Chapter 75
One side attacked, the other defended.
Whoever lost would be decimated .
The moment Shalasi came into contact with the atomic breath, he realized just how terrifying this giant beast really was.
The radioactive beam smashed against his round shield. The layered defenses of psychic energy and daemonic steel managed to hold for the moment, but even so, Shalasi the Daemon of Calamity found himself being forced back step by step.
No—his legs weren't moving. The very ground beneath his cloven hooves was being plowed apart as the force pushed him backwards, leaving deep furrows behind. This was the first time Shalasi had felt such raw, overwhelming pressure. The only time he had ever felt something close was when he stood before the Four themselves.
"Hold…"
Teeth clenched, the Keeper of Secrets poured every ounce of power into the shield, knowing that the slightest lapse would see him annihilated.
But he had underestimated Godzilla.
The monster took a single step forward. The beam flared brighter, hotter, deadlier. Under Shalasi's horrified gaze, the round shield began to melt and warp, dripping away despite the psychic barrier still holding.
"Damn it—!"
His curse was swallowed as the beam engulfed him completely.
In the material universe, Shalasi's form disintegrated under the torrent of nuclear fire. Not a single trace remained. Not even ash.
Only then did Godzilla close his jaws, ending the stream.
'Huh. He lasted more than ten seconds.'
[As expected of Slaanesh's strongest Keeper of Secrets. His psychic defenses even outstrip most of Tzeentch's daemons.]
'Still, he's going to be pissed.'
Sure enough, back in his palace within the Immaterium, Shalasi raged. His courtesans fled from him, terrified that even brushing against him now would mean death.
"Godzilla! I will remember this humiliation forever!!!"
It was rare for Shalasi to lose in open battle. Now, this shame was carved into his memory—his greatest defeat.
But that is the nature of Warhammer 40,000. No matter how mighty a being, sooner or later it falls. Even the Silent King himself had been struck down in the latest Exorcist storyline.
In the grim darkness of the far future, nothing is certain—except despair.
Still, one thing Shalasi knew clearly.
"It's time for the fleet to retreat."
Meanwhile, the Emperor's Children warband stared at the sky in disbelief. Their champion had fallen.
One Noise Marine muttered, "Punch me. I must've smoked too much. I'm seeing things."
The Marine beside him obliged, smashing a fist into his helmet.
"Ow! …Damn, that hurt. So it wasn't a hallucination. Lord Shalasi was actually defeated?"
"Yeah. He's gone."
"Then… what the hell are we supposed to do?"
Even Chaos Space Marines, for all their arrogance, knew when to cut their losses.
At that very moment, Lucius the Eternal was still at his favorite pastime—torturing prisoners in exquisite, unending agony. He had no idea what awaited him.
"Commander!"
"What is it? Why are you panicking?" Lucius licked his blade with his serpent-like tongue. Blood, metal, and unnameable fluids mixed into a taste he adored. The taste of fear.
"We… we opened the Warp gate as planned."
"And?" His tone was lazy, indulgent.
"Six mighty Keepers of Secrets answered our call."
"Oho~ As it should be. We are all servants of the Prince of Excess. Companions should look after one another."
"This included Lord Shalasi… the most powerful of them."
"Hmmm~" Lucius purred in delight. "His arrival will shake Cadia to its core."
But then came the sting.
"Except… he's been defeated. Now, only three remain."
Lucius froze. He had expected to hear reports of glorious torment, of endless pleasure at the hands of his summoned allies. Instead, this.
"Defeated? By whom?"
"A giant beast called Godzilla. It tore through the atmosphere, destroyed Lord Shalasi, and alongside the False Emperor's soldiers and… a horde of primitive reptilian humanoids, it's pushing through our defenses. We can barely hold."
The Eternal's amusement curdled into fury.
"Pathetic trash! We claimed this prison world as our own, and you can't even defend a single planet?!"
The Chaos Marine who reported flinched but said nothing. No one dared argue with Lucius of all people.
"There are strong enemies among them," the Marine finally managed. "We need your command, my lord."
Lucius leaned close, his long tongue slithering across the Marine's face, leaving trails of slick saliva.
Depraved.
But very much Lucius.
"The smell of fear. You're not lying."
The Marine didn't even flinch. He was long used to his commander's perversions.
"Good. Before the Thirteenth Black Crusade begins, let us test these so-called servants of the False Emperor… and these lizard-creatures. Heh… heheheheh."
His laughter rose higher and higher, breaking into a shrill rasp that sounded less like a man, more like some warped parody.
Do not mistake him for weak, though. Lucius the Eternal was once Captain of the Emperor's Children's 13th Company, now Champion of Slaanesh and sworn guardian of Fulgrim himself. His strength was such that even Guilliman's vaunted Chapter Masters could not dismiss him.
A veteran of the Great Heresy, blessed by the Dark Prince, he was no foe to underestimate.
"Come, my warriors!"
Lucius spread his arms. Behind him, the Emperor's Children stirred, abandoning their toys of torture to seek greater ecstasies in war.
"Go! Fight the enemy! Offer our pleasure to our True God!!!"
Twisted bodies, warped with daemonic mutations, surged forward. Under Lucius's command, they charged toward the Imperial forces and the reptilian host.
The battlefield was about to plunge into even deeper madness.
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