Venenum Filios Chapter 25
The hall was filled with the manic din of battle, the Alpha Legion, the Storm Heralds and the Soul Drinkers all fighting with furious abandon. Fire and death were everywhere as the enmity of the ages played out, warriors fighting with terrifying fanaticism to cut down their foes. There was no question of restraint of mercy here, only death would suffice.
In the heart of the melee, Persion faced off against the towering giant of a Chaos Marine. Both of them gripped their axes tightly, waiting for the first hint of movement. Then with a furious roar the warrior called Gamma leapt at Persion, swinging his cursed axe in a wide arc. The air sang as the accursed metal carved through it, glinting with deadly light as the fires of battle played along its edge. Persion saw the axe coming at his skull and swayed back, letting the weapon pass a millimetre from his face. Gamma was pulled off to one side for an instant and then Persion struck, swinging his Friction axe in his augmetic hand towards the foe's head. However Gamma for all his size and bulk was not slow, he twisted to one side and the burning edge merely carved into his pauldron, marring the serpents etched there.
In return Gamma made a feint with his own axe but when Persion moved to block it his other hand punched out, smashing into the Storm Herald's faceplate to shatter an eye lens. Persion's vision crazed and he threw himself backwards, sense a whish of air passing by as the cursed axe barely missed him. He fell back hurriedly and ripped off his helm, seeing Gamma advancing upon him. The Alpha legionnaire was cocky and arrogant, swinging his axe in a figure of eight before him as he closed in for the kill.
Persion felt his anger rising within him, this cur was badly over-confident and he would make the filth rue that. Persion reversed his retreat and threw himself forward, right into the path of the axe. It was all a matter of timing, he managed to avoid the deadly edge of the blade but the thick haft caught him a ringing blow to the ribs that made him ache despite his thick ceramite armour. His own axe cleaved forward and buried itself in the breastplate of the foe, but the angle was poor and it failed to cut through to his opponent's hearts. In return Gamma roared in hatred and smashed his axe's hilt into Persion's back, the warriors being too close together to properly utilise their respective edges. Persion screamed as he slammed his free fist into the Traitor's abdomen, punching over and over with all of his strength.
The two heaved and jostled together like wrestlers from proto-history, clubbing and bashing away in a tight embrace. Gamma's knee rose up and smashed into Persion's groin, moving him fractionally away. Persion however took the momentum and used it to wrench his axe free from where it was buried in the scaled plate. He couldn't properly swing it in such close confines, but he jerked it upwards and the burning edge cut apart the Heretic's faceplate, leaving his helm a sparking, fused mess.
Gamma roared in anger and heaved hard, throwing Persion away from him. Persion staggered away, trying to keep his feet under him as he lurched backwards. He saw that Gamma had wrenched his own helm off to reveal a hard face made up of brutal angles and sneering hate. Gamma looked back at him and sneered, "I will kill you slowly for that."
Persion lifted his Friction axe and countered, "I'd like to see you try."
With that they leapt at each other once more, both axes swinging in deadly arcs. Gamma came at him with a killing stoke but Persion felt his anger rising and put everything he had into his own blow. All his anger and all his hate, the pain of the Phage, the frustration of being captured and the turmoil of indecision. He put it all behind the weight of his axe, swinging it right at Gamma's head.
Gamma saw the blow coming and realised that it would spell his doom. At the last moment he abandoned his own strike and moved to block, the two axes catching each other right behind the metal heads. The inertia of the impact twisted the hafts and tore both weapons from their grasps, sending them flying away to clatter upon the floor.
Persion and Gamma were left to slam together, ceramite ringing on ceramite as they impacted with enough force to crush a mortal. Fists flew and knees rose as they clubbed at each other, seeking the advantage. Persion kicked and hit out, using elbows and knees as much as his fists but in the scrum Gamma had the advantage of height and weight.
He drove Persion backwards and bowled him over, slamming him down to the ground and landing on top of him. Persion lashed out with a fist that made Gamma's head snap back but he was undaunted and battered away with his fists, over and over. Persion felt the impacts ringing upon him and snarled in frustration. He got one hand behind Gamma's head and heaved, pulling him forwards. Simultaneously he jerked his own head up and opened his mouth, sinking his teeth deep into Gamma's cheek in a spray of blood.
With a sudden snap backwards Persion tore a great chunk of flesh out of Gamma's face. Thick Transhuman blood flowed and the Traitor bellowed in rage, his pain only making him angrier. He drew back a fist, ready to smash Persion's face in but at that moment an explosion lifted them both up and threw them apart.
Persion was flung upwards before hitting the ground hard. He rolled over to see the bulky form of an Obliterator running between him and Gamma. Its head was on fire and its flesh was going crazy, forming random barrels and firing them indiscriminately as it passed between them. A second later it was gone, racing back into the battle and the way was clear once more. Persion gathered himself up, preparing to leap back at his foe but it was then that something most unexpected occurred.
Persion saw Gamma rear up, his hands locked about the gorget of his armour as if trying to rip it free. Gamma was screaming in agony, his face bored through by thick red veins which were turning black even as Persion watched. The anger and the rage were writ all over the Heretic's face, marked by a most terrible sight for any Astartes: fear, Gamma was afraid.
Gamma's eyes began to bulge from their sockets, swelling and turning red as blood poured from his tear ducts. The Heretic screamed in a hoarse voice and clawed at his neck as if trying to pull something from his flesh. Then he fell down, thrashing and convulsing as seizures racked his body. Persion was astonished as he recognised the symptoms afflicting Gamma, it was the Phage. The Bio-weapon that had ravaged his own gene-seed was now attacking this Heretic, running through his veins and ripping him apart cell by cell. The Chaos Marine was screaming as the Phage took hold, knowing that he was helpless to resist its toxic power. A tiny part of Persion's mind whispered that the Phage was only meant to target Storm Herald gene-seed, so this warrior must be…
He didn't get to finish the thought for suddenly there was a massive flash of green light and a screaming fireball flew into the packed ranks of fighting warriors. Bodies flew into the air, Traitor and Loyalist alike, the fire making no distinction between the two sides. In a heartbeat a hole was blown into the heart of the battle, leaving warriors scattered around in various states of dismemberment. Into that gap ran the Sorcerer, his three-headed staff glowing with discharged power. He dashed up to the fallen warrior calling, "Gamma, speak to me, Gamma!"
Persion had been thrown away by the force of the blast and saw the Sorcerer run up to the fallen Heretic to lift him under the shoulder. Persion tried to rise up to challenge them but before he could gain his feet the Sorcerer swept his hand around and eldritch sparks flew forth. The swirling energy span in a large glowing circle, drilling into the skin of reality and then it punched through, creating a Warp Gate that led to dimensions both unknown and profane. The Sorcerer pulled his trembling comrade towards the gate yelling, "Fall-back, everybody fall back!"
Instantly the Chaos Marines broke off from the fight, all of them recognising that the battle had turned against them. First through the Gate was the Sorcerer and his stricken comrade, stepping through to disappear and reappear somewhere else, as easily as walking from one room to another. The Alpha Legion hurriedly followed their fleeing leader, piling up around the Warp Gate as they fought and jostled to get through.
The Loyalists weren't about to let them go unscathed though and they chased them with bolter fire. Persion pulled free his bolt pistol and fired it on full auto, emptying his clip at their retreating backs. Rounds punched into retreating backs, blowing apart spines and blasting off legs. The fire concentrated as the number of enemies dwindled and more of them fell, of the Chaos Marines who had survived thus far barely half of them made it through to safety. Persion snarled as the last of them fled through the swirling Warp Gate, retreating with their tails tucked behind them to leaving the battlefield behind. The Gate hung in mid-air for a moment and then it collapsed, closing in on itself until it was the size of a pin, then it evaporated leaving only a sudden silence in its wake.
Persion heaved himself to his feet and looked about. Everywhere bodies were scattered, clad in blue or scales with the occasional purple form mixed in. Some foes were still twitching and some Brothers yet stirred so the squads moved to clean-up, dispatching wounded enemies and assisting stricken friends. The Storm Heralds had routed the foe but at great cost, the blood they had shed this day would be keenly mourned. Yet they had survived, they had won and they weren't the only ones.
From the other side of the hall came a tight group of purple-clad Marines: the Soul Drinkers, flushed with victory. They were bloodied and battered but they stood magnificently in their plate, showing their scars with a fierce pride. At their head was Commander Coluber, his iconography of a coiled serpent still clear despite the grime and the dirt of battle. In his hand was Venom, the blade unblemished and the amber jewel glowing fiercely in its hilt.
Persion scanned the approaching ranks and was relieved to see the form of Ferrac; it was good that he yet lived. As the group approached Captain Toran moved to meet them and the Command Squad came with him. They halted a few paces apart, the rest of the Company hanging back to see what was about to occur.
The two groups looked each other up and down and Persion realised that this was not going to be a warm greeting between comrades in arms. In fact the Soul Drinkers didn't seem to welcome the Storm Herald's presence at all. Toran opened first by calling, "Hail, you must be the one called Coluber. I have heard of you, I am Captain Toran and I greet you as fellow warriors of Him on Terra."
"Storm Heralds", Coluber replied stiffly, "Your presence was not required."
"Perhaps you weren't paying attention," Persion interjected, "I was under the impression that we just saved your lives."
Coluber fixed him with a stare and said, "Don't pretend that was an act of charity, you intervened only because you expected a reward."
"Let us not argue," said Toran trying to move things along, "We are all here now and we all want the same thing. Why don't we open this vault and see what we have got?"
A frank silence greeted that and then suddenly Coluber's hand came up, gripping a bolt pistol. The ranks behind him followed suit and suddenly all the Soul Drinkers were pointing their weapons right at the Storm Heralds.
Persion blinked in surprise as Coluber snarled, "That's not going to happen: the vault is ours."