Ka'Bandha merely intended to speak the name Neoth, and as he uttered the first two syllables, a primal fear washed over him, as if the name was his natural nemesis.
An icy pain surged through his body, both scorching and freezing, eroding his Warp-energy-composed form, threatening to utterly dissolve his existence and return him to the tumultuous tides of the Warp.
He felt a cold, withered gaze directed at him, and he vaguely saw the desiccated corpse on the Golden Throne.
Ka'Bandha let out a roar, half of his body appearing to be scorched by an invisible fire, covered in hideous burn marks.
Mephiston didn't understand what was happening, but he felt the Emperor's power and saw Ka'Bandha's vulnerability.
The Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels leaped forward, his silver-steel longsword burning fiercely.
In the real universe, the Librarians, whose psychic connections formed a circle, let out a muffled groan. Their psychic power surged into Mephiston's body, forming a shadowy wing behind him.
Ka'Bandha hastily raised the steel whip in his hand to block. The whip and silver sword collided, and the Warp rippled outwards from their point of impact.
Both retreated simultaneously, creating distance.
Ka'Bandha's ape-like face was full of fury as he stared intently at Alexander: "The cursed one's trickery! You played me?!"
"That name itself holds power?" Mephiston looked at the hideous burn marks on Ka'Bandha's body, startled, and asked Alexander.
He, too, was a bit hesitant to directly utter the name Neoth now.
Alexander chuckled lightly, as if mocking Ka'Bandha, and said, "That's a name the Emperor used in his early days. The old man used it to charm girls."
Mephiston's expression stiffened slightly, and Ka'Bandha was stunned for a moment.
The fact that names themselves hold power is common knowledge to anyone who understands the Warp. The names of many powerful daemons are often avoided by mortals. For example, Khorne's current Chief Greater Daemon, Angrath, his name is mostly only dared to be whispered by the Inquisition's Holy Hammer Chapter or the Grey Knights.
And for Warp daemons, the Emperor's name also needs to be avoided. Even the title 'Emperor,' which isn't truly a name, daemons rarely dare to speak. Even in the domains of the Four Gods, he is only referred to as the cursed one.
Although the Emperor faces immense pressure, and most of his power has its uses, who knows if, upon uttering the two words 'Emperor,' the desiccated corpse on the Golden Throne might just happen to have a small fraction of power free to strike you down?
And the name Neoth, according to Alexander, was the earliest name the Emperor used, for forty thousand years, and it was closer to the Emperor's true name. The power contained within it, just by being spoken, caused Ka'Bandha to suffer burns.
This was still within the Blood God's domain, and only two mere syllables were spoken. If it were in reality, Ka'Bandha would probably be sent back to the Warp the moment he fully uttered the name.
"Treacherous! Cunning! Bird-man!" Ka'Bandha cursed, seemingly utterly enraged. His roaring fury materialized directly in the Warp, turning into burning balls of sulfurous fire hurled at Alexander.
Mephiston instantly activated a psychic force field, forming a hazy shield to block the flames of Ka'Bandha's materialized rage.
Ka'Bandha let out a deep battle cry, and the sound of drums echoed behind him.
The Bloodletters following Ka'Bandha roared, raising their burning Hellblades and charging at Mephiston and Alexander.
Mephiston let out a roar, and a hazy flame burned on his silver-steel longsword as it clashed with the nearest Bloodletter.
The powerful psychic energy directly forced the Bloodletter back, and at the same time, his burning longsword slashed through the air.
In an instant, several Bloodletters' chests developed hideous wounds, and their bodies, composed of Warp energy, instantly collapsed and disintegrated.
Ka'Bandha swung his fiercely burning axe, striking Mephiston's psychic shield.
The shield emitted a sharp thud, then shattered into azure fragments and dispersed.
Ka'Bandha let out a wild laugh, his axe fiercely striking at Alexander.
Alexander, however, merely extended a finger and pointed it lightly at Ka'Bandha. A humming force field instantly erupted from his fingertip, swiftly enveloping Ka'Bandha's great axe and expanding to a width of about two meters.
Ka'Bandha's arm and axe abruptly froze in mid-air, as if a time-pause button had been pressed.
Static Field!
"What?" Ka'Bandha was momentarily stunned, completely unprepared for the person before him to be able to unleash a Static Field with just a finger.
A Static Field is essentially a spatiotemporal distortion, temporarily disrupting the flow of time within its range through highly complex machinery, slowing down the progression of causality within it, making an instant seem prolonged.
This often requires complex machinery to achieve!
Alexander's left hand lightly tapped on a remote-control-like device.
[Item Name: Mechanizer Trial Version]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Date: 291.M3]
[Function: Point this item at any machine to extract its capabilities and transfer them to the human body. Each button represents a machine. This product is a trial version launched by the Future Department Store. The duration of machine capabilities transferred to the human body has an upper limit; the more complex the machine's capability, the shorter its duration.]
[Review: Dear customer, we recommend purchasing the full version for a complete service experience.]
[Value: 6,200,000 credits]
This item, worth over six million, allowed Alexander to replicate the abilities of any machine. However, as this item was a trial version focused on affordability, each replicated mechanical ability had a time limit. The more complex the mechanical ability, the shorter its duration, and it had to be replicated again after the duration ended.
As for the full version... Alexander's eye twitched slightly as he glanced at the full version, which was more expensive than an anywhere door.
Angron would buy the full version! Just buy the trial version! What if the duration is short? I'll just replicate it again when the time is up!
This Static Field was replicated from the sacred artifact the Tomb Guard Legion lost to him, allowing Alexander to unleash a two-meter-wide Static Field.
Alexander's finger lightly pressed another button on the Mechanizer, while simultaneously pointing a finger at Ka'Bandha, and a dazzling blue light instantly burst from his hand.
The Leman Russ Eradicator Nova Cannon was replicated from the Leman Russ Eradicator tank Alexander picked up on the Underworld Battlefield.
The Nova Cannon mounted on it could unleash scorching sub-atomic charges, powerful enough to instantly breach defenses.
Scorching sub-atomic charges roared in Alexander's palm, turning into a powerful pulse shockwave that shot directly at Ka'Bandha's face.
As Alexander switched the replicated machine ability, the Static Field controlling Ka'Bandha's arm instantly vanished. Ka'Bandha quickly brought his great axe horizontally to block.
The sub-atomic charges exploded on Ka'Bandha's great axe in a blue, white, and orange sub-atomic blast, directly covering most of his body, the charges crawling over his scarlet form composed of Warp energy.
"Roar!" Ka'Bandha violently flapped his wings, and his dark pinions instantly dispersed the charges swirling around him. The scarlet behemoth swung his axe and leaped towards Alexander.
Alexander raised his arm, and scorching sub-atomic charges whistled out. Ka'Bandha swung his great axe directly downwards, forcefully deflecting these azure electric lights, scattering them across the surrounding sand, causing bursts of explosions.
Ka'Bandha was almost in front of Alexander in the blink of an eye. Alexander hastily jumped, and with his Take-copter already on, his body rapidly ascended.
However, the Blood God's Bloodthirster was no pushover either. His axe blade almost instantly changed direction, slashing towards Alexander's body—
Blood! Ka'Bandha saw the axe blade cut through Alexander's flesh, finally making this scoundrel bleed!
He could almost feel the exhilaration of Alexander's blood splattering on him!
However, Ka'Bandha quickly noticed that the feel was off; it wasn't like cutting through flesh.
A lump of clay splattered on Ka'Bandha's face. His axe blade had only cut through a piece of clay, then slid across a layer of gleaming metal, leaving a scratch on it, but failing to penetrate.
Alexander was wearing a Phantom Thief DX Suit, and then used Body Clay to mold a layer of fake skin and flesh on his body surface.
What Ka'Bandha had just cut through was only this layer of clay; he hadn't injured Alexander's body.
Alexander seized the opportunity to try and shoot Ka'Bandha again, but the Mechanizer's ability duration ended at that moment.
He had tested it before; abilities replicated from machines like a Chainsword could last about ten minutes, a Nova Cannon only two or three minutes, and a Static Field only about one minute.
But it was enough. Alexander glanced at the Warp Engine in his four-dimensional pocket.
The Warp Engine now resembled a living thing, countless skulls clustered upon it, flowing with chilling fresh blood, and a Warp rift was slowly opening on it.
Once Alexander and Mephiston left the Warp, the exit of the Warp rift could be directly replaced into the four-dimensional pocket.
"Mephiston!" Alexander roared at Mephiston, then used the Take-copter to rapidly pull away from Ka'Bandha.
Mephiston nodded slightly, and a silver light flashed on the vita lars in his hand. In an instant, the daemons around him shattered, turning into dust and scattering.
Mephiston, using psychic enhancement on his body, swiftly retreated, nodding sharply at Alexander.
The Bloodletters roared, quickly giving chase.
Alexander and Mephiston unhesitatingly jumped directly into the Warp rift behind them.
The Bloodletters also charged directly into it. Ka'Bandha roared, tore off the clay from his face, and sprinted towards the Warp rift. However...
Ka'Bandha stopped at the last moment before entering the Warp rift. He vaguely sensed that something was off.
"You two... what exactly are you hoping for?"