Monger stared blankly out the window. On the rooftop diagonally across from the Corpse Guild, more than a dozen dazzling lights flared to life.
Piercing blasts rang out as focused beams fired chaotically into the Corpse Guild, each impact triggering a small explosion.
Lasguns, a common Imperial weapon, were usually standard equipment for the Astra Militarum.
But "common" was relative. On a planet like Ashford, even a single Astra Militarum soldier stood far above ordinary people.
For lasguns to appear in an abandoned hive district like Old Sector Eight, there could only be one explanation—
"It's that bastard Leman Russ."
Monger hurriedly ducked into a blind spot temporarily beyond the lasguns' reach and shouted:
"Why is that bastard shooting at us too? Has he gone mad?"
Malkit glanced outside as quickly as he could and spotted a vague figure on a distant rooftop.
"He isn't here to help us."
Malkit quickly reached a conclusion:
"If I'm right, what he's looking for is also inside the Corpse Guild."
"Anyone normal could tell something was wrong just by looking at the Corpse Guild in its current state."
"And what he seeks might not be easy to destroy, or..."
Malkit glanced at the person-sized ceramite safe embedded in the wall.
"Huh? Is he planning to burn the Corpse Guild to ashes with lasguns, then dig this safe out of the ruins?" Monger's eye twitched.
"Yes. He probably doesn't even know we're inside."
Malkit nodded.
Or perhaps he knew, but simply did not care.
Malkit did not say that aloud.
Just then, the pale woman whose lower leg had been burned away staggered back to her feet.
Balancing on one leg, she clutched the triangular blade tightly and lunged at Monger.
The triangular blade came at him with incredible speed.
It was as though the sword was driven not by thought or reason, but by a pure desire for destruction.
Monger raised the rusty Scarlet Dagger and barely blocked the pale woman's strike.
Blood from his slashed wrist dripped to the ground under gravity, pooling on the floor.
"Defile my blood, let flies dance."
"Unbearable itching, feed maggots with blood."
"Lord of all rot, breed this bloody feast."
Harsh, low incantations spilled from Monger's mouth.
The pool of blood rolled and bubbled with countless tiny blisters. One dark-red bloodfly after another crawled out, swarming together toward the pale woman's face.
"Ahhh!!!!"
The pale woman let out a shrill wail as the bloodflies descended upon her face and began feeding.
Monger braced himself against the wall, gasping heavily.
The wall trembled faintly. Outside the window, focused beams flashed like stars Monger had never seen before.
Every second or two, more than a dozen focused beams struck the Corpse Guild.
The high-temperature lasers caused repeated small explosions, igniting the synthetic wood and other flammable materials inside the building.
This century-old building had never been maintained and had long been eroded by fungi and moss, leaving it fragile to begin with.
Under the relentless laser bombardment, it was already on the verge of collapse.
"Are you insane?! We're in here!" Monger roared out the window.
But the only reply was several lasers firing in through the window, reducing the lavish desk belonging to the Corpse Guild branch director to ashes.
"Fuck," Monger cursed.
"Move!" Malkit shouted at Monger.
Screech!!!
The triangular blade sliced past Monger's shoulder, nearly piercing him.
Still shaken, Monger looked at the pale woman.
The bloodflies that had just been devouring her flesh seemed to have caught some disease. They rained down from her face, their bodies going rigid on the ground.
The woman's fly-eaten face looked even more horrifying. Nearly all her skin was gone, exposing rotten, ruined flesh.
"Jump out the window!" Malkit spat a mouthful of rotten digestive fluid over the woman.
A sizzling corrosion sound rang out. Without looking back, Malkit leaped through the window.
Monger hurried after him and jumped out as well.
On the rooftop diagonally across from the Corpse Guild,
Zhou Yun wore a Psykana Cap, while twelve lasguns controlled by his telekinesis floated around him.
He watched as two mutants with twisted horns leaped from a broken third-floor window of the Corpse Guild and crashed desperately onto the ground.
A woman in a pale dress followed them out the window. Her face looked as though something had chewed it apart, half her lower leg was missing, and she carried a triangular blade.
She landed heavily and let out a beastlike roar.
"The stench of corruption is strong."
The winged figure within the white light said:
"The power of the Warp has damaged her brain and soul."
"She is now a beast that acts according to the chaotic nature of the Warp."
"See? My caution was right," Zhou Yun said with a grin.
He had weapons carrying overwhelming firepower, enough to burn the Corpse Guild directly into ruins, yet he would still risk himself?
Zhou Yun was not that stupid.
Back then, Horus had insisted on personally entering the derelict ship on Davin's moon to kill the traitorous governor, only to be corrupted by Chaos.
Even though three Adeptus Mechanicus Titans had stood right behind Horus, ready at any moment to blast the derelict ship into wreckage with fire and shells.
"This concerns honor. Horus would not back down."
The winged figure within the white light sighed.
"Davin's governor, Tamba, had once been a member of the expedition fleet. Horus had personally selected him as governor."
"But he betrayed the Imperium and betrayed Horus's trust. Therefore, Horus had to punish the traitor with his own sword."
Listening to the winged figure's words from within the white light, Zhou Yun shook his head.
"Honor, pride, brotherhood."
As Zhou Yun turned the lasguns with telekinesis, he said:
"So many things in the galaxy go wrong because of those three words."
As his words fell, scorching lasers howled forth.
Monger scrambled up from the ground and looked at the pale woman behind him, crazed like a beast.
Holding the triangular blade, she bared her teeth in a wild grin at Monger and Malkit.
Monger felt a suffocating pressure rise within him. Gripping his dagger, he was already considering whether to use that more powerful and more dangerous spell.
Screech—
A blast rang out. Twelve scorching beams howled past Monger's face and struck the pale woman.
Small explosions erupted across her body, tearing away her limbs, torso, and half her head.
The pale woman wailed and crashed heavily to the ground, a hoarse rasp coming from her throat.
A few seconds later, another twelve beams descended and struck the pale woman.
This repeated several times, until the pale woman had been burned completely to ashes. Only then did the beams stop.
Still shaken, Monger looked behind him.
He saw a figure wearing a ridiculous hat standing two or three meters outside the Corpse Guild's entrance.
Zhou Yun wore a brilliant smile and waved at Monger and Malkit.
"Yo! Aren't these brothers Monger and Malkit? What a coincidence. You're here too?"
Before you continue