Knowing the clock was ticking, the players high-tailed it to the source of the warp energy spike.
There were rebel soldiers trying to stop them along the way, but they were trying to stop a charging bull and were easily flattened by the exoskeleton-clad team.
After fighting their way through, Yuji and the other players finally reached the epicenter of the psychic surge.
"Over there!"
Turtle, whose sensory prosthesis was screaming warnings, spotted the target instantly. It was an altar built from corpses and skulls.
Fourteen psykers stood around it, chanting prayers and singing praises to the Father. Three priests presided over the sacrificial ceremony at the top of the altar.
"Stop them! The Warp is coming alive! The ritual is almost complete!"
As a psychic, Yuji was incredibly sensitive to the flow of warp energy. He could feel the monsters banging on the door behind the veil of reality, screaming with hunger.
The altar was surrounded by cultists who let out crazy roars when they saw the players, rushing them in droves.
"Traitors must die!" the BaldCustodian yelled.
The machine gun mounted on his exoskeleton armor whirled and opened up on the cultists. Under the dense gunfire, the rushing cultists fell like weeds.
A few fanatics managed to get close under the fierce firestorm, but before they could do anything, they were diced up by razor-sharp chainswords and circular saws.
The players leaned on the brute force of their exoskeleton armor to punch a hole right through the cultist throng.
The fourteen psychics had burned too much energy maintaining the ritual and were helpless when faced with the players; they were shot dead on the spot.
But the ceremony didn't stop. The three priests on the altar continued to lead the ritual. They were protected by personal energy shields, and the remaining cultists fearlessly took bullets for them.
"If I can't smoke 'em from here, I'll go hand-to-hand. Cover me!"
WrongHammer threw open the exoskeleton's protective plate and bailed out of the cockpit. He activated the Mantis Blade on his wrist and bolted toward the three priests on the altar.
"Cover the twister!"
Yuji gathered the power of the warp and crushed the heads of the enemies closest to the altar. The others provided fire support, making sure no rebels or cultists could approach.
After a fierce, short fight, the path to WrongHammer was clear. He rushed over and ran through two priests with his blade. His final strike pierced the chest of the last priest. The dying priest turned, coughed up blood, and let out a chilling laugh.
"You're too late, we already won."
"Seven plagues, seven curses, seven blessings, seven destinies, seven sacrifices, seven prayers, seven responses..."
"The angel of the loving Father will soon come and bless this world!"
"You're nuts!" WrongHammer yanked out the Mantis Blade; foul-smelling gore erupted.
At that moment, the altar erupted with even more ferocious warp energy. WrongHammer and the nearest corpses were blasted away and slammed heavily into the ruins.
The space around the altar distorted and flickered. Strange light gathered into a kaleidoscope-like vortex. The ground turned to mush. The dilapidated ruins quickly sprouted damp, slimy moss and rotting vines.
Then, a black, buzzing cloud of flies burst forth. The swarm covered the sky, turning it a sickening black. Each fly was fat and shiny, marked with three blood-red rings—the unmistakable blessing of Nurgle.
Next came the Nurglings. Their numbers were just as massive as the flies, and they giggled, looking disturbingly happy.
Following them were the low-level Nurgle daemons, the Plaguebearers. They trampled the Nurglings, held high rotting banners, and formed ranks of 777.
Finally, countless Nurglings emerged carrying a rotten sedan chair. Seated on the palanquin was a massive Great Unclean One.
It had a fat body that jiggled violently with every step. Intestines drooped from a rotting rift in its abdomen. It didn't look happy like the Nurglings; rather, it had a melancholy look on its face.
Yuji and the other players were stunned rigid as they watched the daemon army pour out of the warp rift.
"Holy crap! This is straight-up unscientific!"
"You're telling me a couple of mortal sacrifices can pull a Great Unclean One?"
"Normally, it would blow your mind if a mortal ritual could summon even a squad of Nurgle emissaries."
"That was back in the day. Now that the Eye of Terror is shattered, is it really that weird for a mortal to summon a Great Unclean One?"
"If we let that fluttering moth get any closer, we could summon that fat guy's entire garden!"
"..."
Yuji recognized the daemon from its characteristics. "This looks like Ku'gath the Plaguelord, a big-shot Nurgle daemon. Feels like we're public enemy number one."
"Who cares who it is? Just get the Grey Knights on the horn!" Rigby fired wildly at the group of daemons.
"Don't pull any punches now. Get the Guide to launch an orbital bombardment, or we're all done for." WrongHammer crawled out of the ruins and limped into the fray.
Yuji shook his head. "Orbital bombardment is a lost cause now. The Great Unclean One is here; we need an Exterminatus-level response."
Rigby poured fire into the daemons, turning Nurglings and fly swarms into sludge. "Looks like this is where we all die. I just don't know if Planet Atomal is salvageable."
"I think we're going to have to roll up to a new server." WrongHammer was starting to sound pessimistic. "We're up against Ku'Gath. We don't stand a chance."
All the active players on the battlefield rushed to reinforce them, relying on the violent firepower of their exoskeletons to build a makeshift defense line, barely curbing the daemon expansion. But no matter how many daemons they struck down, more just kept coming.
The troops under Griffin and Faraday soon arrived, quickly organizing and joining the players in blocking the daemon offensive.
"Praise the Father," Ku'gath looked at the world and sighed sincerely. "My loving Father would surely be tickled pink if I could turn this world into His garden."
At that moment, a whistling sound was heard as several missiles streaked in and impacted Ku'gath's massive body. The ensuing flames enveloped the Great Unclean One, but it took minimal damage; instead, it was royally enraged.
"You foolish Corpse-Worshippers! You really have no manners at all! Stop worshipping the corpse and join the Father's embrace!"
Its reply was met with more missiles and lasers.
"Well, since you are so stubborn, don't blame me."
Ku'gath pulled the Flask of Disease from its palanquin and hurled it at the Imperial soldiers and players, intent on making them rot where they stood.
Not even solid steel could stop the flask's contagion. Various vehicles mutated rapidly, growing wriggling flesh and blood that immediately turned on the soldiers and players.
Ku'gath also launched a spear of warp energy from its sticky fingers, piercing a soldier's chest and exploding into a foul, bloody mist. It opened its mouth and spewed out a plague wind. Ceramsite armor crumbled like chalk, and flesh sloughed off and dripped like wax.
No one could stop it. The Great Unclean One had become a despairing nightmare. Ku'gath was head and shoulders above ordinary Great Unclean Ones—it was simply not something that players at this stage could deal with.
When everyone was on the ropes, the roar of a Valkyrie fighter engine sounded in the sky. Dense bombs and beams poured down, giving the ground forces some much-needed breathing room.
Then, the hatch opened.
A heavy-armored giant jumped straight out of the Valkyrie. With a loud bang, shocking fissures appeared on the ground. Seeing the newcomer, Ku'gath and the Nurgle daemons widened their eyes. This size, this oppressive presence, and such a powerful blessing!
"When did the Corpse-Worshippers roll out a new Primarch?"
"Go back, daemon!"
The Holy Blade in Daniel's hand flared with bright light. He let out a war cry to rally the troops and raised his hands in benediction. A golden light burst out, instantly restoring the physical strength and spirit of the Imperial soldiers and players.
"You should join the loving Father's family," Ku'gath said, raising its rusty, slimy sword and trying to persuade Daniel. "That way you will receive more blessings and become more powerful."