Chapter 215: Hate! Hate!

Scorching defense lasers fired from the last anti-air battery pierced through the Norn Envoy's body, searing flames burning straight through it.

Dante gasped for breath, his entire body drenched in blood, while Saint Gileno above severed his wings and collapsed onto the ruins of the city wall.

The Death Company warriors swung their power axes, roaring beneath the corpse of the Norn Envoy.

The Norn Envoy was so powerful—his strength utterly surpassed every swarm Dante had ever faced.

Even with Saint Gileno and the Oathbound Legion's aid, Dante had been forced to deploy the Death Company to coordinate the battle.

These warriors, consumed by ancient rage, saw the Norn Envoy as Horus from ten thousand years past and charged forward in fury.

Their sacrifice allowed Dante to seize the moment, using the last remaining defense laser to end the Norn Envoy's life.

But. But their foe was not merely the swarms.

Angelas roared, tearing out the brain of another Norn Envoy, purple and blue pus dripping from his grotesque bloodaxe.

The Chief Daemon of Khorne let out a roar of near-fury, crushing the Norn Envoy's corpse beneath his feet, then turned and swung his axe toward Dante.

Dante's nose instantly caught the scent of blood and brimstone, his whole body feeling submerged in a pool of blood.

Flickering visions danced before Dante's eyes.

Blood, blood, blood—endless blood flooded into Dante's heart.

"He resisted!!!!"

Angelas bellowed, a thunderous roar shaking the air:

"But the Blood God does not permit resistance! The Blood God will devour his soul!"

"Yours too!!! Dante!!! Sink into blood!!!"

With the roar, Angelas reached Dante's side, his axe swinging down toward Dante's head as if screaming.

Dante frantically activated his jump pack, dragging his wounded body away.

The axe slammed into the ground, causing the entire Fortress Angelus to tremble.

Dante fired the trigger of his ancient thermic pistol, searing flames erupting across Angelas's face.

Angelas's whip lashed out in pursuit.

An Oathbound Legion warrior swung a silver longsword, intercepting Angelas's side.

The warrior had once been mortal, yet his masterful swordplay blocked Angelas's whip—then vanished in a burst of wild flame as Angelas roared.

But Angelas returned instantly before Dante, his sharp axe crashing down upon Dante's body.

The golden mask shattered into two halves under the axe's blow, revealing Dante's aged face to Angelas.

Angelas let out a wild laugh, the axe continuing its downward swing—

Dante's jump pack emitted its final mournful cry, searing flames hurling him into the air.

Then the fuel exhausted, and Dante crashed heavily into the ruins.

Angelas chased after him—

"Horus!!!"

A furious roar erupted, and a black storm surged:

"Face Kassos! Kassos will take your life!!!"

Death Company's fearless Kassos charged before Dante, blocking Angelas's axe with his iron body.

This ancient warrior had slept in a stasis field since the Battle of the Underworld, only released earlier to fight the Norn Envoy.

Angelas's axe nearly crushed Kassos into the ground, tearing his power claws apart.

The chainsword screamed—Fenni, Captain of the Crimson Angels, eyes blazing with fury and madness, his fangs piercing his lips like a vampire, his face twisted into inhuman horror.

This captain, who had long resisted the Crimson Angels' traditions, had finally embraced the Crimson Hunger.

He stomped on Kassos's iron frame, swung his chainsword, and leapt before Angelas.

Angelas's axe was held fast by Kassos, leaving him no time to defend against Fenni's strike.

The chainsaw carved a bloody gash across Angelas's face; he roared in rage.

His axe violently wrenched free from Kassos's grip, the blade whipping up a bloodstorm that slammed into Fenni.

The warrior's body flew like a rag, landing broken among the ruins.

Dante's ancient thermic pistol roared, searing flames exploding across Angelas's body.

But Angelas ignored it, lunging toward Dante, his axe lifting sharply—

Dante's golden power armor split open in an instant, a grotesque bloody wound carving across his body.

Dante smelled death, felt the cold wind brushing against him.

"Most die in the attempt."

Beneath the icy night sky, Areias warned his son Louis Dante:

"Fewer still pass the Trial of the Angelic City; fewer still survive."

"No," Dante moaned softly.

He felt himself dying, as he had once nearly perished from thirst on the selection path years ago.

He had served for a thousand years, saved humanity countless times—death should have been his rightful reward.

Now his longing was about to be fulfilled—what more could Dante possibly want?

He had defeated enough enemies of humanity—even without Angelas—his honor would remain untouched.

"No."

Dante forced his body to resist death:

"No—not yet."

Deep within his soul, he prayed:

To the Archangels, to the Emperor, to his dead father, to the ancestors of his Chapter, to every glorious warrior of the Imperium, to all he had ever trusted—

Even to Saint Dora, begging them to grant him just a little more life—enough to defeat Angelas.

Just one more moment—then Dante could accept death, accept this reward.

But Dante's life still bled away.

Angelas laughed wildly—this one would do; if he offered just one more head to the Blood God, perhaps—

"Eat my Boss's Special Friendship Laser Punch!"

A scorching defense laser suddenly streaked across half of Fortress Angelus, slamming into Angelas's face.

Angelas shrieked in agony, half his body igniting under the laser's heat.

Dante was stunned—the last defense laser had already been—

He turned his gaze and saw Zhou Yun standing before a door of pink-tinged red wood, Ces and Mephyston beside him, nearly dead.

Neither Ces nor Mephyston showed pain from their wounds, nor despair at the battle's horror.

Their faces held only hope and glory—because—

Dante could not believe what he saw.

Suddenly, streams of warm golden flames ignited across Angelas's body.

The daemon's form began shrinking rapidly; the Blood God's power clinging to Baal was weakening.

Instantly, the sky over Baal was bathed in sunlight-like radiance; the monstrous rift spanning Baal's heavens blurred and faded.

Instead, the two Baal moons above grew clear and bright, reflecting the star's light.

Dante held his breath, watching the scene before him.

Feathers drifted slowly from the sky, pure white tinged with faint blue.

Saint Gileno, whose wings had been severed by the Norn Envoy and who had been near death, let out a joyful cry.

His wounds seemed to heal in an instant; he flapped his wings and soared skyward, circling the white light.

Death Company's fearless, cursed Kassos roared with exhilaration—the black fury that had consumed him vanished in an instant.

Fenni knelt on the ground in disbelief, tears streaming down his face, head bowed as he confessed his sins.

"I will not forgive you—I bear them with you, for your sin is my sin."

A clear voice echoed softly, and instantly all pain, rage, sorrow, and death vanished.

The mortals among the ruins began chanting prayers, weeping with awe.

"Saint Giless!!!!"

A furious roar erupted from Angelas, the Daemon of Khorne:

He was the first to speak the name of that figure.

"I want that."

Zhou Yun pointed at Angelas, his voice light with amusement, as if ordering a dish in a restaurant.

"Whole," he added, as casually as requesting a steak.

"Alright," the clear voice replied once more.

Dante saw only a blazing crimson-gold storm sweeping across the sky.

Angelas screamed as a tear-shaped spear pierced his chest.

The daemon struggled, swinging his bloodaxe—but the spear effortlessly deflected it.

Wings fluttered gently, summoning a gale; the Bow-Spear lifted Angelas's body and hurled him before Zhou Yun.

Simultaneously, the brilliant white light trembled slightly.

Four power swords scattered across the battlefield rose mysteriously, ignited in searing flames, and drove like spikes into Angelas's limbs, pinning him firmly before Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun calmly reached for the white pouch on his abdomen; it opened slightly, revealing a black abyss.

"No——————"

Anglas let out a startled roar, but it had no effect.

Dante saw Anglas's head seized by the figure within the white light and forcibly shoved into Zhou Yun's white pocket.

Then Anglas flowed like liquid into Zhou Yun's white pocket and vanished.

The figure within the white light slowly approached Dante.

Dante felt his life ebbing away bit by bit, but this time he did not resist.

Death—the death Saint Dora promised him—had finally come, that calm and peaceful death, that ultimate release.

Dante saw Saint Gilese's face—not carved from metal, but flesh and blood, radiant with holiness and nobility, brimming with fierce power.

"At last… I've fulfilled my mission," Dante croaked, his throat dry. "Did I do well? Was I a good Blood Angel?"

"Almost the best," a clear, gentle voice sounded beside Dante.

The large hand rested on Dante's shoulder, and suddenly he felt a surge of vitality flowing into him.

Dante's face twisted in shock and confusion.

"You cannot join them yet."

Saint Gilese glanced toward the Binding Legion dissolving in the flames nearby.

"I need you more than my father does."

"Dante… you will still live."

Dante stood frozen, turning his head to look at Zhou Yun, who smiled at the corner of his mouth.

Of course—making a pact with an entity from the Warp never ends well!

Dante's gaze toward Zhou Yun was pure hatred.

(End of Chapter)