40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 431 157. Terra (twenty-eight)

Azek Ahriman did not believe in the so-called atonement.

Frankly speaking, he does not believe that a person's sin can be quantified, nor does he believe that sin can be eliminated in some way.

If he had time, he could study this topic in depth until he wrote a dense analysis covering more than a dozen parchment scrolls, or drive himself completely crazy. But he doesn't have the time or energy to do it now.

He has lost his former glory.

Azek Ahriman - traitor, liar, fool, disabled, blind. The man who sacrificed the legion with his own hands, the man who murdered his father with his own hands

So, why does he stand with these people?

Bjorn, a member of the wolf pack. Strong, savage, seemingly stupid but wise, just like all wild wolves, and their father. A stubborn person, the murderer who made him disabled, but also the person who protected him along the way.

Thor Tarvitz, the Emperor's Son. Elegant and deadly, handsome as a statue of marble, he stands out even among the Emperor's Children. But those were the impressions Ahriman had of him. Now, he could only hear the voice of Sol Tavitz.

In the dark world after blindness, Sol Tavitz's image has transformed into a man with blood on his face. His long hair is disheveled, and he is holding a sharp blade. When he slashes, he is no longer as graceful as before, and only roars more violently.

Sigismund, Captain of the Imperial Fists and one of Rogal Dorn's favorite heirs. He loves battle, is loyal to challenges, and is unrivaled in duels. Now, Ahriman has barely heard his voice.

Sigismund changed, became silent, became silent, and did not even make a sound during the battle. Only at the moment of falling down would he cry out in pain. Then he would stand up again.

The last thing is the thunder. Ahriman had not seen him in the past, but he had heard of the words 'for unity' from some books that should not be read.

Therefore, he vaguely understood Thunder's identity, but he could not construct a reasonable image for him in his mind. Thunder seemed to be just Thunder, a golden thunder that should have died but was standing here.

And still shouting for unity.

He is so open-minded that he cannot understand, or maybe it is just because he has seen everything. Just as he heard what Ahriman had done, but still only called him the blind with a sigh.

There was no insult, no contempt, just a light word of "blind man", as if he was looking for an explanation for his crimes and attributed those stupid actions to his disability.

But that's not the case.

the fact is.

"Magazine!" Bjorn growled.

Azek Ahriman tossed him the magazine and started loading the next one.

He knelt on the ground, his hands trembling. The explosives flowed like a stream of metal between his fingers, and blood was spread all over them. Bullets were pressed into the magazine one after another, but his trembling fingers felt terrible pain.

The repercussions of his disability still plagued him, even as an Astartes.

When had Ahriman experienced anything like this in the past? Reloading is the servitor's job, his job is killing, fighting and gathering knowledge. He should have walked gracefully among the corpses of his enemies, with the cold light of lightning remaining on his fingertips.

Get out of my head. Ahriman thought angrily, and then there was a curse word that came naturally, as if it was born to stay there.

You better not fucking come back.

He didn't say it out loud, but coughed out two muffled sounds in his throat in a breathless voice. That was all, and then there was a gnashing of teeth that pushed that thought out of his head.

He knelt on the ground and began loading the magazine with more concentration. Eleven magazines were scattered around him, whereas thirteen minutes before their total number had been twenty-six.

He didn't know how long the magazines and the shells he had picked up and removed from the chambers would last, but he hoped they would survive this wave of evil.

"magazine!"

Bjorn roared again, he could only speak when he was out of bullets. An empty magazine fell to the ground. Without looking up, Ahriman threw him a magazine that was already full of explosive bullets and continued to fumble among the bullets.

The hell they were in lacked everything except corpses. Thousands of corpses that came from nowhere were lying quietly in the darkness, with mutilated weapons or bolters that had not had time to empty their bullets lying with them, so everything fell into place.

"Back off!" someone suddenly shouted.

The gunfire stopped immediately, and Bjorn wordlessly lifted Ahriman from the ground and dragged him backwards. Qianzi didn't care about his rude behavior and just listened attentively.

He managed to hear Sol Tarvitz's voice, and the deafening roar of something.

"Stay here," Bjorn said, and let go.

Ahriman was shaking, and before he could stand still, a combat knife was stuffed into his hand. It was cold and sticky, and the smell of blood hit his face.

Bjorn just turned around and left, joining the fight. In fact, they all joined the fight.

except him.

Ahriman fell to his knees, gritting his teeth in shame and shame.

He couldn't stand for a long time, and the injury on his ankle could not heal. It was not known what kind of cruelty Bjorn had done, and his ankle could not even bear force for a long time.

Ahriman immersed his hands in the pool of blood, feeling the bloody coldness to divert his attention.

He listened to the battle in the distance, and the Astartes' special physiological structure allowed him to easily distinguish the current situation. Thunder and Sigismund were at the front, jointly attracting the behemoth's attention.

Sol Tarvitz pulled at the side, swinging his sword, Bjorn was still running, what was he going to do? Ahriman got his answer half a second later when he heard a roar that could only belong to a pack of wolves.

"For Ruth!"

Then there was a heavy muffled sound?

Something was knocked away, roaring in the air like a cannonball. Ahriman stood up unsteadily again and stumbled over. A pungent smell of blood hit his face, along with a series of weird grunts.

"Bjorn?"

The lone wolf answered with a fit of coughing.

"How are you?"

"Can't die," Bjorn said clearly. "Give me that knife."

Ahriman did as he was told and handed the knife to the lone wolf, who took it and ran past again. Ahriman did not stay where he was, but followed him.

He reached for his waist, where a book was waiting quietly. A book, at this point, turned out to be a book. Qianzi twitched the corners of his mouth unconsciously, feeling a sense of madness and absurdity.

Humanity emerged from Terra and under the leadership of the Emperor attempted to conquer the entire galaxy. How long did the Great Crusade take? How long did it take the Emperor to get humanity to leave Terra before the Great Crusade?

But now everything returns to the starting point, the galaxy is burning, Terra is burning, and humans are fighting on their home planet, facing their ultimate enemy together.

Facing chaos.

Face those monsters in the vast ocean.

The vast ocean - Ahriman's thoughts gradually faded away. He was still walking, but he was no longer here.

He recited this word, the vast ocean

This is really a wonderful title, so wonderful that it makes people forget everything. Knowledge is the ocean, and it is the ocean. However, the ocean is dangerous.

In the ancient Terra era, in order to open up the ocean, people would choose to worship gods, sacrifices, superstition and many taboos. However, the Ancient Terrans never truly conquered the ocean, not even for a moment.

Just like the Thousand Sons, they also used sacrifices and set up many taboos at all costs. Everything is just to go deep into the vast ocean and explore its mysteries.

They feel arrogantly that they are a special group of people in which they can take whatever they need without having to pay anything.

But how many of the proud men of heaven have explored that ocean throughout the ages? Across the galaxy, psykers are by no means a rare talent. How many people had gone deep into that ocean before them, and how many people were lost forever in it?

Ahriman returns to the real world.

He heard the thunder roaring, still the same four words, still for unity. He almost laughed - God, why aren't you tired? Why do you keep shouting this outdated slogan?

Then he heard Sol Tarvitz's voice, firm, stubborn, and almost like Sigismund speaking.

"Hold your ground!" shouted the Emperor's Son, who sounded like an Imperial Fist, but the real Imperial Fist said nothing and only waved his sword. Quickly and swiftly, the sword blade cut into a certain monster's body like a storm.

The thing roared, and a whirring sound filled the air with its anger. Then, at this moment, Ahriman saw it.

He has lost his eye, but he still sees.

He saw a twisted face covered with long, hard black hair, and a split jaw. He saw the flesh and blood remaining in the gaps between its sharp teeth, and the eyes above its forehead, covered in human skin. Those eyes were densely packed with blood, guts, and rotting teeth.

Those eyes were fixed on him.

Ahriman instinctively rubbed his fingers, and a spell was about to come out. His anti-psychic collar disappeared long ago when he fell, and interestingly, until now, he has never used a single spell again.

Human beings can be trained to be servile, and some prisoners will follow their daily routine and habits after being released from prison, but Ahriman is not like this. He doesn't use psychic powers not because he's been tamed, but because he's afraid.

There were a few times when he tried to use spells - and then he thought about the consequences, and fear set in.

'What price would you pay for your Primarch and your Legion? ’

"Everything," Ahriman murmured. "I'm willing to give everything."

He lowered his head and tremblingly touched a book tied to his waist with his left hand.

It had been immersed in the river of blood countless times because of Ahriman's kneeling posture, but it had never been stained with any blood. Its surface is still rough, and the cruel marks left by those cuts and axes are too obvious even for a blind man.

Ahriman ran his fingers over the wounds and heard another roar.

"For Ruth!"

Then there was some weird sound of a blade entering the body, which was very obvious and unforgettable because, just after the muffled sound, something struggled violently, and there were continuous dull explosions.

"You reckless bastard!" Saul Tarvitz cursed. "Next time you do this, I'll skin you off!"

"Invite a night blade! Their craftsmanship puts us to shame!" Bjorn howled happily.

Ahriman heard him laughing, and he wanted to say something, but he didn't have time, because someone pulled him away again. Judging from the calm breathing, the person who did this should be Sigismund.

Then there was the sound of more running, and everyone was running, but Ahriman had no idea why. He gritted his teeth, endured the severe pain in his ankle, and reluctantly found a little balance in Sigismund's drag.

After more than ten seconds, they stopped, but Lei Lei suddenly burst into laughter.

"How interesting!" he said with a smile. "The weak point of that thing is actually on the top of its head!"

"The weak point of everything is at the top of the head," Sigismund said hoarsely. "Beheading or stabbing through the heart, there's always a way to kill them."

"So—" Ahriman began, coughing. "——You won?"

"It's us," Sol Tarvitz corrected. "Yes, we won, but that's not the point, because the stink of chaos has not left. They will come back, it's just a matter of time."

"Their numbers are getting smaller," Sigismund said. "This is not normal, but, considering the changes in the terrain of the Fortress, I think this abnormality is acceptable. They and we are both on Terra, so if Terra and we accept this change, Then they have to accept it.”

"What do you want to say?" Bjorn asked without interest.

"I think they should no longer be able to act the way they did in the past."

Sigismund considered his words and spoke slowly.

"They have to find the entrance to the Star Torch, they have to find a way to enter the Star Torch, and we are some kind of beacon. They have to find us first."

If Ahriman could still see, he would have seen at that moment the confusion on Bjorn's face, the silent sigh of Sol Tarvitz, and the calm on Thunder's face.

Bjorn and he failed to understand what Sigismund's words meant, but the other two could. They knew this very well, but they did not choose to expose it until now. Sigismund shattered the lies and brought the truth to everyone

They looked at each other in silence. They should have said something more, but another voice had already sounded in the darkness.

They grabbed their weapons and prepared to fight. Only Ahriman knelt in a pool of blood, silently clutching the book.

4k for this chapter, probably more, hopefully I can write another chapter.

There was something there yesterday, but I didn’t write it down ()