Just as 32's plasma pistol was on the verge of overloading and exploding, the entire space suddenly solidified for an instant.
Strange ripples appeared in the air, as if reality itself had been forcibly torn open by some power.
A pale blue flame descended like a meteor, precisely striking the Chaos Spawn's head.
The flame was not ordinary fire, but destructive energy composed purely of Warp, instantly searing most of the monster's eyes and tentacles on its body.
The Chaos Spawn let out a painful shriek, instinctively recoiling backward, and viscous black blood gushed from its wounds, only to be completely evaporated by the Warp flame in mid-air.
Space at the edge of the battlefield twisted and fluctuated, and Ahriman's figure suddenly appeared as if stepping out of a water curtain.
He wore black and white Power Armor, with golden runes embedded on it flickering with his breath, shining like stars.
Under the massive horned helmet, his eyes, burning with Warp fire, gazed coldly at the Chaos Spawn before him.
The staff in his hand burst forth with dazzling light, and the ancient script engraved on its shaft lit up one by one, as if chanting some language beyond the mundane.
"Stand back!" Ahriman's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority, exploding directly in everyone's mind.
32 felt her mechanical nerves tremble under this voice. She immediately controlled the remaining intelligent combat automatons to retreat, while simultaneously pulling up the fallen Gutierrez.
Ahriman's hands rapidly formed seals, each gesture leaving a Warp afterimage in the air, forming complex patterns.
The incantations he recited were obscure and difficult to understand, yet they caused the surrounding air to resonate and vibrate.
Warp energy furiously gathered in his palm, gradually solidifying into a two-meter-long, dazzling spear of light. The spear's shaft was entwined with countless tiny runic chains, emitting a grating hum.
The Chaos Spawn seemed to sense a fatal threat. It frantically flailed its remaining tentacles, wanting to escape, but Ahriman merely waved his hand, and the pale blue Warp flames transformed into chains, firmly binding the monster in place.
"Return to nothingness, twisted abomination." As Ahriman's cold judgment was pronounced, the spear of light transformed into a streak of light, precisely piercing the Chaos Spawn's core.
The moment it struck, countless tiny runic chains burst forth from the wound, rapidly growing and covering the monster's entire body in the blink of an eye.
The Chaos Spawn let out one last heart-wrenching wail. Its body began to disintegrate from within, flesh and blood peeling off like weathered sand sculptures.
The parts entwined by the runic chains were the first to turn to ash, followed by tentacles, eyeballs, fangs...
Finally, this terrifying creation completely dissipated in the Warp flames, leaving not even a speck of ash.
The battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence, with only the runes on Ahriman's staff still emitting a faint glow.
He slowly turned, his gaze briefly lingering on 32 and Gutierrez. There was neither concern nor disdain in his eyes, only unfathomable tranquility.
---
The metal exterior walls of the Grey Dove Sanatorium glowed with an eerie dark red rust under the dim lights of the Lower Hive, like congealed bloodstains.
This six-story building outwardly appeared no different from other medical facilities in the Lower Hive. The words "Grey Dove Rehabilitation Center" were faintly discernible on the rusted sign, and even a faint light was on in the guard booth at the entrance.
"Move out." At Mai Mai and Twilight's command, the two Kill Teams dispersed like shadows.
They deliberately avoided the main entrance's surveillance, choosing to infiltrate separately through the side fire escape and ventilation shafts.
"Warp readings are abnormal." Mai Mai's suppressed voice came through the communicator, accompanied by faint static: "The entire building is enveloped by some kind of energy field. My Psyker's perception is severely interfered with."
He raised his hand, signaling the team to stop, while the Psyker in the team carefully examined the surroundings.
Twilight adjusted the multi-spectral vision device on her head, her mechanical eye emitting a faint hum.
"Surface temperature is normal, but..." She switched to a special frequency, then suddenly gasped.
Under the special frequency scan, the walls were covered with Warp etchings invisible to the naked eye.
The glowing patterns slowly wriggled on the walls like living things, forming dizzying, bizarre designs.
"This isn't an ordinary sanatorium!" She warned in a low voice, her voice entering each team member's ear through the encrypted channel: "This place has been transformed into some kind of ritual site! Stay vigilant, there might be..."
Before she finished speaking, a dull thud suddenly came from underground.
The two teams immediately went into combat readiness, the "click" of weapon safeties being disengaged simultaneously echoing clearly in the silence.
When Mai Mai's team followed the stairs to the second basement level, the sight before them caused even these battle-hardened warriors to freeze.
"By the Emperor!" A team member gasped, his gun-holding hands trembling uncontrollably.
Dozens of corpses in patient gowns were neatly arranged along both sides of the corridor, each corpse's forehead marked with the same eight-pointed star symbol.
Even more bizarrely, these corpses all maintained a standard kneeling posture, their withered fingers crossed over their chests, as if performing some devout prayer.
Most chillingly, their mouths were frozen in perfectly identical smiles.
"Life signs detected!" The team's medic suddenly shouted, the biological scanner emitting a rapid "beep-beep" sound: "Third room on the right!"
Suddenly, a piercing static came through the communicator, like some inhuman shriek.
When the signal returned, Mai Mai's voice became unusually urgent: "Survivor found! Karl Wien is alive! But his condition... isn't right..."
In the dim ward, they found Karl restrained on a specialized medical bed.
The former researcher was now skin and bones, but what was most unsettling were his eyes—his irises had completely turned dark red, and his pupils had constricted into thin slits.
When the flashlight beam hit his face, his lips slowly parted, revealing the same eerie smile as the corpses in the corridor.
When Twilight arrived, the sight before her made her grip her plasma pistol tightly.
The former researcher, Karl Wien, was restrained on a specialized operating table. His skin was covered with wriggling black patterns, which formed dizzying Chaos runes.
"They... planted a seed... inside me..." Karl suddenly opened his eyes, his once blue pupils now glowing with an eerie red light: "When the eclipse... comes... He will..."
The entire building suddenly shook violently. All the emergency lights on the walls exploded, replaced by blood-red Warp flames.
Karl's body began to twist unnaturally, the black patterns rapidly covering his entire body like living things.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Mai Mai roared: "This is a trap!"
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