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By the time Ignis caught up, the two-word soldier was already locked in combat with a towering Dullahan far larger than himself.
This Dullahan's entire body was formed of deep-black ether crystals, prismatic energy coursing through its frame as it entered a violent state of activation.
The two-word soldier showed no fear. He charged straight in, assault rifle blazing at the humanoid Ethereal twice his height. When the Dullahan raised its blade to cleave him in half, he slid between its legs, and by the time he rose, the rifle was already slung across his back and a combat knife drawn.
He weaved around the Ethereal's legs with agility, striking repeatedly. Though he dealt little substantial damage, neither could the Dullahan land a blow on him.
"Impressive." Ignis advanced with shield raised, charging the Dullahan head-on.
"For Vulkan!" he roared, drawing its attention.
With a thunderous crash, the two shields collided. Possessing superior mass, the Salamander drove the Dullahan backward several meters.
Ignis raised his thunder hammer high, the disintegration field flaring to life, arcs crackling. The Dullahan leveled its sword, ether brilliance surging around it.
The clash was decided in less than a second.
Ignis angled his shield, letting the blade glance off its smooth surface before slamming the shield's edge into the Dullahan's guard. Ether crystal shattered with a brittle crack, its defensive posture compromised.
The thunder hammer followed.
With a roar like thunder, the disintegration field struck true. The Dullahan's core vanished in an instant.
Deprived of its core, the Ethereal collapsed stiffly. Its crystalline body disintegrated, dissolving back into the Hollow.
Embo lowered its weapon—it hadn't even found a chance to assist before the upper-tier Ethereal was eliminated in a single sequence.
Even Ignis felt a flicker of surprise. He remembered past battles against Dullahans—prolonged exchanges, searching for openings. But now? Their movements felt slow. His strength and speed had undergone a qualitative transformation.
He suspected the change stemmed from his clash against Slaanesh's forces. Watched by three great powers, his body had mutated and stabilized under immense Warp influence. The Immaterium had strengthened him.
The result pleased him.
The process, however, was something he never wished to repeat.
"Incredible…" The Defense Force soldiers approached, rifles not even fully disengaged from safety before the battle ended.
"Single strike. Annihilation. Comrade—strong." The two-word soldier nodded approvingly.
While the soldiers debated whether Ignis or a Typhon tactical mech was stronger, Eous made a discovery.
"No additional human thermal signatures nearby," the Bangboo reported. "You?"
"Negative. Only these three." Ignis scanned the area. "Sergeant Daryl said how many were in this unit?"
"Our A-Team has three." The first rescued soldier answered. "The other group split off."
"Then we withdraw." Ignis turned to Eous. "Proxy."
"There's an elevator to the rooftop nearby." Eous gestured. "Let's go."
Leaving the hall once guarded by the Dullahan, they moved along the corridor.
Ignis felt something stir behind him.
He turned. Brass-adorned Ethereals protruded from the ceiling.
Embo spotted them too—pistol drawn, firing instantly. This time the shot missed. The creatures withdrew into the ceiling before impact, leaving only a shallow crater from the heavy-caliber round.
"They're watching something," Ignis said quietly. "Maintain vigilance. If they pursue—eliminate."
"Understood, Brother." Embo checked its magazine. "Ammunition sufficient."
"Then it's yours." Ignis gave the miniature version of himself a look of complete trust.
As his gaze shifted down the descending corridor, the Gray Veil Marionette appeared again at its end.
"It's that one! It destroyed our autonomous unit!" one soldier shouted.
The shout drew its attention.
It lifted its head.
Though it possessed no true eyes—its head merely sculpted ether crystal—Ignis felt its gaze sweep across them.
He truly felt it looking at him.
The tall, black dancer spun backward gracefully and dissolved into the air once more.
Ignis thought he heard a faint sigh—tinged with regret.
He had fought the Marionettes before. Yet never had he sensed emotion from them. Ethereals were thought to be nothing but the Hollow's malice—born to destroy.
But that sigh… that regret…
It was real.
A chill crept through him. Not only because of the Ethereal's behavior—but because of his own perception. This sensation surpassed physical senses. It was psychic. His Warp-sensitivity had increased.
As a transmigrator, he once believed he cast no reflection in the Warp—that the Chaos Gods could not easily perceive him. Yet after the Emperor's blessing, when he wielded golden psychic power, the connection had been established.
Now he perceived what he once could not. During the struggle against Sinera, when the Ruinous Powers contested him, something must have marked him. His psychic potential had grown. His bond to the Immaterium had deepened.
That was not good.
It meant his soul shone brighter in the eyes of Chaos.
Already marked by Slaanesh and Khorne, he had hoped to remain unnoticed. That hope seemed increasingly unrealistic.
"It vanished?"
"Strong foe. Unknown. Extraction—priority."
The soldiers' voices pulled him back.
Warp concerns could wait. Extraction could not.
The Hollow eroded sanity. The two-word soldier's battle-lust already bordered on recklessness—a sign of mounting strain. He was nearing collapse.
Ignis refused to watch another ally transform into an Ethereal before his eyes.
"Whatever stands in our way," Ignis struck shield with hammer haft, producing a resonant boom, "will feel this hammer."
They advanced toward the elevator—but strange crates cluttered the corridor.
As they approached, spider-like Ethereals leapt out. Their humanoid torsos compressed violently. The two-word soldier kicked one aside.
Ignis recognized them—Blastcrawlers. They overloaded their bodies with volatile ether and self-detonated. Anby even owned a carpet modeled after one.
Seven or eight lunged at once.
Embo shot down two. The soldiers repelled four. But three broke through, bounding toward them.
If they detonated, the ether radiation would instantly convert the survivors into Ethereals.
Unacceptable.
Ignis willed it.
A golden barrier manifested before the group.
Even he was startled. He had once been limited to a personal psychic shield—now it covered the entire corridor.
The Thunder Spiders detonated harmlessly against the psychic barrier. Only the concussive force left Ignis momentarily dazed.
"New armor system?" one soldier guessed.
Ignis did not answer. He dismissed the barrier slowly, stunned by its scale. This level rivaled a Librarian of the Adeptus Astartes. Once he had been utterly mundane—now his connection to the Warp had intensified dramatically.
This was not good.
Heavy with thought, he reached the elevator. The soldiers struggled with its controls—no response.
Fortunately, Phaethon located the control room nearby. After inspection, they determined the system required recalibration.
Ignis was assigned to guard outside.
He did not object. His mind needed clarity.
The moment he stepped outside—
The Gray Veil Marionette awaited him.
It sat upon the floor like a ballerina awaiting the opening notes of a performance.
He sensed emotions radiating from it. Sorrow. Reproach. Even gratitude.
Yes.
He felt emotion from an Ethereal.
It possessed intelligence. It resented him for not leaving alone. It grieved the battle to come.
The realization struck like lightning. His psychic gift had truly evolved.
But he would not abandon the three soldiers—even if the Marionette wished to spare him.
The thunder hammer crackled. The facility's speakers began playing a mournful violin.
The black dancer rose slowly with the music.
"I know you don't want this fight," Ignis said quietly. "But I must bring them out alive."
In response, her blade-like limb pierced the ground—then she lunged, edge aimed for his throat.
At last.
Ignis raised his shield, sidestepping right. The blade carved a narrow line across its hardened ether-alloy surface, slowing her briefly.
He slammed forward. Her slender frame was hurled backward.
He pursued, hammer raised high—
Upon landing, she spun rapidly. Razor-sharp ether shards burst from beneath her skirt. Ignis raised his shield, forced to slow as fragments battered its surface.
Another clash.
This time her blade pierced through the shield entirely—but lodged within it. She braced against the shield, trying to wrench her trapped limb free.
The blade pressed against his abdominal armor. Ignis felt a flicker of tension—but his psychic shield already enveloped him. Even if it pierced, it would not harm him.
The shield became a trap.
The thunder hammer fell.
With a crack of thunder, her upper body vaporized. The lower half embedded in the shield dissolved into ether, returning to the Hollow.
Ignis felt she had held back. Usually the twin Marionettes appeared together. And her reckless assault differed from their prior coordination.
She had emotions…
He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. The soldiers exited the control room—the elevator operational.
"Thank the Emperor… it's finally over."
"Never thought we'd make it out alive."
"Secure. Extraction."
As the elevator arrived, Ignis suppressed his turmoil.
Another squad still awaited rescue.
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