40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 335 55. Bathing in Fire (1, 6k)

Loken was blown away by a gust of wind, and the scene in front of him rolled away, as disorderly and chaotic as the scene in a sandstorm.

The stairs leading to an armament room spun past him, followed closely by two training fighter servitors. They had long been damaged, and their limbs were twisted and rolled to the back.

The portholes reflecting the Milky Way were quickly torn apart into crazy surrealist paintings at both ends of the field of view. Two screaming civilians in the center of the picture covered their bloody faces and stared at him as he flew out.

In a daze, he seemed to be in a huge whirlpool, followed closely by pain that seemed to displace his internal organs and bones. Lorcan had to admit that he was grateful for the pain.

He climbed up from the ground with difficulty and found himself in a dark corridor with no portholes and the ground was as dark as dust. At the same time, the environmental readings in the upper right corner of the eyepiece began to report errors crazily.

He stood up, his breathing sounding no different from sighing. At this moment, Akudona, the Emperor's Son, suddenly ran past him. The surface of the armor was covered with blood, and one of the helmet's eyepieces had been cracked, and the eye exposed underneath was full of rage.

"Akudona!" Loken called him immediately. "stop!"

The emperor turned around, saw him, and instinctively raised the bone-eviscerating saber in his hand. After a few seconds, he lowered his hands as if he had come to his senses.

Loken knew he recognized him.

"Where are we?" Akudona asked in a tired voice. "How long has it been since we last met?"

"I don't know." Loken told him honestly. "But this is the fourth time I've been thrown back."

"This damn ship" Akudona was visibly relieved and couldn't help but curse. "Have you ever lived on a ship like this?"

Loken gave a bitter smile and did not answer - Terra, of course not.

The Spirit of Vengeance used to be their pride, not what it is now. The whole place is dark, chaotic and disorderly. Loken even vaguely felt that it was not just the Spirit of Vengeance that had been changed, but they had also been changed, but they hadn't realized it yet.

He and Acudona stood together in tacit understanding and began to inspect each other's armor's surface condition and exchange intelligence.

The Emperor's Children took off his helmet, cursing the storm that had caused them to lose contact with each other. His wet forehead was covered with sweat, and a scar was carved diagonally on the surface of his forehead. The blood scab looked quite ferocious.

Loken understood his anger. That storm was indeed unusual. It was not normal at all. What kind of storm could blow so violently in the corridors inside a ship?

They were carried away by the strong wind, and even activating the magnetic device at the bottom of the steel boots was useless. The wind blew them away together with the piece of metal under their feet. It would be fine if it was just like this, but the wind blew them into nightmares one after another.

A complete nightmare.

Loken had given up calculating time. The confusion in the readings made it impossible for him to do so. Communication between them and the emperor's sons has also become difficult, and they can almost only meet each other by luck when walking through nightmares.

He was thinking, trying to sort out the chaos and find a feasible plan, but at this moment he heard Acudona throw the helmet far away. Looking up, he saw the latter staring at the darkness at the far end of the corridor with frowning eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" Loken asked. Of course, he would not simply interpret Acudona's behavior as venting his anger.

"There is something there, Loken," the Emperor's Son said. "I just saw a shadow flash by."

Loken raised his sword quickly. He would have raised his gun if he could, but his bolter was empty.

All the six standard magazines have been used. This old friend who has been following him for many years and has maintained it well can only hang quietly on his armed belt, like a veteran who understands that he is no longer of use. Silence.

Akudona sheathed the saber in his left hand, holding the saber in both hands, and assumed a cautious defensive and blocking posture. He and Loken carefully began to advance forward, one on the left and one on the right.

The corridor was quiet and dim, the lights overhead were permanently bright but had almost no effect. The darkness enveloped the light like a mist, turning it to an intensity that was both useless and rather irritating.

However, compared to that kind of silence, this light has become an acceptable thing. Loken could almost only hear his breathing and heartbeat, and his footsteps were so light that they seemed not to exist at all.

He couldn't even hear any sound from Akudona. If he couldn't see it, he would even think that Akudona had disappeared long ago. The looks the latter cast from time to time made him understand that Akudona was probably in the same situation as him.

What's even worse is that even though they have been walking for a long time, the helmet Akudona threw is still missing.

Loken had to admit that he was a little annoyed by the situation.

He has experienced many nightmares, such as fighting with a giant multi-legged spider monster, or being thrown into the pit of a weird arena to fight with two ferocious alien beasts. Once, he was even thrown into a certain In a bloody cold weapon war.

The soldiers on both sides were mortals, but they were extremely fanatical and had no respect for the steel giant who suddenly appeared. They even rushed up and tried to kill him with crude weapons.

He walked out of these nightmares again and again, trying to pass through the storm and return to the reality he was familiar with, but he kept being driven back. It was as if there was a huge invisible hand that would throw him back when he reached the border here.

However, no matter how absurd those nightmares are, there is at least something in them that he can kill. Those monsters or soldiers have entities, and their blood will leave traces on his sword. But here is different, there is almost nothing here

Loken stopped.

He's had enough.

Akudona glanced out of the corner of his eye. Loken made two tactical gestures to him, and the emperor quickly moved behind him. They clung to each other's backs, ready to start walking back.

Akudona took one step forward, and Loken's eyes lit up with a dazzling light that could blind people. He roared instinctively, and there was a sound like breaking glass immediately from all around, and a burst of thin and complicated footsteps sounded from above their heads.

Loken closed his eyes and squatted down immediately. But it was still a moment late. He heard a sound of metal shattering, and then a huge force caused his head to deflect and roll to the side.

He opened his eyes slightly, and in his blurry vision he saw his helmet flying in a broken state in the air. Then came Akudona, roaring and waving his saber. He blinked and heard the sound of flesh being cut and the sound of heavy objects falling.

The darkness dissipated, and a huge corpse slowly emerged. It looked like a silver ant, with no bristles visible on its body, and its jaws were thick and sharp, shining coldly.

Akudona's bone-removing saber penetrated deeply into its head, but the Emperor's Son was not where he was, but half-kneeling on the ground a few meters away.

He breathed heavily and looked towards Loken.

After a few minutes, they regrouped and began to move deeper into the corridor. At this moment, the darkness that covered the light has disappeared. Akudona also picked up his helmet, and they all tacitly agreed not to mention the ant.

Neither he nor Loken wanted to figure out how the monster trapped them in the darkness.

They continued to advance, and the corridor did not let them down this time, finally showing a bit of 'normality' that was in line with their past perceptions. When they reached the end, they saw a shining door.

This door looks extremely rough, with unpolished armor fragments, broken swords, blunt axes and other weapons forming the surface of the door. A dull red was painted on the edge of the door, which combined with the gray color of the weapons made it look extremely ominous.

Lorcan stared at it and said, "I've never seen this door in any of the corridors on Deck Eight before."

"I also believe you won't build a door of this style." Acudona actually shrugged. "You should prefer the embossed door with ivory, gems, gold and silver, and preferably a few rubies."

Loken couldn't help but laugh. Although Akudona's tone was harsh, it accurately hit the facts, and he never argued. Turning his head, he and the Emperor's Son looked at each other, and both saw the determination in the other's eyes.

"Are you ready?" Akudona asked.

"To be honest, cousin, I've had no connection with the word ready since many days ago." Loken told him.

They put their hands on the door and pushed it. In an instant, a chill that I don't know how to describe rises from the depths of my spine. It's like cold metal claws that penetrate deeply into your flesh and blood and cut open your body. It's so chilling.

Akudona couldn't help but let out a scream. When he came to his senses again, he was no longer on the Vengeful Spirit - he didn't know how he knew this, but the concept seemed like The thought of rescuing Fulgrim was deeply rooted in his heart.

Moreover, Loken is also missing.

He began to carefully observe the surrounding environment. It looked like a desert, extremely barren, with almost no plants visible. The ground was pale and covered with thick white ash. The sky was a dim blood-red color, as if burning with flames.

"Akudona." A voice sounded from behind him.

Akudona turned around suddenly, raising his saber high, and was about to swing it out, but stopped. He was stunned. He recognized who this person was - the iconic skeleton armor and skull face were so conspicuous that no one could fail to recognize him.

"You finally did it," said Khalil Lohars.

"Why are you here?"

"I have to be there," Khalil said. "If I don't come, Fulgrim's light of life will be completely extinguished here."

Acudona was shocked, not just by Khalil's words, but by his attitude and all of it.

The Emperor's Son took several deep breaths, and he managed to calm down. He wanted to continue asking questions, but Kalil did not give him this chance. The skeletal man raised his left hand and put it on his shoulder.

The skull's eye sockets lit up with dark flames, extremely ominous. Acudona was forced to lose his ability to think. He stared blankly at the two flames, but Tacitus's voice came to his ears.

He couldn't understand it for the moment, but this voice and all the words that came after it were deeply engraved in his heart.

"It's time, my lord."

"You will be destroyed in body and soul."

"Akudona shouldn't have to pay the price for this. We just came. We are the dead."

"He's not going to have it easy."

"He must suffer a little, right?" Tacitus asked, with a hint of laughter in his voice. "We can't just let us do everything just right. He took down our names."

"I see."

The fire flashed away, and Akudona's thinking ability suddenly returned. His eyes turned red in an instant, and when he turned around, he only saw burning illusory shadows one after another. At the same time, his left hand began to feel a sharp pain.

"This is not the end, Son of the Phoenix," Khalil Lohars declared lowly at his side. "This is just the beginning, hatred is a spiral, your brothers have joined in, but not you."

The flames ignited, the wind blew, and the pale ashes were blown together at this moment. A huge pale door slowly took shape and stood in front of them. Behind it was a sea of ​​blood. The sky was shining with purple light, tempting and ambiguous.

Suddenly, Akudona understood what he was going to do. He turned his head and looked at Khalil. He was about to say something, but suddenly he felt a sense of disharmony - he stared at the latter's mask and felt a sense of emptiness.

"Go ahead." Khalil nodded gently to him.

——

Fulgrim backed away slowly, holding a head with its entire spine pulled out in his hand. The ugly head did not die immediately, but was still screaming. The unrestrained screams lingered in Phoenix's ears, but he was completely unmoved.

He let go and dropped it, letting it fall into the sea. Eidolon laughed not far away, and his right hand had disappeared, which was one of the results of Fulgrim's victory.

At this moment, he didn't have many enemies to face - if he didn't take into account that they would continue to stand up from the sea in the future, Phoenix could even say that he had won.

The seventy-fourth victory.

"Come." Fulgrim told them in a gentle tone. "I will keep killing you until you can no longer show up."

"And we will always enjoy it, father." Eidolon looked at him lustfully. "You don't understand how happy this is. I dare to say that no one in the entire galaxy will be happier than us at this moment. Listen to the sea breeze, father, do you hear it?"

Eidolon chuckled, pretending to be listening. He loudly praised the sea breeze, or in other words, the god represented by the sea breeze.

Fulgrim looked at him, put his wet and bloody hands into the sea water, and began to wash them.

The sparkling water surface showed a different scene at this moment, and a picture was revealed on it. That was Eidolon, to be precise, Eidolon's head.

His bloody head was being passed around at a banquet by the Emperor's Children, who would try to squeeze the blood from the long-dead head, dripping it onto dishes or goblets.

Eidolon's eyes were empty, always staring at a handsome giant at the head of the banquet. The latter is covered in almost completely transparent gauze, with highly suggestive gold rings on her neck and limbs.

His fair cheeks were painted a brighter red than rouge, and his lips were like roses. In his wild life, countless people toasted him, and those who were handsome or able to make him smile would be rewarded with some very close rewards.

Fulgrim closed his eyes and broke the water with his hand.

"You can't avoid it, father." Eidolon's voice sounded again from not far away. "This is you, this is the truth. This is what you will become. What you are running away from and fighting against now is your own self. How can a person go against his nature?"

"Aren't you tired?" Fulgrim asked with his eyes closed. "How many times have you done something like this and how many times have I denied it? Admit it, you can't fool me and you can never make me give in."

"I will keep trying until I succeed." Eidolon looked at him with admiration but greed. "We have a lot of time to do this. Father, how long can you hold on?"

Fulgrim opened his eyes.

"I'm not talking to you," he said, and began to charge towards Eidolon. A few minutes later, he killed all the remaining enemies. He was covered in blood and his white hair had almost turned into bright red.

He stood there and began to wait silently. Sure enough, after only a few seconds, Eidolon and his brothers stood up from the sea again.

The seventy-fifth victory. Fulgrim silently updated the count.

He would keep winning if necessary. And, it’s time to try new tactics.

"First of all, fake." Fulgrim looked at the new Eidolon indifferently. "There is no god in this world."

"Whatever you say, father." Eidolon chuckled and gave the order to attack. They rushed towards the Phoenix, and increasingly disgusting scenes began to unfold one after another.

They broke through their own bottom line over and over again, and Fulgrim knew in his heart that this was by no means the end. He stepped past two men who gave up attacking him and began to grapple with each other and began to eat each other.

He started walking in the boundless sea of ​​blood like a leisurely stroll, and Eidolon finally showed some surprise on his face. For the first time, Fulgrim did not attack them.

He frowned and urged the attack. Finally, after a series of failed attacks that fell to his knees in front of the Phoenix, a man raised his sword. His blade came just short of touching Fulgrim's neck, but the primarch himself made no move to block or dodge.

He didn't even look at the other person directly. There was only one emotion in those eyes and face.

disregard.

Complete disregard.

Fulgrim reached out and pushed the man down. He fell to the ground and watched blankly as Phoenix walked away. Eidolon looked at him incomprehensibly, stunned, confused, but furious.

"You can't do this!" he roared like a child. "This is an important battle where your life is at stake. Keep your attitude straight, Fulgrim!"

"Do you think you are worthy?"

"you--"

Eidolon uttered a single syllable, and his face turned red little by little. It was not easy to find this kind of color on his face, which was as ugly as wrinkled dog skin. Looking at Fulgrim walking towards him, he stuttered out a few words, looking ridiculous and pitiful.

Yes, being despised by Fulgrim would also bring pleasure, but it was not enough, far from enough. Compared to what they had experienced, this was nothing at all.

Being killed by his father with great anger, where else can such bliss be found in the world?

At this moment, not only did he fall into stasis, lost in thought like a puppet, but even those who were doing their thing stopped.

The waves are pushing gently, the sea breeze is gentle, and there is a faint thunder in the clouds in the sky. A pink-purple dark cloud turned into eyes and began to look directly at the sea.

"Do you know what I will do to you, fake?" Fulgrim asked as he walked away.

"Kill me? Yes, yes, kill me, father, kill me!" Eidolon nodded repeatedly, and a sense of hope arose in his heart.

Fulgrim shook his head. He kept moving forward, and the water that had almost submerged his entire chest actually retreated to his waist. The flawless body of the original body was revealed in front of Eidolon, and the part that was not revealed was also faintly visible in the sea water.

Eidolon's breathing became rapid, and he closed his eyes, preparing to welcome the bliss - he didn't even intend to resist, but Fulgrim pushed him away gently.

He started walking again, just like before.

"No—!" Eidolon suddenly screamed, his voice broken, and his form disintegrated. A certain essence unique to this artifact began to stir in the sea water. The storm came down again, but Eidolon and his brothers were nowhere to be seen.

Fulgrim did not look back and continued walking. He heard pleas, screams, and weeping. Hearing countless people he knew tell him about their past memories, every banquet, the honors of the Great Crusade, the experiences he had taught them in swordsmanship.

The voices of a thousand or ten thousand people combined together to form an overlapping that should not occur. It echoed in Fulgrim's ears, and its huge body followed, churning up the water and making the waves grow ever more violent.

Fulgrim turned a deaf ear and even wanted to laugh. The monster sobbed, and all the sounds disappeared at this moment, leaving only the voice of Ferrus Manus.

"Brother," he called. "Turn back, brother. I'm right here, you just need to turn back, and we can fight side by side again."

Fulgrim lowered his head and fell silent. Gorgon began to talk about their past sincerely, every meeting, every laugh, every long conversation all night long. It was lifelike and without any falsehood. So beautiful, what else can compare with it?

"Come back to me, brother," the man said. "I love you."

Fulgrim turned slowly and saw a delighted Ferrus Manus. The latter looked at him expectantly and slowly opened his hands, as if to give a hug.

But Fulgrim did not speak, but shook his head gently, and the smile froze on his face.

"Do you know what the real Ferrus Manus would say to me in this situation?" asked the Phoenix of Chemos.

He smiled.

"He wouldn't say anything. He would just throw me a hammer and a suit of armor." He winked at the monster.

The latter's body immediately collapsed and returned to its proper ugly appearance in an instant. Countless howling faces emerged above the dissolved tendons and bones. It was huge enough to cover the sky and the sun, and so ugly that it was impossible to look directly at it. However, Fulgrim clenched his fists and walked towards it.

"The seventy-fifth victory." He said to himself. "It's time to get the seventy-sixth."

Behind him, a door made of bones slowly rose.

besides.