Chapter 146
---Dharrovar, Thirty Minutes Later---
Without orbital support from Omega-Threx or Worldclaimer's fleet, Dharrovar fell without much trouble. Fighting to the last knight, King Kaligius and Queen Kaligia fell alongside their men once the Imperials stormed their castle. Mounting their heads on pikes along Castle Mandrakor's walls, the Imperials began celebrating the success of the operation while Victor deployed the repaired Cadian Pylons. Reconnecting them to the Blackstone pylon network, he recalibrated them to account for their new location within the galaxy.
"You must be Victor, the abnormal human who has taken an Aeldari lover.", Yvraine said, walking toward him with her Gyrinx and several other Eldar.
"I am, and you are the Emissary of the Eldar God Ynnead.", Victor replied, monitoring the changes closely. "Can I help you with something?"
"We were hoping to meet with the surviving Eldar you rescued within the Warp.", Yvraine answered, staring at the characters streaming across Victor's holographic screen with interest.
"Of course, I can hand leave them in your care in just a few minutes.", Victor agreed, beginning the resynchronization. "Alright, Aeldari and Psykers, please prepare yourselves for a potentially brutal headache. As the Eye of Terror and Great Rift wane, your powers will likely dwindle alongside them."
Heeding his warning, the Aeldari and Psykers began to meditate to harden their minds. Giving them a few minutes to prepare, Victor engaged the pylons and took a few steps back. Listening to their subtle hum, the effect they had on the galaxy was immediate. Working in tandem with the pylons on Sangua Terra and Vigilus, both distortions within realspace began to collapse. Falling in line with his simulations, the Eye of Terror came to a halt just beyond Cadia while the Great Rift was reduced to less than a third of its original size.
"Zlatad Aph Kerapliades, please alert your subordinates that the operation was a success. According to the data, the rift now only occupies the space between Jhanna and Cirillo Prime.", Victor stated, contacting the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. "While it will be faint in a few areas, the light of the Astronomican should be visible from every corner of the Imperium now."
"We are already beginning to receive a few transmissions from the former Imperium Nihilus. Once other sectors notice the change, I am sure we will be buried in messages.", Kerapliades laughed; tears ran down his face. "Allow me to be the first to thank you, Lord Stark! The Imperium of Man is slowly becoming whole again because of your tireless efforts!"
Relieved to hear the shadow hanging over their heads had greatly dwindled, the Primarchs let out a sigh of relief while the Imperial troops began celebrating even harder. Letting themselves relax, believing the battle was truly over, their celebrating stopped when an intense aura fell upon the group. Comparable to Khorne's presence, Victor immediately knew a Chaos God had shown up. Looking around for a portal, Amallyn stumbled over to him and collapsed in his arms.
"Victor… she is here…", Amallyn wheezed, the life slowly draining from her body.
"Jarvis, we are toggling to Plan Doomslayer.", Victor ordered, "Please make the necessary preparations."
"I was just about to- ", Victor began to say, as a body came flying through the castle wall.
Using the Force to catch them before they crashed into the pillars, a heavily wounded Corvus looked at the Emperor and his brothers with an apologetic expression. Having aided them throughout the invasion of Dharrovar, he had been silently watching the celebration from afar when he was attacked from behind. Try as he might to resist them, it only took a single blow to put him at death's door.
"Corvus!!", Guilliman shouted, rushing to his brother's side, "Victor quickly, he needs your aid!"
"Calm yourself, Guilliman.", Victor said, carrying Amallyn over with him. "Give me a moment, Corvus. You are not dying today."
Removing the Warp's taint from his body, Victor used High Heal to restore Corvus to full health. Spitting a mouthful of blood out of his mouth, the Primarch thanked Victor for the assistance.
"We need to leave now!", Corvus told everyone, "One of the daemon generals has come here personally…"
"Oh, I am much more than a general, little raven.", a female voice remarked. "Also, why would you want to leave? I am the life of any party!"
Their collective gaze toward the castle's gate, a silver-haired, curvaceous woman confidently strode forward with a flirty smile. Noticing the dark crown with a singular, pinkish gem in the center, Victor let out a long sigh.
"Hehe, you have managed to achieve quite a lot in such a short time, mortal.", Slaanesh commented, staring at Victor as everyone near her fled in terror. "The fact you are not repulsed by my visage must mean I look quite pleasing to you, do I not?"
"I… I would not say that…", Victor answered, hiding his surprise behind a solid poker face, 'Well, this is awkward; since Khorne looked badass, I thought the others would look cool too. I do not know if I should be happy or sad that Slaanesh looks like her meme self.'
(AN: Since so many of you asked for it, I struggle to see any other version than this of her. Damn the 40k Facebook group and the few of you that sent my suggestion photos lol!)
"It is alright; unlike those dusty, old bats, I care little about how others perceive me. Whatever it takes to get the job done, I say!", Slaanesh stated, as Victor gingerly set Amallyn down.
Turning and walking defiantly toward her, the Chaos God was a bit disappointed he was not trying to run away. Wanting to see the Primarch's stone-faced expression break, Slaanesh doubled the pressure she was radiating, hoping to elicit a reaction. Shrugging off her attempt to intimidate him, she tripled it, only to have the same thing happen again.
"I can see now why Khorne took a keen interest in you. If our forces were commanded by someone like you, instead of that failure Abaddon, we could conquer the galaxy in a matter of years.", Slaanesh commented, offering her hand to him, "How about coming to join our side? There are far less troublesome rules, and we would grant you power beyond your wildest dreams!"
"Like I told him, I am not interested in serving Chaos.", Victor answered bluntly. "I especially would never serve under you."
"Oh, is that because of that female Eldar?", Slaanesh asked, with a fiendish smile, "She was clinging awful tight to you, and your expression a moment ago suggests you care a lot about her. Is she your lover?"
Looking past Victor, the Chaos Gods gaze fell upon Amallyn. Trying to make herself as small as possible, every fiber of Amallyn's being screamed at her to flee, but she still refused to. If she was going to die, she wanted her last moments to be near the person she cared most about in the universe.
"I gave you my answer, now leave.", Victor growled, his preparations complete, "I will not ask you again."
"Victor, baby, you should know one crucial thing about me. When I set my sights on something, I will take it no matter the cost.", Slaanesh stated, her eyes still fixed upon Amallyn, "Since you will not come willingly, I will just have to make you bend the knee!"
Lunging toward Amallyn like a rabid dog, Victor slammed his fist squarely into Slaanesh's face. Launching her backward, into the castle, Jarvis shutdown the Arc Reactors and brought the Argent Cores online. The change in power sources caused the lights on the armor to change from blue to green and red. Drawing a Crucible blade out from his inventory, Victor flicked it on and began advancing on the castle.
"Victor, we need to retreat now.", the Emperor remarked. "The Chaos Gods are not like other daemons. You cannot give them a True Death; the best we can hope to do is just simply avoid them."
"You should listen to him, Victor. We are beings that are far beyond your comprehension.", Slaanesh agreed, stepping out of the hole she made, "Your toys are not going to even tickle me."
"The fact you believe you are untouchable means you are far more stupid than I initially believed.", Victor berated her with a smirk, "Sil Aal Bo!! Ahzid Aus Bah!!"
(AN: Heart, Mighty, Godly and Bitter, Suffer, Wrath.)
"What in the hell!? What did you do?", Slaanesh questioned as the planet and space around us began to tremble.
Utilizing the full potential of the Thu'um that nearly killed him once before, Victor began to swell up with unfathomable strength and power. Feeling the slumbering dragon within him awakened, its unrivaled fury and wrath poured out of Victor. Blitzing the Chaos God, the Primarch whipped his Crucible blade back and then swung it at her neck. Arrogantly believing that it was shattering inches away from her body, like all mortal weapons tended to, her vision of the world suddenly began to spin uncontrollably. Unsure what was happening, until she caught a glimpse of her backside, her smirk quickly vanished as excruciating pain began shooting through her body.
As her head hit the ground, the area behind her exploded as the force of Victor's swing tore the area asunder. Crying out in pain, as Eldar souls began escaping through the neck wound, Slaanesh quickly pulled herself back together and created some space between them.
"What… what did you!?", Slaanesh shrieked, horrified by the thought a mortal could harm her. "A mortal should not be able to harm a god!"
Refusing to answer her question, Victor teleported directly in front of her and fired the Argent Infused Unibeam at her point-blank. Engulfing her completely with the beam, she and the surrounding area were eviscerated in an instant. Diving for any cover they could find, Victor's allies hunkered down, trying to weather the back pressure. As the weapon began to power down, Slaanesh's body reformed, but her mind was not all there. Lunging at him with burning hatred, Victor made himself intangible, allowing her to pass harmlessly through him. Once she was through, he spun around on his heels, using his thrusters for added momentum, and delivered a planet-splitting blow to her head.
Rocketing into the distance, Victor grabbed her with the Force and yanked her back to him. Transforming his left arm into a repulsor Gatling gun, he unloaded on her as she came flying back. Regenerating from every impact, Slaanesh howled at Victor to stop his assault. Ignoring her pleas, when she drew near again, Victor plunged the Crucible through her heart and slammed her into the ground.
"I AM SORRY, YOU WIN!!", Slaanesh screamed as her body stopped regenerating and souls began escaping her body. "NO MORE PAIN, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!!"
"You had a chance to leave, but you decided to be an idiot, puny god.", Victor scoffed, retrieving the Argent Battleaxe he took from the Space Marine Marauder. "I have two cardinal rules: do not fuck with my family and do not get in the way of my goals. You foolishly broke both, now you can suffer the consequences!"
Unable to utilize any of her power, with the Crucible embedded in her chest, she gazed up at him with a drunk smile. Having never been brought this low in her entire existence, Slaanesh had mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, she was enraged that a mortal had humiliated her, while on the other, she was experiencing unimaginable pleasure from her own anguish.
"You certainly know how to show a girl a good time…", Slaanesh wheezed, experiencing mortality for the first time. "Hehe… would you consider… being my lover?"
"…No…," Victor remarked, with an annoyed look.
Ripping the battleaxe around, with a single, mighty blow, Victor lopped her head off and sent it sailing into the petrified Aeldari ranks. No longer restraining the souls within her body, billions of souls began rapidly escaping from Slaanesh's body. As the souls escaped, her body began to dissipate as she fizzled back into the Warp. Pulling the blade out of the ground, Victor stowed the two weapons and asked Jarvis to toggle the armor back to Arc Reactor power.
"Victor… did… did you just kill a Chaos God…?", Amallyn asked, as tears streamed down her face.
"With my current arsenal, the best I can manage is crippling them. There are a handful of relics out there that can kill them, but I do not possess any of them right now.", Victor explained, giving her a warm smile. "For the time being, the Aeldari and Drukhari are safe from being hunted by that piece of work. It will be a while before she can rematerialize herself in the Warp, and even then, she will have bigger problems to worry about. While she is in a weakened state, her colleagues are likely going to try and take her servants and territory."
"It appears we are even more indebted to you.", Yvraine stated, as people began picking themselves up. "From what we just witnessed, it appears we should look to the stars for new possibilities. I would have never imagined it was possible for a mortal to harm one of the four Great Enemies."
"Agreed, I still have much to learn about the universe.", the Emperor acknowledged with a nod. "You have my sincere apologies, Victor. I should have trusted your judgment more."
"There is nothing to apologize for. In your position, I would have suggested the same thing.", Victor conceded, walking over to Amallyn, "With that bitch temporarily out of commission, I believe we should orchestrate a plan to reclaim Ferrus Manus' body. If we can take it from Fulgrim, we can resurrect him."
Suggesting they discuss the matter another day, the Emperor felt they should prioritize addressing the former Imperium Nihilus and the upcoming battle to reclaim Cadia. Seeing the logic in his words, Victor relented, as it would afford him time to return home to see his family. Sending the Imperial forces back to their bases of operations, his armada stayed in orbit over Dharrovar while the Aeldari reunited with the survivors.