The Imperium Frontier: Forty-Four, Hunter and Prey

The searing red light of lasguns pierced the street. Countless laser beams flickered across the pitch-black Lower Hive, scarlet rays firing in continuous succession from the muzzles of lasguns as the panicked Planetary Defense Force soldiers retreated, pulling their triggers wildly.

They fled toward the giant arcade at the end of the enclosed street, some scrambling and crawling for their lives. Behind them, beams of light and Tyranid bio-ammunition tore into the fugitives; those struck fell to the ground, only to be devoured by Flesh-Eater Beetles amidst their screams. At the other end of the street, Genestealer cultists wielding weapons of The Imperium advanced alongside their filthy kin. Roaring Tyranid creatures surged from the far end of the street, pouring out of tunnel archways. Armored Tyranid Warbeasts charged at the front, crushing the fleeing soldiers underfoot.

A behemoth burst from the arcade at the end of the street. In this underground hall near the orbital elevator position, two soldiers scrambled out from behind sandbags, hoisted a rocket launcher, and pulled the trigger at the beast.

The whistling rocket struck the creature, but the Tyranid behemoth pushed through the explosion and continued its charge. Countless laser beams and plasma strikes hammered into it, its pitch-black carapace dissolving and piercing under the violent bombardment until its body resembled a giant honeycomb.

The behemoth used its final strength to slam into a support pillar; the tall stone column collapsed with a roar, crushing a barking twin-linked lascannon.

Billowing smoke instantly filled the air, and in the moment the dust cloud expanded, countless Tyranid soldiers surged out from within. They rolled forth from the smoke, their sheer numbers instantly overwhelming the front-line position before it could react.

Sandbags were toppled, and soldiers were directly slaughtered. The survivors began to flee, but their speed was clearly no match for the specialized Tyranid creatures.

At the final orbital elevator defensive line, a Heavy Bolter roared, shattering a large swath of Tyranid soldiers, but a massive behemoth emerged from the lingering dust cloud.

The beast roared with a vortex-like maw, its giant mandibles clacking as it charged. The soldiers fired all their firepower at the beast in a desperate panic, but its specialized head armor was enough to withstand the Bolter and plasma fire.

The beast charged the position, and everyone watched the approaching maw in despair. But just as the gunner ducked his head to meet his death, a harrowing roar erupted before them.

The soldiers lifted their heads from behind the sandbags to look at the beast. It roared in agony, blue flames burning behind the carapace of its head crest. Another Plasma Cannon shot struck its spine, the plasma fire burning through its flesh and leaving the creature screaming incessantly.

The soldiers looked toward a service ladder on the side wall. On the high circular platform, Planetary Defense Force soldiers emerged. These militiamen displayed immense courage, charging out while carrying plasma weapons and Melta Weapon units that could explode at any moment.

Without hesitation, they set up the weapons and opened fire immediately. Violent barrages covered the entire hall from above, and the Tyranid beasts fell like autumn leaves under the plunging fire. Plasma and Melta fireballs bloomed and spread among them, while rockets whistled, rising in plumes of thick smoke.

The Astra Militarum elevator chimed. The orbital elevator landed steadily, and the gates opened amidst flashing red warning lights. But before the gates had fully opened, beams of laser fire erupted from within.

The platoon leader watched as a large group of Planetary Defense Force soldiers filed out. They spread out rapidly and opened fire on the incoming Tyranids. Laser beams streaked over the heads of the Astra Militarum troopers like a rainstorm, striking the Tyranid Swarm and their wretched kin in a dense barrage.

The platoon leader stood up, clutching his lasgun, and watched the Planetary Defense Force soldiers jump down from the platform, walking and firing in groups. The Astra Militarum soldiers looked on with astonishment at these local militiamen who had suddenly become so fearless.

Their battle cries rose one after another, even drowning out the roars of the Tyranid swarm. From among them, a man stepped out of the elevator—a man draped in a red cloak.

The platoon leader looked at him with a stunned expression, then immediately stood at attention and saluted. "Inquisitor! I didn't expect the regiment to send you to support us."

"Your regiment has other things to attend to. The entire Lower Hive has been breached by these bastards, and I need to know where their master brain is." Vito said as he walked off the platform and came to the platoon leader's side. He looked at the gunner and pointed toward the tunnel exit ahead.

The gunner was startled, then immediately raised his machine gun and began to roar. Bolter shells rained into the tunnel, intercepting and breaking the rhythm of the charge. Soon, the Tyranid swarm in the hall was completely annihilated.

Vito tilted his head slightly and waved his hand. The platoon leader watched in astonishment as a Planetary Defense Force soldier carrying a rocket launcher appeared beside him. The rocket whistled through the battlefield dust and struck directly into the tunnel; with an explosion, everything fell into silence.

The soldiers ceased fire. The swarm pouring out of the dim tunnel had stopped; no more beasts rushed out. But everyone knew the Tyranids were merely regrouping, not destroyed. Can you believe it? Wiping out the Tyranids—that sounds like drinking fake wine.

Vito looked at the Tyranid remains littering the hall. The ground was covered in corpses and carapace fragments; after the devastating firepower, these filthy things were everywhere.

Vito shrugged slightly and drew his Bolter. He swung his arm forward, signaling everyone to follow. The Planetary Defense Force soldiers followed, and soon the orbital elevator finished its work again and opened its gates. The platoon leader watched in surprise as another squad of Planetary Defense Force soldiers walked out, including some guys who were just wearing civilian clothes but holding guns.

"Inquisitor, how many reinforcements did you bring?" the platoon leader asked in surprise. Vito walked toward the tunnel entrance, leading a large group of Planetary Defense Force soldiers. "Everyone who retreated. Now, it's time for us to counterattack."

"Coming along?" Vito asked, shaking his Bolter.

Boots inlaid with silver iron plates stepped over the corpses of the Tyranids; these terrifying creatures had now become cold bodies.

The silver boot stepped over another Tyranid corpse; its head had been blown apart by a large-caliber shotgun. The silver boot took another step, preparing to move forward, but stopped. Its owner pulled his foot back and paused over a Tyranid corpse—well, not really a corpse, since it was still moving, but it was now.

The flash of a Bolter flickered and vanished. A large-caliber bolt instantly shattered half of the Hormagaunt's body. Splattered blood sprayed onto the pant leg, causing the boot's owner to pat his leg in annoyance.

Vito stood in the middle of a pile of corpses with his gun. Around him, his Astra Militarum soldiers were checking the rifles of the corpses. Tyranid vitality was tenacious, and almost all Tyranids had considerable regenerative abilities, so you had better ensure they were dead—thoroughly, completely dead.

"Inquisitor, the entire regiment and the reinforcing Planetary Defense Force are counterattacking across the board. The Third Company has recaptured the Lower Hive corridor and blown up the stairs." The platoon leader turned off the communication headset on his ear. He crossed the corpses with his gun and came to Vito's side, while a large spray of Tyranid flesh and debris splattered on the other side of Vito.

Vito glanced at the platoon leader and raised an eyebrow slightly. "So fast?" "Yes, sir. Our troops are counterattacking rapidly. I suspect the Tyranids might have realized the attack was hopeless and retreated voluntarily. Based on our experience on Gravalax, Tyranids will retreat if they calculate that the biomass lost in an attack is greater than what they gain."

Vito stopped and looked at the Tyranid corpse lying by the underground street. The Hormagaunt's body had been riddled with several large, bloody holes; it was a miserable sight.

Vito turned his head to look at the empty tunnel. The Inquisitor rubbed his chin with the butt of his Bolter, then took a delicate Silver Snake pocket watch from his coat. He opened the cover and looked at the ticking mechanical clock face inside.

The Inquisitor shrugged slightly and put the pocket watch back into his pocket. He raised his Bolter, changed a magazine, and then pulled the trigger sharply. "Faster than I thought. I hope they're on time."

Before Vito's voice faded, screams rang out. The platoon leader immediately raised his gun and aimed toward the rear. Several hulking bipedal beasts suddenly stood up from the pile of Tyranid corpses. They held bone blades and slaughtered the surrounding Astra Militarum soldiers like a gale.

The ventilation fan blades above the underground street crashed to the ground. A beast jumped down from the fan blades and crushed them. It swung its sharp claws rapidly, harvesting the surrounding Astra Militarum soldiers who tried to resist.

In just a few seconds, all the Astra Militarum soldiers following Vito were dead, leaving only the platoon leader alive. He frantically raised his lasgun and aimed, but the beasts didn't even dodge. The lasgun beams hit the black-purple carapace like polishing it.

"Inquisitor! We've been ambushed!" the platoon leader exclaimed. But Vito shrugged calmly. "Yes, I know it's an ambush. Honestly, I'm surprised we made it this deep before being ambushed."

"What?" the platoon leader asked. Vito shook his Bolter casually. "You see, I was ambushed by a Lictor above. That beast failed. It came straight for me, so the Tyranid fleet must be preparing to decapitate the local leadership of The Imperium to break the core of the imperial defense."

"And after the Lictor failed, they would certainly try a second time. Next time, it might be in a place I don't want it to appear, like the Governor's Palace bedroom or something. I'm not used to killing a bug while naked in front of a lovely lady, so I decided to give them a chance to try in a place I'm happy with."

"Which is here." Vito said, closing his eyes. He had to close them because the brains of the second lieutenant platoon leader had splattered across half his face.

Vito sighed and wiped the flesh and debris off his face. "Could you let me finish my sentence?"

Vito said, looking helplessly at the giant object drifting in from the tunnel. It was a creature with extremely atrophied limbs but a long tail; its massive brain hung over its shoulders, almost to the point of being deformed.

But don't underestimate the creature just because it was deformed; after all, arcs of electricity flickered on its body, and it was the one that blew the platoon leader's head off.

Vito whistled, watching the bug with interest while ignoring the several Tyranid Warrior units prowling around him. He watched the drifting, deformed creature.

"A Zoanthrope, eh? You think highly of me. It seems your Norn Queen knows I have psychic powers, right? I love your information-sharing ability. If it weren't for the fact that being near a blank gives me a headache, I'd want to bring one along."

Vito said as he holstered his Bolter. Before Vito could offer any further evaluation, the Warriors behind him attacked like lightning. The bone blades slashed toward his head with afterimages, but the bone blades, which had appeared as mere blurs, suddenly stopped, resting quietly just inches above Vito's head.

Inquisitor sighed, rubbing his neck with a weary expression. "This is why I prefer fighting enemies with a modicum of common sense. At least they let me finish my sentences—well, maybe. The Aeldari do, though I hate listening to them finish their riddles."

Vito flicked his fingers, and suddenly, the bone blade in the Tyranid Warrior's grip tore itself free, the creature watching in shock as the weapon plunged into its own abdomen.

Guided by an invisible hand, the bone blade moved of its own accord, slicing the Warrior in half. As the beast crashed to the ground, the blade proceeded to shatter its face, raining down blow after blow until the features were nothing but a pulpy mess of gore, finally coming to rest on the floor.

Several Tyranid Warrior units exchanged glances. They stepped back, raising their bone blades and letting out furious roars, while a Zoanthrope shrieked, firing a crackling arc of electricity from its head.

The lightning surged toward Vito, only to collide with a shimmering barrier two steps away. The arc exploded instantly, the flickering current spreading outward to envelop Vito's surroundings.

Light swallowed everything in sight, and in that blinding instant, a claw whistled through the glare. Vito looked toward the limb, raised his hand, and used his psychic power to snap the bone claw clean off. The Warrior shrieked, but another appeared from the flank, brandishing two bone blades and slashing toward Vito's neck from both sides.

Vito merely glanced at the creature, and an invisible fist slammed into it. Its hardened carapace buckled and shattered, the entire beast sent flying until it was embedded in the wall.

More Warriors swarmed in, launching a whirlwind of blades and claws, but every sharp edge stopped dead in the air around Vito, hovering with impossible precision just inches from his skin.

Vito drew his Chainsword. The moment the blade roared to life, Tyranid heads began to drop, their towering corpses collapsing in a heap.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to wash off the smell of blood? Do you know I have a wartime date tonight?" Vito muttered, Chainsword in hand as he stepped over the mounting pile of carcasses toward the Zoanthrope.

The Zoanthrope let out a piercing wail, but Vito just smiled, crossing his arms. "Didn't expect that, did you? Fair enough. I only use my psychic powers when I'm alone and need to put down a particularly tough enemy, so consider that a compliment."

Vito's eyes ignited with golden light. A psychic shockwave slammed into the Zoanthrope's barrier, causing the entire field to flare with blinding intensity. The Zoanthrope shrieked, flailing its short, nearly useless forelimbs.

White bolts of lightning lashed out at Vito, but he simply strolled toward the creature. The bolts disintegrated upon hitting the chaos before him. The ground at his feet cracked and crumbled, a shockwave plowing through the earth and pulverizing every corpse in its path—Tyranid and human alike—into shredded meat.

Yet, that force was instantly shattered by the barrier, the impact dispersed and scattering the surrounding corpses. The Zoanthrope screamed, bombarding Vito with every psychic trick it possessed, all to no avail.

He reached the Zoanthrope's shield, traced a small sigil in the air before it, and then curled his fingers, tapping the surface with the serpentine, elongated sigil. In a heartbeat, the entire barrier shattered into nothingness.

The Zoanthrope wailed like an infant, a sound so ghastly it would strike terror into any soul. Vito merely rubbed his ears in annoyance, raised his hand, and made a sharp downward gesture. The Zoanthrope was slammed into the ground as if struck by a meteor.

As the creature shrieked, Vito drove his Chainsword deep into the tip of its tail. A violent spray of blood erupted, the Zoanthrope's screams echoing through the tunnel like a recurring nightmare.

Vito pinned the Zoanthrope's massive head to the ground. He smiled down at the creature, watching its small eyes dart back and forth to meet his gaze.

"You see, I use myself as bait to catch the fish, and the quality of the bait determines the caliber of the catch. I'd say I've hooked something worth keeping."

"Oh, not you. Don't get excited. I'm talking about the Norn Queen currently watching this show from inside your head." Vito smiled and pulled a purple crystal from his robes. It was a brilliant, radiant amethyst, shimmering with strange dust that sparkled like stars.

Or perhaps, they were stars.

"Oh, dear Lily, I hope your sister—hell, is she your sister or just another version of you? Whatever. I hope your promise holds up."

Vito crushed the crystal. The stardust surged into his ears and nostrils. His eyes flared, and the Zoanthrope's eyes lit up with the same golden light in a final, agonizing scream.

Vito's consciousness surged into the network of the Tyranid Will. It was a vast, twisted, and eternally hungry consciousness, as immense as the galaxy itself.

Yet, amidst the endless consciousness, the howling of countless beasts, and the torment of infinite hunger, Vito tore through the crimson veil, ripping a small gap in the surface of that gargantuan will.

He saw what lay behind the veil: a unique, pure-white Tyranid with a massive, egg-bearing lower body. Countless limbs twitched as it shrieked at Vito from across the divide.

"Found you," he whispered. The veil snapped shut, and countless tentacles of the great Tyranid Will lashed out at him from every direction. Just as the first tentacle was about to touch him, a shower of starlight fragments erupted from his body, wrapping around him like a diamond-shaped mirror.

The mirror shattered a moment later, and Vito was gone. The tentacles struck nothing but empty space. Within that infinite consciousness, the roar of the beast—a roar of absolute, primal fury—echoed through the mental sea.

Vito's eyes closed, and when they opened again, the glow faded, returning to normal.

The Tyranid Zoanthrope shrieked as its head detonated like a biological bomb, spraying Vito with a deluge of blood that dyed him entirely red.

"Damn it!" Vito cursed, stumbling back as he looked at his blood-soaked clothes. "How long is this going to take to wash out?!"

He kicked the Zoanthrope's corpse in frustration, then a violent headache surged through him, forcing him to press his temples. "Damn, that hurts. This stuff doesn't even act as a painkiller? What a piece of junk. Still, the harvest was worth it."

He sheathed his Chainsword and turned to leave the tunnel, but halfway there, a claw grabbed his leg. He looked down at the half-bodied Tyranid Warrior, which opened its mouth to let out a weak, dying hiss. Its tenacity earned a flicker of respect from Vito.

He crouched down, looking into the Warrior's eyes with a smile. "Don't worry. Oh, and tell your Norn Queen I know where she is. I'll be coming to visit her for a date soon."

The Tyranid let out a sharp hiss. Vito stood up, drew his Bolter, and blew its head apart.