After Guilliman assigned the mission to Datch, he first rushed at Magnus, moving so fast that afterimages lingered in the air.
The Emperor's Sword in his hand burned fiercely, golden flames scorching the air and distorting the heat.
Magnus chanted ancient spells, waves of pure aether crackling at his fingertips. The Crimson King summoned a sea of Chaos-infused fire, overwhelming the Ultramarine Primarch.
The spell was so powerful that even with the protection of Armour of Fate and the Iron Halo, Guilliman felt the terrifying heat seeping through his armor, burning his flesh and blood.
"Game time's over, Roboute. Now, face death."
Magnus slowly descended, wings unfurled, drawing on subspace power to eliminate Guilliman.
Once Roboute was defeated, he'd be free to deal with the infinitely resurrecting Datch. Magnus swore to use hellish torture to make the man with infinite revivals regret his existence.
Guilliman kept screaming, his mouth and nose filled with the stench of burnt flesh and blood. He tried to leap backward, out of Magnus' spell range, but the warp fire clung to him like maggots on bone. He couldn't withstand the pain, his body out of control, tumbling down helplessly from the air.
All of this happened in an instant.
As he watched Guilliman fall amidst the rubble, the daemon body laughed cruelly.
Guilliman gasped, trying to stand again.
"Don't resist, brother," Magnus said. "Just lie there."
The daemon extended his hand, and nearby wrecked vehicles all hurled themselves at Guilliman, crashing into his body.
A piercing siren rang in the Ultramarine Lord's helmet. Brilliant red warning runes filled every corner of his visor.
His perception dulled, and his consciousness slowly sank into darkness.
Sicarius and other Imperial heroes roared, charging toward the fallen Primarch. They tried to save the Emperor's son, but were blocked by daemons and traitors, unable to reach him. Indescribable despair filled Guilliman's heart.
At that moment, a seductive voice whispered in his ear.
"Just give up. If you lay down your burdens, you could live a relaxed life."
Just as Guilliman was about to succumb to the temptation and give up,
the faces of his foster father Konor, the Emperor, Malcador, and many others from his life flashed through his mind.
They called his name, asking again and again:
What about the suffering successors?
What about the people who long for hope?
They were devastated in the Age of Darkness, yet continued to press forward.
They declared war against fate, unafraid of hardship or danger.
They challenged the gods in the flesh, and a bright, beautiful age would come again.
If you give up, what will happen to them?
Willpower surged within Guilliman, freeing him from the tempting voice and restoring his resolve.
I am the embodiment of the Emperor's will, the sword of vengeance against humanity's enemies. I cannot disappoint humanity, nor the Imperium, ever again.
This time, I will atone for past mistakes, rejuvenate mankind, and never retreat, even if I burn out bearing everything.
Guilliman roared in fury, smashed through the steel before him, and stood up again, gathering his fighting spirit.
"What foolishness," Magnus sneered, raising his bladed staff to torture his brother again.
At this moment, Datch hesitated no longer and chose to use the Invincible Star.
In the next instant, golden light shimmered over his body.
Unparalleled power surged within him; his whole being transcended and dominated everything, entering a state beyond all limits.
As the countdown's first millisecond began, Datch burst forward—no one could track his movements or trajectory. Any daemons or traitors near his path were instantly obliterated, reduced to flying ash.
Datch struck Magnus's body.
The daemon, unable to react, shot off like a cannonball, smashing through flaming debris and tumbling along the ground.
Magnus looked bewildered, and in the next moment Datch appeared before him.
Before he could react, Datch shouted and struck a dozen times.
Each punch was exaggeratedly powerful, pummeling Magnus into the ground again and again.
Even with the blessings of the highest heavens, the Crimson King's armor shattered, his face swollen red, his wings behind him bloodied and battered.
Magnus tried to resist with sorcery, but his power could not shake Datch—he could only take the beating.
After being sent flying again, Magnus croaked out a roar:
"Enough, lowly human! I am the favored of the Lord of Change, fated to ascend to the gods' throne. I—"
Before he finished, Datch grabbed his foot.
With a thud, he slammed Magnus to the ground.
With a twist, he smashed him again.
Bang! Bang! Bang…
"Puny god."
Datch moved so fast afterimages appeared, continuing to assault the daemon body.
With one second left on his invincibility, Datch suddenly summoned all his strength and, in Magnus's confusion, hurled him into the webway.
Magnus crashed through several buildings inside the webway, lying in the rubble, his face quickly restored by Chaos power, but wearing a deeply doubtful expression.
Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?
"With this power, you call yourself worthy of a god?"
The golden flash slowly faded from Datch's body, and he curled his lips in disdain.
Even the face of Sylandri Veilwalker was shocked.
Daemon Primarchs are beings second only to gods—ordinary daemons must speak to them with respect.
Yet the Nameless One had picked up Magnus like a chicken and smashed him into the ground.
Sylandri, recovering from her shock, seized the opportunity to throw a rune stone and chant an ancient spell.
Her kin had already begun a ritual within the webway, banishing the sole daemon body into its depths.
The ritual also caused the Chaos power Magnus had drawn to spiral out of control, triggering a terrifying explosion.
The shockwave blew out from the webway channel, tossing nearby Eldar and Thousand Sons sorcerers aside as the webway gate slammed shut.
Guilliman looked at the now-empty webway gate, then turned to Datch, who wore an excited look of resolute doubt.
What a guy—he had a trump card against Magnus, so why didn't he use it sooner?
Why wait until he got beaten up before acting?
If he could read minds, Datch would've gotten his comeuppance immediately.
He had only just received the task, with no time to do anything else—rushing out alone.
As a result, he was pinned to the ground and beaten, and was still complaining about it.
Not just Guilliman, but even Imperial heroes like Sicarius and Garrein were stunned.
Each time a Daemon Primarch appeared, it would bring a bloody storm, and the Imperium would pay a heavy price to banish them.
This time, the Nameless One crushed, pummelled, and slammed the Crimson King into the webway.
The Crimson King would surely be haunted by this for a long time.
The warriors' cheers echoed through the comm channels. Magnus was banished, the traitors and daemons vanished, and the Imperium claimed victory.
"Kill them all—leave none alive," Guilliman ordered, commanding the destruction of every enemy.
…
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