Bolt shells and flames burst across the Tortured Ones' abused flesh. After being fused and modified in the workshops of Haemonculus masters, additional genetic sequences had been added to their flesh and bones, allowing their bodies of blood and meat to endure such powerful firepower for a time.
Those bolt shells could only leave a series of tiny craters on their pale, resilient skin, insignificant beneath their massive frames. Promethium flames clung to them, scorching their flesh black and filling the air with a foul stench, but it would still take time to burn the Tortured Ones to ash with such means.
But time was precisely what they lacked most...
Sister Superior Lucia wielded a power sword, moving with her guards to reinforce the cathedral defenses. Together, they hacked apart the Tortured Ones who had forced their way through the firepower at the doors and windows, turning them into twitching chunks of meat on the floor. Against power weapons, their resilient flesh was scarcely tougher than melted butter.
Lucia did not even need to exert much strength. So long as she let the blade glide lightly with her hand, as though slicing through air, the massive Tortured Ones were cut in two. Their smooth, unfrayed cross-sections and instantly severed organs left them unable to react by spraying blood at first.
The Sister Superior's swordsmanship was exceptional, and every one of her guards was battle-hardened. Under their coordination and interception, the Tortured Ones' mindless assault was held back. The sisters sang hymns to The Emperor, steadily cleansing every impurity from the cathedral amid the accompaniment of bolt shells and blazing fire.
At last, the Tortured Ones' flesh could no longer endure. Large-caliber rounds swept over their bodies, shaving away flesh like razors until bone was exposed, shattering joints and exposed organs