"Is this your demon?" I said, swallowing, hoping the voice would answer "yes."
But the only answer I got was silence. The Great Manipulator seemed to have gotten himself entangled in his own intrigues and manipulations, after which he decided to bow out and make new calculations. Although perhaps he decided to simply observe everything from the sidelines, because sometimes it is better to gather even more information than to directly influence the process of what is happening.
Anyway, I perked up a bit and took a step forward. Meeting such a demon didn't scare me, because he didn't torture his victims, torment them or take revenge on them in any other way. He just killed them and they just died. So he'll probably just kill me too, and quickly. Isn't that the main joy of Warhammer, to die quickly and painlessly?
"Your mother…" I whispered as vile creatures began to emerge from the bodies of the fallen space marines.
From their rotten flesh even more vile creatures began to be born. Bacteria rapidly processed the remains, launching the corpses into a new cycle of life. As paradoxical as it may sound, Nurgle was the personification of life in full swing. Yes, from the outside for a mere mortal these creatures looked extremely vile and terrible, but on the faces of the demons I never saw suffering, rather the opposite, there was pleasure and energy.
And Nurgle himself did not bring death to anyone in the usual sense. Having become infected with his plague, the victim became a breeding ground for many other forms of life. Bacteria multiplied constantly, gave rise to the creation of new viruses, and even after death, new life was born from the corpses right now. An endless cycle occurred, and as the eagle once ate worms, the worms now ate the eagle.
Everyone could touch this joy, understand the meaning of the word life, for this it was only necessary to accept the gifts of grandfather Nurgle. He will take away from you the hope given by Tzeentch, because to whom did it give anything but pain? He will not demand perfection from you like Slaanesh, because perfection does not exist and today's beauty will become an old woman, which means you only need to accept yourself and not be tormented by the pangs of inferiority. And he will not demand violence, victory and skulls from you either, because this is alien to him.
Nurgle represented the hidden fear of death in all emotional beings, the oppressive approach of the scythe-wielding bony one and the accompanying despair due to the fear of becoming a stinking corpse that had defecated at the moment of death. However, he also gave the opportunity to rise to a new level and conquer this fear, conquer instincts and live on with a smile and joy on the face, understanding that death will always be only a new beginning.
These thoughts made me sick, for such a paradoxical faith only disgusted me. I refused to understand and accept such things, which amused Tzeentch, who, although he did not give a voice, always and everywhere watched, thinking over countless plans at the same time, bringing them together into a single web of the main idea.
Passing the corpses and leaving behind the newly born life forms, I entered the tunnel. Biomass surrounded me, the stinking abomination hit me right in the nostrils, causing my blood to flow. Any human would have died immediately, but I was protected by the sorcery of Tzeentch, allowing me to resist viruses and diseases. However, I still could not last long like this, I needed to urgently find a place for the ritual to subsequently disrupt it.
I couldn't have done it alone, but even I could tell that Tzeentch had clearly thought this through and wasn't sending me here alone. He had placed a bet, which meant he was counting on something. So I pushed on, without much hesitation, trying to avoid the deep pools of acidic liquid.
The sewers now resembled intestines. Gases and liquids decomposed everything, in some places I saw corpses of guardsmen, whose armor was quickly corroded, and the flesh changed shape. Here Nurgle digested everything and sometimes flocks of extremely dangerous demons ran past me. However, they were not interested in me, they simply cut up corpses with their rusty swords, separating legs, arms, heads and spreading the nutritious mass to different places, along the way carrying new viruses and bacteria on their bodies for their breeding grounds in other places of the sewers.
And if you look at it that way, it was in this place that life was in full swing. Something was constantly being born around me, wherever I looked I saw something new, be it a parasitic worm or a terrifying giant mosquito. And like a tumor, these possessions grew every minute in all possible directions, trying to swallow not just the entire city, but the entire planet. Nurgle's appetite was insatiable and a fool was he who did not immediately grab a weapon to confront such a threat.
So I reached the steep cliff that ended the sewer tunnel. Right here, stinking roots grew, literally tearing apart the walls of the sewer and expanding the huge hall. At the same time, previously unseen plants on the surface ground up the ruins and piled up a pile of debris on top, strengthening the place of the ritual with a dome.
In the center of the room, where I was looking, was a whole horde of the most terrible creatures. At their head were the Plaguebearers, the lower demons of Nurgle. Humanoid in build, they resembled humans, but had only one eye and a horn right on their forehead. This was the distinguishing feature of all Plaguebearers, which Nurgle ordered them to bear until death. Bloated bellies, long limbs, constantly rotting flesh were also an integral attribute of their appearance.
Their wide mouths were as if cut, which is why their smiles reached their ears. The mouth itself was filled with fangs covered in poisonous saliva, and they were armed with rusty swords. Contact with such a demon instantly infected the unfortunate with viruses, and rust could quickly cover even the strongest armor. And a swarm of black flies killed any rudiments of hope within a radius of several kilometers, because the hum from their wings was heard even in the darkest corners of the city.
The Plaguebearers paid me no attention, and their variously sized armies, though they wanted to turn their heads, did not do so, looking only at the center of the chamber. Right there in the rusty cauldron, something terrible was brewing, capable of starting a pandemic that would engulf the entire world. And it seemed I sensed the presence of someone as great as Tzeentch. Nurgle himself had given this world his attention, to prevent his greatest enemy from gaining an advantage.
Something had to be done urgently, but I knew that all I could do was shoot off the last of my shotgun's ammunition, burn a dozen or so small creatures in rainbow flames, and then die at the hands of the menacing Space Marines looking in my direction.
"Shit…" I whispered, my breathing becoming ragged.
Three space marines were already rushing towards me, moving along the circumference of the hall. For some reason, they did not break the silence with shots and did not dare to break through the crowd of creatures. Apparently, this could disrupt the process of the ritual, although I did not understand how exactly.
"Shit-shit-shit," I whispered, starting to back away, but the biomass blocked the exit. "Oh no!"
The Space Marines were already rushing towards me, ready to make me part of this soup in the cauldron. In my head, thousands of questions were ringing: what would happen to my soul, would I die immediately and be reborn or would I accept Nurgle's eternal life and become his slave, would a bar of soap kill these bastards or would it just cause 99% damage? There were many questions, but there was also the understanding that it would only get worse.
And as soon as I raised the shotgun, a titanic roar was heard. The earth shook and everything was destroyed by megaton explosions. The echo of the blow could be heard even tens of kilometers away, and the rising gusts of wind blew down trees. The orbital salvo tore apart the defense on the surface and created many gaps. Mologost decided to fire a precious salvo not at the enemy fleet, but to support the ground forces with part of their combat power, which was entirely justified.
It was also a signal for a crushing attack, because everything was at stake and the loss of the main industrial city could be the first step to a strategic defeat. The spread of the infection had to be stopped at any cost. Therefore, the next phase of the attack was a massive bombardment by aircraft and artillery. This time, they used everything, intending to use up the last reserves.
The roar was so loud that I didn't even try to stand up and prayed that I wouldn't be crushed by the debris. The guns thundered non-stop and the air bombs pierced the ground, then undermined the underground fortifications. Nothing should have survived in this flame, but the infection of Nurgle was extremely resilient and where stone and reinforced concrete lost their strength, the tentacles of vile plants became new supports.
But the Imperial Guard command clearly understood the high probability of such a countdown, so after the explosion of the last shell, all forces rushed into battle at once. The vehicles rushed straight into the city with rattling tracks, and the infantry burned everything in their path with melta weapons. And very quickly, screams began to be heard not far from the hall, echoing from the depths of the sewers.
- FOR DREUKERNOR!!! - this cry was the first to be clearly heard and after a monstrous roar and a flame that burst out of one of the tunnels, an old man familiar to me appeared.
In the ancestral armor of the Lir family, in the best armor and exoskeleton, with combat implants, he stood out on the battlefield, as befits an aristocrat. And as a true representative of the upper class, as well as the keeper of ancient traditions, in a moment of threat, he led not only his personal army, but also all the forces of the city. With a grim determination to win, he went into battle, realizing that he was looking for a glorious death here, because his son left him nothing else.
Immediately, a machine gun crew ran out from behind him, dropped down next to him and opened up a barrage of fire. Infantry began pouring out of other tunnels. Hordes of creatures rushed at them in response, and the Space Marines entered close combat, cutting mere mortals to pieces. However, no matter how many losses the chaos inflicted, like an endless stream, the planetary forces and the forces of the Imperial Guard ran forward, paying hundreds of lives for every meter.
I stood and watched the escalating carnage. A Space Marine near one of the tunnels came into my field of vision. He easily dealt with an entire platoon of infantry. With his fist he simply broke skulls and crumpled helmets, and his rusty cleaver cut guardsmen in half along with their armor. And in rare breaks he still found the opportunity to take out his bolter and support the hordes of demons with shots, accurately shooting off the heads of machine gunners and other soldiers with heavy weapons.
He had to be removed, because the offensive threatened to fizzle out at any moment.
"An anti-tank rifle," a very formidable weapon suddenly came into my field of vision.
However, it was located fifty meters to the left of me. And there, hordes of plague spawn had already pushed the planetary defense forces back into the depths of the tunnel. But it was much easier to break through them, besides, the strongest of them were in the front ranks and had already gone deeper.
"God be with you," I exhaled, to the ironic laughter of the Great Manipulator.
And then I jumped up and sprinted to the weapon. I ran so fast that I almost tripped over the many debris and bodies. I didn't even try to assess the situation as a whole, to catch the best moment so that all the space marines were distracted. No, all this was not possible due to the banal lack of sufficient experience. Yes, I had warp powers, but to perceive the entire combat situation in a moment, analyze it and make the right conclusion... you need to learn this for decades, because the surrounding battle was full of chaos.
So everything was put on zero and my psychic energy. Nausea came over me again, frost covered not only the floor, but also the tips of my fingers and toes, after which I released the warp. Again someone looked at me in response and the touch of the warp burned my soul. It became clear to me how it works, another entity was assigned to me by Tzeentch, it was its desire to break out and get my body that served as the reason for its help. And with such help, my nervous system and consciousness will soon fall apart, after which the demon will get what he wants.
However, one way or another, I managed to set fire to the Nurgle spawn and, in a somersault, almost breaking my elbow, I grabbed the anti-tank rifle. I leaned on the bolt with all my strength, after which it was not the shell that fell to the ground, but the cartridge. Apparently, the previous owner did not even have time to shoot. However, having found a support, I already began to aim at the space marine, who could not turn away because of the company of militiamen, thrown into a suicidal attack.
They say you have to pull the trigger smoothly, but the trigger of this gun required some incredible effort to pull. The barrel moved slightly and the accurate shot to the back went lower, hitting the leg. Then, having adapted and slightly exhaled from the pain in my shoulder, I pulled the bolt again and when the space marine turned around, I fired at his shoulder. Both shots were capable of piercing tanks, they also dealt with the space marine's armor, however...
This death machine continued to fight. Not only were the Space Marines themselves filled with additional organs and brought to a new level with the help of genetic interventions, but also the gifts of Nurgle gave incredible regeneration and vitality.
And taking advantage of the fact that half of the militiamen were already panicking and unable to attack, and the other half had lost the support of heavy weapons, the space marine calmly raised his bolter and took aim at me. Despite the hole in his shoulder, his hands weren't even shaking, and the wound in his leg didn't stop him from standing at full height while the militiamen's bullets were smashing against his back.
"Fuck..." was all I said, firing again and missing completely.
However, at that moment a shot rang out and a stream of plasma hit the Space Marine in the shoulder. He staggered and almost fell, and the flesh of his arm began to melt along with his armor. He immediately turned around and received a second shot in the chest and fell completely, after which a plasma grenade rolled towards his regenerating body. I had never seen such power before, but there was no time to admire the explosion, because it was necessary to determine the killer of the Space Marine.
And turning my gaze I saw a man or humanoid in a robe, under which armor was clearly hidden. He was limping slightly, but rather quickly and abruptly changed his position and moved closer to me. His plasma gun was slightly smoking, and his face was not visible. I already thought that he was about to take out a spare weapon and finish me off, so as not to waste a shot from the plasma gun.
But instead he grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me to my feet. Under the hood was also a mask.
- We need to burn the sources of infection, those cocoons on the ceilings. I counted five. Then finish off the Plaguebearers. After that, burn the cauldron. I'll take care of the Plaguebearers. Can you handle the sources of infection?
"Yes, if you give me this gun," I answered, slightly confused, not understanding who this person was or whose side he was on.
- There are two shots here. Also, plasma weapons are not very reliable, they can explode. Take the grenade, deal with the rest with your abilities, - said someone in a robe and already turned away, getting ready to go to the center of the battle in order to cut out the plague bearers.
"Who the hell are you?" I exclaimed, coming out of my stupor and allowing surprise to take over.
- The one who wants to stop this madness and save this world. The rest should not concern you, if you still have a conscience.
And he was gone, using the terrain to great advantage and ignoring his limp. He was no Space Marine, but he had more combat experience than some of them. He didn't have the most powerful power armour, and yet he had taken down one of the Astartes. Even in psychic abilities, he was inferior to me, and yet he had done far more, even without the support of an army.
But I decided to look into the details later, because time was already slipping through my fingers.