The mechanical hum echoed. Above Roboute Guilliman's throne, Belisarius Cawl's automated reliquary completely enveloped Roboute Guilliman.
The buzzing sound it emitted was indistinguishable from a death knell in Calgar's ears, and despair almost consumed his heart.
But as if to add more despair to Calgar, the Void Shield of Hera Fortress shattered completely.
Amidst a roar from the Warp, the Void Shield that had protected Hera Fortress finally broke. The Black Legion's Dreadclaw drop pods tore through the clouds, engulfed in flames, and crashed directly into Guilliman's Shrine.
The ensuing storm shattered the marble floor, and the surrounding stone pillars toppled and disintegrated, destroying the carvings that recorded Roboute Guilliman's magnificent deeds.
Hell drakes also broke free from the Ultramarines' interceptors and swooped towards the Shrine.
Sulfurous flames blazed fiercely, and the Dreadclaw's hatch burst open.
Roaring Khorne Berserkers surged out, wielding power axes and Chainswords, joining the battle.
This was the strength of an entire Chaos Warband, power preserved by the Chaos commander until this moment, to be unleashed into Guilliman's Shrine to fulfill the mission Warmaster Abaddon had given him.
Even for this, the Chaos Lord himself descended into Guilliman's Shrine with the Dreadclaw.
The Chaos Lord, who commanded an entire Warband, emerged from the steam-Eruption ing Dreadclaw.
His muscles were terrifyingly grotesque, with muscle fibers protruding from his skin, filled with a terrifying power that did not belong to the material universe.
Thick blood covered his body, seemingly from the unfortunate souls who had died by his hand; this blood never dried, but churned and roared on him.
And on his face, exposed to the air like a bull's, hideous Khorne runes were entrenched, making him look exceptionally terrifying.
Undoubtedly, this was a Chaos Lord deeply favored by Khorne. The Warband he led was capable of destroying eighty-eight worlds. These transcendent monsters, born only for slaughter, rampaged through Guilliman's Shrine.
The Grey Knights and the First Company of Terminators, numbering little over a hundred, had already expended much of their strength.
They were now powerless against an entire terrifying Khorne Chaos Warband.
And there was the Chaos Lord, whose name Calgar didn't know, but whose terrifying aura he could feel. That power was far stronger than an ordinary Chapter Master.
Calgar, who had been fighting that Chaos daemon Lord, had his power armor leg shattered, and Valdus had also expended most of his strength in his battle with Tigurius.
Despair permeated Calgar's heart.
And his despair seemed to nourish that Chaos Lord.
The Chainsword axe in the Khorne Chaos Lord's hand buzzed and roared. His bloody mouth opened, and blood mist surged out.
"In the name of the Blood God Khorne, in the name of Warmaster Abaddon!"
"Sons of Roboute Guilliman, I am the one who will take your skulls!"
"I am the scion of Angron, my name is ——————"
A teardrop-shaped spear suddenly pierced through the entire battlefield. The sharp spearhead instantly severed the Khorne Chaos Lord's neck, cutting off his head.
The figure in the flax-colored robe seemed to fly, leaping across the battlefield and standing upon the corpse of the Khorne Chaos Lord.
The head of the Khorne Chaos Lord rolled back and forth at the feet of the flax-colored robe.
"Bad news from the Warp: The Khorne Chaos Lord died suddenly in Guilliman's Shrine, at the tender age of ten thousand, ascending to the Blood God's steroid fortress."
"The deceased's name is… well, he will be forever missed, anyway."
Alexander, standing not far from Calgar, said in a sarcastic tone.
Instantly, the entire Khorne Warband on the battlefield let out bestial roars.
Their leader's death did not terrify them; instead, it further ignited their fury and roars, as they charged towards the flax-colored robe standing on the Khorne Chaos Lord's corpse.
Despair once again welled up in Calgar's heart.
Even if that flax-colored robe was not on the side of Chaos, even if he possessed such formidable strength,
it would be impossible for him to kill an entire Chaos Warband alone, and even more impossible to stop these Khorne Berserkers from slaughtering the Ultramarines.
But at this moment, Alexander, standing beside Calgar, shook the pocket on his belly.
Astartes in crimson livery continuously poured out of the pocket on his belly like a crimson tide.
Calgar watched this scene dumbfounded. The crimson Astartes emerging from his pocket had different liveries, but they were clearly all scions of Sanguinius, from various Chapters of the Blood Angels.
Such a mixed force certainly did not conform to the codex astartes, but Calgar was no longer in the mood to care about such minor details.
With the superhuman brain of a son of Roboute Guilliman, he quickly estimated that this Astartes army, emerging from the pocket, numbered around a thousand.
This was a Chapter-level force, no less formidable than the Chaos Warband that had fallen into Guilliman's Shrine!
"I'm a very insecure person. I can't sleep at night if I don't carry a Chapter with me."
Alexander looked at Calgar and said with a sincere expression.
Screech ——————
Just then, a low hum emanated from the reliquary behind Alexander. Sacred binary runes surged across it, slowly turning from red to green.
Steam continuously jetted from the mechanical structure, and in the heat, the metal casing of the reliquary slowly disintegrated.
In the infinite expanse of the Warp, the Chaos Gods and their dark servants constantly gazed upon Guilliman's Shrine.
They waited, waited for the Son of Vengeance, who could stir tumultuous waves in the Warp, to return from death.
They waited for a loyal Primarch to walk among humanity again, to bring hope to humanity, and then for Chaos to destroy and corrupt him.
However, as their gaze continued to fall, those dark, blasphemous entities seemed to perceive another figure worthy of attention in this Shrine.
That figure in the flax-colored robe—a figure of beauty, strength, vitality, and prescience. A figure continuously slaughtering the Black Legion.
The servants of the Dark Gods whispered amongst themselves, murmuring a conjecture, an impossible conjecture.
And three of the Chaos Gods held their breath, trying to see more clearly.
They saw a feather, white as morning light, flash beneath the flax-colored robe.
Khorne let out a hearty laugh, amused by the dullness of his colleagues.
Slaanesh let out sixty-six cries of astonished delight, licking his lips, gazing at the beautiful figure.
Nurgle revealed a gentle smile, scattering seventy-seven more diseases across the galaxy, celebrating the return of a wonderful life.
Tzeentch let out ninety-nine sharp bird calls, first roaring in anger at this unexpected twist of fate, but quickly began to murmur, "Everything is going according to plan!"
And at the same time, another event they had always anticipated occurred.
Wind, hot wind, swept through the Shrine. A bell-like sound resonated throughout the entire Shrine.
The automated reliquary brought by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl disintegrated, leaving only shattered metal scattered across the floor.
And then, a figure appeared that made everyone on the battlefield hold their breath in awe.
The first to cheer was Saint Celestine, flying in the sky. Tears streamed down her face from emotion, and she couldn't help but sing praises of the figure.
Then came the Ultramarines, who had been consumed by despair. A power they had never experienced before suddenly erupted in their hearts, and the flame of hope blazed fiercely.
Reyna swallowed slightly, profound emotion and shock impacting her soul.
Now seated on that throne was no longer a pale, dying corpse, but the true…
Calgar looked at the handsome, noble-like face, completely stunned by disbelief.
The figure seated on the throne had his eyes closed, yet he was still so alert, so sagacious, his entire body seemingly enveloped in a faint glow, within his flesh and blood body, a roaring golden-blue storm faintly howled.
How could that figure be so… how could that figure be so much like Calgar's gene-father?!
No, Calgar slowly widened his eyes. No.
That was…
That was the true Lord of the Thirteenth Legion, a son of the Human Emperor, the gene-father of the Ultramarines.
The silence on the battlefield was broken by a roar.
The flax-robed figure subtly shifted his body, as if deliberately allowing a mad Khorne Berserker to charge, roaring as he lunged towards the throne.
Both Loyalists and traitors cast astonished glances at the courageous Khorne Berserker.
They all clearly wondered if this guy had over-inserted his Butcher's Nails?
And so, Roboute Guilliman, seated on the throne, opened his eyes.
The fiercely burning Emperor's Sword sliced an arc through the void. The Khorne Berserker's body was almost instantly cut in half at the waist.
Almost no one on the entire battlefield saw what happened.
Only the flax-robed figure smiled faintly, seemingly thinking Roboute Guilliman hadn't recovered well enough.
Only Thousand Faces and Yvraine gasped in surprise. They had seen the Primarch's movements, and were thus astonished by this unattainable power.
Only Alexander slightly raised his eyebrows. He sensed that some connection had been established between him and Roboute Guilliman, similar to the one with Sanguinius.
The Khorne Berserker's corpse lay at the foot of the steps. Roboute Guilliman, clad in Fate Armor, stood like a demigod in the mortal world.
He held the Emperor's Sword, burning with an unquenchable flame, like Prometheus holding the fire of the sun, bringing forgotten hope and salvation to the Imperium of Man.
Then, Roboute Guilliman took a gentle breath, drawing the necessary sustenance from the real universe to maintain his existence.
His muscles instantly filled with strength, and his eyes became clear.
And the traitors who had fallen to Chaos also roared. The Black Legion knew this was their last chance to complete their mission, and the only thing they could do.
The Khorne Berserkers charged recklessly towards the throne, while the flax-robed figure stood in the tide of blood, seemingly allowing it all, and seemingly trusting that the person on the throne did not fear these Khorne Berserkers.
And so, Roboute Guilliman began to run.
He stepped over Calgar's body, which lay on the steps. The bright flame of the Emperor's Sword brought slaughter and death.
Each strike left a corpse, each punch took a life. The Khorne Berserkers of the Black Legion formed a corridor of corpses, as if welcoming the return of this Son of War.
And Roboute Guilliman never looked at these Black Legion.
He had just been resurrected, and his mind was not yet fully clear, but his superhuman intellect allowed him to focus only on two people in the battlefield.
One was Alexander, with whom he had vaguely established some connection, seemingly the one who had killed and then resurrected him.
The other person was…
Guilliman, bathed in blood and corpses, stood before the figure in the flax-colored robe.
The two stood on two hills made of traitor corpses, gazing at each other across the void.
Calgar and the others on the battlefield were surprised to find that the presence of the flax-robed figure seemed no less formidable than Roboute Guilliman.
Roboute Guilliman gazed at the figure, slightly parted his lips, and spoke his first words since his resurrection.
"Who are you? How are you here?"