Damon bitterly regretted tempting fate.
Of all things to say, he had insisted he couldn't possibly miss, then claimed Vulkan was unarmed.
And now, Vulkan had broken free of the stasis field and summoned his Dawnbringer warhammer.
The terrifying dragon-headed warhammer in the Lord of Drakes' hand, with its flawless metallic sheen and elegant curves, inspired involuntary admiration for Vulkan's godlike craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, that hammer was now about to come down on their heads.
Worse still, Word Bearer Narek had long since completely sealed the adamantium doors to prevent the Ultramarines from realizing what was happening and interfering with their plan.
Even if they could reopen the doors from inside, did they really have the time?
They would have to leisurely open a blast door and escape right under the nose of a primarch whose mind was ruled by fury and murderous intent.
Narek could only feel that his two teammates were incomparably foolish. They were trapped in a sealed room with one of the strongest primarchs, who was currently in some kind of frenzied rampage.
There was no more time for wild thoughts. The crazed primarch howled and lunged at them.
The Lord of Drakes' assault bore down like a moving mountain. Vulkan swung his warhammer at them, its incomparably immense force granting it terrifying momentum. It almost seemed to blast the air apart, producing a shrieking sonic boom.
Damon dropped flat to the ground without hesitation, while John darted backward. Narek, the most conspicuous of them all, naturally drew the most attention. He only had time to raise a psychic barrier before taking Vulkan's ferocious hammer blow head-on.
In an instant, the psychic barrier shattered, and the ceramite and plasteel structure of his power armor was crushed. The Word Bearer vanished from where he stood like a kite