The One Thing Nurgle Fear

Gremus Kalgaro continued his relentless pursuit, his rotten form moving unnaturally fast despite his decayed flesh. He raised a hand, signaling the plague zombies to surge forward.

Then—

BOOM!

A sudden burst of searing blue plasma tore through the horde. The blast was brutal, incinerating the plague-ridden corpses instantly.

Gremus Kalgaro's grin widened. "A Helbrute of the Thousand Sons…" His voice carried amusement, but there was a sharp edge of irritation. "Damn them… still hoarding dangerous weapons on this ship?"

The hulking war machine emerged from the smoke, its towering form illuminated by the glow of molten energy. A massive plasma cannon was mounted on its right arm, its core still sizzling from the shot. In its left hand, it wielded a heavy hammer infused with sorcerous energy, crackling with eldritch power.

The Helbrute let out a guttural, inhuman roar. "HRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

It wasn't merely running on its own will.

On the other side of the wall, hidden from sight, Kang Woo leaned against the bulkhead, casually holding a conjured phone in his hand. The screen displayed a control interface—a tactical readout, monitoring every movement of the Helbrute.

Kobeni, standing beside him, stared. "…Is it really necessary to avoid fighting yourself, Kang Woo?"

Kang Woo smirked, still tapping his screen. "I could go out there myself," he admitted, tilting his head slightly. "But I'm about to kill one of them in secret."

Kobeni blinked. "One of them?"

Kang Woo's crimson pupils flickered. "Tzeentch."

Kang Woo exhaled, still smirking. "If Nurgle interferes… it could rally the rest of the Chaos Gods, and trust me," his fingers swiped across the phone as the Helbrute raised its plasma cannon again, "that's not a party we want to attend."

Gremus roared, his voice filled with deep-seated hatred. "DEATH TO THE SORCERER GOD!"

His bolter thundered, firing round after round at the towering Helbrute.

Kang Woo's fingers moved swiftly across the conjured phone, his smirk never fading. "Overdrive."

The Helbrute's core pulsed with unstable energy, its armor screeching as servos locked into full combat mode. It raised its massive hammer and slammed it into the ground.

CRACK-BOOOOM!

A surge of raw electricity erupted from the impact, arcing wildly across the chamber. The shockwave sent dozens of plague zombies flying, their rotted bodies reduced to smoldering husks.

Kobeni, crouched beside Kang Woo, gritted her teeth. She whispered urgently, "Kang Woo, don't destroy the damn ship! Most of us are still here!"

Kang Woo gave her a sidelong glance, his smirk widening. "Relax. I'm not that careless."

The Helbrute lunged forward, its plasma cannon charging with a blinding blue glow. It fired.

A searing bolt of energy streaked toward Gremus.

The Death Guard Champion reacted instantly, shifting his massive form to the side. The plasma blast barely grazed him, but the heat was enough to bubble the flesh beneath his decayed armor.

Gremus laughed. "You rely on machines? That's the weakness of sorcerers! You have no true strength!"

With terrifying speed, he charged.

The Helbrute swung its hammer in response, but Gremus ducked low, his bloated mass moving faster than any corpse-ridden warrior should. His rusted power sword ignited in his grip, glowing with sickly green energy.

With a SHRIIING, the blade slashed upward, carving deep into the Helbrute's side.

CLANK!

The Helbrute staggered, sparks bursting from the wound as its armor hissed and corroded under the toxic power of Nurgle's blessing.

Kang Woo's eyes flickered. He cut through…?

Gremus capitalized on the moment.

With a monstrous roar, he lifted his bolter one-handed and unleashed a point-blank volley. The rounds struck true, ripping into the Helbrute's armor plating. One shot hit the plasma cannon, causing it to rupture. A violent burst of energy shot out, forcing the Helbrute to reel backward, its systems scrambling.

The Death Guard Champion laughed darkly, taking a step closer. "Your metal beast is dying. I will tear it apart, piece by piece."

The Helbrute twitched, struggling to stabilize itself.

Kang Woo's smirk faded slightly. He tapped his phone again.

"Not yet, it's not."

The Helbrute's hammer, still crackling with stored energy, suddenly ignited.

Kang Woo whispered under his breath. "Backlash Mode."

The Helbrute let out a final, deafening HRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! before swinging its hammer with all remaining strength.

Gremus barely had time to react.

The hammer connected.

BOOOOOOOM!

The impact was devastating. The sheer force sent Gremus skidding back, his armor screeching in protest. A massive dent caved into his chest plate, cracks forming along the corrupted metal.

For the first time, his arrogant smirk faltered.

 The Helbrute, however, remained standing—battered, sparking, but still very much alive.

Gremus, enraged, let out a guttural roar, his devotion to Nurgle reaching its peak. "Plaguefather! Grant your son power to crush this lesser machine!"

From the depths of the Warp, a voice responded, thick with amusement and decay. "Take it, my son."

Gremus' body twisted and bloated grotesquely, his form swelling with grotesque blessings. A maw tore open across his stomach, oozing bile, jagged teeth gnashing as he let out a deafening battle cry. With newfound strength, he charged the Helbrute, slamming into it with the force of a siege engine. The impact sent the massive war machine crashing through another wall, debris scattering across the ship.

Meanwhile, in another section of the ship—

Quanxi's breath was ragged, her left arm trembling violently. She gripped it tightly, but her fingers barely responded.

"I… can hear it," she muttered, voice strained. "Whispers. Something's… calling me…"

Kishibe's jaw tightened. "Stay with me, Quanxi. We're getting you out of here. You're gonna meet your damn fiends again, alright?"

Makima, having just finished cutting down the last of the plague zombies, turned toward them—her yellow-ringed eyes narrowing the moment she saw Quanxi's arm.

She stepped closer.

Then, she realized the full extent of what was happening.

The infection had spread—too fast.

Her gaze hardened. "Kishibe, you should leave her."

Kishibe's head snapped toward Makima. "The hell did you just say?"

Makima exhaled, her expression eerily calm. "I didn't expect the spread to be this fast. It's not an ordinary infection. This is the work of a Chaos God. It's beyond our control now."

Kishibe gritted his teeth. "No way in hell. You can help, right? Like how you altered the DNA of Compound V?"

Makima shook her head. "I altered a substance's DNA. What's inside Quanxi isn't a substance—it's a piece of a Chaos God's essence."

Makima's voice remained even, but there was a rare flicker of uncertainty in her tone.

"The only one who knows how to deal with this… is Kang Woo."

Quanxi's breath hitched as realization struck. Her regeneration—gone. Her power as a hybrid—fading.

She staggered, her knees buckling slightly, before letting herself fall completely. With a slow, deliberate motion, she reached for one of her twin swords and handed it to Kishibe.

Makima, seeing what was happening, remained silent. She gave them privacy, stepping away without a word.

Kishibe's grip tightened around the sword Quanxi had handed him. His expression remained unreadable, but his fingers trembled slightly.

Quanxi gave a weak chuckle, her breath ragged as she looked at the green veins pulsing under her skin. "I thought Kang Woo was full of shit when he talked about gods… When he went on about Tzeentch back on that snowy planet, I thought it was just more of his madness. But I was wrong. Very wrong."

She let out a slow breath, her body growing weaker. "I can't regenerate. My Hybrid powers… they're gone."

Kishibe said nothing.

Quanxi gave him a lopsided smirk, even as pain laced her voice. "Told you, Kishibe. I only love girls. I always have." She shifted slightly, her gaze sharp despite her fading strength. "So don't go making some dramatic bullshit speech. Just get it over with."

She placed a hand over her heart and gestured to her neck. "Slash my head and my heart at the same time. That's the only way to make sure I don't turn into one of those things."

Kishibe's grip tightened. He didn't speak. There was no need. He knew. This was it.

Quanxi's final moment… was right here.

She exhaled again, her expression unreadable for a second. Then, she let out a quiet laugh—hoarse, bitter, but amused nonetheless.

"I hate you, Kishibe." Her voice wavered slightly, but the smirk never left her lips. "For being so damn stubborn about loving me." She tilted her head slightly, eyes laced with something unreadable. "I told you—I only love girls."

Kishibe raised the sword, his grip steady. The blade hovered over Quanxi's heart and throat.

And then— A deafening crash.

From the ceiling, Gremus came plummeting down, his massive, rotting body tangled with the wreckage of the Helbrute. The impact sent shockwaves through the room, forcing Kishibe to stumble backward. Without thinking, he dropped Quanxi's sword, grabbing her and pulling her back toward Makima's position.

Gremus roared, his bloated form twitching violently. "HRAAAAAAHHHH—"

Gremus is Too much shouting.

The Helbrute took advantage of the opening. Its plasma cannon hummed before firing a direct shot into Gremus' spine. The Death Guard Champion jerked forward, his limbs seizing as the corrupted flesh in his back melted, sizzling into a bubbling mess. The massive plague warrior staggered, his body suddenly unable to move.

And then, from the shadows, Kang Woo emerged.

Kobeni appeared beside Makima, glancing toward him with a flat expression. "You got careless, Kang Woo. You actually let an enemy stay alive?"

Kang Woo rolled his shoulders. "Had to cut him off from Nurgle first before I—"

He paused, his gaze shifting toward Quanxi and Kishibe.

A slow smirk spread across his face.

"Sorry for interrupting your date."

Kishibe sighed, running a hand down his face. Quanxi, still weak but aware enough to react, exhaled sharply before flipping him off.

"Fuck you, Kang Woo. You and your jokes."

Despite everything—despite the death, the infection still pulsing in her veins, despite the sheer insanity surrounding them—her voice carried the same sharpness, the same attitude.

Kang Woo chuckled. "Still got some bite left in you, huh? Guess you're not dead yet."

Makima's fingers tightened slightly as she raised her hand, forming a pistol gesture aimed directly at Quanxi's forehead.

But before she could pull the metaphorical trigger, Kishibe moved.

He stepped between them, his stance unwavering, his expression cold but firm.

"Out of my way, Kishibe," Makima ordered, her voice devoid of emotion.

Kishibe didn't budge. "Kang Woo is here. He can help her, right?" His voice was gruff, but there was something deeper beneath it—something Makima recognized.

"Helping her would alert Nurgle," Makima stated, her yellow-ringed eyes locked onto his. "She needs to die now."

A quiet tension filled the space between them.

"Both of you, stand down," Kang Woo's voice cut through the standoff.

Makima and Kishibe fell silent, though their eyes never left each other.

Kang Woo stepped forward, his gaze falling on Quanxi. The green corruption had already spread through her veins, and her eye were beginning to dull. He exhaled through his nose before turning to Kishibe.

"Kishibe," Kang Woo said calmly, "how much do you love Quanxi?"

Kishibe tensed.

"Do you still love her?" Kang Woo pressed. "Only answer yes or no."

Kishibe clenched his fists. He swallowed hard. Then, after a long silence—"Yes."

Kang Woo smirked. "Good. Then Nurgle's going to notice."

And before anyone could react, Kang Woo's voice dropped into a low, reverberating chant.

"Ye who pass through, abandon all hope."

The world around them twisted.

Makima, Kobeni, Kishibe, Quanxi—even Gremus—all were swallowed by the shifting tides of power. The ship, the stench of decay, the sounds of war—it all vanished in an instant.

When they opened their eyes, they were no longer on the Despoiler-class Battleship.

They stood beneath a vast crimson sky, where the moon loomed impossibly large—its surface split open by an enormous, unblinking crimson eye.

The Demonic Sea roared around them.

Makima's gaze flicked up, her lips curving slightly. "So we're back again… to the Demon King's realm."

Kang Woo materialized beside her, standing against the abyss like he had always belonged there. His crimson pupils glowed faintly as he turned to Makima.

"Use your Soul Dominion Enhancement to create a chain between Kishibe and Quanxi," he instructed. "Part of her soul is still tethered here in her body."

Makima smirked. "You just love making me do all the work, don't you?"

Kishibe, still holding onto Quanxi, narrowed his eyes. "And the other soul Quanxi is holding onto?"

Kang Woo didn't answer with words. He simply raised his right hand and pointed.

The air twisted.

The atmosphere of the Demon King's realm shifted as something… vile emerged. A thick, putrid presence seeped into the space, warping the very fabric of reality. It was a presence that did not belong here.

Partial manifestations of Nurgle—his grotesque essence leaking into this plane—began to crawl through the cracks of existence.

Gremus Kalgaro, still on his knees, let out a twisted laugh. "HRAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S OVER FOR YOU ALL! THIS REALM IS SIMILAR TO THE WARP! THE PLAGUEFATHER IS COMINGGGGGGGGGGG!"

His manic voice echoed through the space as the darkness around them churned. The very ground beneath their feet twisted, festering with corruption as something… bigger… something wrong tried to push its way through.

Makima's expression didn't change, but she clicked her tongue in mild annoyance. "Troublesome god of zombie ."

Kang Woo, however, remained completely still.

His crimson pupils flickered, the reflection of an endless red sea gleaming within them. His gaze, cold and unreadable, focused on the grotesque presence beginning to manifest.

Then— Nurgle stopped.

The Chaos God's partial manifestation hesitated.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

A sudden wave of realization surged through him, and the ancient, decayed god felt something he hadn't felt in eons.

Pure, unfiltered terror.

He saw Kang Woo's crimson eyes. He saw the endless red sea behind him, stretching beyond comprehension. He saw the looming crimson eye in the sky, watching, unblinking.

A memory. A conversation.

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Flashback 

Nurgle's decayed mind reeled as he recalled a long-forgotten exchange—a time when he and the other Ruinous Powers dismissed the warnings of Tzeentch.

His bloated, rotting form trembled ever so slightly as he processed what he was seeing—the crimson sky, the unblinking eye on the moon, the endless red sea stretching beyond comprehension.

His mind spiraled back to a conversation he had once dismissed as Tzeentch's usual scheming.

"Do you know what's out there?" Tzeentch had mused, his voice layered with a thousand shifting tones. "There are many other gods beyond our galaxy… and all of them once worked together to seal one being."

"The Demon King."

Nurgle, in that distant memory, had scoffed. "Hmmm, if such a being did exist, then where is he now? No doubt rotting in his own forgotten corner of existence."

Khorne had snarled in dismissal. "Tch. Lies. If this so-called Demon King was so mighty, why did he not stand and fight? Sounds like a coward's tale."

Slaanesh had purred in curiosity. "Oh? A being that consumed even gods? How deliciously terrifying! Perhaps we should find him again, yes?"

But Tzeentch, despite his usual riddles and misdirections, had been absolute in his words.

"If you do not believe me, that is fine. But I have already saved you all from him."

That had made the other Chaos Gods pause. Even Khorne had grown silent for a moment.

Nurgle had sneered. "Then describe this so-called Demon King, O Master of Lies."

Tzeentch had answered without hesitation. "Crimson eyes. Dark hair. The Changer of Ways had tilted his head. "I have never seen it myself, but they say he holds an endless red sea. A Demonic Sea."

The memory ended.

Flashback ended

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And now, here, in the present, Nurgle's rotten, bloated body trembled.

Because those same crimson eyes were staring at him.

That same endless red sea loomed behind Kang Woo.

That same presence—the one that even gods had feared enough to seal away—was standing before him.

A grotesque, guttural noise escaped from Nurgle's manifestation.

A wheezing, decayed, fearful gasp.

"Haaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh… Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"