Chapter 288: Eldar: PTSD Flares Up, Stress Reaction

Fat Tiger the Great Demon slightly opened his mouth,

and even this simplest of movements sent a shiver of gooseflesh crawling over Luo Bote's entire body,

his superhuman senses instinctively sensing danger, his body reflexively flooding with fear,

and Saint Guilliman's expression also changed abruptly,

"No, this is——————"

"I!!!"

Before Saint Guilliman could finish speaking, a short, sharp note surged from Fat Tiger the Great Demon's mouth, riding atop the syllable "I,"

the nearest Luo Bote felt his skull throb, his internal organs wailed, his blood seemed to reverse-flow through his body, his breath grew difficult, and reality and the Warp twisted together into indistinguishable chaos,

"It's!!!!"

a second note erupted,

the note pierced his body like an irresistible blade, laced with bone-deep death, blood-soaked savagery, and an endless yearning for music—as if the Emperor, Khorne, and Slaanesh were singing in unison,

in an instant Luo Bote saw the end and destruction of the entire universe, saw billions upon billions of stars annihilated across the galaxy,

saw a crimson brass sword pierce the galaxy, leaving behind a burning crimson scar,

saw the first cry of the Dark Prince as he was born, tearing through the entire galaxy.

Blood streamed from his eardrums; he clenched his teeth to keep from collapsing.

"Fat!!!"

when the third note sounded, even Saint Guilliman began to falter; he strained to maintain his power, trying to contain the song's spread,

then

"Tiger!!!"

a roar like a declaration of birth rang out—Luo Bote was blasted backward, rolling across the ground several times, barely holding onto consciousness,

Saint Guilliman let out a muffled groan, his knees buckling as he sank to one knee; his psychic barrier blocked most of the song, but much still leaked out,

he sensed the Warp nature of the song—its transmission was not merely physical, but also across the Warp; nearly every sentient being on Macragge heard the piercing, shrill melody at once,

"Lady Ifreni, please help us—tell your Death God to speak, have the Laughing God come and pull me out!"

inside the Eldar embassy on Macragge, arranged by Luo Bote,

Hilarande the Veil-Walker pleaded desperately to Ifreni,

but the Red-Armored Hound—no, the Red-Armored Warrior—stood firmly before Hilarande the Veil-Walker, guarding Ifreni's side,

both regarded Hilarande the Veil-Walker with suspicion; during the Saint Guilliman Canon, it was she who, under Zhou Yun's control, injected Ifreni with a Dark Eldar anesthetic,

though Hilarande the Veil-Walker constantly insisted she remained loyal to the Eldar and Xigao Le, merely controlled by the Lockheart Beetle, Ifreni and Thousand-Faced still grew wary—even if she spoke truth, could they rule out her being controlled again?

Hilarande the Veil-Walker was a master among clowns, carrying several artifacts granted by the Human Death God; should she suddenly strike, even the two Death God Chosen would suffer greatly.

"Veil-Walker, you've been granted more freedom than we have—why seek our aid?" Ifreni asked softly, her voice cold as a tomb.

Hilarande the Veil-Walker's lips twitched; she couldn't tell whether it was Zhou Yun's malice or Luo Bote's political maneuvering, but humans now tightly guarded Ifreni and Thousand-Faced, forbidding them to leave the embassy district,

yet for Hilarande the Veil-Walker, humans showed great courtesy—no surveillance, full freedom of movement, even permitting her to roam beyond Macragge's star system without interference.

She knew well: this was both to lure out Xigao Le's rescue and to exploit her Lockheart Beetle control, and to fracture Eldar unity.

"Xigao Le has never replied to my messages—I truly need your help to reach Him," Hilarande the Veil-Walker said, face twisted in bitterness: "He must try to save me—if He doesn't, I'm worthless. Who knows what Zhou Yun will do?"

Hearing this, Ifreni's suspicion deepened—has even the Laughing God abandoned you, and yet you dare claim loyalty to the Eldar?

"Even Inard is now barred from the Black Library—the Laughing God has refused his visit," Ifreni said flatly.

This startled Hilarande the Veil-Walker; since Inard's partial awakening, she had not returned to the Black Library, and the Laughing God had ignored her messages—she knew nothing of this.

Why is the Laughing God avoiding Inard?

before Hilarande the Veil-Walker could finish, her voice stretched violently, like a cat's claw scraping a chalkboard, slowly escalating into a shriek,

her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees.

Ifreni was first stunned, then—a song reached her ears,

"I! Am! Fat! Tiger!"

the song brimmed with primal violence, an intense craving for musical art, and the deathly silence of the galaxy's end—a song meant to tear apart Ifreni's soul, this planet beneath her feet, the entire galaxy, even reality itself,

a song that loudly proclaimed its own birth,

in this sound, Ifreni sensed a frequency akin to the Dark Prince—it awakened Ifreni, and also awakened ancient memories within Thousand-Faced and Hilarande the Veil-Walker,

not their memories, but the entire Eldar race's collective memory, etched into every Eldar's flesh, soul, and existence—the deepest wound of the Eldar.

Ifreni's head throbbed, but the mental torment was worse,

the song reminded her of the Eldar's fall, of the Dark Prince's first cry at birth.

the Astartes, cloaked by the Blindspot Star and assigned to monitor the Eldar, gritted their teeth against the pain, staring blankly at the three Eldar lying on the ground, arched backward, trembling and twitching as if electrocuted or in acute stress, spitting foam and moaning incoherently.

atop Macragge's peak, Lei Na barely endured the piercing shriek—every muscle and nerve in her body quivered and shook, suffocating pressure crushing her mind,

simultaneously, she felt the song lingering in the Warp, making it nearly impossible to channel psychic energy—this was only because Fat Tiger the Great Demon merely intended to beat them, not kill them,

Lei Na knew that had Fat Tiger the Great Demon wished to kill, the moment he uttered his first note, every nerve in her body would have shattered,

conversely, the two Primarchs, with their robust physiques, bore more of the song,

Luo Bote's skin split under the song, blood continuously seeping from beneath his Fate Armor; the Emperor's Sword, plunged diagonally into the ground, supported his body,

Saint Guilliman showed no visible wounds—he stood farther from Fat Tiger the Great Demon, and as a Primarch with psychic power, his resistance to Warp damage was clearly higher—but his pure white wings continuously shed feathers.

But what terrified the three present was that Fat Tiger the Great Demon slowly rose from the marble floor, his body still scarred from Luo Bote's strikes, and slowly opened his mouth again,

ripples stirred once more in the Warp—he intended to unleash that song again.

the three atop Macragge's peak simultaneously froze in terror, their bodies trembling,

Luo Bote surged to his feet, swinging the Emperor's Sword through the air in a blazing arc, like a solar corona, slashing toward Fat Tiger the Great Demon,

Fat Tiger the Great Demon sidestepped, raising his transformed Souniaburi baton, meeting the Emperor's Sword with an unextinguished flame,

burning sparks scattered wildly through the thin air as baton clashed with blade,

Luo Bote clearly held greater strength—he gritted his teeth and swung the Emperor's Sword with crushing force, the blazing unextinguished flame directly knocking Fat Tiger the Great Demon's baton aside,

Fat Tiger the Great Demon's baton flew uncontrollably to the side,

but Luo Bote's expression shifted slightly—for Fat Tiger the Great Demon's baton was hurtling toward the statue of King Kanno at the edge of Macragge's peak,

this statue, like the one of Yudon's Lady, had been carved by Luo Bote himself ten thousand years ago to honor the two elder figures who had been like parents to him,

while the statues of the Emperor and himself were erected by the Space Wolves after his death.

Luo Bote reacted instinctively, sliding sideways to intercept the baton and shoving it away,

a crack of shattering marble rang out—the baton grazed King Kanno's statue and struck the Emperor's statue, instantly sending stone fragments flying.

Luo Bote's eye twitched as he watched the marble head of the Emperor's statue land at his feet, his movements slowing for a moment.

No! Not one word! Not one syllable! Not one detail! Not one thing! 【71】 "I!!!!!!"

"I!!!!!"

in that fleeting instant, Fat Tiger the Great Demon opened his mouth wide, another note bursting forth,

Luo Bote whirled, swinging the Emperor's Sword to block—

"I'm back."

both Fat Tiger's mouth and Zhou Yun's mouth uttered the same phrase simultaneously,

Luo Bote's sword froze in his grip; he panted, staring at Zhou Yun.

"Finally found the right moment."

Zhou Yun and Fat Tiger spoke in unison, as if a single will inhabited both bodies,

in his brief time in the material universe, Zhou Yun had wandered near every Warp-navigating object—the Falos Lighthouse, the Hive Lighthouse, the Hymnal Engine, and more,

Zhou Yun had even considered going directly to the massive, blazing Beacon in the Warp to ask the Emperor for directions,

of course, that carried some risk, given the Emperor's uncertain state,

fortunately, at the last moment he found the light emitted by Saint Guilliman, allowing him to return to his material body on Macragge.

"Huh?" Zhou Yun paused slightly, looking at Luo Bote, drenched in blood and panting heavily.

Luo Bote panted heavily, as if wanting to speak, but seemed to have exhausted all strength and could not utter a word,

then, before the stunned gaze of the three and the Great Demon atop Macragge's peak, Luo Bote collapsed straight down, his Fate Armor striking the marble floor with a clang.

"."

silence fell over Macragge's peak, then

"Stretcher team! Get the stretcher team!"

"The Invincible Lord Luo Bote has fallen again!"

(End of Chapter)