The breath of fear was as chilling as a starless, moonless night; only neon lights flickered, and only sin spread through the deep alleys.
Facing this terrifying aura that suddenly surged from the Warp, Seth felt as if his flesh and blood were being torn open, and all the sins he had committed were laid bare.
Exposed before a brutal, deranged, and extreme judge.
That judge tolerated not the slightest transgression, thirsted extremely for justice, and dealt terrifying death sentences in the name of judgment.
If not for Titus beside him, who seemed oblivious to fear and whose will was as unyielding as shining gold, the radiant light he emitted awakening Seth, Seth would have likely been trembling and unable to move under this bone-chilling fear.
"What the hell is that thing?" Seth let out a wild growl, fangs piercing through his upper lip. He actively awakened his Bloodthirst, using his craving for blood to mask his fear.
Titus did not answer Seth's question; presumably, he didn't know the answer either.
The scent of blood lingered in the corridors of the Light Lord, sharp and acrid.
The thing slowly emerged from the Warp. The moment it appeared, the surrounding lights seemed to fear it, flickering and dying out.
Seth may or may not have seen the thing, or rather, he simply couldn't comprehend what was before his eyes.
He only saw a pair of terrifying crimson eyes in the darkness, fixed on him.
No sinner could be forgiven, no sin could be pardoned.
Seth's stomach churned. Memories of the cruel sins he had committed—the massacres, the bloodlust—all surged forth, to be judged before those crimson eyes.
"Communications are down," Titus whispered to Seth.
He remained rational, attempting to report the situation via communication, but it seemed even communication waves feared the monster emerging from the Warp, not daring to approach this vicinity.
Seth's expression suddenly darkened. The wildness granted by his Bloodthirst reminded him:
This monster before him was by no means an opponent he could match.
But Seth still gritted his teeth, blocking the monster's path.
The Flesh Tearers would feel fear, anger, Bloodthirst, and madness, but they would never retreat.
Especially not in front of an Ultramarines.
"..Guilty..." A ferocious, wild, and utterly insane growl echoed in Seth's ears.
A pitch-black shadow lunged at Seth. Seth, in terror, raised his Chainsword to block.
Two sharp claws extended from the darkness, tearing open Seth's power armor as if it were a piece of cloth obstructing its path, sending Seth crashing to the ground.
Titus quickly stepped forward, taking over, and swung his sword at the fallen foe. His Chainsword let out a mournful whine, and the immense power made Titus' arm numb.
What terrifying strength!
Titus was battle-hardened; he had faced everything from Green-skinned Orks to Chaos Astartes, from daemon Prince to Tyranids.
But even a Tyranids hive Tyrant and a Green-skinned Ork WarBoss had never given Titus such a strong sense of oppression.
"Not guilty." Titus vaguely heard the shadow's savage roar.
A pair of claws swung, forcing Titus back several steps instantly, his gauntlets cracked from the impact.
"You monster!" Seth, with a gruesome wound on his chest, sprang up from the ground, forcefully overcoming his fear, and slammed his massive body into the monster.
But the monster didn't even budge.
"You retreat to the western corridor!"
Seth entangled the terrifying monster with his body, his fangs growing extremely long, his entire face highly distorted.
He opened his maw, like a ghoulish creature, biting at the shadow.
Titus gripped his Chainsword.
"Khârn is on duty over there; only he can stop this monster!"
"Then notify Saint Doraemon!"
Titus nodded sharply, without hesitation, and rushed towards the western direction where Khârn was located.
"Ah!!!!"
After Titus left, Seth let out a cry of anguish. A throwing knife, like a fang, shot out from the darkness, piercing Seth's chest, narrowly missing one of his hearts.
"You are... guilty," the monster growled.
"You think I need you to tell me that?!" Seth overcame his fear and lunged at the monster.
"Senior Titus?"
Saul noticed Titus running over in a hurry and cast a curious glance at him.
He wondered what had happened to make Senior Titus, who was always serious and calm, appear so rushed.
"What happened?" Khârn, who was on duty with Saul, asked in a low voice.
"Some Warp entity, perhaps a daemon, shrouded in darkness, capable of disrupting communications, awakening fear, with sharp claws, and strong enough to suppress both Lord Seth and me." Titus quickly relayed all known information to Khârn, then asked, "What is that thing?"
Khârn was Khorne's chosen; he had long been active in the Warp. Surely he would know about such a powerful Warp entity?
Khârn was silent for half a second, then: "I don't know."
"I'm not Ahriman," Khârn continued, seeing Titus momentarily stunned.
"Don't expect Khârn to tell you what it is. He's a genuine, physiological imbecile, the kind that would make a Biologis write a sick note and give him leave." Raum, the daemon parasitic on Khârn, said, "But honestly, among daemons, I've never heard of such a figure... Hmm? It seems to be coming!"
Just then, the lights at the other end of the corridor began to extinguish, and darkness began to spread.
"Saul, quickly create distance and transmit the situation here via comms."
Khârn growled, issuing the order to Saul.
Many viewed Khârn as a pure beast, and Khârn was indeed brain-damaged, but he was somewhat of a commander during the Great Crusade, so he could still manage simple commands like this.
Saul didn't hesitate, running off into the distance while simultaneously transmitting the situation here via comms.
Titus and Khârn, however, stood ready, looking at the approaching darkness.
The darkness seemed shapeless, but vaguely, two claws could be seen, one of which was tightly gripping Seth's shoulder, its talons embedded in his shoulder, rendering Seth completely unable to resist.
It flung Seth towards Khârn and Titus.
Khârn reached out, catching Seth with one hand, and then dropped the unconscious Seth to the ground.
"Be careful." Titus stared intently at the monster, cautiously adjusting his stance to avoid showing any weakness.
Khârn, however, stood beside Titus in a casual, savage, gladiatorial stance.
Khârn let out a low growl.
He was sure he didn't recognize this monster before him, but this thing was clearly not a daemon Primarch.
This meant it was unlikely to be an opponent Khârn couldn't handle.
In the Warp, even the Chief Greater Daemon of the gods held no fear for Khârn.
And now, after the Primaris surgery, he felt incomparably powerful.
He felt he wouldn't lose.
Khârn's legs surged with power, the tendoned steel cables added during the Primaris surgery flexing, sending Khârn hurtling like a cannonball towards the pitch-black shadow.
Several daggers, like fangs, shot out from the shadow, aimed directly at Khârn's face.
Khârn's Chainaxe whirred, the bloodson wrapped in chains swirling in the air, deflecting the approaching daggers.
Then, the bloodson carved a bloody arc with extreme precision, cutting towards what might have been the shadow's head.
In that instant, Khârn's eyes clearly saw the shadow's form, and the claws beneath it.
A faint trace of fear, surprisingly, welled up in Khârn's brain, which was pierced by the Butcher's Nails and should not have been capable of such an emotion.
Fear inexplicably surged from Khârn's heart, causing his movements to suddenly slow.
"You are... guilty," fragmented words emerged from the shadow's mouth.
Then, a claw shot out, gripping Khârn's axe, and another hand followed, slapping Khârn across the face.
Titus watched Khârn get slapped away by the shadow, crashing heavily into the wall, and was momentarily stunned.
He had sparred with Khârn in the gladiatorial arena and knew Khârn's strength.
Yet Khârn had been slapped into a wall.
Titus suddenly realized that the shadow probably hadn't been using its full strength when dealing with him and Seth earlier.
"How is this possible?"
Khârn's voice came from the wall, his tone filled with terror and disbelief:
"It's you!"
"How could you still be alive?!!"