"The situation is truly getting worse by the moment."
The Iron Warriors were holed up in a small bastion. Stoic looked out at the fields littered with Tyranid carcasses, feeling an intense sense of foreboding.
"We have no need for excessive worry," one of his brothers remarked.
"Stoic, why has no one arrived yet?"
Stoic shook his head. "I don't know. The worst-case scenario is that the reinforcements were annihilated by the swarm. A slightly better one is that our allies are currently engaged with the Imperial Navy."
"Did you foresee this?"
"I was prepared."
"Prepared how?"
"Mentally. I'm serious—when our fleet was destroyed and the Tyranids descended upon the surface, we all had to be ready to die. Everything I did before was merely an attempt to change that fate."
Stoic was not lying. He knew that escaping now, surrounded by both the Imperium and the Tyranids, was functionally impossible. "We have done what we should. Now, we must use every ounce of our strength just to stay alive."
The Iron Warriors looked at their unusual brother and shook their heads. "Those words don't sound like something one of us should say."
"We are brothers, forged from the same place. I owe you that much honesty."
"Enough talk then. What is the plan, Stoic?"
Their power armor was still mostly functional, and the ammunition they had scavenged from various sites was sufficient. There was still a sliver of hope.
"Let's move, brothers."
Stoic charged out, the Iron Warriors letting out a low, guttural roar: "Iron within, Iron without!"
...
Enos believed he had made a catastrophic error. He shouldn't have listened to the Iron Warrior's suggestion. The Imperium had fought these traitors for ten thousand years, yet he had collaborated with them? It was unheard of, an act worthy of excommunication and death.
He looked at his comrades and the mortals who cast admiring glances his way. The weight of the world pressed down on his shoulders, heavier than a Hive Tyrant pinning him to the ground.
"Enos, you don't look well."
"Forgive me. This battle... it makes me worry if we can truly fulfill our duty."
"As long as we fight to the last breath, we are fulfilling our duty."
"I... might have made a mistake."
"Enos, there is little point in saying that now. Whether it is penance or punishment, those things must wait until we survive and secure victory here."
"You're right. We must keep only the defeat of the enemy in our hearts."
"Stand up, Enos. The swarm is coming again."
...
Yuki led a team of Tyranid elite units as they infiltrated the defensive perimeter; he needed to destroy that heavy plasma cannon. They moved through corridors and narrow passages, every inch of which had been won through blood and sacrifice. Behind Yuki followed three Lictors, four Ravener-types, and two Spore-beasts. In these confined spaces, these agile units held the advantage.
All other sectors had already been taken and were undergoing biomass conversion. He needed to finish this quickly.
"Come then."
Yuki's psychic power blasted an opening, and almost instantly, they were met with fire from the Astra Militarum and the Exorcists. The Lictors struck while Yuki drew the brunt of the fire. Within moments, the bodies of the Guardsmen and mortal soldiers were torn asunder.
Only the warriors of the Exorcists Chapter possessed the capability to resist. Relying on the terrain and pre-positioned fortifications, they managed to stall the Lictors' sudden assault. However, the massive influx of Spore-mines produced by the beasts suppressed any chance of a counterattack.
In another corner of the battlefield, Yuki was locked in a deathmatch with Enos.
"Yuki, I should never have trusted you!"
"Don't say that, Enos. I haven't been corrupted by Chaos, have I?"
"You are no different from those wretched traitors!"
Yuki had no time for idle talk. His psychic energy erupted, but to his surprise, Enos was not killed instantly. Yuki paused, seeing the runes on Enos's armor begin to glow. Enos was likely a member of an Orison within the Exorcists that specialized in Warp-lore.
Yuki abandoned his psychic attacks and lunged with his bone-blade. Enos couldn't block it in time, and his arm was impaled. As the pain surged, he heard a voice calling from the void: Come, fight for me.
Enos knew that voice. It was the siren call that tempted warriors and heroes, trying to lead the righteous down the path of evil.
"No!"
His roar did not stop Yuki's next strike. Yuki punched through one of Enos's hearts while Enos fired his bolter wildly in return. Yuki's body was riddled with holes, but such damage meant little to him.
"You just heard the call of the Warp, didn't you, Enos? You did well. Do not accept its lure. The Emperor would be proud."
Enos's fury was visible even through his helmet. "Traitor!"
"Goodbye, Enos."
Yuki's small tendrils drained some of his blood, and in that instant, he saw much. He saw how Enos became a Space Marine, how he joined the Orison that studied forbidden knowledge, and his constant doubt over whether his actions aligned with the Codex Astartes. He was a model Space Marine, and more interestingly, Yuki saw the recent event: his collaboration with the Iron Warriors.
"It's a pity. If your luck were better, I would have liked to see your future development."
With those words, Yuki crushed Enos's second heart. Such is the nature of Warhammer; stories can come to an abrupt, violent end. Yuki hoped Enos's death would accelerate his victory. Even if the Astartes knew no fear, surely the Astra Militarum would show some?
He looked around. The Exorcists pinned down by Spore-mines and Lictors showed no change. In fact, he heard a slogan even louder than before: "For the Emperor!"
Yuki clenched his fist, preparing to strike again. Then, a blast of plasma erupted against him. He turned to see an unexpected foe.
"Iron within, Iron without!"
The last few members of the Iron Warriors had found their way here. Stoic didn't hesitate; the powers of the Dark Gods whispered that this human-looking being was the greatest threat. The relentless bombardment from the Iron Warriors forced Yuki to hunker down, using his chitinous shell for protection.
"This is rare," Yuki muttered. "It feels like I'm back in the Great Crusade, being hammered by two Legions at once."