A heavy, steady puff of smoke came barrelling from the Praetorians' engine as sharp hisses of steam and the continuous thundering of its wheels against the tracks made its arrival clear to all on the battlefield.
The carriages, each carrying enough weaponry to cleave armies' worth of soldiers into meat, continuously shot from their metal protections as, at the head of the engine, the Adrathic Devastator turned as its barrels moved onto the massive daemon figure staring daggers at the train.
With a sound of air being forcibly shucked and broken, creating mini-explosions, the gun fired, its bright red, blinding beam shooting across the battlefield as it struck true and hit the immense daemon. The surrounding trenches were drenched with red, uncomfortable light as the beam continued for what seemed to be hours.
When the light dulled, the surrounding daemons and humans alike looked towards what the gun had struck. The daemons felt fear for the first time in millennia, whilst the humans looked on with hope.
However, as the light disappeared fully, what stood was the same daemon, unfazed. What happened, though, shocked many daemons as Skarbrand's axe, one of Khorne's eight sacred axes, began to turn to dust, the blade screaming in pain and anguish as its amalgamation of souls was pulled apart, their very essence torn and forgotten.
The daemons were shocked; the axe gifted by their god to Skarbrand so many millennia ago disintegrated like dust on the wind.
Skarbrand, meanwhile, watched the scene as the gift personally bestowed upon him by his god, after slaughtering eight whole planets' worth of skulls, disappeared from his hands.
Skarbrand looked at the Praetorian engine, and his body began to visibly grow; his wings unfurled as the sound of bones being broken and muscles being torn and replaced made many soldiers of Luminar sick from the sounds emanating from the daemon.
Skarbrand's body turned charcoal black as pure bronze horns replaced his black ones, and his hands and maw grew as his muscles turned to solid bronze. His anger reached a new level unlike any he had felt in eons. The fact that these weak humans could destroy one of his god's blessings made the madman fall into despair and rage.
With a single powerful push from his goat-like legs, he shot like a bullet towards the Praetorian engine. Skarbrand's movement was faster than light itself as he appeared atop the engine in front of the cockpit of the Adrathic Devastator.
The gunner didn't have a chance as Skarbrand's remaining axe tore through the phase-iron; the sound of metal being forcibly pulled apart made many onboard cover their ears as Skarbrand's hand pulled the gunner from his cockpit.
Skarbrand brought the gunner directly into his eyes, looking into the man's soul as he let out a wrath-filled roar.
"BASTARDS!!! THAT WAS A GIFT FROM KHORNE!!! YOUR ESSENCE WILL BE SHREDDED, BROKEN, AND CAST DOWN AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL EVEN ETERNITY TREMBLES!"
Yet before Skarbrand could raise his axe to kill and collect this mortal's soul, a blade pierced his abdomen, blood and literal souls came pouring out of the wound as the sword gleamed like a shark feasting, hungrily eating away at the daemon.
Skarbrand let go of the mortal as he felt the sword being pulled from his stomach; his anger reached even higher. Skarbrand's axe swung with full force, sending his attacker flying, and with a push from his wings, he shot towards his assailant.
Sword met axe as both man and daemon clashed with one another. Each time they struck, they shot higher and higher into the air, and a resounding thunder-like crack echoed throughout the area of Slavers Bay.
Nazareth met Skarbrand's axe as his armour partially dampened Khorne's influence, as Skarbrand, knowingly or not, exerted his full soul onto the material world, bringing with it the force of Khorne's realm as well.
The two swung at each other, rising higher and higher until the very stars were so close you could pick them from the sky themselves.
With a resounding clap of psychic force, Skarbrand grabbed Nazareth's non-sword hand, ignoring the blade as it cleaved a sizeable chunk from Skarbrand's side.
"YOU ARE NO WARRIOR! YOU AREN'T EVEN AN HONOURABLE MAN!!!" Skarbrand hurled Nazareth downwards as both he and his armour became like a comet as he shot towards the ground.
Skarbrand shot downwards with his axe aimed high, then swung low as the daemon slammed into Nazareth.
The extra force propelled them both towards the ground as they rapidly descended. Nazareth swung with all his might as his sword met Skarbrand's hand, but the blade only managed to make light cuts as the daemon's arms were thicker and stronger than his abdomen.
Skarbrand, meanwhile, was fully pummelling Nazareth's face; his axe connected to his back didn't even move as Skarbrand went fully primal, slamming his fists again and again into this mortal's face and body.
On the ground, both sets of troops looked into the sky. The two lords were fighting with such fury and so loudly that even at ground level, they could hear much of what transpired in high orbit.
The two continued to plummet as they began to burn up on re-entry, turning and forcing each other to take the brunt of the burn, both faces marked black by ash from the fire surrounding them.
They slammed into the ground, the resounding tremor making many even within the city fall as a cloud of fire and sand rose rapidly into the air.
– Location – Khyzai Pass –
– Date – Six Days Since Reinforcement Assignment –
"This is Princeps Senioris Scrum, duly anointed and sanctified, Second Scion of the Omnissiah's Holy Line. Respond at once and confirm receipt of this transmission," Scrum spoke into the vox, hoping for a reply.
For four days, they had been trying to contact the Omnissiah's second son, receiving nothing but static from the vox.
The twelve legions of Skitarii and Warhounds had marched for days without repair, and many untold Mechanicus adepts were calling Scrum's need to 'push with haste' a direct cause of negligence to the holy machines of the Omnissiah.
This diagnosis was appallingly wrong. With their current speed, they should have reached the city of Luminar within the timeframe of a week, given the terrain, yet due to Scrum's confidence and desire to meet the Omnissiah's son, he had pushed the troops.
Scrum sat within his Reaver's control room as one of his Moderati turned and locked eyes with him.
"My Princeps, auspex arrays have picked up large movements of a force due west of our current position." Scrum sat up from his throne as he signalled for the Moderati to continue.
"From the arrays and in collation with other Warhound Titans, the power signatures have been confirmed to be of heretical standing."
Scrum looked excited as he moved to open a vox channel with every one of the Titans and Skitarii.
"Legions of the Omnissiah, our god is with us. Heretics have been spotted due west. The time for the holy fire of the Omnissiah to rain upon these heavens is nigh. Follow the lead of my Reaver. We shall take those heretics' heads and give them as gifts towards the Omnissiah's son. MAY THE GOD OF KNOWLEDGE BE WITH US!"
Scrum then turned towards his Moderati as he roared at the two: "Plasma engines full—full sprint!" The two Moderati worked with efficiency as the towering god-engine rapidly increased its stride, each of its feet leaving craters where it had previously stood. The plasma engines on its back roared as the machine spirit howled in excitement at its Princeps and the soon-to-be battle.
(AN: Sorry ive got this super flu going around in the uk atm, so ive havent posted as ive litterally been bedridden. Victorian child ts, but anyway thanks for reading.)