Chapter 250: The First Murder of Humanity

"Puppet!"

"Oh no, the Great Devourer Abaddon has come!"

Leina let out a scream bordering on terror,

and everyone present—whether from the Black Legion or the Expeditionary Force—froze in place,

the air grew thick and suffocating, the warp's power surged, eroding the material universe and devouring the snowfield,

whispers from the warp echoed endlessly, praising the glory of the Great Devourer Abaddon,

Abaddon! Victorious Abaddon!

Abaddon! Lord of the Black Legion, Abaddon!

Abaddon! Pathfinder of the Crimson Path, Abaddon!

Abaddon! Heir of Horus, Abaddon!

Chaos Warmaster Abaddon! Chosen by the Four Gods, Abaddon! Grave-Digger of the Empire, Abaddon!

a burst of teleportation light erupted across the snowfield,

four emotions—deceit, lust, rage, and despair—spread across the snow,

twisted light coalesced into a humanoid form, standing atop the sea of snow: Gasterlin Terminators, forged a millennium ago in the Emperor's furnace and corrupted by the Chaos Gods,

Gasterlin Terminators were the elite of the first company of the former Sons of Horus, personal guards of Ezekiel Abaddon, the sharpest blood-blades of the Black Legion,

and their leader was none other than the Lord of the Black Legion himself, Ezekiel Abaddon, former company captain of the Sons of Horus' first company,

a man whose face wavered between darkness and pallor, his eyes tinged with faint gold, every muscle on his face sharply defined, a crimson scar crossing his cheek, oozing a trickle of blood,

every other part of his body was encased in heavy, pitch-black Terminator armor, unlike any design of the Empire, its surface festering with malice and corruption, twisted into spikes and decayed sigils,

at his abdomen, the black armor glowed with a chilling red light, at its center an Eye of Horus, radiating an eight-pointed star symbolizing Chaos, as if the power of the Chaos Gods clung to it,

his left arm bore a claw larger than his own frame—Leina knew it: the relic of her father Horus, the claw that had torn apart Sanguinius, its interior fitted with a twin-linked bolter,

but what truly chilled every human present was the demonic sword in Ezekiel Abaddon's hand,

a blade whose surface teemed with screaming, wailing faces, its deep blue steel pulsing with primal murderous desire,

merely glancing at it, Leina felt unbearable pain in her chest, as if a blade of polished obsidian pierced through her heart, draining her blood,

it was death, it was the death of humanity,

it was murder, it was humanity's first murder,

the demonic sword Drakonion!

Leina had heard the name of this sword from Zhou Yun, and learned its details from Inquisitor Greyfax,

the sword housed the demon born from humanity's first murder, bearing the symbol of humanity's death.

Ezekiel Abaddon glanced at the Expeditionary Force and let out a contemptuous snort,

he moved with a speed no Terminators armor should allow, his Hand of Horus unleashing a storm of bolter fire,

the propelled rounds, trailing fire, rained into the ranks of the Imperial forces,

Leina cried out sharply, releasing her psychic power in its purest, rawest form, instantly colliding with the bolter fire from the Hand of Horus,

but these were no ordinary weapons—the twin demons of hatred and vengeance dwelled within the Hand of Horus, each bullet blessed by the Dark Gods, each claw having tasted the blood of gods, demons, and angels,

Leina let out a cry of anguish as her psychic barrier shattered,

she blocked most of the bolter rounds, but some still carved bloody trails through the Expeditionary Force.

Abaddon's gaze flicked toward Leina, a flicker of surprise in his eyes at her psychic power:

"Alpha-level psyker?"

no sooner had the words left his lips than he lunged at her—faster than she could follow—

CLANG!!!!

a silver sword wreathed in flame clashed against the Hand of Horus,

pure white wings trembled gently from the snow, radiating warmth like sunlight,

the Living Saint Celestine descended from the heavens, like a golden star bathed in fire,

"The Emperor's warp witch."

Ezekiel Abaddon sneered:

"Look at the corpse you worship—how fallen he is. He sacrificed all of humanity, drowning himself in warp Xieli, even birthing you, a pure warp entity."

Abaddon's words made Leina's eyes twitch slightly behind Celestine,

what right does he have to speak like this?

in Leina's eyes, Abaddon's corruption had reached a terrifying depth,

he was nearly entirely consumed by Chaos, become Chaos's vessel in the material universe,

yet he saw none of it, as if blind to the decay clinging to his own flesh,

in terms of warp contamination, Abaddon surpassed Celestine by far.

their blades and claws clashed three or four times in the blizzard; Celestine could not withstand Abaddon's relentless blows, and with a mighty beat of her wings, she soared back into the sky,

the twin handmaidens who had always hovered near Celestine broke free from their battle with the Black Legion and circled around her once more,

Abaddon snorted, and his Gasterlin Terminators surged forward toward the Expeditionary Force,

streams of data flashed in the eyes of the Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, the Mechanicus Archmagos clearly prepared to fight for his covenant,

the Axe of Omnissiah clashed against Gasterlin Terminators armor,

Leina swiftly issued orders through her psychic link with the entire 184th Cadia First Regiment; the entire regiment rapidly formed a new line to withstand the Gasterlin Terminators' charge,

but Leina knew they wouldn't hold long.

bolter fire roared from the Hand of Horus, igniting a storm of flame in the void,

Celestine moved swiftly, dodging most of Abaddon's attacks, yet several bolter rounds still exploded against her gilded armor, tearing jagged fissures,

Celestine seized the brief pause after Abaddon's volley, raising her silver sword high—the twin handmaidens mirrored her motion,

Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's memory still held the original design schematics of the Hand of Horus from the ancient Mechanicus; Celestine knew one small flaw in the Hand of Horus.

she closed the distance rapidly, her silver sword blazing with searing flame,

"In the name of the Emperor!"

Celestine roared, the flame engulfing the entire silver blade, as if the Emperor's radiance burned upon her,

the twin handmaidens followed behind her, swinging their swords toward Abaddon,

yet Abaddon merely sneered, sidestepping one handmaiden's blade and smashing the other aside with his Hand of Horus,

then—

a piercing scream erupted from the demonic sword Drakonion in his hand, contemptuously deflecting Celestine's silver blade,

then the deathly aura on the blade intensified; Abaddon swung violently, unleashing a circle of burning death,

the two handmaidens could not dodge in time—their bodies were slashed by Drakonion, flesh and blood instantly disintegrating,

Celestine barely evaded, yet the blade still sliced cleanly through her chest armor, carving a grotesque wound into her flesh,

Celestine's movements slowed slightly,

Abaddon seized the moment—Drakonion's tip, like a needle, plunged straight into Celestine's chest.

Celestine spat blood.

"This time, you won't be resurrected," Abaddon's voice was low as blood.

"Great Devourer!" a roar suddenly erupted,

Leina's eyes blazed with warp currents, immense psychic power gathering upon her,

she had watched Celestine and Abaddon's battle closely—this fight's only hope was that Celestine might momentarily overpower Abaddon,

but Celestine was clearly cornered; if this Living Saint truly died, the entire Expeditionary Force would be utterly without hope,

Leina had no choice but to remove the restrictions she had placed upon herself, drawing power from the warp without restraint,

"Huff"—she felt the Great Rift looming in the stars,

the Great Rift's strengthening did not empower only the forces of Chaos,

Leina poured nearly all her psychic power into the surge,

raw, pure warp energy took the form of an arrow, piercing straight toward Abaddon,

Abaddon sensed the immense psychic force in her attack,

he spun swiftly, yanking the blood-smeared Drakonion from Celestine's chest,

Celestine collapsed like a broken puppet, feathers scattering across the snow,

Drakonion clashed with Leina's psychic energy; her eyes burned as if aflame, the boundary between warp and reality around her blurred,

pain surged through her nerves, every cell screamed under the assault of non-material forces, her hair lifted as if caught in the wind of the High Heaven,

yet Abaddon merely swung his demonic sword once—Leina's psychic energy was cleanly severed,

the countless faces on Drakonion screamed; Leina's power seemed insignificant before the demon's might,

in the blink of an eye, Abaddon sliced through her psychic shield and stepped forward, standing before her,

"My original witch is dead."

Abaddon looked down at Leina:

"Your psychic power is strong. You must know divination and prophecy?"

"Serve me, mortal."

"The Emperor surely has other plans for me," Leina replied softly. "That is the best arrangement."

Abaddon sneered, raising Drakonion to strike Leina—

a short sword glowing with golden light suddenly appeared midair, blocking Drakonion's blade

"Zhou Yun!" Lei Na let out a sudden breath of relief.

(End of Chapter)