Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 57: Daemonic Ship (3)

To return to the landing platform as quickly as possible, Soshyan chose not to retrace their steps, but rather take a shortcut.

Although he wasn't entirely familiar with the structural layout of this cruiser, the overall design of Imperial warships wouldn't deviate too drastically. Cutting through the promethium reserves to reach the landing platform was undoubtedly the fastest route.

Battling the semi-corporeal monstrosities every step of the way, they charged toward the nearest fuel pump room.

Because their formation was tight, the Space Marines were forced to employ rhythmic burst fire to avoid friendly fire.

As they moved, the tactical lights on their helmets constantly pierced the darkness, illuminating the steel ventilation ducts and grate covers overhead.

While fighting, Soshyan couldn't help but notice that this area appeared orderly and well-oiled, as if it had been meticulously maintained the entire time.

The massive pistons on the walls were designed to circulate air across the various decks, but they were currently silent and inactive.

"Keep moving! Watch our flanks and rear! Interlocking fields of fire!"

He shouted, pressing deeper into the ship.

A moment ago, Soshyan thought he heard a strange noise through his helmet's audio receptors—something like a groan of agony, or perhaps the murmurs of chanted scripture, emanating from a room a hundred meters ahead on the right. Yet when he passed by it, he found it completely empty.There was no trace of anyone, no sign of life.

The squad quickly broke through the monsters' blockade and entered the main hall of the fuel pump room.

Even amidst the fighting, Soshyan kept manually cycling through his helmet's vox frequencies, but there was nothing—only the hiss of static.

He felt there was something here; though difficult to comprehend, it was cowering within this expanse of metal.

Suddenly, a shout from behind caught Soshyan's attention. It was accompanied by the roar of a flamer.

A recruit was sweeping his flamer wildly, roaring as he sprayed promethium everywhere, igniting the walls and the pistons.

"Careful! There might still be residual fuel here!"

Despite giving the warning, Soshyan also noticed that while the flames caused the creatures some distress, it wouldn't last long.

Driven by primal fury, they hurled themselves against the bulkheads in wave after screeching wave, tearing the fragile ventilation systems to shreds.

At that moment, an even more massive presence loomed from the ceiling.

This beast was an indistinct, nebulous nightmare. It could shift effortlessly between the material and the immaterial, appearing more like a manifestation of emotion than a physical form.

At first glance, it gave the impression of elongated limbs, writhing tentacles, and ponderous claws. Yet, there was no natural creature that corresponded to it, nothing it could be compared to.

Bolter rounds passed through it as if passing through thin air.

But it could touch; it could lift a Space Marine, and it could even kill him.

More importantly, it seemed to possess a certain sapience. It had noticed Soshyan—a highly dangerous existence—from the very beginning, so it materialized above the rear of the formation, targeting the rearguard, Armin.

The Squad Leader resolutely struck back with his chainsword.

As he hacked into the phantom, the whirring, toothed blade simply passed straight through, uselessly biting the air.

"What!?"

The creature then seized Armin. It seemed to feed upon the soldiers' fervor, deriving a particular, perverse pleasure from tearing at his armor.

Its razor-sharp claws raked across Armin's chestplate as easily as tearing through cardboard.

Air rushed in through the ruptured ceramite, liquid sealant oozing from the mangled armor plating. Armin let out a grunt of pain.

Following this, the warrior wielding the flamer turned his weapon toward the towering beast and roared, hoping Armin's Power Armor was resilient enough to temporarily withstand the intense heat.

He had practiced this kind of close-quarters flamer technique many times. After adjusting the nozzle from a wide fan to a concentrated stream, the warrior pulled the trigger.

A roaring cord of orange fire whipped past, slicing through the ethereal beast like a hand sweeping through thick fog.

Before he could fire again, the entity unleashed a horrifying shriek—a sound that pierced through the entire body, felt not just in the ears and brain, but resonating deep within the heart and gut.

Before the second stream of fire reached it, the thing began to dissipate, leaving behind only a group of furious soldiers and the echoing thrum of a dropped chainsword on the deck.

"Damn it—!"

Covered in blood, Armin scrambled to his feet. The Techmarine immediately began emergency repairs on his Power Armor to prevent vacuum exposure from causing secondary injuries.

Suddenly, Armin saw something and bellowed at the warrior with the flamer:

"Behind you!"

The warrior spun around, and in the next second, he felt something impale his chest.

He looked down, feeling dizzy, and saw an ethereal, bladed claw piercing his Power Armor. However, it couldn't drive any deeper, because a searing longsword had swept down to sever it.

The warrior felt freezing cold, as if he had been tossed into the void of space. He could still hear the monster's roar, but the sound had changed, transforming entirely into an agonizing wail.

Soshyan swallowed back the cold blood rising in his throat. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he hacked and slashed at the massive beast like a tireless lumberjack.

It tried to recoil, but the soul black hole trapped it within a ten-meter radius of Soshyan, drawing it in with an inescapable pull.

Darting left and right, unable to escape, it suddenly lunged at Soshyan in a desperate, final gambit.

However, in the very next second, the Holy Flame Sword pierced its skull, shattering its essence into pieces.

This time, it truly dissipated, crumbling into a pile of mindless, emotional fragments.

"Urg—!"

Having annihilated the formidable foe, Soshyan's legs suddenly gave out. He only avoided collapsing to his knees by leaning heavily on his sword, but he could no longer suppress the chill rising in his throat.

A mouthful of dark red liquid sprayed from his helmet's grille. The instant it struck the deck, it turned into scattering beads of frozen blood.

"Sir!"

Seeing this, Armin immediately rushed forward to help Soshyan up.

"I'm fine. Pick up the pace!"

Though they had destroyed a large one, the smaller creatures were still in relentless pursuit. Soshyan rallied his remaining strength and ran with all his might. He could already feel the biting chill creeping up the back of his head.

If he dragged this out any longer, he would pass out, if not freeze to death entirely.

"Sir! There are too many ahead!"

The warrior with the flamer chose to take point this time. Blood continuously slid down his Power Armor, yet he persisted in the fight.

However, the promethium in his flamer was running low.

"This way!"

Soshyan scanned their surroundings and noticed a corridor completely devoid of any monsters. He immediately led the squad, changing direction.

Logically, they shouldn't be too far from the landing platform now. The key was to find the exit from the fuel pump room.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Soshyan skidded to a halt. The others looked at him in confusion.

But right now, Soshyan was staring intently at the auspex mounted on his forearm. If the readings were correct, that life signal... was now overlapping with their position.

In other words, something was right on top of them.