Arsena examined the vid screen, viewing the feed transmitted from Theo's right eye.
Inside the grey building, a brilliant blue light shimmered. A psyker-caste member, holding a staff aloft, unleashed a torrent of psychic fire upon a Lucifer Black guard.
Arsena's gaze sharpened. He saw the Lucifer Black guard, enveloped in the psychic flames, his armor melting instantly, yet his advance never faltered.
In a flash, he closed the distance to the psyker, his power sword a blur of lethal motion.
A clash of dazzling blue light erupted, the resulting burst of energy flooding the screen.
As the light subsided, the Lucifer Black guard fell. Simultaneously, the ashen-gray body of the psyker collapsed to the ground.
A flicker of sorrow passed through Arsena's eyes. He turned to the "Student of Ratiocination" beside him and asked;
"Ready?"
"My lord, thirteen seconds remain."
"Once ready," Arsena said, rising and moving towards the exit, "execute the protocol immediately."
As the word "By your command" echoed behind him, Arsena had already left the temporary command center.
His narrow blue eyes flashed. Anticipating the imminent inability to wield psychic power, he channeled his mental strength unreservedly into physical force.
The silver-haired psyker took a step forward. Countless points of light shimmered before him. Guided by these luminous trails, he moved towards the door where a beacon flashed.
At the very moment Arsena casted the Gate of Infinity to hasten towards the target... high above in orbit, within a Stormbird, a black device the size of a Blyek battle tank activated, its process initiated an hour early.
For that entire hour, the Shadows of Order within the Stormbird had endured profound discomfort.
Their throats were parched, their mouths and noses filled with the taste of corroded metal.
Finally, they received the order to prepare for the drop.
The echoing countdown made them feel their torment was nearing its end.
"Three... two... one!"
With the final electronic tone, the black drop-pod was released.
Arsena re-entered real space 1.5 kilometers from the target. He knew the Blackstone construct's effect radius was only one kilometer, and the "Polymath" had confirmed his plan was without flaw. Yet, he worried the drop itself might be affected.
The Blackstone would interfere with psychic application, including the telekinetically-formed Gate of Infinity he used.
Arsena had a contingency for this. He had pre-placed a psychic beacon. As long as the Blackstone didn't strike it directly, it would ensure his precise arrival here.
Before pushing the door open, he saw the beacon's light still shining. Reassured, he shoved the door aside and saw the black drop-pod plummeting from the sky.
A trail of fire from atmospheric friction scarred the rust-red sky of Gardinaal's Crown. As the "Polymath" had planned, it struck the grey building with pinpoint accuracy.
Arsena immediately broke into a sprint towards the objective.
The moment he crossed the one-kilometer threshold, it felt like stepping into a wholly new world. He could no longer sense the tides of the Warp.
Peering into the collapsed structure, he saw Lucifer Blacks moving through the ruins.
As they ran, they raised their lasguns, firing precise beams of light.
The ashen faces of the psyker-caste grew paler still. Stripped of their mastered power, they were weaker than the lower castes.
Beams pierced their skulls, their gray bodies falling one after another.
Theo, firing his gun one-handed, charged forward. His power sword whirled, launching an attack against a creature as tall as a Warhound Titan but far more massive.
Arsena saw the monster possessed wings but could not fly, instead using them as weapons, sweeping them left and right.
'Berithor, controlling the psyker-caste, has uncovered many secrets in this area.'
'He used psychic power to create this abomination?'
'Under the influence of the Blackstone device, the creature's abilities are suppressed, even flight is impossible.'
Arsena started. His gaze shot past the hulking monster, searching for his target.
His narrow blue eyes suddenly constricted. He saw a figure in blue robes, running quickly towards the exterior.
Arsena immediately poured on speed. Since becoming the "Polymath," his mobility far surpassed his former self.
Even without psychic power, the "Polymath" moved with swift strides, quickly catching up to the blue-robed figure.
Hearing the footsteps behind him, Berithor's expression changed abruptly.
'Damn it! I should have accepted the guard detail's protection.'
'How did the Shadows of Order acquire a method to nullify psychic power?'
'What fell from the sky?'
In his despair, Berithor's eyebrows suddenly raised.
He felt the presence of the Warp again, felt the lost power returning to him.
Not all of it, but nearly half.
'So the effect has a limited range!'
Berithor raised his staff, hurling a bolt of blue lightning.
Seeing Berisor had moved beyond the one-kilometer radius, Arsena didn't stop. He charged straight ahead.
The arm-thick bolt of blue lightning struck Arsena. His pace didn't slow in the slightest. One of the protective orbs hanging from his black suit's abdomen shattered.
The "Polymath" raised his left arm. A monomolecular blade sprang from his gauntlet. To fully utilize his weapon mastery, the Master of the Forge had designed this arm-blade for him.
Berithor, seeing his attack fail, simultaneously retreated.
With each step back, he felt more of his power returning.
He looked at the protective orbs on his opponent's chest. Seven remained.
A fierce glint flashed in Berithor's eyes. He opened his mouth and spewed forth blue flames.
The "Polymath" raised his right arm. The raised force shield shattered under the continuous detonations of Berithor's psychic fire, the foe's psychic power was stronger.
Another protective orb shattered, but the "Polymath" had closed the distance to Berithor.
Arsena swung the monomolecular blade, executing a flurry of slashes, thrusts, and cuts in the blink of an eye.
In the time it once took the "Polymath" to complete a single attack, he now delivered twelve, each strike landing precisely on the same point of the psychic shield.
With a final thrust, the blue psychic shield shattered.
Berithor's face changed. He hadn't expected this psyker, inferior to him in psychic strength, to be such a formidable warrior, even more powerful than the strongest Warrior Caste specimen he'd seen, evolved over a hundred generations.
The "Polymath" leaped forward. His right hand seized Berithor's arm, then he spun, slamming the psyker to the ground.
Berithor's arm was twisted into a grotesque shape, his staff clattering away.
Arsena drew the Osirian Psybrid Staff from his back, infused it with psychic energy, and brought it down heavily on Berithor's back.
Berithor's pained groan was cut short, his eyes glazing over.
Arsena glanced back. He saw Laurent raising his shield before Theo, blocking the attacks of the avian monster.
The "Polymath's" blue eyes narrowed. He observed that Laurent always positioned himself before Theo, shield raised against each attack, yet the angle of his body and shield relative to the ground was different every time.
With each impact, the force was dissipated in the most ingenious way possible.
Laurent completed the movements in an instant, a reflex honed through countless repetitions.
Theo launched a series of attacks at the avian creature. Each time it retaliated, he retreated behind Laurent.
He would launch a swift counterattack just before the creature struck, inflicting fresh wounds upon it.
After watching for a moment, the "Polymath" thought to himself.
'I require extensive training to attain swordsmanship like Theo's.'
A series of beeps interrupted Arsena's thoughts.
He opened his comm-link. A cascade of voices came through.
A captivating female voice sounded first. "Mission accomplished. Target captured."
A resolute male voice followed. "I have retrieved High Lord Ismael."
A familiar voice, that of Marena Scara, reported, "I have captured Uriah."
Hearing this, the constant weight of worry lifted from Arsena.
'The operational plan I devised was successful. The Black Emperor's task is complete.'
Arsena let out a soft sigh, opened a channel, and reported to the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, four High Lords have been successfully captured."
Several seconds later, Nareth's voice came through the comm.
"You have executed the operation successfully."
Arsena instantly felt a shattering within, as if stars collapsed inside him. He thought to himself.
'I have become the true "Polymath."'
After closing the channel, Nareth's gaze swept over the battlefield, settling on the distant location where Straken resided.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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