40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 506 24. The idol is broken and the dead are resurrected (9)

"Nothing will come of this," Sams said.

A strong wind came, and the sky was as red as blood. The clouds are as black as obsidian. There is no rain, the air is not moist, they gather together just to bring down storms and lightning.

The ground was burning, and everywhere in sight were ruins billowing with smoke. The mountains of corpses and seas of blood were all shrouded in flames. Samus twisted his head, retracted his sight, and turned his gaze back to the face of the only enemy it recognized. .

The ferocious bone surface had turned black, and the forceful entry into the atmosphere from outer space had obviously caused some trouble for it. Since we exist in the material world, we must abide by the rules here.

The dark blood light flashed from the deep eye sockets. The monster said nothing, but the pair of dark wings behind it began to flap faster and faster.

The devil finally couldn't help it and laughed again.

"The burial place of millions of souls! Such a suitable final battlefield. Hey, Shen, how long until we land?"

There was no answer to its question, only the increasingly icy wind. A bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the dark clouds, lighting up the sky, followed by thunder. It didn't hit Samus as a shield, or the monster crash-landing on the ground, but it was a start.

After it, a series of lightning struck down one after another, as powerful as the anger of the gods.

The monster changed its strategy and began to spin and circle to avoid the lightning attack. When faced with those that it really couldn't avoid, it raised the Samus in its hand and used the still huge demon as a shield.

Samus just laughed wildly at this, as if he didn't care about it. It withstood more than a dozen lightning bolts in a row, and its body, which was already charred and molten due to the friction between the flames and the atmosphere, looked even more miserable now.

Everything like muscles and bones disappeared, the lower jaw hung precariously on the beast's head, and the hard hair on the temples had already melted, turning into a sludge-like thing that seeped into its flesh and blood.

But this was not the end, the monster even threw Samus out when it was about to reach the ground. The demon tore up the air like a flesh-and-blood missile and crashed miserably into a ruined wall.

Amid the pain and roar, before it had time to recover its energy, two pitch-black spears fell from the sky, instantly pierced its body, and then turned into chains of flames, binding it to the ground.

Seeing this, Erebus put down his arm helplessly. The clouds dissipated, the thunder disappeared, and the sky returned to blood red. However, a meteor fell from the sky and landed heavily in front of the chapel, causing the ground to crack, as if a natural disaster was coming.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, the darkness shouted in unison, and the demons and monsters chanted a name in a flurry of words. It was only a single syllable, but they said it one by one in a completely different tone.

Some are indifferent, some are reverent, some are angry, and some are even full of carnal desire.

And none of this had anything to do with Erebus. The Dark Apostle ignored them and just cautiously pinched his fingers in the wide sleeves of his robe.

At this moment, the smoke and dust were suddenly suffocated, and two points of furious scarlet flashed away in it. A jet of black light shattered the smoke and dust, carrying the contradictory high temperature and coldness and rushed straight towards Erebus and the Great Unclean One who were standing in front of the chapel door.

The latter didn't even realize what was happening at the moment. But it didn't need to understand, because the attacker didn't have the slightest interest in it.

A dark bloody light bloomed quietly, its color was dim and deep red, like an old wound that had been scabbed for ten thousand years but had never really healed.

It was only at this moment that the slow Dolor reacted and took a step back in fear - its behavior caused it to trip over the collapsed door of the church, and its fat and white body just rolled into the church.

At this moment, the emperor's statues all began to shine, as if a sun was rising from inside the church.

Erebus felt the terrifying heat rising from his back. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle and looked at the monster that attacked him through an illusory ripple.

The sharp sword in the latter's hand had even scratched his face, but it could not be saved at all. It was firmly stuck in the air by a golden ripple.

"It's really scary."

Amid the screams and melting sounds of the Great Unclean One, Erebus nodded to the monster without changing his expression and greeted him.

"Hello, Master Shen." The Dark Apostle said politely. "Long time no see, I thought you could hold on longer."

The monster opened its mouth slightly, and the sharp teeth that were tightly stuck together revealed an irregular slit, and black smoke escaped from it.

Erebus's expression suddenly changed, and he raised his hands without hesitation, turning the golden light into a shock wave-like technique, trying to repel the monster.

He succeeded, but also failed. Under the influence of this spell, the circular square turned into a huge pit that seemed to have been bombarded by missiles. The masonry turns into powder and floats in the air. The fragments of the human body were mixed together with the demon's etheric flesh without any grudge, rolling in the mud and turning into an abstract splash-ink painting.

Although the damage was so huge, the target he really wanted to hit was not hit at all.

At this moment, it was flying in the sky, looking down at Erebus coldly, holding in its arms an Astartes who was being tortured back and forth in hallucinations.

"That magic will destroy his mind!" Erebus shouted with a smile as he stood on the edge of the undamaged church. "How about we each take a step back, Master Shen? I'll unlock the spell for you, and you let me go?"

Countless laughs came from the darkness, applauding Erebus's provocations and insults, and only a few of them snorted with disdain and disdain.

The Dark Apostle has a clear view of these things and does not make any reaction, at least for the time being.

He put down his hands, deceptively exposing both hands outside his sleeves, as if he was going to cast the next chaotic magic from subspace in front of Shen.

At the same time, his shadow silently clung to his back. Just wait for an opportunity and it will become something else.

The monster in the sky looked at him indifferently, as if he had seen through everything, and shook his head coldly. Black smoke rose from both ends of its wings, and the angry flames slowly spread from its feet, silently surrounding the entire church.

Flames rose up, and under their cold gaze, Erebus finally suppressed his smile and shook his head with a hint of regret.

He turned back, glanced at the Great Unclean One who had returned to the highest heaven, and the emperor statues that had completely turned into powder. Without hesitation, he moved his left leg and stepped back into the church.

The light reflected from the broken stained glass window fell on his priest's robes, and the smile on Erebus's face, which was engraved with scriptures, became holy and pious.

He smiled, opened his arms, and shouted to the monster in the sky again as if he was enjoying himself.

"The fragment is in this church, am I right, Shen?"

The monster didn't answer, but slowly landed.

It stopped in front of the deep pit, looking away from Erebus. The Astartes in its arms was still suffering from horrific hallucinations, its mind frayed by meaningless amounts of time.

In just such a moment, his mind had completely sunk. What the Dark Apostle said is true, the illusion will soon completely destroy him

And the monster kills him before that happens.

The flames penetrated deep into his chest, destroying life but also ending torture.

Raging flames have never had anything to do with salvation. It has no way to help the monster break the terrifying evil spell that is tormenting Iharal. The power of killing has always been used only for killing. This is its inherent limitation and a shackles brought about by excessive power.

The monster lowered his head and happened to see Iharal's eyes. He was dying and would soon return his soul somewhere, but before that, he seemed to recognize Shen

Then, with difficulty, he showed a very ugly smile.

The monster raised its head, raised its hand, threw Iharal's body into the pit, and began to take steps.

Non-existent flames surged out from its armor, filling the deep pit in an instant and turning it into a large piece of pitch-black stone.

Then the ground began to tremble and rumble, and a stone tablet rose quietly from the stones that filled the pit. On it were written many names and a word written in Nostramo.

revenge.

The monster raised its wings, the angry flames burned, turned into a stream of light and dissipated, but merged into one, turning into a dull sword, which was held in the monster's hand.

That sword was once named Never Look Back. It was a finely crafted power sword, a master's work, with excellent balance and power. But now, its balance has dissipated without a trace.

The sword became wider, with twisted characters resting on it. The guard was as ferocious as the horns on the monster's head, and a skeleton opened its mouth and roared in the center of the sword grid.

The monster slowly lifted it up and the flames ignited.

Erebus frowned, turned his head, and glanced at the closed wooden door. When he turned his head back, the ridiculous pretense that had always been on him disappeared. All that was left was a calm thoughtfulness.

"Sure enough, the night before the work is about to be completed is the most difficult," the Dark Apostle said. "But have you ever thought about one thing, Shen? Am I really here for this fragment?"

Only this time, Shen's spirit answered his question in the monster's body.

"I don't care." Shen said. "I just want you to die."

Erebus nodded, moved his fingers, and blew the illusory whistle with his spiritual power. His shadow suddenly jumped out from behind at this moment, and the monster slashed at it with a horizontal sword, but a right hand as white as mutton-fat jade appeared in the shadow, holding the blade firmly in his hand.

Darkness surged, and the shadows began to passively shape a tall giant, who appeared in the church. He was handsome, and his face was also covered with scriptures. The golden light shone, making his whole person look very divine.

However, for such a god-like giant, there is no sanity in his eyes, only a dull intelligence, like a puppet on strings, without any self-awareness at all.

The monster roared, drew back its sword, then raised it to strike again. Its power had been greatly enhanced, but the giant held his bleeding right fist and gently blocked it, then slapped the blade crookedly.

He was indeed unconscious, and even so, he did not pursue the victory. The false consciousness that once filled his skin disappeared under the control of Erebus.

The Dark Apostle has already explained to the gods that what he needs is not a self-aware false primarch, but a handy, easy-to-use tool that fully obeys his orders.

The gods agreed to his request, and three of them paid no attention to it. Only the Lord of Change asked Erebus's plan in detail and gave him strong support.

He didn't seem to care at all about how Lorgar Aurelion's body would be treated at the hands of Erebus, nor did he care whether Erebus was using their power to seek something he shouldn't get involved with.

As always, the Lord of Change does not care about such things.

He simply wants to see change, endless change.

Therefore, at this moment, Erebus was able to stand here and watch the battle between the puppets and the monsters. But one of his thoughts had drifted far away, until it was far outside the church and touched a demon bound to the ground.

Samus immediately noticed his arrival, and a smile slowly appeared on his ugly face.

"You failed." Erebus said mercilessly. "Besides, this is not the same as the cooperation we agreed on, Sams."

"cooperate?"

"Yes. I ask you to drag Shen on his ship. At least until my people get back the last drop of blood, you can do what you want to do. Now it seems that you have not abided by the agreement between us. Agreement."

"Are you talking to a demon about keeping your word? You're being ridiculously stupid." Samus asked with a grin.

"No, I'm just talking about the rules with you." Erebus said.

His illusory spirit slowly walked out of the darkness, squatted next to Samus, stretched out his hand, and began to touch the chains. I don't know what method he used, but the flames began to slowly dissipate.

The demon stared down at his hands, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes.

"Your methods are getting more and more disgusting," it said. "You don't believe in any gods, anything, and you never really feared anything. You are a born bastard, Erebus, and even the bastards of the unborn would be surprised at you."

Erebus raised his head with a half-smile and asked: "A demon talking to me about this kind of thing? It's just to make the soul dissolve the hatred in these flames. Did you hesitate at all when devouring the soul? At least, I don’t eat people.”

Samus couldn't help baring his fangs at his words: "The more I know you, the more I feel disgusted with you, Erebus. You are not a human, but you are not an inanimate either. Even those free The counterfeits created by Horus are more pleasing to the eye than you."

Erebus smiled at it, shook his head, and stood up. The chains slipped from the demon's scarred body, and the power of Chaos began to surge within its body again, restoring its wounds.

"Now, get back to the ship," Erebus said. "As long as I get that drop of blood, you will have a chance to resolve all the problems between you and Shen."

As soon as his words fell, the illusory spirit body dissipated in place, turned into a stream of light, and returned to the church.

At this moment, the puppets and monsters have completely destroyed this place. Every collision between them is extremely terrifying. The shock waves are shaking the ground endlessly, causing the earth to crack, churches to collapse, and statues to break.

But Erebus still stood there, staring at all this, seemingly indifferent, and not in a hurry to get the fragment immediately.

"How long can you hold on, Shen?" He asked softly, and his voice accurately reached Shen's ears amid the sounds of battle.

"I have studied you, and I know that your true form and outstanding killing nature must be fully released in the subspace. You are incomplete in the material world, and the powerful power obtained after ascending to the devil has been Confined within his original body.”

"Every time you use a little bit of power, the date of the body's collapse will advance a little earlier. I don't even need to concentrate on manipulating that skin to fight you. I just need to hold you back and make you return to the subspace with regrets."

The monster gave him a cold glance, as if asking, why don't you do it yet?

Yes, why? Maybe it's just for fun, or maybe it's just because I want to humiliate a hero like you so I can have some fun and pass the time.

The Dark Apostle turned around with a smile and walked towards the side door leading to the inner room. The house had completely collapsed along with the church, but the door still remained in place.

Erebas could feel the power condensing on it, and he understood that the place behind this door was no longer a priest's residence, but another kind of place.

He raised his right hand and put it on the door handle, but instead of pushing it away in a hurry, he let go after a moment of silence.

It cannot be opened yet.

Erebus took a few steps back calmly and rationally, returning to the place where he had just stood. He was not anxious, even though he had been preparing for today for nearly ten thousand years.

He waved his fingers, pulling the power of chaos, and began to add chips to the puppet's battle. He didn't want the skin to be too seriously damaged, so he kept holding back.

A false and incomplete Primarch, against a great demon who was completely unable to exert his full strength, could be considered a fair battle, but Erebus hated fairness the most.

He doesn't like this kind of thing. If everyone were equal in the world, wouldn't it be a lot less fun?

The endless power of chaos entered Luojia's skin under the influence of Erebus's will. Just a few more moments and he would be victorious. Shen will be forced to return to where he belongs, and the drop of blood on the Night Soul will be obtained by Samus.

Of course, there is this fragment.

Erebus turned his head and looked at the stubbornly upright wooden door.

As early as when its activity had just revived, news immediately came from the chaotic ocean. The demons rushed to tell each other and spread the matter throughout the subspace. Even those individuals who least cared about the real world and were not even demons knew about it.

Of course Erebus also knew about it, and was one of the first people to know. There was no time in the Warp, but he was not in the Warp. His soul can reach within the Chaos, seeking support, enlightenment, or more, but his body cannot.

Life in the material world is far more interesting than space, and only by staying in the material world can he get some power to do things freely.

Although the Lord of Change agreed to cooperate with him, he kept trying to influence him so that he would become one of his servants. It was not that Erebas had never believed in gods before, but after a war, he had seen clearly the true face of the so-called gods.

They can also bleed and die. From a real and cruel perspective, the only difference between them and humans is the amount of power.

This is where Erebus's ambition comes from.

Yes, it is very interesting to bring disaster to the world under the protection of Chaos and watch stupid people die one after another. It is very in line with his evil nature. But he was no longer satisfied with tormenting mortals, Astartes or even Primarchs.

He wants something more.

Samus says he's not human and it's wrong. Apart from humans, which other race in the world has such terrible greed?

Erebus smiled and began to wait with joy and expectation.

——

Tujia continued his waiting.

How long has he been waiting? How long had he stayed in this hut? The depressed investigator sighed, sat on Horst's wooden bed, propped up his hands on his knees, and covered his cheeks with his hands.

He wanted to know how much time had passed and what happened to the outside world, but he had no way or means to get the answers to these two questions.

The only thing Tujia could do was wait. At the beginning, he remained calm and rational, thinking about the outside world.

He thought that the distress signal should have been sent out long ago, and that another Chapter Astartes would soon come to help. The Litatra would win, although they would have to face strict scrutiny after the war, But they will win, and many will survive.

This thought gave him a little hope and the strength to continue.

So Tujia began to eat his candies, each one having to be melted with saliva, until the taste of the cheap candy completely disappeared from his mouth before he started to eat another one.

In this way, he slowly finished the thirteen candies, spread out their wrappers one by one, and laid them flat on the table belonging to Horst.

However, for some unknown reason, the candy wrapper was pressed backwards on the table. Tujia didn't understand why he did this, but

He took a deep breath, put down his hands, stood up slowly, walked to the round table, and hesitantly stretched out his right hand.

The breeze blew, and the candy wrappers were spread out. The words on them were arranged and combined to form a slogan that Tujia was completely unfamiliar with and had never seen before.

No, no, that was no longer a slogan, but a name, a name he had never heard before. Tujia had never learned the language in which it was written, but he could understand it.

Whispering, he read it out.

[Conrad Coates. 】

The fragment in his pocket suddenly lit up.