Chapter 351: Kain: Did You Drive in the Butcher

Facing the archangel who had returned from death, standing before the Vengeance Soul, Abaddon's first thought was: maybe I should just run.

Before the massive Glory Queen battleship, that delicate figure, its wings trembling gently, seemed so fragile it might shatter like a ruby at the slightest touch.

Abaddon saw one of the Vengeance Soul's former sisters, the flagship Macragge's Glory of the Lord of Ultramar, circling a star toward the battlefield—but before it arrived, the Vengeance Soul alone was enough to strike at Sanguinius.

But Abaddon felt fear—not just him, but every warrior in the Black Legion who had survived the Great Crusade.

During the Great Crusade, Sanguinius and Horus shared a true brotherly bond; even before Sanguinius returned to his own legion, he had already fought beside Horus among the Shadow Wolves, and after he took command of the Ninth Legion, the two legions frequently cooperated.

And the fallen Sons of Horus had witnessed Sanguinius's fury firsthand during the Siege of Terra.

Thus, the Black Legion, inheriting the legacy of the Sons of Horus, knew better than anyone how powerful Sanguinius truly was.

As an ally, he was utterly reliable, gentle, and reassuring.

As an enemy, he was utterly terrifying, wrathful, and chilling to the bone.

Only those new to the Great Betrayal would shout and charge at Sanguinius.

The veterans only remembered those horrific scenes, recalling every moment of the Siege of Terra.

"He was broadcasting on the comms, shouting, 'I won't die today!' 'Not today!'—then he brought down an Emperor-class Titan."

"I was there. When he flew back to the wall, he took ten seconds to down a Ravager-class Titan on the way."

"Angron is tough, right? He's tougher than Angron—he pulled the Butcher's Nails right out of Angron."

"I was there when he boarded the Vengeance Soul. You ask how it was? I was inside a Hellbeast—what do you think it was like?!"

The ancient veterans, trembling, shared their fears—fears that had lasted ten thousand years—with the young warriors of the Black Legion.

Abaddon, clutching his wounds, turned his head to look at Kain, who stood beside him, arms crossed, fused with a demon.

"If Sanguinius chooses to attack the Vengeance Soul first, can you stop him?"

He was grievously wounded, and the wound was an extension of the scar Horus had once inflicted upon Sanguinius—though only a trace had spread to Abaddon's body, it left him too weak for prolonged combat.

And Malal, the Chief Daemon of Tzeentch, had already transported with seven relatively stable Lords of Change toward Guilliman's position.

On the entire Vengeance Soul, the only one worth relying on now was Kain.

Abaddon knew Kain's strength—especially now that he was fused with a demon, one that had devoured the two dazed Lords of Change; Kain's power must be greater than ever.

If Sanguinius attacked the Vengeance Soul before the Vengeance of Tizca, only Kain had even a slim chance—using the ship's interior terrain—to hold out until Magnus arrived.

Kain slowly turned his head, staring fixedly at Abaddon, his gaze asking: Did you drive the Butcher's Nails in—or did I? Who's the one with the broken mind?

"Blood asks no origin. Skulls ask no origin."

The demon possessing Kain spoke:

"Kain, if Sanguinius comes, we'll cut off Abaddon's head and take it to that lord."

The demon clearly meant that Doraemon.

Kain remained silent, still staring at Abaddon, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the chainsword "Bloodchild."

At that moment, Sanguinius slowly turned his head toward the Vengeance Soul.

His blazing golden eyes seemed to lock directly onto Abaddon, seated upon the Command Throne, and he took a single step forward.

ZZZZZZ—BZZZT!!

The Vengeance Soul lurched backward a great distance, retreating so swiftly that many Astartes aboard lost their footing and fell to the deck.

Kain stood firm, silent, still staring at Abaddon.

The Vengeance Soul was linked to Abaddon through the Command Throne—this sudden retreat could only mean Abaddon, in fear, had instinctively ordered the ship's machine-spirit.

Abaddon felt his scalp prickle under Kain's gaze.

"I still have some ancient veterans who can hold Sanguinius back."

Abaddon, drenched in sweat, said:

"Before Magnus arrives, Sanguinius can't kill us all."

Kain lowered his Bloodchild slightly, his gaze falling upon Sanguinius outside the Vengeance Soul.

Sanguinius seemed to sense Kain's stare—he smiled faintly and took another step forward.

BZZZT!!!

The Vengeance Soul retreated again, sharply. Kain stared at Abaddon, his face twitching, Bloodchild rising violently. "Instinct. Instinct," Abaddon muttered, embarrassed.

Outside the Vengeance Soul, Sanguinius laughed two or three times, then flapped his wings and turned toward the Vengeance of Tizca.

"What the hell is Abaddon doing?!"

"Are the engines of the Vengeance Soul jammed by Horus's corpse?!"

Ahriman burned one of his stored Chaos relics, using its immense psychic energy to form a vast psychic barrier shielding himself and his eight Sorcerers, while cursing the Great Ravager Abaddon.

Above, Macragge's Glory unleashed a volley of fire. Though they restrained their bombardment to avoid friendly fire, they still obliterated nearly a third of the Red Book warriors who hadn't reached Ahriman's barrier in time—colorful ash exploded everywhere across the battlefield.

After Macragge's Glory finished its bombardment,

"You little shit Ahriman, stop hiding in your shell! Come out and let your Uncle Kassos punch you!"

"You've got the guts to turn your whole legion to ash, but not the guts to face the gear Doraemon gave Uncle Kassos?"

"Hey, don't say it—your brother's wings really look nice when he flaps them!"

A Blood Angel Death Company Dreadnought gripped a Red Book warrior's body, twisted off its head, and flung colorful dust into the air.

When he finished one, he grabbed another and kept flinging, shouting insults at Ahriman through a loudspeaker.

Who the hell thought of installing a loudspeaker on a Dreadnought?! What's the point of this feature?!

!

What annoyed Ahriman most was that he'd tried several times to directly kill that Dreadnought.

But the moment he stepped outside the barrier sustained by his eight Sorcerers and the Chaos relic, quickly, very quickly,

Mephiston, Leina, Hylendri, the Veil-Walker, the Second Company Captain Sicarius of the Ultramarines, and several other Astartes Company Captains would swarm him.

If it were just them, Ahriman could handle them all alone.

But Guilliman, Fat Tiger Daemon, and Zhou Yun would all arrive together—Emperor's Sword, the Ball Gag, and the laser cannon powerful enough to destroy a building would unleash their fire upon Ahriman at once.

The Emperor's Sword and the Ball Gag were manageable—he could at least dodge them—but that laser cannon, for some reason, he simply couldn't evade. His hover-discs had died several times already; if not for his superior psychic skill, he'd be dead dozens of times over.

Ahriman gritted his teeth. It was supposed to be Magnus, Abaddon and his Black Legion, and Carlos and his Lords of Change coordinating with him.

But why did it feel like he was the only one fighting?

Were Magnus, Abaddon, and Carlos just hallucinations? Had he been the only one going mad, attacking two Primarchs and a god all along?

The only good news was that Macragge's Glory had ceased its bombardment and instead circled the star above, diving into the Warp… Huh?

Ahriman saw a violent surge of Warp energy nearby—Tzeentch's Chief Daemon, the Weaver of Fates. Carlos appeared on the battlefield, followed by seven Lords of Change.

"You dumb bird! Bastard! You waited until Macragge's Glory left to show up?!"

Ahriman cursed Carlos at once—this bastard had waited until the orbital bombardment ended, leaving Ahriman to absorb all those lance strikes alone.

What troubled Ahriman more was why only seven Lords of Change followed Carlos? Shouldn't there have been nine?

Now, whenever Ahriman saw the number seven, he felt dread.

In the void, seeing Sanguinius charge toward Magnus's flagship, the Vengeance of Tizca, Abaddon exhaled in relief.

As long as it wasn't facing Sanguinius, everything was fine.

Abaddon swiftly turned the ship's course, planning to circle the warp-corrupted star ahead and reinforce Ahriman.

But then, Abaddon suddenly saw a distortion writhing in the Warp directly ahead of the Vengeance Soul.

A massive shadow loomed before the bridge.

Abaddon looked up sharply—the shadow was… a gigantic, twisted snail, crouched before the Vengeance Soul's bridge.

CRACK—

A massive pair of garden shears fell from the snail's body.

(End of Chapter)