READ NOVEL FREE Chapter 133: Chapter 131
As we entered the Great Rift, Amallyn grabbed hold of my arm and shut her eyes. Bracing herself for psychic attacks from Slaanesh and her subordinates, I used a few magic spells on her to buff her physical and mental resistances. Waiting for a reaction of some kind from her, after several suspenseful minutes, Amallyn opened her eyes and looked out the window in confusion.
"Something is wrong; I should be experiencing a terrible migraine right now, but I feel absolutely nothing. If I am being honest, it is even quieter than when we were in the Materium.", Amallyn remarked, looking back at me. "Is this your doing?"
"Maybe I used magic to improve your mental fortitude and increase your psychic resistance.", I answered, genuinely surprised by the magic's effectiveness on her.
"I see. Well, I appreciate your assistance. It will make this journey quite a lot more tolerable.", Amallyn said, sliding off my lap to retrieve her weapons from nearby. "So, where do we go from here?"
"Give me a few moments to meditate, I should have an answer afterward.", I advised closing my eyes and emptying my mind of everything.
Feeling my mind slowly melding with the Force, an image of a heavily scarred planet came into focus. Almost entirely devoid of life, a group of several hundred thousand people were holed up in the wreckage of an Imperial vessel near the ruins of a hive city. Having jerry-rigged things to keep the power on, from how the engineers were reacting, the survivors were only a few hours away from being wiped out by the Daemons and Chaos Marines outside.
'They were very fortunate that the Gellar Field and Void Shields were still intact after crashing into the planet.', I thought as I caught a glimpse of a large man in white armor organizing their defenders. 'Is that… is that Kaldor Draigo?!'
Seeing the Grey Knight's Supreme Grand Master giving out orders to guardsmen and volunteer soldiers, I initially thought the Warp was messing with my connection to the Force. Knowing that Grey Knights slaughtered civilians unfortunate enough to see them on the battlefield, his presence on the ruined vessel greatly piqued my interest. Deciding not to dwell on it, as I began to slowly ease myself out, several distant voices began calling out to me.
Barely able to hear them, my gut told me that it was the Daedric Princes trying to contact me. Retrieving Dawnbreaker from my inventory, the connection suddenly improved drastically, allowing me to hear them perfectly.
"Yes, I can.", I answer telepathically. "Is something wrong?"
"Absolutely, they have proven invaluable for slaying our mutual enemies.", I chuckled.
"Well, it depends on what you want to ask me.", I replied hesitantly.
No longer satisfied with blackening our enemy's eye indirectly, the Daedric Princes requested that I send large quantities of enemies to their domain for slaughter. Feeling the urge to release a bit of pent-up rage, they were hoping I would take pity on them and help them out.
"Given that all of you are Lesser Chaos Gods, Greater Daemons, and below should be fine, right?", I questioned, wanting confirmation from them.
"Alright, I suppose I can share the fun with you guys.", I agreed as I cracked a grin. "In a few minutes, you should start receiving some enemies."
Thanking me several times, before abruptly severing the connection, I sounded the alarm and ordered everyone to prepare for battle. Opening a Force Storm to the planet in my vision, the armada advanced through it while my ground forces prepared for combat. Catching the enemy ships in orbit completely off guard, my forward ships opened fire upon them immediately, aiming straight for their reactor cores. Having foolishly left their shields down, believing no help would come for the survivors, the enemy was unable to stop our attacks from hitting their marks.
Watching them explode into massive fireballs, the wrecked ships began falling into the planet's atmosphere. Alerting the medical teams to expect survivors to begin arriving within the next few minutes, I attempted to reach out to the Supreme Grand Master on the ship telepathically.
"Lord Kaldor Draigo, can you hear me?", I inquired. "This is Primarch Stark. We are here to rescue all of you. Please tell the survivors to grab their personal effects and await transport."
"Understood, Lord Stark, I will have the guardsmen inform the civilians immediately.", Draigo responded almost immediately.
Surprised by his willingness to trust me, even though we had never met before, the first thought that came to mind was the Emperor of Mankind. Using his psychic power, he had likely told the pockets of survivors that I was coming and to follow my orders without question. Grateful to him for doing so, as it would make things significantly easier for me, I waited a few minutes for word to spread throughout the wreckage before teleporting people onboard. Closely monitoring the situation on the ground for any changes in the enemy's movements, they seemed blissfully unaware of what was happening right in front of them.
"All vessels within range, prepare for orbital bombardment.", I commanded, bringing the New Genesis' heavy Argent laser cannons online.
Taking this opportunity to send the Daedric Princes their fodder, I chose a large grouping at the rear of the horde and opened a Force Storm beneath their feet. Letting out horrified screams as they fell into the dark abyss, those nearby were torn to shreds by the storm's destructive power. Sowing panic throughout their ranks, the enemy momentarily looked away from the vessel to see what was happening.
"All ships, commence firing!", I ordered as thousands of weapon batteries opened on the enemy ranks.
Watching as tens of thousands of enemy units were vaporized on contact, the Daemons began to teleport away while the Chaos Marines were left to fend for themselves. While some sought shelter beneath nearby debris, others ran to their transport vehicles and attempted to flee the area. Blasting them out of the sky, Amallyn let out an amused laugh as the wrecked ships then proceeded to slam into swarms of Slaanesh's Daemons.
"It feels good to get some payback against those vile things.", Amallyn commented with a smile. "Too bad we cannot go down there and rough them up a bit ourselves."
"Since there were only a few hundred thousand people, we only needed to distract the enemy for a short time to complete the rescue operation. When we encounter larger groups, I promise we will go down and purge the enemy.", I chuckled as the last group was brought aboard. "Now then… time to cleanse this planet of all Daemonic taint!"
Bringing the BFG-12,000 online, a green light began to radiate from the central tower of the city ship. Growing brighter with each passing moment, once the weapon was at ten percent charge, it fired directly into what remained of the enemy forces. Obliterating their bodies and souls on contact, Amallyn looked on in amazement as she felt their psyches vanish from existence.
"While I hate to admit it, Victor, you have certainly surpassed the Aeldari's current level of technology.", Amallyn commented as the sea of raw energy burned everything away, "Promise me that you will not share such terrifying weapons with the Imperium of Man. While we can trust you to be fair and reasonable toward the Aeldari and other sentient races, many of the Imperium's leaders would use it as a tool to eradicate species that inconvenience them."
"I assure you, I have no intention of providing them with any technology beyond what they could acquire from their galactic neighbors, make themselves with the resources they have on hand already, or recreate from their ancient past.", I promised as I toggled the monitor view to where Draigo and the survivors were currently being checked out. "I will be back in a few minutes."
Nodding her head, Amallyn turned back to the viewing window while I teleported down to the newcomers. Arriving on the scene, just as the Grey Knights did, the Astartes approached the head of their order and knelt before him respectfully.
"Lord Draigo, it is good to see you alive and well!", the Grey Knight lieutenant proclaimed. "Have these people been checked for any signs of daemonic possession or warp mutations?"
"Yes, they are all clean.", Draigo confirmed as he motioned for them to stand up. "What are those weapons on your waists? They are not our standard-issue weapons, correct?"
"Yes sir, Lord Stark provided them to us a short time ago.", the lieutenant answered.
"May I see one of the blades?", Draigo inquired.
Readily handing his blade over, the Supreme Grand Master took a moment to carefully examine the blade. Swinging it around a few times, he returned to the lieutenant with a pleased expression.
"Lord Stark has given each of you a powerful tool to combat the daemons. While you may not realize it, those blades possess the power to bring down a Greater Daemon with a single blow. As you are now, though, you would struggle to draw out even a quarter of their potential. Continue to hone your minds and bodies so that one day, you can wield their full power.", Draigo told them.
"Of course, Lord Draigo!", the Grey Knights acknowledged, hiding their excitement.
Having the men watch the crowd of people, in case something slipped in during transit, Draigo walked over to me with a stony face expression. Looking me over as he approached, the two of us exchanged a firm handshake and formally introduced ourselves.
"Out of curiosity, did the Emperor of Mankind tell you I was coming?", I questioned.
"Yes, he did, several months ago.", Draigo responded. "He requested my assistance in keeping them alive long enough for you to reach them. The group has dwindled substantially over the past few weeks, but fortunately, you arrived just before the last line of defense collapsed."
"That explains things then; I was wondering why you were with this group of survivors.", I chuckled. "It is my understanding that Grey Knights usually execute civilians when they are seen on the battlefield. Is that no longer the case?"
"Our Order used to have many archaic rules like that, but after the Indomitus Crusade began, we slowly repealed many of those outdated protocols. Lord Guilliman needed the Grey Knights to help reclaim many fallen worlds, so it became abundantly clear that we needed to change our ways.", Draigo elaborated, "Make no mistake, we took no pleasure in executing the Emperor's people. It was a necessary evil to ensure we stayed out of the limelight and could perform our duties covertly."
Aware that the Imperium of Man had many stupid protocols like that, prior to the formation of the Great Rift, nowadays it made sense for them to revise that stance. While they continued to deny the existence of the Daemons to the public, there was no denying or hiding the massive, dimensional fissure in the center of the Imperium.
"I am glad to hear such barbaric rules have been removed. Your need for secrecy is understandable, but culling innocent civilians was taking things way too far.", I remarked. "Now then, before I address the civilians, I believe you have a curse that needs to be broken."
"You are not suggesting you possess the power to break a Daemon Prince's curse, are you?", Draigo replied with a skeptical look. "Many ranking members of the Ecclesiarchy have tried and lost their lives in the process of— "
"Uncurse.", I chanted, "And for good measure, Sanctification."
Feeling his body suddenly becoming lighter, a black mist began radiating out of every seam of his armor. Dissipating after leaving him, Draigo cautiously looked himself over in disbelief. Sensing that the Warp Magic had completely left him, he looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
"That… that was all it took?", Draigo stated, unable to come to terms with what happened. "The Emperor said you possessed tremendous intelligence and power, but this is something else. Even the former Ecclesiarch Baldo Slyst was unable to do a thing about it, and you purged the curse with a few words."
"Well now that you are free, do you want to head back to Terra immediately or continue on with us?", I asked.
"While I would love nothing more than to continue slaying daemons within the Warp, I believe I should return to my Order and begin preparing for the counteroffensive you are planning.", Draigo said with a grateful nod.
Opening a portal to Terra for him, Draig bid his men and the survivors goodbye before leaving. Turning to the survivors, I began to introduce myself before proceeding to show them where they would be staying for the time being.
---3rd Person POV, Terra---
Looking around his arrival point, Draigo's eyes fell upon the Emperor, who was amidst a discussion with Dorn, El Johnson, and Guilliman. Stopping midsentence, the four men turned to look at him in a brief moment of confusion. Dropping to his knees and bowing his head, the Supreme Grand Master attempted to greet the Emperor of Mankind but found himself unable to utter a word. Having been left in the dark about the Emperor's resurrection, he wished Victor had said something before sending him here.
"Raise your head, Kaldor Draigo. You have endured a great many hardships for the Imperium of Man, and not once have you faltered in your duties. All of us here owe you a great debt of gratitude for your tireless efforts to safeguard the people from our enemies.", the Emperor said, motioning for him to have a seat at the table. "If my eyes do not deceive me, the curse placed upon you by M'kar has been lifted. Is this my grandson's doing?"
"That is correct, my Lord. He removed it before sending me here.", Draigo confirmed as he rose to take the empty seat before him.
"My word, I had no idea Lord Stark possessed the power to dispel a Daemon Prince's curse!", Ritira commented with surprise, "I understand now why he was so confident in saving the remaining civilians within the rift."
Turning his head to look at the opposite end of the table, Draigo discovered that all the current High Lords of Terra were present here as well. Realizing he was intruding on their meeting, the Supreme Grand Master attempted to excuse himself but was again instructed by the Emperor to take a seat. Doing as the Emperor commanded, as he sat down with them, the Ecclesiarch called out for a servant to bring Draigo some food and drink.
"While I am certain the High Lords have many questions for you, I want to know about the survivors I tasked you with protecting. How many of them was Victor able to save?", the Emperor inquired.
"Initially, there were several million survivors when I arrived on the planet. By the time Lord Stark arrived, the number had dwindled to a few hundred thousand.", Draigo answered with an apologetic expression, "My apologies, Your Grace."
"Given the circumstances, you did well, Draigo.", the Emperor praised him.
"Thank you for your kind words.", Draigo replied. "If I may, would you allow me to request several thousand Black Blades from Lord Stark? He outfitted the Grey Knights in his fortress with powerful energy swords that I strongly believe possess the capability of slaying Greater Daemons with a single blow."
"Black Blades, you say… I am afraid we have not heard anything about them, but I have my suspicions about what they might be.", Guilliman remarked, contacting Victor via his tablet. "One moment; we can have him clarify for us."
"But Lord Stark is on the eastern edge of the Great Rift right now…", Draigo responded with confusion.
Before anyone could explain things to him, Victor answered the call and greeted his uncle. Startled by how quickly they were able to contact him, he glanced around the table for an explanation. Given the vast distance between his location and Terra, instantaneous communication like this should have been impossible.
"This is one of the innovations Victor has brought to the Imperium of Man.", the Emperor told him. "As you can see, our military forces and planetary governments will soon be able to communicate with each other in real time instead of days or months."
"In addition, Lord Stark is working on an alternative method for us to cross vast distances in space in seconds.", Abbess Vahl added, "Per his words, we will be able to move from Repentance to Ran's Eglise in seconds. This will allow us to bring the full weight of the Imperium's military power down anywhere in our galaxy in hours rather than months or years."
Believing that Victor might be a bit overzealous in his description of things, the Emperor told Draigo that the technology was very real. Having seen Victor's diagrams and notes on the Intragalactic Transport Gates, the math and science confirmed that it was indeed possible.
"So… you are saying the need for Doomscryers and Prognosticars may soon disappear?", Draigo remarked.
"In an ideal world, we would be made aware of a daemonic incursion within minutes of the initial outbreak and have men on the ground soon afterward.", El Johnson stated with a serious expression, "We can pull resources from all over the Imperium, ensuring that no front is left vulnerable to surprise attacks."
Happy to hear that the Imperium of Man was once again trying to remove its overreliance on the Warp, he looked forward to seeing the day when humanity cut the cord permanently. Turning their attention back to Guilliman and Stark's conversation, the Primarch asked his nephew about the swords Draigo had mentioned.
"You are referring to the Blackstone Swords I made from remnants of Cadia's Pylons.", Victor stated, "Out of the fifty-seven pylons I was given, twenty of them have been restored to full operational use again. The remaining thirty-seven pylons were scrapped to build other items that are at varying levels of completion. Would you like to see one?"
"If you would not mind, Draigo wants to order several thousand of them for the Grey Knights.", Guilliman acknowledged.
Retrieving one from his inventory, Victor opened a portal to the meeting room and gingerly slipped his hand through. Handing it to Draigo directly, everyone present looked on in disbelief at how effortlessly he managed to bend space.
"The Blackstone Swords function similarly to the Necron's Hyperphase Swords but have one major difference. While the Necron blades phase in and out of dimensions to cut things, my blades vibrate at ultra high speed to it.", Victor elaborated, "During my research, I discovered that when Blackstone is charged with a small amount of pure void energy, the material begins to vibrate at nearly unregistrable speeds. In addition to this, it gains the ability to destroy anything within the realm of the metaphysical it encounters. Be it a daemon or a soul, it obliterates it all."
"Let me have a look at the blade for a moment.", the Emperor requested.
Gingerly handing the blade over to him, the Emperor withdrew the blade from its scabbard to examine it. Rising from his seat, he walked over to the nearby wall and swung the weapon at it. Cutting through the wall like it was made of air, those watching him let out a startled gasp. Returning the blade to Draigo, after he sheathed it again, a smile slowly crept upon his face.
"Victor, please send the Mechanicus the schematics for this weapon immediately. I want one in the hands of every Astarte officer, Custode, and Grey Knight.", the Emperor stated. "Given its ease of use, it may be wise to also provide them to the Inquisition and the Sisters of Battle."
"Sending it over now.", Victor said. 'When we join up with the Aeldari, I will provide them with the schematics as well. Since I see them as allies, it only makes sense that I share this information with them.'
Confirming they had received the schematics, Raskin let out a few garbled chuckles over his speakers. Relieved that Victor was able to unlock the secrets of the pylons, he was even more excited to have new things to tinker with. Since it had the Omnissiah's approval, the Mechanicus would ensure the plans were followed to the letter.
"Thank you, Victor. Happy hunting!", Guilliman said before ending the call.