Despite receiving support from Inquisitor Craig and the Battle Sister Squad, Tzanazte's reincarnation ritual still inexorably reached its final stage.
Deep within the cavern, the altar, constructed from 8,888 human skulls, suddenly trembled in unison.
Scarlet incantations emerged on the surface of the greenish-black skulls, and blinding crimson light burst forth from their hollow eye sockets, as if countless vengeful spirits were shrieking within the craniums.
Viscous blood spewed from the skulls' eye sockets, converging on the altar's surface into a churning pool of blood, emitting a putrid stench mixed with sulfur.
Aaliyah's pale body convulsed violently in the center of the blood pool; her once beautiful face was now twisted into an inhuman visage.
With a horrifying "crack," her body was completely enveloped by demonic flesh, and the surging blood wrapped around her as if alive, each drop corroding the last vestiges of her humanity.
When the last bone completed its mutation, the reincarnated Daemon Prince fully awakened amidst the blasphemous energy.
Dark red scales, like living armor, erupted from beneath his skin, gleaming with a metallic luster in the crimson light.
At the ends of his slender limbs, sharp bone claws easily cut through hard rock, and his tail swept through the blood pool like a steel whip, stirring up waves of putrid blood.
Two spiral demonic horns slowly grew on his forehead, and his incomplete bone wings constantly dripped scarlet blood.
Tzanazte proclaimed his rebirth with a roar, that terrifying demonic sound filled with the exhilaration of successful reincarnation.
The sound was like a rusty saw scraping against a skull, and the sound waves, mixed with Warp energy, formed visible crimson ripples.
Ancient stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling shattered under this power, and sharp stone spikes poured down like rain, only to be pulverized into dust by an invisible force field as they approached the newborn demon.
The entire cavern trembled violently, and dark red liquid seeped from the rock walls, as if the whole mountain was bleeding for the demon's birth.
"Defensive formation!" the Battle Sister Squad leader's roar exploded in the comms channel, almost drowning out the demonic roar echoing within the cavern.
The well-trained Sisters reacted instantly; amidst the clang of metal, they quickly tightened their formation, their master-crafted rose-emblazoned shields interlocked to form an unbreakable steel barrier.
Falling rocks rained down, striking the shield surfaces and sparking blinding flashes, each impact accompanied by a heavy metallic tremor.
"Boom—!" A stalactite fragment the size of a millstone slammed heavily into the front-most shield wall, and the Sister holding the shield grunted.
The servo joints of her armored arms emitted a metallic groan of protest, and the Power Armor's hydraulic system whirred frantically, attempting to offset the terrifying impact.
Her combat boots ploughed two deep furrows into the rocky ground, but her stance remained steady, her faith supporting her unyielding position.
However, the true threat had only just arrived.
The demon's unfurled dark red membrane wings stirred up a putrid hurricane, bringing with it the stench of sulfur and corrupt blood.
The three Battle Sisterss closest to him didn't even have time to adjust their posture before they were flung away by the violent airflow, like broken kites, smashing brutally into the rock wall.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Their heavy Power Armor left spiderweb cracks on the stone wall, and the shoulder plate of one Sister was completely deformed; beneath the shattered ceramite armor, the servo system continuously sparked blinding electrical discharges.
Her spear flew from her grasp, arcing a silver gleam through the air, ultimately falling into the churning blood pool.
The moment the adamantium spear tip touched the boiling, corrupt blood, it emitted a grating sizzle and was instantly corroded away, turning into a wisp of smoke that dissipated into the crimson mist.
—
Meanwhile, deep within the Gothic arcade of Clyster Manor in the Upperhive, Mai Mai's Arbites squad was advancing with overwhelming force.
Plasma pistols carved several eerie blue trajectories through the dim corridor, precise like the scythe of death.
Three noble private guards in scarlet uniforms had just emerged from behind gilded pillars, and before they could even raise their lasguns, overloaded plasma blasts struck them head-on.
"Sizzle—!" The high-temperature plasma instantly melted through their ballistic chest armor, and the searing energy flow pierced their bodies, exploding into bowl-sized holes in their backs.
Within their charred chests, still-beating hearts were clearly visible among the burned and deformed ribs, and steaming blood mist mixed with the smell of roasted meat permeated the corridor.
"Left flank clear!" a accompanying Storm Troopers sergeant reported loudly.
"Advance! Don't let any enemy escape! No mercy for the enemies of the Imperium!" Mai Mai's voice was as hard as iron as he heavily kicked the gilded door carved with a family crest.
Accompanied by the grating sound of metal deforming, the heavy door slammed down, its gilded coating flaking and scattering upon impact, strewing a shower of shattered gold onto the dark red carpet.
The Arbitrators behind him wasted no time; three shock grenades arced into the hall.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The blinding light of the explosions erupted like miniature suns, illuminating the entire hall, adorned with crystal chandeliers, as if it were daytime.
A dozen cultists who were drawing blood runes on the floor let out shrill screams; their bloodshot eyes were temporarily blinded by the intense light, and their filth-stained ritual daggers clattered to the ground.
Mai Mai gave them no chance to breathe.
His bolt pistol spat deadly fire, while his plasma pistol, overheated from continuous firing, was swiftly holstered.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Precise single shots were like death's roll call, and five heads exploded one after another like ripe fruit.
Red and white brains splattered radially, making the unfinished blasphemous runes even more grotesque, and viscous liquid slowly flowed along the twisted lines, as if offering the final sacrifice to this evil ritual.
On the other side, Twilight's assault squad was quietly infiltrating along the west-side sewage pipe.
Foul sewage covered their combat boots, and suspicious chunks floated in the viscous liquid, each step stirring up nauseating gurgling sounds.
Twilight's multispectral vision device flickered with red dots in the darkness, scanning the gloomy passage with perfect clarity.
The iron grate blocking their way ahead appeared as a cold blue silhouette in thermal imaging, and wrist-thick iron bars were covered in rust.
"Prepare to breach," he ordered in a low voice, and the modified melta-gun immediately hummed with stored energy.
A searing white beam erupted, and the iron grate instantly melted into glowing red molten iron under thousands of degrees of heat, dripping into the sewage and stirring up pungent white smoke.
The scout bent down and passed through without hesitation; scalding molten iron dripped onto his shoulder armor with a sizzle, but he didn't even flinch.
"Altar found!" the scout's hoarse report came through the communicator a moment later, accompanied by heavy breathing: "It's very large… requires fire support."
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