Honor, Pride, and Brotherhood

Monger stared blankly out the window. On the roof opposite the Corpse Guild, over a dozen brilliant lights flared to life.

A piercing whine erupted, and focused beams of light shot indiscriminately into the Corpse Guild, causing small-scale explosions upon impact.

Laser rifles were common Imperial equipment, usually standard issue for the Astra Militarum.

But "common" was relative. On a planet like Asphodel, an Astra Militarum soldier was practically royalty.

The presence of laser rifles in a derelict hive like Old Sector Eight could only mean one thing.

"It's that Ryan Russ guy."

Monger scrambled into a blind spot, temporarily out of the laser fire, and yelled, "Why is that bastard shooting at us too? Has he lost his mind?"

Malkit glanced out the window with lightning speed, spotting vague figures on the distant rooftops.

"He's not here to help us."

Malkit quickly deduced, "If I'm not mistaken, what he's looking for is also inside the Corpse Guild."

"Anyone would notice something's wrong just by looking at the Corpse Guild's current state."

"And what he's looking for might not be easily damaged, or..."

Malkit glanced at the ceramic steel safe, one person-tall, embedded in the wall.

"Huh? Is this guy planning to blast the Corpse Guild to ashes with laser rifles and then dig the safe out of the rubble?" Monger's eye twitched slightly.

"Exactly. He probably doesn't even know we're inside."

Malkit nodded.

Or maybe he knew, but didn't care.

Malkit didn't voice that last thought.

Just then, the pale woman, whose lower leg had been burned off, staggered to her feet.

Standing on one leg, she lunged at Monger, her trilateral blade held tightly.

The attack from the trilateral blade was so swift, it seemed as if the sword was controlled not by thought or reason, but by pure destructive desire.

Monger raised his rusty, crimson dagger, barely blocking the pale woman's strike.

His wrist was cut, and blood spilled to the ground, pooling into a puddle.

"You defile my blood, and the flies shall dance."

"An unbearable itch, I feed the maggots with blood."

"Lord of All Decay, birth this blood feast."

Harsh, low incantations spilled from Monger's mouth.

The blood puddle on the ground churned, tiny bubbles forming as dark red blood flies emerged, swarming towards the pale woman's face.

"Aaaargh!!!!"

The pale woman let out a sharp wail as the blood flies landed on her face and began to feast.

Monger leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

The wall vibrated slightly, and outside the window, the focused beams flickered like stars Monger had never seen.

Every second or two, over a dozen focused beams would land within the Corpse Guild.

These high-heat lasers caused repeated small explosions, igniting the synthetic wood and other flammable materials inside the building.

This structure, unmaintained for a century and eroded by various fungi and moss, was already fragile.

Under the continuous, uninterrupted laser bombardment, it had become precarious.

"Are you insane?! We're inside!" Monger roared at the window.

His only response was several laser beams shooting in from the window, turning the luxurious office desk belonging to the Corpse Guild branch director into ash.

"Damn it." Monger cursed.

"Dodge!" Malkit yelled at Monger.

Stab!

The trilateral blade grazed Monger's shoulder, narrowly missing him.

Monger stared at the pale woman, still shaken.

The blood flies that had been feasting on her flesh seemed to have contracted some disease, falling from her face like raindrops and stiffening on the ground.

Her face, ravaged by the blood flies, was even more horrifying. Her skin was almost gone, revealing rotten, decaying flesh.

"Jump out the window!" Malkit spat out a mouthful of rotten digestive fluid, spraying it onto the woman.

A sizzling, corrosive sound echoed as Malkit leaped out the window without looking back.

Monger hurriedly followed, jumping out of the window as well.

On the rooftop diagonally opposite the Corpse Guild, Zhou Yun wore a Psykana Cap, with twelve laser rifles controlled by his Telekinesis hovering around him.

He watched as two mutants with twisted horns leaped out of a shattered window on the third floor of the Corpse Guild, falling to the ground in a panic.

A woman in a pale dress, her face looking as if something had gnawed at it, with no lower legs and wielding a trilateral blade, followed them out of the window.

She landed heavily, letting out a roar like a wild beast.

"The smell of corruption, it's strong."

The winged figure in the white light said:

"The Warp's power has destroyed her brain and soul."

"She's now some kind of beast acting according to the chaotic nature of this Warp."

"See, my caution was right." Zhou Yun grinned.

He had weapons fully loaded on him, capable of burning the Corpse Guild to ruins, yet he chose to risk his life.

Zhou Yun wasn't that foolish.

Back then, Horus himself entered the derelict ship on Devon's satellite to slay the traitorous governor, only to be corrupted by Chaos.

There were three Adeptus Mechanicus Titans standing behind Horus, ready to reduce the derelict ship to wreckage with fire and shells.

"This is a matter of honor; Horus would not back down."

The winged figure in the white light sighed:

"Governor Tamba of Devon was once a member of the expeditionary force, personally selected by Horus to be governor."

"But he betrayed the Imperium, betrayed Horus's trust, so Horus had to personally bring his sword to punish the traitor."

Listening to the winged figure in the white light, Zhou Yun shook his head.

"Honor, pride, brotherhood."

Zhou Yun said as he manipulated the laser rifles' muzzles with Telekinesis:

"Many things in the Galaxy go wrong because of these three words."

As his voice fell, scorching lasers whizzed out.

Monger scrambled to his feet, looking behind him at the pale woman rampaging like a beast.

She held the trilateral blade, a wild grin on her face as she looked at Monger and Malkit.

Monger felt a sense of suffocation. Gripping his dagger, he was already considering whether to use that more powerful and dangerous spell.

Screech------

An explosion rang out. Twelve scorching beams whizzed past Monger's face, striking the pale woman.

Small explosions erupted on the woman's body, shearing off her limbs, torso, and half her head.

The pale woman let out a wail and fell heavily to the ground, hoarse growls coming from her throat.

A few seconds later, another twelve beams struck the pale woman.

This repeated several times until the pale woman was completely burned to ashes, and only then did the beams stop.

Monger looked behind him, still shaken.

He saw a figure wearing a comical hat appear about two to three meters outside the Corpse Guild's main entrance.

Zhou Yun's lips curved into a bright smile, and he waved at Monger and Malkit:

"Yo! Isn't this Monger and Malkit, brothers? What a coincidence, you're here too?"