerves being plucked like harp strings.
This scene was still far from a full-scale ritual to summon a Greater Daemon, but if Slaanesh truly wanted to send someone, she didn't necessarily need a traditional sacrifice.
"Dammit."
Yuki sensed a massive surge in Warp energy. Something was wrong. Regardless of whether the Imperium would detect him, he unleashed his full psychic potential to lock down the surrounding space.
But his blockade lasted less than five seconds. He watched as his psychic energy materialized, shattered into crystalline shards, and scattered across the ground.
A towering Greater Daemon of Slaanesh appeared.
It was different from any Slaaneshi daemon Yuki had encountered before. It simply stared at him. Its tall body lacked the typical chaotic, grotesque organs; it had a goat-like head and gripped a lethal spear.
"State your name."
"Yuki."
"Syll'Esske... no, Shalaxi Helbane."
Yuki sucked in a sharp breath.
Shalaxi Helbane. This wasn't some nameless entity. This was one of the most infamous Greater Daemons in Warhammer lore. It was said that Slaanesh, frustrated by the complacency of her other daemons while the other Chaos Gods gained stronger subordinates, created Shalaxi specifically to hunt down other Greater Daemons and ensure none dared to be presumptuous before the Prince of Pleasure.
In other words, this was a super-enemy on par with Skarbrand the Exiled.
"How dull. My Master summoned me only to deal with such a ridiculous creature?" Shalaxi surveyed the area. "The Shadow in the Warp lingers here. Have the Tyranids already arrived? Boy, tell me what the situation is."
"The situation? You've set foot on a Tyranid planet. Get out, or I will banish you myself."
"Hahahaha!" Shalaxi laughed. "I have slain countless mortals in the materium and hunted infinite Greater Daemons in the Warp. Now you dare utter such drivel? Fine, I shall give you an opportunity!"
Banish Shalaxi? Yuki knew that very few beings had ever accomplished such a feat. Right now, he was at the level of an elite soldier at best. His only option was to stall—to hold out until Yuno came to save the day.
"Fight me!"
Yuki's bone blade and the arm holding it were severed in an instant. Shalaxi hadn't even moved; it had relied solely on the psychic field that automatically protected its body to lop off Yuki's limb. Had Yuki not had his own psychic protection, he would have been pulverized instantly.
Dammit.
He retreated sharply. Shalaxi looked at the weak creature and mocked him. "Human, didn't you say you would banish me? Come then."
With a flick of intent, it appeared behind Yuki. Yuki hadn't even detected the psychic fluctuation of a teleport. Shalaxi stood dozens of meters tall, and the tip of its spear was as large as a man. With a casual thrust, it ran Yuki through.
"Hmm. You aren't actually human, are you? Your internal structure is a mere imitation... My Master sent me here without telling me what I would find."
Shalaxi tossed Yuki aside like a piece of refuse. He slammed into a wall, the impact so violent that internal organs were forced out.
"Motherfucker... why do I keep running into these guys?"
The bigger problem was that his mind was linked to Yuno. She had to know what was happening here. Why hadn't she arrived? What had stopped her?
"Oh, I feel it," Shalaxi crooned. "You're worried about someone else. Who is it? Your lover? What a beautiful emotion. Sadly, I have no interest in it. Come, surrender. I'll reserve a place for you and your lover in my Master's palace."
"Shut the hell up."
Yuki wished he were playing tabletop Warhammer right now, hoping for a natural 20 to drive a sword through this thing's heart.
So, what had happened to Yuno?
A few minutes prior.
Yuno stood amidst the ruins. Five altars had been destroyed; it hadn't been difficult. She let out a breath. Only one remained. Even if Slaanesh herself was on the other side, she and Yuki could tear it down. Once the final altar was gone, the Shadow in the Warp would overwhelm the local Chaos influence, and the crisis would pass.
She stepped forward to join Yuki, but psychic tentacles suddenly erupted from the ground, binding her legs.
"What?"
Yuno looked up. The Warp was blurring into reality. "Dammit, Slaanesh, you bastard."
And so, Yuno was forced back into the Warp to do battle with Slaanesh once again.
...
"So noisy."
A man sensed strange fluctuations in the air. He possessed a certain psychic talent—a secret that had allowed him to reach his high station.
"What's the situation over there? A gang war using illegal psykers?"
His guards didn't know what the man was talking about. They were veterans, retired from the most horrific battlefields and rehired by him.
"Perhaps it's Chaos?"
The man shook his head, dismissing his subordinate's guess. "No, the psychic signature isn't that intense... but it's possible. Unfortunately, that's not my responsibility. Once this reconnaissance is complete, we'll notify the Ordo Malleus."
Inquisitor Justice of the Ordo Xenos had discovered traces of Genestealers on this planet. He needed to finish his own job first.