"Go!"
In the blink of an eye, Vect's airship sped away at incredible speed, and his trusted followers swiftly vanished as well.
All that remained were the Drukhari who had come to watch the spectacle.
The Drukhari spectators: ???
They instantly turned and ran too, but the Slaanesh Daemon Host was already charging up behind them.
A Keeper of Secrets near Bona bent down and offered what it clearly considered a charming smile.
"Thank you for your generosity, young master. We've been hungry for so long."
"Go on, have fun killing. Better still if you can butcher that fellow who just left in the fancy airship."
"Of course."
The Keeper of Secrets turned its gaze toward Yvraine and Visarch, and the latter instantly felt as though his heart had been squeezed tight.
"Are these two... your friends?"
Bona looked at them, and Visarch immediately felt as though half his body had already come face-to-face with Slaanesh.
"Yes, they're my friends."
"Oh, all right. I'll leave you to it."
The Keeper of Secrets immediately strode off, unable to wait any longer, and joined the revelry.
Come on, everyone! Dinner's served!
Every Slaaneshi Daemon pursued the Drukhari with reckless abandon, striving to capture as many souls as possible before their bodies dissipated and returned to the Warp.
Bona glanced at the two of them.
"Let's go."
The three walked through the streets of Commorragh as though out for a stroll.
Yet Commorragh, already sinister and dark at the best of times, had now become a living hell for the Drukhari.
Hordes of Slaaneshi Beasts raced everywhere, slaughtering fleeing Drukhari at will, while the towering Keepers of Secrets preferred to hunt the Archons of the Kabals.
The streets were littered with wrecked vehicles and spilled blood, and fires of unknown origin blazed in every corner of Commorragh.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Yvraine and her two companions.
The entire Slaanesh Daemon Host ignored them completely, as though blind.
Commorragh might pay a horrific price this time. Although its upper ranks would surely escape the disaster, vast numbers of low-ranking Drukhari would inevitably become the Slaanesh Daemon Host's offerings to Slaanesh.
Visarch remained silent for a long time before speaking.
"Human, thank you for your magnanimity. From this day on, I, Visarch, owe you my life."
Bona did not even look at him.
"You owe me nothing. I only spared your life out of consideration for Yvraine's feelings."
Visarch was confused, and Yvraine was even more so.
"Um... who are you?"
"An utterly insignificant component in the vast, rotten machine that is the Imperium of Man."
Neither of them believed him, of course.
Someone who possessed enough psyker power to tear open a Warp Rift without being destroyed by that immense power was a figure of mythical proportions even to the Aeldari.
More importantly, he could summon an entire Slaanesh Daemon Host to slaughter people, and those pleasure-crazed lunatics actually obeyed him.
Would someone like that really meekly follow another person's orders?
"Um... may I ask something? Who is Roboute Guilliman? Why does he want to save me?"
Here's my chance.
Bona looked around nonchalantly, as though trying to find the way.
"My lord said you are the most beautiful being in the entire galaxy. If he cannot share a glass of wine with Yvraine, whose talents equal her beauty, he will regret it for the rest of his life."
Yvraine's face flushed despite herself, while Visarch clenched his fists.
Visarch spoke cautiously.
"But your lord is human. Why would he want to meet... an Aeldari?"
"Precisely because Yvraine's charm transcends the divide between our races, my lord ordered me to come here."
At that, Yvraine blushed even more deeply.
Meanwhile, Visarch was grinding his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
Bona looked at the Lunar-class Cruiser slowly approaching in the distance.
"We're here."
Several Thunderhawks flew down and landed.
The hatch opened, revealing a bald man and a group of naval soldiers standing guard with their guns.
Horus looked delighted.
"What a commotion. I love watching these bean... Drukhari being hunted down like dogs."
His gaze lingered on Yvraine before shifting away.
"Get aboard. We're leaving right now."
Suddenly, the sound of bolts firing came from nearby, along with the distinctive clatter of power armour at a run.
Bona looked over and saw seven or eight Astartes in blood-red power armour sprinting toward them.
The Imperial Aquila gleamed prominently on their chests.
These Astartes had finally broken free of the fighting between the Drukhari and the Slaanesh Daemon Host and reached them.
"Emperor above, I never imagined an Imperial Navy warship would appear here."
He immediately spotted Bona in his white robes. His instincts told him that this was most likely the person with the greatest authority here.
"We are the Eighth Company of the Blood Angels Chapter. I am Captain Annoth, and we need your help to leave this place."
"Of course, noble warriors. Please board at once."
"Thank you very much."
Captain Annoth felt something blocking his view. He raised his head and saw...
Horus.
Captain Annoth froze.
He blinked, confirming what stood before his eyes.
He removed his helmet, an expression of relief appearing on his face, then handed it to the battle-brother behind him.
"I won't be going back. Chaplain Norfolk, please take this back to Baal for me."
"Captain, I think I've fallen to the black rage too."
"So have I."
One after another, the battle-brothers declared that they had seen Horus. Even Norfolk, the chaplain accompanying them, said the same.
Captain Annoth was dumbfounded.
The entire company has fallen to the black rage? We're all going to become machines of endless slaughter?
Just as Captain Annoth's mental CPU was about to burn out, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
Horus struck first, knocking all the Blood Angels unconscious in a surprise attack.
Then, as though tossing buckets, he threw the blood-red tin cans into the Thunderhawk one by one.
"All right, never mind the details. Let's go."
Once Admiral Spire confirmed that the Thunderhawks had returned, he gave the order.
"Begin turning. We're leaving."
"Yes, Admiral."
The Imperial warship began turning around, preparing to depart.
But its void shields flared as the Drukhari's distinctive phantom lances struck from behind. In the distance, several cruisers could be seen charging toward them, with a battleship farther away that had just powered up.
It seemed Vect was very unwilling to let them leave.
"Get me the Engine Clan and the Docosen Tech-Priest. Ahead full. Shake off these enemies."
"Yes, Admiral."
The exhaust blazed with dazzling light as the plasma engines ran at full power, sending the entire warship surging forward at top speed.
But compared with the agile Aeldari warships, it was still too slow.
Just as the Righteous Protector was about to enter the approaching battleship's firing range, a different voice came over the vox system.
"I told ya this cogboy was no good."
"Let me show ya what Gagags Ironclaw invented."
"I'm gonna press this super-fast, super-powerful, super-WAAAGH big WAAAGH button."
At the same time, the distinctive cursing of an Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest could also be heard.
Just as Admiral Spire was about to ask what was happening over there, he suddenly felt himself being slammed back into his seat.
"WAAAGHHHHHHH!-"
The Drukhari behind them watched as the previously unremarkable Lunar-class Cruiser's engines suddenly erupted with intense light and outrageously conspicuous clouds of billowing black smoke, sending it shooting away like a skyrocket.
Before you continue