The world was bleak and dim. Within this sunless and moonless abyss, only the radiant glow upon the warriors could illuminate the surrounding darkness.
Whoosh.
A powerful surge of roaring flas swept past, obliterating the demons. Looking ahead, there was a swirling river of pink and green. Looking back toward the narrow opening of the Rift, stood the Adeptus Astartes and Sisters of Battle, burning as bright as torches.
According to the battle plan, this formidable force would fulfill their duty to defend the Rift. Their bodies had been forged through countless hardships, and their combat skills had been honed to sheer perfection through relentless training from the mont they first gained consciousness.
Their weapons would spew the deadliest of flas. If all went well, these brave warriors would undoubtedly fulfill their duty and defend their honor.
But the demons were destined to ensure that nothing went smoothly.
Outmatched in combat prowess?
Very well, then they would make up for it with an endless tide of sheer numbers.
Unable to win in a frontal assault?
Very well, between ntal corruption and physical plagues, there would always be sothing tailored to break you.
This war had never been fair. While the warriors were forced to endure boundless agony, all they could offer in return were guns and flas.
And the demons knew no fear.
"Ah!"
A daemon of Slaanesh morphed into the beloved mother of one of the Sisters. In that single mont of shock and hesitation, the Sister was skewered by a razor-sharp blade.
Her blood mixed with the crimson shards of her armor, splattering across her flathrower and hissing into clouds of steam.
"Despicable!"
Another Sister roared, her chainsword shredding the daemon to pieces. But the remaining abominations surged forward like starving predators slling blood in the water, relentlessly targeting the gap in their lines.
They cared nothing for honor. They were born of pure malice and would never suffer any consequence for their treacherous nature.
They stood upon a peak far above mortal life, free to dump their endless filth and watch with mocking laughter as the living struggled against the rising tide.
"By the Emperor!"
Riddled with countless new wounds, the fallen Sister cried out, using her one remaining hand to pull the pin on her grenade right before the demonic tide swallowed her whole.
Boom—
"..."
A warrior of Nesis struggled amidst the green tide. He should have been able to react to the incoming strike, but his movents were hindered by plagues, his armor and flesh gnawed away by virus-filled pustules.
Crunch!
A Beast of Nurgle clamped its jaws onto the warrior's armor, sending a spray of foul pus and crimson blood flying into the air.
The warrior silently accepted his fate, abandoning any hope of survival as he forcefully overloaded his weapon.
Whine—
Amidst the surging demonic tide, bright explosions blood one after another like fleeting fireworks, only to be instantly swallowed and replaced by the endless swarm.
The sacrifices of the warriors bought them nothing against the demonic flood. In many cases, they did not even have the chance to take their own lives. Countless souls perished in the tide of abominations after only a single mont of distraction.
Their noble sacrifices were t only with cruel indifference and mocking laughter, for the demons cared nothing for martyrdom.
Crash!
He thrust his Blade and raised his Shield to block. The collision against the crushing weight of the Great Unclean One's descending flail seed to freeze space itself for a split second.
Squelch!
Arthur's feet sank deep into the muck. The splattering rot trembled and roared, surging forward madly as if intending to swallow the knight whole.
"How long will you struggle?"
A Keeper of Secrets coiled closer once again, exhaling a mist of crimson breath.
Following closely behind was a rapier thrust aid straight for his heart.
"Knight."
His bones groaning under the imnse pressure, Arthur silently swung his Blade in a sweeping arc.
But the Keeper of Secrets seemingly anticipated his every move, gracefully sliding out of reach.
Arthur offered no reply. This was nothing more than a simple distraction from the Greater Daemon.
He could neither sever the overwhelming vitality of the Great Unclean One's rotting downpour, nor could he land a blow on the servant of pleasure who danced through his attacks.
However, neither the Great Unclean One's pervasive toxic rain nor the self-proclaid masterful strikes of the Keeper of Secrets could land a hit on him either.
Thus far into the battle, it was an absolute stalemate.
But the sa could not be said for the warriors behind him.
"Look behind you at those pathetic warriors."
The Keeper of Secrets pressed closer, its agile footwork defying all logic and physics.
"How long can they struggle?"
Clang!
A fierce gale washed over his face. Arthur deflected the Keeper of Secrets' rapier, forcefully guiding the demonic blade right into the fleshy mass of the Great Unclean One.
Arthur was confident he would ultimately erge victorious, but he feared he could not prevent the slaughter and complete collapse of the warriors around him.
Battling Chaos required enduring more than just physical agony; it inflicted severe psychological trauma. It was an unending, agonizing tornt.
These warriors were still human. And humans possessed weaknesses. They thought, they reasoned, and they grew tired.
The demons had countless ways to break them!
For the first ti, a rare mont of distraction entered Arthur's profoundly focused mind.
The Keeper of Secrets, who had been closely observing the knight's eyes, glead with sudden delight.
Yes, think. Think about how to save the lives of these brave souls. Think about the heavy price you must pay!
And then—
The Keeper of Secrets drove its rapier forward with all its might, as if aiming to pierce the very depths of the knight's soul.
Bow to the great Lord of Pleasure.
Chaos had no bottom line. To achieve their depraved goals, these abominations would resort to the filthiest of tricks, utilizing the most despicable thods to corrupt a warrior's soul.
Why?
Because the warriors were noble and unyielding.
The demons could not defeat them in pure spirit.
They could only rely on their treacherous tricks, perching themselves on a false pedestal high above.
It was the only way they could bridge the imnse gap between their own vile nature and the warriors' righteous resolve.
And what about us from another world?
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
Were we standing upon another lofty peak, or trapped down in the valleys alongside these beleaguered warriors?
Splash—
A tidal wave of rot crashed over him. The knight's fra, weighing hundreds of kilograms, was forcibly shoved backward. The Great Unclean One aggressively lumbered forward to pursue him, raising a massive, rusted sword high into the air.
"Co with !"
Thud!
Before the colossal blade could descend, Arthur's heavy Shield bashed against it, sending the weapon careening off-course. A flash of realization glead in Arthur's eyes.
The hyper-lethal fungi that could instantly rot away machinery could not even breach his defenses.
It was just as he thought. They were never on the sa level to begin with.
The knight pressed his advance. The Keeper of Secrets darted to the other side, its elegant blade sweeping rapidly toward the back of Arthur's head.
Without even turning to look, Arthur ducked his head, gripped his Blade with one hand, and unleashed a devastating backward slash.
"I am the very embodint of skill."
Seizing the perfect mont, the Keeper of Secrets retreated with flawless elegance, leaving behind a lingering pink arc in the murky gloom.
"You are destined to fall in this battle."
Daemons were dying. Lives were fading. Stamina was draining away.
The Keeper of Secrets reveled in its surging power, feeling as though it could brush against the domain of Slaanesh's most exalted concubines.
It was growing exponentially stronger.
Thump!
Delivering a massive kick that sent the Great Unclean One's bloated body staggering backward, Arthur spun around.
"It does not matter. I will simply kill you."
Ti seed to slow to a crawl. The sickening slosh of the toxic mud crashing against the void mocked the knight's arrogance.
But Arthur cast away all hesitation. His Blade flared with a brilliant golden light. In that tense fraction of a second, he completely abandoned his defenses.
Like a competitor in a tug-of-war suddenly dropping the rope, Arthur lunged forward. His arm and his Blade aligned into a perfectly straight trajectory as he delivered a blindingly fast thrust.
The weapon streaked forth like a golden teor, aid dead at the Keeper of Secrets' head.
Clang!
Weapons clashed in a violent spark, and the two combatants blurred past one another.
Drip, drop...
Drops of blood splattered against the corrupted earth.
The Keeper of Secrets brushed the back of its pincer against its cheek, only to find a trail of glowing pink ichor oozing from the tip.
The Greater Daemon's pupils contracted nervously into razor-thin slits, wide with total disbelief.
Sothing was wrong.
Sothing was terribly, horribly wrong!
Given the circumstances, shouldn't he be reacting just like the Primarch who fell into Nurgle's embrace—forced into agonizing compromise for the sake of his Progeny?
Why did the knight still harbor such untainted, ferocious battle intent?
Did he truly care about the lives of these brave warriors?
Yes. He did care.
This seemingly indifferent knight possessed an unending reverence for life. Even across unfathomable distances, unseen by mortal eyes, his gaze watched over every single soul like the eternal stars in the night sky.
Highborn or lowborn, wealthy or destitute, Adeptus Astartes, noble, or commoner—they were all equally precious in his eyes.
'But where are your desperate pleas?'
Pleas?
Such things did not exist.
When faced with utter despair, a true warrior did not blindly pray to external forces for salvation; he searched within his own heart.
'What do I still have left to give?'
Arthur ignored the gnawing ache across his body. The strike that was ant to puncture his lungs had only managed to carve a grueso scar into his heavy armor.
The knight advanced in stoic silence. A breathtakingly beautiful arc of light flashed through the pitch-black expanse, and the eyes hidden beneath his dark helm ignited like those of an awakening dragon.
'I have already seen through you.'
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