Finally, Sneek grew weary of the cat-and-mouse game. He conceded that this human possessed some measure of skill, but only some. If the man singled out by the Great Horned Rat was merely of this caliber… then let him perish.
With that thought, Sneek's aura shifted violently. Shrouded in pitch-black darkness like a living silhouette, only a pair of crimson eyes remained to prove he was not a true shadow.
"Hah! Who do you think you're intimidating, daemon!" Gadriel roared. He felt a terrifying killing intent weigh heavily upon his heart, yet he did not yield an inch.
"Worry not. Your deaths shall be swift." Sneek dissolved into the gloom once more, truly earnest this time.
Just as Titus and his brothers believed their end had come, a sudden burst of golden radiance erupted within the macabre subterranean space. The light swelled, filling the cavern until every corner was saturated with its brilliance.
The Skaven shrieked, clutching their eyes as they scattered in a frenzy. The solar intensity was devastating to the rat-men, enough to strike the vermin blind!
Under this holy light, even the shadow of Nightlord Sneek was stripped of its concealment. Immediately following the flash, a searing arc of flame cut through the air!
"What... how is this possible?" Sneek muttered to himself in disbelief. Never before had he encountered such a phenomenon. The blade of fire had struck where his shadow lay, forcing him to leap clear of the strike.
"O… Messenger of the Emperor, Great Living Saint!" Gadriel exclaimed in awe.
Titus and the other two instantly recognized the figure emerging with such majesty from the divine glow: a woman clad in golden armor, short dark hair framing her face, with great wings unfurled from her back.
As Ultramarines, Titus and his squad were well-acquainted with Saint Celestine. After all, it was the Living Saint who had brought their gene-father back to life, and it was she who had personally crowned Guilliman as the Lord Regent. For this, the entire XIII Legion held her in the highest gratitude.
"You must not fall here, young ones. Such is the Emperor's Will," Saint Celestine said, her wings beating as she landed. She did not look back at the Astartes as she spoke. "Go. The Emperor's Light shall guide your path while it withers the eyes of your foes."
Titus was not one for idle hesitation. He understood his duty as a Warden and the responsibilities he bore. With a sharp nod, he led Gadriel and Metaurus in a charge toward the exit.
The thunder of bolters and the roar of chainswords rose again, but this time, the blinded Skaven offered no resistance.
"The Ultramarines shall forever be grateful for your sacrifice!"
"It gladdens me to hear it, young hero, but you must depart at once."
Celestine's tone was remarkably composed. She stood before Sneek, her radiant light clashing against the Nightlord's shadows. She leveled the burning Ardent Blade at the Master of Clan Eshin. "Light against Shadow. You are most unfortunate, creature."
Sneek spun the Weeping Blades in his hands with a flourish, while the Weeping Shuriken on his tail whirled with lethal agility. To clear his path, he had no choice but to kill.
"A single blade in the night outweighs ten thousand spears at dawn. Do not gloat until the head has hit the floor," Sneek said, his voice low and exceptionally cold.
"Heh, then I truly thank you for the counsel," Celestine replied, sounding almost amused as if sharing a casual jest. Then, in a flash of motion, she transformed into a streak of burning light and lunged!
With twin blades in hand, Sneek found his vision blurred by the Living Saint's radiance. However, drawing upon his vast experience, he gauged the position of her blade by the searing heat singeing his fur.
As the oppressive heat bore down on him, Sneek crossed his twin swords like a pair of shears, successfully locking the Ardent Blade's edge. Then, with a light tap of his foot and utilizing his immense agility, he performed a perfect one-and-a-half somersault in mid-air, snapping a kick directly toward her face!
"Hm?" It was Celestine's turn to be surprised. She had not expected such martial prowess from this daemon, but she swiftly raised her left hand to guard her face.
Sneek's legs suddenly became a blur of motion, delivering a barrage of kicks with force enough to flip a Leman Russ in a microsecond: "Eshin Taijutsu: Leaf Hurricane!"
…
"Leaf Hurricane?" The Emperor looked toward Lucius with a peculiar expression.
As the Great Horned Rat, Lucius remained expressionless, but inwardly he was reminiscing. When he had first created them, he had mused that Eshin ninjutsu was supposedly learned from Nippon and Cathay, so he had fabricated a few names on a whim for the original Eshin-rats to learn.
Sensing something, the Emperor nodded and returned his gaze to the scene. "Ah, quite good. I find myself a bit nostalgic as well."
Lucius looked at the Emperor. Given that the Emperor was an existence as ancient as humanity itself, it wasn't particularly surprising if He recognized the reference.
"Eh, what are you two talking about? Let me in on it~ Please don't leave me out~" Slaanesh chirped, unable to sit still. As the God of Desire, the Prince of Pleasure hated being kept in the dark. "If you tell me, I'll give you big sisters' 'face-wash'~"
As Slaanesh spoke, the Dark Prince pressed slender, smooth arms together, accentuating a perfect chest as white as curdled milk, posing provocatively before the Emperor and the Great Horned Rat.
He was met only with the Emperor's cold indifference and Lucius's total disregard. The Emperor even barked, "Move. You're blocking the show."
"Hmph, such dull fellows. I don't believe for a second I can't pique your interest~" Slaanesh wasn't angered, but rather seemed even more intrigued.
Lucius, meanwhile, found Slaanesh's behavior odd. They were all Chaos Gods; what could one do that the others could not? Such temptations could be replicated by Khorne or even Nurgle, though they simply disdained to do so.
For instance, Lucius could easily fashion a peerless beauty himself, but there was no point. Currently, the only thing Lucius truly desired was Isha, held within Nurgle's Garden.
…
Back in the mortal realm, Sneek continued his relentless "Leaf Hurricane" assault on Celestine. The sheer force compelled the Living Saint to unfurl her wings and retreat to dissipate the momentum.
Sneek gave her no room to breathe, surging forward as his twin Weeping Blades wove a web of emerald-toxic light. Even with Celestine's power, she could only just manage to parry the strikes.
The Living Saint had fought for ten millennia; though her speed lagged behind Sneek's, she was his equal in all other regards. Suddenly, her body erupted in a conflagration of holy fire. She became like a miniature sun, instantly forcing Sneek back.
"Do not attempt to defile the Emperor's Messenger. Even now, I can grant you a dignified end, child," the Living Saint said, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she rose into the air. Her intense light left Sneek's shadows with nowhere to hide.
Then, she plummeted like a falling star. The power of this strike was equivalent to a macro-cannon broadside, capable of leveling the entire Hell-pit on Ironward III!
Sneek could not allow that to happen; the Great Horned Rat was watching this place closely.
Reaching out, Sneek dissolved his entire being into a massive shroud of shadow to intercept the Living Saint's impact!
The shadow wrapped around the Saint like a fisherman's net, and in an instant, both vanished from the cavern.
"Huh?" The sudden silence left both the common Skaven and the Eshin-rats in a state of confusion.
Meanwhile, within the Forge of Souls in the Warp, a black sphere crashed down before the Emperor and the Great Horned Rat, sending plumes of molten warp-stuff into the air.
"Impressive," the Emperor remarked with a slight nod. "Setting aside the fact that he is xenos, he is a most loyal warrior."
Then, the black sphere faded like receding ink. Within it, the Living Saint remained radiant as a small sun, while the shadow was, naturally, Sneek. To protect the Hell-pit, Sneek had used his own essence as a vessel to drag both the Living Saint and himself into the Immaterium.