Scorchwind did not hesitate for even a moment. Almost the instant that blazing, violent power surged through his body, he let out another battle cry and charged again, like a meteor set completely ablaze!
This time, his charge was straighter and even faster, carrying a pure, savage brutality that disregarded every opening in his own defense and sought only to pour destruction upon the enemy. A faint scent of blood even began to permeate the air, a subtle sign of Khorne's power bleeding into reality.
Facing this charge empowered by the blessing of a Dark God, I Am Not God finally set aside his absolute composure.
Beneath the golden faceplate, his gaze sharpened like that of a hawk. He held his Guardian Spear horizontally before him and assumed a flawless defensive stance.
Greater reach meant greater advantage!
The Guardian Spear's length far exceeded that of conventional power weapons, and at this moment, it became his greatest defense against being surrounded.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Scorchwind's attacks came like a violent storm. Chainaxe and power fist hammered forward in succession, every collision erupting in dazzling sparks and the shriek of clashing energy fields.
His strength had clearly risen another level, and his attacks had become even wilder and more unpredictable, driven by an obsessive desire to tear through any defense.
Yet I Am Not God's spear seemed alive.
The shaft blocked, the spearhead thrust, and the butt swept sideways. Every movement precisely intercepted Scorchwind's offensive, dispersed the momentum behind it, and answered with exquisite counterattacks that forced Scorchwind to defend or evade.
The spear's superior reach allowed him to pressure Scorchwind before the World Eater could fully close the distance, partially negating his advantage in raw strength.
Meanwhile, the Custodian's superhuman dynamic vision and neural reflexes allowed him to calmly withstand the relentless storm of close-range attacks.
But there was more than one enemy surrounding him.
Just as I Am Not God became locked in a fierce exchange with Scorchwind and temporarily suppressed his assault, danger arrived from afar.
See You Tomorrow had remained calm throughout, circling the edge of the main battlefield with psychic light flowing across the tip of the staff in his hands.
He had not rushed to join the chaotic melee.
He had been waiting.
Calculating.
When I Am Not God's spear once again knocked aside Scorchwind's downward strike, his body entered an almost imperceptible moment of stillness as he adjusted his balance.
Several bolts of deep blue psychic lightning suddenly erupted from the head of See You Tomorrow's staff like venomous snakes that had waited patiently for exactly this moment.
They were denser than before, darker in color, and followed even stranger, more treacherous paths.
Rather than flying in straight lines, they curved through the air as though alive, sealing off every possible direction I Am Not God could evade toward. They targeted his power pack, knee joints, and spear arm!
Timing, angle, and power had all been refined to perfection.
This was a lethal strike empowered by Tzeentch, filled with calculation and malice!
Alarm bells exploded through I Am Not God's mind.
He had sensed the abnormal concentration of psychic energy almost the instant it began gathering.
Facing this precision attack from his rear flank, he displayed the inhuman reflexes and tactical awareness of a Custodian.
He did not attempt to block with his spear.
At the final possible instant, he drove his foot into the ground, forcing the leg servos of his power armor to maximum output!
His entire golden body moved at a speed and angle that seemed to violate the laws of physics, making an extremely short yet astonishingly rapid sliding step forward and to the side, directly toward Scorchwind!
"Szzzt!"
Most of the psychic lightning scraped across his backplate and greaves, leaving scorched black marks and faint traces of energy corrosion across the auramite surface.
But one cunning arc still struck the elbow joint of his spear arm.
"Bzzzt!"
The arm's servo system emitted a burst of overloaded static, and his movement faltered for the briefest instant.
That instant was enough!
How could Scorchwind possibly let such an opportunity pass?
Blood-red light flared in his eyes. With a furious roar, he brought his chainaxe crashing downward with enough force to split mountains and shatter stone, exploiting the momentary loss of balance in his opponent's movements!
At the same time, EndlessSpring, who had been advancing in silence like a moving boulder, finally reached his optimal attack position.
He did not roar like Scorchwind.
He simply swung the massive power scythe in his hands with silent determination.
The scythe traced a heavy, slow arc of dark green light, imbued with a strange, viscous quality.
It did not seek speed.
Instead, it sealed off every route by which I Am Not God might retreat or move sideways, perfectly complementing Scorchwind's frontal assault and trapping their opponent between attacks from above and below!
The resilience of the Death Guard and Nurgle's "benevolence," manifested as an astonishing capacity to endure damage and a slow, unwavering strength, had now transformed into a crushingly oppressive coordinated assault.
A killing blow!
In the stands, the Primarchs reacted in different ways.
Magnus's single eye remained fixed upon See You Tomorrow's exquisite psychic manipulation. His fingers unconsciously stroked his chin, his expression filled with the curiosity and fascination of a scholar.
"Those four colors just now... were they interference from the Warp? They can actually infuse power into mortals... into Astartes, so 'gently,' and Father seems to have... permitted it? What kind of contest is this? The structure and efficiency of the enhanced psychic power seem to have undergone subtle changes..."
He had completely immersed himself in analyzing the underlying nature of the phenomenon.
Sanguinius leaned slightly forward instead. Pure appreciation and interest in the intense battle appeared upon his flawless face.
"One against three, facing attacks from different directions, all strengthened by unnatural powers... Father's Custodes truly deserve their reputation. That resilience, those reactions, and that combat intelligence are indeed far beyond ordinary warriors. This battle is becoming more and more interesting."
The wings behind him shifted gently, as though they too could feel the excitement surging across the battlefield.
Meanwhile, in the Luna Wolves' section, Horus Lupercal, Warmaster and the Lupercal, seemed somewhat distracted.
His imposing frame rested against the back of his seat, one hand unconsciously rubbing the golden centaur ring that symbolized both his authority as Warmaster and his father's trust.
Although his gaze rested upon the arena, the depths of his eyes seemed focused somewhere far away.
Perhaps he was thinking about military affairs, the Great Crusade, or some deeper and grander matter.
The fierce battle before him seemed unable to fully capture the attention of the Warmaster who carried the future of the Imperium upon his shoulders.
Back on the battlefield, I Am Not God found himself in the most dangerous position he had faced since the battle began, with lethal attacks arriving from virtually every direction at once!
Yet in that split second between life and death...
A magnificent violet figure slipped into the battle like a phantom!
It was Rivane!
She had never strayed far from the main battlefield. Like the most patient of hunters, she had circled its perimeter and watched.
When I Am Not God fell into desperate danger, when Scorchwind and EndlessSpring's attention had been completely drawn toward him, and when See You Tomorrow had just unleashed a powerful psychic attack and entered a brief moment of recovery...
She moved!
There was no roar.
No dazzling display of sword light.
Her movements were supremely simple, efficient, and precise.
Her power sword struck like a venomous snake, stabbing from an exceptionally treacherous angle.
But her target was not a vital point on Scorchwind or EndlessSpring.
It was the connection point on the haft of Scorchwind's chainaxe as he brought it down with all his strength!
"Ting!"
A soft but crisp impact rang out.
There was little force behind the blow, yet its precision was exquisite.
Scorchwind was already fully committed to his downward strike when the unexpected sword blow landed precisely upon the point through which he was transmitting his strength.
His wrist went numb.
The trajectory of his descending chainaxe shifted by the slightest degree.
That tiny difference was everything!
I Am Not God's arm, still slowed by the psychic impact, exploded with astonishing strength at the final moment.
His Guardian Spear swept upward at an impossible angle!
"Clang!"
The side blade of the spearhead scraped past the deflected edge of the chainaxe by the narrowest possible margin, bursting into a long shower of sparks and redirecting most of the force of the downward strike aside.
At the same time, I Am Not God used the recoil from the collision to force his body backward.
EndlessSpring's massive scythe swept across his chestplate by a hair's breadth, carving a deep groove through the armor but failing to penetrate its core!
He had escaped certain death!
"Well done!"
I Am Not God barked through the internal communications channel.
He steadied himself and snapped his spear back into position, once again pointing it toward the enemy.
But his breathing was no longer as steady as it had been at the beginning, and several obvious scars now marked his golden armor.
Rivane immediately withdrew again, reopening the distance between herself and the enemy. Her violet armor flickered in and out of sight through the drifting sand and dust.
She had received no direct empowerment from a Dark God. Against opponents whose strength had suddenly surged, confronting them head-on would have been anything but wise.
Her role was that of a roaming thorn, a hunter of opportunities, creating that single thread of survival for her "classmate" at the critical moment.
The battle was far from over.
If anything, that perilous exchange of attack and defense had only driven the fighting to an even greater intensity.
Scorchwind roared furiously after his attack was thwarted.
EndlessSpring silently readjusted his scythe.
Psychic power once again began gathering around See You Tomorrow's staff.
And the golden and violet figures once more stood back to back, facing three enemies of different colors who had been temporarily empowered by the forces of the Warp.