Chapter 340 — The Blood-Forged
Gaius stepped forward.
Kharvok charged.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
The Bloodthirster's enormous axe came down with enough force to split a building in half.
Gaius raised both arms.
Armament Haki surged over his gauntlets and forearms.
The axe struck.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave erupted from the collision.
For a moment, the battlefield seemed to freeze around them.
The blade had not reached Gaius's armor.
It had struck the invisible layer of Armament Haki surrounding his arms.
Warp energy poured from the axe.
Red-black tendrils crawled across the invisible barrier, twisting and searching for a weakness.
They pushed.
They pressed.
They tried to force their way through.
The Haki resisted.
Where the Warp pushed harder, Gaius compressed the invisible coating around his arms, reinforcing it until the pressure could go no farther.
The two powers ground against one another.
A sharp crack echoed through the battlefield.
Not from Gaius's armor.
From the collision between Warp energy and Haki.
Kharvok's eyes narrowed.
He pushed harder.
Gaius's arms trembled beneath the immense force, and the ground beneath his boots cracked.
Then collapsed.
Gaius remained standing.
His gaze never left the Bloodthirster.
Kharvok grinned.
"Interesting."
The daemon suddenly pulled his axe away.
The Warp energy clung to the Haki for a brief moment before being violently torn free.
Gaius moved immediately.
His right power fist shot forward.
Kharvok twisted aside, but Gaius adjusted with him.
The fist slammed into the Bloodthirster's chest.
BOOM!
Armament Haki concentrated around the gauntlet at the instant of impact.
Kharvok was thrown backward.
His enormous body crossed the battlefield before his wings snapped open.
He twisted in the air and landed heavily, one foot digging a trench through the earth.
Gaius was already coming.
Kharvok raised his axe.
Gaius stepped outside the swing.
The blade passed inches from his shoulder.
Gaius caught the Bloodthirster's forearm with his left power fist and pulled while stepping across his stance.
His shoulder slammed into Kharvok's chest.
The daemon's balance shifted.
Gaius tried to throw him.
Kharvok reacted instantly.
His free arm wrapped around Gaius's shoulder, stopping the maneuver.
One massive wing snapped downward.
Gaius released his grip and dropped low.
The wing passed over him.
He pivoted underneath it and drove his right fist toward Kharvok's ribs.
The Bloodthirster turned just enough to reduce the impact.
It still connected.
BOOM!
Kharvok staggered sideways.
But the daemon used the momentum.
He spun.
His axe came around with him.
Gaius saw the attack before the blade reached him.
He raised his left arm.
CLANG!
The axe struck the Armament Haki.
Warp energy erupted across the invisible defense.
This time, Gaius did not simply resist.
He rotated his forearm.
The blade slid across the Haki and was redirected away from his centerline.
Kharvok's eyes widened.
Gaius had not blocked the attack.
He had redirected it.
The Bloodthirster immediately reversed the weapon.
Another swing.
Gaius stepped back.
A second.
He parried.
A third came from the opposite direction.
He moved again.
Kharvok began chaining his attacks together.
Horizontal.
Vertical.
Diagonal.
Reverse swing.
Thrust.
Each attack flowed into the next without hesitation.
Gaius answered with precise footwork.
He watched the daemon's shoulders.
His hips.
His wings.
His hands.
The axe was only the end of each movement.
Gaius read the movement before the weapon came.
He stepped outside another swing.
Kharvok immediately adjusted.
His knee came forward.
Gaius raised his own.
BOOM!
The impact forced both warriors apart.
Kharvok landed first.
Gaius landed several meters away.
Neither waited.
They charged again.
The axe came down.
Gaius stepped inside the arc.
The blade missed.
His left power fist shot toward Kharvok's throat.
The Bloodthirster raised his forearm.
CLANG!
Gaius's fist struck.
Kharvok caught his wrist.
Gaius rotated his arm and broke the grip.
His elbow crashed into the daemon's jaw.
Kharvok's head snapped sideways.
Gaius followed with three short strikes to the ribs.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each blow carried Armament Haki.
Kharvok staggered.
Then his knee came upward.
Gaius caught it with both arms, but the force drove him backward.
The Bloodthirster's wings opened.
He launched himself into the air.
Gaius looked up.
Kharvok disappeared into the smoke.
Then—
WHOOSH!
The Bloodthirster descended.
His axe came down with him.
Gaius moved at the last possible moment.
The blade struck the ground.
KRAAASH!
The earth exploded.
Gaius rolled through the debris and came up on one knee.
Kharvok ripped his axe free.
Gaius was already inside his reach.
His right fist slammed into the daemon's abdomen.
Kharvok bent slightly.
Gaius seized the opening.
He hooked his left power fist behind Kharvok's arm and stepped behind the daemon's leg.
The Bloodthirster's balance broke.
Gaius drove forward.
Kharvok crashed onto his back.
The earth shook.
But the daemon rolled away before Gaius could follow through.
Gaius's fist smashed into the ground where Kharvok's head had been.
The axe came around from the side.
Gaius raised his forearm.
CLANG!
Warp energy erupted across the Armament Haki.
This time, it was different.
Kharvok dragged the blade across the invisible barrier rather than striking straight through it.
The Warp scraped along the Haki, searching for weakness.
Gaius felt the pressure.
The energy was not simply trying to overpower his defense.
It was looking for a way around it.
Gaius adjusted his wrist.
The Haki shifted with him.
The blade slid away.
Gaius stepped forward.
His shoulder struck Kharvok's chest.
His left fist slammed into the ribs.
His right followed.
Kharvok blocked the first.
The second caught him.
He staggered.
His free hand swung toward Gaius.
Gaius ducked beneath it.
The fist passed over his helmet.
Gaius stepped around him.
Kharvok turned.
Too late.
Gaius's elbow struck the side of his head.
The Bloodthirster's wing swept toward him.
Gaius caught the leading edge with both arms, but the impact forced him backward.
He released before Kharvok could seize him.
Both warriors separated.
For the first time, neither attacked.
Kharvok lowered his axe.
Gaius raised both power fists.
They watched one another.
The Bloodthirster had understood something.
Gaius was not merely strong.
He was a fighter who adapted with every exchange.
Every movement had a purpose.
Every defense could become an attack.
Gaius had learned the same about Kharvok.
The Bloodthirster was not simply a daemon swinging a massive weapon.
It understood combat.
It recognized patterns.
It changed its rhythm.
It learned.
The next exchange would not be decided by strength alone.
It would be decided by who could force the other into a mistake.
Kharvok lowered his center of gravity.
Gaius did the same.
Then they moved.
Kharvok attacked first.
A horizontal swing.
Gaius stepped over it.
The axe reversed.
He parried.
Kharvok's knee came forward.
Gaius blocked.
A wing swept across the battlefield.
Gaius ducked beneath it.
The axe followed.
Gaius twisted.
The blade passed across his auramite shoulder, Warp energy scraping against the Haki beneath it.
Gaius seized Kharvok's wrist.
The daemon twisted.
Gaius released before the counterattack.
Both turned.
Both struck.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
The shockwave tore outward.
Neither yielded.
Gaius pushed forward.
Kharvok pushed back.
Then Gaius changed direction.
He stepped aside.
Kharvok's momentum carried him forward.
Gaius's power fist slammed into the Bloodthirster's side.
Armament Haki detonated through the impact.
Kharvok was thrown sideways.
His wings opened before he could fall.
He caught himself in the air and turned.
His axe rose.
Warp energy gathered around the blade.
Gaius raised both fists.
Armament Haki concentrated around his gauntlets.
Neither charged blindly now.
They advanced carefully.
Each step measured.
Each movement deliberate.
Around them, the wider battle continued.
Guardsmen fired into the daemonic hordes.
Ultramarines fought through the trenches.
World Eaters hacked into the Imperial defensive lines.
Bloodletters tore through soldiers.
But the duel between Gaius and Kharvok had become something separate from the battle around them.
Neither was testing the other anymore.
Every attack was meant to end the fight.
Every defense was made with the knowledge that one mistake could mean death.
Kharvok's axe came down.
Gaius moved.
The blade passed inches from his head.
He stepped inside the swing and drove his power fist toward the daemon's throat.
Kharvok twisted.
The strike missed its intended target and smashed into his shoulder instead.
The Bloodthirster immediately seized Gaius's arm.
Its claws dug into the auramite.
A wing swept forward.
Gaius ducked beneath it.
Kharvok's knee drove upward.
Gaius blocked with his forearm.
The impact forced him backward.
Kharvok pursued.
The axe came around again.
Gaius parried.
Warp energy crawled across the Armament Haki, attempting to tear through it.
Gaius reinforced the barrier.
The axe slid away.
He stepped forward.
Kharvok stepped forward as well.
Both struck.
Their fists collided again.
BOOM!
The shockwave rolled across the battlefield.
Neither stopped.
Kharvok swung.
Gaius blocked.
Gaius countered.
Kharvok twisted away.
The axe reversed.
Gaius ducked.
A wing came from behind.
He turned just enough for it to pass across his back.
Kharvok followed with his claws.
Gaius caught the wrist.
For a fraction of a second, the two warriors were locked together.
Neither gave ground.
Then both broke away.
They charged again.
There was no testing now.
No probing.
They were creating openings through force.
One mistake.
One failure to block.
One missed step.
That was all either of them needed.
Kharvok attacked.
The Bloodthirster towered over Gaius.
Gaius stood just short of eleven feet tall, already enormous even among the warriors of the Imperium.
Kharvok was larger still.
Several feet taller.
Far broader.
Its enormous wings stretched behind it, while its massive axe dwarfed even Gaius's power fists.
The difference was obvious.
Yet Gaius did not hesitate.
Kharvok swung.
Gaius slipped beneath the blade.
He stepped inside the daemon's reach before the weapon could recover.
Kharvok brought his free hand down.
Gaius caught the wrist.
The difference in size became even more apparent up close.
Kharvok's arm was enormous in his grip.
The Bloodthirster pulled.
Gaius was dragged several steps forward.
He did not try to overpower the larger daemon directly.
Instead, he stepped across Kharvok's stance.
His shoulder drove into the daemon's side.
His other hand seized Kharvok's upper arm.
Gaius twisted his entire body.
He used Kharvok's own momentum against him.
The Bloodthirster's balance broke.
The daemon stumbled forward.
Gaius pulled him down just enough.
Then his knee drove into Kharvok's back.
CRACK!
The Bloodthirster's enormous torso bent under the impact.
Before Kharvok could recover, Gaius seized his shoulder and hip.
He planted his feet.
His muscles tightened beneath the auramite.
Armament Haki reinforced his entire body.
Gaius twisted.
Kharvok's massive frame was wrenched sideways.
The daemon fought against the maneuver.
Gaius answered with a single strike.
His right power fist drove into the center of Kharvok's back.
Armament Haki concentrated around the gauntlet.
BOOM!
The force drove through the Bloodthirster's body.
Kharvok's spine buckled.
A violent crack echoed from within.
The Bloodthirster roared.
Its legs gave out.
Gaius released him.
Kharvok crashed to one knee.
The ground cracked beneath his weight.
Warp energy immediately surged through the daemon's body.
Broken bone shifted.
Flesh began knitting together.
The Warp attempted to repair the damage.
Kharvok planted one enormous hand against the ground and forced himself upward.
Gaius stood before him.
The size difference was unmistakable.
Kharvok was still taller.
Still broader.
Still physically imposing enough to make Gaius look smaller beside him.
But Gaius had no intention of allowing the daemon to recover.
He stepped forward.
Kharvok swung.
Gaius slipped underneath the blow and moved around him.
The Bloodthirster turned.
Gaius was already at his side.
His right power fist slammed into Kharvok's ribs.
BOOM!
The daemon staggered.
Gaius struck again.
Then once more.
Each blow carried Armament Haki.
Kharvok's larger body absorbed the punishment, but the damage accumulated faster than the Warp could repair it.
The Bloodthirster roared and swept its wing.
Gaius ducked.
The enormous wing passed over him.
Kharvok turned and brought the axe down.
Gaius stepped inside the attack.
The blade passed behind him.
Both of Gaius's power fists drove upward.
BOOM!
Kharvok's chest snapped backward.
The daemon stumbled.
Gaius drove forward.
His shoulder struck Kharvok's abdomen.
He pushed beneath the daemon's center of gravity.
Kharvok tried to stop him.
Gaius kept moving.
The larger daemon was forced backward.
Then Gaius released.
Kharvok staggered several steps before catching himself.
Its body was failing.
Its spine remained damaged.
One wing hung lower than the other.
Its chest was fractured.
Warp energy leaked from numerous wounds.
Yet the Bloodthirster still stood.
It raised its head.
It looked down at Gaius.
Then it laughed.
Gaius raised both power fists.
The invisible pressure of Armament Haki gathered around them.
Kharvok's remaining strength surged.
Warp energy erupted from its body.
The Bloodthirster charged.
Gaius charged as well.
Kharvok's enormous fist came down.
Gaius slipped past it.
He stepped directly into the daemon's centerline.
His right power fist drove into Kharvok's chest.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster's charge stopped instantly.
Gaius did not.
He drove forward beneath the larger daemon's frame.
Armament Haki poured into the strike.
The force tore through Kharvok's already damaged body.
Cracks spread across the Bloodthirster's physical form.
Warp energy poured from them.
Kharvok staggered backward.
Its massive wings began dissolving.
Its arms broke apart into streams of Warp energy.
Its physical form could no longer maintain itself.
The Warp began pulling him backward.
Kharvok roared and resisted.
Even now, the Bloodthirster fought against the pull.
But the damage was too severe.
Its enormous body continued to collapse.
The Warp claimed what remained.
Kharvok's final roar echoed across Battlefield before his entire form dissolved into the Immaterium.
Then silence.
The Warp closed.
Kharvok the Blood-Forged had been banished.
Gaius remained standing in the crater.
His armor was scorched.
His cape was torn.
But he remained on his feet.
Despite being considerably smaller than the daemon he had fought, he had brought down the much larger Bloodthirster through a combination of overwhelming strength, combat experience, technique, and relentless precision.
Around him, the battle continued.
The remaining 3 Bloodthirsters stared in his direction.
Gaius looked back.
The duel was over.
The war was not.
Gaius looked up.
Two familiar figures had arrived above the battlefield.
Tony.
And Diana.
They had already been watching.
Moments Earlier
The moment Tony and Diana stepped through the golden light, both stopped.
The battlefield was nothing like Cascade.
The sky burned with unnatural light.
Smoke covered the horizon.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield as daemons clashed with Imperial soldiers among shattered defensive lines.
Tony slowly looked around.
Then his eyes settled on something ahead.
"There he is."
Diana followed his gaze.
Gaius stood in the middle of a massive crater.
And facing him was an enormous Bloodthirster.
Even from this distance, the difference in size was obvious.
Gaius was already massive, standing just short of eleven feet tall.
Yet the daemon was considerably larger.
Its wings stretched high above him.
Its shoulders were broader.
Its body was covered in immense, Warp-tainted muscle.
The axe in its hands was large enough to cleave through a tank.
Diana's expression hardened.
"That's what he's fighting?"
Tony stared.
"Apparently."
Kharvok charged.
Gaius charged toward him.
Tony instinctively took a step forward.
Diana raised an arm.
"Wait."
Tony looked at her.
"Gaius is still fighting."
Diana pointed toward the battlefield.
"And it looks like the others are doing the same."
Tony followed her gesture.
In the distance, three other Bloodthirsters stood among the raging battle.
They were watching.
They had not moved toward Gaius.
Neither had the nearby daemons or World Eaters.
Even as Gaius and Kharvok tore into each other, none of them had attempted to interfere.
Diana's expression hardened.
"They're letting them fight."
Tony frowned.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Diana kept her eyes on the battlefield.
"But if we interfere now, they might see it as a reason to join."
She pointed toward the three Bloodthirsters.
"If we help Gaius, we could turn one opponent into four."
Tony glanced at the surrounding daemons and World Eaters.
"And probably a lot more."
Diana nodded.
"Exactly."
Tony hesitated.
Then he looked back toward Gaius.
"Fine."
"We watch."
The Bloodthirster's axe came down.
Gaius slipped beneath the blade and seized the daemon's arm.
Kharvok tried to overpower him.
Gaius changed his footing instead.
He redirected the daemon's momentum.
Kharvok stumbled.
Gaius drove his knee into its back.
CRACK!
Tony's expression changed.
Diana's eyes narrowed.
Gaius twisted.
His power fist slammed into the center of Kharvok's back.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster roared.
Its enormous body buckled as Warp energy erupted from the wound.
Kharvok struggled to rise.
Gaius gave it no time.
The daemon swung.
Gaius slipped beneath the attack and drove both power fists upward.
BOOM!
Kharvok staggered.
Cracks spread across its physical form.
Its regeneration was beginning to fail.
Tony watched silently.
Diana's eyes remained fixed on Gaius.
Then Kharvok made one final charge.
Gaius met it.
The Bloodthirster's enormous fist came down.
Gaius moved aside.
He stepped directly into the daemon's centerline.
His right power fist drove into Kharvok's chest.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster's charge stopped instantly.
Armament Haki poured through the strike.
Cracks spread across its body.
Warp energy erupted from within.
Kharvok roared as its enormous frame began to break apart.
Its wings dissolved first.
Then its arms.
Then the rest of its body collapsed into streams of Warp energy.
The Immaterium pulled at what remained.
Kharvok resisted.
But the damage was too severe.
The Bloodthirster was dragged backward into the Warp.
Its final roar echoed across the battlefield.
Then—
It vanished.
The Warp closed.
Tony stared for several seconds.
"...Okay."
Diana looked toward Gaius.
"Is this what the daemons here looked like?"
Tony nodded slowly.
"Apparently."
Gaius stood alone in the crater.
His full auramite armor was scorched.
His red cape was torn.
His power fists remained raised.
Then he lowered them.
His eyes settled on the two figures above him.
Tony raised a hand.
"Hey, Gaius."
Diana stepped forward.
"We received the mission."
Gaius looked between them.
Then toward the battlefield.
"You accepted."
Tony gave a small nod.
"Figured you could use the help."
Gaius looked toward the remaining Bloodthirsters.
They were still watching.
None had moved.
His gaze lingered on them for a moment.
Then he looked back toward Tony and Diana.
"Then we have work to do."
Tony looked across the battlefield.
He sighed.
"Yeah."
Diana raised her sword and lightning flowed through it.
"Let's end this."
~~~
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