"Fire! Fire! Fire! Suppress it! Don't let that thing pour out!"
Shrill commands mingled with deafening detonations, tearing through the deathly silence above the mining district.
Within minutes of receiving the report of a catastrophic encounter deep in the mine, the Imperialis Militia rapid-response force stationed at the edge of the Hive City had arrived.
Dozens of Leman Russ Tanks and Malcador Heavy Tanks formed a steel battle line, while the immense Emperor's Blade super-heavy Tank loomed like a mobile fortress, its devastating guns trained on the mine entrance that resembled a gateway to hell.
The soldiers were pale, but discipline kept them firmly at their firing positions, the muzzles of their Heavy Bolters and Lumberjack Guns spewing unbroken streams of flame.
"For the Emperor! For the Imperium! Fire!" the officer roared himself hoarse, brandishing his Chainsword.
In an instant, enough firepower to level a city was unleashed into the depths of the mine.
Shells, Laser beams, and bolts poured in like a torrential downpour. Explosions lit the tunnel walls again and again, their shock waves making the earth shudder violently.
Under that ferocious bombardment, the ominous black haze that had just spread from the entrance seemed to have truly been suppressed, shrinking back into the abyss.
A momentary silence fell over the positions, broken only by the sizzling of overheated weapons and the soldiers' labored breathing.
Clutching his binoculars, the officer stared fixedly at the entrance. A faint hope had just begun to stir...
But a second later, his heart nearly stopped.
Through his binoculars, he clearly saw that the tens of thousands of projectiles just fired into the tunnel had not exploded. Instead, they vanished without a trace, as though swallowed by an invisible, enormous maw.
Then he realized the black tide had not been driven back. It