The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Looking around, Sotha noticed that he was on a wide, tree-lined avenue, the surrounding gardens now a bleak and oppressive place. Most of the sculptures had been reduced to rubble, and those that still stood were engulfed by black, thorny spirit vines. Elegant arches and spires had collapsed, with shattered spirit bones and broken soul stones scattered on the ground. The road curved towards a wide arcade, the area within once guarded by magnificent gates that forbade entry to any outsiders, but now they lay scattered on the steps like a pile of fallen leaves. Beyond the arcade was the dome of the Craftworld's Seer Council.

But now, it was occupied by evil. Black spikes jutted out from the elegant Eldar architecture, and the eight-pointed star of Chaos was shrouded in black mist. Circular, triangular altars stood tall, nailed with screaming, groaning sacrifices. Blood and filth spread everywhere, constantly intensifying.

"Go."

Sotha had only taken two steps when the attack came. Shattered figures staggered out from the shadows of the surrounding gardens. He immediately recognized these long-legged creations as the once-noble dead of this world, but their containers were broken, and the souls within were irreversibly corrupted by the power of Chaos. Vicious changes had left imprints of barbs and scales on their once-smooth armor, as if the lifeless spirit bones on their bodies were seeking a mutating rebirth.

He didn't need to act. Duran directed the Phoenix Guard towards the maddened Wraithguard.

Although insane, these Wraith constructs were still deadly killers. They wielded arms transformed into blades and extra, pincer-like claws, dancing a deadly dance. But the Phoenix Guard regarded it as a mere trick. They weaved and swayed between sharp blades and broken limbs, effortlessly bypassing the staggering enemies, wielding their war scythes to shatter the corrupted shells like smashing eggs, liberating the lost souls within—souls too far gone to be saved. The Animus bearers, holding lamps burning with the sacred fire of Asuryan, would place the soul stones in the fire, absorbing their power.

Sotha continued to move forward. The instant he stepped into the arcade, he heard the sound of silk tearing. A demon lunged directly at him, its mouth full of fangs, its slender limbs outstretched, claws and serrated jaws attacking with lightning speed, while emitting the whispers of a frightened child and a mad old man, all Aeldari voices.

Sotha did not stop, nor did he draw any weapon, for it was unnecessary.

The moment the demon touched him, he reached out a hand, spread his fingers, and grabbed the soft demon's head directly. It was stunned by the sudden halt, scratching frantically for a moment, barbed tendrils lashing, grazing his armor.

"Is this all the Word Bearers can muster?"

With a slight exertion of Sotha's fingers, the half-formed maw emitted a chaotic, shrill wail.

Then he slammed it down, and the demon's limbs collapsed to the ground, trembling, whimpering. Then, with a stomp, the demon vanished, completely.

At the same time, the Phoenix Guard regrouped around their lord. Sotha's armor burned like a sun. He walked unhurriedly towards the Word Bearers' position, and the demons that appeared out of thin air crumbled wherever he went.

As he crossed the arcade, the path he walked was filled with platinum flames, and demons writhed and howled within.

Whoosh—

A bolter round came, and Sotha gently pinched it between his fingers before it hit him in the face, then blew lightly to extinguish the flame at the rear of the bolter, carefully examining the blasphemous words inscribed on the bolter's casing—'Death to the False Emperor.'

Chuckling softly, Sotha flicked the bolter back with his fingers. It sped through the air, accurately hitting the head of the shooter, a Word Bearer soldier, blasting a hole in the center of his visor. A second later, the corpse slumped down.

At the same time, three Wings of Asuryan flew in from the sky, the phoenix head sculptures on their bows opening their mouths and emitting clear cries.

In an instant, a seemingly harmless breeze swept through the Seer Garden, carrying spirit bone fragments, floating in the air like a budding flower. Some Word Bearers immediately realized the danger and turned to flee, but more did not react at all.

In the blink of an eye, the invisible shock storm swept through the garden in a deadly blur, cutting and shattering everything it touched. When the shockwave reached its limit, its volume had increased tenfold, and the shattering effect constantly increased its mass, tearing off large chunks of material from the walls, statues, and floors, while the Chaos Space Marines and cultists were directly reduced to dust.

Finally, the high-ranking commanders of the Word Bearers joined forces to summon a psychic force, splitting the rolling rain of debris like a bow cutting through waves, preventing all the Word Bearers from being crushed by the invisible force.

Before exhausting its last momentum, the entire garden had been riddled with holes and disfigured, with no corpses to be seen, only blurry pools of blood on the ground proving that life had once existed. The position once held by more than five hundred Word Bearers now only had less than two hundred frightened souls left. Even Sotha couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying power of the vibration cannon.

"Praise the Dark Light of Lorgar and the Great Will of Chaos!"

As Sotha stepped into the garden, the high-ranking commanders of the Word Bearers had already shouted the battle cry, and then a huge surge of energy burst through the crystal layer of the Seer Dome.

"From the fires of betrayal, to the pool of revenge, we bring the Eightfold Voice!"

A series of coarse voices belonging to Kor Phaeron came through the air, like the howling of distant beasts.

"Weep, aliens! Weep, for destruction has come for you, and death will arrive as scheduled!"

The Word Bearer leader cursed and chanted, praying with eight different echoing guttural voices, the distant howling growing louder and louder, as if something he had awakened was approaching.

Sotha just sneered silently behind his mask, then raised his hand.

"Kill them all."

The Phoenix Guard spread their wings and moved, igniting the fire of revenge. In an instant, thunder and lightning intertwined, and huge psychic powers formed firestorms.

The Word Bearers also competed against each other, releasing their dark powers and all their deadly weapons.

"Kill! Kill!"

Roaring Hellbrutes broke through the barricades and crashed into the garden, followed by piston-like arms full of teeth extending, and the built-in hellstorm cannons roared out deadly hymns.

"Aliens! Die and be damned."

Twenty Possessed Marines made dog-like noises, flailing their grotesque arms, hungrily crossing the storm.

But in an instant, a gorgeous glaive struck a helmet with two faces, crushing it and the demon residing within. The Possessed Marine's arm was still hanging in mid-air.