Boom—
Mortarion's helmet monitor, along with his surroundings, erupted in a golden glow that lit up the entire night sky.
Szzzt—
"Nooo—!!"
As Silent Death swung down, the despairing, terrified scream of the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch echoed throughout Mombasa. The scythe cleaved its body in two, and golden flames swiftly engulfed both halves.
Meanwhile, Corax, who had severed the Daemon's wing and pierced its chest with his psy-lightning claws, leapt away from the burning creature to stand at Mortarion's right.
Woosh!
In seconds, the golden flames consumed the Daemon completely, and instead of dissipating, the fire shot skyward, purging the chaotic landscape over Mombasa.
Even the portal at the city center ignited in the golden flames.
Crash—!!
The portal collapsed instantly, vanishing and restoring the city center to its original state.
At the same time, demonic creatures battling against the young Astartes, veteran Elites, and Athena and her Greek gods were devoured by the flames. Without even a scream, they were annihilated, leaving no trace behind.
Gazing at the now-clear night sky and the space battle still raging in low orbit, Mortarion removed his helmet, revealing his pale skin and relatively handsome face. He looked over at Corax and said, with mock irritation:
"I could've taken that bastard down myself without you."
"My bad," Corax replied, also removing his helmet. "Guess I was a bit hasty."
"Hmph."
Mortarion chuckled, then watched as the Atlas battleship's main gun matrix destroyed numerous UNSC warships. "Seems Father has given the go-ahead for the fleet to go all out. I'm sure we'll get direct orders from him soon as well."
"Agreed," said Corax, nodding at his brother's words.
Then his tone darkened, and with a look of distaste, he added, "I knew before dealing with Kinsler that corruption ran deep in this universe, perhaps worse than our own. But after executing Kinsler, I felt an urge to slaughter every high-ranking officer in the UNSC and UEG. It's shameful."
"What's gotten under your skin?" Mortarion asked, turning to his brother.
"That wretched maggot made me sick to my core," Corax admitted.
After his deployment, Corax had used his stealth abilities to quickly hunt down the one responsible for the human sacrifices that opened the portal. Once he located Kinsler hiding among the demons, he witnessed a scene of horror and heartbreak.
Human children, brutally mistreated and sacrificed, lay scattered. Kinsler himself had been corrupted into a repulsive insectoid creature, squirming across the filthy ground.
The sight angered Corax deeply. Using his Raven's Talon, forged by their father, he had slaughtered all the demonic creatures and corrupted humans present, killing Kinsler in a nearly sadistic manner.
Yet, he had been powerless to save the children, able only to grant them peace through death. Among the Primarchs, Corax was known for his mild temperament, but the depravity he had witnessed had stirred a rare desire to wipe out the entire UNSC and UEG leadership.
On second thought, however, he remembered that there were still some among them who genuinely served the people and their soldiers.
Noticing his brother's change in mood, Mortarion silently reached out, patting Corax's shoulder plate.
Just then, Athena and twenty Greek demigods approached.
Seeing the two figures who resembled Titans, a flicker of surprise passed over Athena's face. Though she had already witnessed Sanguinius and Horus last year and knew something about the Primarchs, she hadn't seen one battle a "god" directly.
Watching Mortarion and Corax join forces to slay the Greater Daemon had profoundly shocked the Greek goddess. In a one-on-one fight, Athena prided herself on being unmatched among gods, and her defeat on Mars' Olympus Mons was due to the combined assault by the corrupted Zeus and his pantheon.
But facing either Mortarion or Corax alone… Athena could sense that if she acted against Atlas in any way, she'd be torn apart by these two Primarchs in an instant.
At this moment, she was grateful for her decision to "work" for Atlas.
"Gentlemen," she said, stepping forward, "Atlas' presence here on Earth-08 has been revealed. We're now in the public eye of Earth-08's humanity. What's our next course of action?"
"Act accordingly or await orders," Mortarion replied calmly.
Corax, however, shifted his gaze to a nearby high-rise apartment, more specifically, to the UNSC reconnaissance and special forces soldiers like Nuspe.
!
Sensing Corax's gaze, Nuspe and the others felt their hair stand on end. After all, being noticed by a towering giant who had just taken down a demonic leader would make anyone feel anxious.
"Captain..." one scout swallowed and turned to Nuspe. "Should we keep fighting Atlas or continue evacuating civilians?"
"Keep fighting Atlas?"
Snapping out of his daze, Nuspe shot his subordinate a look as if he were mad. "Both our lives were saved by Atlas. Not to mention, their giants dealt with the source of this supernatural threat. By rights, we should be grateful to them!"
"But I've received new orders," interrupted the Special Forces Major, displaying the latest command on their HUDs. It read: "All special units are instructed to, if the opportunity presents itself, eliminate Atlas super-soldiers and warriors of the unknown race (Elites) — Special Operations Command."
Clearly, this directive reflected the true stance of the UNSC.
Despite knowing that Atlas had resolved the chaos in Mombasa, the UNSC leadership was still preparing to "stab them in the back" to save face.
Just then, Nuspe received his own new directive:
"Lock onto the coordinates of Atlas super-soldiers and the unknown entity 'Athena' to aid the Navy in orbital bombardment."
The UNSC's approach suggested they had no intention of acting in good faith.
Even though the naval battle was ongoing, they wanted ground forces to assist the Navy in targeting these Primarchs and Athena, since regular weapons had proven ineffective.
"Captain?"
Seeing the order, another scout looked over at Nuspe, conflicted.
"Lock onto the targets for bombardment?" Nuspe scoffed, rising to head toward the emergency staircase. "The entire company will ignore that command. Prepare for contact with Atlas. We won't be backstabbing cowards. Is that clear?"
The scouts in the pool area were initially stunned but quickly understood their Captain's stance.
"Understood, Captain!"
The scouts responded in unison and followed Nuspe towards the stairwell.
"Captain!" The Special Forces Major, however, raised his voice in protest:
"Your choice could determine the survival of you and your men. Are you sure about this?"
He raised his Magnum pistol, aiming it at Nuspe's back.
Click.
The Special Forces soldiers followed suit, raising their rifles and SMGs at Nuspe's company. Still, most of them seemed hesitant and uneasy, as if conflicted.
They, too, were tempted to defect and join Nuspe's men in making contact with Atlas. But with their commanding officer present, they had little choice but to comply.
"Major, we both witnessed the entire event. Without Atlas' intervention, do you think the UNSC alone could stop these supernatural beings?"
Nuspe stopped and looked at the Major, saying, "And yet the UNSC disregards the lives of its citizens and soldiers, issuing orders that are utterly unethical and dishonorable. That's why we're refusing to comply."
"No matter what, we're still human! We're not emotionless machines. If you and your men insist on stopping us, don't blame us for what comes next."
Hearing this, the scouts raised their guns defensively.
The tension escalated, largely due to the Major's rigid adherence to protocol, which led him to see Nuspe's actions as unforgivable treason.
Just as conflict was about to erupt, an Elite war cry echoed throughout the pool area.
Zzt—Zzt—
With the deactivation of optical camo, over a dozen veteran Elites surrounded both factions.
One Elite sergeant with a red helmet scanned the humans with his amber eyes and commanded in a deep voice, "Drop your weapons and surrender, or we will use force."
"We surrender! Don't shoot!"
Nuspe immediately dropped his weapon and raised his hands, with the rest of his scouts following suit. They had been struggling to find a way to approach Atlas, and this opportunity couldn't have come at a better time.
"We surrender too!"
Some of the Special Forces soldiers also seized the opportunity to drop their weapons, signaling their stance.
?!
Seeing this, more Special Forces soldiers followed, leaving only the Major himself, caught in indecision.
"Stubborn fool!"
Before the Major could decide, the Elite sergeant lunged forward and struck him unconscious with a hand chop.
The Elite sergeant then relaxed slightly, moving to the shattered window and signaling to the two Primarchs at the city center that they had secured the situation.
Corax and Mortarion nodded in acknowledgment.
Earlier, Corax had spotted Nuspe and his group hiding in the high-rise, and overheard their argument with the Special Forces Major. Thus, he had instructed the nearby squad of veteran Elites to intervene.
Hearing the details of the argument, Mortarion turned to Corax with a grim look and
suggested:
"Brother, perhaps we should take decisive action. Since Father instructed us to act accordingly and hasn't given any further orders…"
Mortarion glanced at the ongoing space battle in low orbit and gave a sinister smile:
"Why don't the two of us bring about a new regime in this universe?"
Corax, the more reserved of the two, didn't object and agreed, saying, "I've already spoken with Cortana. She confirmed that Warrior's Sorrow, as well as the Atlas frigates and Paris-class ships, launched their main gun offensives only after receiving Father's approval."
"Haha, seems Father has had enough of the bureaucracy in this universe too." Mortarion laughed, then opened his comms and ordered:
"Cortana, compile and edit footage of our battles, as well as those of the Astartes and Elites, and upload it to the local human networks.
"Also, upload the UNSC's backstabbing orders and expose those nauseating corrupt officials for what they are!"
"Understood, sir," came Cortana's response.
"Wait!" Athena, who had been watching, suddenly intervened, cautioning:
"Revealing our battles with those demons will inevitably spread the influence of Chaos, potentially leading to more incidents like Mombasa."
Although Athena didn't directly mention the warp, Mortarion and Corax understood her warning. Mortarion reassured her:
"Cortana will edit the footage to minimize Chaos' impact. Besides, Father plans to introduce humanity across different universes to Chaos in a 'scientific' and controlled way."
"Defending endlessly is no match for an offensive approach. Don't forget, Atlas has gained a vast amount of Forerunner technology. Once we fully assimilate it, Chaos and corruption will be far less of a threat in the physical universe."
_________________________
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