Take a close look—this rough, scarred, and murderous man was Hak Foo.
Yes, the very same man renowned throughout the Empire's Astartes Legions—the one who never uses a plain strike, a quack doctor specializing in naming techniques, Leiva's trusted general, Second Grand Captain of the Third Legion, the least Black Templar-like warrior among the Black Templars, the blunt and unrestrained brute, an honorary drill instructor for the Punishers, Iron Warriors, and World Eaters, and one whom Grand General Budo himself hailed as a valiant commander. He was one of Empress Selene's champion warriors.
He was the very definition of courage—naturally fierce, domineering, ruthless, battle-hungry, and quick to anger.
Rumor had it that Her Majesty Selene, during leisure hunts with her legion commanders, once joked that it was this man who had preserved the Third Legion's fearless and unyielding spirit.
Among perfectionist aristocrats plagued by obsession, and among the indolent overly reliant on technology, having several pure, reckless brutes to balance the culture was indeed a wise choice.
Now, Hak Foo was in high spirits, his mighty fists roaring through the air like a storm.
Those sharp, merciless black eyes carried no emotion—only devotion to honing the art of fists and strikes.
Bzzzzzt——!
Rings of pale-violet psionics surged outward, colliding head-on with the violet-red Honkai energy bursting from the power fists of the violet-gold armored giant!
The greatest natural psionic gift in the entire Koprulu Sector—indeed, the galaxy, short of the Xel'Naga themselves—clashed once more with the apocalyptic Honkai power bestowed by an otherworldly god.
The dust floating in the air shuddered, froze unnaturally for an instant, then with a thunderous boom, the Leviathan's chamber expanded again.
Though separated by hundreds of meters, the ground of organic tissue beneath both combatants tore and disintegrated simultaneously, while the shockwaves blasted surrounding Zerg into the air.
Even an ultralisk, bellowing like a locomotive and charging with thundering hooves and protruding tusks, had its massive forelimbs and jagged teeth torn apart by the shockwave. Its angular head exploded like a rotten sack, foul gore splattering in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, its carcass was flung hundreds of meters, crashing into the chamber's wall structures. There, it joined piles of crushed Zerg corpses, mashed together like heaps of rotting produce in a market corner.
Crashhh——!
And that was far from the end. The contest between psionics and Honkai energy twisted physical reality itself, rippling the air in ever-rising waves.
In the corners and along the walls, other Zerg shrieked in piercing agony before being pulverized into dust in an instant.
The Leviathan itself quaked, releasing a high-pitched, agonized scream.
Its cellular chamber walls split apart inch by inch, exposing massive skeletal structures. When the twisted arcs of energy brushed against them, the bones cracked under the strain, splintering once more.
The already vast chamber, nearly a kilometer across, expanded further. The bio-ship's tremors passed clearly beneath every "passenger's" feet, like a dance floor shaking to the beat. The Leviathan's howls were hoarse, its cries ragged.
Though its endurance was immense, it could not ignore the psionic commands of the Queen of Blades and her broodmothers. Still, the pain was undeniable.
It was as though a brawl was raging inside your own body—inside your vital organs—while carving out a cavity nearly a tenth your total mass.
"Kerrigan, we must leave this place…"
Hidden in the shadows, watching the violet-gold giant steadily gain the upper hand, Zeratul felt his heart sink.
That towering, majestic figure dwarfed all the Black Templar Terminators he had seen before—his presence heavier, his power greater, his aura thicker.
Bzzzzz-BOOM——!
Amid crackling psionic lightning—
Twin streaks of light flashed, their figures leaving afterimages. Like steel crushing tofu, their collision left the Leviathan's inner structures shattered beyond recognition.
Kerrigan moved with the grace and danger of a leopard—swift, elegant, and deadly. Her wings seemed to act of their own will, blocking and striking without her conscious control.
Fractures and breaks healed instantly. Her body instinctively parried attacks and struck back. Several times, her wing-blades sparked ripples across the giant's energy shield.
"Mouse Runs the Maze!"
For Kerrigan, clad in what looked like a skintight polymer carapace, it was dangerous enough. But the violet-gold giant's display was terrifying. With a single leap, he crashed forward, sparking like lightning, tearing open even more of the Leviathan's chamber.
Despite wearing armor as thick as a tank's plating, his movements were utterly unhindered.
Wherever he charged, devastation followed. Violent energy particles and shockwaves blasted everything around him.
"Kh-hh…"
Her body cried out in pain, skin splitting, blood surging. Each of his blows resounded like a great bell, shaking Kerrigan to her core. That force was replacing her flesh from within with something unknown.
It was faster now!
The rate of violet-red energy's corruption had increased!
It had adapted to her psionic traits, invading like a pack of ravenous predators.
With every clash of energies, stabbing pain pierced Kerrigan's mind. It was as though it had been pre-designed—burning through her brain, over and over.
Her consciousness was tearing apart!
One moment, the blurred shadows were silent void. The next, she stood among burning stars. One moment, before her loomed a vast, indescribable outline. The next, it was replaced by a colossal sun blazing eternally in violet-red flame.
Zeratul's prophecies, the Overmind's legacy she inherited, the knowledge gained from consuming primal Zerg essence—Kerrigan was not ignorant. She knew something had marked her. That only fueled her fury and defiance.
I am not your pawn!
Like one lost in rage, Kerrigan's movements grew reckless.
A fatal mistake.
"Giant Axe Fells the Tree!"
Clang!
"Kerrigan, beware!"
Slash——!
In the instant of collision, a scaled, dark arm was severed and flung into the air.
At the last moment, Zeratul's psionic warning pulled Kerrigan back. She tore herself free of the Honkai energy's entanglement. Yet the violet-gold giant's iron fist was already at her throat.
Her wings whipped upward, lashing like whips at his wrist, redirecting the force.
Bang!
At the same time, Zeratul burst from the shadows, cloak trailing. His grappling hook lashed out, yanking Kerrigan aside. Both of them crashed to the ground, thick bio-fluid splashing around them.
Zeratul's darkness blunted the strike, but not entirely.
"Ungh…" He groaned. Even grazing past that fist had nearly crushed him.
He lifted Kerrigan, her wings shattered, her right arm torn away. Staggering, he pulled her into shadow. When he set her down, twin streams of dark blood ran from his nose. His vision blurred, his ears rang with stabbing pain.
"That woman does have spirit."
Picking up the severed arm, Hak Foo's tone was oddly approving, though his helm masked his face. Pressing his helmet, he muttered: "Don't kill her? Capture alive? Understood, First Captain…"
"Bastard!"
Biting back the agony, Kerrigan cursed with all her strength. Zzzzt——!
From the torn stump, her right arm regrew in an instant. She ripped free the cling of fresh membrane, clenched her fist, and unleashed another psionic storm at the cyborg brute—determined to keep him at range.
After her earlier misstep, she had calmed. His martial skill was something she could not match.
But this was a battle to the death, not a sparring match.
Despite all her caution, one mistake had nearly cost her life. If not for her desperate severing of the arm he had caught, that brutal punch would have caved in her chest.
Kerrigan had already pierced through that irritating energy shield once, but the giant casually drew out a fresh energy cell, slotted it into the generator mounted on his pauldron—tonk, tonk, tonk—and the shield was fully restored.
"Kerrigan, calm yourself. Now is not the time for recklessness. Leave Korhal!"
Pushing his speed to the utmost, Zeratul gasped, his expression solemn.
"I…"
This time, Kerrigan knew—her vengeance against Arcturus Mengsk would have to wait.
And Jim… he was so close. Just one step more, and she could have reunited with him. Ranger intelligence had revealed he was not executed, but imprisoned in a space penitentiary.
But now, the battle was lost. The Swarm's fleets were falling into defeat.
To keep fighting would be suicide, betrayal of the Swarm, betrayal of Zeratul who had placed his hope in her.
When it rains, it pours. Worse news followed. From the Leviathan's nerve center came Izsha's report, sinking Kerrigan's heart to the depths.
"My Queen, your flagship Leviathan is on the verge of collapse. Enemy boarding parties have broken through our defenses and are advancing toward the nerve center. My purging effort has failed, and several broodmothers are dead."
Izsha had been one of Kerrigan's unique creations during the time she had not yet recovered her memories. Just as the Overmind had reshaped her, the early Queen of Blades had experimented with creating new beings modeled after her own 'rebirth.'
Once a psionically-gifted medic, Izsha had been infected and rebuilt into a mind fused with the Leviathan.
Her inherited human memory and the collective mind of the Swarm allowed her to serve as a military adjutant: navigation, logistics, analysis, data recording.
Her body was embedded within the nerve center of the Queen of Blades' Leviathan, processing the torrent of sensory data flooding in from the Swarm every moment.
If even she said the situation was beyond saving, Kerrigan knew—it was time to withdraw.
And yet… how bitterly unwilling she was!
"Word has just come. Emperor Arcturus Mengsk is dead. The new emperor is Valerian Mengsk, who has declared unconditional surrender. Your revenge target no longer exists. Leave, Kerrigan."
Zeratul understood Kerrigan's hesitation. He knew of their bond—from battlefield comradeship to something deeper. He respected it, even blessed it.
"Do not worry. If—if—Jim Raynor yet lives, Valerian will save him."
But now was not the time for such matters. Cruel though it was, this was the truth. Kerrigan's mission was not to be Jim Raynor's lover alone.
"..."
After a dreadful silence, Kerrigan closed her eyes. Her razor-sharp fingers dug into her palms. In pain, she gave the order to retreat.
"…Command Zagara and Abathur to withdraw to their Leviathans. All broodmothers, cease suicide attacks. Prepare for retreat. Izsha… evacuate as well. Abandon the Leviathan, and convert it into a colossal baneling."
It meant she would not see Jim Raynor again.
Kerrigan trembled with fear, helplessness. If the Terran Dominion, in fury over their losses, killed Jim Raynor—what then?
They had come proud, and would leave in disgrace.
In the end… her strength was still not enough.
"Kerrigan, there is still hope. As long as we escape—"
"You will not escape."
The sudden, booming voice snapped Zeratul into action. His wrist-blades of emerald light ignited instantly. How? So close already? This was Void stealth, a Dark Templar's signature psionic art. How had a lumbering armored warrior infiltrated so quietly?
"This is… the Flamenco Step."
Seemingly delighted by the look of shock on Zeratul's alien face, the violet-gold giant's voice rolled with bombastic pride. His massive body surged forward, surging with Honkai energy particles, corrupting and tearing through the Void psionics themselves.
Without even sparing a glance, Hak Foo swung his massive, millstone-sized palm like swatting a fly. Zeratul was smashed into the pulsing organic wall, collapsing to his knees, coughing blood. His limbs twisted, bones shattered, breath shallow—he was barely clinging to life.
He was no Kerrigan. The gap was simply too great.
Lying on the ground, Zeratul's emerald eyes dimmed. Struggling, he tried to raise his hand, whispering:
"Great Creator, Xel'Naga… I, Zeratul, heir of the Firstborn… if you still cherish your children, please, do not let the universe lose hope…"
"Ponytail Swats the Fly."
As if remembering something, Hak Foo added the name of his move.
Then, facing the Queen of Blades—her wings automatically seeking his vitals—he extended his massive hydraulic claw.
"It ends now. Flying Monkey Catches the Bug."
"I'm sorry, Jim… I can't do anything…"
That alien power churned Kerrigan's mind into chaos. Still, she clenched her teeth, summoning every ounce of strength to compress her psionics. "See you in the next life."
And then—"..."
No impact came.
The terrifying violet-gold giant froze in place.
The thunder of space battle fell into sudden silence. A suffocating pressure brewed.
A brilliance burst forth, so radiant that even the Leviathan's thick mucous walls could not veil it.
"Black Templars, cease your assault."
The vast voice transcended time and space, overwhelming all.
Kerrigan saw the armored enemy kneel, bowing his proud head deeply into the dust.
…
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