Shattered chunks of corpses and fragments of armor lay everywhere. Inside the hangar, the reek of blood had vanished, replaced by the smell of burned flesh and a deep chill utterly opposed to flame.
The Void froze the floor. The few status indicators still left on the hangar walls flickered on and off, red lights flashing in alternation, while cables and pipes hissed as they tried to bring the temperature back to normal. The maintenance crews would probably have a headache over this for quite some time afterward.
Saul Tarvitz knew why the chill still lingered—the power of the Givadoron-pattern enchanted magazine was simply a little too excessive. Even though he had aimed at the ceiling when he fired, the runes' power had let the cold persist until now.
He lowered his head and looked at the Bolter in his hand. The runes on the enchanted magazine flickered, brightening and dimming uncertainly, as though answering his gaze. At that very moment, they happened to glow bright for a long while.
Saul Tarvitz smiled without realizing it.
The Iron Warriors had lit pyres, and the fuel was the corpses of the traitors. Several Destroyers holding flamers went about their work with total focus, the lenses of their goggles reflecting a blazing scene. They were already used to such terrible sights.
Other Astartes would probably not take the work of burning corpses so much for granted.
Saul Tarvitz even saw some Iron Warriors personally carrying the traitors' bodies. Mortals could not work in temperatures like these, but they had no complaints. They simply endured everything in silence, at most cursing a few words in low voices.
Saul Tarvitz watched it all calmly, neither speaking nor moving.
A voice sounded behind him. "Captain, thank you again."
Tarvitz turned and saw Honsou, covered in