Pitch black, a world of endless darkness.
Aside from the faint glow of the Rift behind them, absolutely nothing existed in this world.
Squelch!
The black Blade swung down, spraying fluorescent pink blood as a Slaanesh daemonette howled and collapsed.
Then, before he could even take a step, reinforcents from Nesis and the Bloody Rose arrived through the Rift behind him.
Arthur turned his head.
However, before they could reply, a wave of crimson mist washed over their faces.
The fog, brimming with endless pleasure, enveloped the group. rely a split second of contact was enough to conjure countless illusions before their eyes.
Within it lay their deepest desires, a world that belonged entirely to them, a world where their ideals could be realized.
It was enough to swallow the most resilient of warriors, for it was so incredibly realistic that one could not distinguish illusion from reality.
Clang!
Arthur struck his Blade against the ground, intending to wake them in this manner.
Everyone jolted awake.
"My Lord!"
Realizing what had just happened, the warriors all revealed expressions of deep sha.
They had lost focus.
Under the influence of Chaos.
"Hold the gate."
Arthur turned his head back and stepped forward.
Ignoring the endless crimson haze drifting past his eyes, Arthur stared intently straight ahead at the monstrosity posing seductively within the smoke.
Whoosh, whoosh—
The knight's pace grew increasingly rapid until he dragged out a series of afterimages across this pitch-black domain, then slashed forward with his black Blade.
The Keeper of Secrets froze for a mont.
Obviously, it seed its previously infallible hallucinatory mist had no effect whatsoever.
After all, its alluring smoke had once srized an entire Space Marine Chapter of nearly five hundred n within the Eye of Terror, making them fall into the embrace of the Lord of Pleasure.
"Hehe."
It let out a light chuckle, then took elegant steps backward. After evading the reach of the Blade, it drifted close once more.
"My dear, what are you doing?"
A decadent voice lingered around his ears, like the most tender lick from a lover, making one unable to resist the urge to succumb to it.
Clang!
Holding absolutely nothing back, the black knight closed the distance and swung his Blade. The pitch-black edge clashed with the thin body of the rapier, sparking in a display of evenly matched power.
Only then did the Keeper of Secrets have the ti to observe the black knight's face.
Indifference, pure indifference.
Sss~
The Keeper of Secrets began to drool.
It pressed closer.
The knight brandished his Blade.
It nimbly dodged to the side, allowing silks to conceal its figure, and thrust its rapier forward.
One advancing, one retreating; one entangling, one thrusting.
It was clearly a life-and-death struggle, yet it was as beautiful as a dance.
Sss~
It was not just the Keeper of Secrets; even Slaanesh was practically drooling.
Unlike the Keeper of Secrets, who was rely a pawn, the Lord of Pleasure overlooking the chessboard saw things much more clearly.
Unaffected, completely unaffected.
From the very mont of contact, the knight harbored not a single emotion other than a cold desire to slay the enemy before him.
Such an existence... phew, just where did the Accursed One find such an existence? His mindset was clearly that of a perfectly normal human—he could laugh, he could get angry, he could feel sorrow and indignation.
But how could he be so restrained?
Far too restrained. He stood so aloof from the world that it was as if he resided in an entirely different realm, holding no illusions whatsoever about this Galaxy.
So restrained that it made one desperately want to see exactly what his world looked like, what was truly going on in his mind, and what he—
—would look like after falling to corruption.
The Lord of Pleasure wanted to bestow a blessing upon the Greater Daemon they had painstakingly squeezed inside, but their skirts were quickly scorched by an incoming cloud of foul, acidic mist.
"Nurgle!"
They shrieked, hurling a shattered mirror at the Lord of Decay.
This bandit who knew nothing of cherishing the young had already snatched away their Esha. Was he now going to fight over the collectible they had their eyes on?
"Hahaha."
Nurgle, unwilling to back down, wore a gentle and hearty smile as he poured his power into the Rift.
He too was quite fond of the knight's unconditional trust in his companions!
And onto the stage created by the agile sprite and the solemn knight, a massive, bloated figure squeezed its way in.
The Keeper of Secrets quickly evaded to prevent those filthy maggots from staining its body. The knight did not retreat a single step; raising his Shield, he deflected the blade that the Great Unclean One swung down. An invisible barrier blocked the filth churning out from the Great Unclean One's enormous belly, and the knight swept his Blade horizontally.
Squelch!
Large chunks of rotten flesh fell away. The Great Unclean One, who towered far above the knight, stumbled back a few steps and clutched its wound in pain.
"The Benevolent Father, the Benevolent Father does not wish for family to slaughter one another."
It wept loudly, maggots and pus streaming from the corners of its eyes.
I didn't see you hold back in the slightest when you were trying to hack to pieces.
Arthur watched the enemy with vigilance. Countless lesser daemons avoided their imdiate battlefield, swarming madly toward the portal.
The two Greater Daemons fixed their gazes upon the knight.
They knew very well that if they could not dispose of this knight, their masters' power would not be able to seep through any further.
'Slaanesh, Nurgle.'
Flinging the rotting flesh off his Blade, he locked his eyes on the Keeper of Secrets to his flank, watching it thrust out its rapier.
The rapier was nimble, forged with the ultimate techniques of countless swordsn, redirecting the montum of the black Blade.
"I am the incarnation of technique, redith."
Blades intertwined, both thrusting toward each other's chests. As the rapier struck the surface of the Shield, the Keeper of Secrets coiled around him like a mollusk.
It moaned softly, "Of course, my techniques are not limited solely to swordsmanship."
But before it could continue its highly anticipated entanglent, an acidic rain falling from the sky shattered its plans.
"I am Maku. I am the rain that guides you ho at dusk."
The bloated body surged forward, bringing down its flail.
"Co with . Our ho will welco your addition."
Arthur's movents paused for a fraction of a second, then he retreated.
Clashing head-on with a Nurgle daemon was not a sound decision. It was better to open up the distance and bleed it out; those poisonous clouds and thick sludges couldn't touch him anyway.
Arthur calmly observed the characteristics of his enemies, then frowned.
It wasn't that the enemies were too strong, but rather that they were weaker than expected.
The knowledge Arthur and Rases possessed was essentially synchronized. Even if he did not know all the intricate details, he knew exactly how the strength of a Greater Daemon was categorized.
As for the two before him, putting aside the fact that he did not recognize their nas, their Combat Power wasn't exceptionally high either.
It was worth noting that in Rases's simulations, if any of them ran into a Chief Greater Daemon-level opponent in The Warp, they would invariably be unable to withstand it, as the physical limits of a body in the material universe were fixed. Yet now, these two naless Greater Daemons—
Arthur let out a breath, his conviction in certain victory growing ever firr.
It seems we have not yet reached the point where the Four Gods would spare no cost to claim us.
anwhile, outside the Rift, Slaanesh watched Nurgle infusing boundless power into the breach and was nearly driven mad with anxiety.
How could they not want the knight? If they could have squeezed N'Kari in, they would have done so long ago!
Slaanesh began to directly attack Nurgle's true form.
Nurgle, unwilling to back down, summoned a tide of rot and pushed it toward the Prince of Pleasure.
He too had taken a liking to this collectible. Had Slaanesh not interfered, he would have already sent his most gentle child, Ku'gath, to take the knight away.
Bang—
A crack appeared on the armrest of the throne.
The Blood God stared intently at that one-versus-two battlefield.
He wanted him too.
Just by paying a little bit of attention to The Angel's whereabouts, he had lost the initiative in this scramble.
"Great God of War, my sovereign."
Below his throne, An'ggrath, a Chief Greater Daemon who had been intending to seize a Chosen for the Blood God, withdrew from the Rift in helpless frustration.
"I have failed. I cannot reach that battlefield of Honor."
As powerful as he was, with Slaanesh and Nurgle occupying the ritual's pathway, An'ggrath simply could not squeeze his way in.
He was too strong.
Right now, let alone a Chief Greater Daemon like him, even an ordinary Bloodthirster could not force its way through.
Slaanesh and Nurgle were madly cramming their daemonic legions into the battlefield. Upon the deaths of these daemons, their power would be absorbed into the bodies of the Greater Daemons within.
As for ordinary daemons, shoving a few Bloodletters in now would just be Lambs to the Slaughter; it was impossible to imagine them serving any real purpose.
"Fools!"
The Blood God smashed his fist forcefully against the throne's armrest.
Looking at Nurgle and Slaanesh fighting back and forth in front of him, the Blood God felt only the profound disdain of being unable to conspire with such incompetent idiots.
If only these greedy bastards were willing to yield the pathway completely and allow him to deploy An'ggrath, the knight would easily be A Bird in the Hand.
But look at Slaanesh and Nurgle. They squabbled endlessly, yet neither could secure a decisive advantage against the knight, only allowing the battle to devolve into a stalemate.
No, this was not the way.
"."
The Blood God noticed the Lord of Change, who was equally silent. Ever since the ritual ground to a halt, the Lord of Change had fallen quiet, as if this interrupted scramble no longer concerned him.
He then looked toward the chaotic planet.
The disruption of the ritual had caused Souls to scatter. With the large-scale Rift unable to be opened, they could only rely on daemons to continuously hunt for those Souls. Even the Accursed One had joined in on this activity.
Of course, nothing was absolute.
The reality barrier of Pierred was already exceedingly thin. As long as a deity was willing to pay a slight price, using those scattered Souls as a toll, they could project their power inside.
Kong Nue watched Slaanesh and Nurgle, who were already brawling amidst the Great Ga.
He couldn't care less anymore; he would just go and open a door himself.
The Blood God was the first to lay down his chips.
Snatching up a longsword from before his throne, the Blood God hurled it toward the material universe.
The blade began to dissolve the instant it pierced reality. However, with the continuous influx of Souls, bodily tissues started to seep out from the gradually disintegrating steel, forming the physique of a Greater Daemon of Kong Nue.
Yet, this body did not seem to belong to An'ggrath.
The divine gazes had been entirely fixated on An'ggrath, completely forgetting about that Greater Daemon who forever pursued the Blood Angels: Ka'Bandha.
'Fight, fight all you want. The remaining two are mine.'
The Blood God handed down his divine oracle, then watched with satisfaction as the Bloodthirster, having already plumted to the planet, began to take full shape.
"Ah, Great Lord of Blood, you call upon !"
Amidst the endless Wasteland of Blood, Ka'Bandha, who was currently wielding his iron whip to tear off the head of one of The Angel's Progeny, let out a howl of pleasant surprise.
A portal wreathed in gore unfurled before him, and the Bloodthirster listened to the command issued by the Blood God.
"Yes, I shall claim the crimson Angel for you! I shall add another unfettered slaughterer to your throne!"
Flapping his massive wings, Ka'Bandha charged into the portal with boundless, frenzied rage.
How many years had it been? How many years? It was yet another Angel the Blood God wished to take under his wing.
The Blood God's decision was nothing short of brilliant; his line of thought was practically flawless.
No one would pay attention to Ka'Bandha, who had always kept his eyes fixed upon Baal. At this very mont, he was a surprise strike force.
"Co face , Angel!"
He burst forth from the Gate of Skulls. His body in the material realm solidified in that instant, and then he descended from the heavens. The re shockwave triggered by his arrival was enough to slaughter countless lives, bursting forth with boundless torrents of blood.
"Co face the 'Bane of Angels'! I shall be your eternal adversary."
Ka'Bandha roared, bathing in the blood of the weak.
Ah, blood, the Souls of lost lives. I shall offer it all to you, my Lord of Blood.
Hm? Why is this blood green?
Confusion rippled through Ka'Bandha's mind. He did not feel the slightest thrill of slaughter from this blood.
Where is your fear?
He fixed his gaze on the Organisms converging before him.
White exoskeletons, deep purple carapaces. In the eyes of every single Organism lay only an identical will: a ravenous appetite known as hunger.
They weren't human.
Ka'Bandha's expression imdiately grew grim.
No wonder the Blood God had dispatched him to this place. As it turned out, the Blood God's Angel was already being targeted by another adversary.
"Co, you soulless, starving wretches! Let make you feel true terror."
Ka'Bandha surged forward without hesitation!
The warriors of the Blood God do not retreat!
"Tzeentch!!!"
Within The Empyrean, the Blood God let loose a soul-shaking roar.
That palm, brimming with endless divine might, had already shattered a corner of the throne.
8,888 Bloodthirsters led their daemonic legions as they charged toward the Crystal Labyrinth.
"Hehehe, an unexpected turn of events. I have found him."
Tzeentch responded to Kong Nue's invitation to war, quite happy to take the bla for this massive blunder, their heart filled with utter delight.
Ever since those four stepped onto Pierred, their visions of the future had not been correct even once.
However, as that sorcerer delved deeper and deeper into The Warp, the Lord of Change had finally located him.
'Fight, fight all you want. The sorcerer is already mine.'
Unbothered, Tzeentch dispatched their own daemonic legions.
The intensity of the Great Ga escalated once more.
'Fight, fight all you want. None of you will get a single one!'
Hiding in the safehouse, having grasped the Blood God's flaw, Rases couldn't help but smile.
At the sa ti, the shadow he had left outside as bait flashed a perfectly tid smile.
Aside from during the Horus Heresy and the Fall of Cadia, when had the Four Gods ever managed to accomplish anything properly?
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