Supersonic Movement

Absurd.

That was the first reaction that welled up in Miriael's heart after she heard Rowan's answer.

Though she was one of the younger ones among Slaanesh's favored, among the ranks of Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes, that was no reason for her to be ignorant.

Once, in the palace of the Six Rings of Slaanesh, she had had a brief encounter with the Daemon Primarch Fulgrim.

It had been after an intense bout of pleasure.

Fulgrim had been quite pleased to learn that she had once been a Battle Sister before her ascension to daemonhood. In high spirits, he had personally shared with her some secrets from ten thousand years ago.

Among other things, he mentioned that the Accursed One bound to the throne—the very Emperor Miriael had worshipped before embracing pleasure—had personally denied being a god during the Great Crusade, insisting that he was merely one among humanity.

And now, ten thousand years later, He was bound to the Golden Throne, neither living nor dead, like a rotting corpse. And an even more absurd organization, calling itself the Ecclesiarchy, had actually deified Him, spreading its teachings and dragging the entire Imperium of Man into ignorance and darkness. It was utterly ridiculous.

If that wasn't a case of bringing it upon oneself, then what was?

Had she laughed when she heard that secret?

Miriael couldn't remember.

But now, she couldn't laugh at all.

An inexplicable emotion welled up inside her, and she found herself feeling a strange sliver of sympathy for the Xenos races the Emperor had so easily crushed during the Great Crusade.

What the hell!

"Fine, ordinary human."

Miriael lowered her stance, her previous frivolity gone. With an unprecedentedly serious expression, she pointed the Sword of Torment at Rowan, casting everything else from her mind.

What did it matter what lay beneath that mortal shell, or what caused that strange feeling? Was it a lesser god of the Warp, or some other entity?

Whatever it was, if she could somehow capture or kill him and offer him to the Lord of Pleasure, she would surely please Him immensely!

Then, in the next instant—

BOOM!

Miriael's foot, already mutated into a cloven hoof, slammed hard against the ground.

A violent, chaotic gale erupted, its force shaking the entire Bridge.

Shattered fragments of Ceramite flew in every direction like a circular curtain of rain. But more striking than the clamor was Miriael's enormous daemonic form, casting a terrifying shadow.

In the blink of an eye, her body shot forward like a cannonball fired from its barrel, becoming a purple-red blur as she charged straight toward Rowan amid the sonic boom.

On her way, Miriael naturally passed the two enemies she had been fighting for so long. But she neither dodged nor flinched, completely ignoring even the fierce attacks they swung to stop her.

The Chainsword and Guardian Spear struck Miriael's body head-on. But their wielders were already at the end of their strength, so the weapons merely sank deep into her flesh without inflicting any fatal wounds.

Closer. Closer still.

At such a short distance, a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince should have been so fast that, if he were truly as frail and powerless as he looked, he would have no chance of defending himself.

Even so, Miriael's mind remained unusually calm, completely unlike her usual self.

Suddenly, as though she had noticed something, her thoughts snapped into focus, and she reacted at once.

In her field of vision, a "wall" abruptly rose between her and her target.

That "wall" forced her to halt her charge, bringing her to a sudden stop.

By all reason, with the terrifying speed of a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince, no wall, whatever it was made of, should have been able to slow her down in the slightest.

But this wall was an exception.

It was about three meters tall and seven or eight meters wide, glowing with an eye-searing red, white, and blue light. It radiated such intense heat that the air shimmered around it, and the Ceramite floor beneath it had melted into liquid.

It was a "wall" made entirely of plasma!

Huh?

Miriael froze. Even with all her experience, she felt a jolt of alarm.

How had that thing appeared?

Behind the plasma wall, Rowan was firmly protected. All he did was smile.

Didn't see that coming!

In the vast majority of cases, abilities related to matter manipulation are the first conscious abilities to manifest in a Reality Warper.

These include telekinesis (manipulating objects without any physical contact), transmutation (converting one substance into another), and violating the conservation of matter (breaking laws or introducing new problems). (Note)

Now that Rowan had successfully advanced to Tier 3 Reality Warper, his ability to manipulate matter had made a leap forward.

This kind of high-level reality warping, which he couldn't have managed before, now came easily to him!

But Miriael was also quick to react, as a Slaaneshi Daemon Prince should be.

In an instant, she twisted her body without hesitation.

Miriael knew better than one might expect which kinds of damage she could take and which she couldn't. If she slammed headfirst into the plasma wall, then even a Khorne Greater Daemon, renowned for its thick hide, would probably melt on the spot.

Her enormous daemonic body seemed to have no inertia. She pivoted slightly and instantly veered around the plasma wall.

To Miriael's slight relief, the other man clearly couldn't create the wall at some utterly insane speed. It didn't stretch out faster than she could run, which would have been bizarre.

At last, Rowan's face appeared in her field of vision again.

Got you!

Delight filled Miriael's twisted face. Her right arm stretched out grotesquely, its razor-sharp blade pointed straight at her target's neck!

No—she'd missed!

Her vertical pupils widened.

Faced with a strike that was at the pinnacle of both speed and technique, Rowan did something very simple.

He merely stepped backward, avoiding the blade.

But as Rowan moved, the air began to crack with explosive booms, and a sensation like being deep beneath the sea gradually enveloped his entire body.

This wasn't a sign of slowness. Quite the opposite... Rowan had already exceeded the speed of sound, and the air had become an obstacle to him.

How could he be so fast?!

Miriael could hardly believe it.

And with her keen eyes, she couldn't detect the slightest sign of exertion in Rowan's body. It was as if he had always been meant to move this fast!

Rowan, however, seemed somewhat dissatisfied. He frowned slightly.

"Is this my limit?"

A little disappointing.

Different Reality Warpers specialized in different abilities.

He clearly remembered that the Foundation's files mentioned how the Reality Warper codenamed "Supersonic Girl" had even once reached the outrageous speed of 50,000 m/s. (Note 2)

But he couldn't do anything like that. He had barely reached about twice the speed of sound, and that was probably his limit.

Still, it was enough.

Without hesitation, Rowan calmly reached toward the plasma wall he had just created.

His flesh-and-blood hand passed straight through the plasma, which should have been burning hot, and he grasped it firmly.

He twisted, put his strength into it, and then flung it with all his might!

A surging torrent of plasma, like a tsunami, instantly swept across a vast area, rushing toward Miriael!