Chapter 26: A Dance with the Daemon

POV: Leon

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**Earlier...**

Varn and I moved through the desolate ruins, our steps echoing across the abandoned streets. The air was thick with the scent of decay, the remnants of war lingering like a curse upon this forsaken place. As we advanced, I laid out our strategy for the coming engagement.

"Varn, find a vantage point and set up overwatch. If I get into trouble, provide covering fire. Use penetrator rounds when I'm close—explosives when I'm further away. I don't need to get caught in the crossfire."

Varn, walking just behind me, nodded, but his voice carried unease as he asked,

"And you? Are you really planning to take it head-on?"

I didn't blame him for his concern. Facing a daemon-possessed abomination in melee combat was madness. But I let out a chuckle, attempting to lighten the oppressive weight of fear.

"Hah, don't worry. I've dealt with daemon-possessed before. I can handle this."

I lied, but only slightly. I had fought against those infested by lesser warp-spawn, weaklings barely clinging to their hosts. This... this was different. The creature ahead of us was no mere possessed wretch—it was a true horror, a daemon fully entrenched within the flesh of its host.

'There's a chance I die here… but at least I take one more of these warp-born abominations out of existence.'

With that grim thought, I pressed forward. Varn hesitated for a moment, doubt still flickering in his gaze, but he nodded and peeled off to find his position.

I exhaled slowly, placing a gauntleted hand over my chest.

"Sanguinius, give me strength," I whispered—not a prayer to the Emperor, but to myself.

The vox crackled a few minutes later, breaking the silence.

**"In position."**

Varn's voice came through clearly.

I straightened my posture, fingers tightening around the hilt of my chainsword. The weapon hummed softly, as if sensing the battle ahead.

"Huuu... let's go."

Just as I took my first step forward—

**"STAR!!!"**

*BOOM!*

I barely registered the impact before I was airborne. My chest exploded with pain, my breath ripped from my lungs as my body crashed through the first building—

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

—then another.

The world blurred as I was sent hurtling through concrete and steel, each collision sending fresh spikes of agony through my limbs. Finally, after crashing through the third building, I came to a brutal stop against the fourth, debris cascading around me.

*BOOM! CRASH!*

Dust filled the air, the acrid scent of burning metal and crumbling stone choking my lungs.

**"Leon! Leon, respond! Are you alive?!"**

Varn's panicked voice crackled over the vox, his words punctuated by the distant thump of gunfire and explosions.

I groaned, forcing air back into my bruised lungs.

"Ugh... shit, that hurts..."

I glanced downward. My chainsword—blessed machine—had interposed itself at the last moment, absorbing the brunt of the impact. If not for that, I'd be paste smeared across the rubble.

I ran a shaking hand across its surface, feeling the deep fractures webbing along its ceramite casing. The engine whined weakly, a faint spark sputtering from its casing.

"Huuu... thank you for saving me," I murmured, running my fingers over its cracked teeth.

The weapon rumbled in response, forcing itself to life. Its chain revved weakly, as if growling defiance at the enemy ahead. It would fight until its last cog gave way.

I exhaled sharply and pushed myself upright, groaning as my battered frame protested the movement. Outside, I heard the unholy shriek of the daemon.

**"STARRRRR!"**

Explosions rocked the area—Varn was keeping up suppressing fire. I shook off the pain, reaching for my lasgun with my free hand.

"Both of you," I muttered, gripping my weapons tightly, "help me kill this bastard."

The chainsword roared to life, the lasgun in my grip humming as its power cell surged with energy.

I broke into a sprint, storming out of the ruins just as Varn's explosive rounds hammered the daemon-possessed Pete.

I raised my lasgun and opened fire.

*PEW! PEW!*

Bolts of focused light burned into the daemon's grotesque, leathery flesh, searing into corrupted muscle and bone. It shrieked, its maddening voice a cacophony of rage and pain.

**"STAR!"**

Its arm-mounted bio-cannon swiveled toward me.

I felt my gut clench as it fired.

A plague-ridden shell screamed through the air. Every nerve in my body howled in warning—

I dodged.

The moment the shell hit the ground behind me, a wet, hissing explosion erupted. The stench of rotting filth and burning flesh filled the air. Whatever that sludge was, I didn't want it touching me.

I fired again, peppering the daemon's body with las-bolts while weaving between its incoming shots. It howled in frustration, no longer able to keep up with my movements—

Then it *stomped*.

The ground *shattered*.

The very earth beneath us cracked, sending tremors through the ruins. Buildings collapsed as fissures split the ground apart, releasing a vile, sickly green miasma into the air.

My body *screamed*.

My head *throbbed*.

Pain *ignited* every nerve ending as nausea crashed into me like a tidal wave.

*Groan...* *Blurgh!*

I collapsed to one knee, vomiting bile as my ears and eyes bled freely. My vision blurred, dark spots dancing in my sight. I barely had time to process the agony before—

*WHAM!*

A fist buried itself in my gut.

The impact sent me flying once again, blood and bile erupting from my lips. My ribs *snapped* under the force. I barely had enough awareness to twist midair, maneuvering myself just in time to land on my feet, skidding across the rubble.

But something was *different*.

Something had *changed*.

I was faster.

My vision sharpened despite the blood seeping from my eyes. My muscles *surged* with unnatural strength.

I *moved*.

Before the daemon could react, I was already at its side, teeth bared in a snarl.

*REVVV!*

I swung.

*RIP!* *SPLASH!*

A deep gash tore across its torso, putrid green ichor spraying through the air. The daemon reeled, stumbling backward for the first time.

But it wasn't done.

Snarling, it lunged.

I was *faster*.

I ducked, sidestepping its blow before firing my lasgun directly into its scarred face. The concentrated beam seared half its visage, leaving the flesh blackened and charred.

It roared in rage, its burned face twisting into a grotesque expression of unholy wrath.

**"STAR!!!"**

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The battle was far from over.

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