Chapter 5: in the bowels of the beast
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[Entry Log 9-998 004.M30:]
[Leonard here. ]
[Last night I started my initial testing with my new iteration of my device, which I have decided to name it the Gateway Amalgamating Transfer Engine or GATE for short]
[I finally got Alabast to finally give me the go ahead to use the mini replicator and have been busy making specialized parts which in theory should allow me to create a small hole that is big enough to fit a fruit through. I was heavily banned from using any other organics through this experiment by Alabast until it actually worked. I mean it isn't like I'm going to begin the end of the world or anything... right?]
[Anyway... I did the first set of test on my newly created GATE and it actually didn't go far... which kinda sucked but I expected this and started to do some modifications to my designs]
[Hope this actually gets somewhere]
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[Entry Log 10-998 004.M30:]
[Leonard here.]
[So after a few days of vigorously tweaking the system. I Finally got something to actually work. Gotta remember that Ork tech is actually not stable all things considered]
[by modifying certain parts of the central chamber where the Aizen effect happens I was able to generate a small disturbance within the central chamber. I had to look through the imagery zoomed in, but I could see that there was indeed a small hole like tear in the chamber]
[THIS IS EXCITING! It means my GATE is actually working somewhat. But the power drain is quite excessive. I even accidentally short out maybe twenty blocks in Vierra due to the power drain on the network... whoops]
[Of course... It seems this version of the GATE, which I will label v1 has gone as far as I can go... So I guess I'll need to go back to the drawing board for now... at least it's something]
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[Entry Log 11-998 004.M30:]
[Leonard here.]
[So Alabast had shown me some recently 'acquired' xeno artefacts. He said these came from a race called the Eldar... or Aeldari if you want to be technical]
[It was pretty interesting technology all things considered. But I could tell that this was more advanced than our standard tech. Which kinda bummed me out a little bit]
[What I did learn from it was this race had also achieved something of a Aizen effect within their own means of transport. They call this thing 'Webways' or something. But unlike my theory they used the Immaterium as an anchoring medium to be able to traverse space. A pretty ingenious design if I say so myself... but it has some really big flaws]
[First off... using an anchoring medium is good and all, but something that is connected to a realm that is unstable the majority of the time would not bode well for the longevity of the system.]
[Secondly... relying on that same medium is kinda bad if the anchor itself starts to unravel before you can even use it, not to even mention the fact that if it collapsed in use it would spell disaster to anyone travelling at the time... poor sods]
[I decided to have a look at this tech to find out if I can use any methods they had to improve my system. But ultimately I found just a bunch of dead ends... except for one interesting thing.]
[The chamber system they used is remarkably similar to the Orks design, yet much more simplified, instead of a multi chamber system that refined the energy and focuses it like the orks one, their one is instead a single chamber that uses specialized crystal material to focus the power and force the Aizen effect to happen, yet they also have a tuning crystal that is reactive to others within the Immaterium, which enabled it to 'connect' to others within the webway]
[Does that mean If I could make a centralized focusing chamber... I could force my own Aizen effect more easily?]
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[Entry Log 12-998 004.M30:]
[Leonard here. I AM ACTUALLY SOO HAPPY RIGHT NOW]
[Using both the Ork and that fancy Aeldari tech. I was able to create my own version of a focussing chamber from old lessons from lord Naruto.]
[I remember somewhere that lord Naruto's signature attack, the Rasengan used chakra to manipulate a pure spherical ball that was unfiltered chakra, it turns out that it was a SUPER powerful attack and the method to learn it was apparently very simple.]
[The Eisen effect basically runs with the same principle, except the focused point is creating a singularity that provides the means to bend space together, like a tiny hole within reality that folds two points together]
[So I created a singular chamber that introduces energy in the same method as lord Naruto's Rasengan creates, but compresses it to the point that a singularity is created. AND IT WORKED!]
[I got the energy to focus to a secondary device that was acting as a tuning beacon for the chamber, in essence creating an anchor point for the energy to cross over to. But I was expecting it to fail... BUT IT DIDN'T!]
[I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS ACTUALLY WORKED! I mean I still need to find a way to create an anchoring point to where the GATE needs to go and all but being able to even create the hole was incredible in it's own right!]
[As a test I threw the apple I had into the portal in the center of the focusing tower and it actually travelled across the room and hit the wall! It was AMAZING!]
[But now the real problem showed itself. Turns out the blackouts in Vierra were quite extensive as a whole quarter of the city had lost power. Alabast was absolutely furious at me for how much my little 'experiment' had drained the power grid]
[It seems if I want to create this system I would need a way to find a MASSIVE power source... or my dream is just gonna be that... a dream]
[anyway... baby steps I suppose... Leonard Out]
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"Captain Bee... we're being hailed"
The Honourbound drifted towards their destination, this area of space was to be a staging ground and meetup point for the various different legions that would be assaulting Isstvan V before they arrived planet side. The companies of the Shadow foxes had arrived ahead of schedule and were waiting for their other legionaries to come. Yet Bee, looking out of the window from his ship couldn't help but give a small smile.
Before him, the mighty vessel Fist of Iron had just transitioned from the warp, and he felt his heart give a moment of happiness at seeing a friendly face.
"Put them on screen" Bee responded to his helmsman, a projection appeared before Bee as the form of Ferrus Manus appeared before him, yet Bee's smile dropped at seeing the look of Fury upon his brothers face.
"Ferrus... are you okay? What happened to you?!"
The primarch had blood upon his face, fresh wounds littered the top of his head as his armour suffered cracks and damage in different places. Yet what concerned Bee the most was the look of anger and betrayal on Ferrus's face.
"Fulgrim... Bee... Fulgrim is a traitor"
"He did this to you?!"
Ferrus merely gave a nod as Bee sat upon his seat, his hand rubbing his forehead at this new information.
"Do you have any injured?" Bee asked, a tone of concern upon his voice.
"He killed many of my Morlock guard... and injured many more on my ship..."
"Then we'll provide assistance and aid where we can Ferrus. Just hold tight while we get our ships docked... I know many in my company won't take this news well"
"No... They won't. Your company has many friendships with my legionaries, hearing about some of their deaths will not be easy"
"I'm just concerned about you Ferrus... I want to make sure your okay. That is my priority"
For a brief moment, Ferrus carried a small smile at the concerned look Bee had given him. But his face returned to it's stern look as he agreed to the Honourbound docking with his ship.
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Hamoto Ridoka was nervous, upon word that the Fist of Iron had been attacked she had been a nervous bundle of panic among her squad members. Most within her company understood her panic as they knew she had a not so secret infatuation with one of their Iron Hands brothers.
Her hands gripped her helmet as her brown flowing hair rested before her face, her blue eyes looking at the bulkhead before her as the docking sequence was announced across the vox network. When the all clear was given she took no hesitation in unwinding the bulkhead door and rushed into the other ship.
She stopped before the welcome crew, whom one of them was a fellow Iron Hand. She took no hesitation as she gripped her fellow ally with her hand as her eyes took on a look of panic.
"Where is brother Xeriik Atterus of clan Avernii? Is he okay?" Hamoto said as desperation was in her voice.
"He was injured during the fighting but is resting in the Apothecarion my sister"
Hamoto took off at a mad rush. She knew where she was going as she had toured this massive ship many times, each time she had been shown new and exiting things by the person she was worried about.
The Apothecarion onboard the Fist of Iron was much larger than the Honourbound, this was in part due to the age of this vessel and it's significance to the Iron hands legion. Rows upon rows of medical bays littered the site as Hamoto went through each one looking for someone.
It was upon the middle of these bays that she sees a familiar figure. They were of a stern build, their hair a matted black and shaped in the style of their primarch. Their eyes were of a deep brown colour as their left arm was not of human skin, but rather advanced cybernetics. They had various lacerations across their torso as various puncture holes were across certain non vital areas of their chest, yet these areas were scarred and scabbed over, being attended to by their fellow apothecary that was applying healing solutions.
"Xeriik!" Hamoto shouted as she rushed towards the sitting astartes.
Xeriik Atterus had but a moment to look up in confusion as the form of an astartes pushed his body into theirs, at first he was in a state of alert but a familiar smell entered his nose which subconsciously put his mind at ease. Looking up from his position he could see Brown flowing hair as a sense of familiarity settled upon his mind.
"Hamoto?" Xeriik asked, his grizzled voice soft, as though what he was seeing was merely just an illusion.
She pulled away from hugging his chest as she looked upon his brown eyes with nothing but affection, she gave a heartfelt smile as a lone tear shed from her eye.
She pulled herself again into his chest, refusing to pull away now as her arms merely held his frame, Xeriik could hear small sounds coming from Hamoto as he realised she was crying.
"I thought... When we were told... I thought I lost you" Hamoto said as she continued to sob. Xeriik was in a state of confusion, he had been indoctrinated in the arts of his legion, told to embrace logic and disregard his humanity as it was a weakness, to embrace aspects of the machine as it will not fail him when he needed it the most.
Yet that was before the shadow foxes were introduced to their lives. At first he treated these interactions by his fellow legion as annoyances, with one Hamoto Ridoka being a truly persistent being in his life. Yet over time he felt something like kinship with his legionaries, finding out that they proved themselves time and again as comrades and as companions to their more rigid system.
With Hamoto, what started as a persistent annoyance slowly became more accepting as time went on, they had worked together through countless engagements, with her saving his life many times over and he reciprocating this gesture. Yet as he fought beside his astartes partner, he started to see her more, he wanted to be assigned to squads where she was always with him, as she would reciprocate the same.
Their style of combat changed, evolved and became beautiful in his eyes as he would shore up her weaknesses and in return she would cover his. His two hearts felt something more when he was in her presence and he liked the feeling. When he would be assigned missions without her he felt this pit in his stomach, a visceral feeling that made him feel a sense of great loss.
He never wanted to leave her side.
Now... as they had been attacked by their fellow comrades in arms, the sting of betrayal done by the Emperor's children left a furious Ire within him, Anger was within his heart and his soul cried out for vengeance for those of his brothers whom died from such an act of betrayal.
With Hamoto however, that Ire started to fade, as something else took it's place, something that made him feel both stronger and weaker, yet his mind still could not understand what was happening.
"I am fine Hamoto... I will recover from this"
Hamoto shook her head, she looked once again into his eyes, ones that she could get lost in for hours at a time. Her years of fighting beside Xeriik had only made her heart beat stronger for him, this attack showed her how precious their time was and that in their line of duty it was only a matter of time before death comes for them.
"But what if you don't?... What if you died?... I don't think I could take that news Xeriik... I just can't"
"If it my time to die. I die knowing my service to the Imperium has not been in vain"
"But what about me?!" Hamoto said, she grabbed his normal hand, clasping it gently within her more slender hand "What about us?!"
"I...I do not understand" Xeriik said, his mind confused at what Hamoto was saying.
"Uhhh... your an insufferable man. You know that?!" Hamoto said as she gave him an angered look as she paced around the healing chamber. Xeriik couldn't understand what this woman was thinking as he had just explained to her that his service in the Iron hands is to serve the Imperium.
His left arm gave a few sparks of electricity as Hamoto rushed to his side once again. Concern was over her face as she looked at Xeriiks hands and saw something.
"Your hand was hit... looks like a minor servo that was nicked. Stay put and I'll get it fixed"
"Hamoto... brother Gorthon can repair it... you don't need to"
"Excuse me... but who is the one in this room who has a semblance with machines?... yeah I thought so"
Hamoto gave a deep,calming breath as her eyes glowed a green light. Before his eyes Xeriik saw his hand disassemble itself in the air, the faulty part melted into a pure sphere of metal as it's shape re formed before his eyes. Finally after Hamoto giving a satisfied nod the parts re assembled themselves back into the cybernetic hand that rested on his left side.
Giving it a few test movements, he could say that the repair was beyond what his techmarine brother could of accomplished, the hand felt better than any time he had given it's repair to his fellow brothers.
"How does that feel?" Hamoto asked him, concern in her eyes as he flexed his hand.
"Better than ever...Hamoto... thank you"
"You are most welcome Xeriik. Now lets get you out of this place shall we?"
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The sixth company lined themselves before the great temple of remembrance aboard the Fist of Iron, thousands of coffins lined the center of this massive temple as various members of the Iron hands upon the ship looked solemnly before the caskets.
Row of row of bodies were resting before both astartes legions, yet the sounds of Chaplains giving rites of rest and memoirs of the dead only echoed through the great chamber. None of the legionaries made a sound as the subtle sound of bells echoed through the hall.
Each Iron hand within those caskets had already been extracted of their final progenoid gland. They were decorated and made beautiful by their apothecary brothers so as to give honour even during their deaths. Those within the sixth company could only look on in sadness as familiar faces within the caskets gave way to memories, of past battles, of past events and of past friendships.
Hamoto stood opposite Xeriik, looking at those comrades whom she had associated with dead before her in those caskets, her heart had to spare a thought to those in their company whom found compassion and love within their legion, she knew it was only a matter of time before those emotions were unable to be contained.
Footsteps brought the entire place to a pause, as a lone astartes from her sixth company walked towards one of the caskets. The astartes had gone to their knees before their helmet was removed by their bearer, she knew the astartes, she was one of second squadrons most senior female combatants, her tales and feats etched into the annals of their company's history.
Yet that meant nothing as her eyes shed uncountable amounts of tears, her cries of pain echoing in the temple as she held the astartes in the casket. None within the temple acted upon this, for within their hearts they also bared the pain of this loss.
"...WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS?! WHO WOULD DO THIS!"
This was the scream that echoed in the chamber as she continued to cry.
"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?! WHY?!"
This was the moment needed as others within the company also kneeled before others within the caskets, the cries of pain and sadness becoming nearly unbearable to both legions. This in turn brought forth a great fire within them all, where their hatred and vengeance called for the death of those whom betrayed them.
Many within the Iron hand side and of their own legion had fist shaking in rage, as this sadness was being a catalyst for this anger to fester.
At the end, both standing before both parties were Ferrus Magnus and Killer Bee. Whom could only look upon this with a sombre look tempered by fury.
"I never knew my astartes had such people by their side" Ferrus said as the mourning proceeded onwards, Bee looked on as he gave Ferrus a look of apathy.
"Many in my company had worked with your men for nearly ten centuries. It would make sense that they would have such connections of love within our legions"
"Was I a good leader Bee?" Ferrus asked, his tone more vulnerable than any other moment
"You Are a great leader Ferrus. You lead your men and show them what it means to be loyal to mankind. Never doubt yourselves this my brother"
"Fulgrim will answer for his crimes... for what he did to my sons"
"He will indeed answer for this. But we must remember not to let anger cloud our judgement, less we suffer the same fate"
The two watched as the legions mourned within the great temple. As the caskets were lowered into the under bay storage, ready to be returned to the tomb crypts on Medusa.
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"Lord Naruto... Access point 22-856-1FC will lead us to Logistics center HU40-1886. From here main functions of defensive arrays 2217 to 8723 receive primary defensive parameters"
"I see" Naruto said as he listened to his servitor guide. Behind him stood the rest of his company and those survivors whom had been liberated from the upper floors of the Hive. Resting in his hands was the young girl whom Naruto had exorcised the daemon from. Her eyes were closed as a steady rhythm fell upon her body.
"Are there any other points of interest that will also require addressing little one?"
"Establishment of communications must be re configured at terminal junction 225-147-0J, which is approximately 4km's away from our current location down access point 23-527-2CD, caution must be advised as area is known for increased defensive measures as terminal point is also responsible for deep communication functions within the hive"
"What kind of defensive measures can we expect?"
"Main armament of these area's are multi array Lascannons mk4 pattern, multiple mounted autocannon arrays and defensive quad heavy bolter arrays. Basilisk heavy ordinance also reported in the area, Main access ways are encrypted by sigma level or higher encryption. Estimated casualty rate... 97%"
"So a suicide mission... great" Hayashino muttered under his breath after hearing the heavy firepower that would await anyone travelling that path.
"Naruto... we can't go down that way. We don't have the numbers to assault something that heavily fortified" Ramo Hamara said, he was one of Naruto's most senior tacticians and a student learning under his most trusted strategist Shikamaru Nara. "Whoever goes down there is not coming back"
"Are you asking me to send one of you to your deaths?!" Naruto said, his voice full of passion.
"Naruto... we can't both protect these people and assault both places at once. Tactically we cannot miss this chance at disabling the defensive arrays of the hive world so the Will of Fire can return. But we also need to re establish communications with them."
"The logistics center will allow you to establish a defensible point. That will also allow you to focus on both protection and disabling the systems. This means that the best course of action is to let a small group infiltrate the communications terminal junction and disable the jamming signal. This will give you the chance to re establish communications with lord Inari and get the Will of fire in position to launch a counter offensive."
"But whoever is going to the terminal is going to die..."
"Lord Naruto" Weiss said, standing before her primarch "We are astartes... Space marines... we are mankind's defenders and her guardians. If there is anyone within this galaxy that can survive this and complete the mission... it is us"
"I...I understand... I will give whoever will go some assistance then"
Naruto set the young girl in his hands into the hands of one of his astartes as he focused his chakra, his hands settled in a familiar cross as he focussed.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
In a great cloud of smoke, where once was just Naruto there were now ten of him. The civilians starred in awe and wonder as they witnessed the miracle of chakra, yet their awe was cut short as Naruto gave out a cry of pain.
Six of his shadow clones exploded in a cloud of smoke as Naruto was breathing hard. He could feel something under his armour was giving him an indescribable pain. It was not only a pain of his body, but also that of his soul.
He gave a few deep breaths as his astartes gathered around him, each one had a look of concern as they could see that this was not normal.
"I...I am... fine" Naruto said, a clear sweat upon his face as he stumbled.
"Naruto... you are injured... your chakra is fluctuating"
"I... I can still fight" Naruto said as the pain started to recede. Trying to feel his chakra Naruto could feel something sinister was gnawing at something inside him.
"You need medical attention my lord. We do not have the means to address your wounds here. Your armour will need to be unlocked on the ship"
"I need to do this... I can help you to not die..." Naruto said as he continued to give deep breaths.
"Naruto..." Hayashino said, a look of acceptance upon his face "This mission means nothing if you are to die... you are our hope, you are hope in this dark galaxy"
"I, Mysti and Fiye will go my lord as your most senior Meiyo we stand the best chance of success" Hayashino said as the other two gave nods "We will get you those communications... this I swear upon my life"
"Heh... I'll hold you to that promise Hayashino"
"I will never fail on my promise lord Naruto... for just like you that is our nindo"
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Hayashino was a man who earned his position as captain commander of the Meiyo guard.
He served the legion for more than nine centuries during his initial ascendency to the legion all those years ago. He had stood with Naruto through thick and thin, leading daring raids against aliens both horrible and vicious, he had served in no less than five incursions, pushing back a horror that was beyond the scope of mankind.
Alien empires had been struck low from a well placed shot from his weapon, acts of inhuman feats have been commonplace in his line of work and he had worked with many in the other legions, wherever that was suppressing a hostile incursion of an Imperial world to the massive assaults to an alien empire that wished humanity's destruction.
Yet in all those times, he had never thought of the possibility of his fellow man crossing them. Driven to madness by some cosmic horror to terrible to speak of.
Yet that was now what he was facing.
"horde on the right... Incoming one hundred meters" Fiye shouted through the communication vox as they were being assaulted by every conceivable weapon at the hive's disposal.
The area around him was reduced to molten slag, a result of the five lascannon arrays that have been hammering their position for the last ten minutes. Each position was barely holding, forcing them to employ fast hit and run tactics. His Chakra had been severely drained by close call shots made by those lascannon and autocannon arrays.
A screaming mob of fanatical foot soldiers were rushing their position, where this a standard pitched scenario or even a standard tactical deployment they would not even be a concern.
When it was only five of them, two of those being clones of their primarch, this was a nightmare scenario.
Lascannon fire blazed dangerously close to their position, barely missing them as they scrambled from makeshift cover to cover. Already they lost one of their lords clones to a close range basilisk barrage that shock the entire hive, yet that clone allowed them a moment to disable that sector of guns. Yet as they ventured closer to their objective, the more intense the enemy resistance was.
"FLAK BARRAGE! TAKE COVER!" Mysti shouted as an ungodly hail of shrapnel peppered their positions. The horde of madmen was cut down by the thousands as they continued to advance, using anything as a means of cover. Even thought they were unleashing devastating amounts of friendly fire, the incoming horde continued to pursue them.
It was only a matter of time before the horde reached them, unable to shake them off they counter charged the incoming assault.
A meiyo guard is expected to fight enemies in massive groups, each one was a true force multiplier upon the field of combat, as their mastery of chakra was second to none. To the initial force that reached them this was even more of a true fact.
Hayashino's blade glided through bodies by the dozens, each swing finding purchase in multiple enemies before they exploded in gore from the invasive chakra within their systems, the energy used in explosive force. His other two companions, this being Mysti and Fiye also were engaged in close combat, a dance of death against a numerically stronger enemy, yet even their numbers were being cut down by such superhuman feats.
A shadow clone of Naruto was destroying an entire section of the horde, his blade becoming a blur as the dead piled around him, the other was providing fire support, suppressing various fire teams the traitors had mustered to destroy them while they were pinned down by the rushing mob.
It was either death by a thousand cuts or a thousand bullets.
A thundering high pitched sound alerted Hayashino, as he could make out shapes above them contrasting with the upper levels of the hive, in his stomach he knew that they now fought a battle of true survival.
"BARRAGE! SCATTER!"
The line of explosions was devastating. Entire chunks of the hive floor they were standing on started to give structural groans as their foundations buckled and bent. The blast knocked Hayashino onto his back as a ringing sound echoed in his ears, He grabbed his head as his vision blurred before him.
When it cleared his heart dropped into his stomach, Mysti had been caught in the epicentre of the blast, her body blown to bits as her armour was unable to handle the strain. Flares of chakra blew from her body parts as these pieces exploded among the enemy. He could see a cloud of smoke where one of Naruto's clones were, unable to keep it's form as the chakra dispersed into the air.
He could still hear that high pitched sound as he saw Fiye upon the ground, he looked as though one of his arms had been blown off. As he had fainted from the shock. The last clone of Naruto still stood strong, his eyes in horror at the state Mysti was in as tears appeared on his eyes.
"Naruto... Help me get Fiye up!" Hayashino said as he pushed the marine up, holding his side firmly, it was with the second rounds of explosions that the floor of the hive finally gave way, as chunks of the floors started to descend into the abyss below.
"we got to move!"
Hayashino and Naruto carried the injured Fiye as the ground beneath them was collapsing, all the while the lascannon and flak arrays that pestered them before were now firing in their general location. Hayashino could feel his two hearts strain in his chest, as he rushed towards anywhere away from the deathtrap happening before him. It was perhaps a desperate gambit, but his mind understood what he must do.
"we need to rush those guns! It is the only way!"
"What?" Naruto said in concern "We won't make it!"
"what other choice do we have! Cover us Naruto... You need to shield us, this is our only chance!"
"Alright then... You carry Fiye... Stay on my six!"
A great shield of golden light flickered to life before them, as Hayashino carried Fiye on his shoulders, the sounds of multiple weapons platforms echoed around them as the golden field held strong. Bolts of light and shrapnel stood still within the barrier yet Hayashino and Naruto pushed through the barrage of death. As they got closer to the defensive platforms the sounds of traitors echoed around as a horde proceeded to rush the duo.
Naruto manifested a blade of pure blackness, he rushed the incoming horde and proceeded to push forward, his blade slicing and dismembering countless traitors as they rushed the pair of astartes. Hayashino shuffled Fiye around his back as he drew his blade, even with another astartes on his back he proved time and again that he was a transhuman avatar of death.
They cut a bloody trail into the horde, pushing into the main defensive lines and cut down one of the gun operator crews, this one being one of the quad lascannon arrays. During this fight Fiye had regained consciousness and saw the grim reality that they were now fighting. He used his skill sets and knowledge to operate the enemy lascannon guns, using the defensive platform to destroy the other ones, reducing them to molten slag. With his final action creating a chakra blast that permanently disabled the hijacked weapon.
Yet this small victory was overshadowed by another barrage of basilisk rounds, this caused the area around the defensive array to begin collapsing as the structure of the lower hive was unable to handle the strain.
"we got to move!... How far is the terminal!"
"we are only five hundred meters away from it... Under the bassilisk encampment!"
"then we have to move!"
The trio moved towards a single bridge. This one connecting two sections of the hive to each other, above this was the basilisk encampment as the cannons proceeded to aim their barrels down at the bridge, intending to use the artillery guns as point blank cannons.
Naruto's clone had brought forth the golden shield again, but both astartes could see that each shell that the shield stopped made it start to flicker, Naruto started to look exhausted as they had been fighting for nearly six hours through a non-stop horde and death barrage, finally the clone couldn't stand anymore as a shell blasted the golden shield apart, exploding before the pair as they were forced back to the ground of the bridge.
Hayashino gave a grunt as his own field of energy came before him, this one a shining blue instead of gold like their primarch. He rushed to Fiye's position as the pair were being bombarded by earthshaker rounds, his shield held firm but he could feel his chakra starting to fall dangerously low. Any more and he will start to succumb to chakra burnout. And at that point he will be a dead man walking.
By some miracle the duo managed to cross the bridge as it was collapsing around them. Fiye almost fell into the abyss if not for Hayashino grabbing his hand with a mighty grip. His muscles strained as he gave a cry of strength as he pulled his brother onto solid ground. Yet the duo couldn't stay longer as they continued into the massive chamber complex before them.
"Sitrep...How are you fairing Fiye?"
"My chakra is down to half. My boltgun has two magazines left. Armour is compromised on my blasted side but is still functional"
"My chakra is almost gone... I have 1 more magazine left. My armour is off to conserve my chakra"
"Then lets finish this"
The duo tread though the complex, caution placed on every corner as they continued their advance. The place was uncomfortably silent, the sounds only coming from background noises from other parts of the hive.
As they continued through this part of the hive they could make out patrol groups going through the various corridors, using their shinobi experience the pair used stealth and darkness to venture further into the complex, with them silently killing any sentries they were unable to pass.
The pair managed to come before a massive blast door, Fiye's auspex scanner confirmed that the terminal was beyond these doors as the two of them used their strength to force the bolts of the blast door to fail.
Pushing through the door and closing it together, the pair scanned their surroundings, but the image before them made the pair almost drop their guns in shock.
The room was a massive area, various floors across the complex were made either for aesthetic taste of for tactical advantages during an assault, it reached well into the ceiling as various flashing red lights decked the upper floors and roof of the hive room.
Yet it was the centrepiece of the room that gave them a sense of horror and disgust.
A massive tower lined the center of the room, it's size was impressive for such a structure, yet the countless skulls of thousands lined it's walls, each one of them glowing red as a single eye socket on each skull glowed ominously. To the duo however whose chakra had been touched by their primarch, they were able to use a lesser ability to sense emotions in human beings.
The amalgamation before them moaned and cried in pain, as thousands of voices screamed for help. The two had tears appear upon their eyes as Fiye could not take the emotional feedback of the tower and disabled the chakra helmet upon his head collapsing to the ground as he heaved up part of his food that he had consumed not three days ago.
Hayashino tried not to focus on anything, yet the sight before him and the moaning voices started to gain some form of clarity, scarring his mind and making his thoughts become filled with abject horror
IT HURTS
THE PAIN...MAKE IT STOP PLEASE
MAKE IT STOP...MAKE IT STOP...MAKE IT STOP...
HELP US...KILLL USS...HEELLELLPP USSS...KILL...KILLLL...KILLL...KILLLL...KILLLLLLLLLUSSSSSS
Hayashino couldn't take it anymore, as he gave out a vicious scream. He screamed in horror and anger... he screamed until his throat started to fail him.
He broke down and started to sob before the massive tower. His tears came before him and continued to pour as he muttered before the amalgamation of flesh and steel,his voice soft and crackling from use.
Twenty minutes had passed in that abominable place. Yet to the pair their pain and horror was now replaced with two other emotions.
Fury and vengeance
Originally they were going to hack into the system and destroy the console so other hive forces could not use the terminal to jam their signals. But now they had another plan.
"Fiye... do you have any explosives?"
"No Captain... But I know how I can make an explosive big enough to destroy this thing"
"You mean... an intentional burnout?"
"Aye"
"No... there must be another way"
Fiye had grabbed onto Hayashino's shoulder, the astartes as taken a knee as tears poured from his eyes. Hayashino could see that his junior had the eyes of someone whom was accepting of their death, as though they are ready to accept death.
"My arm is gone Captain... you do not have enough chakra to create the blast... but I do..."
Fiye said as he handed Hayashino his last remaining magazines and his tag.
"You will never be forgotten my friend... Strength to stand"
"Courage to fight"
Hayashino gave a final farewell to his brother in arms as he proceeded beyond the terminal, as Fiye steadied his breathing and sat before the tower.
Fiye continued to breathe at a steady pace as he focused his chakra into his hands. He took Steady breaths.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
It is said that each legion has a genetic deflect within their very blood, a 'flaw' that can consume the user and make them from the greatest defenders to their executioners.
The shadow foxes contained a single flaw, as chakra was the very power that ascended them beyond even their other legionnaire brothers, it was also their greatest cost.
For the Brightest stars are the ones that burn the fastest.
A single orb of chakra manifested itself in Fiye's hands as his chakra continued to be fed into this ball, yet he continued his breathing.
His chakra manifested itself as a brilliant cloak of blue before him, as he continued to pull even more from his system, continued to push it even more.
Breathe in.
Breathe Out.
The pain started slowly, as more chakra was pulled from his body he could feel something of a gate within his system be forcibly opened, this being first within his mind. His transhuman organs pushing this gate open against his will.
Breath in.
Breath Out.
As his transhuman organs and normal ones started to fail him, he could feel more of these gates force themselves open as his chakra started to multiply beyond it's initial pool. Like a goblet that was being filled beyond it's capacity, this chakra continued to fuel the insatiable orb within his hand as he knew there was now no turning back.
Each astartes within the legion is told exclusively of the eight inner gates, each one of these a limiter on their chakra supply. They were given extensive lessons on the dangers of these gates and what awaits someone should all gates be opened.
He felt another gate open, that was the fourth gate, the gate of pain, he felt his hormonal balance within his body start to be overwhelmed as he felt what could only be described as his Biscopea and his Ossmodula starts to fail as the pull of chakra burned it out.
The orb now started to become even more dense and started to turn a vicious deep blue as it continued to consume chakra at a phenomenal rate.
The sounds of footsteps echoed around the terminal as the cocking of guns echoed across, yet Fiye ignored that as the pain within his body started to become stronger.
Breathe In.
Breathe Out.
The fifth gate, the Limit gate forced itself open, now his body started to emit a heavy field of chakra that covered his armour like a second skin, the runes within his ghost plate now shined with the fury of a sun, his chakra started to change it's colour upon it's outer shell, now becoming a vicious green.
The traitors lined their weapons on the lone astartes, as they opened fire. The deafening sounds of gunfire echoed in the room as even heavy weapons platforms were brought to bare against this lone astartes.
The barrage was silent as the traitors stared in awe that nothing touched the astartes, as his body continued to grow brighter and stronger the cloak of chakra surrounding him beginning to flare in great pulses of green and blue chakra.
Fiye felt his blood start to boil, his Haemastamen and laraman's organs failed and started to burn in a configuration of chakra, His chakra. The sixth gate, the gate of Joy was forcibly opened.
The power spike was dramatic, as the entire hive could feel the overwhelming pressure of this single astartes, even to the other team whom was making their way to the Logistic center.
The enemy continued their assault, as everything was poured into this lone astartes, but nothing was getting through the overwhelming chakra that surrounded Fiye.
Breathe In
Breathe Out.
The seventh gate, the gate of wonder opened, as most of his transhuman organs now suffered cascading failures, each one fuelling the fire that was his chakra, it was only through Fiye's sheer force of Will, that which was tempered within the legion that he did not explode in a conflagration of chakra, at least not unit he deems it so.
The enemy was now truly desperate, the chakra of the astartes now glowed with a vicious blue and green with the fury and pace of a newborn star as the temperature of the area started to get unbearably hot. They managed to line up heavy cannons towards the astartes as they joined the barrage of attacks, yet nothing seemed to penetrate the cloak surrounding him.
The final gate, the Gate of death, opened within Fiye as he opened his eyes.
And instantly his chakra began to turn to the colour of blood.
He gave out a mighty cry as his eyes turned pure white, as his body became consumed in molten chakra, the orb within his hands pulsed and flared as his chakra continued to climb ever higher.
Breathe In.
Breath Out.
Fiye gave out a final scream, as the chakra orb within his hand began to destabilise itself, his scream echoed in the room as it was covered in a burning conflagration of pure white.
Before his body exploded in a brilliant ball of destruction, Fiye could make out a single voice as he faded away, one that brought a smile upon his face as he embraced oblivion.
THANK YOU
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
The planet shock as parts of the hive started to collapse from multiple catastrophic failures. Naruto and the survivors were travelling across towards the logistic center. After his final shadow clone dissipated and he felt the monstrous chakra explosion within the core of the Hive, Naruto knew that Hayashino had completed his mission. His vox communicator then came to life as the hive continued to rumble and collapse around them.
"Naruto do you copy... this is Inari on the Will of Fire... Naruto do you have a copy?"
"Inari... good to hear you again"
"Big brother... what just happened? The planet is suffering massive tectonic eruptions and seismic activity is through the roof."
"Hayashino, Fiye and Mysti had just completed their mission to restore comms... they didn't make it. A burnout happened"
silence came across the vox for a moment, the group continued to travel across access ways and more discreet paths while great quakes happened across the hive.
"Dammit... how many of you left?"
"Fifteen of us left... plus at least three hundred plus civilians"
"Got it... Organizing thunderhawks for your extraction"
"Hold them Inari. We need to disable the defensive turrets in sector 2A of the Hive first. When we get that side clear you can get the hawks in. until then just continue to hold and stay out of trouble"
"Will do Naruto... Inari Out"
The vox was once again silence as Naruto travelled along with their civilian escort, his astartes had created a box formation as the group continued their travels into the logistical center within the middle layers of the hive, yet the tectonic quakes made it exceedingly harder to traverse through these access ways.
"Little one... is there a more open route that we can take to the logistics center"
"Alternative route is through hive sector H217-45b, caution is advised as area reports high foot traffic"
"Naruto... what are you thinking?" Weiss asked Naruto as the rest of his astartes and the civilians looked upon the primarch.
"These tectonic quakes are the cause of a chakra burnout. Even now I can feel that the hive is almost too structurally unstable in it's core from the blast to remain safe to travel these access ways. Our only chance is to take a more stable route through the hive city proper"
"We will encounter much more enemy resistance" Ramo said as he debated his primarch's words.
"Yet we run the risk of these ways collapsing on us. They are not as structurally sound as a main arterial through the hive. Not with the numbers we have here" Naruto replied
"Understood Naruto. Then we will ensure this escort remains safe"
The convoy had followed the directions of their servitor escort, coming from the access way they had come across an opening that dropped into a massive section of hive city living quarters, applying chakra to their feet and walking across the roof, Naruto's squad had seen ten separate patrols around the area, which they had assassinated with grim efficiency, thankfully no enemy alarms had been raised as they started to escort the civilians across the area, their weapons trained for any hostile encounters.
Mamura Yoshitsuzan had just unlatched a blast hatch when another patrol had entered her sight, she gave a hand signal for the party to stop and hold position as she looked upon the patrol group.
She counted fifty human traitors and a pair of massive hulking brutes within the middle of the group, their sheer size and bulk suggested they were abhuman Ogryns, the patrol was on high alert as they were giving orders for them to stay alert while the hive continued to suffer multiple aftershocks.
Mamura gave a deep breath as she directed her chakra to create a cloak around her self, this cloak felt it's environment around her and made her 'blend in' to the passive environment. To the common eye it seems there is nothing within the area where she was walking, yet their minds couldn't interpret her profile as abnormal, this allowed her to escape the presence of her enemies and operate in plain sight, as their brains couldn't tell her from the surrounding environment.
She took steady steps towards the patrol, careful not to collide or interact with them as it would break the illusion, she managed to get herself into position, this between the two massive orgyns as she readied herself for what he needed to do. Creating a few hand signs she focused her chakra into her body as time started to reduce itself to being almost non existent as her muscles were energized in a flood of chakra.
In a single second, the heads of both Ogryns departed from their bodies as a geyser of blood spewed across the group, Mamura revealed herself in arks of lightning as she dismembered or decapitated every single traitor within that group with the upmost efficiency her blade becoming nothing but a blur, as her blade glided through the air in total silence.
A nearby enemy pointed their autogun towards her but was unable to pull the trigger as she forced the hammer backwards, ejecting the bullet casing and used her blade to impale the traitor in their throat, another tried to pull out their snub pistol and tried to pull the trigger but found his hand not responding as it flew into the air and into the head of another traitor.
Each opportunity the group had to fire their weapon was countered by Mamura's skilful application of attacks and acrobatic skills, her chakra blazed around her in a blue glow as her speed was beyond normal sight, this onslaught continued until the last fighter tried to fire his weapon but noticed too late that the magazine and chamber had already been cleared, the magazine and single bullet lying on the floor, his head then departed from his body as it collapsed upon the floor.
She released the breath she was holding as she stood back up to attention, she did a quick sight check of her surroundings before she gave a small smile
"Area clear"
The group moved towards Mamura's location as she gave a small smile, maybe there was some hope for them to get out of this place.
A sudden crack gave the party pause, why where they stopping? Was the though the Mamura asked, yet she could feel something was wrong when her body was not responding to her actions.
The party was on high alert as Mamura's smile went to confusion as she slammed into the ground, behind her, blood pooled from a section of her head that had been blown open by a single shot.
"SNIPER!"
"where is it!"
"get to cover! Hurry!"
The sound of a single weapon echoed through the hive corridors as everyone scrambled for cover while the astartes in the group unleashed smoke bombs. These covered the group in a cloud of thick smoke , a few of the astartes had taken a few more hits despise the impromptu screen, these being either their shoulder or a non critical part of their body, yet the round that entered gave a small explosion after a few seconds that resulted in those astartes suffering horrific injuries.
Harakida and Fumitsu used their chakra to unleash geysers of fire onto the area where the shots had been taken, the others within the group tried to mould their chakra to manipulate the wall structures within the Hive but found that chakra and reinforced rockcrete did not harmonize well. Resulting in the environment becoming more hazardous as the reinforced rebar within the rockcrete ripped itself out of the walls, a result of their chakra ripping the structures apart.
A few civilians had also been unfortunate victims of this weapon and exploded as the round proved too much for their more fragile bodies, they scrambled across the haphazard environment as the group tried to keep some form of coherency as they became blinded by the smoke cloud. Naruto held the young girl whom he found out was called Mira in his arms as he tried to feel out for the sniper as his astartes continued to immolate the area.
It seems that whatever that daemon had done to him gives him extreme pain every time he uses his chakra in big burst, the only reason it started to hurt now was the fact that he could feel something in his soul that was harming him. Already he couldn't hear Kurama anymore as this 'thing' inside him isolated his friend, but he still felt able to use his chakra in smaller applications.
He could feel a presence, it felt vile and sadistic as it scrambled across the various pathways within the shelter complex, when Naruto tried to get a lock on the individual he could feel them slip away, as though it was merely playing with them. Even the display of fire and other chakra abilities were unable to get a clean hit on the target.
"Anyone got eyes on target?!" Naruto called out as a silence settled upon their location the smoke started to dissipate as the group used the now altered battlefield, ripped area's of rockcrete and twisted metal littered the area where once it was all open.
"Negative! No eyes"
"Negative here!"
"Dam where is this scum hiding?!" Harakida said as she tried scanning the area to no avail.
"Levi is hurt! His right shoulder is destroyed" Setomi said as she tried to apply healing to the wound. The pair was holding within an area where only one possible access point could be reached as she desperately applied healing chakra to the destroyed limb
A maniacal giggling echoed through the hive sector, as the squad of astartes took a defensive formation around the group. Their weapons were trained upon their surroundings, silencing anything that distracted them from their demented target as their minds and chakra were ready to be unleashed
'Come one come all to masters call'
'Join us in the slaughter'
'one by one, it's ohh so fun.'
'death's around the corner'
"Stay alert. Eyes on" Naruto said, holding the young Mira closely to him, the room was silent as only the whimpers of civilians echoed through the room. Each astartes looking onto the darkness as they could barely hear anything beyond the sounds of ambience.
'See ohh see a gift for thee'
'ohh what joyous wonder'
'Ohh wonder why? Could this be mine?'
'A corpse in post mortem!'
A crack echoed through the area as Levi, whom had still been attended by Setomi exploded in a shower of gore, his head suffering a gristly fate as Setomi screamed in panic. The round entered from an impossible angle, as it seemed to guide itself towards it's target, ignoring everything as though the round was almost alive.
"Anyone got eyes!" Ramo shouted as he scanned desperately across the massive area, he could hear Setomi crying as she held the remains of Levi's body within the heavy cover, holding onto his corpse as she was driven into a panic. A few within the group tried to blast area's of the hive with arcs of lightning or vortexes of wind but even with such destruction happening, the echoes of laughter still glided across the room.
"Where are you coward! Face your judgement like a man!"
'What's this? What's this?'
'A party just for me?'
'Ohh dear, ohh dear. I must regret'
'I did not bring a treat'
A shape shifted across a darkened area as the group opened fire upon that area. A salvo of reactive rounds made the walls in that sector littered with holes as the maniacal laughing continued. A few more astartes covered the area in flames as the room became a molten inferno, parts of the hive started to groan and protest as the structures around them could not handle the blazing inferno. They collapsed towards the ground as the area became more destroyed with each application of force.
Ceru had just spent the last bolter round in his weapon, quickly ejecting the magazine gave him no chance to react as the figure leaped before him, he gurgled blood from his helmet as he looked upon the figures demented eyes, these being of a void within a crimson red circle. His body fell down onto the floor as his chest exploded.
The figure looked more in line as something from a circus than one whom was meant for the battlefield, their bright, almost sickening colours were out of place for such a creature, yet the burning rune of an eight pointed star was upon their forehead. Half of their face was covered by a broken mask hiding the figures mouth. Runes of burning red covered their skin as their body moved in a almost robotic but also elegant ways.
The group opened fire and unleashed destructive chakra attacks yet the figure danced across the stream of death with an unnatural grace. Rivers of fire were expertly jumped across as the figure even looked as though they were leaping from the air itself. Rounds blasted along their path, missing the figure by the slimmest of margins as even arcs of pure lightning impossibly missed their mark.
Naruto could tell from this distance as his group engaged their target that this being was no longer in control of their own body, as a flood of corrupting emotions smothered the figure before him, yet he could hear the faint cries of help underneath.
His astartes sprung into action as the figure drew closer, chakra raced through their bodies as they engage the demented figure in a dance of death to protect their civilian charges, yet even with their enhanced bodies and transhuman agility the figure before them weaved through their attacks as though they were nothing, all the while mad cackling echoed from the figure underneath their mask.
The figure leaped and danced across the battlefield, their laughter being a stark contrast to the cries of it's attackers, precise strikes from the figure were parried of dodged a hair's breath away from making contact with those astartes that fought the figure in close combat.
They weaved with no rhyme of reason within the area, as Naruto could only grunt in pain as his body was reacting to the figure before him, the corrupting energy around the figure resonating with something within his body.. He bared his teeth as he tried to figure out what this figure was trying to accomplish, since it looked to only be a matter of time before they made a wrong move.
A blade from one of his astartes had struck true into the figure, it dug deep into their flesh as blood erupted from the wound. The figure fell upon the floor, as though it's body had just given out while his astartes gathered around the body.
"Is it dead?" Ramo asked, as they continued to bare their weapons against the fallen figure.
"I am unsure" Kumitsu said, her blade still out with the blood of the figure still dripping from it.
Suddenly and without warning, the figure burst from the ground and tried to skewer Kumitsu with their weapon, she dodged at the last second as a gas erupted from the figure from a small canister hidden within their clothes.
The entire party started to have their vision become even more dark and demented, creeping shadows and figures etched themselves upon their visions as screams of laughter, pain and moaning echoed across them, a few of the astartes held their weapons in shaky hands as they tried to purge the effects of the gas from their system, their organs working overtime. Their civilian escorts however screamed in panic and terror as they were frozen in true fright.
Nave was shaking her boltgun, she was in a panic as she tried to scan for any target within the maddening haze, she felt her two hearts beating heavily in her chest as her vision started to tunnel, she could hear her breath and heart as they synchronised with each other. Yet she suddenly could not hear her hearts beating anymore. Confused she looked down and saw a grizzly sight.
Her hearts layed before her, still beating as their arteries were sliced clean through, a hole in her chest gave her a pause as she wondered why she did not feel any pain, yet her brain finally registered her condition as her body fell forward onto the floor, her last thoughts being frantic calls for help.
The effect only lasted for two minutes against the astartes, yet when the effect had finally purged itself, no longer was the figure alone.
Surrounding them upon all sides, lines of guns pointed at their location, the civilians within the group were in panic and fear as they tried to get closer to each other.
The figure bowed before a hooded individual, this one fashioned in ornate robes, four distinct colours marked this robe as the middle was weaved in a royal purple colour.
Pulling his robe back the figure looked plain and unremarkable, brown eyes on a grizzled face gave way to a well aged face, their hair was mostly black with streaks of white hair growing within, yet what made Naruto at edge was the glowing runes carved upon the figures face and his revolting aura of what could only be described by Naruto as chaotic.
"Well... greetings my lord primarch... how are you enjoying your stay in our lovely hive city?"
"What do you want scum?" Naruto replied bitterly.
"My my. Is that any way of treating your host?" the figure said as he took the hand of the demented figure and gave it a gentle kiss.
"A marvellous work you have done my mistress. Truly a grand performance in such an exquisite host body"
'I aim to please' The figure said, giving a dramatic bow before the figure and their catch.
"Ohh... I am so sorry my lord Naruto. How rude of me to not introduce myself. I am Luron of house Delthalane... a pleasure to make your acquaintance"
Naruto was merely silent, as he took a brief glance at the firepower layed before him and his group.
"Now I am not exactly one for idle chat. So I will get to the point. The warmaster request you to see the truth behind the Imperium, and embrace the truth of this universe"
"You mean chaos" Naruto said, hate dripping from his voice at the uttering of that word.
"I like to call it 'the primordial truth' after all it was one of your brothers that showed us the flawed shell that is this Imperium. It's desperate attempts at pacifying things it doesn't understand"
Naruto took a glance at his side, Weiss was closest to his person as he still held the young Mira whom was crying in fear at the figure before them. She was whispering in a frightened tone for her mother and father.
Naruto took extra care to give the young Mira to Weiss, as she gave a silent nod at her responsibility as Naruto walked in front of his group, looking at Luron with a barely contained scolding look.
"You truly believe this is enlightenment? This is madness! I am one whom wishes for hatred to be tempered by understanding each other. I want a galaxy of peace not just for myself but for everyone whom I journey with"
"You wish nothing but hatred and pain. A vicious cycle until the entire universe is bathed in the fires of endless death. Do you not understand what you are wishing?! You only wish of endless War, something so horrible and destructive that nothing is spared it's wrath!"
"Ahh... but isn't that what humanity is all about? We were breed and tempered in the fires of war. Everything we have done, our achievements, our advances, our very lives have been for the cycle that is war! We are but drones. Puppets used only to fuel the engine of war that is the Imperium! Is it not a true irony that millions of us die to create weapons of death? Isn't it Ironic that we do not even have the means of sustaining any semblance of life on this miserable, backwater planet?!"
"Is it a true irony that any semblance of free thinking is crushed under the rule of one person whom is forcing us to believe in what he wants us to believe!?"
"Your father, he says there are no gods yet forged a galactic empire under his banner. He tells us not to worship anything but creates these 'miracles' where he goes. He says that he is not a god yet he gives purpose to those under his protection!"
"Your father had forsaken us. Told us plainly that we must not worship him... THEN WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS MISERABLE EXISTENCE!"
"Yet there are other gods whom are willing and able to listen, whom give us gifts to weather the coming storm. Whom gives us the means to continue on through faith in them... is it not truly Ironic?"
"Now lord Naruto" Luron said, his eyes focusing on the young primarch as he gave a neutral look upon him. "You have a choice... either begin the path of enlightenment, discover the wonders of the truth and be free of the oppression of this narcissistic Imperium... or fall alongside it"
The room was dragged into a sudden silence, as all eyes looked upon Naruto, his eyes were closed as he heard what Luron was saying. A minute passes by as his eyes open, conviction ringing true within them.
"I would rather die then follow. I would rather stand on my own and use my own strength then even think of lowering myself to faith... So all I can say is... go to hell"
"Hmm... a pity" Luron said as he turned his back from the group, he walked towards the figure as their eyes looked on in demented glee.
"Don't take too long now" Luron said as his figure walked into the darkness of the hive.
The figure twitched in excitement, the black mark upon their head glared a violent haze of red as their face became even more demented. Their body morphed and groaned as sinew and bone moulded into something else, all the while Naruto could hear the soul within the body cry out in pain and terror, making pleas to end it's suffering that he could only hear.
The figure before him was otherworldly to reality, their form was both repulsive and somehow mesmerizing to Naruto, their skin glistened in a purple sheen as their eyes bleed into a darkened void. Their tongue from their host's body had extended, becoming something that brought a sense of revulsion within Naruto's mind as two horns grew from their body, a mockery from an animals.
"Such a pity that one such as His spawn would be so rude as to deny the gifts of my master. Know now you face your death little light, that Ska'lithlia'th of contempt. Neverborn of She who thirst will send your soul into the void to be embraced by the truth"
The Daemon rushed the group with a grace and speed beyond even normal astartes. It brought forth a blade that screamed with the souls that cried in absolute pain and madness. Naruto brought forth a blade using his truth seeking orb as he pushed his body. Already the pain began to gnaw at him, both his body and mind were being assaulted as he fought both physically and spiritually against the maddening echoes of gods.
The daemon swung it's weapon wide, hoping to reap not only the primarch before it but also those within the circle trying to will themselves to not scream in absolute terror. The beings aura caused a primal fear to seep itself into the hearts of the civilians as they could do nothing but wail and cry in despair. Death was felt within their hearts as fear became their enemy.
To Naruto's astartes however, they were of sterner minds, they willed themselves to stand before this abomination, even thought they face death they will not falter. For so long as they had strength they will stand, for so long as they had courage, they will fight.
Naruto matched the daemon in stride, yet even his astartes could tell that despise the dance of absolute speed before them, their primarch was loosing, his injury causing him to lose ground as the pain started to become more powerful every second they fought.
Parrying the blade of the daemon, Naruto tried to consolidate to a more favorable position yet the pain in his chest caused blood to spew from his mouth. He was forced to a knee as he hacked up blobs of tainted blood, the daemon used this moment of weakness to cut a small incision upon his knee as Naruto gave a grunt.
The daemon used it's blade to deliver a string of blows onto Naruto, each attack adding more pain towards Naruto but never inflicting a mortal wound, the daemon cackled as it inflicted this pain onto Naruto yet he did not utter a single cry of pain.
As his body is suffering from many cuts as his blood coats his body, Naruto just looks on to the daemon before him, his eyes still holding resolute even as his body is failing him.
The daemon manifest a weapon, this one from it's host's body, it was a elegantly crafted weapon, out of place in such a human area as it contained no outward appearance of being a lethal weapon, yet the daemon merely pointed the weapon towards Naruto as a chilling giggle echoed through the room.
"Ohh little material. This game has been rather enjoying for me. Yet this is where the curtain falls for you. Take heart that the beings whom created my master created this weapon. It will ensure your death is as painful as possible. Indeed the serum within this shot will make your body shrivel and reduce you to ash and bone"
"Now would you please kindly die for me?"
Howdy Again folks
Now I rarely do a re write of chapters. or at least not make it a habbit. But some reviews of this latest chapter actually gave me some good critiques about how I structured and wrote this chapter. So i decided to do some changes to this chapter.
I would like to give a thanks to Dragon Blaze-X for the additional area's that needed changing. Indeed your advice was very much taken on. Hopefully it is much better than before but I do understand if it still suffering from Hamfisting... kinda wrote myself into a corner there :P
Tempestguard - I understand that the Naruto we see is not the normal Naruto we are used to. Indeed trying to integrate a true 'Naruto' universe into the 30k/40k setting is a lot harder than it seems. Simply because of power scaling of both universes.
Making a true Naruto would defeat the purpose of 30k/40k as it's lore shows that Shinobi are power to the nth degree. This would make the grim-dark aspect loose itself and no longer reflect that image. On the other hand making 30k/40k too dark defeats the Idea of shinobi, these warriors who can endure through any struggle and succeed where others would fail.
It's a hard balance, which is why certain abilities have to be scaled down (i.e Sage mode/ Kurama mode/ Sixth path mode) because their power scaling is too much for this particular instance. To increase their value as a reader, these abilities have to be used sparingly and in the correct context. Having Naruto just Sage mode his way through everything makes the story bland and predictable cause you know he could 'just do this'
Also you got to remember. Naruto and co don't fight like ninja's. They fight like Shinobi, which in their universe is not how Ninja's in a traditional context fight. If anything they fight more like Samurai with flashy moves and fighting styles that scream 'style over form'.
Ghoast- So in my two stories I have actually never written anywhere that chakra counters the warp. I had written in chapter 2 of my first story which was part of the original story I took over that Arshira said 'We made them stronger. Strengthen their mental defenses against the dark ones' I never actually wrote anywhere that chakra counters the Warp. This is why when Naruto first entered through the corrupted gate in a previous chapter, he was almost being ripped apart in all three aspects (mental, Spiritual and Physical).
Instead I had established that Chakra is a manifestation of ones SOUL. Meaning that in terms of normal humans compared to Elementians, they have an advantage against beings who try and harvest souls. Mentally they are much more resistant to the influence of Chaos, but this doesn't mean they are Immune to Chaos, rather it means that they can resist one aspect of chaos, which is it's influence.
I classify Chaos as two states, Passive Influence and Active corruption. Passive influence means that ones actions can be influenced subconsciously. This means a person could get an idea or be inspired by something and their actions could be a result of that influence. This is what the higher resistance is good against.
Active corruption is a lot more straightforward. In this method you are actually directly infecting a person with corruption, either making their body die or learn to embrace this corruption. This is obviously the more direct of the two but has a more profound result.
Just because one has a higher resistance to one side doesn't mean it applies to the other. This is why a stab from a corrupted blade might be more effective than a light whisper into someone's ear or trying to make someone see something that would mentally mess with them.
- Anthony - Sure. I dont mind if you use this Naruto as a base for yours. If you want to base it upon him that is ok, so long as you tell people who read yours it is based upon my version I am totally fine with that. If you want to add to Naruto from this story I would ask if I can at see if any plots and stuff dont clash too hard with what I have already written and/or are going to write. Would be rather awkward having people get heated cause Naruto is conflicting on different stories.
Anyway. I appreciated the reviews and the critiques on this chapter. I will take this in and hopefully make the next parts that much more interesting.
Hopefully this doesn't become a habbit (Hopefully)
Stay Safe