The climate of Planet Gavin was refreshingly pleasant. Had human activity been reduced, this world would have easily lived up to the reputation of a Paradise World.
But at this mont, the escalating fires of war had caused the very air to grow scorching hot.
"We shall not fail the blood of Sanguinius!"
A golden-red angel plumted from the sky, completely ignoring the Energy Shield of the Cruiser-class Chaos Knight. The Red Tear brutally cleaved open the cockpit, picking out the pilot who had already fused into a fleshy mass with the neural-link throne. The pilot was shredded in mid-air, scattering on the wind like a blood-stained banner.
Slaying the commander and seizing the colors.
The Black Rage. The death throes of the Angel left countless scars upon his Progeny, attaching to the Souls of every Adeptus Astartes and bringing eternal tornt.
It would devour their human sanity, ultimately transforming them into monsters left with nothing but vengeance in their despair.
This was a curse that should not exist and should not remain. Yet, as the angels launched their charge, they did not hesitate to reveal this fury before their battle-brothers.
These born killers no longer needed to disguise themselves, for only the enemy would bear the brunt of their frenzied wrath.
Rip!
The massive sword swung out, smashing through psychic shields and mutated flesh alike. The serrated teeth dragged the bodies of the Chaos monstrosities forward with every step the angel took, reducing them to a surging mass of bloody sludge.
"By the Lord of Pleasure!"
A cult leader's pupils contracted. Even before engaging, he was trembling all over as he watched those nearly three-ter-tall warriors co rumbling forward.
Crack!
Deafening explosions echoed through the air as multiple layers of their military formation were torn open by sheer brute force and the absurd precision ingrained in their blood. The Slaanesh zealots were trampled, their shrines overthrown, their bodies riddled with countless weapons and a hail of gunfire, or simply torn in half by the raw strength of those angels.
Boom!
A Chaos Knight was felled under a barrage of impacts. Seth clambered atop it, his massive two-handed chainsword roaring with echoing buzzes and scattering sparks as it ground up the pilot's blood and the internal tal structures in a single, devastating sweep.
"Sanguinius, witness !"
The crimson Flesh Tearer bathed in the gore of the heretical abominations.
The man looked as though he was devouring them alive.
The cultist was certain that if this warrior had not been wearing a helt, the gore plastered across his faceplate would have gone straight into his stomach.
He was like a ravenous beast starved for countless years, opening its eyes to a feast of unparalleled delights.
And there were a full thousand of such terrifying beings!
The impossibly dense defensive formation was brutally ripped apart by the Progeny of the Angel.
"Progeny of the Angel, have you lost your mind?!"
The Sanguinary Priest's low growl echoed in Seth's ears. He too had charged into the enemy ranks alongside the Archangel, tearing the breach ever wider, but he still maintained a sliver of restraint as he marched closely behind his brother.
That deep roar was already laced with killing intent, and the Progeny charging through the throngs looked like demons bursting forth from the Inferno.
At least in the eyes of those cultists, they were even more terrifying than actual demons.
The Priest swung his flail in resignation, but before he could try to patch the gap in their formation, mbers of a Devastator Squad seamlessly stepped up to fill it.
This did not look like the actions of mindless beasts.
"I am fine, better than ever!"
Seth could feel that sheer fury trying to obliterate his mind, trying to devour his humanity. Yet, just as that icy wrath was about to touch his soul, it lted away as swiftly as snow beneath a blazing sun.
"I can tell where my enemies are. Under the Archangel's guidance, I can channel this fury toward his foes!"
The Sanguinary Priest was montarily stunned. Why was Seth acting differently from the others who had succumbed to the Black Rage? Usually, any battle-brother who fell into its depths was beyond saving.
"This is what the Archangel has bestowed upon us."
The Archangel did not despise them for their flaws. He clearly understood the necessity of their Thirst and Rage, and thus he ca to teach the Progeny of the Angel how to wield them.
Whoosh!
The chainsword paused, altering its trajectory the very instant it severed a head. Seth bounded past the local Mortals who had fallen out of formation and been left isolated.
Yes, they would use this power correctly.
Seth turned his gaze toward the Daemonhosts, those dangerous entities lurking hidden among the crowds.
At the very front of their ranks, the golden-red Angel radiated unbridled brilliance.
Indeed, the Progeny of the Angel were never ant to hide or skulk in the shadows.
"I believe you."
The Priest calmly hurled his adamantium-bound holy to, crushing a Slaaneshi war-beast that was holding its breath and trying to crawl away.
"You must believe in the Archangel."
A rapid barrage from a multi-laser cannon rained down upon them. In the past, even an Adeptus Astartes would have been forced to take cover. But now—
The adamantium plating perfectly fulfilled its defensive duty, absorbing both the shockwaves and the energy beams. The jetpack on his back erupted with streams of blue fla, propelling Seth instantly over ten ters into the air.
On the ground, soldiers guarding an unknown local variant of an armored vehicle stared blankly as the colossal giant traced a parabolic arc through the sky before crashing heavily right in front of them.
Thud!
The trendous impact sent everyone nearby tumbling. Before they could even scramble to their feet, Seth twisted his body. Driven by fiber-bundle muscles and the furious output of his Gravis heavy power armor, he swung the armored vehicle like a massive sledgehamr, instantly obliterating all enemies in the vicinity.
More enemies from further away tried to swarm him, but Seth was already breaking into a frenzied sprint.
Sprinting fiercely toward the back of the Angel.
Radiating a golden-red aura, Karna charged forward as always, leading the thousand angels behind him to trample over the enemy formations, leaving nothing beneath their boots but gore shredded by disruption fields.
Forward!
The terrified heretics scrambled to dodge to the flanks, throwing their lines into even greater chaos. Just as the traitorous nobles who still retained half a brain were trying to figure out a counterasure, the Heavy Armored Units—having gained ample maneuvering space due to the angels' assault—deployed their formations right before them.
Boom!!!
Volkite weapon jets, Super-Combustion Plasma, and an array of other heavily Imperial-styled armants began to unleash their dazzling brilliance.
Countless Knight chs violently shattered on the spot, crushing scores of people beneath their bulk as they collapsed.
It was a completely one-sided massacre.
Deep within the Gavin Principality, the royals and nobles, fresh from their hedonistic revelries, watched in stunned silence. The orbital feeds they had planned to use for their twisted entertainnt had turned into a live broadcast of a one-sided slaughter. Even their tentacles were quivering in shock.
"Should we... fall back for now?"
A general who used to relish close-quarters combat mumbled through his tentacles, pulling a stripped skeleton from his cloaca.
"You want to retreat? And where exactly do you plan to run?"
"Then what do you suggest? Do you think we can stop the might of the Imperium? That is an entire Adeptus Astartes Chapter, plus twenty thousand Heavy Armored Units. They could scorch every inch of this planet down by ten ters!"
The heated argunt reached the ears of the Grand Duke. However, this individual, long possessed by a demon, hadn't uttered a single word since the beginning. His complexion was rely growing uglier by the second.
How could they be so fast?
It had taken it countless years to weave this network. Before it even bared its fangs, before these hot-blooded nobles could even react, it had already massacred every Astropath on the planet.
That Prince had expended vast resources just over a month ago to capture a rogue psyker, sending out a single unencrypted ssage. How could the notoriously sluggish Imperium possibly react this quickly?
That bloated bureaucracy—so stagnant it could inadvertently feed the power of the Lord of Decay—was no joke!
But now...
'It seems this world can no longer be offered up to the Great Lord of Pleasure. The minions of the Accursed One are far too strong.'
The Grand Duke clenched his fist tightly, ultimately crushing his chalice into powder. Virgin blood spilled onto the floor, staining a large swathe of soft, pale skin strewn about the room.
"Hahaha! Fascinating, truly fascinating. But no matter, being denied one's desires is rely another form of satisfaction—"
The surrounding nobles stared in bewildernt at the Grand Duke, who had burst into sudden laughter.
"Your Grace, shall we retreat?"
The general sidled up, a fawning expression on his face.
"Retreat? Of course, we must indeed retreat."
Squelch!
A thin line of blood split the general's skull. The Grand Duke's previously gaunt fra suddenly swelled, rapidly increasing in height. As he stepped forward, his arms and legs mutated into chitin-plated pincers and cloven hooves etched with exquisite sigils.
"Ahhh~"
It seized the still-trembling general, a long, sinuous tongue prying open the cleft skull to delicately lap at the brain, which continued to twitch with every beat of the dying man's heart.
Slurp~
Amidst the Grand Duke's intoxicated expression and the violent spasms of the general's flesh, this physical vessel, along with all the agony reaped by his soul, rged seamlessly into the Keeper of Secrets' grand collection.
Next, it turned its gaze toward the remaining nobles, who had unknowingly fused with the fleshy leather of the couches they sat upon.
A sickeningly sweet smile split across its face.
"Forgive . The situation is rather urgent."
Amidst silent, terror-filled trembling, the Grand Duke savored each delicious drop of their agony. A crimson mist gradually converged, forming a portal leading to an unknown human world.
Its towering figure slowly condensed, the flesh knitting itself back together until it transford into the guise of a breathtakingly beautiful young girl.
It had finally obtained a vessel in the material universe, and it wasn't nearly done having fun yet~
"What a coincidence. We aren't done killing yet, either."
On the opposite side of the teleportation rift, a Space Marine clad in golden-red armor leaned casually against the edge of the portal. He picked off a chunk of the warp-stuff, examined it, and then summoned a burst of fla to incinerate it with utter disgust, as if he were looking at absolute filth.
He was noticeably larger than an ordinary Space Marine and wore no helt. His golden eyes reflected its form.
Its true, original form.
The girl rapidly backed away, only to have her head forcefully seized by an iron hand reaching out from behind.
Since when?!
The iron grip tightened slightly. The girl felt her cranial cavity fracture, cerebrospinal fluid spraying from her eye sockets. Her dulled, clouded eyes widened in boundless agony and sheer disbelief.
Even as a Keeper of Secrets, it hadn't been able to react in ti.
Furthermore—
It hurts so much!
The body convulsed, the nerves screaming in protest. The ethereal pleasure that usually lingered in its ears like heavenly music was entirely absent.
There was only cold, unadulterated pain.
"Did you really think you could escape?"
Rases stepped forward and patted its face.
"Death is too good for you."
Rases took the lead, striding forward while Arthur dragged the spasming body behind them.
The two departed the desecrated royal palace together. In this city utterly blanketed by the agonizing shadow of the Lord of Pleasure, thousands of Black Templar warriors were carrying out a bloody slaughter. All of these Souls would be sent to the Enclave, where the Emperor would determine if they were loyal.
As for the rest—the degenerate fallen who had rged with demons...
Clang!
A Slaaneshi fiend, having descended using a material vessel, had its limbs shattered before being dragged out by a Bladeguard Veteran.
The veteran brought the creature before a Chapter Chaplain. After carefully opening a small reliquary box to identify the entity, the Chaplain retrieved a lantern. Golden flas flickered within, forcibly extracting the soul of the Slaaneshi fiend.
As the flesh collapsed into a heap of rotting at, the surrounding fabric of reality visibly strengthened. The Bladeguard Veteran took the lantern back, clipping it to his waist as he awaited his next combat directive.
This sight caused the Keeper of Secrets an intense wave of discomfort. It could hear the agonizing wails of demons being wrung dry and tortured by unseen forces, and it could feel its own projection in the Warp steadily weakening. A sudden, unexplainable wave of sheer panic washed over it.
'What are you planning to do?!'
Unable to control its physical vessel, it could only shriek through its soul.
To its absolute horror, the Keeper of Secrets realized it could not even abandon this mortal shell.
"Is this the chief culprit, my lord?"
Ledodes, the Supre High Marshal, inquired with keen interest.
He was completely drenched in blood. Even the luxurious velvet adorning the seams of his pauldrons had been soaked and clotted into crimson scabs.
With Romulus handling the overarching command, this Supre High Marshal—who normally had to wait his turn behind the Emperor's Champion even when facing unparalleled foes—could finally empty his mind and use his own blade to personally punish the heretical enemies.
"Indeed. A Slaaneshi Keeper of Secrets."
Rases nodded.
"This demon will serve as the first trophy for the expeditionary fleet."
Ledodes nodded approvingly, gesturing for the Chapter Chaplain to bring forth the pre-inscribed banner.
This battle standard stood approximately six ters tall, forged entirely from adamantium and gold. It was engraved with exquisite Purity Seals and depicted various magnificent landscapes of the Imperium.
'Wait, what are you doing?'
The suspended Keeper of Secrets asked in rising panic. A mont later, Arthur, who had been completely silent the entire ti, hurled the creature straight onto the banner.
The standard boasted highly advanced technology. It possessed no bloody spikes or grotesque torture racks that would make one ill at the sight; it rely featured an active, simply-blessed restraint field generator.
Such technology, usually deed vulnerable to corruption from the Warp, was rarely used against demons due to the high likelihood of catastrophic failure.
But the Keeper of Secrets quickly learned exactly why these Space Marines had done it.
Fwoosh!
As raging flas engulfed its body, endless tornt searing every sense, the Keeper of Secrets felt its essence failing as the barrier of reality around it continued to fortify. Its terror could no longer be contained.
It knew it was going to die.
'I'll tell you! I will surrender my true na and give you all my secrets! I beg you, let down!'
The burning skeleton remained frozen in a posture of endless shrieking as an esteed Chaplain hefted the banner high.
"The chief architect of this sin has been executed!"
Bathed in the radiant light of the golden flas, Ledodes roared, "Sons of Dorn, let us eradicate the enemies of the Emperor!"
"Eradicate the enemies of the Emperor!"
Beneath the snapping banner, the Black Templars surged forward in a mighty wave, beginning their thodical sweep of the entire city.
And compared to those weaker demons, the light emitted by this Greater Daemon would burn for a very, very long ti.
"Vashtorr's technology combined with our unique traits truly works wonders,"
Rases remarked with a sigh. It proved that as long as the aesthetic was right, Daemon Engines were perfectly viable.
Having slaughtered a massive number of demons recently, they had developed a comprehensive and efficient butchering process. The experintal Geller field they had utilized back on Pierde had also been simplified through Rases's diligent research.
Rases had always harbored a dream.
He shouldn't be the only one treating demons as disposable consumables. Good things were ant to be shared; not only would he use them, but he would also promote them to others.
Other Chapters were sowhat hesitant, but when Rases proposed the project, the warriors of the Black Templars took to it with fanatical enthusiasm. After careful discussions with the Chapter's leadership, this system was officially established.
Rases regularly perford an Emperor-bestowed ritual alongside the Chaplains selected by the Black Templars. The Chaplains could directly commune with the golden sun within the Warp, submitting the demons to the Emperor's judgnt through this streamlined rite.
And the reward the Emperor granted to his loyal warriors was the heretics burning to ash in radiant golden flas, along with a reality stabilized enough to banish any lingering influence from the Warp.
Arthur stared silently at his companion.
Rases had certainly spun a highly convincing tale, even dragging him along to be bathed in the Emperor's light to sell the lie.
As for whether they would be investigated over this...
Did the demons die in the end?
Yes, they did.
Was reality stabilized?
Yes, it was.
Did this provide a tactical advantage for the Chapter's operations?
Yes, it did.
Did any battle-brothers communicate with the demons during this process?
No, they did not.
Well, there you have it!
It worked, it worked well, and they loved using it!
If you're still complaining about the details, then you must be sympathizing with demons!
"The Emperor's light guides our way, incinerating the shadows of heresy."
The Keeper of Secrets shrieked silently. Within this reinforced patch of reality, its agonized wails failed to stir even the slightest echo.
It remained impaled upon the standard, staring blankly into the distance.
The shattered Knight chs arrived, followed closely by the equally broken populace.
An emaciated refugee rejected the aid of a Sister Hospitaller. In the past, he was considered nothing more than livestock, wasting his lord's provisions just by breathing.
Now, they all stood together in the sa ranks.
Among their numbers were rchants, commoners, and slaves.
"Stop! All of you, stop right now!"
The Knight pilot—who hadn't so much as blinked when facing the Adeptus Astartes or the joint assault of the armored legions—was now acting completely hysterical in the face of these ordinary people.
He could not accept it. He refused to accept that his utter defeat was at the hands of this lowly scum.
But his hysteria changed nothing.
Countless hands dragged these heretics out from their flesh-fused cockpits. What awaited them would be an execution perfectly tailored to their sins.
The Keeper of Secrets struggled to shift its fractured consciousness, casting a gaze down at the Black Templars below.
There was nothing but pure disdain in the eyes of the Adeptus Astartes.
It was disdain for heretical abominations; a profound contempt for the supposedly 'great' creations of the Empyrean.
It was the sight of those who were entirely insignificant in the eyes of these demons—the suffering masses—finally taking their vengeance against this man-eating universe.
The war was over—
[Log: Planet Gavin Reinforcent Operation]
[Forces Deployed: 4,000 Adeptus Astartes, 300 Stormbirds, 20,000 Cadian Heavy Armored Units, 400 Sisters of Battle, various ard transports]
[Adeptus chanicus Forces: Not Deployed]
[Inquisition Forces: Not Deployed]
[Result: Victory]
[Duration: 11 hours 23 minutes]
Aboard the Dawn, Romulus descended from his command throne. Shutting off the tactical hololith, he cast his gaze down at the scarred planet below.
The expeditionary fleet had completely crushed a planet-wide rebellion without even mobilizing its naval assets.
Romulus stared out the viewport. The Gavin Dynasty had been exceedingly prosperous. In truth, it only took a dozen or so Knights to maintain a dynasty's absolute rule over a world. Yet, the peerless engines of war that these Knight houses took such imnse pride in were nothing more than a wisp of dust, easily snuffed out in the face of the Imperium's true might.
A single squad of Sisters of Battle could butcher an entire heathen legion.
Two divisions of Heavy Armored Units could sweep across an entire continent.
Three companies of Adeptus Astartes could conquer a world.
And a tyrant could conquer the entire Galaxy.
And this magnificent expeditionary fleet was the ultimate extension of the Imperium's might.
Romulus could not help but clench his fists.
Such boundless power, under their command, had finally secured humanity a fighting chance.
A chance to ensure that the vast majority of Monsters and Demons in this cruel universe would finally reap what they had sown.
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