Chapter 502: The Fallen Angels

Especially the Astartes, like Black Knights, suddenly appeared within the ship's cabin,

These warriors were wreathed in a mysterious aura, resilient, hard, and terrifying; every one seemed forged through countless battles, and even the seasoned Flesh Tearors and Ultramarines found them hard to withstand,

Especially since leading them was a Daemon Prince,

The Daemon Prince Malphas, that Daemon Prince with a lion's head and a pair of wings, was the most fallen among the Fallen Angels, to the extent that he gained the favor of the Gods and ascended to become a Daemon Prince,

It was he who, amidst the chaos of the Great Rift unfolding, rescued Lu Se from the prison deep within the Stone Fortress,

Many in the Fallen Angels had gathered around Lu Se for different reasons,

Some remained loyal to Lu Se, some believed Lu Se could resurrect Lion El'Jonson and absolve their sins, while others were weary of a life of hiding and hoped to rebuild the First Legion,

But Malphas acted purely out of hatred, extreme hatred; he hated Lion El'Jonson, he hated the Dark Angels,

He was a descendant of the Sons of the Wolf, the Space Marine Chapter destroyed by Lion El'Jonson on Caliban, and hiding within the Dark Angels with hatred, aided by the Gods,

He was originally a poison thorn the Gods had planted inside the First Legion; only because the First Legion's structure was so headache-inducing even to the Gods did his infiltration never fully succeed, never reaching the Dark Angels' high command, remaining merely a common warrior,

Malphas's purpose in bringing out Lu Se was merely to follow the will of the Gods and to further destroy the First Legion,

He was one of the few who knew Lu Se had been deceived by Erebus and the Gods, and now watched with a mocking gaze as the foolish Fallen Angels and the Ultramarines and Flesh Tearors slaughtered one another,

But he soon felt some dissatisfaction; the efficiency of the slaughter was a bit slow,

That Ultramarine, Titus, blessed by Konrad Curze, had exhausted his strength while fighting against Bi La Ke, and was now surrounded and protected by the Ultramarines and Flesh Tearors; in Malphas's view, Titus was the most valuable trophy,

Yet although the Fallen Angels suppressed the Flesh Tearors and Ultramarines, they had yet to break through,

Now leading this force was the Flesh Tearers Chapter Master Seth, who was currently engaged in combat with a Fallen Angel bearing a Fear Wing symbol on his armor, wielding a chainsword and two pistols at his waist.

Seth was wreathed in a chilling blood qi; a dark rage surged from his eyes, and Blood Thirst and Black Rage simultaneously empowered this Flesh Tearor, momentarily suppressing that Fallen Angel,

The training of the former Dark Angels Legion had taken effect; through the emblem on that Fallen Angel's battered power armor, he identified his identity,

Knight of the Second Destroyer Squad, Third Company, Fifteenth Chapter; a member of the Fear Wing and one of its original founders; an officer of the Holy Trinity Key Chapter,

Malphas remembered this warrior; he recalled he was Terra-born—Malphas held less hatred for Terra-born, as they bore no blood debt for the Sons of the Wolf—this warrior had been one of the first five Space Marines forged by Hua Di Huang, a member of the Unconquered Princes, the predecessor of the Dark Angels,

It seems he has grown old, weak, and decayed, unable even to defeat a mere Chapter Master of a successor chapter; truly ugly,

Such is the consequence of being rigid and refusing to accept the blessings of Chaos: old and frail, body weak.

Malphas sneered coldly, resolved to enter the fray himself,

"Stand down! Zaviel!" Malphas commanded in an icy tone, ordering the Fallen Angel named Zaviel to withdraw, so that he, the Daemon Prince, could deal with Gabriel Seth.

Zaviel obeyed Malphas's command, seemingly pleased by it, and withdrew with remarkable smoothness, yielding his position battling Seth to Malphas.

Malphas was very satisfied with this, only he failed to notice that in the final moment before letting go, Zaviel made a subtle hand gesture toward Gabriel Seth,

As he retreated behind Malphas, his eyes flashed with a peculiar cunning unique to the Sons of the Lion.

The fighting did not occur only within this cabin,

In the cabin where the Seed of Destruction and Khârn were clashing, the Fallen Angels also descended into this cabin,

Seeing the Seed of Destruction and Khârn, both wreathed in blood qi, slaughtered until their flesh was a blur, and both severely mutated into demonic forms, the Fallen Angels fell into hesitation,

Which of these two is the Seed of Destruction, and which is Khârn?

Why has Khârn changed so much from his appearance ten thousand years ago?

How have the Chosen of the Blood God and a Daemon Prince turned on each other?

Which side should they help?

The Fallen Angels all fell into brief hesitation, but they did not hesitate for long,

One reason was that they quickly, through keen observation, detected traces of power armor still remaining on Khârn, confirming his identity,

Another reason was that barely had they lunged forward when the Axe of Khorne, wreathed in blood qi, smashed down upon them,

The Seed of Destruction swung his axe, killing the first few Fallen Angels who had approached,

"Scum! Do you know what a man's joy is?"

"Hunting down your enemies, invading enemy lands, plundering their wealth, listening to the terrified cries of women and children, and challenging opponents as fierce as a hawk."

"Khârn is my opponent, not my enemy; get out of my way!"

The Seed of Destruction laughed wildly, fighting Khârn while using his axe to drive back those Fallen Angels attempting to aid him,

In the end, the Seed of Destruction never intended to help Erebus; he was here only because of the Blood God's command,

The Blood God helped Erebus because Erebus had promised to help the Blood God corrupt Titus,

But now Erebus has failed; if he has failed, what reason does the Blood God have to help him?

The Seed of Destruction remained here not to help Erebus, but simply to enjoy the slaughter with Khârn,

This was his greatest pleasure, and he did not wish for the Fallen Angels to share in this pleasure.

As for Erebus, the Seed of Destruction felt that even striking him with an axe would soil his own blade.

Khârn, covered in blood, looked at the Seed of Destruction,

"Seed of Destruction, I regret that in the past ten thousand years I have never fought you like this, never fought side by side with you."

"You are indeed a true man; I appreciate your nobility. If the opportunity arises in the future, I will repay you with another fight to the death." Khârn's words were heavy and calm, causing a faint sense of foreboding to rise in the Seed of Destruction's heart.

"What do you mean?" the Seed of Destruction asked, his tone lowered.

"What I mean is, you are a true man, and I am merely a lowly avenger."

"An avenger will stop at nothing; an avenger has no honor; an avenger does not fight alone."

Khârn replied calmly.

At that very moment, a terrifying gunshot rang out,

It was the crow's cry of doom, ferrying the living to the other side of death,

After believing he could not defeat Bi La Ke, Shalokin quickly moved through the shadows, returning to this cabin and hiding in the darkness, waiting for the moment to help Khârn eliminate the Seed of Destruction,

So the trigger was pulled,

A large-caliber steel needle pierced straight through the Seed of Destruction's head; the three components detonated simultaneously, and half of the Seed of Destruction's head exploded before Khârn's eyes,

The Seed of Destruction wanted a blood-soaked slaughter,

but Kahn only cared about whether he could exact revenge.

It must be said that the Seed of Destruction was capable — half his skull burst apart, brain matter spraying everywhere, the bone exposed to the air,

yet he still did not die outright,

"Pah!!!"

The Seed of Destruction spat a thick glob of phlegm onto Kahn's chest. This demon prince, born on ancient Terra, glared with fury as he stared at Kahn:

Then the Seed of Destruction saw Kahn's icy, empty gaze — a gaze in which nothing else existed, hollow as a black sun,

He had wanted to curse Kahn as a coward, but the instant he met that gaze, fury gave way to laughter:

"I've seen your kind before, Kahn."

"You have no idea how many humans have looked at me, at my soldiers, my offspring, my warhorses with that very same look."

"They cast aside dignity, honor, even life itself, using every means at their disposal to try to kill me, to take revenge on me, to halt the march of my cavalry."

"I relish that look. I truly envy Erebus for being able to savor your gaze."

Then the Seed of Destruction grinned viciously:

"You owe me a fight to the death. Before you kill me or I kill you, don't you die on me, traitor Kahn, avenger Kahn."

Kahn nodded, then raised the Blood Son in his hand,

"If I'm still alive after I finish my revenge, I will." he said to the Seed of Destruction.

The Seed of Destruction laughed wildly: "Then only Mengge Tengri knows."

Kahn did not know what Mengge Tengri was — perhaps it was a word the Seed of Destruction used to refer to the Blood God,

but Kahn did not know whether the Blood God still blessed him, whether the god was angered by his defiance,

yet he no longer cared. He simply brought the axe down and cleaved the Seed of Destruction's head from his shoulders.

The Fallen Angels, seeing the Seed of Destruction was dead, moved to intercept Kahn,

but what answered them was the howling Blood Son and a pair of pitch-black twin swords,

Sarokine stood at Kahn's side, wielding those two cold swords. Wearing his Raven Helm, he merely gave Kahn a nod,

"You are a more valuable combatant than I. I'll hold off these Fallen Angels."

"Go take your revenge. Go kill Erebus."

Kahn nodded, said nothing more, and plunged straight into the light-gate leading to the next ship compartment.

The Fallen Angels, looking at their clearly superior numbers, advanced on Sarokine wreathed in a chilling aura.

"Who are you? You think one man alone can intercept the sons of Lion?" the lead Fallen Angel demanded.

Sarokine silently crunched the high-efficiency pill in his mouth and activated the portable Jin Zita hidden inside his Raven Helm,

"I am a son of Corax."

"Compared to those Legion elites who fell at Isstvan V, I am nothing but an ordinary Raven Guard."

(End of chapter)