[Your roar, a primal sound of pain and defiance, instantly awakened Captain Bail Sharr and the other battle-brothers, snapping them out of the Patriarch's psychic snare. They reacted quickly, and the roar of plasma cannons and heavy bolters once again resounded through the interior of the cathedral, now a fortress under siege.]
[However, countless Genestealers quickly poured out from the Patriarch's side, a living shield. They used their own bodies, a mass of flesh and blood, to block the most threatening attacks, sacrificing themselves for their master.]
[Countless bolter shells, their power greatly reduced by the sheer number of intervening bodies, grazed the extremely swift Patriarch, not even touching its heavy chitinous carapace.]
[You and Captain Bail Sharr desperately swung your weapons—the power axe and the twin chainsaw axes—tearing the xenos flesh in front of you, trying to clear a path to the leader.]
[Several silent battle-brothers took advantage of the brief gap you created and rushed toward the Genestealer Patriarch, committing to a sacrificial charge.]
[You witnessed with your own eyes the terrifying offensive launched by the king-like Patriarch. Its four thick claws just struck lightly, moving with impossible speed and force. Several battle-brothers shattered along with their power armor. Countless fragments of armor and gore fell all around, the explosion of ceramite and bone sickeningly loud.]
[The hot, sticky blood of your battle-brothers splashed onto your Terminator power armor.]
[You subconsciously let out a roar full of blinding anger, the sound muffled by your blood-slicked helmet.]
[Your voice seemed to stop abruptly. You seemed to have fallen into a crazy state called the "blindness", a savage, instinctual fury characteristic of the Carcharodons when the Red Thirst begins to take hold.]
[You threw your buzzing chainsaw axe in the Patriarch's direction without hesitation, launching the heavy weapon like a giant, spinning projectile. The creature, unable to dodge in time due to its focus on the immediate attackers, had a piece of its chitinous shell torn off with a grinding screech.]
[You madly waved the only remaining power axe in your hand, its energy field crackling, silently wearing the Terminator armor forward. The blood and flesh of the xenos covered your power armor. Even the eyepiece, shaped like a shark's mouth, was covered with thick blood.]
[There was only blood-red in your field of vision, the world reduced to targets and the desire to kill. You were killing silently, guided by a keen, animalistic perception that surpassed even that of an Astartes.]
[You relied on your impenetrable armor and violent offensive to gradually approach the Genestealer leader, using your body as a battering ram.]
[Just as your subconscious mind was struggling, trying to forcibly detonate the melta bombs you carried on your waist—a final, self-destructive act—a new sound pierced the cathedral's roar.]
[In the cathedral, now gradually flooded by xenos, the dome carved with countless prayers and portraits shattered above. A huge Dreadnought drop pod smashed into the ground, which was covered with blood and flesh, crushing a large number of xenos into purple paste upon impact.]
[A five-meter-high, ancient Contemptor-pattern Dreadnought, which exuded heat and a cold breath, suddenly jumped out of the pod. That was the Ancient of the Third Company, the Wandering Ancestor Itako.]
[It was also Captain Bail Sharr's last resort, a desperate move aside from an orbital bombardment that would kill everyone, Astartes included.]
[The huge and ancient Dreadnought suddenly let out a roar mixed with mechanical sounds and the ancient voice of the entombed warrior. Those battle-brothers who were still fighting hard seemed inspired, and the speed of their swinging chainsaw axes seemed to increase.]
[You dodged with all your might, barely moving past the Genestealer Patriarch. The heavy shoulder armor of your Terminator suit was lifted off by its terrifying claws, revealing the complex, sparking mechanical components inside. The armor was failing.]
[You forcibly activated the Refractor Field, which was on the verge of collapse, and swung your power axe to block the Patriarch's retreat, momentarily pinning it against the wall.]
[The flamethrower installed on the Contemptor Dreadnought's chest instantly spewed huge, scorching flames, burning the xenos inside the cathedral, forcing them back from the heavy machine.]
[It took heavy, deliberate steps, wielding a huge and terrifying siege claw, while the three-headed siege drill in its other hand whirred with deadly intent. The ancient Contemptor Dreadnought launched a nightmare-like, terrifying charge toward the Patriarch, who was barely blocked by you.]
[The Patriarch seemed to feel the fatal crisis. It raised its terrifying claws again and quickly swung back at you, aiming for a killing blow to free itself from your grip.]
[You didn't have time to dodge. You could only rely on the Refractor Field and the heavy armor of your Terminator suit to withstand the attack. In an instant, the Refractor Field, already on the verge of collapse, made a miserable hum and completely failed.]
[A dozen horrifying gashes easily penetrated your Terminator power armor and dug deep into your chest, scoring through the ceramite and tearing into the reinforced ribcage beneath. Even your dog-shaped helmet was cut open with a hideous crack across the visor.]
[A dark eyeball was visible behind the broken eyepiece, staring out at the chaos.]
[You were blown away by the terrifying force, crashing into a pillar. You seemed to exit the crazy state of "blindness," the sudden, profound pain overriding the blood frenzy.]
[A large amount of blood spurted from your mouth, nose, and chest, dark crimson against the grey armor. However, the Astartes transformation surgeries gradually took effect, and your wounds began to stop bleeding quickly, the Larraman's Organ doing its work.]
[You fell heavily to the ground, smashing a deep pit in the stone floor. You were about to fall into the encirclement of more xenos, your consciousness gradually blurring.]
[Your mouth curled up slightly, revealing your shark-like white teeth in a final, grim acknowledgment of fate. In the short time you had forcibly endured the fatal attack of the Patriarch, the Wandering Ancestor Itako had already reached its back.]
[While you were still in mid-air, you saw the huge siege claw of the ancient Contemptor-pattern Dreadnought fall heavily, slamming into the Patriarch's massive head.]
[At the same time, accompanied by the fierce counterattack of many battle-brothers, the Librarian apprentice who had followed the first strike team to the Genestealer lair, suddenly appeared from a side hall of the cathedral, his figure battered and his robes torn.]
[Though seriously injured, he desperately raised a palm, his young face contorted with effort. An extremely powerful psychic energy was released, a silent, binding force that imprisoned the tall body of the Patriarch, holding it still for the final attack.]
[The next second, with the combined efforts of you, the Wandering Ancestor Itako, and the Librarian apprentice, the master and ancestor of the invincible Genestealer sect was completely turned into a pool of disgusting purple minced meat, crushed and burned by the Dreadnought's siege claw and flamer.]
[You slowly exhaled, a ragged breath escaping your cracked helmet. You closed your eyes, your mind at peace. The mission was complete.]
[You waited for the xenos' claws and swords to come for your downed form. You gradually fell into a coma. You were on the verge of death.]
[However, accompanied by the roar of Stormbird attack transport engines and the whistle of Dreadclaw drop pods, a new force descended. Three companies of Ashwn Claw battle-brothers landed on Pious V and began the killing operation to eliminate the xenos, not stopping.]
[At the same time, two Terminator squads equipped with ancient Iron Cavalry Terminator power armor were also teleported to Absolution Square, appearing with flashes of azure light. They fought their way to the cathedral, reinforcing the reeling Carcharodons.]
[You, on the verge of death, were given simple battlefield first aid by an Apothecary of the Ashen Claws, the traitor medic ignoring your Chapter's marks in favor of battlefield triage.]
[You survived by chance, your life hanging by a thread.]
[Soon after, the wounded Captain Bail Sharr led the battle-brothers of the Space Sharks in a brief meeting with the battle-brothers of the Ashen Claws. The two groups, originally hostile to each other, actually worked together to eliminate the remaining Genestealer sect, forming a temporary, deadly alliance.]
[For a moment, the roar of bolters and the hum of chainsaw axes once again resounded in Absolution Square and the surrounding buildings, filling the night with constant thunder.]
[And as a ray of fiery red sunrise gradually broke through the night sky of Pious V, washing the blood-soaked square in harsh, morning light, this short and fierce battle seemed to have come to an end for the time being.]