The thick blood cloud was torn apart by an invisible will.
A massive rift split the sky, like an unhealable scar on the body of the universe.
A terrifying figure, large enough to obscure the starlight and carrying a murderous intent that made the entire planet tremble, descended from that rift with a crash.
He held a Brass Great Axe, his entire body burning with inextinguishable Hellfire.
The first Greater Daemon under Khorne, the Bloodthirster, The Bloodthirsty Fiend.
His Projection had descended.
Those eyes, burning with endless envy and monstrous rage, instantly locked onto Sanguinius atop the Mountain of Corpses.
The perfect prey.
The champion predestined by the Blood God.
"Desecrator!"
The Bloodthirsty Fiend let out a roar, the sound transforming into a physical shockwave that slammed down violently.
"Don't touch him!"
The great axe was raised high, but it was aimed in Leticia's direction; he wanted to clear away these eyesore insects first.
Sanguinius's azure pupils constricted suddenly; he instinctively moved forward to shield these uninvited "variables" behind him.
However, one figure was faster than him.
A red figure.
"It's you again, noisy lackey."
A cold voice rang out, without a hint of emotion, yet filled with bone-deep contempt.
Angronia took a step forward, and that massive battle-axe instantly appeared in her hand.
She proactively stood in front of Leticia and Sanguinius, shielding everyone behind her.
Her lava-like red hair moved without wind, and in her amber pupils burned a Battle Intent so pure it lacked even a hint of impurity.
The Bloodthirsty Fiend's movements suddenly stiffened.
On his hideous demonic face, for the first time, an expression akin to human "astonishment" appeared.
He stared fixedly at Angronia.
This aura...
This soul...
"Traitor!"
The Bloodthirsty Fiend let out a roar even louder and more furious than before.
"How dare you appear before me again!"
To him, Sanguinius was a future sacrifice, but Angronia was a blatant, stolen disgrace!
He instantly abandoned Sanguinius, his massive brass body turning around, and with endless fury, he charged at Angronia with full force!
He wanted to wash away the disgrace!
He wanted to drag this traitor's soul back beneath the Blood God's throne and roast it with the most malicious flames for ten thousand years!
Facing this world-destroying charge, there was no expression on Angronia's face.
No fear.
No fanaticism.
Not even anger.
Only an absolute, iceberg-like calm.
She gripped the axe handle with both hands, sinking slightly into a gladiator's most standard defensive counter-attack stance.
Boom—!!!
Two massive axes, representing the pinnacle of "Battle Intent" in the universe, slammed together once again!
The piercing metallic explosion turned into a visible shockwave, grinding the corpses and rubble within a radius of several kilometers into fine powder!
Sanguinius instinctively spread his wings, shielding Leticia and Terrania within them to withstand the violent aftershocks.
He stared fixedly at the center of the battlefield, his azure eyes filled with disbelief.
The result was entirely different from what he had imagined.
The Red-haired Valkyrie was not pushed back.
She didn't even waver.
She was like a war idol rooted deep in the earth, motionless.
Instead, it was The Bloodthirsty Fiend, whose size was several times larger than hers, who was shaken and slid back over ten meters in this pure collision of strength!
"How is this possible?!"
A storm of shock surged within Sanguinius.
He knew Angron's strength well; it was pure, reckless madness.
Every attack was a way of trading self-harm for maximum destructive power.
But the Angronia before him...
Her strength was condensed and did not dissipate!
Every exertion of force was precisely controlled to the millimeter, without a single bit of waste!
This was not a gladiator's rage.
This was... the skill of a Lord of War!
The Bloodthirsty Fiend was also stunned.
He shook his numbed arm, his demonic head filled with confusion.
No!
Completely wrong!
In their last encounter, the opponent's anger, though powerful, was filled with exploitable, chaotic impurities.
But now...
He couldn't feel that familiar, easily ignited madness from her.
That anger still existed, like lava deep within a volcano.
But it was no longer a destructive natural disaster erupting at will.
Instead, under the control of an absolute will, it was precisely guided geothermal energy that could explode with a hundred times the power at any moment!
"Where is your anger?"
The Bloodthirsty Fiend let out a confused roar.
"Where is your pain? Without them, what do you have left?!"
He charged again, his Brass Great Axe swinging like a death windmill, bringing a storm of blood and gore.
Angronia did not dodge or avoid it.
Her figure wove through the violent axe shadows, the battle-axe in her hand like the most precise scalpel; every block and every counter-attack struck perfectly at the weakest nodes of The Bloodthirsty Fiend's strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The crisp sounds of clashing metal were incessant.
The Bloodthirsty Fiend's attacks seemed violent, yet he couldn't even touch the corner of her clothes.
He felt like a brute swinging a sledgehammer, trying to crush a hummingbird flying around him.
Frustrating!
Unprecedentedly frustrating!
"My anger was once the chains that enslaved me."
Amidst the fierce battle, Angronia spoke calmly, her voice clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"It brought me pain, it made me mad, and it left me with nothing but destruction."
She suddenly spun, the back of her axe slamming hard into The Bloodthirsty Fiend's knee joint; the immense force made the Bloodthirster let out a painful grunt, his attack rhythm instantly disrupted.
"But now..."
Angronia looked up, her amber eyes burning with Battle Intent, looking past The Bloodthirsty Fiend's shoulder at Leticia in the distance.
That cold gaze melted the moment it saw the white figure.
Replacing it was a soaring flame of "protection," filled with supreme glory.
"It is the sharpest sword I offer to my Goddess!"
The moment her words fell, she let out a clear battle cry filled with joy and liberation!
"Roar—!"
Atop that massive battle-axe, a blinding, red-gold light, like a nascent sun, suddenly erupted!
In that light, there was not a single trace of the filth or madness belonging to Chaos.
There was only the pure, holy, and most primal [Battle Intent], ignited to protect the beloved behind her!
This power, in its essence, was the natural enemy of The Bloodthirsty Fiend's filthy power derived from impotent rage and the desire for slaughter!
"No—!!!"
The Bloodthirsty Fiend felt that nemesis-like power that made his very soul tremble and let out a terrified scream.
He wanted to flee.
But it was too late.
Angronia's figure was like a red lightning bolt, instantly appearing before him.
That battle-axe burning with red-gold flames, carrying the will of judgment, swung down fiercely!
Boom!!!
The Bloodthirsty Fiend's Brass Great Axe, forged from Khorne's divine power, shattered upon impact!
The red-gold flames slammed irresistibly into his chest!
"Pfft—!"
The Bloodthirsty Fiend's Projection was like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer; his chest instantly exploded into a massive hole, and golden demonic blood sprayed everywhere.
His massive body was sent flying by this blow, plowing a terrifying trench several kilometers long through the land piled with corpses.
A defeated opponent.
Defeated once more.
And defeated more thoroughly and decisively than the last time.
The new power and realm displayed by Angronia gave Sanguinius, who was watching from the side, an unprecedentedly massive shock.
He stared blankly at the Red-haired Valkyrie as she retracted her battle-axe and slowly turned around.
He saw it.
Anger does not only bring destruction.
Anger can also become a power of protection.
This realization was like a key, completely unlocking the shackles in his heart regarding emotion and power.
After repelling The Bloodthirsty Fiend's Projection, Angronia showed no pride or hesitation.
She turned and walked back to Leticia's side step by step, propping the massive battle-axe on the ground like a most loyal statue, silently guarding her side.
It was as if the War Goddess who had just crushed the Greater Daemon of Khorne was merely an illusion.
The entire world fell back into silence.
Leticia's gaze moved from Angronia back to Sanguinius, who was still in a state of immense shock.
She asked softly, her voice like an evening bell striking the angel's soul.
"Now, do you see?"
"Even anger can take different forms."
"Are you ready to make your choice?"
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