40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 608 125. Dark Crusade (Forty-six, Red Angel, 5k)

Callistarius could not feel anything.

In just a blink of an eye, the cave and Iskandar Khayon disappeared completely. A powerful psychic force and something terrifying that he could not describe came to his door together. The former intended to lead him to a certain place, and the latter was the same.

So, how to choose?

Callistarius was not an idiot, but even if he was an idiot, he knew which one to choose. He moved his consciousness and connected with the psychic power, and then he was thrown into the subspace again.

He knew that he was experiencing a teleportation now, in a supernatural and surreal way. He had never experienced such a thing before. Long-distance teleportation has always been a taboo technology, and no one dared to try it. Moreover, he was not reminded that doing so would bring extreme pain.

At this moment, Calistarius sincerely hoped that his body in the material world could have a small ritual ring and the help of his brothers who were also think tanks.

But he didn't have these things, he only had himself and a statue of the Emperor that was still held in his hand.

Does this mean anything?

Calistarius held it tightly.

It was not until this time that he discovered a doubt in the matter: he went to the warp as a conscious body, that is, in the state of soul. In this case, why can this simple statue that is not part of his soul, nor a ritual tool, and has no psychic power, follow him so firmly?

——His thinking ended here.

A crack was quietly born from the chaotic and unconscious world, swallowing him.

In an instant, the sky and the earth were bright, there was no darkness, blood red replaced it, and all he could see was a scene of blasphemy and depravity.

The dark clouds floating in the blood-red sky were like pupils, silently staring at Calistarius's appearance. The ground was completely submerged in a sea of ​​blood, and the few huge mountains were also made of piles of corpses, with a pungent stench.

Calistarius looked at this place in horror, and wanted to go back and ask the ghost Iskandar Khayon: Is this where you think Sanguinius is now? You crazy bastard.

However, a few seconds later, Calistarius found that Khayon seemed to be right - in the floating of the consciousness, he really saw a familiar figure in the endless sea of ​​blood.

Calistarius immediately used psychic power to end his floating and rushed to the man. However, the closer he got, the more frightened he felt.

The golden hair was dyed red, the armor was completely broken, the body was covered with wounds, and there was a bloody whip wrapped around the neck that was obviously evil and unclean. If it weren't for the sharp sword that belonged to the angel still held in his right hand, Calistarius would never approach this existence.

The young Librarian walked forward a few meters carefully and floated in front of the man, wanting to confirm it, but when he saw the man's face, he almost screamed.

This is his father, no doubt, but, just.

"But Sanguinius has never fallen so low." A voice said coldly.

Calistarius cautiously made a gesture to prepare for psychic lightning, and his keen perception of the spirit body allowed him to quickly locate the position of the person who spoke.

Before time had time to pass, he arrived above the man's head at a transcendent speed, with lightning in his hand ready to go, and the statue of the Emperor in the other hand began to glow faintly.

Calistarius did not notice this, but just stared at him vigilantly, ready to attack at any time. At the same time, he found that this was also a psychic consciousness, and it was obviously an Astartes.

However, compared to the image of most think tanks, his figure is simply hideous and terrifying - large patches of dark red return to the sides behind him like folded wings, and continue to spread under his feet like a cloak, outlining a dim and ominous huge whole.

Two points of scarlet light shine behind his shoulders, like a lit torch. He wears a mask that looks like a skinned human face. The red and white muscles look extremely conspicuous. A pair of seemingly calm eyes stare at Calistarius in the eye sockets.

"Who are you?" The Blood Angel shouted.

The man did not answer, but stretched out his right hand, with the index and middle fingers slightly bent.

Suddenly, a golden lightning flashed across the sky and hit the man's hand without warning, forming a Sky Eagle emblem. He held it and showed it to Calistarius, and then finally spoke, his voice hoarse and dark, as if he was holding a blade.

"You don't need to know who I am. It doesn't make any sense. I am just like the Red Son Iskandar Khayon who you met not long ago. I am here to help you."

"He brought you to your father's place of punishment and corruption, and I will reveal to you where he came from in this beastly form."

Callistarius had to admit that he was irritated.

Although there was no superiority in the man's tone, his straightforward attitude made the Blood Angels feel even more unacceptable. It was as if to him, Sanguinius had always been like this, so there was no need to be surprised or regretful.

"You--"

Before he finished speaking, the man immediately frowned and looked at him seriously. The dim anger that flashed in his eyes at this time made Calistarius stiffen all over.

"-Silence!" he scolded Callistarius in a low voice. "Put away your ridiculous anger!"

"Look down at him. Do you think he still knows that you are his son at this time? No, Callistarius, he is just a beast captured by anger. That kind of anger will make him kill anyone he sees. All living creatures. No exceptions."

The Blood Angel was silent for a few seconds, then frowned and began to retort loudly: "That's ridiculous! Then why didn't he kill me just now?!"

"Because you are dead," the man said.

Before Callistarius had time to think about what this sentence meant, the weird man raised his left hand and showed him a picture.

A blood-colored light curtain slowly unfolded, and Callistarius could clearly see his body surrounded by pharmacists, as well as the battle brothers who were on guard around him. All four Chapter Masters were also present, arguing with each other on the battered deck of the Red Tear.

He couldn't hear their voices, but he could tell what they were saying by reading their lips.

His Chapter Master Dante said: Callistarius's sacrifice will be remembered, but now is never a good time to restart the psionic rituals. The Librarians must use their power to close the warp on the ship. On the crack.

Chapter Master Centor Joe of the Blood Knights says: I agree with you, Dante, and we must prepare for another war. I don't know who took the Ultramarines ship and attacked us, but they will pay the price.

Malakin Foros, Chapter Master of the Lamenters, said: In short, be prepared to face war. But I still have a question, where did the Primarch go?

Gabriel Seth, Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, roared with rage: In the name of Sanguinius, whoever is on those ships, I will let them die!

Callistarius looked back, doubts growing in his heart - is he dead? Or is this just an illusion?

No, he could tell that this was definitely not an illusion spell. The special spell fluctuations that used spiritual energy to capture images of other worlds and project them could not be disguised. However, if his body is dead, why does his soul exist?

"Because of the statue in your hand." The man said calmly. "It preserves your soul. Although it is only temporary, it is enough for us to do everything."

"What are you talking about?" Callistarius asked confused and angry.

This time, the man did not reprimand or otherwise react to his emotions, but just drifted towards Callistarius.

The young think tank wanted to escape, but his conscious body did not listen to his own control at all. Instead, he stayed where he was, as if that person was the master of his conscious body. Then, the man put his hand on Callistarius' shoulder.

"See what I see." He uttered a phrase, and his tone finally fluctuated a little, full of sadness.

The next second, the world in front of Callistarius suddenly changed - he saw his brothers, the Blood Angels, and the brothers of the Chapter.

They fought side by side, killing the waves of demons. It should have been a normal scene, but Callistarius vaguely noticed something was wrong: their fighting method was too bloody.

This battle has no structure at all. There is no strategy or coordination, only continuous howling and horrific acts of wanton violence. However, the real horror is yet to come.

When the last demon was slaughtered, the descendants of the angel turned their attention to each other and an imperial army that had just arrived on the battlefield.

They rush wildly at each other or mortals, chopping off limbs, decapitating heads, or simply tearing people in half and pounce on them like wild beasts, slurping blood.

"Emperor——!" Callistarius shouted.

And this is just the beginning, there are more scenes to follow, but the dead - or sacrifices - have changed from brothers and soldiers to unarmed innocent mortals, and have turned into pitiful people who are suffering from the disaster one after another. civilian.

Having done nothing wrong, just sitting at home, misfortune will fall from heaven to one hive after another, one world after another, and wherever the descendants of angels go, no matter whether they are enemies or friends, there will be rivers of blood.

"This is just the beginning." The man said lowly. "Your father has been captured by a flaw in his genes and the pure fury of his essence, and you will be affected too."

"Ultimately, the blood connection between the Primarch and the Astartes is still partly due to the genetic modification surgery in the Warp that separated you from humans on the physical plane, but his blood made your souls as well. was affected."

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it." Callistarius muttered, turning a deaf ear to his words.

"Blood thirsty."

The man calmly uttered a noun, which awakened Callistarius's remaining sanity.

"A curse that every descendant of angels must endure. As I just said, this is a defect that originates deep in the genes. It was passed down to you by your father."

"His descendants must drink blood all year round. Even so, blood thirst will occur from time to time during battle. It is not just a desire for blood, but also a preference for violence. It will make you temporarily crazy and like to see The enemy's blood quietly blooms from the corpses."

"However, that was before he gave in to his desires."

He pointed at the lone figure that was walking aimlessly in the river of blood.

"When he succumbed to his desire, things changed. Because what he drank was not pure blood, but the blood of a demon. You may have heard its name - the mortal enemy of angels, Ka Banha.”

"Not long ago, it fought against Sanguinius here, and in the end, it won the final victory at the cost of death. It polluted Sanguinius's spirit, and it also polluted the souls of his descendants."

"This door of desire opened by the blood of demons swallowed up all of your souls at that moment. There is no way out. Even if Sanguinius is killed here, the result will not change."

"From then on, the descendants of angels will often fall into blood thirst, until they are unable to extricate themselves, until the last person becomes its slave."

"The honors you have earned in the past will be wiped out by terrible deeds. Your efforts to survive for thousands of years and try your best to resist blood thirst will all be lost because of your father's momentary indulgence. But this is still not the end, just like I said. , it was not a single curse that captured his soul."

"In addition to the blood thirst, there is also the unparalleled rage in his essence. Your father is a monster, Callistarius. He tried his best to hide it and really transformed into a hero in the body of a monster. Such a feat, but this is not Affecting the fact that he's still a monster."

"Deep in his soul was an emptiness. There was nothing there but rage, and this rage was pure. It only aroused in him a desire for violence and destruction, and nothing else. other"

"You will also be affected by this curse. If you are not captured by blood thirst, you will be led by this bloody rage into the abyss of humanity."

Callistarius raised his trembling left hand and clutched the Emperor's statue to his chest.

"The Emperor will show His mercy." The young think tank choked up and spoke. "The Emperor will grant His mercy to us."

"No, He won't," the man retorted calmly. "Now listen to me, Callistarius, there's still a chance for this to turn around."

The young think tank suddenly raised his head.

"You once defeated death, didn't you?" the man asked.

"I don't remember, I only know that I did it, in-"

"——Under the leadership of Konrad Curze, the Lord of Blades and the guardian of the innocent souls."

The man sighed softly, reached out and grabbed Callistarius's left hand, and gently pressed the Sky Eagle emblem in his hand into the emperor's statue.

A burst of golden light bloomed quietly.

"And now you must do it a second time, Callistarius. You must defeat death a second time. No matter how difficult it is, no matter how costly it is, you must do it. Your father and your Brothers can only rely on you at this moment."

In the golden light, his form began to dissipate, and the bloody world wrinkled into a ball, as if it was about to be destroyed. Callistarius looked at this scene in shock and instinctively looked into the man's eyes. Then, he felt a sense of familiarity.

A question popped out of his mouth.

"Who are you--?!"

The man nodded, and his figure completely disappeared, leaving only one sentence: "He will answer all your questions, and he will tell you what price you will bear."

who? Who else?

In the golden light, Callistarius couldn't help but close his eyes. When he regained his vision, a face he had never seen before appeared in front of him.

Dark, ordinary, ordinary, simple. Like an old farmer who has been farming in the fields for most of his life, or a craftsman who is used to weaving baskets under the scorching sun.

Callistarius lowered his head and found that the man was holding his hands. The feeling was extremely rough, as if he was in contact with sandpaper. He raised his head doubtfully and looked into the man's eyes.

Then all doubts were eliminated.

+You will take it upon yourself, Callistarius. Your father cannot stay at this moment, nor can he fall. He is the sharp sword that represents the dawn, and will cut through the endless darkness shrouded here for me, allowing the light of hope to return to the Five Hundred Worlds. +

+I understand, this is just another sacrifice. +

The world was spinning, and the form of the Blood Angel reappeared next to his crazy father.

He looked determinedly at his primarch.

Sanguinius knew nothing of this.

Golden light flashes.

——

"we have to."

Dante suddenly stopped speaking, and he smelled an unusual burning smell. It's not parts that are damaged due to burning or electric current, but an unusual, psionic burnt odor.

At this moment, time was slowed down. Among the many descendants of angels, only he turned his head and looked at Callistarius not far away.

But he didn't see the young think tank, he only saw a flickering golden light.

The passage of time returned to normal, and Dante's two hearts began to beat at a very high speed. The pharmacists let out a common exclamation, and the battle brothers stood still, surprised and confused by the sudden appearance of the giant.

Yes, with almost no warning, their father, their primarch Sanguinius, quietly returned, only with his armor broken, his body covered in bruises, and the wings on his back were all bloody.

However, Callistarius was nowhere to be seen.

"Primarch!" Dante ran towards him.

Sanguinius looked up, his eyes so unfamiliar that Dante and the other three Chapter Masters behind him stopped for an instant.

Others also caught the Primarch's emotions at the moment, but no one made any sound, only the servitors were still working hard to repair the deck.

A few seconds later, Dante restarted his pace, walked towards Sanguinius, and bowed his head.

"You're back."

"Yes."

Sanguinius nodded, and other than that, he didn't say anything more, just simply issued a few orders. Such as fetching spare armor, stopping the bleeding of the wings, and then reporting the current situation to him.

Dante did these things one by one, but he couldn't forget the look that the Primarch had just cast in his mind.

Father, what on earth could make you so regretful?

And, what about Calistarius?

——It wasn't until seven days later that he got the answer. And by then, he no longer needed the answer.