My apologies for the grammar errors in the last chapter
Grammarly failed on me
Mal POV
It turned out that guiding the warp drive was much easier than Mal expected. All she needed to do was to reinforce the Gellar field around the cruiser and guide the ship. They did get attacked by a powerful daemon thanks to Mal's presence, but she was able to protect the starship from it with minimal trouble. She could easily disguise her presence from the dwellers of realspace, but it was a whole thing entirely when she was in the Warp.
Anyways, Mal was able to guide the cruiser to the designated location at record time, without a single scratch on the ship and its crew.
She had completely ignored the worshipping attitude the crew and the captain gave her afterward.
Now, Mal had reached Avarian V, the giant cruiser having stopped completely at the orbit of the planet.
Mal now spoke to the captain, addressing him with a cold and formal tone.
"Captain, I will now teleport to the Imperial Guard station on Avarian V with my guardian, Valerian. You and your crew are not to follow us on pain of death. Is that understood?"
The zealous coward bowed his head.
"Yes! Of course, your holiness!"
Sighing, Mal walked to Avarian, who was waiting for her at the teleporter.
She grinned excitedly. This was going to be her first debut, and it would be a magnificent one.
After all, all of the enemy factions were undeveloped, the servants of Chaos probably not eve summoning any greater daemons. It was a perfect ability to test out her crowd control abilities against live opponents.
The teleporter activated.
"Oh, I can't wait to blow their minds."
Narrator POV
(A lot of the following is taken from the Dawn of War game. I do not own this prologue)
In the civilized planet of Avarian V, the Imperial Guard ruled with an iron hand, leaving the planet in relative peace. This was, until the Warp storm happened. Caused by a fugitive psyker corrupted by Chaos, the storm brought about a warband of Alpha Legion chaos space marines led by Lord Davtoth Abanath, bent on conquering the Imperial world. Half of the Imperial Guards had already fallen thanks to their presence. They reigned on the western continent,
However, this wasn't all. Even before the Chaos invasion, trouble was already brewing on the surface of the planet.
Deep in the jungles of Aneroth, a capable warlord had arisen from the orks on the planet, never been successfully put down by the guardsmen. This warlord, named Utzmar Strongkleava, united all the warring ork klans in the jungle, soon amassing a reasonably sized army. Now, he has deemed his forces strong enough and the guardsmen weak enough, due to the Chaos invasion, for him to attempt his takeover on the planet.
However, unknown to both invading forces, a third, ancient army rested deep with sands of the Saderian desert. For millennia, the ageless Necrons slept, undisturbed, until now. Why they woke, no one could say for sure. It is speculated that the appearance of the Warp storm did this, but it could also possibly have been the Imperial excavation parties sent to the undiscovered regions of the planet.
Regardless, the Necrons began to march, determined to wipe all life off the planet, led by the Necron Lord of Avarian V.
In response to this, ancient Eldar webway gates on the planet began to shine with mystic energy, as the Aledari of craftworld Ulthwe once again came to combat their deathless foes, arriving at the ice-coated northern wastes which lay next to the desert, their victory foreseen by the seer Lanaria.
On the far east coast of Avarian V, the Eldar's malignant brethren made their appearance in the through their own webways. Led by Archon Erzavayn Le'utyhr, the sadistic pirates sought to plunder for slaves and riches at the battlefield, becoming the carrion vultures of this war.
In the same northern wastes the Eldar inhabited, a company of space marines descended. Of the Blood Ravens chapter, the warrior-monks sook to claim all of the ancient artifacts upon the planet, purging the xenos and heretics while they did so. Lead by captain Nathanel Bariel and Librarian Gadriel Kalaziel, the space marines would undertake a great purge, one on a scale the planet had never seen.
Meanwhile, the Ordo Hereticus had received word of the Chaotic corruption on the planet. Unable to simply let this heresy stand, the Inquisitors convinced the Eccilericy to send the Sisters of Battle to cleanse every heretic on the planet under the command of sister Vylira Jessiael. Nothing was clean, all must be purged.
Hence, the war began, every faction in the planet fighting each other for control of the world, truly a battle for the ages.
Then again...
Jonathan Lance POV
Governor-General Jonathan Lance was a veteran of many battles. He had fought against Orks, Tyranids, Tau, and Eldar, and even Chaos, and lived to tell the tale. This was why he was assigned his current position.
With a cold and logical thought process which could put a computer to shame coupled with his charismatic might, he was truly someone who could be said to be a perfect leader of the Imperial guard.
He was supposed to be immune to surprise, expecting the unexpected at every given moment. He wouldn't even blink if an orc came up behind him guns blazing at the very moment, simply pulling out his las-pistol and executing the foul xeno on the spot without any delay.
Still, no amount of preparation could ready the Governor-General for what happened next.
He was out in the field with his men, encouraging them with charismatic words when it happened. The strangest and awe-inspiring moment of his life which he would not forget until his dying days.
With a blinding flash of golden psychic energy, two figures suddenly appeared a few feet next to the man.
To their credit, the guardsmen covered their eyes for only a moment before aiming their las-rifles at the newcomers, readying their weapons before their eyes could even register who the strangers were.
The same was with the Governor-General, aiming his las-pistol with a scowl on his face.
However, once the guardsmen realized just exactly who they were aiming at, they froze in shock, for the golden armor of the custodians graced their eyes. They didn't even notice the girl who stood to his side.
Seeing this, the giant growled in fury, the sound deep and menacing when amplified by the vox technology in his helmet. He quickly readied his treasured spear, activating the power generator and pointing it at the Governor-General, the blue power field humming menacingly. His following words, imbued with righteous anger, was deafening to the guardsmen, amplified a hundredfold by the vox-caster in his helmet.
"WHAT IS THIS HERESY! YOU DARE POINT YOUR WEAPONS AT THE EMPEROR"S DAUGHTER!?"
Jonathan could literally feel the blood gushing out of his ears, considering how close he was to the nine-foot-tall giant.
Quickly realizing just who exactly this person was, the Governor-General quickly shouted to his men, who all wore expressions of shock and horror, mirrored by Jonathan's own. After all, they had aimed their weapons at a guardian of the Emperor, a crime punishable by death. He had not realized what the latter words truly meant, as his brain was too busy trying to process the information from before.
Throwing his las-pistol to the ground, he shouted desperately,
"D-drop your weapons! Now!"
His voice was shaky and unstable, the same with his body. Still, the commander knelt, trying his best to fix the damage that had been done.
Still, no one was able to notice the figure of the girl next to the custodian, their eyes completely glued to him, unable to move.
Jonathan choked out,
"H-honored custodian, m-my apologies. We did not receive word that you would be gracing us with your presence."
That had apparently been the wrong thing to say as the giant's finger quickly moved to the trigger for his bolter attachment, the barrel of the weapon aimed squarely at the guardsman's head.
Jonathan was sweating buckets now.
However, before the unnamed custodian could reduce the man's head to a million bloody chunks, the girl beside him walked forwards, holding her arm out in front of him.
In a voice as smooth as the highest-quality silk, she calmly said,
"Wait, Valerian. They're not enemies. Don't just kill people for no good reason."
The custodian nodded, chastised. Turing off his spear's power generator, he gripped it in one hand to his side in a gesture of peace.
Still, Jonathan was not as foolish to think that the golden man would not be able or willing to slaughter half of the guardsmen present in the span of a single second if provoked.
Gulping nervously, he looked to the girl before him, the one who donned a strange golden commissar uniform. Strangely, the materials which made up the clothing seemed to glow with a strange energy, something the man brushed off as a side effect of being in close proximity with the custodian.
She seemed to be young in age, her lips forming a compassionate smile which seemed oddly genuine. However, Jonathan saw such things before. He knew how easily an expression like that could be faked.
Completely forgetting what the custodian addressed her as before, he simply thought that the girl was a highly capable commander. Although, how she could gain the favor of a custodian was beyond him. Moreover, it was extremely strange how the guardian simply obeyed her every command. It was like she was the one in control.
Kneeling on one knee, Jonathan asked the strange being before him. Despite towering above her in appearance, he knew that she would probably be able to kill him in but a second.
"M-may I ask for your identity, oh gracious one?"
The custodian growled in fury as he turned the head of his spear at the Governor-General once more. However, one look from the girl rendered him passive once more.
Just who was this person to easily command one of the great custodians? There was no doubt about it anymore. She was definitely the superior of the golden demigod.
The question was, how? How could anyone except for a Primarch, able to command the bodyguards of the Emperor.
Jonathan was a smart man. He had to be to survive in all the wars he fought. Therefore, he used his deductive skills to immediately assess the situation, coming to an impossible conclusion to the identity of the girl.
Donning a bewildered face which held the utmost amount of surprise, the man thought,
"No, it can't be. I must be overthinking this."
However, the next words of the girl turned the Governor-General's world upside down, shaking his faith to the core.
With that same compassionate face which the word beauty could not come close to describing, she announced,
"Greetings, Governor-General Jonathan Lance. I am Mal, blood daughter of the Emperor."
Jonathan's jaw had long dropped to the ground, his eyes panicking looking everywhere around him. The guardsmen nearby began to whisper amongst themselves, as if they were not soldiers, but gossiping girls in high school.
If someone had said this in a normal situation, every guardsman in sight would have turned their las-rifles on them and immediately purged them for their heresy.
However, this situation was vastly different. After all, the custodian before the girl passively agreed with what she said, nodding his head in a confirming gesture. Based on his behavior earlier, it would seem that Mal was speaking the truth.
Gulping, the Governor-General decided on his next course of action. After all, he couldn't just believe what the girl said, even if she had a custodian with her. It was his duty as the leader of his men and a loyal follower of the Emperor to question Mal's claims. At least that was what he thought.
Eyeing the golden giant behind the small girl, Jonathan's sweat began to drip down his brow in liters, his voice which not even an invasion force of Tyranids could break, was now nervous and stuttering.
This was natural after all. If what Mal said was true, then he could be branded for heresy because of his question. If the girl was lying, then if he followed her, he would definitely be branded for heresy.
"I-I apologise f-rom the bottom of my heart, b-but, may I see proof of y-your claim?"
This seemed to break the last straw for the custodian named Valerian, as he shouted once more, the entirety of his armored body shaking in pure, unfiltered rage.
"HOW DAR-"
He stopped immediately when Mal's voice became cold and stern. A voice that was befitting of the best commissars and commanders Jonathan had ever seen.
"Valerian. Stop."
At this, the custodian quickly knelt down, his tone still slightly angry.
"I beg for your forgiveness."
Mal sighed.
"Just stay calm. I really don't want one of my subordinates to be famous for killing random people he assumed to be insulting me."
She smiled lightly.
"You'll never make any friends that way."
Both the Governor-General did not know whether that was a joke or not. The latter stood up, quickly recovering from his bout of anger.
"Understood."
The giant stood behind Mal once more, this time peaceful for good.
The girl then looked up, as if in thought.
"Hmm. So you want proof of my identity."
Two seconds later, Mal grinned wickedly.
"Well, fine. Just don't blame me if you can't breathe."
Before Jonathan could ask the girl what she meant, his world suddenly turned a shade of gold.
It was as if he was staring into the sun itself. That was the only way he could describe it.
Mal had suddenly changed, an aura of absolute power and authority surrounding her. Golden energy rolled off her body in visible waves of mist as a halo formed over her head. Her eyes, now golden, twinkled almost playfully.
For the guardsmen, it was if they were being pressed to the ground by the foot of an imperial knight. They were barely able to breathe through the pressure Mal secreted, only staring at her shining form in absolute wonder and awe.
Jonathan's mind suddenly drifted to a memory. A memory when his mother had shown him a mosaic of the Emperor, teaching him how to pray to the lord of mankind.
He could still remember the thoughts he had back then.
"Wow. He's so cool!"
Even though her hard labor, his mother had always found the time to impart to him the stories of the Emperor's exploits, as she knew that they were his favorite.
It was Jonathan's secret dream to become someone like the Emperor, strong, charismatic kind. Although that dream had long since been shattered by the reality of war, it was rekindled by the sight of the smiling person in front of him.
He looked to her with the same eyes he regarded the Emperor mosaic all those years ago, full of admiration and wonder.
The two images seemed to blend together for him, resurrecting his deceased ambition all those years ago.
As the man stared at the girl, no, the goddess before him, excreting so much charisma, power, and most importantly, compassion, he could only think,
"Ah, what have I been doing all these years?"
In an instant, however, it seemed that Mal's power had completely turned off, leaving only a group of panting and sweating guardsmen behind.
She was instantly back to being a normal girl, smiling at the recovering Governor-General, lying in a pile of his own limbs on the ground.
"Do you believe me now?"
Valerian POV
The sheer audacity of those mortals troubled the custodian to no end. It was like they were asking to be purged like the worms they were.
Such insults towards the daughter of the Emperor himself was not to be forgiven. Every drop of blood in Valerian's body told him this.
Despite that, his mistress had instantly forgiven the transgressions of those sinners, even being kind enough to humor the heretical question that commander had asked her, showing her great presence to the lowly mortals before her.
Such kindness was a rare sight in the Imperium, and personally, not unwelcomed by the custodian. Just by the short time he had spent with her, he respected Mal more than anyone else already.
She was a unique existence, one that would not appear again no matter how many years passed.
The shield-captain had made up his mind when he was entrusted with his mission, but this new sight had just reinforced it.
He would guard Mal until the end of time, or die trying.
Mal POV
It didn't take that long to completely convince the guardsmen to stay on the defensive and leave everything to her. Despite the strange request, she had been pleased to see that the soldiers accepted it without any questions.
"Ah, the power of faith saves me again."
She had not completely unsealed her power at that moment as the regular humans before her would have died in a matter of seconds. However, she couldn't hold back too much either.
Mal grinned. The expression on that guy in the commander outfit was just too funny. It changed every minute into something even funnier than before.
"Honestly, is that guy a comedian or something? I thought he was a soldier at first glance, but his behavior is just too funny for that to be true."
The wolverine claws he had just added to the hilarity of the situation.
"Why the hell does he even have the sword if he has those? Seriously."
Mal smiled with humor before becoming serious again.
"Now, it's time to visit the Sisters of Battle."
So far, her plan was succeeding.
To any reasonable commander out there, what she was attempting to do was idiocy, stupidity at its finest. However, to her, it made sense. After all, the plan would preserve the lives of all the Imperium's soldiers on the planet and enable her to use her crowd control abilities without any restraint. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be able to handle everything in this world.
This was why she wanted to make all the Imperial forces on the planet stand down and leave all the fighting to her. Possibly the Eldar too.
It was truly an idiotic and ridiculous plan, and she loved every last detail.
Vylira Jessiael POV
Sister Vylira Jessiael was a praised commander of the Sisters of battle, a veteran of many battles. Many said that her faith was only matched by her prowess in battle, a statement she disagreed with.
After all, for her, the two were so interconnected that treating them as two separate things were incomprehensible to her.
Vylira knew her sworn duty to the Emperor was to purge the unclean, killing being a form of prayer to her. The slaughtering of enemies was her holy book, her salvation.
Of course, she engaged often in regular prayer, but she knew that the most effective to show her faith to the Emperor was to destroy the enemies of mankind.
This was why she was here in the first place, to purge all the heretics on the planet, doing the work of the Emperor.
Eyes burning with righteous anger, the sister gripped her holstered bolter tightly.
"How dare those heretics turn their backs on the kindness of the Emperor? A thousand deaths wouldn't be enough for their actions."
Addressing her sisters outside of their base, she shared her anger with them, her words scorching with the heat of pure fury.
"Sisters! We-"
Just as she was about to continue her speech, however, the appearance of two figures gained her attention.
In a flash of golden light, they appeared, a giant golden man and a small girl.
Instantly noticing the presence of the custodian, Vylira knelt down on one knee, her sisters doing the same with unmatched grace.
It could have just have been her imagination, but it appeared that the custodian actually hummed in satisfaction of their actions.
The sisters of battle were quick to adapt to their new situation, making the situation appear as if they had expected the arrival of the custodian and his companion.
Vylira asked in her mind, now noticing the cheerfully smiling girl.
"Who is that girl beside the honored custodian? She does not seem to be touched by the flames of war. No, definitely not. Not with that smile on her face. Such compassion does not belong on the face of a soldier. If so, then what is she? Why has the custodian brought her to us?"
Before Vylira could greet her two new guests, the giant quickly spoke, his voice shaking the ground itself.
"My mistress seeks an audience with the leader of Sisters sent here. Where is she? Time is of the utmost importance."
Vylira frowned.
"Mistress? He can't mean the girl next to him. She is far too- No! Such questions are the source of weakness! And weakness is the path to heresy!"
The sister replied stoically,
"I am her, holy guardian."
The girl beside the giant stepped forwards, greeting the sister cheerfully. Her face seemed to radiate an aura of innocence which would usually be found in a girl half her age.
"Greetings, sister. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
Vylira wasn't sure what to think. Despite her best efforts, she felt the heretical questions gnawing away at the walls of her faith.
"This girl… is the master of a custodian?"
Before the sister could answer, the girl quickly said,
"It's going to take a lot longer if I talk, so I'll just prove my identity to you like this."
Before the sister could ask her what she meant, the girl transformed, completely overloading Vylira's senses.
Now, she had seen living saints before, being lucky enough to observe the holy champions of the Emperor during the most bloody of wars.
She basked their presence, felt the blessed heat of their holy fire on her skin.
However, it couldn't even compare to the presence in front of her at this moment. The saints were only able to excrete this amount of power when they were charging their most powerful attacks. However, this girl was able to maintain that easily, as if it was natural to her.
Instantly, every sister was on the ground, flat and gasping for breath. Like the guardsmen, they were not able to withstand the pressure exerted by the girl in her true form.
However, unlike the guardsmen, the ground beneath them cracked and shuddered, as the pressure acting on them was enough to break through solid rock.
Before any of the sisters could finish their thoughts, however, the girl instantly returned to normal, as if the previous events were but an illusion.
The small sister-sized craters on the ground said otherwise.
As the sisters stood up, shaking from the pressure exerted upon them, the girl smiled, satisfied.
"I will not impart my identity to you, but let's just say that right now, I'm the strongest being on the planet."
Walking towards the sisters, who were now kneeling in reverence, Mal bent down to face sister Vylira on the same level.
"Therefore, as one of the Emperor's chosen, I would like to make a request."
The sister could only nod when she stared into those beautiful violet eyes, shining with playfulness and intelligence.
She knew that the girl before her was definitely an angel sent by the Emperor himself. There was no other possible explanation. No amount of trickery could fake that aura, so similar to one of living saints.
So, faced with this holy saint with the blessing of her god, Vylira could only consent.
"I will strive to meet your expectations, my lady."
The girl's smile widened.
"Good."
Mal POV
Dealing with religious zealots had apparently become Mal's specialty. After all, it helped a lot when she was the literal blood daughter of the god they worshipped.
Overall, she knew instantly that the sisters would be much more easily swayed than the guardsmen.
She had given express orders to the sisters of battle to stay out of combat and to let her handle everything. Mal also explicitly forbid any of the sisters to die.
She had developed a secret soft spot for the warrior nuns after seeing their dedication to her father. It was something like the idea of loving someone because they love what you love.
It was a feeling difficult to explain to someone who did not know it well.
Seeing the sisters' trust in her father after spending a few hours with them, the sheer amount of faith they put into their prayers to him put tears in Mal's eyes. It was just that moving, albeit oddly.
The sisters had been confused at Mal's orders but had accepted them, without question. When Mal said that she could explain the reason to them, they actually refused, saying something strange about questions being the road to heresy.
Mal had simply shrugged and brushed it off as being something in their religious beliefs. She wasn't that well versed in the sisters' lore and she wouldn't pry too much.
Therefore, after spending a few hours with them, which was more like the sisters kneeling and using her as a living idol to pray for several hours, Mal left, leaving them more zealous and fanatical than ever, thanks to being in close proximity with her.
"Now then, it's time to pay those property stealers a visit."
Nathanel Bariel POV
Captain Nathanel Bariel was a proud space marine. No, even the word proud would not do him justice.
He was prideful, so incredibly so, that it had almost transformed into a form of arrogance.
However, even so, the man's leadership was worthy enough for him to be named the leader of his current mission. The man was a veteran of many wars, walking out of each one with a grin on his face and the blood of heretics on his power sword.
Among the Blood Ravens, Nathanel commanded a great deal of respect and reverence. His men were ready to die on his orders in the flick of a wrist.
In this current mission, he was to be advised by brother-librarian Gadriel Kalaziel, a powerful psyker acknowledged by his brothers and feared by the enemies of mankind.
He was also a brilliant strategist.
The man was calm and logical, never speaking in any situation.
Gadriel was truly an Astartes whom Nathanel acknowledged and respected. The captain voiced no complaints when the psyker was assigned to be his advisor, simply grinning in glee.
Now, they were both before their loyal space marines, defending a base from the invading Ork forces.
The space marines had quickly secured half of the ice continent, the other half already secured by Eldar forces.
Strangely, the scheming xenos did not attack the marines, only focused on the Necrons.
Seeing this, Gadriel had quickly advised Nathanel to launch an attack on them, as they were the closest force to the marines, but also because he didn't know when they would become a threat.
Eldar were scheming and mysterious. With their illusions and clairvoyance, there was no telling what they would do.
However, as the leaders prepared for the assault, fortune suddenly favored the tricksters, as hordes of greenskins emerged from the forests near the ice continent, determined to take the land of snow for themselves.
Why they did this, no one knew. After all, Orks were even harder to predict than Eldar, simply because of the reason that there was nothing to predict.
Most of them were near mindless, fighting aimlessly with the nearest forces near them.
At the time, both the librarian and captain cursed.
As the Orks came from the jungle to attack their bases, the Eldar could easily take advantage of this and form a pincer attack, as they were directly behind the space marine's location.
It was truly a horrible scenario.
However, convinced that the entire event was simply a test from the Emperor, the captain forged on, determined to wipe out the Orks before fighting the Eldar. Gadriel had reluctantly agreed. After all, as the marines were fighting the Orks, they would give a perfect opportunity for the Eldar to strike, a chance that they would not miss.
Even so, splitting their forces evenly to fight these two threats was a foolish course of action. Neither the captain nor the librarian were delusional to think that they could take on both the Eldar and Orks at the same time.
Now, both leaders were at the Ork warfront, leading their brothers in an open shootout between the two forces in the ice continent, the ground slippery and unreliable.
One misstep could lead to being engulfed by the water underneath, left to the carnivorous predators of the biome.
Of course, they wouldn't be able to be able to penetrate Astartes power armor, nor would the marines drown thanks to its life support function, but they would still sink, taking them out of the fight for good.
As both leaders began to fire their weapons into the green tide, the Orks simply screamed back and began to shoot their guns wildly.
Nathanael could feel quite a few of the primitive bullets of the greenskins malform against his power armor, not even causing dents in the beautifully decorated golden treasure.
Thousands of lead projectiles flew into the air in multiple directions, only a small percentage hitting their intended targets.
Orks simply did not understand the concept of aiming.
The sounds of firearms filled the battlefield as both sides shot at each other with a devoted gusto, one side, for the sake of their Emperor, and the other, for the sheer thrill of it.
The Blood Ravens were small in number, while the Orks outnumbered them ten to one.
However, the supersoldiers did not falter, as they knew that they were the creations of the Emperor himself. They would not allow themselves to fail, as such a result was a dishonor many times worse than death.
The captain roared in righteous anger as he fired his sacred bolter at a greenskin, reducing the xeno's body to a bloody mess.
As another one charged him, roaring in bloodthirst, Nathanel swung his activated powersword, the prized treasure halving its body in a shower of blood, its primitive stone axe now dropping to the icy ground.
Five more now approached him, shooting at his armor with their guns while swinging their axes wildly.
"Haa!"
Meeting the greenskins' charge, the captain had quickly ended one with a shot from his bolter, cleanly slicing through two more.
The third one landed a hit upon the space marine, the brute's axe attempting to savagely tear across his power armor to no avail. Sparks flew as the wretched thing's handle erupted in a shower of wood, the object too weak to be used by the unnaturally strong Orks.
Seeing this, Nathanel swung his bolter pistol at the greenskin, the blessed artifact completely shattering the creature's skull.
Looking to his side, the captain saw his advisor fighting just as valiantly as he, if not more so.
With a calm and collected expression on his face, the librarian shot his plasma pistol towards a greenskin, completely melting its upper body down to the bone.
With a prayer to the Emperor on his lips, Gadriel holstered his pistol, aiming his gloved fingers towards the approaching horde of greenskins.
The air around the librarian cackled with unnatural energies as pure blue lightning was channeled through him.
As the electricity exited his hand, it immediately went to an Ork, making it scream in absolute pain before reducing the brute to a heap of black dust. This wasn't the end, however, as the lightning seemed to gain an almost sentient life, seeking out any nearby Orks to grant them the same demise.
It was almost as if the lightning was alive.
Now, the Orks looked to the man with varying degrees of fear, few now brave enough to actually attack him.
One of the greenskins actually had the audacity to run away, fearful for its life. A highly unusual thing to do for an Ork. it was probably mutated.
However, Just as it did so, the sound of metal clashing against ice stopped the Ork in its tracks.
A red mechanical eye stared into the grunt's soul as all the Orks around them stopped what they were doing.
Even the space marines were slightly shocked by this. However, their training took over instantly as they were back to fighting in less than a second.
It was bad, really bad.
Both the captain and librarian were wary now.
For Warboss Utzmar Strongkleava has entered the battlefield.
The gigantic Ork, covered in dirty metal contraptions which had no right to function according to the laws of physics, snarled at the small soldier who had tried to run away.
The poor greenskin did not even have the time to think as his entire body was picked up by the Warboss' massive power klaw and instantly smashed into the icy plate which served as the ground.
His head was instantly demolished, becoming nothing but a green and red stump.
However, this wasn't the end, as the Warboss smashed the Ork's body on the ground over and over again until it was nothing but red paste.
Shouting to the rest of his forces who looked to him fearfully, Utzmar instantly raised his troops' morale.
"Yer gits betta not be dink'n uv runn'n away! I'll rip yer zog'n spines strait out yer droats!"
In a booming mechanical voice produced by the warboss' mechanical jaw, this message was announced. Now no orc would run from the battle as they knew the fate which would befall them if they tried.
Therefore, with renewed vigor, the crude force charged as one.
"WAAAGH!"
The captain cursed. This was even worse than he thought. His forces would be overwhelmed at this rate.
In fact, many marines had already died, taken down by lucky shots or powerful melee attacks by powerful Ork weapon. Nathanel had underestimated the power of the Orks and neglected to take the required amount of soldiers for the task. He was now paying for that arrogance.
As he saw the numbers of his brothers drop exponentially, he quickly shouted,
"Retreat! We shall meet them at our fortified base!"
The Librarian simply nodded his head as he quickly began to rally the marines.
The Blood Ravens began to vacate the battlefield, still firing at the horde of Orks chasing them.
They had lost this small skirmish, but the battle was not yet hopeless. They would resume the battle at their base, backed up by their brothers stationed at the locations and the powerful bolter turrets built there.
However, mere seconds after he gave that order, something completely unexpected happened, something that the commander would remember for the rest of his life.
As the warboss shouted in rage, shooting towards the marines with his firearm in a fit of rage, the Ork boyz behind him charged with extreme vigor, overwhelming the Astartes in an increased rate.
Enraged by his opponents' cowardice, the warboss developed tunnel vision towards the one who orchestrated this dishonorable retreat. Staring right into the eyes of the veteran commander, Utzmar charged at Nathanel with unbound rage, completely pulverizing every Ork and marine in his way.
Ready to meet the charge with his blade, the commander showed no fear as he readied how bolter and sword in anticipation.
For Nathanel, time seemed to slow at that moment, the warboss charging towards him moving forward only inches at a time.
The man took a deep breath and sighed. He would not be regretful of death if he could take the warboss with him. Judging by the velocity of the hulking green mass, even if it was cut in two by the powersword, the rest of the body would crash into him, resulting in a likely death.
Even so, Nathanel stood his ground. This was because he knew that his sacrifice would not be in vain. Far from it.
Even if he died, there was still Gadriel who could lead the forces. The librarian would do well as a commander, perhaps even surpassing him.
However, the same could not be said for the Orks. There was none in their ranks except for Utzmar who would qualify as a warboss. This meant that if he could remove the leader from the equation, then the rest of the greenskins would be disorganized and easy to purge.
Therefore, there was nothing to fear.
With a confident smile on his face, Nathanel aimed his sword at the Ork before him, his sturdy legs bent and ready to launch a leaping slash.
There would only be one strike allowed, no such thing as a second chance.
Closing his eyes in thought, Nathanel calculated his next actions, thousands of complex algorithms processing in his enhanced mind. Eventually, he found a suitable method of attack.
Instantly, his eyes were wide open, radiating determination that few could match. Tensing his body, Nathanel stood his ground.
He was ready.
At least, that was what he thought.
However, the immediate teleportation of two individuals to his current location completely shredded any and all preparations he made, throwing them to the wind.
As the space marines watched in wonder, two figures emerged from the golden beam of light which resulted from their teleportation.
A young girl clad in the golden uniform of a commissar, and a golden giant, clad in a suit of armor worth the bounty of an entire world.
Gadriel's eyes widened with surprise, his usually calm composure slightly broken.
As the girl and the giant arrived, the Ork warboss did nothing to slow his charge, only accelerating with newfound anger. How dare these humies get between him and his target?
The custodian's expression could not be interpreted as his face remained covered by his golden helm. However, it could be easily speculated to be indifferent.
Turning his spear on the approaching mass, the guardian adopted a combat stance.
However, the same could not be said with the girl.
Her eyes widened with shock as her jaw dropped to the ground.
She did not announce anything as the warboss charged at her, only covering her face with a hand in a gesture of tiredness.
In perfect low gothic, the gold-clad girl muttered.
"Seriously?"
Mal POV
Mal's surprise at the sight before her passed within a second's time, replaced with a tired expression that just wanted to end things.
Yes, she wanted to teleport into the battlefield to surprise the army of Orks. However, she did not want to teleport in front of a charging warboss, especially not an enraged one.
That was just too unfortunate, wasn't it?
Not only that, but it was embarrassing too. Such a blunder would only result in a scolding from her father.
Then again, it was fine. She could take advantage of this.
"Oh well, It's not like he can hurt me or anything. Let's just do this."
Mal could tell in an instant that the warboss wasn't anything special. She could easily defend against his charge. After all, it wasn't nearly fast or powerful enough to be harmful.
"Ugh, this reminds me of the times Dad threw house sized conjured boulders at me and asked me to dodge or defend. Seriously! How is that even considered training?! Those rocks actually broke the sound barrier with how fast they were going!"
Mal smiled.
"Well, this guy isn't nearly that powerful. This 'charge' of his is extremely slow, not to mention impractical. I mean, how is it even possible to run with those legs of his? They're completely out of proportion with his body mass!"
Sighing again, the girl shook her head. She wanted to try something with the Orks, an experiment if you would.
"Oh well, that just makes my job easier. There's that thing I've always wanted to try with the Orks. Let's test it out."
By this point, Mal had already marked the warboss' army as her guinea pig.
An extremely creepy smile, befitting of a mad scientist, graced her lips.
The warboss was about to have an extremely bad time.
Valerian POV
Just looking at the filthy greenskin before him brought the shield-captain unmeasurable disgust.
"It is this kind of xeno that destroys all humanity has ever strived for, crushing the dreams of trillions under their savage heels. And for what? The thrill of the battle, the urge to fight? They are truly disgusting."
The custodian stared into the rage-filled eyes of the charging warlord, his own orbs filled with boundless determination and righteous anger.
His grip tightened on his paragon spear.
"COME XENO! FACE THE MIGHT OF THE EMPEROR"S CUSTODIANS!"
Either Utzmar didn't hear him, or he just didn't care. The massive Ork, even larger than the guardian, continued to barrel forward with a savage battle cry, intent on destroying everything in his way.
Valerian could feel the reverent gazes the space marines directed towards to him.
The battle between a warboss and a custodian. Wild, hateful green against disciplined, righteous gold. A hateful tiger pouncing upon the noble lion.
However, this fight would not truly come to pass, as the girl behind the custodian lifted up a hand, aiming her palm at the charging warlord.
Gadriel POV
He had regained composure after the appearance of the custodian and his strange companion, turning around to order his men to stand there ground. After all, what was there to fear? A custodian was with them now.
However, just as he did so, Gadiel immediately turned his head back, staring at the sight before him in wonder and shock. Something even more interesting than the Custodian's appearance just presented itself.
The girl in the commissar's outfit raised a golden-gloved hand, a strange smile on her face.
The librarian was almost knocked off of his feet at what happened next.
Instantly, it became much harder for him to breathe, the air becoming many times denser.
The girl had changed completely, a golden halo floating above her head, her eyes shining with a beautiful golden luster.
Some of the Orks were crushed to the ground by the pressure she exerted, breaking through the ice, but ignored by the now frightened creatures underneath. The same could not be said for the marines, as they felt it, but stayed strong.
As the Librarian was psyker, the effect on him was amplified many times over, as he could somewhat observe the girl's true nature.
She was like a golden beacon of light, shining through the darkness of the Warp.
"This… This is!..."
Gadriel was not foolish. He was a devotee of the Emperor, worshipping him since the start of his existence. He had felt his idol's aura before from afar, and this girl was able to match it completely.
There could be only one conclusion.
This was probably the only time in the Librarian's life that his composure was broken.
Smiling with glee, Gadriel commanded his soldiers.
"Rally to the holy saint! She shall be the one to guide us to victory!"
The marines around him roared with immeasurable joy, increasing their vigor a thousand-fold.
After all, they might not have been able to sense her presence, but they were able to feel her aura and see her physical form. The visual confirmation along with the Librarian's words was enough for them to believe in the identity of the girl. They trusted their brother with their life after all.
Gadriel's smile widened.
"The battle is won."
Mal POV
Raising a hand, the girl released some of her aura and lifted warboss Utzmar into the air, angering the Ork, causing him to flail about, shooting his large machine gun in all directions. Valerian immediately moved in front of her, blocking all the rounds meant for her with his body armor.
Mal smiled at the gesture. It would seem that Valerian really took his job seriously. If she didn't know better, she would even think that he valued her on an emotional level.
Still, there was no need for this action, as the bullets seemed to be moving at the speed of an ant crawling with a single limb. They were ridiculously slow.
Mal could easily evade all of them, not like she needed to, as some of the projectiles were fired into the Orks behind the warboss and the surrounding area.
Clenching her teeth in anger at the stupidity of the Ork, Mal yelled,
"Learn to aim you dimwit!"
Valerian and the marines behind her were visibly surprised at this while the warboss snarled and kept shooting.
Looking at the gun, Mal sighed.
"Jeez. Just how long is the magazine on that thing? Does this guy even need to reload?"
Seeing something this stupid annoyed Mal to no end. Even if it was to be expected from an Ork, the sheer idiocy of wasting ammunition in battle was too much for the girl.
Instantly, Mal lifted her arm and brought it down in a swift motion.
As a result, the warboss was smashed into the ice plates beneath him at a speed approaching that of sound's, screaming all the way.
The warboss, now angered even more, lifted himself from the somehow unbroken ice, which was reinforced by Mal's power, showing that not much damage had been inflicted upon him. He snarled at the girl and custodian warily, becoming somewhat more careful in his actions.
Mal smiled slightly.
"This is a good opportunity to see what he can do in a fight. Yes, I think I'll test him a little."
Turning her gaze towards Valerian, Mal stated,
"Valerian, give me your spear."
The custodian was confused by this order but complied nonetheless, handing the weapon to his mistress in reverence.
Mal now turned her gaze upon the warboss, who was now aiming his machine gun at them, preparing to fire.
In a single crushing motion with her hand, the brutal, illogical weapon was bent and compressed into a useless mess of metal resembling a paper wad. The warboss screamed in pain, considering the gun was attached to his arm.
"Now, Valerian, please give this Ork a fair fight. I will intervene if things get too dangerous."
In an instant, the helmeted warrior seemed to understand the intentions of his mistress, nodding his head.
"Understood. I shall tear apart the foul xeno with my bare hands. Interference will not be necessary."
Mal smiled kindly.
"Someone's confident."
Valerian quickly moved towards the warboss, prepared to fight with nothing but his fists.
Seeing this, the Ork snarled, charging towards him and rearing back his power klaw.
"When i'z done with ya i'll rip that little humie behind ya apart!"
Valerian POV
When he heard those words from the monster, he wasn't sure what to think.
The custodian didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. The warboss seemed to assume that Mal was like every psyker out there, powerful at a range but fragile in combat.
If Valerian had not been angered to the point of murder, then he might have actually chuckled.
He replied back with vigor, controlling his rage.
"ON MY DEAD BODY, GREENSKIN!"
Sprinting forward, Valierian sought to do battle with the warboss at a melee range. After all, it was what Mal seemed to want.
"WAAAGH!"
Utzmar swung his power klaw horizontally, hoping to catch the custodian with its deadly power field.
However, the custodian caught the warboss's metallic arm, grasping the non-deadly part of the lethal weapon.
He was forced to put in all his strength to stop the blow, the power of a warboss outmatching even that of a custodian. Fingermarks were imprinted in the dirty metal of the klaw, the custodian's grip slightly crushing the weapon.
Utzmar bellowed in rage, attempting to break open Valierian's armor with a punch from his other hand, which used to hold a gun.
Seeing this, the custodian let go of the power weapon, striking the metallic jaw of the warboss with his fist, leaving a fist-shaped imprint with the blow. He could feel the crunch of metal and bone on his hand, smiling in satisfaction.
This seemed to rattle Utzmar's entire brain, reducing the power of his strike to an absolute zero. He was stunned.
Using these precious seconds, Valerian roared with fury he swung at the warboss with a brutal uppercut, his golden fist becoming a barely visible blur, hitting Utzmar at the exact same spot as his last strike, completely pulverizing the Ork's already damaged jaw, reducing bone to dust and metal to scrap.
Now, the warboss looked as if he did not possess a jaw at all, only a damaged mass of reddened metal in the shape of an oval.
Utzmar's rage reached a new level as he discovered that he couldn't even scream anymore thanks to the deformation of his jaw, reducing him to a state of constant pain.
Garbled metallic sounds came from his mouth, completely unidentifiable to anyone present.
The Orks around him dared not interfere, for they knew, the boss was mad. And once he was this mad, there was bound to be a krumping.
The space marines simply stared at this in awe, the sight of a demigod battling the hulking greenskin forever burned into their memory.
Any fighting had stopped at this point, everyone present only focused on the two opponents.
Valerian knew he was weaker than the warboss, who could probably bench press a whole elephant.
Therefore, he had to rely on speed instead. Now the Ork was temporarily stunned, he sent an overwhelming barrage of punches at all the vital points on Utzmar's body, hoping to cripple his opponent.
He remembered Mal telling him about this technique, if you could even call it that. She said she saw it somewhere, but did not elaborate further. The girl had stated something about Valerian being able to do it, and that it would impress a large number of people.
The custodian did not hesitate to use this technique bestowed upon him simply a day ago, as he knew that it came from Mal, who far outstripped him in combat.
Besides, he did not think that compassionate mistress of his would lie about something like this.
"HAAAAAA!"
Dozens of strikes arrived every second, finding purchase in a weakly protected body part or bone, leaving a head-sized crater in its wake.
Even to the nearby space marines, who possessed enhanced optical senses, it appeared as if the custodian possessed a multitude of arms, speeding forward to create booming crunches as it met fragile resistance.
At this point, it didn't look like Valerian was punching the Ork anymore. It was as if he was smiting the greenskin with divine power, his golden armor combined with the speed of the punches creating a lighting effect which seemed godly, as if he was blessed by the Emperor himself. Many of the soldiers were awed by this show of strength, prayers on their lips and their resolve strengthened a hundredfold.
Yes, to say that Utzmar died that day… would be a great understatement. His body was reduced to a bloodied and brutalized slab of green fungus with a covering of completely reshaped metal. What was left over could not be called the body of a sentient being anymore. It was something like a green and red blob with hints of yellow.
As Valerian stared into the completely deformed mess that used to be the warboss's face, having stopped his barrage after pulverizing every single bone in the greenskin's metal-covered body, the custodian took a deep breath and turned around.
Facing Mal with his now bloodied and gore-splattered armor, he kneeled.
"Your order had been fulfilled, my lady."
Mal POV
"D-Did he really do the thing I told him to? That was just a joke! It's not even a move! I just made it up on the spot based on the shows I watched! How is that even able to be effective in combat!? Moreover, how is it so effective! Even I'm I'm thinking of using that ridiculous technique now!"
Grimacing, Mal reassessed her influence.
"I have to be careful in the future. Anything I say might be taken way too seriously."
However, as such thoughts passed, she smiled at Valerian, covered in bone fragments, blood, and gore.
With pride in her voice, Mal announced,
"You have done well, my custodian. Even my father would have been impressed with the strength you have just shown."
Mal didn't need x-ray vision to know that Valerian's eyes widened under his helm.
"Y-you flatter me, my lady. Saying the Emperor himself would grant me such praise. I do not deserve such an honor."
Now, turning to the Orks, Mal's whole demeanor changed, from the gentle girl from before to something more disciplined, more cruel.
It was that exact face she made when she addressed the ship captain, but more hostile.
The Orks, now leaderless, became extremely disorganized. Even so, they fought on. They were Orks after all.
The space marines fought back, full or fervor and vigor.
With the death of the warboss, the Orks' morale decreased while the marines' increased.
Soon, the cries of soldiers and the roars of firearms rang across the battlefield as the two sides fought.
Seeing this, Mal wordlessly held out a hand, aiming her fingers at the nearest Ork.
Closing her eyes, she focused power on her fingertips, unleashing it the same way as the Librarian, but with much more power.
In the midst of battle, no one except for Valerian noticed this act, quickly decapitating his nearest foe to focus his attention on his mistress.
Mal had done this many times before, having trained with her father for such things in the Warp section they lived in. The Emperor had adjusted the physics of the realm to accommodate the use of her psychic powers the same way as she would in realspace. Mal had honed her skills in everything except for maybe teleportation, as that did not work no matter how much the Emperor changed things.
Therefore, Mal was extremely confident in what she was about to do.
As her power flared up again, almost visible traced of psychic energy radiated from her being, slightly lifting her into the air.
As the golden sparks of her holy lightning coiled around her fingertips like miniature serpents, Mal opened her eyes.
With an expression fit for a cold, unfeeling machine, the lightning was unleashed, elongated strands of golden electricity launching from her fingertips and finding itself electrocuting the nearest Ork.
Before the warband of greenskins could even react, the lightning was already within their midsts, its golden beams swiftly targeting the Orks as if it was alive.
This ability was fundamentally the same as Gadriel's, but on a much greater scale.
The Emperor's blessings amplified Mal's already great psychic power, enabling her to spread her abilities across an absurd amount of distance.
In an instant, the greenskins assaulting the space marines were completely annihilated, their bodies being reduced to fine black dust along with their weapons and armor.
The Blood Ravens could only look in shock at the sight before them, wondering where their former opponents had gone.
The two commanders stared at Mal in surprise, their eyes completely glued on the girl who was now coughing because of the black dust which had entered her throat.
There really was no denying it anymore. The girl was a champion of the Emperor himself.
Gadriel was almost gleeful, drunk in the powerful psychic presence Mal emitted, his faith amplified.
The commander knelt down on one knee along with the rest of his company as he sought to spoke with his new savior, only to be cut off by her words to the custodian.
Kneeling, the golden-armored giant appeared to be waiting for orders.
Smiling at this, Mal said to him,
"Valerian, I would like you to stay with the Blood Ravens and defend against the Orks. Without a Warboss, their army should now dissolve into feuding clans, but you can never be too sure. Request the help of the Imperial Guard if you need to."
Eyes widening at this unexpected order, Valerian began to protest.
"B-"
Mal continued, cutting him off.
"Valerian, it is my decree for you to protect the space marines. Their numbers are few and they are prone to an assault from both the Eldar and Orks. They need your help."
Mal had asked the Sisters of Battle to explain to her the current geography of the planet, and many things had been revealed.
"But my lady, it is my sworn duty to protect you. If anything were to happen to your well being, then death would be too good a punishment for me."
Mal slapped her face with a hand.
"Geez, how am I supposed to get this guy to listen? He's as stubborn as a mule!"
Therefore, Mal simply spoke the truth, voicing the true reason for her concerns.
In a voice which was stern but soft, she addressed Valerian, her tone amplifying the effect of her words.
"Please, Valerian. They are like nephews to me. Even if I have never met my brothers, I do not want their gene-sons to suffer more than necessary."
The statement was truly earnest too, as Mal truly cared for the Blood Ravens. Since she had no family in her life, she was now obsessed with the concept of it, going as far as to accept people she had never met as her brothers, and by extension, their gene-sons as nephews.
Gadriel almost gasped at this revelation, catching himself in the last second.
"I-is it true? Is this holy saint truly the Emperor's daughter?"
Mal simply continued to stare at the custodian, hoping that her words would change his mind. After all, she was not the type of person who would issue commands to someone she considered somewhat close to her. Regardless of the way she formed her words, Mal would not force Valerian to comply with her order even if he refused it.
Mal would simply have to readjust her plan if Valerian said no to this request of hers.
Meanwhile, Valerian began to give in. He perceived this as an order from Mal after all. Besides, after seeing the earnestness on the girl's face, it was hard to say no. The face which seemed to reflect the heart of a young girl seemed to become much more mature as it twisted into that expression.
"D-does she truly see the space marines as being so important that she would leave me to protect them? W-what is that expression? Why is it so hard to say no when she makes that face?"
Valerian forcibly convinced himself to obey Mal's order. After all, it was his duty to protect her with his life. However, didn't the Emperor also specifically state that he was to fulfill all of Mal's orders and objectives as well.
Besides, his mistress was more than strong enough to take care of herself.
Mal locked her face in her current expression, serious and commanding. However, she was sweating rivers down her back.
"Please, Valerian! I don't want to change my new plan!"
A few seconds later, all of the tension Mal felt was relinquished, as Valerian replied.
"Yes, my lady. I shall defend these marines with my life."
Mal sighed, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
With a smile of gratitude, she looked to her guardian.
"Thank you, Valerian."
However, just as the custodian was about to reply, Mal quickly teleported away, arriving on the other side of the icy continent.
Smiling grimly, the girl resigned herself to possibly the most difficult task she would undertake so far.
Negotiations.
"Well, I guess it's time to have a little chat with the Eldar."
Sorry, my readers, I had to rewrite a quarter of this chapter
My old version was taking this story to a place I didn't like, so I had to change it
The part I changed didn't seem to come out right, so I apologize if it is unsatisfactory