The Demon's Fear

"Wow, darling, you're covered in solid muscle!"

Although this unexpected situation had arisen, the Possessed Marine showed no panic. Instead, he grew excited.

He had wanted to run just now because he believed he simply could not find the thrilling pleasure he craved in front of these lackeys of the False Emperor.

But things were different now.

Through the special senses granted by the possessing demon, even with the black robe in the way, he could still make out the full, nearly perfect physique beneath those clothes.

A... Custodes who had appeared alone and wasn't even wearing Power Armor?

This opportunity was practically once in a lifetime. As a follower of Slaanesh, the Possessed Marine immediately cast everything aside, including the Warp Demon's incessant chatter in his ear.

"If I can leave even a single wound on him and taste the pain he feels... then even dying would be worth it!"

He fervently raised his Power Sword, which had begun to emit a violet glow. His Power Armor, covered from top to bottom in twisted, writhing patterns, gave off a hum, while fleshy tentacles extending from every gap in it danced wildly—a sight of utter blasphemy.

The Black Robe Custodes stared coldly at the Traitor before him, his eyes filled with disdain.

The Possessed Marine stomped down hard. The force was so great that the alloy floor let out a strained creak, sending dozens of metal fragments flying and generating a powerful recoil.

He raised his sword like lightning, pulled it back, gathered strength, then thrust forward—a smooth, straight thrust that arrived before the Black Robe Custodes in an instant.

Their gazes met. In the Possessed Marine's pupils was reflected the Black Robe Custodes's calm, utterly unruffled face.

Faced with that full-force thrust, the Black Robe Custodes shifted his footing and stepped backward as though he had no inertia at all, while turning his body slightly aside.

The speed and timing of his dodge were completely beyond the Possessed Marine's expectations!

How could he be... so fast?

He watched helplessly as his sword missed, passing only through the Black Robe Custodes's billowing cloak and leaving a hole in it.

The next moment, an upward slash like a phantom streak of light came flying in, piercing through the Possessed Marine's arm guards and cleanly severing both arms.

Blood sprayed from his wrists, and the Power Sword clattered to the floor.

Then, without hesitation, the Black Robe Custodes delivered a straight kick, blasting the Possessed Marine away.

Boom!

The Possessed Marine's body struck a Ceramite wall like a cannonball. He staggered, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

He looked up and saw the Black Robe Custodes carrying his Power Sword as he walked toward him step by step.

Yes, yes, just like this!

The Warp Demon possessing the Chaos Space Marine felt that, if it had human organs, it would probably have wept tears of joy.

It had finally suppressed its badly wounded idiot host and seized control of the body. Bracing itself against the wall, it struggled to its feet, ready to provoke that Custodes properly before baring its throat and returning to the Warp...

Then, a plasma bolt that streaked past the Black Robe Custodes shattered its fantasy.

"NO!!!!"

That unwilling cry, laden with terror, became the Warp Demon's final words in this world.

The Black Robe Custodes slowly turned his head.

In his field of vision, the mysterious Young Man emerged from the corner of a nearby corridor, wisps of blue smoke rising from the Plasma Weapons at his side.

Having stolen someone else's kill and feeling slightly awkward about it, Rowan took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello, my name is Rowan. What should I call you?"

The Black Robe Custodes did not answer.

He scrutinized Rowan from head to toe before asking, "Who are you? Where do you come from? That power you used just now caused such a phenomenon, yet there was no Warp fluctuation at all. What was it?"

Rowan sighed.

Sure enough, once his Reality Warping Ability fell under the eyes of an experienced Imperium warrior, they immediately sensed that something was wrong.

And what he had not expected was that such an ordinary Lunar-class Cruiser could gather so many experts!

That Psyker was one thing, but why were there Emperor's Custodes aboard this ship as well?

Old Huang, was this part of your plan too?!

"Now isn't the time for me to answer your questions."

The various guns and cannons at Rowan's side lowered their muzzles of their own accord, showing that he meant no harm. "Could we wait until we've regrouped before talking?"

After weighing the pros and cons, the Black Robe Custodes also sheathed his sword.

"...You're right. The threat of Chaos has not yet ended."

He paused, then continued, "My full name is rather long. You may simply call me Leonardo."

I get it, I get it. You're a Custodes, after all.

Rowan nodded.

Before long, the two came together, passed through the corridor, and headed back the way they had come.

In the corridor, the twisted, gruesome state of the Heretic corpses strewn along the way gradually made Leonardo's brow furrow.

Of course, he could not possibly sympathize with these Heretics' deaths. To an Emperor's Custodian sworn to defend the Imperial Palace to the death, the faster and more miserably these Traitor Heretics who had betrayed the Imperium died, the happier Leonardo was.

But the main problem was that, aside from those killed by plasma and melta, the rest had clearly died at the hands of a Psyker. Every one of them bore traces of being twisted by Psy-lightning and Psychic Power.

That Psyker Inquisitor had unleashed two Warp teleports in quick succession, yet she was still using her powers so recklessly. Could she really hold on?

With that faint concern in mind, the two returned to their original position.

The sight before them made Rowan and Leonardo pause in slight surprise.

Sibyl was kneeling on the ground, both hands clamped tightly over her ears. Her expression alternated between agonized distortion and blank confusion.

Before her stood Lucia, leaning on her sword.

Lucia's eyes shone Wraithbone-gold, the pure white wings on her back spread wide. A faint golden holy radiance emanated from her body, completely enveloping Sibyl beneath it and barely suppressing the psychic afterglow constantly surging around her.

"What happened?"

"She can't hold on much longer."

Lucia turned to look at the approaching pair and shook her head. "Her unrestrained use of psychic power in such a short time exceeded her limits. The tides of the Warp have seized her mind."

"She can no longer control the psychic power continuously churning within her. It's hard to say whether she can recover."

Leonardo stepped closer as well and examined the Inquisitor's condition.

"She won't recover. Unless she is immediately sent into a null chamber aboard a Black Ship to completely suppress her psychic power, there is only the slightest chance of saving her. But we have neither the means, nor the time, nor the room for that now."

Having once escorted prisoners aboard a Black Ship, he regretfully passed judgment. "Execute her. May her soul return to the Throne."