When Horus returned, his face was brimming with excitement.
"Oh... this feels good. It's as if the strength has returned to my body."
Then he murmured under his breath:
"My own body really is easier to use."
"Admiral, the enemy is making a new move," Brigadier Cage said.
Everyone instantly realized what the Drukhari were doing.
Two Drukhari warships flickered into existence out of the void, then raced to either side of the Righteous Protector with a speed far too agile for such massive vessels.
Braving the bombardment from the macro-cannons, they fired enormous chain-linked mauls that slammed into the Righteous Protector.
Then the two battleships glided forward.
The Righteous Protector was immediately dragged along by tremendous force, practically rolling over in the void. Its unarmed stern was hauled to the front, leaving the fully armed warship unable to fire on the Aeldari vessels traveling ahead of it.
"Admiral, they're towing us! Our guns can't hit them!" Brigadier Cage shouted.
Bona climbed up from the floor and dusted himself off.
"Unless something unexpected happens, our plan should have worked."
"Admiral Spire, I need you to repair the Guardian of Justice's propulsion system as soon as possible and be ready to pick us up once we send the signal."
"As you wish."
Bona assembled the Thunder Warriors company.
"This operation is simple."
"We have two objectives. One is to rescue an Astral Claws veteran. The other is to find an Aeldari named Yvraine."
Company Commander Dakan looked puzzled.
"Your Highness, why are we looking for an Aeldari?"
Yes, why were they looking for an Aeldari?
Bona did not want to discuss this blood-pressure-raising subject.
"No more questions. Follow your orders."
"Victory in every battle!"
As the Drukhari dragged the Righteous Protector toward the open Webway gate, Admiral Spire put up a little token resistance for their benefit.
This promptly earned him mockery from the Kabal's Archon.
"Stupid monkeys. You still don't understand what you've done," Dalk sneered.
"I'll show you what true pain is. I'll flay you alive, and then..."
Bona cut off the transmission.
He took the glass sphere in his hand and looked at Arlith.
"Lady Inquisitor, if we're in danger, I hope you can set convention aside and work with Teresa."
With a conflicted expression, Arlith looked at the beautiful Sister of Battle beside her.
For the Emperor, for the Emperor, for the Emperor.
"All right."
Bona then glanced at the others and boarded the Thunderhawk Transporter.
After passing through the Webway gate, they arrived directly in Commorragh.
As the saying went, Los Santos was a land of outstanding souls, and Gotham City was warm and welcoming.
Commorragh, then, was an oversized madhouse populated by lunatics, perverts, and psychopaths.
As a city within the Webway, it lacked the clearly defined horizontal and vertical layout of cities in the real world.
Like a heap of garbage floating in space, Commorragh was a haphazard pile of buildings governed by spatial rules that could only be described as chaotic.
You might step outside your door only to be burned to ash by a spacecraft's scorching exhaust.
After Slaanesh destroyed the Aeldari Empire in realspace, the survivors hiding within the Webway proclaimed themselves its rightful heirs.
Unlike the Craftworld Aeldari, who practiced the ascetic "Path," the Drukhari continued the Aeldari Empire's corrupt, decadent hedonism without the slightest fear of Slaanesh's threat.
Their souls were constantly being drained by Slaanesh, as though someone had stuck a straw into their heads. To avoid being sucked dry, they could only satisfy this deity with ever more "elaborate" arts of torture, making Slaanesh a little less eager to drain their souls completely.
Thus, Drukhari fleets constantly prowled every corner of the universe, capturing isolated unfortunates and taking them home to torture at leisure.
Their targets were not limited to the pitiful civilians of the Imperium of Man. They even included powerful beings such as Orks, Chaos forces, and Astartes, while their own kin, the Craftworld Aeldari, were frequent victims as well.
The reason was simple: these creatures loved leading their ascetic Craftworld kin into indulgence and depravity.
Commorragh itself was made up of gangs called "Kabals," which managed its affairs, great and small.
As soon as they entered Commorragh, they saw dozens of warships already waiting.
"Dalk, you always disappoint me so," came Mukhadas's mocking voice.
"Heh. You won't think so in a moment."
"Then shall I collect the cargo first?"
"Help yourself," Dalk said with a cold laugh.
He was looking forward to seeing the arrogant bastard's expression when he encountered that oversized human.
A Thunderhawk flew brazenly out of the Righteous Protector and headed straight for Commorragh. Its sheer audacity left even the two Kabal Archons stunned.
The fluctuations of psyker power emanating from it told them one thing.
The relic was inside.
"Nobody fucking fire! Whoever blows up that transport is going to the Haemonculi as a test subject tomorrow!"
At once, the anti-aircraft guns aboard every warship were shut down. The Raven and Voidraven fighters that had just closed in traced astonishing arcs as they turned and flew away.
Mukhadas's voice rang out again, dripping with mockery.
"Oh my, oh my. Sorry, Dalk. You can enjoy that shipload of spoils yourself. I have something more important to attend to."
The transmission was promptly cut off.
Dalk's expression darkened.
"Damn it. Forget that ship. We're going after them."
Under Admiral Spire's astonished gaze, the warships that had been eyeing them hungrily all turned away to pursue that tiny Thunderhawk.
Other Aeldari warships were approaching from the distance, however. They belonged to smaller Kabals, which were more than happy to take over this shipload of humans.
"All hands, prepare for battle," Admiral Spire ordered.
Meanwhile, aboard the Thunderhawk, Bona calmly inspected his chainsword.
He activated it, and its teeth began turning slowly with a faint roar.
How long had this thing been with me? I don't think I've ever refueled it with promethium. Why does it still work?
Suddenly, the cabin shuddered violently.
"Our right wing has been destroyed. We're making an emergency landing," came the pilot's voice over the intercom.
"Hey, scared yet?"
"I hear the arenas here have all sorts of weird things in them. None of them are easy to deal with," Horus said.
Bona glanced at him.
"Arenas? I've been somewhere similar."
"Oh? Where?"
"The Eight Arenas of the Blood God."
Before you continue