"The voices are gone! The voices... they're gone!!"
The psyker froze, then a wave of explosive euphoria washed over him.
From the moment he came of age, a whisper had resided in his head. Over time, it had turned into a furious roar.
Filthy curses, the shrieks of distorted creatures, imprecations – all of it echoed in his skull day and night. His body knew no rest, his soul was twisted, and his personality dissolved into madness.
But today, now, as his hand touched this man's neck... all that infernal noise had simply vanished!!
He looked in shock at the man he had intended to tear to pieces just a minute ago.
A cool, damp wind blew from the lake, cicadas chirped around. These sounds seemed incredibly pure, caressing his ears.
After the demonic howling, the sounds of nature were like a mother's lullaby, healing his wounded soul.
Tears streamed down his cheeks. This man, who had turned himself into a semblance of a demon, suddenly pressed himself against Li Qingyu and burst into tears.
A silent question was frozen on Li Qingyu's face. Being held in the embrace of a disfigured man sobbing into your shoulder was hardly a pleasure.
"Bro, if you want to kill me, kill me, but why torture me with this faggotry?!"
While he played the part of a teddy bear with an expression of cosmic melancholy, the situation around them changed abruptly.
*BANG!*
A shot rang out in the night, followed by the crackle of automatic fire, like scattered peas.
Around Li Qingyu and the psyker – the lake on one side, the dark forest on the other – muzzle flashes flickered. Obviously, an ambush.
Li Qingyu's eyes widened. Judging by the density of fire, there were over a hundred attackers. What was happening?
"Kill the monster!"
A shout came from the attackers' side, and the firing intensified.
These were rebels. The Hydrological Station had previously served as their command post, coordinating the actions of several thousand fighters against the Public Safety Service.
But one day, this mad psyker appeared. He instantly killed the staff officers, and then began terrorizing the surrounding garrisons, taking down nearly a thousand men in a couple of days.
The rebels tried to eliminate him, but to no avail. The monster was too strong: he turned people into mince with invisible blows or sent hallucinations that made soldiers flee in terror.
Both rebels and Public Safety Service suffered. Having received data that the enemy headquarters was located at the station, the command sent an assault company for cleanup. The result is known: two companies of the Public Safety Service perished, and now Junior Lieutenant Rudolsen, fearing to repeat their fate, sent Li Qingyu for reconnaissance.
Rumors of a demon occupying the station spread throughout the area, sowing panic among the rebels.
The field commanders united, gathered everyone who had an automatic weapon, assembled a detachment of a hundred guns, and decided to put an end to the monster under the cover of night.
In an instant, thousands of bullets streamed towards Li Qingyu and the psyker.
The psyker, still reveling in the silence in the embrace of his "mama," didn't even flinch. He continued to bury his face in Li Qingyu's chest.
However, Li Qingyu felt him begin to use his power. A wave of dense, heavy energy radiated from his body, making the space around them viscous.
Yes, viscous. Li Qingyu saw bullets flying at high speed begin to slow down until they simply hung in the air.
At that moment, a volley from a hundred barrels, thousands of lead darts, froze three steps from Li Qingyu's face, forming a dense metal wall.
The firing subsided. Li Qingyu was in shock, the attackers – in horror. Such a barrage of fire, and not even a scratch?
The psyker still hadn't released his savior, but the bullets hanging in the air began to slowly turn their tips towards the forest.
"Faster... throw grenades!"
The rebel commander, with a desperate cry, snapped his men out of their stupor.
Some were changing magazines, others were pulling the pins from homemade grenades.
The next moment, a powerful psychic impulse sent thousands of bullets back towards their owners.
The forest echoed with horrific screams. The metal storm turned men into bloody mist. Some were torn apart by dozens of hits simultaneously.
Trees cracked and crumbled under the lead hail. In less than three seconds, a hundred attackers were annihilated.
The rebel commander choked on blood – his chest had turned into a sieve from the reflected bullets.
With his last strength, he threw a grenade, but it flew a couple of meters, turned around, and gently landed in his tunic.
Under the commander's despairing gaze, the grenade exploded, sending him to the Chaos gods in pieces.
Silence fell. Li Qingyu surveyed the battlefield, then looked at the psyker, who was still holding him tightly, and realized he could move again.
He smiled and said gently, "Little one, maybe you want some milk, huh? Damn it! How long are you going to hug me?!"
Li Qingyu believed: if he was guilty of something, let the law judge him, not the torture of proximity.
The psyker slowly raised his head and looked into his eyes.
"You are special. You have... pure power. Demons are afraid to come near. Who are you?"
Li Qingyu felt the telekinetic grip disappear. He exhaled with relief, looking at the tear-streaked monster, and seemed to understand the situation.
He took a holy wafer from his pocket and offered it to the psyker.
"Here, have a taste, sir."