Slaying the Greater Daemon

With the aid of Saint Celestine, Ultramarines Chapter Master Calgar, Black Templars Marshal Amalrich, Inquisitor Greyfax, and many other Imperial heroes, along with countless ordinary soldiers loyal to the Imperium of Man.

Guilliman easily suppressed the invading Chaos forces, wielding the Emperor's Holy Sword and reaping every enemy within sight.

Whether Plague Zombies, Horrors, or Daemonettes, they were cut down as casually as weeds.

Bodies fell in heaps, piling together.

Having fused with an entirely new soul, the Primarch's strength had not weakened in the slightest. Instead, it had grown even greater.

Guilliman's return filled countless Imperial Loyalists with exhilaration.

The Primarch's godlike figure filled their hearts with courage and strength, allowing them to face those terrifying Chaos creatures without fear.

Guilliman's appearance greatly boosted Imperial morale. Archmagos Cawl of the Adeptus Mechanicus also joined the battle, reciting the Canticles of the Omnissiah as he picked off Chaos Warriors attempting to surround him.

The powerful weapons embedded along his spine, powered by the Energy Core in his chest, unleashed countless terrifying beams and annihilated every Chaos force that tried to stop him.

The Chaos army retreated again and again. The Primarch's arrival on the battlefield steadily tipped the scales of victory toward humanity.

Wherever Guilliman looked, Daemons and fallen warriors alike trembled in fear.

The Flaming Sword in his hand became a symbol of the battlefield, and wherever it passed, enemies were slaughtered with devastating ease.

Guilliman moved as though no one stood before him, the Emperor's Sword dancing in his hand. No enemy dared confront him.

Only the arrival of a Chaos Daemon slowed his advance slightly.

The Daemon was enormous, with an ape-like face and broad horns.

Power armor forged ten thousand years ago covered its muscular, bone-spiked body, while it held a Chainsword burning with blood-red flames.

Its scarlet skin tightened with every motion, and its blood-colored wings were covered in strange markings.

An intense rage radiated from the Daemon, echoing through the minds of everyone on the battlefield and making them furious and irritable.

Every warrior who tried to stop it from approaching the Primarch was killed.

Celestine and the others tried to intervene, but Guilliman stopped them. He intended to kill this Daemon himself.

"I never thought I would see another Primarch appear on the battlefield."

Mockery filled the Daemon's yellow-brown eyes as it stared at Guilliman. "What a pity. The age of the Primarchs has passed, and the Imperium of Man will perish as well. What can the child of the Corpse Emperor possibly do? You cannot stop what is coming. This universe belongs to the Chaos Gods."

Guilliman frowned. He recognized the sigils on the remnants of the power armor: the World Eaters Chapter.

A Chapter that had once served the Imperium, only to ultimately join the traitors.

Because of their Gene-Father, the World Eaters had generally chosen the side of the Blood God—Khorne.

The Daemon before him had clearly earned the Blood God's favor and ascended to Daemonhood.

Looking at this traitor from ten thousand years ago, Guilliman gripped the Emperor's Sword and snapped back without courtesy. "Traitor. We clearly didn't beat you hard enough ten thousand years ago. You still dare crawl out of that dog kennel called the Warp?"

The soul within Guilliman had merely fused; it still retained its former memories. He still felt boundless fury toward these damned traitors and wished he could slaughter every last one of them.

At the end of the Great Crusade, the Imperium of Man had already stabilized. It had only been waiting for the Emperor's final great undertaking—the Webway—to succeed, after which humanity would have embarked upon a path of incomparable brilliance and become the greatest race in the universe.

If Horus and several other Primarchs had not rebelled, humanity would not have fallen into its present darkness.

Humanity would long ago have followed the Emperor's design and embarked upon the path of psychic ascension and universal transcendence.

All that beauty had vanished into ashes with the betrayal of Horus and the others.

The cancer of the Warp had since taken deep root within the Imperium of Man.

Since the Emperor took his seat upon the Golden Throne, humanity had struggled bitterly in the dark Milky Way for ten thousand years.

Every day of survival had been bought with the corpses and blood of countless warriors. The price was too immense for anyone to measure.

Every instant the wheels of history turned had been filled with the lives of countless heroes.

And all of it was thanks to these followers of Chaos.

Just as Guilliman searched for the Daemon's weakness, intending to finish off this damned traitor for good.

To make it understand that even after surrendering to the Chaos Gods, a weakling was still a weakling.

"Verbal provocation is useless. The Primarchs and the Imperium will become relics of the past. From this day onward, the Milky Way will know only war and slaughter. The skull of a Corpse Emperor's Primarch will be the greatest gift offered to my lord."

The Daemon snorted, and scorching sparks burst from its nostrils.

The flames around its body burned fiercely, warping the air with their heat until it glowed.

"Go tell your idiot master that his Skull Throne will be my trophy. One day, I will cut off that big head of his and kick it around like a ball."

Guilliman's gaze was utterly fearless. With the Dominion Template, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat his opponent.

When Imperial soldiers and civilians saw the Primarch, they would become his followers, and the Dominion Template would help him turn the faith offered by those followers into strength.

Just as gods gained more power the more faith they received.

The more followers Guilliman gained, the stronger he would become.

With the strength of a Gene-Father and the blessings of faith from so many followers, defeating a Greater Daemon of the Warp was no difficult task.

The Greater Daemon was enraged by Guilliman's insult toward the Chaos God it served. It let out a roar, making the ground shake as thunder rumbled through the sky.

The Daemon's power erupted, filling the Imperial soldiers on the battlefield with terror. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably as they clutched their Lasguns, while the Chaos army rejoiced wildly, howling praise for the terrifying Daemon and hoping it would lead them to conquer this world.

The Greater Daemon took heavy strides and charged toward Guilliman.

It swung the great sword in its hand, trying to kill Guilliman, take his skull, and offer it before the Blood God's throne.

"You slept for ten thousand years, while I honed my skills in the Warp day and night. Today, even if you are a Primarch, I will show you that your death is certain."

The Daemon roared. Its strength was terrifying; the Baneblade tanks scattered before it were casually knocked aside with a wave of its hand.

Its great sword swung down, delivering a crushing blow at Guilliman.

Guilliman raised the Emperor's Sword and blocked the strike. The collision created a shockwave that swept through the surroundings.

The Daemon roared, and Guilliman seized the opening to throw a punch. The power field of his Power Fist activated, crackling with azure arcs that tore through the air.

A piercing whistling sound rang out, and an indistinct afterimage appeared in the air.

The Daemon was knocked to the ground.

Its huge body slid more than ten meters across the ground before crashing into a wrecked Laser Cannon and finally coming to a stop.

"Is that all you've got? Looks like those ten thousand years of training were useless after all. Then again, it makes sense. How could a weakling who bowed before the Warp ever improve? Go tell Khorne, the Blood God, to wash his neck clean. I'll come take his head when the time comes."

Guilliman looked at the Daemon he had knocked down with one punch and casually activated his taunting mode.

When it came to fighting the Chaos Gods and their minions, Guilliman would not claim guaranteed victory.

But when it came to taunting and drawing aggro, he was absolutely unmatched.

Back in the day, on forums and in group chats, he had been invincible, sweeping aside all challengers.

As for whether taunting the Chaos Gods would invite retaliation, it was not much of a concern.

The Chaos Gods were all subject to certain restrictions and could not enter the material universe.

The laws of the universe constrained those Chaos Gods. At most, they could dispatch Daemons under their command. Besides, the Emperor was still there; he would not allow the Chaos Gods to enter.

He had cursed them, so what? Khorne could do nothing to him.

"You dare insult my lord?" the Daemon roared after climbing back to its feet.

"I not only dare insult your master, I also dare kill you." Guilliman charged forward, leaping into the air and bringing his blade down at the Daemon's head.