Ferrus Manus. In High Gothic, it means Iron Hand.
Regarding his new name, Ferrus remained silent. Perhaps it was tacit acceptance.
Vulkan was overjoyed because he had a brother.
Ferrus believed Vulkan was his brother; his story was clearly not fabricated.
But Ferrus was still curious about their origins, curious why they had landed on different worlds, curious who their birth parents were.
Vulkan could probably tell him the answers, but they had to deal with the immediate crisis first.
Ferrus lowered his voice, "We need to leave quickly. Those xenos could show up any time!"
Vulkan laughed heartily, "Don't worry, brother. We will win!"
Ferrus frowned. He didn't understand where Vulkan's almost arrogant confidence came from.
Ferrus had a realistic assessment of his own abilities. Vulkan, as his brother, should be on par with him.
But they were both in their developmental stage, far from mature.
He had witnessed Juno's power, yet even she struggled against the xenos.
Ferrus's gaze fell on Caelan. Only he remained.
'Vulkan's father... what was so special about him?'
"Look out above!"
Ferrus's pupils suddenly contracted. Three anti-gravity bikes were tearing through the clouds, diving towards them. The twin-linked barrels at the front of those bikes were emitting a blinding light!
SHING!
The shuriken fired from the anti-gravity bikes stirred up layers of deep blue ripples in the void, as if striking an invisible barrier.
Ferrus watched as Caelan raised his right hand and casually closed his fingers.
In an instant, the three bikes, like toys gripped by an invisible giant hand, collided with a sickening crunch of twisting metal.
The Drukhari's flesh was instantly compressed into a pulp. The wraithbone bikes crumpled and deformed like fragile tin foil.
A rain of blood mixed with wraithbone fragments fell. A twisted mass of wreckage crashed to the ground like a meteor, sending up hot spray in the lava sea.
Ferrus stared. "What power is that?"
"Psychic power," Caelan replied calmly. "The Drukhari are a psychic race by nature. But they dare not use it freely; it draws the gaze of their god."
"Their society is organized into Kabals. Their capital, Commorragh, is not unified; warlords divide it, and factions scheme endlessly. If we annihilate this raiding party completely, retaliation is unlikely."
Ferrus pressed further. "What if this is only an advance force?"
"Do not judge xenos by human emotions," Caelan said. "Even if the dead were their kin, Dark Eldar do not seek revenge. If an elder dies, they may celebrate, because it opens a path to power."
"Moreover, if even their elders died on Nocturne, they'd be even more deliberate in avoiding this dangerous world."
"Drukhari nature is to pick on the weak. If they really hit a brick wall, they run faster than anyone."
"Unless," Caelan added, "it is their offspring who died. Then they may retaliate, not out of grief, but to assert dominance."
Ferrus understood that Caelan was imparting valuable knowledge about xenos races.
Completely different from the cold, cruel survival rules on Medusa, Caelan's teaching gave him a feeling of unprecedented intimacy.
Determination solidified in Vulkan's eyes, "Brother, we must get to the portal quickly!"
Ferrus nodded silently, stepping over the ground covered with Drukhari corpses as they returned.
Many fleeing mortals remained in Mount Deathfire, but they couldn't protect everyone.
Reckless rescue would accomplish nothing. Only the total annihilation of the enemy would end this.
It was not a choice. It was a judgment.
A squad of twelve Drukhari guarded the webway portal.
Around them stood many captured mortals, perhaps blessing in disguise, for Mount Deathfire held dangers beyond the Drukhari.
"I will not intervene," Caelan said.
Ferrus and Vulkan exchanged a glance.
No words were needed.
Like two swift shadows, using the jagged cliffs as natural cover, they flanked the Drukhari squad from left and right.
Though unarmored, a Primarch's extraordinary agility allowed them to weave through dense poison crystal fire, each dodge and turn precisely avoiding deadly attacks.
Even if hit, they could withstand it with their physique, just a moment of pain.
Vulkan's hammer, carrying immense force, smashed a Drukhari's head to pulp, skull fragments, and brain matter splattered.
Ferrus moved like a ghost, his dagger becoming death's judgment. With each flash of cold light, a xenos fell, clutching a bleeding throat.
Their assault was swift and seamless. Soon, the squad lay butchered.
They stood amid alien corpses, blood spattered across them, yet barely winded.
A flicker of approval showed in Ferrus's eyes: "You're quite good, brother."
"You too, brother."
They shared a brief smile.
Vulkan noticed the unignorable determination beneath Ferrus's stern expression.
Ferrus, in Vulkan's simple and honest smile, saw a persistence identical to his own.
'Father was right.'
'We were Primarchs, born as brothers to each other.'
Even with different personalities, they both took pride in protecting humanity.
They were kindred spirits.
"Mentor."
Ferrus turned to Caelan. The title felt strange on his tongue. He couldn't yet bring himself to say 'Father.'
"Please guard this place. Don't let any Drukhari escape. I have an unfinished mission!"
Caelan nodded, "Vulkan, go help your brother. Juno and I are enough here."
Vulkan nodded solemnly. Ferrus wanted to refuse, but seeing it was his brother, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
...
"I must kill it," Ferrus said as they climbed jagged slopes. "This monster awakened because of me. I must end it."
"How similar our fates are." Ferrus looked towards his brother.
Vulkan replied softly, "We were both 'born' into darkness, into the nests of beasts. But my mother raised me. My father searched the galaxy for me."
Ferrus's eyes flickered slightly, "You are fortunate, brother."
He had no parents. The giant beast hadn't raised him either. It was his sin, his nightmare. He dreamed of killing it.
His brother had everything: parents, family, education, all things Ferrus yearned for but couldn't have.
Vulkan placed a hand on his shoulder, "You can be as fortunate as me, brother. We share the same father!"
Ferrus felt the warmth on his shoulder, a sensation he had never experienced.
He remembered the days and nights surviving alone on Medusa's wasteland, the cold metal shell of the gestation pod, the lonely times talking to himself in the dark.
But Ferrus still turned his face away. If he had been adopted by Caelan as a child, like Vulkan, he would call him Father, too. But he was already half a year old, and he had never known Caelan.
A hint of resistance crept into Ferrus's voice, "He's only your father."
A sly smile appeared on Vulkan's face, "You misunderstand, brother. I mean our sire-father, the Master of Mankind. We have twenty-one brothers in total. You're ten, I'm eighteen. But if you also want to have the same two fathers as I do, you're very welcome."
Ferrus's expression hardened. He felt Vulkan was scheming. This seemingly honest brother of his didn't seem so simple.
Vulkan looked directly into Ferrus's eyes, his expression serious, "I'm serious, brother. Besides me, my father is also father to at least eight other brothers."
"Konrad, Lorgar, Russ, Angron, Corax, Mortarion, Sanguinius, Fulgrim," Vulkan recited the names of these brothers he had never met as if counting treasures. "They're all like us. Father found and raised them in the galaxy."
Ferrus frowned, "He told me other brothers address him as Mentor."
Vulkan replied, "Only Jaghatai Khan."
Ferrus errus' expression hardened. "I will call him Mentor, for now."
"For now?" Vulkan teased.
Ferrus's stern face tightened further, "We're risking our lives tracking a dangerous giant beast, brother! This isn't an outing; it's a dangerous hunt!"
Vulkan grew serious, "Brother, if there's danger later, let me stand in front!"
Ferrus was taken aback, looking at this brother in disbelief.
Even mortals shout slogans to boost morale before battle. But he could tell Vulkan wasn't shouting slogans. His brother genuinely meant it, he would die for him!
But why? Just because they were brothers?
Even if they were brothers closer than blood, they had only met today.
Before today, they were strangers. Their only shared experience was fighting side-by-side against Drukhari moments ago.
Ferrus asked himself: he would take risks to save Vulkan. But if the price was his own death, he would abandon Vulkan.
If they had known each other long, Ferrus might not hesitate to die for his brother.
But now, with neither deep feelings nor shared life-and-death experiences, this bond seemed too thin.
"Are you putting on a brave face?"
"This isn't putting on a brave face, brother. I'm slower than you, but stronger. We should each use our strengths! Besides,"
He paused, "Father says I'm a perpetual. I can die and come back. Better me die than you."
Ferrus frowned, "Die and come back? Have you tried it?"
"No."
Ferrus was amused by his brother's naivety, "He says it, so you believe it?"
"Father wouldn't lie to me."
Ferrus couldn't understand his brother's innocence at all. But he understood this was probably the difference between a child raised by parents and a lonely orphan.
Ferrus wanted to rebuke his brother for being too soft. But how could a brother willing to die for him be called soft?
Compared to Vulkan's unreserved sincerity, he, who couldn't accept this feeling, was more like a coward!
Ferrus's jaw tightened, "Say no more. Neither of us will die!"
Just then, a beast's roar tore through the silence of the volcano's heart.
Both tensed and raced towards the sound.
The giant beast had left clear traces among the jagged volcanic rocks, crushed rock layers, and gouged trenches all along the path. They had followed these traces here.
When they climbed the crater's edge, several anti-gravity bikes hovered low like bloodthirsty mosquitoes, using shuriken weapons to toy with the silver giant beast at the bottom, leaving many wounds.
Vulkan observed the giant beast too. It was a silver giant insect, not flesh and blood, but some kind of metal construct.
Amidst the corpses of salamanders all over the ground in the lair, this giant beast, clearly not native, looked out of place.
Vulkan frowned, "This is the giant beast from your homeworld?"
"All the giant beasts on Medusa are made of metal, but this one is far more dangerous than the others."
Vulkan said, "We need to deal with those Drukhari first. Any ideas?"
"Do you have a gun? A bow and arrow would work too."
"No."
"Then we'll have to try knocking them down with rocks."
"Good idea." Vulkan's eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately broke off a rock from the cliff, weighing it in his hand.
Ferrus also broke off a rock. He wasn't joking.
In this barren volcano, they had no ranged weapons. Throwing rocks was the most primitive but only way to deal with airborne enemies.
"Seven of them. I'll take four, you take three."
"Okay."
They split up in perfect coordination. While the Drukhari's attention was completely on the giant beast, Vulkan suddenly exerted force, hurling two jagged volcanic rocks like cannonballs.
The rocks tore through the air with sharp whistles. The first precisely hit the most flamboyantly armored Drukhari's faceplate. The second struck another xenos's arm almost simultaneously, causing both to tumble from their bikes, crashing heavily onto the jagged rocks with audible cracks.
Ferrus simultaneously attacked from the flank, precisely hurling a fist-sized rock at a Dark Elder's back. The immense impact flung the rider into the boiling lava, where he burned to ash with a shrill scream.
Another Drukhari, just turning his bike, was hit by Ferrus's next rock and plummeted from the sky.
The remaining Drukhari finally realized they were under attack. They turned their bikes, their shuriken guns spitting deadly fire.
Ferrus rolled behind a protruding rock pillar. Vulkan took cover behind the cliff wall.
The moment the Drukhari fire paused, they were about to grab more rocks.
But the three bikes flew directly over their heads and disappeared over the horizon without looking back.
Ferrus and Vulkan looked at each other, speechless. Vulkan broke the silence: "Father was right."
Drukhari are all selfish. Kabals are just criminal gangs. Drukhari with honor and loyalty are rare. The majority cut and run at the first sign of trouble.
But Drukhari also have execution squads. Unless their commander is dead, fleeing back to Commorragh means torture.
With those Drukhari dealt with, only Ferrus, Vulkan, and the enraged silver giant beast remained on the battlefield.
Even those knocked down by rocks who survived the fall had been torn apart by the giant beast's fury.
Now, the giant beast had locked onto the two primarchs.
Its rage from the Drukhari's torment hadn't subsided. Its metal body was covered in scorch marks and gashes, silver fluid like blood seeping out to repair the wounds. But none were fatal.
Vulkan didn't hesitate. He hurled a rock at the giant beast. It shattered against the metal shell, causing no real damage, but successfully angered the beast.
The giant beast let out a deafening roar and charged at Vulkan like a speeding train, crushing volcanic rock into flying debris as it went.
The moment the giant beast's attention was completely drawn, Ferrus closed in from the flank, plunging his dagger deep into its body.
Sparks flew as metal scraped metal. Dark silver fluid gushed from the wound.
The giant beast roared in pain. Its three pairs of sharp limbs swept like scythes, forcing Ferrus to retreat hastily, leaving the dagger behind.
Ferrus couldn't retrieve it, but he didn't defend. He punched the giant beast with his bare hands.
Ferrus fought bare-handed, each blow landing heavily on the giant beast's wounds, making large amounts of silver fluid spray out. Whatever this stuff was, making the giant beast bleed had to be beneficial!
Vulkan seized the moment, swinging his hammer with immense force, crashing it onto the giant beast's head.
CLANG!
The metallic ring echoed through the mountain. The giant beast's head was dented.
As its limbs swung back, Vulkan raised his hammer horizontally to block. Sparks flew on impact. His feet plowed two deep trenches in the rock.
The primarchs' coordination was flawless. Vulkan held the giant beast's frenzied attacks at the front, while Ferrus constantly sought opportunities to widen the wounds.
But this giant beast was too big!
Despite their best efforts, they couldn't inflict a fatal wound.
The silver fluid inside seemed endless, constantly repairing its injuries. No matter how they attacked, they couldn't deal a killing blow.
The spattered silver fluid gathered into streams on the ground, flowing into the lava with sizzling steam.
"Lava!" Vulkan's shout was telepathic with Ferrus.
His arm muscles suddenly tensed. He grabbed the giant beast's struggling limb and dragged the enormous creature towards the boiling lava pool.
The giant beast's metal shell scraped against the rock, throwing off blinding sparks. Its sharp limbs flailed wildly, trying to break free.
Vulkan dashed in front of Ferrus, swinging his already battered hammer to block for him.
CRACK!
With a sharp sound, the hammer finally shattered. The giant beast's limb pierced Vulkan's heart like silver lightning. Blood gushed out, evaporating into crimson mist in the hot air.