"If you could rein in that temper of yours a little, I wouldn't have to do this myself." Jaghatai pressed down on the engineering claw behind Stunus's back, and the excessively sturdy joint forced Stunus's body ever closer to the floor.
His backpack shifted in an emergency transformation. A barrel modified from a relic weapon suddenly sprang out, pointed straight at Jaghatai's face, and fired.
Jaghatai swiftly tilted his head aside. The searing laser capable of slicing through gold and iron grazed his cheek and blasted a tiny round hole straight through the ceiling into space.
An airtightness warning sounded. Several engineering servo-skulls floated out from Mechanicus shrines on either side and quickly began repairing the breach.
Jaghatai wiped his face with a finger. A layer of charred black ash clung to it.
"Heh. You've got plenty of spirit, kid."
Before Jaghatai had even finished speaking, Stunus's armor began to transform again. Gaps rapidly opened at his shoulders, and several airburst bombs were about to launch.
This time, Jaghatai gave Stunus no opportunity. He drew his hand back to his waist, then drove it violently toward Stunus's back. Just before his fingers touched the armor, he curled them into a fist.
Bang!
The tremendous force left a fist-shaped dent directly in Stunus's back. Even more force penetrated onward, disrupting the operation of Stunus's organs and mechanical prosthetics.
Stunus coughed and sank weakly to his knees. He felt himself lose control of every part of his body, then fell into Fulgrim's arms.
"Stunus, please calm down," Fulgrim said sincerely. "The one guiding our will is not one of the Ruinous Powers, but a witness to the histories of all civilizations and all races. With his help, we will avoid falling into embarrassing extremes on many matters."
Forcing down the trembling in