16: First Battle (6)
"This spire is a medium," the Radiance narrated in a low, slow voice. "A medium meticulously designed by our Lord. It can briefly revive your authority from this empty shell— Vengeance and hatred, how terrifying they sound."
It chuckled, its voice filled with delight.
"And Vengeance and hatred are precisely what fill the Harkosus I today, my lord!"
"These ignorant people of Harkosus were invaded; their relatives, friends, and children died in the slaughter, and they could only tremble as they watched those armored giants carry out bloody carnage with iron and fire in their city!"
"What a wonderful contrast!"
The Radiance laughter grew louder, like a gradually rising thunderclap. Karyl stared at it calmly, without showing the slightest ripple.
The flames within the skull's dark eye sockets burned steadily, unmoved even by the fierce winds sweeping through the fiftieth floor of the spire.
The ground, walls, and ceiling, inscribed with characters, began to shine brighter and brighter in the sudden gust of wind. The corpses staggered to their feet, knelt before Karyl, and the Burning Fire marks on their foreheads turned brighter at that moment.
It changed from the previous blue to a raging black and crimson flame.
"Of course, the most wonderful part of this simple plan isn't actually here, sir. Just as every joke should have a climax saved for the end, I've also left a climax for my plan."
"I believe you've already guessed what it is, haven't you?" Radiance asked expectantly, the blue light growing fainter and fainter, the sound like a whisper or the chirping of insects.
Karyl did not answer, and as expected, Radiance chuckled again, answering his own question.
"Who else could have provided that brilliant joke, besides the real Harkosus people living underground?"
"Those the Accursed Deceit built a false Imperium, and they are the targets of its hatred. They will be slaughtered by the legions you brought. And what about those humans who colluded with them? They, of course, must die too!"
"Countless ignorant people will offer their lives, their blood, their hatred, and their ever-growing thirst for Vengeance! They will give everything to beg you to grant them the power to Vengeance and to quell this hatred."
"I will not heed the pleas of Xenos or traitors," Karyl said.
He raised his right hand, and a flash of thunder disappeared, turning the corpses into dust and vanishing, but the spire itself continued to hum.
It has already been started, and it will not stop.
"Yes, you won't."
Radiance finally burst into laughter, its voice transcending the Veil's constraints and resounding in Karyl's ears as if it were a tangible entity. Arrogant, joyful, and insane.
"Karyl Lohars would certainly not heed the wishes of any damned Xenos, but the god of Vengeance and hatred would!"
"Of course I know these insignificant and foolish sacrifices are insufficient to truly elevate you to godhood, but my plan only requires a mere second, my lord! Just one second is enough! Centuries of scheming, relentlessly strengthening our influence over Harkosus by connecting us from the Veil to reality—all for this one second!"
The Radiance crackled and began to burn rapidly. Its time had come; the Veil had found it, and the so-called nine truths were, in fact, part of this Deceit from the very beginning.
"The vengeful spirits of Harkosus will, in that single second, rise from the realm of the dead," the hideous monster in the Radiance proclaimed in a low voice. "They will wield blades and don armor, and, under the watchful gaze of the God of Burning Fire, seek Vengeance against those who killed them."
"And what can you do?" it asked expectantly. "Stop the Cursed One son and his legions from carrying out a just massacre of the Harkosus? That seems to contradict the Imperium's fundamental principles."
"By Tzeentch, I never imagined I would associate justice with slaughter. These are two completely contradictory and opposing words, yet they seem quite fitting for you, don't they? What are you going to do?"
Karyl did not answer, but simply brought his blade down. The scream was fleeting; it was almost completely killed and hastily driven back into the darkness, but the laughter lingered.
"I will wait and see, my lord!"
--
Konrad Curze Curze felt a strange sensation welling up from the depths of his heart, cold and silent. It felt as if his throat was being gripped, and his stomach was churning.
Curze knew what it was, but didn't want it activated now. It could reveal a dark side of the future to him, but only with his permission.
He endured it, then turned his head and looked at Fer again.
The Third Company Captain knew what his Primarch wanted to do, so he raised his right hand, forcing the Xenos to immediately straighten its body from the ground. Its bones snapped instantly inside its body, and its eighteen eyes blinked rapidly, its fear and pain evident.
A sudden blue light flashed in Fer's eyes. He asked again, but the Xenos did not answer; it simply began to scream again.
The flame pattern etched between the two tentacles began to brighten with unprecedented intensity, illuminating its pale blue skin and revealing everything beneath.
Van Cleef jerked his gun up, trying to kill the Xenos that was doing who-knows-what, but someone was faster than him.
Konrad Curze Curze vanished in the blink of an eye, and when he reappeared, he was holding the Xenos's head in his hand.
Its headless body fell to the ground, thrashing about like a fish out of water, gushing blood and making the already horrific scene even more gory. The Xenos huddled together in fear, emitting continuous grunts.
Fer clenched his right hand in disgust, his eyes suddenly flashing with blue light.
He roared at them, "Shut up, Xenos scum!"
His words created a deep tremor, causing them to huddle together in agony. Konrad Curze Curze remained completely unmoved; he turned away indifferently, flicked his left hand, and tossed the head between them with the utter contempt of someone discarding trash.
He looked at Fer: "What was it just doing?"
"It's chanting the names of their heretical gods, the Primarch," Fer replied. "And prayers and such."
"Will the prayer make the tattoos on its skin shine?" The Lord of the Eighth Legion shook his head.
"Van Cleef, issue the order for the medical officers and Apothecary to come and perform autopsies. We need to figure out the physiology of these Xenos, the reason for their shiny tattoos, and most importantly—how they transform into humans."
"Also, tell the lone hunting teams to be on high alert. There can't be only this many of these Xenos. Then contact the company commander of the Eighth Company."
He paused, falling silent. Van Cleef frowned, suddenly having a strange, unsettling feeling.
He felt that the person beneath the armor had vanished—he had no idea where this feeling came from, but he just felt that their Primarch wasn't actually here at that moment.
Even though he was standing right in front of them, issuing orders, Van Cleef felt that Konrad Curze Curze seemed to be in another dimension, another distant and dark dimension.
He could vaguely sense this, but it didn't unsettle him. In fact, it stirred a chilling rage within the company commander.
Konrad Curze Curze remained silent for more than a minute before speaking again, and this time, his voice had changed.
"Prepare to fire," he said.
There was no reason, no explanation, just this inexplicable order. And the Eighth Legion immediately obeyed their Primarch's command.
The safety of the Boltgun was released, the plasma began to preheat, and the dangerous MK2 Meltagun was silently raised, waiting only for a command or a gesture before it was fired.
Among the Xenos stunned by Fer's psychic powers, some remained relatively conscious, letting out shrill screams like those of slaughtered beasts. Konrad Curze Curze, however, simply waited quietly.
He stood there silently, a Master-crafted Bolt Pistol in his left hand and his right hand hidden in the darkness, his posture posing no threat whatsoever—yet, in the next second, he suddenly charged towards the Xenos.
To be precise, they rushed towards the wall that had suddenly split open behind them.
A massive breach appeared abruptly, without warning, yet it seemed premeditated. Countless aliens, armed and clad in Xenos, burst forth from the fissure. The muzzles of their guns glowed red, and dangerous buzzing sounds echoed continuously.
Konrad Curze Curze gave no orders, but the Eighth Legion no longer needed to be ordered; they knew what they had to do.
The rain of death, which had been prepared long ago, was released through their hands at this moment. The Xenos fell like wheat being harvested, and none of the crimson orbs they fired could harm the Eighth Legion's Astartes — Fer Zalost did what he had to do.
The Third Company Captain calmly drew his sword and instantly beheaded a Xenos charging at him. The situation became incredibly chaotic in just a few seconds. The cracked walls were not limited to just one; countless fissures were deliberately opened deep within the underground facility, and the Xenos that had been waiting for so long rushed out.
Individually, they are enemies that Astartes can take care of with a single swing of his arm or a pull of the trigger, but when they come in groups, their firepower needs to be dealt with carefully. Fer cannot possibly stop so many bullets with his psionic powers.
Van Cleef roared, "Move closer to the Primarch!"
"No need," Konrad Curze Curze's cold voice came through the communication channel. "I'm on your right."
The company commander immediately turned his head and saw severed limbs flying high into the air, and a fleeting Shadow. The Xenos were screaming.
The gentle, courteous Konrad Curze Curze is gone; now fighting alongside them is the leader of the Eighth Legion, the killer among killers, the assassin among assassins.
His agility and strength were utterly devastating to the Xenos who tried to overwhelm them with numbers. He was like a death wind, leaving behind a desolate and bloody mass grave wherever he went. He showed no Mercy; his pursuit was absolute efficiency.
Konrad Curze Curze kills without a second thought, taking up his other identity.
"Kill them all," he said. "Don't let a single one escape."
There's one or two more chapters.