The instant Ahriman removed his helmet passed in a flash. Only in that moment would his vision and senses be weakened, and his vigilance lowered to its minimum.
And that was the opportunity the Shattered Hounds had waited for. Endryd Haar, who had been lying in ambush within the pipes, shot out like a black cannonball, several Blackshield veterans of the Raven Guard at his side.
It was with the Raven Guard's help that Haar had been able to conceal himself perfectly within the dark conduits, unnoticed even by the Thousand Sons' ever-present psychic senses.
The Raven Guard's stealth was a combination of skill and talent. Konrad Curze had once envied his brother Corax greatly, for the Raven Lord was shadow itself, while the Night Haunter relied only upon exquisite technique.
Haar and his old comrades had long mastered the art of stealth and assassination, and now the fangs of the rage-fueled Shattered Hounds struck.
Azhek Ahriman, who was reforming the psychic barrier in midair, suddenly felt terror rise from the depths of his heart.
His brain instinctively sounded its highest-level warning, as though something unimaginably dreadful was about to happen.
This was not foresight, but the instinctive reaction of an Astartes.
Ahriman was indeed a famed and powerful Psyker, but before that, he was an Astartes of the Thousand Sons Legion, hardened by countless battles.
There was no time to think. The Chief Sorcerer cast three psychic shields in rapid succession behind himself, while using his powers to slow time around him, making everything move more slowly.
It was not enough! Ahriman's premonition of death had not faded. Chanting a strange Warp incantation, he prepared to displace himself and his battle-brothers elsewhere.
Yet Haar's fist was faster than his psychic power. The long-prepared Shattered Hound unleashed an earth-shaking roar.