BOOM!
Lightning struck Atrius, stunning him in place.
"Haa... haa... haaaa..."
He gasped, breathing deeply as he recovered. Just as he began to rise, the massive warhammer slammed into him from the side, sending him crashing through the air.
BANG! He collided with a jagged crystal wall, shattering it on impact and sliding to the ground. Dazed but not defeated, Atrius forced himself to his feet, barely in time to parry a strike from the cunning daemon. He seized its arm mid-swing, spun, and hurled the creature into another spiked wall.
BOOM!
Jagged shards impaled the daemon's back. Before it could react, Atrius drove his armored fist into its face, then smashed its head into the ground with brutal force.
He turned sharply—just in time to see the towering Khorne champion charging. Thinking fast, Atrius grabbed the recovering daemon by the throat and hurled it into the path of the charging beast. The Khorne daemon tried to sidestep, but Atrius was already moving, closing the distance.
Though unarmed, he capitalized on the opportunity. With a bone-shattering punch to the daemon's ribcage, he heard a crunch as its breath caught. The beast staggered, but retaliated, swinging a colossal hand. Atrius ducked and struck again, targeting the same ribs.
"Aaaaargh! I'll pulverize you!" the daemon bellowed, hoisting its warhammer.
Atrius backstepped swiftly—the hammer smashed into the earth, missing him by inches.
Nearby, the cunning daemon staggered upright, blood seeping from many of its eyes. Its face was contorted in pain and fury.
The daemoness appeared again, her tone mocking. "That hurt, you know... I liked it. Do it again."
Her tongue lolled out—long, forked, grotesque. Her mouth widened unnaturally like a torn seam, bones cracking as her frame twisted in perverse delight.
Meanwhile, the Sisters of Silence carved a path of destruction through the lesser daemons. Screams of agony echoed as their null auras disrupted the Warp-spawned horde. But the enemy came in endless waves, pressing hard to prevent them from nearing the rift.
The Sisters, vastly outnumbered, held firm. Yet if the battle dragged on, they would be overwhelmed.
One Sister, wielding a power sword with deadly grace, spotted a familiar weapon lying amid the carnage—a long spear. Her eyes widened as she recognized it.
Without hesitation, she signaled her squad to cover her and surged forward, cutting down any daemon in her path. Grabbing the spear, she turned toward the front line—toward Atrius.
THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.
Her power-armored boots pounded the ground.
"Sister, wait! What's happening? Why do you have that?" a metallic voice called.
A golden-armored giant emerged from the mist of battle, sprinting toward her. It was Caenus.
"We were ambushed. Three greater daemons—one a prince. Atrius is confronting them alone!" she signaled rapidly, handing him the spear.
Caenus processed the report instantly.
"Captain... I've found them. As you suspected, it's an ambush... Captain?"
BZZZZT.
Silence.
"A daemon is jamming the vox... Sister, locate the electronic daemon. It must be nearby. It's interfering with comms," he ordered.
The Sister nodded and sprinted back toward the front lines.
"I must move quickly. They won't last much longer," Caenus muttered, gripping the spear tightly.
A massive hammer slammed into the ground. Atrius evaded swiftly, rolling to the side as the grotesque daemoness lunged at him like a rabid beast.
"More! More! More!" she shrieked, cackling with every blow she absorbed.
From behind, the cunning daemon unleashed purple tendrils of sorcery—arcane tentacles that erupted from the earth, seeking to ensnare Atrius. He broke free just as the warhammer descended again.
They were coordinating now. The daemoness struck relentlessly while the cunning daemon tried to immobilize him, giving the Khorne champion clear shots.
Atrius read their pattern, then countered. He seized the daemoness mid-leap by the throat, lifting her effortlessly.
Even as her windpipe collapsed, she giggled through crushed lungs.
He hurled her into the lightning blast of the cunning daemon, forcing it to divert its aim. In the chaos, Atrius dodged another hammer blow and lunged—his shoulder crashing into the Khorne daemon's chest, disarming it. Grabbing the warhammer mid-fall, he spun and hurled it at the cunning daemon.
The hammer paused midair—then dropped.
The daemoness rose, body snapping back into place, grinning. "Yes... do it agai—"
BOOM!
A bolt of energy punched through her chest.
A golden giant sprinted into view. "Atrius! Catch!"
Caenus tossed the spear.
Atrius caught it in one fluid motion and pivoted, thrusting it toward the Khorne daemon. Not letting it reclaim its hammer, he fired a psychic blast, sending the beast reeling.
Caenus engaged the cunning daemon, who met him in silence this time, launching into combat with calculated rage.
"Seems you're alone now," it hissed from the shadows, eyes glowing. "Let's finish this before more arrive."
"You... whore! Stop playing dead and help me!" it shouted to the daemoness.
Caenus glanced at her. She lay with a gaping hole in her torso, eyes wide in euphoric bliss.
"Let me savor it..." she cooed, rising again as flesh knitted back together.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash as the Khorne daemon hit the ground hard. Standing over it, Atrius panted, his spear soaked in black ichor. The beast now lay still, a massive gash across its throat.
THUMP... CRACK!
Atrius turned to Caenus.
"Help the Sisters. I'll finish these two."
He stomped down on the Khorne daemon's neck.
CRUNCH.