The battlefield stabilized just long enough for everyone to collectively realize,
Something worse was coming.
The Warp above the Ork mega-stage churned, spiraled, and tore open like a flesh wound in reality.
Red lightning crackled downward. The air filled with the taste of iron and ash, with the smell of burnt steak.
Erik stopped mid-riff.
Lady Death raised an eyebrow.
The Goff Rockers stared upward in giddy anticipation.
And the Imperium, Chaos, Tyranids, and even a few less intelligent rockers collectively went:
"Oh hell no."
With a roar that made volcanoes feel small, an enormous Bloodthirster slammed into the ground, massive wings, brass armor, chain-axe the size of a Rhino, eyes burning with eternal hatred and surprisingly good rhythm.
The impact shockwave knocked over tanks and sent Tyranids rolling in all directions.
The demon snarled, "MORTAL. CREATURE OF VOID. STOP THAT INFERNAL NOISE."
Then he paused.
Head tilted.
Because Erik plucked a single note.
A note so sharp, so pure, so violently metal that the Bloodthirster actually stumbled.
"Interestin.," the daemon rumbled. A smile forming.
Lady Death floated down in front of it, voice calm. "State your purpose, demon."
The Bloodthirster slammed his axe into the dirt.
"I AM AN'GRAZAKH THE EAR-SUNDERER, CHAMPION OF KHORNE! MY LORD HAS ISSUED A CHALLENGE!" (OC couldn't find any bloodthirster that focuses on music.)
The Orks gasped.
"'E KNOWS WE'RE 'ERE?!"
"BLOODY 'ELL, DA WAAAGH'S GONE PROPA' DAKKA!"
The Bloodthirster pointed its burning whip at Erik.
"YOU. MORTAL. YOUR NOISE REACHES THE SKULL THRONE. KHORNE DEMANDS A DUEL. A COMPETITION OF SOUND. A BATTLE OF MUSIC AND MURDER! FACE ME!"
The battlefield froze.
A Commissar stopped mid-execution.
A Genestealer froze mid-lunge.
A Berzerker paused mid-decapitation and quietly put the head down to watch.
Erik cracked his knuckles. Excitement flashing across his face.
Lady Death smirked. "Oh, this should be fun."
The Goff Rockers were vibrating like caffeinated toddlers.
The Bloodthirster lifted a massive, rune-forged guitar from his back, an instrument carved from the skull of a Titan, strings made from daemon sinew, resonating with the screams of the damned.
It played a single chord.
The ground split.
Skulls burst into flame.
Every Khorne daemon on the planet roared in approval.
Erik stepped forward.
His guitar, shaped from primordial sound, bound with void energy, glowed with eldritch light.
He strummed.
Reality blinked.
The sound was so sharp it cut the wings off a nearby Gargoyle, which then slowly reattached them out of respect.
(POV - Reactions)
Khorne followers: "BLOODTHIRSTER! TEAR HIS SOUL APART THROUGH SONG!"
Orks: "YER GONNA GET KRUMPED BY DA 'UMIE METAL GOD!"
Tyranids: Telepathic outrage.
Imperial Guardsmen: "Sir, is this heresy?"
"Yes, private. But Emperor, help me… it slaps."
The Emperor sent a telepathic message across the galaxy: "This is entertaining. Continue."
__________
Round 1
(Song - Angel Vivaldi // A Martian Winter)
The Bloodthirster unleashed a brutal, skull-shattering bassline. Mountains cracked. The sky bled.
Three Chaos Space Marines erupted into flames simply because they were standing too close.
Erik's response?
A riff that summoned spectral wolves made of pure sound. They howled in perfect harmony, slicing through incoming daemonic flames.
Khorne's champion roared.
"GOOD! AGAIN!"
Round 2
An'Grazakh beat his wings, sending a sonic shockwave that blasted half the battlefield flat. Orks flew in every direction like green confetti.
Erik stomped his foot, unleashing a shockwave rhythm so potent it caught the Orks mid-air, spun them around, and slammed them safely back into the mosh pit.
The Orks cheered.
"BEST DROP EVAH!"
Round 3 - Final Round
The Bloodthirster inhaled, summoning the full fury of Khorne.
"THIS IS THE END, MORTAL!"
He raised his guitar-axe, strings igniting with warp-flame.
Erik smiled.
Lady Death drifted behind him, touching the instrument lightly.
"Go on," she whispered, "Show him why they call you the Voice of the Void."
Erik unleashed a riff so powerful it slammed into the bloodthirsters soul… well whatever was left that is..
A single, complex, powerful cascade of notes that spiraled through reality, bending it, twisting it, and momentarily making the Immaterium itself hold its breath.
The Bloodthirster froze.
His wings dissolved.
His guitar shattered.
And then, very gently, like a respectful warrior acknowledging defeat…
He knelt.
"KHORNE…" the daemon growled, "ACKNOWLEDGES YOUR VICTORY."
The battlefield erupted.
Orks screamed with joy.
Guardsmen fainted.
Chaos Marines reconsidered their life choices.
Tyranids attempted to clap without understanding the concept.
Lady Death clapped daintily.
And far away, atop his throne of skulls…
Khorne grunted.
"LOUD. I APPROVE."
__________
The last note of Erik's victory riff echoed across the battlefield like a comet made of sound and arrogance.
For one impossible moment…
Everything was silent.
Orks stared at Chaos.
Chaos stared at Tyranids.
Tyranids stared at Guard.
The Guard stared at everything with the exhausted terror of caffeine-addled soldiers who've seen too much.
Even the Bloodthirster, still kneeling, looked around as if wondering, 'Now what?'
Then an Ork, nobody knows which one, but historians agree he was probably an idiot, raised his shoota and shouted:
"OI, DA MUSIK'S OVAH! GET 'EM, LADZ!"
And the entire planet exploded into violence.
The Goff Rockers didn't even hesitate. The moment the shout hit their ears, they roared.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Tens of thousands of Orks surged forward, all teeth, chainswords, and boosted confidence. But this time, the Waaagh wasn't sloppy.
Erik's concert left them supercharged.
They ran faster. Hit harder. Shouted louder. And glowed green in places that really shouldn't glow.
The Orkish tide crashed into the nearest Chaos force like a tsunami made of metal, leather, and loud screams.
The Khorne Berzerkers took this personally.
"FINALLY!" one roared, revving his chainaxe. "NO MORE MUSIC! ONLY BLOOD!"
They countercharged, red armor gleaming, chainaxes rising and falling in brutal arcs. Their bloodlust was amplified by the sheer noise and carnage around them, exactly how they liked it.
A Berzerker leapt into a group of charging Boyz, screaming:
"SKULLS FOR—"
He didn't finish, because five Orks dog-piled him, arguing over who got to krump him first.
The Hive Mind watched the chaos.
It did not like the chaos.
It did not like the noise.
It did not like the Orks.
And it definitely didn't like that some gaunts had started tapping their claws to the rhythm earlier.
With a psychic roar that rattled mountains, the swarm surged forward.
Hormagaunts pounced into the melee with scything claws. Carnifexes bulldozed lines of Chaos Marines and Orks alike. A Hive Tyrant screamed at an Imperial Leman Russ, which screamed back (though with engine noises).
But, the Tyranids could not break the Imperial line. No matter how many forces they charged with.
__________
The Imperial Guard, battered, exhausted, traumatized, and very done with today's nonsense, rallied under the booming voice of a Commissar.
"MEN OF THE IMPERIUM!" he shouted.
"WE HOLD! WE DO NOT FALL TODAY! NOT TO BUGS! NOT TO DAEMONS! AND CERTAINLY NOT TO A GREEN MOB OF MUSICAL LUNATICS!"
The Guard cheered, firing volley after volley.
And for once, they hit things.
The Leman Russ squadrons repositioned, turrets roaring.
The artillery batteries found new targets, preferably things not near the stage, because no one wanted to interrupt whatever Erk and Lady Death were doing.
Even the Kasrkin arrived, storming through collapsing ruins with disciplined precision.
The Tyranid advance met a wall of lasfire and armor and stalled hard.
The Imperials held.
They even pushed forward.
Guardsmen cheered wildly, half in pride, half in disbelief.
__________
A Thunderhawk screamed overhead.
Blue ceramite slammed into the ground.
The Ultramarines deployed in perfect formation.
"Brothers," the Captain declared, "the Emperor protects."
An Ork immediately attempted to tackle him.
It did not work.
The Ork bounced off, spun in midair, and landed in a pile of Tyranid biomass.
The Space Marines advanced, bolters roaring, chainswords revving.
Unlike the Guard, they excelled at this level of insanity.
__________
Erik and Lady Death stood atop the floating stage, observing the unfolding carnage like tourists at an amusement park.
"This," Lady Death mused, "is oddly charming."
"I know, right?" Erik grinned. "Like a fireworks show just more bloody."
"Should we help the humans a bit?" she asked.
Erik eyed the battlefield.
The Orks were smashing Chaos.
Chaos was ripping into Tyranids.
Tyranids were trying to eat everyone.
The Imperium's line held like a stubborn root in a hurricane.
"Nah," Erik shrugged. "They're actually doing amazing today."
"We could make it harder for the others," she offered.
Erik smirked. "Exactly what I was thinking."
She flicked a pale hand.
A soft wave of necrotic energy washed across the battlefield
Chaos Marines felt their armor rust.
Tyranids felt their synaptic web tangle.
Orks felt nothing and proceeded to yell louder.
Imperials?
Perfectly untouched.
The field was chaos incarnate, However, The Imperials held the center. The line did not break.
Not today.
__________
__________
Surprise a second chapter. No way just a make up for not posting yesterday.
Listen everyone. I have two things I need to say.
You have till tomorrow to comment on what I should do next.
I can continue with an actual battle scene.
Or I can wrap it up and get back to the main story.
Vote which one you all think.
IF YOU CAN GET THIS BOOK TO 25 POWERSTONES BY TOMORROW I WILL POST ANOTHER 2 CHAPTERS.
Any questions or concerns comment here.