The creature was clearly a servant of the Lord of Decay. Nurgle himself had gifted it this hideous form so it could spread its "blessings" of plague. Trek and Tosh stood opposite the monster, while the rest of the pirates began to circle it, forming makeshift firing lines.
The monster didn't mind. From a large, festering wound that split its neck from its massive shoulder like an empty cavity, small, greenish creatures began to crawl out. They were Nurgle Daemons, disgusting, giggling demons with distended bellies and thin limbs. These small, cunning creatures, smelling of sweet-and-sour putrefaction, began their chaotic run in every direction. Waving their tiny, deformed, bud-like arms, they charged towards the pirates, emitting high-pitched, joyous squeals, as if the best fun of their twisted lives was about to begin. The magazine suddenly filled with dozens, then hundreds, of these giggling, malicious bubbles of teeth and claws.
The pirates opened fire on the small abominations. Flashlights punctuated the magazine repeatedly. The floor quickly became littered with the greenish remains of the Nurgle Daemons, splattering into puddles of mucus. However, these creatures paid no mind to their fallen brethren. With monstrous, wide smiles on their faces, still dirtying their distended bellies, they approached their enemies, like a wave of disgusting toys ready to rush into battle.
Trek grasped his sword tighter and activated it. He watched the monster, with repulsive precision, sharpen its grotesque weapons against each other, emitting a dull, rough sound. He had survived Calth, Armatura, Nuceria, and the brutal training with his Captain. He would survive this too. With that thought, he launched himself forward like a projectile.
At the same moment, Tosh, instead of following him, raised his rifle. He unleashed a burst of fire toward the creature; his rounds hit the bloated body with crushing force, giving Trek invaluable time to close the distance to the monstrosity.
"I AM IGRAK!" the monster cried out, taking the rounds fired by Tosh on its bare skin. "I HAVE BEEN HONORED WITH GRANDPA'S BLESSING!"
Igrak roared, his voice deep and gurgling, shaking the foundations of the magazine. With a mighty swing, he slammed his bloody cleaver into the spot where Trek had stood a fraction of a second earlier, tearing the air with fury.
Trek, like a shadow, made a lightning-fast dodge. Before Igrak's cleaver could fall, the pirate, with a powerful swing of his power sword, plunged it into the beast's bloated arm. A greenish beam passed through the swollen muscles and bones, deeply slicing the monster's entire arm down to the joint.
The beast let out a piercing roar, full of pain and rage, which stunned the nearby pirates.
In that brief moment of disorientation, the Nurgle Daemons, like a green swarm, quickly closed the distance. With monstrous, giggling zeal, their tiny claws began to tear at the pirates' armor, ripping through layers of ceramite and muscle, then starting to devour them alive, their high-pitched laughs resounding over the agony of the victims. Seeing this horrifying sight, the pirates did not hesitate for a moment. With pain but determination, they began to shoot their own comrades, thus giving them a chance to see the next day rather than being eaten alive in this hell. Their weapons spat fire, tearing apart both the bodies of their dying comrades and the disgusting Nurgle Daemons that sat, satisfied, feasting on the pirates' internal organs. On the floor, bloodstains mixed with the demons' greenish slime, creating an even more repulsive sight.
A few pirates, seeing the massacre, detached from the formation. With pain but without hesitation, they grabbed the regenerating corpses of their comrades, who had not yet fully resurrected from the shredded fragments. Bleeding out and struggling to remain conscious, they left the magazine, hoping that the Black Matter would finish its work faster in a safer location.
Tosh, aware of this sacrifice, deemed it justified. There was no time for sentimentality. He refocused on Igrak, continuing his fire. At the monster's feet, Trek, like an agile shadow, continuously sliced at its legs, his sword superheating the air. The beast, enraged and slow, tried to crush him under its monstrous feet, causing the floor to tremble.
"LOOK AT ME, PILE OF SHIT!" Tosh yelled, shooting at its face.
The rounds exploded on its face; the beast's irritation intensified. It was visible; it crouched as if to jump, but Trek's quick reaction prevented it. With several quick and precise swings, he sliced the muscles in Igrak's legs, causing it to crash to the ground.
This was a perfect opportunity. Trek quickly ran toward the beast's maw, which was near the ground, to plunge his sword into it and cook it alive.
Tosh took advantage of the situation, switching to explosive ammunition and using his bayonet to kill the Nurgle Daemons running under his feet. The problem was their sheer number, not their skill or resilience. The pirates massacred them; a single round was enough to pierce several Nurgle Daemons at once before the plasma evaporated.
Trek was already preparing to thrust when he saw the beast's cleaver flying at him from the other side. He quickly shifted to a defensive position. The force of the cleaver that struck him was so great that he was launched like a projectile into the wall.
Igrak, with a gurgling chortle, rose from the ground. Catching the cleaver and chain, he hurled it at Tosh.
"YOU WILL BE THE FIRST GIFT FOR GRANDPA!" he screamed as his cleaver sped toward Tosh.
Tosh jumped back with a scream. While still in the air, he saw the cleaver sever both his legs. He fell perfectly behind a rack, giving him momentary cover before it attacked again. Clenching his teeth, he watched the Black Matter swirl around his legs, slowly regenerating them.
"Son of a bitch!" he quietly cursed under his breath.
Trek dug himself out from under the pile of rubble and happened to watch Igrak deprive his comrade of his legs. He ran toward him. The beast saw another victim running toward him from the corner of its eye. With a single motion, the cleaver stuck in the wall flew toward Trek.
As the two men fought the Chaos beast, a shadow sped through the wreck's corridors toward them. It destroyed every skeleton it encountered before the skeleton even had a chance to notice it and open fire. It bypassed the pirates with enormous ease, like a mist. This shadow was heading toward the most important battle currently underway.
The pirates saw this and guessed who it was and began to run after him. It was Harlock, with his saber in hand, destroying enemies faster than a burst of rifle fire.
I left the Arcadia as soon as I felt the power of Chaos on this ship—or rather, a greater demon. I knew the wreck was tainted, but I didn't think there would be a greater demon. Running through the wreck, I helped my men, but I couldn't stop. If they had undergone the operation, I would have let them fight such an enemy, but not now.
Dark Matter continued to lead me through the ship, like an invisible thread woven into my being. Thanks to this connection, I could locate every member of my crew, feeling their presence, their life signatures, like a pulse in my own veins. Suddenly, a piercing pain shook me as I felt the bond with several of them sever. They simply went out, like candles blown out by the wind. In an instant, with icy certainty, I knew: they had been killed. Not "defeated," but annihilated.
Ignoring the explosions in the distance, leaping over fighting enemies, I ran like a shadow until I reached the blown-out gates. They were clearly forced open, the jagged edges and burnt walls indicating the use of explosives. I plunged inside without slowing down. Even despite the thickening darkness that swallowed the light, I immediately pulled out my revolver, my reliable weapon. Without hesitation, I aimed straight into the blackness and fired, sending a blinding flash and a deafening roar into the depths of the mystery.
In a single moment, shortening the distance, I saw the abomination. A Chaos Demon, or rather, a Nurgle Demon. I quickly looked around; it didn't even take a second to see how Tosh's legs had been severed by the monster and Trek was desperately fighting the beast.
"ANOTHER SACRIFICE FOR GRANDPA!" it screamed, overjoyed.
I frowned. In one swift moment, rapidly closing the distance, I appeared before its repulsive face. Even it, a powerful servant of Nurgle, seemed surprised by my speed. With one, precise slash of my saber, I cut its face, slicing through the soft tissue and blinding it.
Its roar, now muffled but still piercing, caused the people around to be paralyzed repeatedly. While still airborne from the previous attack, before I could land, I quickly swung my saber again and cut off its lower jaw and tongue. Bloody pulp and fragmented bone splattered around, and only a gurgling, incoherent sound came from the giant opening in its throat, no longer able to form words.
"Trek, you take care of its legs; I want it down," I said, landing beside him.
"Yes, sir!" he shouted.
The beast tried to speak, but without a tongue and lower jaw, only gurgling, incomprehensible noises, like a rattling blubber, came out. Holding my saber ready to attack, I struck again. The monster, apparently recognizing me as the main threat, focused entirely on me, ignoring everything else.
Trek, like a frenzied blade, attacked from the side, repeatedly striking Igrak's massive legs. The beast, focused on me after my blinding attack, could not afford to continuously ignore this annoying fly. It had to defend itself, turning and trying to crush Trek under its feet, which gave me another opening.
What's more, something strange began to happen with the Nurgle Daemons. Their continuous, chaotic inflow was clearly slowed down since Harlock's arrival. The greenish swarm, which had been enthusiastically eating the pirates a moment ago, now seemed more sluggish, and their high-pitched giggles turned into muffled squeals. This was the Black Matter itself, acting as a repellant and neutralizer for the foul powers of Chaos. With Harlock's arrival, Igrak was largely cut off from his foul blessing, and its body, despite the still-pulsating decay, seemed to lose some of its hideous vitality. Its movements were slower, and its roar no longer paralyzed as effectively. The battle was taking on a new, more balanced dimension.
Harlock, with the precision of a surgeon, plunged his saber deep into Igrak's repulsive body with one fluid movement. The blade, cutting through layers of swollen flesh and putrid fat, entered smoothly. Before the monster could react, Harlock pressed a hidden button in the hilt of his weapon. At that same moment, a powerful plasma projectile fired from the tip of his saber with a bang. It exploded inside Igrak's monstrous body, tearing apart his internal organs and turning them into an even greater mush than before.
Igrak, staggered and shaken, choked on a gurgling roar. From his torn maw and neck wound, he spat thick, green blood onto the ground, which sizzled on the metal floor. The monstrous body trembled, and the beast stumbled, its movements becoming even more sluggish. Even the Nurgle Daemons, scattered throughout the magazine, froze momentarily in their giggling madness, seeing their master bleed so profusely.
I pulled the Saber out of the Beast's body and jumped back with Trek towards Tosh. A liquid greenish pulp flowed from the wound. The pirates also began to group around us. The same ones who had followed me into the magazine—hundreds of pirates rushed into the magazine, forming a circle around the beast, which was still alive.
It looked around, searching for a place to go. However, the pirates surrounded it, and their weapons were aimed at it.
"Fire!" Harlock's voice rang out.