Perhaps the vessel that bore the Blood God's power had died, and the remaining Bloodletters around them began to twist and burn. These daemons were expelled from this world, cast back into the Warp.
"A hard-fought victory." Gotthardt's heavy footsteps moved closer. "My brother, your combat skills still require more training."
"You're right, brother." Ignis stood up, shaking the sticky plasma from his gauntlet. "I hope you'll be able to offer some guidance when the time comes."
"That depends on whether you can endure it."
Razor's corpse did not revert like the other Bloodletters, remaining locked in its mutated form. Zhu Yuan stared at the body whose head had been smashed apart entirely and shook her head—this thing was going to be difficult to bring back to close the case. The two members of the Jaxcalibur Squad, however, had no such concerns. This monstrosity was exactly how they remembered Razor. With the body found, a few photos would be enough to report back to their employer.
As for Soldier 11, her objective had always been the kidnapped hostages. The Jaxcalibur Squad said the captives were concentrated inside the building, and this elite member of the Defense Force had already gone ahead to rescue them.
"Ignis." Anby walked over. "Are you injured? Nicole is very worried."
The Salamander ran a hand over the gashes left by a chainaxe on his power armor and let out a sigh. "Fortunately, the armor held. No fatal damage—just need to reforge the armor plates when we get back."
"That's good." Anby nodded, a rare hint of a smile appearing on her face.
"You know, my lady, among all the mortals I've seen, you're among the finest." The head-mounted monitor of the Dreadnought turned toward Anby, the old veteran clearly pleased. "It's a pity you're not a man. Otherwise, you might have become my battle-brother."
Actually, white-haired ones can be Adepta Sororitas too.
The Salamander muttered silently to himself. He had already told the old veteran stories of the Battle Sisters before. Recently, his storytelling had reached the Age of Apostasy, and the old veteran had been especially delighted by the prominence of the Imperial Fists.
"We don't have an Apothecary here… enhancement surgeries aren't possible." Ignis quickly cut in to stop his brother from saying something even more outrageous. Anby, however, showed little reaction—she probably just took it as some kind of movie setting, or perhaps she simply didn't care.
"It seems the mission is complete. We can prepare to withdraw." Jaxcalibur-01 stepped forward as well. "We've got more people than when we came in."
"Haha…" Zhu Yuan laughed awkwardly. "I'll try to… polish things up a bit in the report…"
"At least we entered through official channels, with investigator credentials and mission permits, hired by an independent survey team." Ignis reminded her calmly. "We came to carry out an exploration of Hollow Zero, record internal Hollow data, and assist Belobog Heavy Industries in testing their newly modified engineering machinery under high Ether radiation. We were 'accidentally' dragged by a Hollow rift near the Mountain Lion Gang's base, came under attack, and were forced to defend ourselves."
"And during that counterattack, we just happened to assist the officers." Jaxcalibur-01 continued smoothly. "We also brought additional supplies, and our survey team leader has sufficient computational capacity to navigate within Hollow Zero. Officer, you're welcome to return to New Eridu with us."
"Police–civilian cooperation to eliminate wanted criminals. Congratulations, congratulations." Anby maintained a poker face as she clapped.
Seeing this white-haired, somewhat emotionless girl offering congratulations while applauding, the Salamander followed suit. The two members of the Jaxcalibur Squad, though confused, copied the gesture to avoid ruining the atmosphere.
Even the Leviathan Dreadnought clashed its weapons together, its vox system broadcasting the old veteran's voice as he shouted his congratulations.
Only Zhu Yuan, standing in the middle, went from utter confusion to silent acceptance, sinking into an eerie daze amid the chorus of congratulations.
What on earth are these people doing…? But it seemed she had no other option than to accept their version of events. The officers were exhausted and truly needed their help. The available Carrot data was insufficient, and if she wanted to get out, she could only rely on them. Besides, Jane Doe had quietly contacted her—these people were trustworthy. Their identities were a bit questionable, but they were not bad people.
Zhu Yuan sighed. She knew that, as an officer, arresting these people would not be a problem—but right now, she simply couldn't bring herself to make that decision.
"Thank you. Let's call it police–civilian cooperation." In the end, the upright officer chose to compromise. "But I still need you to come to the Public Security Bureau to give statements."
"Don't worry. As a well-behaved, law-abiding citizen, I'm naturally willing to cooperate with the Public Security." Ignis patted his chest plate, which had been torn open in several places.
"Is there pork cutlet rice?" Anby asked, more concerned about that. "They always have it in the movies."
"Do I need to go as well?" the Leviathan Dreadnought asked. "Transportation might be inconvenient."
"You won't need to." Zhu Yuan turned her gaze to the two members of the Jaxcalibur Squad—their identities were more sensitive.
"Yes, we will. Our boss will notify us to cooperate with your operation."
Zhu Yuan nodded in acknowledgment, then began contacting her team members, calling in those who could still move to collect evidence and prepare to close the case.
Ignis reached out and picked it up. The moment the crimson battle axe touched his hand, he felt flames ignite in his palm, and whispers echoed in his ears.
Hate! That damned Slaanesh cultist still lives. It has taken countless lives and now covets your friends. Accept my power—I will lead you to it! Destroy it! Cut off its head and offer it to me! I will grant you limitless strength and courage, so you will no longer fear that wanton harlot!
Sever its head! Let its blood spill forth! I will help you take revenge, together with the hatred of all the innocent dead!
The flames of vengeance will burn your enemies to ash! Accept my power! Let me replace that withered corpse and become your new master!
Supreme power.
All you need is to offer me skulls and blood!
A crimson world spread before Ignis's eyes. A colossal form gazed down at him from atop a Brass Throne. Khorne—the chaos god of war and courage, of honor and warriors—was calling to him. He promised supreme power, inexhaustible courage, countless glory, and eternal vengeance. Peals of laughter rang out, so violent that the Salamander felt his head might split apart.
He felt something begin to grow from his skin, an unbearable itch spreading over his body. The scale-like patterns on his power armor seemed to come alive. His limb strength surged explosively; the armor felt as though it were shrinking, barely able to contain his body, filling him with constriction and pain.
Revenge? Yes—hatred. That damned Slaanesh cultist treated countless lives as toys. It had to pay the price. And the Pleasure Prince behind it, that loathsome Dark Prince, the Chaos God Slaanesh, also had to pay! The blazing fire of hatred roared to life. He desperately wanted to destroy something—anything at all!
He heard the laughter of the War God, bold and savage, heavy with triumph.
Revenge! Ignis's soul roared.
Revenge for whom? Where does hatred come from?
Hatred asks no questions of origin! Only blood and the death of enemies can cleanse it! Let their blood flow like rivers! Cut off their heads! Only then can the fire of hatred be appeased!
No—this is wrong! This isn't right!
Ignis's thoughts fell into chaos. It felt as though a brutal melee had erupted inside his mind, his thinking spiraling beyond his control.
Revenge for whom? For myself? Or for someone else?
A strand of golden light ignited within the blood-red storm of his consciousness. Ignis seized it, and a sudden sense of calm crushed the raging turmoil.
IORI. Iori. A young woman whose life had been destroyed after being coerced by a Slaanesh cult. I had ended her life with my own hands—and sworn to avenge her.
Not just her. Countless others were harmed by Slaanesh's depravity. Their hatred will be repaid—not as blind rage, but as righteous hatred aimed at the Chaos Gods themselves.
Not only Slaanesh. Khorne as well. And Tzeentch. All the Chaos Gods who have plunged New Eridu into crisis. Every single one of them is my enemy.
O Emperor! I will become your blade, your defender in this world. For you, for myself, for this city and my new life—I will destroy every Chaos God and every servant who dares to set foot here!
The Blood God's voice twisted with rage, then receded, and finally vanished.
The Salamander finally reclaimed his will and immediately hurled the chainaxe away.
"What happened, my brother?"
Ignis snapped back to reality to find Gotthardt's quad thermal lance leveled squarely at his chest.
"Answer me! Who are you!" The old veteran's voice was harsh and merciless—fail to answer, and he would fire without hesitation.
"I am Ignis, a warrior of the Salamanders Chapter, Sixth Company Aggressor Squad." The Salamander replied steadily. "You are Gotthardt Stahlgriff, Wrath of Terra, a veteran of the Imperial Fists—my elder and my predecessor."
The old veteran exhaled and lowered his guns. "Then you're fine. You almost killed them just now."
Only then did the Salamander realize he had been held in the Dreadnought's grip, while the others had already been blasted away.
"Are you alright?" The Salamander asked immediately after being set down.
"I'm fine." Anby Demara had a small cut on her face.
"I nearly died." Jaxcalibur-01's combat suit had a gash across the chest, blood seeping out. "What the hell was that madness?"
"Are you certain you're stable?" Zhu Yuan looked extremely wary. A large section of her uniform had been torn open across the chest, and she was covering it with one hand.
"Yes." Ignis let out a breath. "You cannot take that axe with you. It's far too dangerous. It must be destroyed—or…"
Golden light wrapped around the Salamander's hand as he picked it up again. The motion immediately put everyone on edge; weapons were drawn and aimed at him once more.
This time, however, there were no whispers. The Emperor's blessing temporarily isolated the Warp corruption clinging to the weapon. Daemonic weapons often house a living daemon within, endlessly tempting mortals toward corruption and into the snares of Chaos.
"You're saying Razor changed because of this thing?" Zhu Yuan grasped the danger first. Razor had originally been nothing more than the leader of a violent gang—no one like that could descend so quickly into decorating with human skulls, and in such numbers.
"Yes. A form of corruption you cannot fully comprehend—an evil power from another world. Honestly, I would rather you never knew of such things, but without knowledge, you cannot defend against them." Ignis looked down at the axe thrashing in his grip and increased his psychic output, forcibly suppressing it.
"Alright. Once we're out, you owe me a full explanation." Zhu Yuan nodded. She had already witnessed how this thing could drive a law-abiding citizen into sudden frenzy and aggression.
The others nodded as well. This object was simply too unsettling.
"They're all dead. Not a single survivor." Soldier 11 returned, her voice tight with fury. "Damn it!"
The elite Defense Force operative kicked Razor's unmoving corpse. "Damn it! Damn it! You red-skinned maggot!"
It seemed the hostages had all been killed—and in horrific ways. To please the Blood God required slaughter on a massive scale. Just look at those Bloodletters; summoning a daemonic host demanded immense Warp power.
The officers arrived first. Members of the Cunning Hares followed shortly after.
Nicole frowned as she looked at Ignis's battered armor.
"You're not hurt?"
The leader of the Cunning Hares had to stand on her toes just to touch the damaged plating.
"I'm fine, boss. Still standing."
"Not fine at all…" Anby suddenly collapsed into Nicole's arms. "The big guy nearly chopped me in half with one swing."
She pointed at the cut on her face.
"There's a reason for that!" Nicole's glare turned vicious, and Ignis immediately dropped the axe, preparing to explain.
"Watch out!" Someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
The building that had served as the Mountain Lion Gang's base suddenly ignited. In mere seconds, the entire structure was engulfed in flames.
Ignis instinctively looked toward Soldier 11—had she set the fire to conceal the state of her fallen comrades? But her expression showed the same surprise as everyone else.
Suddenly, the Salamander heard something—something leaping. He instantly charged his power gauntlets, bracing for combat.
"Be careful! My brother!" The old veteran moved even faster than he did!
The Leviathan Dreadnought surged forward, placing himself between the Salamander and the threat.
A deafening metallic crash forced everyone to cover their ears. Ignis turned his head and saw a massive Bloodletter mid-leap, its hellblade slamming into the Leviathan Dreadnought's left shoulder. Daemonic weapon and adamantine armor collided in a shower of sparks.
Damn it—where did this thing come from now?
"By order of the Blood God! Your skull shall be my trophy!" the Bloodletter roared. "Son of Vulkan!"
===BREAK===
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