"The Chapter Master looks like a fish. On my home planet, they'd pull fish out of the river, hang them from a pole by a hook, and leave them baking in the sun. Then the fish would roll their eyes and twitch now and then."
The sixteen surviving Fierce Angels lay or sat inside the iron cage.
Before them, their Chapter Master hung suspended in midair, wrapped in blue psychic energy. A crimson sphere floated above and in front of him.
The sphere was draining the Chapter Master's life and burning away his will.
The Fierce Angels had tried to resist earlier, but just as when they'd rallied with their Chapter Master to fight back after their warship was attacked, they felt something inside them gnawing away at their strength.
Their enhanced bodies felt unbearably heavy now, a burden that made even lifting a finger incredibly difficult.
The transformation ritual proceeded automatically, with no one present.
But moments later, the hatch opened, and a group of Chaos Space Marines strode into the chamber. They surveyed the scene, then gradually spread out, silently hauling over all kinds of obstacles and piling them in front of the door to build a makeshift defensive position.
The one holding a bird-headed sceptre was the leader of the Cunning Hounds Clan.
Once the position was ready, the leader said, "Hold this area. Huron's opened an emergency Warp Rift for us. We need to hold out for at least ten minutes."
After giving the order, the leader turned and went beneath the crimson sphere. He raised his sceptre and used his psychic powers to stimulate the ritual, accelerating the transformation of the Fierce Angels Chapter Master.
The Fierce Angels in the cage guessed that the ship was under attack, but they couldn't tell who the attackers were.
Ever since they'd been captured, the Cunning Hounds had been attacked constantly, on average once a day.
That was par for the course in the Maelstrom, where Chaos warbands were always clashing. Sometimes they fought over nothing more than a few suits of Power Armor, some Bolters, or even a tank of water.
If they didn't swear allegiance to the Red Corsairs and pledge themselves to the Black Heart King, they'd be like stray dogs, tearing one another apart over scraps.
"Hey."
The leader heard a voice from the cage and turned to look.
The warrior calling out to him asked, "Which warband attacked you? Was it the Bastard Hunters?"
The leader looked away and returned his attention to the ritual.
"Could've been a warband called the Dog Butcher, too," another Fierce Angel said.
"Hahahaha!"
"..."
"You're a cheerful lot," the warband leader said as he stimulated the ritual. "Will knowing who attacked us change your fate? You're gloating over here, a bunch of idiots about to become puppets."
"We never said the warband that attacked you bastards would change our fate."
"But our Chapter Master already told us there are still battle-brothers aboard that ship. He promised he'd get the Mortals out safely."
"And guess what?"
"Our Gene-seed is stashed aboard the ship. Our Legion will be rebuilt. One day, we might even clear our name, while you'll be nothing but a pack of stray dogs in the Maelstrom, with no idea where your next meal is coming from. That is, until a new generation of Fierce Angels charges into the Maelstrom and kills every last one of you!"
"Every last one! They'll avenge us!"
The Fierce Angels spoke one after another. No matter how furious or passionate they sounded, they always wore smiles.
The warband leader didn't respond. Beneath his helmet, he wore only a sneer.
Gunfire and footsteps echoed into the chamber.
It was the sound of a firefight.
Then came the rumbling of shockwaves.
Hearing the sounds, the Cunning Hounds immediately raised their Bolters or switched on their Chainswords.
The warband leader, who'd been stimulating the Chapter Master's transformation, turned to face the hatch and raised a blue barrier in front of his subordinates.
Experience had taught the Cunning Hounds that as long as they stayed close to their warband leader, who wielded Psionic Power, they could handle anything.
Bang!
The hatch dented inward.
Bang!
The dent deepened.
Everyone in the chamber could see someone was striking the door with a Power Hammer.
At last, with a furious roar, a third blow sent the hatch bursting inward.
Amid the smoke and debris, a towering Space Marine appeared before them.
His armor was scarlet, and his shoulder plate bore the emblem of a Chainaxe—distinctive marks of the Fierce Angels Legion. The Fierce Angels' eyes widened in shock.
And the Space Marine stood alone.
The warband leader suspected a trap. He didn't immediately order his warriors to open fire, instead using his psychic powers to scout the area.
He saw the Slayers cutting their way toward the ship's engine room.
Here, there really was only one man.
Through his psychic senses, the warband leader detected how young the newcomer was and thought, This kid... might make a high-grade puppet.
"Don't fire." The leader stepped out from behind the Cunning Hounds. He figured a single psychic spell would leave the man before him as helpless as his battle-brothers, so he wanted to take control of him without damaging his body any more than necessary.
"Are you with the Fierce Angels Legion? How did I miss you?"
The leader raised a hand.
"No."
The newcomer shook his head and raised his Power Hammer and Chainaxe, holding them crossed before his chest.
At the sight of that stance, the Fierce Angels immediately recognized him.
"I'm the Dog Butcher."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Lu Jin charged forward.
The psychic spell that drained his strength had already taken effect before Lu Jin took a step. He smashed one enemy to death at incredible speed, and only then did he feel his strength drain away in an instant. But the feeling lasted for just a moment before his strength returned, greater than before.
As Lu Jin charged toward the next man, the warband leader realized his psychic spell had failed and roared an order to open fire.
The chamber descended into chaos.
Bolts slammed into shoulder plates.
The Chainaxe roared, accompanied by the sound of flesh being torn apart by its teeth.
The Power Hammer shattered even the toughest shoulder plate and crushed reinforced bone.
Those sounds provided a soundtrack to a scene of carnage that horrified everyone watching.
Lu Jin ignored defense completely. The two weapons in his hands let him both pierce armor and kill. Anyone he reached was doomed: if they were closer to the Chainaxe, it chopped into the joints in their armor; if they were closer to the Power Hammer, there was no need to choose a target. One blow sent them flying, armor and flesh together.
Those Lu Jin didn't reach circled around behind him, raising their Bolters and searching for a chance to shoot.
But Little Damian's Mechanical Arm on Lu Jin's shoulder immediately swung around and turned the sceptre toward them. The psychic spell inside it erupted at a single thought from Lu Jin.
The shockwave was far more lethal and efficient than Lu Jin himself, reducing everyone behind him to scraps.
"Ah!!!"
With a roar, Lu Jin struck the Space Marine before him from above with his Power Hammer, crushing his upper and lower halves together.
The warband leader emerged from behind the dead man.
Amid the thrill of battle, Lu Jin instantly calmed down. Dozens of ways to defend against the Psyker flashed through his mind as he considered the various psychic spells the man might cast.
But when the warband leader raised his hand, all he could do was make Lu Jin feel utterly exhausted for an instant, then let him feel the dead man's strength trickle into him, leaving him even more invigorated.
"So you're a one-trick pony."
Lu Jin thought as he focused on killing the others.
A moment later, the warband leader was the only enemy left alive in the chamber.
"Kill him!"
The Fierce Angels shouted from where they lay collapsed in the iron cage.
"FINISH HIM!"
Those around him heard Lu Jin say something in a strange language.
As the warband leader raised his hand to drain Lu Jin's strength again, Lu Jin flung an axe at him.
The Two-handed Chainaxe spun through the air across more than a hundred meters and severed the leader's arm before he could dodge.
The moment the arm hit the ground, Lu Jin arrived right behind the Chainaxe and swung his Power Hammer, shattering the leader's legs.
A scream escaped the warband leader. Just as he felt himself about to fall, Lu Jin planted his Power Hammer against his chest, propping up his body before it could topple over.
"This is what you get for attacking us."
Lu Jin spread his arms. His cold words rang out from his helmet.
The leader's chin rested on the hammer's head. He could only keep himself from collapsing by leaning on the Warhammer, and didn't have the strength to respond.
The next second, Lu Jin slammed both palms against the leader's helmet from either side. With a sound like a Bolter blast, the helmet buckled badly.
The warband leader came to and instinctively raised his head, only to see Lu Jin lift both fists high.
The next instant, he lost consciousness. Everyone else could see that Lu Jin had punched the leader's head down into his chest.
The Chapter Master fell from the air.
Lu Jin picked up the axe and hammer, walked to the iron cage, and smashed it open with all his strength.
After the warband leader died, the Fierce Angels felt their strength slowly returning. The psychic spell cast on them had faded along with its master.
Lu Jin left the cage and set down his weapons, then knelt beside the Chapter Master to check on him.
The Fierce Angels slowly got to their feet and gathered around.
The ritual had ended with the death of the one controlling it.
The Chapter Master slowly opened his eyes and stared around in confusion.
"The Chapter Master's awake!"
"I knew his will wouldn't break so easily!"
"..."
The Chapter Master smiled, looked over everyone, silently counted them, then cast Lu Jin a questioning glance.
He was too weak to speak.
For six whole days, his will had been tortured as he was trapped in countless illusions.
His mother and father had begged him to stay and protect them, or they would be killed.
His closest friend had urged him to remain on the battlefield and fight by his side forever.
None of the countless illusions had managed to make the Chapter Master stay. He forced himself to care about only one thing: clearing the Fierce Angels' name.
His hatred of the Imperial Inquisition had helped him coldly reject every temptation.
"I kept my promise."
Lu Jin slowly rose to his feet, stepped back, and removed his helmet.
The Space Marines were still shocked.
They could guess that it was Lu Jin, but the problem was that Lu Jin hadn't survived the augmentation process. He'd even sacrificed himself for it. He shouldn't have been this tall, either. And if the surgery had failed and he hadn't received a Black Carapace, how could he be wearing Power Armor?
"The Mortals are all safe."
"The strike cruiser is still intact, though it's full of Greenskins..."
"You asked me to protect the ordinary people according to your traditions. I did. I also kept my other promise to you: I killed every last Cunning Hound."
Lu Jin spoke with his helmet cradled in his hands.
The Chapter Master had recovered a little. He spoke haltingly. "Thank..."
Lu Jin took the sceptre from the Mechanical Arm and handed it to the Chapter Master. "This belongs to you."
The Chapter Master raised a hand and accepted the sceptre.
The Legion Relic was bound to have more uses in the hands of a Psyker. The Chapter Master used a biomancy spell to replenish his own strength and that of those around him.
Then, leaning on the sceptre, he stood up. He looked at Lu Jin for two seconds, then suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
The Space Marines around him followed, dropping to one knee, bowing their heads, and pressing their fists to their chests.
"We salute you."
The Chapter Master had already sensed that Lu Jin possessed no enhanced organs. By all appearances, he was still a Mortal.
"The bravest of Mortals."
"A battle-brother of our Fierce Angels Legion."
Lu Jin could tell the Chapter Master had realized he would never become one of the Fierce Angels, but that he was still their battle-brother.
"Thank you for treating me well, accepting me, and teaching me." Lu Jin bowed his head and pressed his fist to his chest in salute.
Someone beside the Chapter Master helped him to his feet.
Lu Jin suddenly asked, "What's your real name?"
"Ninos," the Chapter Master replied. "Real name? I've only ever had the one."
Lu Jin finally understood—damn it, Huron had tricked him about the name.
"The battle isn't over yet." Ninos gestured for those around him to search for weapons. "The warband leader you killed wasn't the one controlling all of us. He didn't have the power to make us completely helpless..."
Before you continue