Victory

The burning Emperor's Sword came crashing down. The Daemon instinctively raised its weapon to block, but it was cleaved in two on the spot, along with an arm burning with blood-red flames.

Even if they had once been human, those favored by the Chaos Gods and elevated to daemonhood gained unimaginable blessings, possessing terrifying strength and bodies beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Guilliman did not know how many human worlds this fellow had slaughtered over the past ten thousand years, or how many skulls he had offered to Khorne, the Blood God, for Khorne to favor him so greatly and raise him from a human into a Greater Daemon of the Warp.

No matter how numerous the Astra Militarum forces made up of ordinary humans were, they found it difficult to defeat an ascended traitor.

Even the Space Marines, hailed as the Angels of the Emperor, needed the aid of Psyker Librarians to kill a Daemon.

Among the Imperium's many forces, only when the Grey Knights, who specialized in fighting Daemons, were deployed would the casualty ratio not be so horrific.

The terror of a Greater Daemon was unimaginable. Powerful Daemons of Tzeentch could even affect an entire star system and extinguish its suns.

If a Daemon of that level appeared on any planet, an Exterminatus could basically be approved.

Exterminatus was the Imperial Navy's physical salvation for irredeemable planets, using weapons such as Cyclonic Torpedoes and Lances to bombard them until not a blade of grass remained on the surface.

One could imagine just how formidable and terrifying a Greater Daemon of the Warp was.

Even Saints wielding the Emperor's Power had to prepare themselves sternly, or they could very well be overturned.

Yet before Guilliman, a Greater Daemon of the Warp was so weak that it was hardly worth noticing.

With a single strike, he severed its arm and gravely wounded it with the holy power of the Emperor's Sword.

No matter how the Daemon roared, it could not change the fact that its weapon and arm had both been cut off by a single blow.

Disbelief filled the Daemon's tawny eyes. Being severely wounded in one strike made him question his entire existence.

Was this man truly someone who had slept for ten thousand years and only just awakened??

Even if a Primarch was terrifying, he should not have been this terrifying, right??

He was an ancient relic who had lived through the Great Crusade ten thousand years ago. Later, he had followed his Gene-Father, Angron, in betraying the Imperium and pledging allegiance to the Chaos Gods. After the failure of the Siege of Terra led by Horus, he had fled with the other Chapters into the Eye of Terror.

Even though he had not encountered an ascended Primarch or fought a Primarch loyal to the Imperium in the past ten thousand years.

His memories could not have been wrong.

The Primarchs of ten thousand years ago did not possess the power to grievously wound a Greater Daemon of the Warp in a single strike.

Celestine, Amalrich, and the others were likewise stunned by Guilliman's performance.

Even though they had prepared themselves mentally—after all, he was the Emperor's own son, so it was only natural for him to possess immense power—this scene was still far too terrifying!!

A Greater Daemon of the Warp had been grievously wounded in one strike.

Guilliman possessed more than merely the power of a Primarch. He also had the blessing of the human faith gathered for him by the Dominion Template.

The more beings who trusted and worshipped him, the greater the power he could wield.

Just like the Gods of legend, the more faith they possessed, the more overwhelming their strength became.

Once Guilliman entered the battlefield, every Imperial soldier who learned of his return from slumber screamed in excitement.

His name spread among the terrified civilians, and everyone regarded him as salvation sent by the Emperor.

Even though more than half of Macragge had now fallen into the hands of Chaos forces, there were still millions of soldiers and billions of Imperial civilians.

The blessings granted to him by these people were terrifyingly powerful, making it exceedingly easy for him to contend with a Greater Daemon.

"I never expected Khorne's Greater Daemons, supposedly bloodthirsty and berserk, to be the weakest among the Four Gods. Tsk, tsk. I doubt your master is much better. I strongly suggest you ask Slaanesh's followers for advice. Those sissies' moves have far more killing power than yours."

Guilliman's mockery made the Greater Daemon whose arm he had cut off roar endlessly, driven to the utmost fury.

Slaanesh was one of the Chaos Gods and also the being Khorne hated most.

Guilliman's words were equivalent to telling an iron-blooded brute to give up training and put on a magical-girl Battlesuit, because that would be more lethal.

He truly killed and humiliated him at once, enraging the Daemon until he wanted to devour Guilliman alive.

Unfortunately, its weapon had been cleaved apart. Even as a Greater Daemon of the Warp, it found it difficult to withstand a Primarch's assault and was beaten back again and again by Guilliman.

Several Chaos Warriors tried to launch an attack to rescue the Greater Daemon, but Guilliman swept his blade across them. The Emperor's Sword sliced through their bodies and split in half their armor, which had grown flesh and eyes after soaking in the Eye of Terror for over ten thousand years.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Aren't those of you from the Warp supposed to be very good at talking? Weak insects."

Guilliman stepped closer and closer to the Greater Daemon he had severely wounded, his tone filled with ridicule.

The Emperor's Holy Sword in his hand burned ever brighter with golden flames, dazzling and suffused with a sacred aura.

As it watched the Primarch slowly approach, the Daemon was filled with fury, yet could only roar helplessly.

It was no match for Guilliman. His opponent had only refrained from killing him in one blow in order to humiliate him.

Guilliman had even called him an insect. Those were words he had always used on humans. Every time he entered the real universe, he would disdainfully say them to the human warriors who tried to banish him.

Now those very words were returned to him. One could imagine the depth of such humiliation.

"You will pay the price. The Gods will watch you, Roboute Guilliman. What do you think you can accomplish?? Your return is merely a game that excites the Gods. You cannot change any—"

Before the Greater Daemon could finish, Guilliman swung the Emperor's Sword and cut off its head.

The enormous head rolled across the ground several times before finally stopping beside a wrecked Hoverbike.

Villains really did talk too much. It was about to die, yet it still had to make threats.

Guilliman bent down, picked up Kabadar's Daemon head, and raised it high.

Seeing the Greater Daemon of the Warp slain, countless Astra Militarum soldiers, Macragge Guards, and Space Marines erupted in cheers.

Even Celestine, Amalrich, and the others showed excited expressions.

Greater Daemons of the Warp were enemies that even they found difficult to fight.

Yet the awakened Primarch had cut off one's head in just a few moves and claimed it as a trophy.

This invincible sight of a Greater Daemon of the Warp being slain convinced every warrior that Guilliman was the Emperor's gift, returned to their side to save the Imperium and humanity as they teetered on the edge of the abyss.

With the Greater Daemon slain by the awakened Primarch, the morale of the Chaos army collapsed completely. How could they possibly put up any meaningful resistance?

The counterattacking forces of the Imperium were filled with soaring morale because of Guilliman's return. Shouting slogans and oaths, they charged at their enemies.

No human traitor or Chaos Daemon would leave their homeland alive. Every invader had to pay the price.

The battle in Macragge's low orbit was also affected by the fighting on the ground. Upon learning of the Primarch's return and the rout of the Chaos forces on the surface, the Imperial fleet's morale surged. At the same time, reinforcements from other Chapters arrived.

Amid intense flashes of light, majestic warships leaped out of the empty Warp routes and entered the real universe, launching attacks against the Chaos fleet.

The Chaos fleet was beaten into a steady retreat. Realizing the mission had failed, they could only choose to withdraw, but the Imperial fleet pursued them relentlessly, swearing to wipe them out here.

In the end, only a few fortunate Chaos ships managed to escape the star system's gravitational reach, tear open the Veil of Reality, and flee into the Warp.

The flames of war subsided, and Macragge had suffered unprecedented losses.

Across the void battlefield, wreckage burned everywhere, while cold corpses drifted among it.

Rescue and cleanup operations began swiftly.

The devastation on the surface was equally severe. Macragge City had become ruins, with casualties beyond counting.

Compared to those grievous losses, people still felt that everything had been worth it.

They had welcomed back one of the Emperor's sons. The dark universe was no longer without hope.

Excited Space Marines, Astra Militarum soldiers, Planetary Defense Force troops, and countless civilians came flooding in from every direction.

They shouted Guilliman's name and sang hymns praising the Emperor to express the excitement in their hearts.

The war had originally reached an absolutely hopeless point, but with Guilliman's awakening, they had effortlessly defeated the invading Daemons and traitors.

Everyone cheered Guilliman's name.

After ten thousand years of struggling through darkness, they had finally received the guidance of a great soul.

Guilliman was that great soul, whether for planetary nobles dressed in splendid attire or civilians in ragged clothes.

Survivors came from across the planet and from other worlds in the Macragge System.

When Guilliman, clad in blue power armor, walked down from the battlefield, he was met by overwhelming cheers like a tidal wave.

Everyone looked at Guilliman with excitement in their eyes. Some women holding children could not stop themselves from crying. They raised their children high, hoping they could behold this mythic savior.

Calgar directed the Ultramarines to use their own bodies to form a cordon around their Gene-Father. Otherwise, he would surely have been surrounded and swallowed by the delirious masses.

"Everyone is cheering. They hope that you, as the Emperor's son, can save them from this eternal war."

Saint Celestine stood beside Guilliman.

As a follower of the Emperor, she was qualified to stand beside a Primarch.

"That is precisely why I awakened," Guilliman replied calmly.