**Author's note: This chapter was initially attached to the last one, but I decided to split it up after I finished it.**
"For fuck's sake!" I swore, feeling the strain against my energy as I dodged another sword strike from the giant Keeper of Secrets. Everything that could go wrong during this supply run trip had gone wrong (including my own death!), and now, I had been required to send Lian down to the engine area to retrieve Null after he had apparently lost his mind again. That belt was definitely bad news, I confirmed to myself. I made a mental note to use Sight to bludgeon Null's mind when I had a free moment in order to discern his loyalty and sanity. This action toward a crewmember would be a bit psychologically despotic, I conceded, but I really needed to know that he wouldn't just betray me again or if the belt wasn't harboring a very sneaky greater daemon that I had somehow managed to miss. I didn't want any more nasty surprises.
"I have him secured, Inheritor," Lian responded to me from Null's display in the engine room. The Tech-priest had been picked up and thrown limply over the Fallen Paladin's shoulders. "He offers no excuse for his actions. He appears somewhat catatonic and he doesn't respond."
I didn't respond for a short time as I reacted in sympathetic pain to the Divine Retribution's ongoing left wing damage. My left shoulder and arm spasmed, and my heart continued to ache in my chest. The ship psychically informed me that we now had two areas of actual hull damage, which was astonishing considering just how tough the living gold seemed to be. However, a moderate amount of sustained hull damage to prevent Am'Erika from eating millions of people was a good trade off in the end, I considered. Lian stood waiting for my word, and with an uncomfortable groan, I instructed the Fallen Paladin on what I wanted him to do. "Bring him to the bridge if you can. I don't want him near the energy crystal. I'll absorb him if there's any more trouble."
After this short discussion, both Lian and Null were on their way back up to the bridge where I could keep an eye on the Tech-priest. I greatly hoped that I wouldn't need the Null's expertise in the engine room. At the very least, the Nome King's jeweled belt had fallen off his body, so that was good. We'd get rid of that thing later.
Prayers from the city of Evna filtered across my mind like a swarm of ethereal locusts, giving me energy, and acting as a balm against my discomfort. They called out to me using the names of "Great Eagle", "Divine Retribution", and "God-Empress", and their reverence gave me a pleasant feeling, despite my situation. Hearing myself described as a divine being once again made me a bit uncomfortable, but I decided not to worry about that right now.
The angry daemon-possessed colossus stomping around in the dawn's early light outside was currently very much fixated on chopping my left wing off instead of eating the nearby city, which was good. I was successfully distracting it, but at the cost of my hull. By now, I had suffered numerous hits as I waited for the Grandiloquent Abundance's doomsday cannon to come into range.
My crew wasn't exactly happy with me, because this was all putting them in danger along with myself. Normally, old Erika probably would have run away immediately, finding the whole situation hopeless. But now, something within me resonated with a fiery protective streak. If there was an option, no matter how unlikely, that could save some people from being eaten by Chaos, I would have to take it. Letting people get hurt by eldritch powers was an abominable choice, so I had to at least try to do the right thing.
Above, a flashing light drew my attention to a three minute countdown on the holographic display. This was an approximation of when the Necron cannon would be in range to strike the Keeper of Secrets. After getting rid of that bitch, I'd be free to run away from this world, and hopefully, the Necron fleet would follow me, and leave this world alone. I'd worry about if it was even possible to outrun a Necron fleet later.
"Your wing is looking worse for wear, pitiful excuse for an Empress," the Keeper of Secrets boomed outside. While I had shut off audio communication between the bridge and the outside world, I could always still hear the daemon through the ship's ears.
"Whatever," I sighed, projecting my voice outward. "You obviously can't catch me. I thought the lore said that Slaanesh daemons were fast? I guess that was wrong because I was able to maim you back on Levant, and now, here I am dancing circles around you."
This jab successfully caused the daemon to lose her shit again, and come at me in a terrible whirlwind of hoof kicks, claw strikes, and sword blows. I was able to dodge most of this, at least.
"Warning, accumulating hull damage!" the Divine Retribution complained. "Warning, void shields at 26%!"
"I know, sorry," I apologized to the ship.
My psyker perception tickled, and the large holographic screen before me displayed that the ship sensed some kind of unusual energy surrounding its midsection and neck. Dodging Am'Erika as best I could, I put a portion of my awareness on the unusual energy signature. What was it?
Elsewhere:
Lian held Null's heavy limp body over his armored shoulders as he angrily stomped through the metal passageways of the Divine Retribution. The sound of the Fallen Paladin's metal boots striking the floor echoed loudly through the gold corridors, punctuating just how upset he was. The mad Tech-priest was unresponsive to most communication after being overcome by a foreign unknown force again, just like after Nubua. Lian had been prepared to kill Null for his weakness of constitution this time around, but a mental command from his charge stayed his hand.
"Pray that she shows mercy against you for this when you stand before her, weakling," Lian angrily spoke to the dazed Tech-priest in a low voice. Beyond a heavy resigned sigh, Null did not respond.
Around him, the Fallen Paladin's modest psychic senses perceived that the Divine Retribution was dipping and diving through the atmosphere, dodging the brutal sword strikes of the gigantic possessed statue of the Keeper of Secrets. Lian had decided not to think too deeply upon the dire nature of their situation, and placed his faith in the god-creature sitting on the golden throne on the bridge. As a new Honor Guard and Paladin, he needed to display faith, bravery, and unquestionable loyalty.
Continuing his angry walk, Lian pushed a wandering servitor aside with a grunt. Ahead of him, the Fallen briefly paused as he noticed a strange shifting of the air, and once again, the holographic form of Virgil snapped into existence. His face marked with surprise, and the holographic astropath clutched at his chest, as he began to float-walk beside the Fallen Paladin.
"What has come over him?" Virgil asked. "He struck me! If I had been alive he would have killed me!"
"I don't know. I have been commanded to bring him to the bridge," Lian answered with a sniff, sweat pouring down his scalp and into his eyes. He sensed that the ship had dodged yet another sword strike, and forced himself again to disregard the looming danger he was in.
"He's a heretek!" the astropath hissed angrily, his form rippling in fury. "He's a murderer! How had I not seen this?"
"We were instructed to not listen to the words of the daemon, Virgil," the Fallen added dryly. Even though he agreed with the astropath, this had been the given command by the Inheritor, and she needed to be obeyed without question. "Let her be the arbiter of justice."
"I accept my fate in whatever the Omnissiah wishes," Null responded on Lian's shoulders. "I accept whatever awaits me."
"The fleet, how could you?! For years we all traveled together on your Explorator fleet, Ogun! For years we had fellowship and wisdom as we explored the greater edges of the galaxy! You were admired greatly by all you encountered, respected and honored by all! And, you threw it all away! You murdered them!"
Null did not respond, and Lian once again warned Virgil. "Stop this. We were told not to consider the daemon's words. I suggest you align your obedience appropriately."
Virgil clenched his fists in anger, and his holographic form slightly glitched in his emotional state.
The small group came to another blast door in the midship that had closed behind Lian after he had passed through on his way to the engine room, either through the control of the Tech-priest, or of the ship itself as a precaution. They were now close to the long corridor that led to the bridge, which lay just beyond this door. Lian walked up to the side of the closed portal, and reached into a small compartment that contained a wide metal wheel that would allow him to manually open the blast door to advance forward. Null continued to lay limply upon Lian's shoulders, and the Fallen Paladin could now feel that the Tech-priest was shivering.
"I apologize," Virgil intoned with a sigh. "I just... you understand. This is just-"
"No, I don't understand," Lian answered as he began to turn the wheel, which seemed to be momentarily stuck. With an expenditure of strength, the Paladin was then able to turn the wheel, and with a squeak, the door began to slide open.
"Lian," the Inheritor's voice spoke within the corridor while the Fallen turned the wheel. "I sense strange energy enveloping the ship. It seems to be coming from the Necron fleet. I can't place what it is, but it seems to be surrounding your location. Do you see anything funny down there?"
Hearing this, Null abruptly sprang to life, and began to struggle on Lian's shoulders as he continued to open the blast door. "No! Quickly! Arm yourselves!" Null shouted. "Don't open this door!"
"Inheritor, I'm here with both Lian and Null. A madness has afflicted Null, we observe," Virgil announced as both the Tech-priest and Fallen Paladin struggled. "Null's punch through my chest would have killed me if I had been among the living, but I find myself mended."
"I'm glad you're okay. Do you see anything strange in your location? I can't concentrate because of this fucking Keeper of Secrets and these prayers!" the Inheritor asked, her voice somewhat strained. "I estimate that we've got about two minutes before the cannon is in range to strike the daemon outside, and then we can go."
"Please listen! We're in danger!" Null shouted from atop Lian's shoulders.
Lian, at this point, had pulled away from his attempt at turning the wheel. He then aggressively tore the Tech-priest from his shoulders, and proceeded to pin Null aggressively against the wall. "If you have the energy to struggle and scream, you can walk. Now, either cooperate to your judgement or-"
"What the hell is going on down there?!" the resonant female god-voice demanded. Lian sensed that the Divine Retribution had dodged yet another sword strike, and his hearts skipped a beat! She was piloting this craft in combat against a greater daemon at the very same time that she spoke to them! At that moment, the Fallen felt the Inheritor's powerful psychic eye pass over them both while he continued to pin the Tech-priest against the wall. Deep within himself, Lian once again felt his very being viscerally respond to her Sight, which was growing more potent in its gravity as time went on. The feeling of being under her eye elicited a sensation of instinctual obedience that felt as if it was hard-coded into his genetics, almost as if following her was the natural order of the universe.
"Listen to me, you damned fool Astartes!" Null interrupted the moment loudly out as he struggled against the wall in Lian's grasp, his mechadendrites flailing angrily. "Please! I was working on deciphering various frequency scans before I was temporarily overcome by the xenos! I'm sane once again, I assure you, but listen to me! These Necrons have teleportarium technology in their Harvest Ships! Inheritor, if you can hear me, activate the Warp shield, and lock the-"
A bright green flash blazed through the metal corridors behind them, and electric snapping noises cracked loudly through the air. The Fallen Paladin's ears registered a pressure change. Surprised, Lian dropped the Tech-priest, turned around, and reflexively reached for his power sword. Durendal buzzed to life in his hand.
Further down the ship, and a handful of paces behind where they had come, the Fallen Paladin could now see a sizeable group of tall skeletal humanoid beings! They had teleported onto the ship, and were now crowding the interior of the Divine Retribution! From where he stood, Lian recognized that these appeared at first glance to be the foul aliens known as Necrons, but something appeared unusual with these particular fiends. These xenos were of a particularly stooped posture, and appeared momentarily confused before turning about and facing the three men. There were approximately seven or eight of these creatures from what the Fallen could see. The group watched Lian with burning red eyes while clacking long knifelike claws on each of their hands. Each Necron hissed and snorted like wild starving animals as they slunk very slowly ahead, and the Fallen Paladin could vaguely make out that each one wore what appeared to be tattered filthy cloaks over their metal bodies.
These strange Necrons were not attacking yet; they appeared to be sizing up their prey while they growled and gnashed, their jaws moving as if they were chewing. The movements of these aliens filled the hallway with a cacophony of metal grinding noises and savage growls that could never originate from the throat of a more natural creature. As they advanced very slowly, Lian witnessed a grisly sight. He had presumed that these xenos were wearing cloaks of a sort, but in actuality, he could now discern that they were wearing tattered skins, and each were covered with bloodstains, patches of hair, and even birthmarks!
They were wearing the skins of humans!
"Flayed Ones..." Null observed as he stood near Virgil, who was struck with horror at the scene.
"Like the encounter on Dela 7! I remember! These are aliens that skin their prey!" the astropath breathlessly proclaimed, quickly dropping his anger toward Null. "But, I have no skin to give them, and neither do you."
"They'll have to tear my skin from me," Lian spat defiantly. At the same time, the Fallen Paladin conceded to himself that he was uncertain that he could fend away such a large group. The door behind them was still mostly closed, and he hoped that these were the only Necrons on the vessel. "Back, xenos!" the Fallen shouted, holding his power sword threateningly aloft while taking a step forward. The group of Flayed Ones paused, gibbering madly as they watched the Fallen Paladin and his crackling power sword. The xenos resembled aggressive (but very hungry) mangy dogs in a hive city alley. It was quite chilling that these animalistic machine-creatures were not immediately lunging at them. Even if they were utterly feral, these xenos were likely more intelligent then they seemed to be, Lian noted. "Virgil, get to the bridge! Alert the Inheritor!" the Fallen Paladin quickly ordered.
The holographic astropath vanished in a smear of light. Null remained behind Lian, who prayed that he would not be backstabbed. Through his modest psychic senses, he could now tell that the Inheritor was currently distracted with shouting at the Keeper of Secrets, apparently trying to lure the daemon somewhere, from what he could vaguely perceive. How much longer did they have left on this doomed world? Lian swallowed, and began to quietly pray under his breath, reminding himself that he was a brave Dark Angel, and that the favored eye of God was upon him.
And now, the eye of God was upon him quite literally, he considered with a shiver as the Inheritor's Sight passed over him again. He sensed her shock, and within him, her voice was heard. Sending reinforcements from the bridge! she replied before the Divine Retribution suffered a wound to her back, which caused the ship's interior to shake!
"I've remotely summoned my available battle servitors to come to me, Lian," Null replied behind him. "These may not be the only aliens that have teleported aboard."
The xenos continued to observe Lian and Null with ravenous red eyes. Each chittered in what appeared to be an unknown language as they continued to hesitate before the Fallen Paladin.
Confused, Lian asked, "Why aren't they attacking?"
"Predatory cunning. Flayers have been known to occasionally calculate their own strategy to maximize any harvest of flesh with the least amount of injury to your hide. They wish to skin you, you see, and they want to take as much as your skin in large swaths. Despite the madness of Flayed Ones, they remain Necron in intelligence."
The Flayed Ones then began to slink slowly forward once again, advancing with strange feral smoothness toward Lian and Null. They clacked their metal talons, and chattered their fanged jaws. Now only two paces away, they stopped again. The closest metal creature leaned forward, and then proclaimed in a ravenous spitting warble that could be an approximation of speech, "New... flesh..."
All the cursed Necrons then charged ahead together!
Lian swung Durendal in a wide arc, relieving the lead Necron's gibbering head from its stooped shoulders. Quickly, the Fallen raised his crackling power sword and braced himself, allowing a Flayed One that had lunged through the air at him to fall upon his blade using the xenos' own momentum, which cleaved one of its clawed arms. The metal beast was quickly dispatched on the floor.
Behind him, a clang was heard as Null also defended himself, presumably using his metal arms and appendages. Despite not having as much desirable skin as Lian possessed, the Necrons still targeted him in their voracious wrath. Lian watched as another charging fiend lunged forward with a grinding scream.
"Meat! Meat!" the beast screeched as Lian again swung Durendal in a mighty blow, cleaving the head and neck away from the Flayed One's body! As the creature fell, however, and Lian was still recovering from the momentum of his heavy strike, another Necron unexpectedly snuck up and leapt at his vulnerable flank!
A blinding flash exploded in the corridor, and now the offending Flayed One was broken into useless half-melted pieces of scrap on the floor. The remaining xenos stepped backward, intimidated. Quickly, Lian turned to see that Null aiming his strange plasma rifle from one of his mechadendrites. It was the same unstable weapon he had seen the Tech-priest use on Nubua.
"This does not mean that we're friends!" the Fallen Paladin shouted over the din of hissing xenos.
"I will forever live my life in repentance now. Trouble yourself not with my loyalty, Astartes!" Null cried out as the Flayed Ones renewed their assault forward. "Behind them, look! My servitors!"
Lian then noticed that the Necrons at the rear of this feral gang were now fighting against something. He spied a severed clawed metal arm being thrown into the air, and a thick ropey mechadendrite lashed angrily like an angry sea creature as the beasts screamed in protest. Behind him, the Fallen Paladin then noticed that the door to the bridge had now opened, and before he could rush to close it, a tall red-robed Skitarii warrior advanced, and aimed his alien rifle ahead.
"Kill the xenos!" Null shouted as he struggled to hold back the claws of a particularly fiendish Flayed One that wore the skin of what appeared to be a child over its back. With an incandescent green blast from an energy weapon, the Necron attacking the Tech-priest was decapitated.
"Warp shield is up! Just hold on down there, everyone! I have to kill this daemon! Just hold-" the Inheritor's voice announced to the area before she was interrupted by another blow to the Divine Retribution's left wing!
"For the Inheritor!" Lian shouted as he charged ahead, swinging his power sword in another dramatic arc, this time actually cleaving one of the Flayers in two at the waist. Bright green blasts of energy lit the hallway in flashes of brilliance, dazzling the eye. Ahead, Null's battle servitors were now swiftly carving through the new Necrons that had teleported in. There were so many!
"Meat! Skin!" One of the Flayers jeered right before a blow from Lian's blade severed the scything metal claws from its hand. Between Null, the tall Skitarii with the rifle, and himself, their group was adequately holding their own in battle! The Fallen Paladin continued to cut down the xenos that charged him, and while it seemed that he was doing well in here, he prayed that the bridge was also safe, and not currently under attack.
Elsewhere:
"FUCK!" I cried out in terrible surprise a few moments after a fucking Necron spontaneously charged up the neck of the Divine Retribution to assault the bridge! I had sensed that a cloud of unusual energy had surrounded the ship's trunk a moment earlier, and unfortunately, my indecisive delay in arming the Parson Shield had allowed the approaching Necrons to get some kind of a teleporter "lock" on us! Shortly thereafter, a teleportation intrusion was perceived, and one of the Harvest Ships successfully transported a group of Necron Flayed Ones aboard, which then assaulted Lian and Null, who were still making their way to my location. Beside me, both Rasputin and Alberich cried out in surprise as well as one particularly fast Necron raced deep onto the bridge. Luckily, Rasputin was eager to prove his worth here, and after barking a Russian swear, he hurled a white electric bolt ahead, striking and stunning the alien! It fell screaming to the floor.
While I had a small amount of knowledge about what Flayed Ones were from the lore, nothing could prepare me for seeing such a creature in person. Flayer Necrons had a slightly different shape than typical Necrons, with longer arms, a more stooped posture, and a decidedly bestial appearance complete with very long flensing claws on each hand and sharp chattering jaws. When the one that bolted onto to the bridge passed me, the odor of spoiled flesh and an electrical fire followed close behind. Draped across its back, a tattered and dirtied hide of what appeared to be rotting human skin was stretched over the creature's metal form. Luckily for those of us on the bridge, the first one that made it up to us from the ship's heart was lost in madness, and ran right past the three thrones while screaming nonsense from its fanged jaw. After Rasputin stunned it, I telekinetically crushed its head while also directing the ship to dodge Am'Erika's blows.
My Sight offered a clear view of the chaos that had erupted within my ship, and it wasn't good. Thinking quickly, I sent one of the Skitarii down to help Lian and Null confront the gang of teleported Necrons, and the red-robed warrior was readily proving his worth by blasting multiple xenos to smithereens!
"Where did that thing come from?!" Alberich cried out beside me, watching the smoking wreck of the fanged alien. "What-?"
Before I could answer, I was reminded that my ability to pair my consciousness had limits, as my brief distraction caused us yet another injury. Another strike from Am'Erika's sword injured me, and I saw red flames directly before the ship's eyes as my forehead was grazed! The Divine Retribution groaned in pain!
"Alberich, Rasputin, everyone, pay attention to the bridge! Kill any aliens! I need to concentrate on outside!"
I checked the timer. We had about a minute before the Grandiloquent Abundance's cannon was in estimated range. Good.
In order to get a better handle on my flight, I pushed my consciousness deeper into the ship. When I opened my eyes again, I was the Divine Retribution itself as I soared around Am'Erika, harrying the statue like an angry crow to keep her away from the population center. The statue had unexpectedly withdrawn from our fight, and now, the greater daemon stood calmly in the desert, an expression of boredom on her features. Am'Erika's eyes were closed.
"Looks like we just learned that you still can't kill me," I spoke up, projecting my strong voice to be heard audibly. "You might give me a few scratches, but I'll always come out on top. I still have my left wing, and you're still maimed from your failure on Levant!" I taunted as I waited for the greater daemon to resume her attack against me.
I floated nearby, just out of range of her immediate sword striking range. The statue stood watchfully, her humanoid arms crossed over her chest, and her jewel-like sapphire eyes narrowed as if she was studying me.
"What's the matter? Chicken?" I shouted at the daemon as it paused. Under a minute left now! I just needed to hold on!
"I'm bored now," the Keeper of Secrets hummed in her booming evil voice. "My delicious failed Empress, it dawns upon me now that you may have a motive in your ineffective attacks against my blessed flesh. If your vessel was able to destroy me, you would have done so. If you had wished to leave, no doubt you would have left, as the metal xenos continue their march here. What is the little bird up to, I wonder?"
"Just making you look stupid before I kill you, that's all," I lied. "I figured I'd have a little fun, you know?"
45 seconds.
"Really?" Am'Erika said with bemusement. The statue then turned her head to briefly regard the population center of Evna, which was about fifty kilometers away from our location. The terrible fear that the souls of Evna exuded was sharp, and their prayers continued to plead to me to save them. The greater daemon chuckled, and turned her entire body toward the megopolis. "Perhaps she truly restrains her might? Perhaps she plays a game with me, just as many of those under the eye of the Conspirator do? Perhaps I shall see after I've had a bite to eat..." Am'Erika laughed as she began to clop heavily toward Evna instead of hurting me, each of her long strides clearing hundreds of meters at each pace!
37 seconds.
Well, shit, I thought. Not only did I not want the greater daemon eating any more people, it would probably not be good for Am'Erika to be sitting on top of Evna before being struck by a Necron doomsday cannon, so I redoubled my efforts in harrying the greater daemon. With a scream, I dove down with my talons outstretched, aiming for the statue's neck. Instead of reaching to deflect me with her sword, this time the Keeper of Secrets simply ignored me, and continued to slowly walk forward toward the city. Fear began to rise up from the population, and the buzzing cloud of prayers grew louder in desperation. With renewed purpose, my gold talons plunged into her neck, and I desperately pulled and tore at the creature, which caused waterfalls of revolting black daemonic ichor to fall from her onto the land below.
28 seconds.
To my horror, the greater daemon simply responded with a pleasured moan at my aggressive actions, and continued to make her way toward Evna! "What a pleasant massage! If you're trying to hurt me, you'll have to do better than that," Am'Erika laughed at me, and snapped her teeth close to my wings.
21 seconds.
Angry and exhausted, I loosed three of my remaining plasma torpedoes at close range as I withdrew from the flesh of the giant possessed statue. My efforts here at least seemed to be somewhat injuring the greater daemon, as she was now both bloody and charred from my efforts. Am'Erika was now making no attempt at defending herself, it seemed, and was now fixated on getting her snack, which I presumed was the sprawling city of Evna.
11 seconds.
The Divine Retribution then informed me that I only had two plasma torpedoes remaining, and that my energy was being rapidly depleted from my furious attacks. At the very least, the closer we drew to Evna, the more power I seemed to derive from the prayers of the humans below.
Great Eagle of gold! the prayers sang through the air. Save us!
Divine retribution is upon us! others shouted out as they cowered on street corners. The end is near! Raula was right!
What on Terra is that thing?! What sort of monstrous heresy are these people involved with, and how has it gone unchecked for so long? an unusually bright soul observed from the spaceport above. Damnation, when will they be here? They're late! the soul observed as she began swearing to herself.
4 seconds.
I heard terrified screaming from the residents of Evna as the daemonic statue reached the outskirts of the city. She was now in an area of farmland dotted with small houses and storage facilities for food. With heavy gold hooves, I watched as she effortlessly crushed a warehouse with an easy stomp. The greater daemon grinned evilly despite my continued attacks against her, which were still being completely ignored.
My senses prickled, and behind me, I felt the approach of the Necron fleet above. They were now crossing into visibility, and I sensed that they were attempting to send me a message, which I allowed. On my bridge, I felt my three large holographic screens display the fearsome skeletal jeweled body of the Nome King as he pointed angrily at me. "To the crew and captain of the cursed Emissary of the Old Ones, Gir'Auda!" a loud metal voice shouted into my systems as the Grandiloquent Abundance began to peer out high above over the western horizon. "Prepare to meet your doom! I didn't want your primitive little Tech-priest anyway, so always remember when you are dead that I'm the one that killed you!"
With a strained reach of my Sight, I was able to see further what was going on within the bridge of the lead Necron Harvest Ship. Groups of red robed Crypteks and other busy Necrons stood around the Nome King as he jeered into a large holographic display that depicted me sitting on my throne. My eyes were closed as I continued to fly my vessel. I was too deep in my concentration to respond quickly in my fleshy body, but beside me, I could tell that one of my copilots was swearing at the Necron king, promising his destruction. As this was going on, a second Necron Flayed One raced onto the bridge, and I briefly watched it try to attack Rasputin right before Lian appeared and dispatched it from behind with his sword. My awareness was drawn back into the bridge of the Grandiloquent Abundance. Adjacent to the Nome King, his one-eyed brother Valgûl was trying to get his attention by tugging on the mad monarch's ruby cape.
The Flayer Lord's tone was growing greatly concerned, and there was now a shade of angry impatience in his voice. "Brother, calm your anger! We need the shard intact! If you rupture the ship, you might damage the C'tan sh-"
Hearing this, I felt my body flinch on my throne. Did he just say a C'tan shard?
"Then we'll shatter the Sleeper all over again! We Nomes the greatest of the Necron race, as we are fearless and passionate brave fighters, and no one can stop us! I'm tired of Gir'Auda's games! Initiate firing sequence!"
Am'Erika paused after crushing another warehouse on what appeared to be a farm, and I watched as her expression abruptly and dramatically shifted. The greater daemon turned around, and pointed her crowned head upward in the direction of where the Grandiloquent Abundance flew above. Her jeweled eyes then went wide with surprise and outrage as she realized what was about to happen, and unfortunately, she still stood in a populated area! I began to retreat backward. The Keeper of Secrets boomed in outrage, "If I go, then so do you! You're not getting out of this either, my pretty!" The greater daemon lunged forward in the blink of an eye, her three arms extended in an effort to bear-hug me!
Instinctually, I found myself pulling deeply into my Sight, and using one of the more advanced psychic techniques that Sebastian had taught me when he had possessed my body during my escape from Nubua. Divine Retribution, phase shift 500 meters back! I commanded my vessel!
My heart began to ache heavily again, and distantly, I felt that my copilots were crying out in pain as their bodies reeled from the energy drain of the vessel. This phase shift had just successfully saved us from Am'Erika's intention of grappling the Divine Retribution as the Necrons fired their cannon, which happened a mere microsecond after I reappeared 500 meters away where I had been flying.
The sky turned neon green, and then, blinding white exploded around me. I began flying upward and away. I understood that what I would soon be feeling would not be pleasant on my psychic senses.
My little scheme to change the targeting parameters of the Grandiloquent Annihilation cannon was successful, and with a deafening scream, the Keeper of Secrets was struck by a heavy neon green laser a full two meters in diameter straight through her chest! Hot green plasma of incredible heat erupted around Am'Erika in an explosive fireball, and I sadly knew that the collateral damage from this laser strike was severe. Approximately two thousand human souls were instantly released from their bodies following the apocalyptic explosion! A sizeable partition of Evna's western border and farmland had been consumed in a heat brighter and hotter than a star!
The daemonically transfigured statue body of the Keeper of Secrets burst from within after the direct hit by Necron cannon. The brief strike of the mighty energy weapon had caused an explosion approximately one kilometer in diameter centered on the greater daemon's heart. This had, unfortunately, scorched crops and obliterated a small local population of farmers and laborers. Even I was pushed back by the force of the blast, and the flames of the fireball licked tips of my feathers. After the explosion, Am'Erika stood perfectly still for a very short time before she split apart in heavy chunks as if she was a broken porcelain doll. Each of the statue's pieces reverted back into metal and stone as they toppled across the decimated farmland. The greater daemon's Statue of Liberty head ended up falling and landing on its side beside an irrigation canal. I witnessed Am'Erika's sapphire eyes gleam in hate for a brief moment before her decapitated head reverted back to mundane metal, and the daemon's spirit was forcefully dragged screaming back to the Warp. I had beaten her!
On my throne, I felt myself sigh in relief. My body began to shake, and I felt that I was crying. My heavy flowing tears were hot, and tasted like copper.
I continued to soar upward and away from the terrible devastation, my ears ringing from the terrible psychic scream of the event. The released souls rose into the Warp, and I felt them drawn to me. While they were no longer in danger of being eaten by a singular Keeper of Secrets, I worried that if I consumed all of these souls in my present state that I might overload again. I certainly didn't have the stamina of a fully developed Emperor-creature yet, but since I definitely needed the energy, I allowed the Divine Retribution to draw a fraction of the souls within itself, which ended up being about a hundred or so farmers who had the misfortune of working the crops that ringed the land outside of Evna. Their surprised souls were consumed and integrated into my systems, a few of which angrily cursed me as they were consumed. That was fair, I considered sadly.
Soul energy surged through my pained form once again, rejuvenating my shields and offering partial regeneration to my damaged body and weapons. My hull of living gold would need to rest over time in order to regenerate, but for now, we had beaten Am'Erika, and prevented her from directly devouring millions of people!
Quickly, I watched in very morbid amusement as the Necrons on board the Grandiloquent Abundance realized that they had somehow missed their target! The Nome King began to scream in apoplectic rage, and I could tell that he was ordering the cannon to fire again. Fortunately for us, it could not, and it had a refractory charging period, so we had a short amount of time that we could now use in escaping this world. The insane Necron king, in response to hearing this news, actually reeled back and punched one of his Cryptek advisors square in the face. The Nome King's brother witnessed this with disapproval, and I observed the Fallen Lord as he quietly made his way to the fore of the bridge where he began to quietly address his Flayed Ones.
I distantly felt the sensation of cheering on my bridge, and I gradually summoned my awareness back to my fleshy body with a pained gasp. My eyes were currently closed, and I realized now that my skin felt badly burned.
"-did it!" I sensed that Alberich was cheering (somewhat nervously) beside me. "The statue has been destroyed! You destroyed Am'Erika!" Others were also cheering around me as I struggled to pull myself back together from dividing up my consciousness.
A sudden scream on the bridge, and I felt the sensation of wind.
I finally opened my eyes, and before me, I saw the bodies of three Necrons sprawled out on the floor. Apparently, I had been so completely immersed in my actions outside that I had been unaware of what was going on around my physical body on the bridge. An aggressive Flayed One had tried to assault me! The metal monster lay face down a mere meter away from my throne, its clawed arm outstretched as if it was dispatched mid-reach!
"Flesh... flesh..." the miserable alien whined. Its bladed claws twitched.
Above and behind the grisly creature, Lian stood in his awesome new black armor, his electric power sword held in two hands and sweat pouring down his face. The Fallen quickly plunged his blade through the neck of the stricken alien, which caused it to stop twitching for good.
Before I could further properly appreciate the state of the excited bridge, I immediately commanded the Divine Retribution further upward into the sky. Below, I could hear the terrible screams of those humans that had been affected by the violent obliteration of the Statue of Libertine. Visions of fires, collapsing buildings, and ruined fields of grain passed through my mind. Both prayers and calls for my damnation rose like steam around my senses.
And now, instead of damnation through a Keeper of Secrets, the doom of this world came with the Necron fleet that had followed me here. My coming had triggered Langwidere's madness and the final push of the Family of Liberty cult. Again, I prayed that the Necrons would leave this world to chase me if I left fast enough. It was a chance, and I had to take it. We had to leave!
My sadness at contemplating the fate of this world was interrupted by a happy ghostly bark as Wolfie trotted into my field of vision. The astral hound held an arm attached to a hand with long bladed claws in his jaws, and with a self-satisfied yip, the Warp dog sat down and began to gnaw on the metal arm like it was a rawhide bone.
"We have dispatched the Flayed Ones!" Lian announced as he fell to his knees before me, the bright light of my Corona reflecting brilliantly in his green eyes. The Fallen Paladin held his sword point down perpendicular to the floor in one hand, reminding me of brave knight swearing fealty. "My E-emp- uh-," he stammered before remembering himself. The Fallen's teeth were chattering, and his eyes were wide (and almost delirious) as he gazed upon me. "Inheritor, there are no more xenos aboard. Two injuries, and-"
"The, t-the ship was attacked inside!" Alberich interrupted Lian in a quaking voice, and when I looked over, his blond hair had turned a pale white-blond, which brought him even closer in appearance to Tzeentch's avatar, which I was not excited to see. "Did you see what happened here? One of the red metal warriors has fallen! The male one! Rasputin and-"
"I'm hurt!" Rasputin groaned with a shaky, traumatized voice while he clutched his shoulder, which was bleeding. His long dark hair had turned somewhat grey through his integration with the Divine Retribution, and he appeared greatly disturbed. "My insides are burned! The terror of-"
"The C'tan shard! Blast it all! There's a C'tan shard! We have to-" Null's voice desperately cried out behind me. As if remembering himself, Lian immediately stood, and raced behind my throne to apprehend Null, who responded with a short cry of surprise as he was tackled again.
"Everyone, let me get away from here now first. We're not safe yet!" I announced to the bridge. My face felt wet, and with a nervous brush of a hand, what I presumed were tears was actually blood. I was probably a hot mess right now, but me being a bloody psychic disaster wasn't all that uncommon in this universe. Cracking my knuckles again, I rallied my energy, and set my sights to a new directive: Our escape from this world!