Tyre! (29)

All the way upward, Guk encountered no obstacles.

Once he stripped away their disguises, Guk realized they were not independent entities at all, but extensions of a single collective consciousness.

Tentacles snaked out through the open office doors. Where desk lamps had once stood were now pink gums bristling with cruel teeth.

Along both sides of the corridor, fleshy sacs swayed like kites above burning, shriveled heads, like grotesque lanterns.

Guk pressed onward, swinging his warhammer. Many symbols had been carved into its haft—an ancient Ork language inscribed by Mogtrakka.

Suddenly, Guk keenly sensed the path closing behind him. Though the sound came from far away, where he stood, it seemed to originate from another separate dimension.

Realizing he was alone, Guk began drawing upon his innate power.

First, he entered a sequence of runes into his mechanical arm, activating the gems above its five claws. The claw blades immediately extended to the length of a scepter—because Guk's Claw was too ancient, Euclid had yet to fully understand it and had therefore not modified it with a neural link.

This technology, first used on Scrap Iron Blocks Dreadnoughts, was being adopted by more and more boys. Guk had noticed that many of his guards had received mechanical limbs.

"Hmm..."

Holding Guk's Claw before his eyes, Guk stared at its tips.

Dark green arcs of electricity danced across them, crackling sharply. Guk nodded and lowered his arm.

As he continued onward, Guk realized how merciless this force was. It had taken over the entire building and everyone within it, transforming them into something filthy and rotten.

Countless tiny fragments of corpses covered the walls, like living tissue coating them.

They had been twisted and fused together, their tortured expressions frozen upon their faces as they fell forever into torment.

The fifth