Chapter 18 – Technical Problems

Haratekius stepped back quickly, briefly turning into a green blur before Killvolt's electrified mace hit the ground with a bang, creating a crater accompanied by a shower of fragments.

However, the Daemon did not end its attack, as the corrupted abomination swung its whip above its head and struck in an arc.

Electric crackles echoed amid the screams of the cultists fried by the Tesla Carbines, while the whip boiled the air and closed the distance like a mass of snakes.

Haratekius showed no concern and crouched; allowing the blow to pass over his head, but Killvolt maintained its attack and swung its whip in the air, aiming for the Techmarine's legs.

However, the Daemons obtained a similar result to their previous attempts and Haratekius easily dodged the attack with a jump.

"Why… You… Don't… Fight!" Killvolt demanded, changing channels to form a sentence.

The Techmarine did not respond, much to the Daemon's dissatisfaction, and remained in a relaxed position, waiting for his adversary's next action.

Killvolt did not share the same patience and delivered a barrage of lashes as it roared furiously. Simultaneously, Haratekius performed a series of jumps and acrobatics, becoming temporarily invisible to unaugmented mortal eyes.

The blows left molten cracks in the asphalt, sidewalks, and building facades while deafening cracks and multicolored electricity filled the environment.

Killvolt raised its arm, swinging its whip high into the sky and ready to strike Haratekius's head, but the Techmarine moved faster, his relaxed attitude gone, giving way to a determined coldness.

Then the Techmarine charged forward, closing the distance in the blink of an eye and thrusting his Maul forward, intent on destroying the chest of the construct the Daemon called its body.

Surprisingly, the Daemon disappeared for a second, similar to Haratekius every time he dodged. It looked like the Daemon had teleported a few meters to the left, but Haratekius's trained eyes saw what happened.

As if time had slowed down, Haratekius saw the Daemon's feet leaving the ground, creating a series of scorching footprints on the asphalt, and stopping a few meters to his left, swinging its mace arm shortly afterward.

Haratekius raised his right arm, blocking the powerful blow that created a metallic, bell-like crack as it hit his body, but he remained firm in his position, with his feet sliding slightly to the right.

"You are unable to understand how much your cheap imitation of my superior technology irritates me." Haratekius spoke seriously with a slightly irritated tone.

"Was that an... Insult?" Killvolt asked. Applying more force behind its strike, pushing Haratekius away and making both of their arms shake.

Haratekius went silent for a few seconds and looked around, analyzing his surroundings. The Techmarine saw the cultists busy with their small detachment of Space Marines and the Sisters of Battle were nowhere to be found.

"No, that was a statement."

Then Haratekius temporarily disappeared from Killvolt's sight, causing the Daemon to stumble forward due to the lack of obstacles in its path.

The Techmarine reappeared behind the Daemon, swinging its Maul with enough speed to create a shockwave as it hit Killvolt's back, and sent the Daemon flying away, with a chunk of its left side missing and a trail of metal marking its trajectory.

Killvolt struck the facade of a building, creating a cloud of dust as chunks of brick and concrete fell onto its seated form.

The eye displayed on Killvolt's screens spun around in disorientation but widened slightly as it saw Haratekius falling towards him.

The Daemon wasted no time in moving and disappeared from its previous location, leaving a trail of electricity across the ground as Haratekius' attack struck a pile of rubble left behind.

Then Killvolt moved in an arc, leaving an electrified trail in its wake, passing along the sidewalk and stopping in the middle of the street just behind Haratekius, and moving forward soon after, intending to crush the Techmarine with its mace.

Haratekius saw the Daemon approaching from behind through the remaining pieces of glass on the building's facade, so the Techmarine waited until the last second before somersaulting backward and over the Daemon.

Reorienting himself in the air, Haratekius swung his Maul, intending to strike Killvolt in the side of the head, but the Daemon planted its feet into the ground and disappeared in a flash of multicolored electricity, causing the Techmarine to halt his attack.

Haratekius landed in a crouched position, in time to see Killvolt reappear and swing its mace toward the Techmarine's head, however, Haratekius repeated his previous actions and dodged quickly, temporarily becoming a blur.

Haratekius charged forward as soon as Killvolt finished its swing, delivering a powerful low blow toward the daemon's legs, but just like before, Killvolt disappeared in a trail of electricity.

The daemon reappeared behind Haratekius, bringing its mace down toward the Techmarine's head, but Haratekius calmly turned around, following the daemon's movements, and stepped to the side, dodging the attack that destroyed the asphalt.

Both fighters exchanged one last look before disappearing and becoming two blurs fighting down the street.

The Techmarine and Daemon traded blow after blow, moving at speeds incomprehensible to normal eyes, leaving only energy trails and afterimages in their paths.

Deafening booms echoed through the streets as marks of punches, kicks, and weapons appeared on sidewalks, streets, and building walls, leaving behind holes of molten stone and metal.

For a moment, both combatants stopped, revealing Haratekius blocking Killvolt's mace with his Maul, and then they both disappeared and reappeared again, showing Haratekius hitting Killvolt in the shoulder.

The process repeated itself, creating glimpses of the blinding fight taking place unknown to most of the city.

With one last exchange of blows, Haratekius and Killvolt found themselves vying for strength again, their weapons pushing against each other.

Now that they both stopped for a moment, the damage they both suffered became visible.

Haratekius' armor cracked slightly in the stomach, chest, and shoulder regions, revealing lines that glowed faintly. Killvolt, on the other hand, had parts of his body missing, with huge holes in his legs, arms, and chest, and cracks in the screens on his head.

"You… are… holding back!" Killvolt exclaimed in fury.

"I have an image to maintain for the sake of my Chapter Master's plans, so I do not have permission to use all the resources at my disposal." Haratekius replied monotonously.

"I refuse... such... Disrespect!"

"Hump! The Daemonette gave me more work."

Killvolt squinted his eye, livid at being below a Daemonette in Haratekius's expectations.

Then using his powers under Tismator's network, Killvolt caused a series of cars to emerge from a corner behind Haratekius and charge towards the Techmarine.

Simultaneously, electricity coursed through Killvolt's body, the metal of his form molding itself to fill the holes and repair the damage, but Killvolt slightly decreased in size as he used the materials in his body.

"Will you attack me from behind? Where is your honor?" Haratekius sneered.

"I know what... You are and... I will make you... fight seriously!"

"Why didn't you mention this before? This changes a lot of things." Haratekius responded threateningly.

The Techmarine applied more force behind his weapon and parried Killvolt's mace to the side, causing the Daemon to lose his balance, and then Haratekius kicked Killvolt in the knee shortly afterward, causing the Daemon to fall to one knee.

Finally, Haratekius grabbed one of the cars approaching at high speed by the hood and slammed the vehicle into Killvolt's side.

Iron, glass, and rubber covered the Daemon's vision as the vehicle broke in two upon hitting his body, but as soon as his vision cleared, Killvolt noticed that Haratekius was no longer in front of him.

Suddenly, Haratekius reappeared behind Killvolt, ready to deliver the final blow to the Daemon's head, but Killvolt's whip moved of its own accord and wrapped around the Techmarine's body.

Killvolt pulled his whip hard, swinging Haratekius through the air before slamming him into the ground, leaving the Techmarine's outline on the asphalt.

"HAHAHA!"

With a sadistic laugh, Killvolt treated Haratekius like a rag doll, repeatedly slamming him into the ground and electrocuting him with his whip.

Shortly, the Techmarine's image flickered, revealing what was hiding beneath before returning to normal.

Strangely, Haratekius did not seem worried about the situation, but rather irritated, similar to a person wasting time on an unproductive activity.

Suddenly, a pair of hands came out of the Techmarine's neck, and a second Haratekius leaped towards Killvolt amidst another whip swing.

The daemon opened its eye wide, but swung its mace violently, hitting the second Haratekius, however, the second Haratekius exploded in a bright flash, temporarily blinding the Daemon.

Killvolt felt weightlessness in his whip and when the light disappeared, the Daemon saw all of his weapon cables snapped and extending upwards before falling to the ground.

The Daemon looked around, trying to predict where Haratekius would appear, but nothing happened, the street was silent except for the dying cultists in the distance.

Tense seconds passed until a shadow formed over Killvolt. Looking up, Daemon saw a dark spot forming in the sunlight, unfortunately, Killvolt was slow to react.

Haratekius landed on the Daemon's back, using the handle of his Maul to hold Killvolt's neck.

The Daemon shook furiously, trying to get the Techmarine off its back, but its efforts were in vain.

A wave of green electricity shot from the Techmarine's Maul and flowed through the Daemon's distorted body, frying its systems and making the Daemon roar in pain as it writhed violently.

Molten metal oozed from Killvolt's joints, while metal shavings, wires, and sparks leaped out of his body, leaving behind clouds of steam and smoke.

The Daemons' screens flickered repeatedly, the eye at the center of the star widening in agony as static appeared on the screen and the channels changed in succession.

Eventually, Killvolt's screens went out with an audible crack, and the smoking Daemon fell forward like a chopped tree.

Haratekius jumped off the Daemon's back before his body hit the ground and watched as his opponent hit the asphalt and remained motionless.

The Techmarine stared at Killvolt with an analytical gaze, waiting for the Daemon to rise again, as it would be foolish to turn ones back on an enemy without making sure he was dead.

In addition, to the Techmarine's annoyance, his guesses turned out to be true, as the sound of the city's defenses firing at those attempting to enter Tismator still echoed in the distance, and the cultists still wasted their breath broadcasting their meaningless litanies.

As if that was not enough, Killvolt's screens reignited and the Daemons stood up. His destroyed form creaked and fell apart with each movement.

"HAHAHA... I am still... Alive!" Killvolt laughed in arrogance.

"Interestingly, your improvised body is more resistant than I thought. I believe I must reduce it to atoms." Haratekius spoke with slight surprise.

"Fool, this is... Useless... This body is... Nothing more than a... vessel! I am... Everywhere!"

As soon as the Daemons spoke those words, every appliance, vehicle, or object that used electricity in any way flew out of the buildings and streets and circled Killvolt.

A metallic whirlpool formed above the Daemon made up of dozens of objects floating at high speed.

The whirlpool split into two groups. Half of its components flew towards Killvolt, fusing with the Daemon's body and repairing the damage caused.

The other half fell towards the ground as they merged, revealing several deformed mechanical monstrosities.

The things did not share the same combat-ready design as Killvolt, it seemed like the Daemon did not even bother to create something practical, as some of the metallic monsters had multiple pairs of disproportionate arms whose hands grasped the air uselessly.

Others had legs of varying types, spider, scorpion, centipede, tentacles, or serpent-like lower half, which stepped and slithered across the floor in a shrill cacophony.

Finally, there were those with rows of robotic eyes covering their faces, creating a mass of glass that looked around frantically.

Killvolt, however, returned to his previous stature with the addition of rows of coils running from his shoulders to the base of his back, and with a command of his demonic powers, the wires on the poles around him snapped and connected to the coils.

"HAHAHAH! This is the... End... I am tired of it... I'll turn you to ashes... in the wind!" Killvolt laughed maniacally as electricity coursed through his body, overcharging his systems and making his screens glow like beacons.

"Hm... Empty words from someone who challenged an opponent far above their league. You have realized that there is no way to defeat me and now you intend to launch a desperate attack, even if it means damaging your own body with extreme levels of power." Haratekius said disinterestedly.

"This body doesn't…"

"Yes, I understand, you were very clear with your incessant ramblings. If this body is nothing more than a container, then I just need to disconnect you directly from the source." Haratekius cut off the Daemon, taking up a running stance soon after.

Both adversaries prepared to act, Killvolt began floating in the middle of the street, twitching violently as electricity leaped out of his body and melted scorching lines into his surroundings as the glow on his screens intensified.

Simultaneously, Haratekius tensed his "muscles", preparing to ran at full speed.

"Chapter Master! I know you can hear me! Come to the Basilica of the Golden Eagle and come alone! We know that you and your false angels plan to ruin our glorious plans, and we cannot allow that, can we? And to ensure that you will come..."

BANG!

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!"

"...You better hurry, we know you care, but my brothers are not patient like me and... DIE HERETIC!... OLCINIA, SUPPRESSION FIRE... GENA... Someone finish off those worshipers of the False Emperor!"

Suddenly, gunshots and enraged screams interrupted the cultist transmission, and this served as a signal for Haratekius and Killvolt to finally return to action.

Haratekius shot out with a thunderous initial momentum, shattering the ground with each step as he closed the distance to his adversary, simultaneously, Killvolt's monstrosities charged forward, roaring and screaming in a mob of metal.

The ones with multiple arms tried to grab the Techmarine and tear him apart with their claws, but they soon found themselves on the ground with all their arms ripped off.

Those with legs of varying types ran at the maximum speed their bodies would allow, but proved unable to put themselves in the Techmarine's path and became balls of crushed metal on the ground.

Finally, those with rows of eyes in their heads were better at understanding the blur that was advancing at an absurd speed, and Haratekius' fist was the last thing they saw before everything went dark.

"Stop!" Killvolt exclaimed. His arrogance shortly disappeared as he realized the failure of his creations, but Haratekius did not listen and continued advancing.

Killvolt separated a fragment of his concentration to send a series of cars and metal debris toward Haratekius, but the Techmarine nimbly dodged the incoming projectiles.

Sliding under a refrigerator, jumping and spinning in the air, passing between two unrecognizable metallic masses, and finally, running over a car that was stuck in the ground, using it as a springboard to jump toward the Daemon.

With a furious roar, Killvolt tried to fire his attack, unfortunately, for the Daemon, Haratekius only needed one touch. Killvolt roared in pain as green lines covered his body the moment Haratekius touched him.

These lines extended through Killvolt's body until they reached the wires connecting the Daemon directly to its vessel, then, as if the machine spirit of the entire city of Tismator had gone mad, all the lights went out and a demonic scream echoed across the metropolis.

The lights came on again, and a screaming face appeared on every screen and monitor in the city, moving at high speed until it reached a single point where a Daemon and Techmarine fought for control.

"What did you do?" Killvolt demanded, glowing green lines covering his body more and more.

"I'm a Techmarine; did you think I wouldn't find a way to deal with your true form running through the city? You created a direct line to your original body the moment you began your desperate attack, now I will disconnect you directly from the source, as I promised." Haratekius responded.

However, Killvolt would not allow himself to be defeated so easily, the Daemon screamed with all his strength, fighting against the pull that was slowly pulling him away from the place where he was all-powerful.

Haratekius suppressed an irritated growl as purple cracks covered his body; the Daemon was giving him more work than expected.

An unearthly gale blew through the street where the two were standing as electricity rushed everywhere, turning their surroundings into boiling orange goo on the ground.

Gradually, both combatants approached the ground, although the victor remained elusive.

Haratekius raised his Maul and slammed it into the Daemon's chest, causing the creature to let out a deafening scream, destroying all the few windows that remained intact.

Then, the Techmarine pulled his Maul back, removing something from Killvolt's body. It felt like a mass of energy that slowly stretched as Haratekius pulled.

Killvolt abandoned his whip and grabbed Haratekius' arm, trying to stop the Techmarine from finishing his action, but it was too late for the Daemon.

With a final pull, Haratekius removed the foreign substance from Killvolt's body, revealing a screaming face made of multicolored electricity. Haratekius swung his Maul in the air, creating trails of electricity as the demonic face screamed and stretched due to the speed it swung.

Taking one last look around him, Haratekius manifested a green cube in the palm of his hand, pressed the button on the cube's surface, and threw it upwards while swinging his Maul.

His screaming face shot towards the cube, keeping him in the air as the screams slowly faded, becoming muffled until everything went silent.

Haratekius caught the cube before it hit the ground and watched the face trapped in stasis in an expression of agony, and then with a simple movement, Haratekius sent the cube away.

"This is the second Daemon I have captured. Maybe I should make a collection. It would help me in my research for sure." Haratekius said to himself as he enjoyed the silence around him.

Tismator's defenses stopped firing at the Imperials now that Killvolt no longer ran through the network, the surrounding cultists were turned into burning husks by the Space Marine, and the Daemon was finally silenced.

Suddenly, swift shadows passed over Haratekius, revealing the Thunderhawks of the Sisters of Battle and the Valkyries of the Arbites. Imperial reinforcements finally entered the city.

"Hm... It took them long enough; we wasted enough time fixing the problems caused by your ignorance, although I wonder how the Palatine and her Sisters are." Haratekius replied, taking one last look at the communications center.

-XXXXXX-

Palatine Anya and her sisters ran down the side streets, catching a glimpse of the fight taking place on the main street in front of the Communications Center, but they soon put that aside as this was not the time for distractions.

The Sisters of Battle crossed alleys and quickly hid in the shadows as they approached the side entrance of their objective.

Two armed cultists were guarding the entrance, Palatine Anya prepared to order a synchronized shot and kill the two cultists simultaneously, but that was not necessary.

Haratekius's distraction proved effective, as one of the cultists received a message on his Vox and soon both chaos worshipers rushed to reinforce their brothers.

Waving to her sisters, Palatine Anya signaled to move forward. The group ran towards the entrance and stopped on both sides of the door.

Gena and Victoria leaned against the wall while Olcinia stopped in front of the door. Slowly, Victoria turned the handle and pushed the door lightly as Olcinia advanced, opening the door at once with the barrel of her Bolter.

Olcinia advanced into the building while her sisters followed close behind. Fortunately, the Sisters have not encountered any cultists yet.

Palatine Anya led the group through hallways, offices, stockrooms, and records rooms, finding the bodies of the Communications Center's original employees and defenders.

The group of Sisters split up and hid in rooms on opposite sides of the corridor when they heard hurried footsteps approaching.

Keeping silent and peering out of their cover, the sisters saw groups of cultists running past the rooms and disappearing back the way they had come earlier.

A few seconds passed until the footsteps disappeared into the distance. The Sisters emerged from their hiding places and advanced again, slowing their run only when the Iconarch's voice became audible.

The Sisters walked cautiously, taking cover behind a wall at the corner of a corridor and glimpsing a large double metal door protected by a barricade, with a heavy machine gun mounted on the other side.

Palatine Anya analyzed her situation. She did not doubt that their armor would withstand the shots, but a high-caliber bullet to the joints could be fatal, not to mention, of course, that a frontal attack would ruin the element of surprise.

Taking in her surroundings, the Palatine smiled as she saw the entrance to a ventilation duct in the ceiling.

"Victoria, how about you show how good you are with your knives?" Palatine Anya spoke, pointing to the ceiling.

"Hump! With pleasure." Victoria muttered in amusement, jumping and removing the duct cover, disappearing into the vent shortly after.

The other Sisters looked impressed at how Victoria fit inside the duct while wearing armor, especially with the lack of noise, but soon the sisters' focus changed to the barricade.

They saw the cover of the duct above the barricade drop with a metallic click, and one of the cultists behind the barricade looked up in confusion. This confusion turned to surprise and fear when a figure fell from the ventilation with knives in both hands.

The two cultists let out interrupted screams that soon turned into wet, chopping noises. Simultaneously, the other Sisters of Battle emerged from their cover and advanced down the hall only to look away in disgust when they saw Victoria skinning the two cultists' faces.

"What?" Victoria asked, confused by the reaction.

"What in the Emperor's name are you doing?" Palatine Anya demanded.

"I am collecting adornments for my armor." Victoria replied before returning to her work.

"Putting that aside, how did you manage to kill heretics without making a sound?"

"If the giant know as Konrad Curze's can move and kill without making a sound and being found, then why can't I?"

"Who?" Palatine Anya asked in confusion.

"Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter, have you never heard of him?"

Palatine Anya nodded.

"A shame, skinning people was his way of maintaining law and order, which is until he decided to blow up the fucking planet, luckily my ancestors managed to escape."

"Skinning people is not an efficient form of government." Olcinia replied disconcerted.

"You'd be surprised by the results; it does wonders for crime rates." Victoria laughed before finishing her sadistic work and noticing Anya staring at her.

"What?"

"I felt like hitting you with a huge hammer for some reason." Palatine Anya muttered, staring at Victoria with half-closed eyes.

The Sister of Battle shrugged at this statement and the group approached the door of the central communications room, clearly hearing the Iconarch's words.

"Chapter Master! I know you can hear me! Come to the Basilica of the Golden Eagle and come alone! We know that you and your false angels plan to ruin our glorious plans, and we cannot allow that, can we? And to ensure that you will come..."

BANG!

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!"

The Palatine's eyes widened upon hearing the screams of the innocents, the Battle Sister drew her Plasma Pistol and Chainsword, and with fury in her eyes, she kicked the door with all her might, ripping it off its hinges.

"...You better hurry, we know you care, but my brothers are not patient like me and..."

"DIE HERETIC! OLCINIA, SUPPRESSION FIRE! GENA AND VICTORIA MAKE THE WAY FOR US! SILKE FLANK THE HERETICS AND PURIFY THEM WITH SACRED FIRE!" Palatine Anya ordered from the top of her lungs.

The cultists froze in a mixture of fear and surprise, and this moment of hesitation cost them their lives.

Olcinia fired her Bolter with precision, turning a group of cultists into red mist before they drew their weapons.

Gena and Victoria advanced as the remaining cultists scrambled to draw their weapons. Gena's Eviscerator roared as the saw's teeth cleaved three cultists in two, creating a rain of blood.

Simultaneously, Victoria threw one of the skinned faces towards one of the cultists, who screamed in panic when he saw his brother's terrified face approaching, but was silenced with a precise cut on his neck.

Silke bypassed the massacre taking place in the center of the room and approached the few cultists who managed to open fire on her sisters, drawing the attention of the cultists in question, who soon opened fire in a hail of bullets, piercing walls and furniture.

Silke planted her feet on the ground, stopping her run and pressing the trigger of her Heavy Flamer, sending a wall of flames toward the remaining cultists.

The cultists saw a bright light and felt an absurd heat before pain became the only thing they knew; they screamed and screamed as the Battle Sister purged the impurity from their bodies.

"Can't you do anything right? Where are our brothers? Someone put an end to those worshipers of the False Emperor... AAAHHH!"

The Iconarch did not finish his sentence, as Palatine Anya sent a plasma blast towards him, turning his left arm and the majority of the wall into a boiling pulp on the floor.

The Iconarch staggered back, resting his back on the communication devices, his vision and mind clouded with pain.

A red blur moved through the patches of light the cultist saw, then with a scream of fury, the Iconarch raised his heavy machine gun and fired from his hip, doing his best to hit the blur while letting out a barrage of insults.

Pieces of wood, stone, paper, and metal covered the air as the incessant noise of gunfire reverberated off the walls amidst the sounds of fighting, but despite all his efforts, the blur continued to get closer.

CLICK!

CLICK!

CLICK!

The Iconarch tilted his head in confusion as he squeezed the trigger repeatedly, it took him a few seconds to realize he was out of bullets, so the cultist attempted to place his machine gun on top of one of the communications devices and reload the weapon with one hand.

However, that never happened, the red blur jumped in front of him and the Iconarch felt a strong pain in his other arm, and then the cultist realized that he could not move his hand.

The cultist looked down and saw something lying in a red puddle on the ground, but soon his focus shifted to his chest as he felt something piercing him. The Iconarch saw something metallic coming out of its chest and followed the shape of the object with its vision until he was face-to-face with its owner's face.

The Iconarch saw something that would terrify him for the rest of his short life, an obsidian face with a pair of glowing red eyes staring at him in fury.

"Slaanesh save me…" The Iconarch murmured weakly, until the light disappeared from his eyes and everything went dark.

Palatine Anya removed her Chainsword from the cultist's chest and tossed his body to the side, preferring to focus on the functional but damaged Vox devices.

The Palatine wasted no time in accessing the frequency used by her order and sending a message to all her sisters.

"This is Palatine Anya, second in command of the Commandery of Canoness Karamora! The city of Tismator is under attack, this is not just a group of angry people, but also an attempt to seize power! Our sisters and Canoness Karamora are under siege at the Cathedral of Saint Alexia, they need reinforcements immediately!"

A few seconds passed until a voice responded from the other side.

"Understood Sister, reinforcements are on the way! May the light of the Emperor be with you!"

"I thank you, Sister! May the light of the Emperor be with you!" Palatine Anya responded, a hopeful smile forming on her face.

Palatine Anya set the Vox device aside and turned to her sisters, sighing in relief to see that they were all okay.

"Well, we did it! Communications Center recovered and reinforcements called, all in a day's work!" Gena exclaimed, removing her helmet and resting her Eviscerator on her shoulder.

"Although we didn't do it all alone." Olcinia completed.

Palatine Anya widened her eyes in realization and ran towards one of the building's windows, looking outside and seeing Haratekius in the center of a devastated street.

"Brother Haratekius, are you okay?!?" Palatine Anya shouted worriedly.

"Affirmative, Palatine Anya. I see you have completed your objective!" Haratekius responded, nodding at the Battle Sister.

"What the hell happened out there? It looks like someone bombed the block!" Victoria exclaimed soon after, observing the outside of the building as well.

"This is nothing more than collateral damage, but leaving that aside, we will have to go our separate ways again, I need to return to my Chapter Master!"

"I understand, I wish you a safe journey, may the Emperor protect you!" Palatine Anya exclaimed, waving at Haratekius.

"May the Emperor... Protect you..." Haratekius hesitated before waving back and walking away with his Space Marines following him.

With her farewell completed, Palatine Anya returned to the Vox's devices and pressed a few buttons on the panel.

Suddenly, music and hymns played throughout the city sending a message to all who fought bravely to protect their homes, the tide of battle had turned.

END OF CHAPTER