MTLNOVEL Chapter 25: chapter 25
Chapter 25: Nykona Sharrowkyn and Hill
The Ultramarines on the ground naturally had no way of contacting the flagship Macragge's Glory because the bridge of this Glorious Queen-class battleship had been destroyed by the Word Bearers' warp sorcery attack.
Including the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman, a large number of legion leaders either died or were dragged into the cold void of space. The top command of the entire Ultramarines Legion suffered severe casualties in a short period of time.
Chapter Master Marius Gage survived the unnatural explosion from the Warp, but he was slammed against the bulkhead by the shockwave and collapsed in a pool of his own blood. He was losing massive amounts of blood, the poison of the Warp corroding his modified organs. His wounds refused to clot, and a terrible high fever tormented his will.
The Astartes were trained to eliminate fear, and their long wars and relentless training further suppressed their perception of it. Even in the face of torture or death, Space Marines could remain calm and indifferent.
But now, Marius Gage felt a long-forgotten fear. His iron will clashed against the terror of the unknown. He had believed he understood fear after battling the galaxy's enemies, but now he realized that was arrogance.
Struggling to rise from his own blood, he recognized that the Ultramarines' pride had blinded them. Their reputation had made them ignorant, fearless to a fault, and arrogantly convinced that nothing in the galaxy could make them falter.
At that moment, he recalled the words of his Primarch, who had once reprimanded the Ultramarines for their arrogance and tendency to be self-righteous and out of touch with reality. They had never truly taken it to heart.
Marius Gage had once hoped to personally apologize to his Primarch after the war, but now that seemed impossible. Guilliman had been swept into space by the explosion, and even a Primarch, a genetically perfected being created by the Emperor, could not survive in the void.
The Primarch might be dead.
This realization was more painful than all the injuries he had suffered. Their father, their gene-sire, was in danger because of their failure. Marius Gage would have gladly given his life in exchange, but such a bargain was not possible.
As Chapter Master, he had to push through the pain. He had to rally his legion and take revenge on the despicable Word Bearers.
His throat burned, and though the fever had subsided slightly, he remained weak. The poison continued to eat away at him, and every breath sent waves of pain through his lungs and trachea. Even the analgesics injected by his power armor couldn't stop the agony.
The cabin was filled with thick smoke and dust, debris from the explosion swirling through the air. The pressure difference caused air from other parts of the flagship to rush in. Around him, the dead littered the floor.
He saw a fallen Ultramarine, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. Further away, several mortal officers lay together, their bodies desecrated in ways the explosion could not have caused.
Among the corpses, Marius Gage spotted the creature responsible for the slaughter—a towering, ape-like monstrosity with a grotesque humanoid form, twice his height. The air around it shimmered as if distorted by heat, cloaking it in an eerie illusion.
It had no eyes. Its body was covered in thick, black bristles. Its twisted head was dominated by a massive maw filled with jagged teeth, from which venom dripped onto the deck, corroding the metal. A foul stench filled the air.
The empty eye sockets locked onto Marius Gage, and he realized with grim certainty that this abomination had attacked him after the explosion, injecting him with its toxin.
He reached for his bolter, but it was gone. He had lost it at some point, and several of his fingers were missing, making it impossible to fire a weapon. His power sword lay further away, but in his condition, retrieving and wielding it was impossible.
For the first time, the Ultramarines Chapter Master felt utterly powerless.
The warp-spawned horror lunged at him, aiming to rip out his throat, but Marius Gage, driven by sheer desperation, caught its throat with his remaining hand. His grip was weak, however, and the creature easily overpowered him, sinking its fangs into his forearm.
With a sickening crunch, his arm was torn off.
The pain was indescribable, a white-hot agony that momentarily overshadowed even the poison. Marius Gage roared and struck the creature's face with his remaining fist, shattering two of its teeth.
But it wasn't enough.
The monster swallowed his severed limb and lunged again, craving more flesh—more than that, it craved his soul.
For warp demons, the souls of the brave were more delicious than mere flesh.
But just as it moved to devour him, two figures—one clad in black, the other in blue—rushed forward, knocking the beast aside. Their cold weapons struck deep, wounding its core and forcing it to howl in pain.
Across countless myths, legends, and fables, it had been ingrained that only fire and steel could slay demons. These warp-spawned horrors, born from humanity's fears, had inherited this weakness.
Before the fallen Marius Gage, a battle-scarred Ultramarine stood resolute, a red helmet obscuring his face. In one hand, he wielded an electromagnetic sword; in the other, a Koleti power axe. Beside him stood a Raven Guard warrior clad in black power armor, his form unscarred.
Why were Raven Guard aboard Macragge's Glory?
A confused thought flickered through Marius Gage's mind, dulled by blood loss and poison. His sluggish brain struggled to process the situation.
The warrior in the red helmet let out a battle cry and swung his power axe. The weapon's molecular-disintegration field tore through the demon's flesh, spraying black ichor onto the deck.
The Raven Guard kept his distance, his bolter roaring as he fired precise shots at the demon's limbs and face. Though the explosive rounds couldn't destroy it outright, they restricted its movement, giving the red-helmeted warrior the opening he needed.
One fought from afar, the other up close—their coordinated assault wore the beast down. Finally, its limbs were severed, binding it to the material realm long enough for them to banish it back to the Warp.
More warriors arrived—Ultramarines and mortal soldiers. Their weapons varied, lacking the standardized uniformity of an Astartes strike force.
"Flamethrowers! Burn the remains! Leave nothing behind!"
The soldiers carrying bismuth fuel tanks raised their flamers, unleashing torrents of fire that reduced the demon's remains to ash.
A medic rushed to Marius Gage, administering emergency aid. Painkillers cleared his mind slightly.
He looked up at the red-helmeted warrior.
"What's your name, Sergeant?"
The Ultramarine answered calmly.
"Hill. Aeonid Hill, soldier of the 135th Company, Chapter Master."
"Did you organize these forces? Including this Raven Guard?"
"It was me, my lord," Hill confirmed. "But Nykona Sharrowkyn is not under my command. He arrived with Captain Lucier. They claim the Word Bearers had already begun their betrayal when the Belfry started accelerating."
Nykona Sharrowkyn removed his helmet and nodded to Marius Gage.
"We are survivors of Isstvan, and we bring you news of betrayal."
"But it seems we were too late. The Word Bearers have already struck."
Before Marius Gage could respond, a beeping sound came from Bucky's communicator. It was a transmission from the surface of Cowes.
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