The psychic, guarded in a cell and wearing a fully automatic confessor, suddenly seemed to sense something, and one after another, they lifted their heads from their praying posture to stare intently outside.
The Inquisitor of the Legal Department naturally noticed this phenomenon, but being stared at by dozens of people with unfocused, dilated pupils, yet bloodshot and veins bulging, his heart instinctively skipped a beat for half a second, and he immediately realized that something was wrong!
But before he could react and issue a warning, he saw flames erupting wildly around all the psychics.
These flames were not physical flames existing in the material universe, but projections of the Warp's currents, usually a sign that a psychic was about to be devoured by the Warp.
But... dozens of psychics going berserk at once, who has ever seen such a sight?
At least, this Inquisitor of the Legal Department had never seen such a 'splendid' and 'beautiful' scene in his life.
Boom—!!!
Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, the wails of the psychics were intertwined!
One, two... followed by three, four, until all forty-seven psychics confined in one room were completely devoured by the Warp and exploded!
In the last second of his life, the Inquisitor of the Legal Department remained in disbelief.
Why... did the fully automatic confessor fail?
Meanwhile, Galarion, sitting in the upper hive Ecclesiarchy Dome Sanctuary, looked down at the surging psychic energy igniting the Middle Hive, his lips slightly parted, and he let out a soft sound: "BOOM!"
Then, his expression gradually turned into a sneer: "Hahahahahahaha. Do you like the gift I gave you? Don't rush, this is just the first surprise!"
Why would the fully automatic confessor malfunction?
Of course, it was because he had secretly tampered with it long ago, replacing some of the Emperor's Dictates with Warp summoning spells.
Even the playback time, frequency, and when it would achieve the best effect were all meticulously calculated.
All for this moment, to let the proud Angel of the Emperor also taste what it means to be 'schemed against' by mortals.
"Hahahahaha"
Arrogant, mocking, and scornful laughter echoed before the shattered holy statue of the Emperor.
Galarion stepped on the shattered holy statue of the Emperor, holding the Emperor's Dictates in his hand, his face full of mockery: "Look, your people, your proud Angels, are nothing but my ridiculous pawns, and you are ultimately just a false god! A rotten corpse sitting on the Golden Throne!"
He laughed heartily, as if to vent all the grievances from those years.
"I made contributions!"
"I shed so much blood for the Empire! Why... must I suffer such torment in my old age?!"
"It doesn't matter, I've already understood, there is no Emperor at all, you are already dead. The great Lord of Change is my choice!"
Galarion was in a frenzy, singing and dancing.
His plan had been rewarded by the 'Lord of Change', and he had further shed his human form.
The feeling of weakness completely disappeared; he could clearly feel his arms becoming stronger, his legs containing immense explosive power, his skin as tough as iron, and every breath could cause the surrounding airflow to vibrate. This is the treatment a 'hero' should enjoy!
"Great Lord of Change, next I will let you enjoy an even more spectacular plan!"
Galarion waved his arms, as if conducting a symphony, deeply immersed and unable to extricate himself.
The surging psychic currents, mixed with the painful screams of the psychics, converged into the sharpest spear, directly shattering the already fragile material universe barrier here!
In an instant, a terrifying rift expanded, about several hundred meters in diameter, almost covering half of the settlement!
The edges of the rift, burning with psychic flames, seemed to be attracted by the rift in the upper hive, showing signs of connection between them. The malice of the Empyrean flowing out of it was like an endless, raging tsunami, washing over everyone, even the spirits and wills of the Astartes!
At this moment, the most tormented person was Emrys.
He was already an 'Eta-level' psyker. Although he had the 'necklace' given by Galahad to suppress it, facing a several-hundred-meter Warp rift, the impact was by no means easy to withstand.
Boom!
Emrys' pupils immediately lost focus, and his whole being seemed to be forcibly dragged into a 'vortex' by a force.
In that chaotic and disordered Warp, filled with evil, he was as tiny as a grain of sand, yet he could feel malicious glances from all directions, even from four pairs of eyes.
Above the endless Rainbow Plateau, reflecting madness and despair, pain and hope, in the depths of a vast labyrinth built from crystal walls composed of countless thoughts and greed, a body with constantly changing and distorted faces, the eyes on each face seemed to be staring at his fragile soul.
They were either squinting, or curious, or sneering, or mocking, collectively uttering thousands of tones with subtle differences, yet utterly distinct.
The sound was fragmented, yet it could penetrate the soul.
Like scratching an itch through a boot, slowly corroding, reaching deep into the bone marrow, making Emrys suffer immensely.
But in an instant, his soul was dragged to the Blood-soaked Plain again.
On a mountain-like base piled with bloodstained corpses and skulls, there was a huge brass throne.
A blood-red figure, wearing a huge winged helmet and intricate plate armor, cast a glance at him from the mountain of corpses and skulls that formed the base. It was devoid of any emotion, and contained no meaning at all, as if simply watching him indifferently.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The sound of drums, like spring thunder shaking the sky, resounded across the desolate Blood-soaked Plain!
He saw, at the edge of the horizon, a huge city wall rising as if touching the sky, dark red and almost black, as if smeared with blood, sharp iron spear spikes filled the top of the wall, extending from one end of the sky to the other, like an endless blood-red ladder!
Countless wails and screams that tormented and agonized the soul, mixed with the sky-shaking drumbeats, combined to form a maddening war song!
Then, Emrys painfully knelt on one knee, his teeth almost shattered, enduring the constant invasion of the war song that threatened to drag him into madness and slaughter every moment, his will on the verge of collapsing.
He saw an even more terrifying scene: a gigantic daemon with blood-red bat wings, a body as massive as a small mountain, deformed, thick bull horns, and a ferocious face. It wielded an axe and an iron whip, and under the gaze of the master of the brass throne, it came before Emrys.
"I, Skar'ege, kinsman of His Majesty the Blood God!"
The daemon, named 'Skar'ege', its blood-red eyes like lanterns, glared at the tiny Emrys and let out a storm-like roar: "I challenge you to a glorious duel, coward!!!"
Damn it, does it have to be so vengeful?!
Amidst his pain, Emrys completely made up his mind: if he ever ran his mouth again, he would castrate himself and become the first eunuch of 40K!
Blessings never come in pairs, misfortunes never come alone.
Khorne is unreasonable. You motherf*cker, open your eyes and see if this can even be considered 'fair'?
But clearly, the 'Blood God', high above on the Brass Throne, didn't care if it was truly 'fair'. He merely cast a glance.
Looking at Skar'ege, whose size was almost like a small hill, Emrys was in agony. Even if he used every ounce of his strength, there was no way he could defeat a genuine Khorne Greater Daemon. If this thing were let loose outside, it could at least destroy an entire organized Astra Militarum regiment!
But unfortunately, Skar'ege didn't seem to have any intention of going easy on the puny human before it.
It had finally managed to secure this opportunity to cleanse the 'Blood God's' shame. Although it didn't understand why the great 'Blood God' would care so much about a tiny, timid, and cowardly human, as long as it offered his skull, it could regain command of the army!
Crack!
The iron whip, imbued with a fishy wind, whipped through the air with a piercing shriek.
It was like a blood-red shadow wind, covered in spikes, coming for Emrys' body, and the suffocating pressure hit him like a tsunami!
The terrifying power it contained left him no room for hesitation, and he immediately rolled to the side. Otherwise, even the Engineer's power armor would be directly cut in half by a single whip!
Bang!
The iron whip left an indelible crack on the deep red wall cast from brass!
Intense war drums echoed from above the 'heavenly' blood-red staircase, as if delivering an impassioned war song for this unequal battle!
Skar'ege moved to the rhythm of the war song's drums, seizing the moment Emrys was rolling. The iron axe in its right hand, and its blood-red muscles, thick as a bull's, instantly swelled several times over, bringing the axe down with terrifying force. The dreadful airflow was like a dam breaking, or a celestial river pouring down!
Can't dodge!
Emrys' first thought flashed through his mind.
Too fast. The Khorne Greater Daemon's speed completely surpassed his reflexes.
Since he couldn't dodge, he could only try another method. Waiting for death was not Emrys' habit. Even if the opponent was an invincible Khorne Greater Daemon, he would still fight with all his might!
A massive amount of psychic energy was drawn from the Warp. The moment Skar'ege's axe fell, Emrys pressed his palms together, and a blood-red madness once again surged in his eyes.
Psychic Shockwave!
His target for the spell was not Skar'ege, but the descending iron axe!
The shockwave would spread with both parties as targets. Under the violent impact of the air current, Emrys was blasted away like a cannonball, rolling clumsily for more than ten meters.
Using a move that harmed himself eight hundred times, he once again dodged Skar'ege's attack.
Seeing a mere mortal dodge two fatal blows, the greatly annoyed Skar'ege suddenly felt a hint of disappointment from the 'Blood God's' gaze.
It had disappointed the great Blood God!
As one of the most powerful Greater Daemons under Khorne, to perform so poorly drove Skar'ege's rage to its peak!
"Mortal, I shall use your blood to offer the most devout blessing to the Blood God!" Skar'ege roared, striding forward with its two thick legs, like a mountain pressing down. The immense killing intent poured down, instantly suffocating Emrys.
The psychic energy he had drawn earlier to block Skar'ege's attack had already exceeded its limit.
But, when it rains, it pours.
Watching Skar'ege rapidly approach, just as Emrys was preparing a desperate counterattack, the backlash from the Warp appeared!
The power of the Warp directly pierced his soul.
The pain, like being burned by fire, penetrated to his bones, as if every inch of his flesh was being incinerated by flames!
"Ahhhhh—!"
Emrys collapsed, howling in pain, unable even to think.
Indeed, if you walk by the river often, how can your shoes not get wet?
Especially since he was already in Khorne's divine realm, and still heavily drawing psychic energy from the Warp, how could something not go wrong?
Emrys, deeply affected by the Warp's backlash, was utterly powerless to resist. He could only watch as the Khorne Greater Daemon, Skar'ege, raised its iron axe and brought it down with all its might.
He was indignant!
Why?
Didn't Khorne value fair decisions the most?
Was such a duel considered fair in Khorne's eyes?
Emrys' heart was filled with resentment and fury, as if it wanted to directly rush into the depths of his mind. His two eyes seemed to be burning with blood-red flames!
"I refuse to accept this!!!"
But no matter how much he refused to accept it, he couldn't stop Skar'ege.
The iron axe descended with terrifying momentum. Skar'ege seemed to already feel the 'Blood God's' approval directed at it.
Clang!!!
Suddenly, a violent rebound dragged Skar'ege back to reality from its fantasy.
The iron axe was blocked. Not only that, another, even more powerful force, forced it to retreat more than ten steps.
In Skar'ege's astonished gaze, it saw a woman of exquisite beauty beside the unconscious Emrys. She had wavy, light golden hair, and within her seemingly delicate and slender body, there was a power that made it feel a chill in its heart.
"I am Skar'ege, Greater Daemon under the 'Blood God'!"
Skar'ege seemed to realize that this was a formidable enemy. It gripped its iron axe with both hands, staring at her vigilantly: "Who are you?"
The woman, dressed in what appeared to be a somewhat damaged black robe, drew a knight's sword. Her cold eyes fixed on Skar'ege, and she declared loudly: "I am... the proof of the Emperor's divine power, an Angel who walks between the mortal realm and Chaos, exercising the Emperor's name. My name is Winnie Winslet!"
The next moment, the knight's sword burned with golden flames. As Winnie took a step, it suddenly slashed horizontally.
Rip—!!
Even Skar'ege, a Greater Daemon blessed by Khorne, could not withstand the sword's edge, wreathed in golden flames.
Its powerful demonic body was actually cut with terrifying wounds by the golden flames, and the scorching golden inferno made this Khorne Greater Daemon howl incessantly!
Winnie gripped the blade, burning with golden flames, and called out the holy name of the Emperor. In her cold, beautiful eyes flowed the wrath of the 'Emperor'.
At this moment, the blood-red figure high on the Brass Throne seemed to let out an angry roar.
But He could not stop it.
Winnie raised her holy sword, pouring all the golden flames burning on it onto this stairway fortress!
Boom!!!
The monstrous golden flames, like an ocean, instantly ignited the entire fortress!
Countless demonic legions of Khorne wailed, their souls utterly annihilated by the golden flames. The terrifying power made the blood-red figure on the Brass Throne furiously grab the great axe beside the throne, grip it, and hurl it towards Winnie's location. It was like a meteor streaking across the sky, descending with the wrath of the Supreme God!
But just as the great axe was about to land, Winnie took a step back, pulling Emrys, and vanished directly from this space.
Angry roars echoed throughout every corner of Khorne's divine realm!
Khorne, on the Brass Throne, cast His angry gaze towards the Imperium, towards that cold, pitch-black Sun!