Feeling the warmth of the hand touching his face, Yuki recalled the promises of the past.
"How did you..."
He had a thousand questions, but Yuno's next sentence choked them all back.
"So, where exactly is this place?"
The beautiful girl looked utterly bewildered. Setting aside the grim environment, she actually looked somewhat adorable.
"Huh?"
Yuno pulled Yuki to his feet.
"I felt your presence, so I quickly fashioned a temporary body and came over. It seems like there's still fighting going on nearby."
Fashioned a body? What does she mean?
Yuki looked at the tentacles behind Yuno's back, which were now softening. The blood of the impaled Arbites members had been sucked dry, and the undulating micro-teeth on the tentacles were still devouring other organic matter.
This included that kind-hearted Arbites girl.
There was no time to mourn her. After a brief prayer that her soul might return to the Golden Throne, Yuki felt it was necessary to clear up a much more important matter.
In his memory, Yuno was a cheerful, sunshiny girl who loved to eat dango with him. He had imagined her face, but the person standing before him was more beautiful than he had ever pictured.
Yes, online dating is no different from opening a blind box, but the thing inside wasn't supposed to be something from the Warhammer universe, was it?
"Um... excuse me for asking, Yuno, but... what exactly are you?"
Yuno's face turned bright red, and she spoke in a bashful, hesitant manner.
"This, well, how should I put it... in terms that are easier to understand, I am the Hive Mind itself."
"What?"
Yuki's heart became as turbulent as a stormy sea.
How could such simple words construct such a complex and terrifying sentence?
He especially thought back to when he and Yuno were on voice chat, talking at length about his sexual fantasies regarding the Great Devourer. Even though the current environment was inappropriate, Yuki couldn't help but blush.
"I... I need some time to process this. Let's leave here first."
Yuki found it difficult to wrap his head around. He felt a sense of absurdity, like a child coming out of an operating room telling their family that the doctor had a difficult labor and asking whether to save the mother or the father.
It was all happening too fast.
"Wait a moment, more troublesome bugs are coming."
Bugs?
More Arbites soldiers appeared. These were reinforcements, wearing heavy carapace armor with thick gloves and boots protecting their limbs. Their faces were obscured by fully enclosed helmets equipped with respirators.
They carried shotguns, suppression shields, and power mauls—a standard riot suppression loadout.
Yuno folded her umbrella, and the tentacles behind her hardened into razor-sharp chitinous blades.
"Close your eyes, my love. For someone who has just arrived from another world, this might be a bit too cruel."
Before he could react, Yuno's figure vanished into thin air. Optical cloaking allowed her to rapidly close in on the armed Arbites squad.
Gunshots, explosions, the sound of steel being severed, roars, and agonizing screams...
Yuki couldn't see the fight—Yuno was battling a short distance away—but a severed head flew through the air, heading straight for him in a near-perfect arc.
Just before it could hit him, Yuno reappeared. Her purple dress was stained with fresh blood as she caught the head with one hand.
Yuki could still see the final, lingering despair of the man's life in those eyes.
"Ugh!"
Yuki tried to vomit, but once again, nothing came out.
Yuno embraced him, whispering gently in his ear.
"It's okay. You're safe now."
Damn it, isn't the real danger sitting right here in my arms?
"Grumble..."
Yuno smiled awkwardly. She said, "I'm a little hungry. How about you turn around for a bit?"
Realizing what was about to happen, Yuki could only helplessly turn around and face a corner of a wall.
What on earth was going on?
Was this a dream?
How did he suddenly transmigrate to Warhammer, get caught in an Arbites skirmish, meet his online girlfriend Yuno, only for her to reveal she was the Great Devourer?
Was he being toyed with by Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways?
Yuki tried hard to think it through. He recognized Yuno because of a "feeling" in his soul, but feelings were easily deceived. Daemons, especially those of Slaanesh, could do such things with ease.
Could he have already been marked by the Warp?
The sounds of sickening tearing and crushing from behind forced Yuki to keep his mind occupied with questions.
Ten minutes passed before Yuno quietly embraced him from behind.
"Don't scare me like that."
"I've wanted to do this for a long time. Teehee, it's so good to see you."
Yuki's heart softened. He turned around to look at Yuno, who was clinging to him tightly, and said, "Let's find a safe place first."
Yuno let go of her hands but didn't respond.
"Yuno?"
Yuno used her sleeve to wipe away a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth and tugged at Yuki's arm.
"Hehe."
"What?"
Yuki froze for a moment. Was Yuno planning to eat him? Right, if she really was the Great Devourer, that would be the only "normal" behavior!
To ease his anxiety, he asked as they walked:
"Are all the worlds of the Imperium of Man like this?"
"Eh, I don't know. This is my first time here, too."
Yuno rested her finger on her chin, trying seriously to recall past events.
"I usually don't interfere with low-level combat; the synapse consciousness handles that for me. Most of the time, I focus on the main fleet and macro-strategy."
"What was your life like before?"
"Very dull and boring. Calculating the increase and decrease of biomass, arranging the Tyranid advance, eating, honing psychic powers in my spare time, and finally... connecting to your world."
Yuno's description failed to give Yuki any concrete image.
In the Underhive slums of Statt, countless machines and firearms emitted enough noise to cause chronic hearing loss. They had been walking here for three hours.
Yuno's body required a large amount of organic matter for maintenance; such a frail vessel could not fully withstand the power of the Great Devourer.
Yuki actually found it completely impossible to accept that his girlfriend was the Great Devourer. It was too absurd, too bizarre—even more terrifying than if his girlfriend had turned out to be Lorgar.
"What's wrong?"
Yuno held Yuki's hand.
"I was thinking... the knowledge in my head is something most people in this world don't know. Why hasn't the Warp targeted me?"
"Silly, with me here, how could those insignificant things ever find you?"
Yuno stepped in front of Yuki. In the alleyway where they walked, the dying struggled for help, encased in layers of rust and stained steel.
"Yuki, I know this is hard for you to accept, but it's the same for me. I toyed with psychic energy in eternal loneliness, and among countless worlds and infinite possibilities, I met you, came to know you, and fell in love with you. Can you understand the feeling of a collective consciousness tormented by eternal hunger falling in love with a single person?
"Yes, I love you. Even more so after you came to my world. You were even willing to come here just to see me. This makes me even more obsessed with you."
The sudden declaration left Yuki confused. Did he love the girl before him and the true entity she represented?
His face turned red; he didn't even need to answer.
"My love, I can give you any kind of life you want. I can give you a planet, a fleet, or more. I can keep the planet you live on safe from disaster. But when this mortal shell of yours reaches its end, please come with me. I will reclaim your soul from the Warp. At that time, you and I can be together forever. Is that okay?"
Yuno embraced Yuki, shamelessly displaying her affection.
"It took me eons to find you. No matter what, I will never let go."
Yuki felt a massive amount of... pressure. Could a mere mortal withstand the love of the Great Devourer?