Chapter 11 Part 5

Chapter 11: Daemon's Bane

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Part 5

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Deimos Peninsula

Kronus

U'zhul's task just became much easier. His second primary target decided to come out and meet him openly. That was good, great even. The Bloodletter laughed. It was time to end this, and he could enjoy himself later.

"Khul'tyran, hanker to me! Give me your strength!" The Skulltaker demanded. The bond he had with his War-steed pulsed once, and he drank deeply from it.

It would take at least a century before Khul'tyran could manifest again in the materium, but that didn't matter. Here and now, he would ensure victory. Daemonic flesh unraveled in a vortex of Warp energy that strengthened the nearby Daemons. The remaining Pylons pushed away some of it, however, U'zhul managed to consume more than enough. It was easy really. This time around, he didn't have to fight against the barriers to touch the Warp energy.

A hundred empowered Bloodletters swarmed over the Necron line and tore a breach into it. Human Dreadnoughts and Terminator poured fire into the breach, followed by the guards of the second target. Daemons fell blasted to bloody chunks and vanished, only for more to take their place. The breach widened, and yet another Pylon went down. Chaos-aligned mortals finally began their assault, and a lot of the firepower directed at the diminished number of Daemons had shift targets.

This was it. The victory was at hand!

U'zhul could draw on a bit more power from the Warp, and he put it to good use. The Herald of Khorne fell upon the Necron World like the judgment of his blood-thirsty God., and with every swing, he tore away chunks of metal flesh. The only thing that could have made this better would have been blood and screams of pain.

Instead, the doomed Necron fought on silently. No matter, the end was night!

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From where I stood, the plan looked less than clever. There were Daemons in front of us, pouring through the broken Necron line. More of the bastards did their best to overwhelm the line on the flanks. If they succeeded, they could swarm our positions en masse.

Suddenly, it looked very lonely out here, between our hastily dug-in forces and the enemies of Humanity.

When in doubt, attack. That thought came unbidden, and it wasn't like I had a better idea.

"In the Emperor's name, at them! Purge the Daemons!" I screamed as loud as I could and brandished my brand new power mace – courtesy of a traditionalist Cogboy who no longer needed it.

"For the Emprah! For the Inquisitor!" My dumb Ogryn chorused and heedless of the danger charged straight at the rampaging Daemons.

The neverborn did their best to swarm over a small group of Terminators and Dreadnoughts who made a stand near the breach and did their best to stop the monsters.

"Driver, charge the big Daemon!" I snapped and pointed a tweaked las-pistol at the giant ugly bastard making a decent effort at dismembering the Necron Lord. If he fell, we were fucked.

A litany of curses and prayers came from the Chimera below me. Despite that, its engine roared, and with a lurch, we headed straight at the skirmish. All around us, I beheld carnage. Groups of Necron Warriors flashed into existence around us. However, they could barely slow down the Daemons. Our heavier support was busy intercepting enemy artillery heading our way or had to engage the leading elements of the Traitor's armored columns. At least the flanks held thanks to the two Necron Monoliths. Unfortunately, they could scarcely spare any firepower for the center, and it was here where this battle would be decided.

My Ogryns blasted apart the first group of Daemons that came at them. Large bore automatic shotguns and blessed ammunition proved their worth. Unfortunately, more Daemons came, and good men's blood flowed freely.

I had no more time to watch the carnage because we were there. I saw the Necron Lord fall, skewered by the huge Daemon he fought. The monster pulled out its Hellblade from his chest, dragging-half melted equipment out, and raised a hand for a decapitating strike. The remote operated heavy bolter in front of me opened up, peppering up the Daemon with blessed rounds.

A burst caught it in its hand, making it flinch. The Hellblade fell anyway. It sliced clean through the Necron's neck at an angle that brought it down into his chest. A backhand strike sent the mangled Necron flying, and the Daemon ran at us almost faster than the eye could follow.

A blinding streak of fire caught the Daemon in the side before it could carve up the Chimera, and the next thing I knew, we rammed it. I was tumbling through the air next, right beside the monster who had lost its footing.

I hit the ground hard, felt something break, and saw stars.

The next thing I knew, Weber stood above me, screaming defiance. Blood sprayed from his left shoulder, his arm was gone, yet his trembling left hand still held a roaring Chainsword. The huge Daemon was back. It was scorched, I could see bolter rounds detonating against its back, but it didn't care. It swung once, and Charles fell to his knees. My friend's sword flew away along with a few fingers.

At that point, I didn't think. I couldn't touch the Warp to fling something at that monster. I couldn't find my weapons. All I could do was to stumble on my shaky legs and push Charles away. The Hellblade fell, and I screamed in agony. The blow brought me to my knees, leaving me helpless in front of the Daemon. I was barely aware that my right arm was gone, cut off at the shoulder.

The Hellblade rose again, and I knew I was dead.

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When a third Pylon went down, it was a mixed blessing for Anteas. The Librarian and his Assault Terminator brothers were outside, running beside the Landraider. He was right, the Inquisitor was going to get himself killed, and there was no one close enough to save him.

The Ogryns were engaged, fighting and losing against a swarm of particularly nasty Bloodletters. The Guard bodyguards simply lacked the firepower to even distract the Skulltaker, who easily shrugged off bolter fire and even survived a direct Lascannon strike.

Anteas was there, however, and he could draw just enough energy from the Warp for a single technique. He focused on his gift, fed power through his Psychic Hood, and tasted both the Chaos corruption of the Warp and the shrinking clean zone created by the Pylons.

The Librarian charged, twisting the laws of physics to get there in time. He arrived with his Power Hammer posed to strike and swung down, catching the Skulltaker in the shoulder. The strike staggered the beast. Daemon flesh burned, split, and spluttered. The Hellblade posed to decapitate Veil barely missed the Inquisitor's head. Anteas wasted no time, and bodily checked the Daemon then did his best to push him aside and buy time. He got backhanded for his trouble with enough strength to stagger him. The Hellblade flashed his way, and Anteas instinctively caught it on the thick shaft of his hammer. The blessed metal alloy spluttered in defiance, smoked but held.

A Bloodletter appeared from behind the Skulltaker just as Anteas barely parried a thrust aimed at his eyes. The second Daemon tackled him and began clawing and snapping at him. Anteas pushed the haft of his hammer into its ravenous mouth and tried to get it off. While his armor kept the damage to a minimum, he was unable to help the Inquisitor, or save himself. The Librarian was sure he would be losing his head next.