Dragien saw his nemesis appear through the opposite doorway. What passed for terror in that heretical mind overwhelmed him momentarily. He fumbled for the bolt pistol at his waist while thanking whatever gods he had sold his soul to for the yawning space of the great hall which separated them. The hooded and black robed figure that had appeared through the blast door was accompanied by three others. Their reactions were so fluid that the guards on the eastern corridor died without even knowing their attackers as they were cut down by a volley of bolt shells. Their leader had already moved with superhuman speed, even for a space marine. Dragien looked on in abject terror remembering the last time they had met and their terms of parting. The newcomer was indeed clad in thick black robe, the hood of which covered his features. Without breaking step he vaulted over the safety rails of the corridor, and dropped to the great hall below. As he was falling down two weapons appeared in his hands as if by magic. In his right hand an exquisitely crafted plasma pistol whined as the charge built up and in his left hand another arcane work of art in the form of a bolt pistol. Swinging at his hip was a large sword sheathed in its scabbard. Even before he had hit the ground he had fired off a volley of bolt shells and a single round from his plasma pistol. A ball of super-heated plasma flew true, smothering the head of Lahorier completely. Taken completely unaware, the sorcerer had no chance to respond as the ball of plasma melted his helmet and then his flesh, bone and his brain in that sequence, all within milliseconds. He was dead before his body hit the ground. The first bolt shell travelled in a straight line, the shell tumbling along, powered by its own rocket and entered the skull of Azadael, grandmaster of librarians of the Angels of Absolution. A micro second after Lahorier's brain melted, what remained of Azadael's brain along with his face and cranium exploded outwards in a thousand fragments. By the time the rogue marine had landed on the ground three more sorcerers had died to his bullets. The plasma pistol whined loudly as it struggled to recharge. Dragien screamed with all his might. " Damn you Cypher!" The scream echoed across the hallway. The charging angels heard the name, though they had already guessed the identity of the new comer. Cypher swung around to face Dragien on the raised corridor, his hand weapons lining up in an instance. He remembered this man, who had been his pupil in the long years of his station on Caliban. He remembered the heresy of Horus and the betrayal Luther. He also remembered the millennia he had spent in this man's company, and looked upon him as a friend and compatriot, united by a common purpose. Then had come his betrayal. Their parting last time around had been at the end of weapons fire and this time it shall end right here. A massive blast blossomed in the centre of the chamber as the flow of pure warp energy had no substance to transmit it. The roiling energy turned within itself, forms of daemons and other predators appearing and disappearing at random. Seeking the only avenue for escape the energy flow re-routed itself on to the warp portal. The immaterium is highly unstable and cannot remain indefinitely in real space. As the outflow and inflow of warp energy met one another, the results were catastrophic to say the least. Ezekiel fought like a whirlwind, his sword swinging so fast that one could barely see it. One by one the cabal of the thousand sons died on his sword, some decapitated, others shorn in half and yet others burnt by the power of the energy emanating from the sword. He battled like an avenging angel. Asmodai was a man possessed. Matching Ezekiel's battle prowess, he slowly advanced toward the point where Cypher had landed. Minions of Dragien blocked his way, cultists and space marines. None stood a chance in the face of Asmodai's wrath. Bodies were flung in all direction and crushed beyond recognition as Erinyes lent a hand with his crackling powerfist. Finally breaking loose from the throng of cultist rabble, Asmodai had his bolt pistol aimed squarely at Cypher's head as he charged headlong towards him, his Crozius Arcanum swinging in righteous fury. Cypher's guns were pointed at Dragien. The rest were already involved in a fire fight as Dark Angels poured through the southern blast doors and cultist hordes poured through the northern one. The two forces met in the centre with a resounding clash as power armour met flesh and bone. Blood ran thick as the angels fought like avenging furies. Twin hand guns flared in unison as Cypher became a blur, moving firing and moving again. Every time the weapons in his hands barked Dragien's minions died. As the hordes of Dragien clashed with the charging Dark Angels, their physical number and bulk formed a barrier separating them from the fallen, who were locked in a battle of their own. Dragien laughed and lashed out at Cypher with a sudden release of psychic energy from his outstretched hands. Taken unawares but reacting with tremendous speed, Cypher was no longer at the point where the sorcerous energy landed melting the plascrete floor. The enigmatic man called cypher, the man most sought after by the Dark Angel, performed a dance of death as he weaved through the enemy masses, closing in on Dragien. A second blast of psychic energy released in desperation incinerated some lost souls and immediately cleared the space between the two. Dragien charged in desperation, swinging a massive daemonic sword, trying to get to Cypher before the plasma pistol could recharge. At that very moment a flurry of bolter shells interrupted their battle. Three struck Dragien, one smashing the weapon from his hand, one bouncing off his ancient armour but cracking his chest plate in the process and the third buried itself in to his right knee and exploded. With a surprised scream of agony, Dragien went down, his knee smashed and his daemonic weapon flying wildly in the air. As he looked up from the ground he saw Cypher standing with both plasma and bolt pistols aimed squarely at his head. He saw the fingers squeeze in slow motion and snarled in defiance. Then there was a blinding flash as the second volley of bolter shells hit Cypher, each shell impacting just millimetres from his armour and evoking a massive flash of protective energy. Asmodai charged with all his might, ancient Crozius swinging above his head, smashing anyone who dared approach him. This was the arch heretic and his soul would be Asmodai's to repent. There was no force, neither physical nor immaterial that would have stopped the chaplain's charge. Ten thousand years of pent of anger of the entire legion was transformed in this one fierce righteous and terrifying figure. The volley of bolter shells continued to emerge from his bolt pistol and land squarely on target, physically throwing the traitor back. As the last of the shells hit Cypher there was a massive flash and a cloud mushroomed where Cypher had been standing. Asmodai reached the spot an instant later and his swinging Crozius sliced through the air and smoke meeting no resistance. Suddenly with a massive deep throated roar the warp portal imploded, dragging everything close to it in to the warp. This was immediately followed by a massive rolling explosion which blew everyone off their feet, smashing them like rag dolls against the walls and incinerating anything that was not protected by power armour. Men screamed, others died in an instance. Power armour suits activated their automatic protective seals to take the brunt of the explosion. The blast rolled through the corridors and up the crater, rising in to the sky for a hundred miles before falling back to earth. The unnatural geyser of flames was said to have been visible from their neighbouring planet in the system. The company of Absolution standing perimeter guard were physically thrown to the ground at the mouth of the crater. As the dust settled and the howling unnatural winds died down, the marines wearing the bone coloured armour picked themselves up, tentatively looking down in to the wide crater for signs of life. Then there was silence. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On the Tower of Angels in chamber 000 the battle for the containment of the oracle was very suddenly cut short. The warp energy that had appeared through the oracles person had vanished with such suddenness that the defending choir of librarians nearly collapsed with the absence of the counter thrust. With the danger now past, the diminutive figures quietly disappeared, leaving the space marines to ponder the immediate future. An eerie silence covered the entire Tower of Angels as brother marines looked at each other and said their prayers to the emperor and the lion and a few brave angels of death. |
CHAPTER XXVI: DEATH BY VENGEANCE (Cont) Chronicled By ( Shadow Guard ) |
GATHERING OF ANGELS |
This section provides the narrative history of the events that took place during the Gathering of Angels campaign conducted by the Inner Circle, during Abaddon's Thirteenth Black Crusade. This is in no way the official GW version nor is it in anyway an attempt to infringe on their IP. There are many versions of imperial history buried within the sands of time and this is but just one of them. Read on if you dare! |
