The Astartes' sudden arrival stunned the Drukhari and eased the pressure on the embattled Imperial troops.
Just as hope flickered in Revos and the others, a sinister Nightmare darted from the fog at incredible speed—
no wasted movement, pure stealth and lethality.
The Nightmare's target was clear: the wounded Inquisitor Erasmus Crowl.
The Drukhari, having learned of the other battlefields' turnabouts, knew the Fabricator-General and Custodes were safe.
If Crowl escaped too, they'd be a laughingstock in Commorragh.
A group of monkeys had made fools of them—letting Crowl get away would be a stain on any Kabal.
Two loyal Scion troopers instinctively blocked the Nightmare's path.
A flash of the blade—
Their sealed armor was sliced cleanly; bodies severed in two, blood spraying in a horrific scene.
"Die, xenos!"
Revos, eyes bloodshot, roared and opened fire—
Hot beams lanced at the black figure, who dodged with ghostly speed.
The Death Cult assassins tried to help, but were pinned by other Drukhari.
Crowl leaned against a wall, watching the alien blade rush toward him. His face was cold.
He did not fear death, only regretted not serving the Emperor longer.
At that critical moment—
Whoosh!
A golden figure streaked in at breathtaking speed.
Crowl's vision blurred, then he saw a massive golden warrior standing between him and death.
It was Custodian Navradaran, following right behind Datch.
Borrowing his running momentum, he charged the Drukhari.
His heavy spear, brimming with force and killing intent, swung down.
The Nightmare, sensing danger at the last second, tried to parry and counter.
Clang!
Sparks flew, shockwaves rippling dust and mist.
The metallic screech nearly pierced eardrums.
Navradaran's wrist trembled slightly—the spear's force was like a flood.
The Nightmare's face twisted in fear, flipping backward to gain distance.
But the Custodian gave him no chance.
He stepped forward, spear shifting from slash to thrust, smooth and practiced as if rehearsed a million times.
A golden arc flashed as the Nightmare landed—
the spear pierced him, nailing him in midair!
Splurt!
The Drukhari's black armor was like parchment before the Custodian's power spear.
Navradaran flung the corpse aside and looked at Crowl.
"Inquisitor, seems I made it just in time."
Crowl managed a tired smile, finally letting go of his bolt pistol.
"Custodian Navradaran… you've saved me again."
"Just duty, no thanks needed," the Custodian replied, then charged at the next enemy.
With the Imperials united, the Drukhari realized the battle was lost and fled into the depths of the Webway, vanishing into mist and shadow.
When the fight ended, there was no time to rest.
Datch sent Spinoza's coordinates to Crowl and Navradaran, urging them to hurry over.
Navradaran wanted to question Datch's identity, but Datch just kept saying "skip," repeating his urging.
Grateful for the rescue, Navradaran let it go and led the wounded Crowl to rendezvous with Spinoza.
At the meeting point, the massive Fabricator-General Raskian was already there, his Mechanicus troops standing guard.
Once everyone assembled,
Datch saw his mission completion notification pop up.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the quest: Help Inquisitor Spinoza rescue her companions.]
[Reward: 1500 EXP, 1500 points, and the Weather Cube.]
…
"Sir, sir!"
"Thank the Emperor—you had us worried you'd joined Him already."
Spinoza, limping with the help of a Scion, approached the wounded Crowl.
"He's not ready for me yet," Crowl replied weakly. "I should also thank the Custodian for arriving in time. Any later, and you'd be looking at my corpse."
"We also needed help to escape," Navradaran admitted.
All credit went to the nameless Astartes—eccentric as he was, he'd saved them all.
"This… truly is the Emperor's blessing," Spinoza said, looking at the mysterious Astartes.
He was fiddling with a cube, uninterested in their relief.
The Inquisitor, Custodian, and Fabricator-General discussed the situation.
"Forgive my earlier foolishness," Raskian began, "but please trust me once more—this time, I truly have a way to repair the Golden Throne."
He admitted his mistake and told them of Datch's "Omnissiah miracle."
"As long as this man returns to Terra with us, he can surely use his miraculous power to repair the Throne."
His words shocked everyone, but there was no other choice.
The Throne could not be delayed.
If it collapsed, the Imperium itself would fall.
"Then let's bring him to Terra," Navradaran said. "I'll try to persuade my colleagues to let this mystery man try."
With agreement on repairing the Throne, another problem loomed:
How to leave the Webway and return to Luna and Terra?
Before, they had entered with Drukhari guidance.
Now, as mortal enemies, that route was closed.
The Webway was a maze beyond three-dimensional comprehension, its paths shifting with the tides of the Warp and realspace.
Even Mechanicus navigation instruments became garbled here.
As the group frowned in worry, Datch—now with a golden question mark above Spinoza's head—ran up.
"Inquisitor, is there anything I can help with?"
Spinoza stared blankly at the nameless Astartes.
It wasn't until he repeated his question that she recovered.
"We need to return to Terra immediately, to expose all this and warn the Imperium. Can you… help us find a way out of the Webway?"
A mission prompt appeared.
[Quest: Help Inquisitor Spinoza and the others return to Terra.
Spinoza, Crowl, and company may have escaped the Drukhari, but now they're lost in the labyrinthine Webway. Please help them return to Terra.
Reward: 1500 EXP, 1500 points, +100 Reputation, and a Halo Hover Bike.]
"Of course. I'll take you all back to Terra," Datch agreed at once.
Guilliman needed to go to Terra, and so did these NPCs—one job, two quest rewards, what a deal!
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS
Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode