A Splendid Battle

"An admirable resolve, my son."

Guilliman stepped forward and placed a broad hand on Calgar's shoulder guard.

"But rest assured, with me here, not one of you will die."

A faint glimmer of gold and blue flashed in his eyes. Fragments of Warp knowledge from a Tzeentch daemon—knowledge of life energy and precise manipulation—flowed within him.

"I've recently acquired some... 'minor abilities.' They may not be enough to move mountains or fill seas.

"But they are more than sufficient for stabilizing vital signs during surgery, guiding genetic fusion, and greatly increasing the success rate."

He paused, his smile filled with absolute confidence.

(Once I 'collect' more powerful Warp essences in the future, I may even be able to ensure that every loyal son undergoes the transformation safely.)

He had calculated it all clearly.

The Ultramarines' gene-seed was already among the most stable sequences.

The primary risks of the Primaris procedure lay in bodily rejection during the implantation of new organs and the strain of recovery.

Now, he could provide the dual safeguards of psychic assistance and the Vey-Star restoration chamber.

If he could devour a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, or an even more powerful life-aligned daemon, and obtain fragments of its laws of "immortality" or "proliferation" in the future—

Then this surgery could be as safe and efficient as replacing parts.

After all, Nurgle could represent plague and decay, but also life and eternity.

"Now."

Guilliman withdrew from his thoughts and looked toward the two warriors in the arena.

"Calgar, use your fists to personally measure the weight of our brother, the 'First of the Primaris.'

"Alpha Primus, let me see what kind of battlefield brilliance the twenty glimmers contained within Sangprimus Portum can unleash through you."

"As you command, Father!"

Calgar's power fists erupted with a surging energy hum, his fighting spirit soaring.

He had just heard his father praise this so-called First of the Primaris.

He trusted that his father's judgment would not be mistaken.

This First of the Primaris surely possessed something that set him apart from ordinary men.

And upon seeing the other man's height, Calgar understood that his opponent's physical foundation had to surpass his own.

But Calgar had served as Chapter Master of the Ultramarines for centuries. They all carried the same gene-seed and had undergone the same augmentation procedures.

To rise above hundreds of thousands of brothers was proof enough of his strength.

Calgar had never relied on a stronger body, but on an unyielding will and combat skills tempered over centuries!

"As you wish, my lord."

Alpha Primus rose calmly.

He assumed an opening stance devoid of any flourish, yet every aspect of it carried the implication of efficient slaughter.

At Guilliman's command, the two figures collided with a thunderous crash in the cleared space of the workshop!

There was no roar of boltguns, no hum of power swords—only the most primal, muffled booms of armored fists striking armor, and the shriek of servo systems.

This was an unspoken contest between Astartes—a "man's contest."

Fist against flesh, strength proving all!

At the very first exchange, Calgar experienced what it meant to be crushed by raw base stats.

In the past, they had always crushed xenos through superior physical prowess.

It was rare indeed to experience being physically overwhelmed by someone else.

Alpha Primus did not even employ complicated martial techniques.

It was merely the simplest straight punch.

That fist came straight at him, carrying irresistible power and absurd speed!

Calgar's pupils constricted. His rich combat instincts made him twist aside and raise an arm to block at the critical instant—

"Boom!!!"

Amid the deafening impact, Calgar felt as though he had been hit head-on by a Rhino armored personnel carrier charging at full speed!

Even though his power armor absorbed most of the impact, the immense force it could not fully negate instantly numbed his entire arm.

He staggered backward three steps before steadying himself, leaving clear dents in the metal floor beneath his feet.

On his tactical lenses, the projected kinetic-energy readings for that punch flashed red wildly, far exceeding the limits of everything he understood about the concept of a "Space Marine"!

(That strength... that reaction speed... it's practically like facing a scaled-down Primarch!)

Calgar was horrified.

But his title as the God of War of the ICU had not come for nothing. A punch of this caliber was not enough to make him lose his fighting ability!

The title of Chapter Master had been forged through centuries of bloody battles and countless brushes with death.

Once the initial shock passed, Calgar's boiling battle intent and the supreme technique honed through thousands of vicious fights took control of his body.

He no longer met force with force. Instead, he became a blue storm spinning around Alpha Primus, that iron colossus.

It was hard to imagine that an armored steel giant standing two and a half meters tall could move with such ferocity and agility.

Whenever Alpha's thunderous, lightning-fast fists and kicks struck forth—

Calgar always managed, at the last possible instant, to twist, slide, and redirect the force with the smallest of movements.

Or he used his elbows and shoulder guards to strike key points where his opponent's force had yet to fully dissipate, cleverly deflecting and interrupting the attacks.

Several times, he even used the momentum of his opponent's strikes to turn force against force, attempting to disrupt the balance of Alpha's massive body.

For a time, Calgar's figure moved through the workshop like a phantom.

His exquisite responses condensed centuries of warfare into the space of a few steps.

He actually managed, for the moment, to trade blows evenly with the "First of the Primaris," despite his opponent's comprehensive advantage in strength and speed.

For the first time, Alpha Primus's movements displayed an extraordinarily subtle "pause," one beyond the calculations of his programming.

Cawl had installed a special chip in his brain, one that contained an enormous amount of combat technique.

It was enough to bring his martial prowess to its peak, far beyond that of ordinary Astartes.

Yet combat skills gained for nothing could never truly compare to those forged through relentless tempering.

Calgar's techniques had been born from the fires of war. At this moment, he had pushed every aspect of himself to the absolute limit!

His gene-father was watching him!

Bearing the honor of the Chapter Master, he could not lose!!

Even Alpha's steady voice seemed to carry a trace of surprise.

"Remarkable combat algorithms... Your response patterns have no fully matching examples in my database."

It was an indirect acknowledgment of Calgar's skill.

However, just as even the sharpest dagger struggled to pierce a thick city wall—

When the "sharpness" of technique met the "thickness" of absolute strength—

The scales would eventually tip.

After an exquisite feint, Calgar successfully slipped into Alpha's flank.

A power-fist strike carrying all his strength and technique drove straight into his opponent's ribs!

That was, in theory, the weak point at an armor seam!

Yet Alpha Primus's power armor structure and reinforced skeleton far exceeded conventional standards.

He took the blow—which was enough to shatter Terminator armor—head-on, merely swaying slightly.

And in the instant when Calgar's old strength was spent and his new strength had yet to arise—

Alpha's iron fist, as large as a casserole pot, was already moving as though it had foreseen everything.

At an angle and speed that could not be evaded, it landed squarely in the dead center of Calgar's breastplate!