Datch stared intently at the traitor veteran.
Under Chaos's influence, sharp bone spines and twisted tentacles burst from his joints, his body far more swollen than a normal Astartes.
Saliva dripped and a foul stench filled the air—utterly revolting.
His power armor, etched with Chaos runes, still bore faint traces of the Iron Warriors.
The Iron Warriors were Perturabo's original legion, the main force during the Siege of Terra in Horus's Rebellion.
Later, when Perturabo saw Horus fully submit to Chaos, he was disappointed, believing it was not what he wanted. He withdrew from the battlefield with his legion, increasing the number of survivors.
"Traitor,"
Datch's voice boomed through the bridge, filled with unending majesty.
"You swore to give me your life and soul, yet you broke your oath.
Beg for forgiveness. Your betrayal cannot be pardoned—only death can atone."
"Emperor, no... it's not like that..."
The Chaos Space Marine's voice trembled.
In this instant, he was like a child caught in wrongdoing.
He should have raised his boltgun, shouted a death slogan, and unleashed his fury through explosives.
But his hands were stiff as iron, and even the muscle memory under his power armor refused to obey his brain's commands.
Deep within his genes and soul, something overwhelmed his will to hate and resist.
This was the bitter fruit of breaking his oath.
When he was first chosen to be an Astartes by receiving the gene-seed, he and his brothers swore eternal loyalty to the Master of Mankind.
But later, he was seduced by the gods and chose to betray.
Since then, he had devoted himself to Chaos, vowing to rebel against Terra in the gods' name and destroy all the Emperor had built.
For ten thousand years, he had told himself over and over—
"The man on the Golden Throne is a liar, a tyrant seeking godhood, nothing but a rotten corpse.
Someday, we will win with the gods' help and end the tyrant's reign for good."
Yet, when his nemesis truly appeared before him,
even if it wasn't real, it shattered the mental defenses he had built over ten thousand years of hate.
"It's wrong. Everything is wrong."
Datch reached out, summoning the warhammer to his hand.
Heavy arcs crackled around the hammerhead,
pulsing blue and white lightning reflecting off the pale flesh and blood around him.
"I am the Master of Mankind, the bringer of death."
"Impossible..."
The Chaos Space Marine shook his head, trying to banish the Emperor's visage from his mind.
"You should be dead... The gods… the gods already killed you… you're not real…"
"Traitor, you have burned the path to salvation with your own hands."
Datch raised the warhammer, his eyes blazing like burning suns, the light making even the shadows of the warp tremble.
"Even now, you stubbornly resist?"
"You're not him... Please... don't use that image..."
The Chaos Marine screamed,
"Face me as you are!"
He struggled to raise his bolter toward Datch, but his body trembled like a leaf in the wind, unable to pull the trigger.
"What will you do, soldier?"
Datch's voice suddenly intensified, thundering in the depths of the traitor's soul.
"Will you break your oath and rebel against your king again?"
That line broke the last of his composure.
"Forgive me... please... forgive me..."
Thud.
The bolter slipped from the traitor's hand, crashing to the fleshy floor.
His massive form dropped to his knees, the sound heavy and mournful.
Ugly, twisted eyes overflowed with tears, streaming down scarred and tumor-ridden cheeks.
The Emperor was born to be followed by humanity.
Even the strongest immortals, when meeting the Emperor's gaze, could not refuse.
Even if they had betrayed the Imperium and thrown themselves into the gods' arms, they could not raise arms against the Emperor.
"Pitiful creature,"
Datch said calmly.
"When death comes, all will face judgment—perhaps forgiven, or cast into eternal hell."
He released a thunderous blast of wrath, accumulated electricity exploding in a solar flash that lit up every corner of the bridge,
illuminating even the faces of onlookers, filled with terror and shock.
"Let it end."
The kneeling Chaos Space Marines looked up, gazing at the warhammer wreathed in thunder, and closed their eyes.
Even facing death, there was no fear—only relief at this overdue judgment.
The warhammer crashed down, thunder roaring, engulfing the traitor's blasphemous form.
Thus ended a traitor's ten thousand-year journey.
His soul was devoured, long-awaited dead leaping forth, biting fiercely, and dragging him into endless hell.
"Damn Old Yellow's charisma…"
Watching the charred corpse fall at his feet, Datch clicked his tongue.
Even a fake could make a battle-hardened Chaos veteran give up resistance and willingly die.
If Old Yellow himself had come, just wagging a finger might have made even the gods' chosen beggars crawl like dogs.
"One gone. Next, it's your turn."
Datch looked at the other traitors on the bridge, his voice cold.
Fear filled the twisted faces of the traitors.
These were the same people who, on ordinary days, would call for the Emperor's death and the burning of Terra.
But now, facing Datch with the Emperor's image, their minds went blank—they forgot how to resist.
"I accept it... the end of mercy."
He declared in a low voice, the warhammer humming again.
"Remember, I am God of Thunder Datch—"
Before he finished, Datch had already slammed down thunderous wrath upon the ground.
"For the glory of the Emperor!"
BOOM—!!!
A terrifying wave of lightning radiated from the hammer's point,
silver bolts like serpents instantly engulfing the entire bridge.
Control consoles overloaded and exploded, spitting flame.
Flesh and blood vaporized at extreme temperatures.
The air filled with ozone and the smell of burning.
Mutant crew became twitching silhouettes, charred and gone in silent screams.
In this destructive storm, the Chaos Space Marines survived, taking cover and fighting back.
"It's a trick, a fake!"
A bone-spined wizard shouted.
"He's not the Emperor!"
The wizard probed Datch's form with psychic power, only to find no strength or will comparable to Chaos.
In the past, just looking at the "star's light" would reveal a terrifying will; the Emperor's power rivaled the gods.
Now, the man before him had nothing—just a visage and a bluff.
The real Emperor? No, just an illusion meant to deceive them.
Bang! Bang!
Bolter fire blazed, illuminating the dark bridge.
The Chaos Marines poured their fury at Datch, trying to slay the impostor.
Mutant crew unaffected by the thunderstorm grabbed lasguns and fired, beams flashing like stars.
"Come, my Killer Beast and Changeling!"
Datch threw pokeballs, summoning Skarbrand and the Changeling.
"Leave none alive—kill them all."
The two summoned daemons obeyed instantly, unleashing their fury upon the living traitors of Chaos.
A Chaos Marine in heavy, fang-faced armor revved his chainsword and charged Datch, hoping to slay the summoner and banish the warp daemons.
But—
Deafening thunder split the air.
Skarbrand stood before Datch, hellish axe blazing, cleaving the enemy's head.
CLANG!
Chainsword and axe collided with a horrifying sound.
Unable to withstand the Bloodthirster's might, the Chaos Marine's knee buckled and he knelt.
ROAR!
Skarbrand seized the chance, punching the Marine's helmet with terrifying force—
the helmet crumpled, the body was hurled against a distant wall, exploding in a blur of flesh and blood.
"Kaboom! Kaboom!"
The Changeling cackled, chanting ancient spells, summoning fire to ignite distant wizards, turning them into torches, burning their ashes with frenzied screams.
Two mighty daemons, wreathed in golden light, fought for the Emperor, slaying those who had turned against the gods.
Though the Emperor was a fake, the scene was so absurd that traitors began to doubt their loyalty to Chaos—always feeling betrayed.
"The gods and the Corpse Emperor have joined forces. We've all been duped."
"Everyone's been deceived."
A mutant crewman cowering under a console trembled, crying out.
He realized it might all be a shameful conspiracy—a scam for show.
The Emperor and the Four Chaos Gods wore the same pants, joined forces, played different roles, and tricked everyone.
"Found you, hiding like that."
The Changeling's face appeared before the mutant crewman, grinning mockingly.
"Ah! Ah!"
The crewman screamed in terror, scrambling to escape.
The Changeling snapped its fingers, and terrible flames erupted from the mutant's body, turning him into a torch, burning him to ashes amid shrill screams.
…
Meanwhile,
Datch continued to shout,
"For the glory of the Emperor!"
"I am God of Thunder Datch!"
"——"
With dazzling thunder as his weapon, he executed every traitor he met—
even those who knelt and begged for mercy, he struck down without mercy or pity.
Forgiveness was the Emperor's business;
all Datch had to do was send these people to meet him.
With Skarbrand and the Changeling's help, Datch slaughtered his way through the entire warship.
Deck after deck,
corridor after bloody corridor,
no forgiveness or mercy—only slaughter and corpses scattered everywhere.
"Mowing down the grass, killing without end!
Blood for the Emperor, heads for the throne."
Datch had gone completely mad, his hands rising and falling ceaselessly, sometimes summoning storms of lightning.
Everywhere he passed, there were sliced and charred corpses.
Key facilities like shield generators and plasma reactors were destroyed by him, leaving the great warship adrift, powerless in the void.
"It's over. Time to finish."
Datch recalled the two daemons with pokeballs, and left the paralyzed warship with Sadako's tape.
The Imperial fleet seized the chance to torch the crippled Chaos warship, utterly destroying it.
Given Chaos's corruption, Guilliman had explicitly ordered against salvaging or purifying enemy ships;
thus, the only way was total extermination.
Thanks to the Macragge's Honour and many Imperial heroes,
the Imperial fleet gradually gained the upper hand, seizing initiative on the void battlefield.
The enemy had only a few warships left—normally powerful flagships, but now, with the Imperial fleet's advantage and the Queen of Glory's firepower, they were outmatched.
The traitors couldn't organize; their remaining ships were isolated, surrounded by Imperial divisions, with no hope of counterattack.
Yet the warships' defenses were formidable, and even with the advantage, destroying them would take time.
After Datch secured space superiority, the minimap showed many exclamation marks on Arraissa's ground battlefield—urgent support needed.
He thus took control of the Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet from a previous mission, plunging through Arraissa's atmosphere to support the Imperial army.
Arraissa's hive nest hovered above the capital, aerial combat at its peak.
Imperial Lightnings and Chaos Marauders clashed, explosions and shelling ripping through the filthy sky.
Datch piloted the Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet, dragging a bizarre streamer into battle.
"What the hell is that?!!"
Imperial and Chaos pilots alike were terrified and confused by the fighter that seemed to leap from a nightmare fairytale.
Its design was utterly unlike the industrial, lethal aesthetics of surrounding craft, overflowing with absurd horror.
After a brief silence, Chaos comms erupted in jubilant cheers.
"What an abominable, terrifying, magnificent creation! It must be a gift from our Dark Gods, the mightiest reinforcements!"
A traitor pilot shouted,
"Break the corpse-worshippers' resistance! Offer this world to the gods! Victory is at hand!"
Other traitor pilots, hearing this, grew ecstatic.
This strange fighter had to be a masterpiece of Chaos.
No way the Imperium could make such a hellish thing.
With its help, victory was surely theirs.
If Arraissa's node world fell, the blockade of Terra would be complete.
A little more tightening, and the Imperium would inevitably collapse.
Meanwhile, Imperial comms were full of tragedy and resolve.
"Comrades,"
the Imperial commander said hoarsely but firmly,
"Today should be a day of our sacrifice.
But Chaos will not take Arraissa so easily!
Even if we cannot claim victory for the Emperor, we'll make them bleed for it."
He drew a deep breath, his roar echoing through the Imperial channels:
"For the Emperor! For Terra! Fight to the last!"
Other pilots echoed the cry:
"For the Emperor! For Terra! Fight to the last!"
But in the next moment, the battle shifted dramatically.
The Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet, which Chaos thought a blessing and the Imperium saw as doom,
performed a dazzling roll, slashed with its warhammer, and launched several missiles from under its wings.
These missiles had odd shapes—like mini pumpkin heads—and even howled "Wuuu~hahaha!" when fired.
They traced elusive arcs in the air, deftly avoiding Imperial Lightning fighters, and struck two Chaos Marauders that were chewing on a wounded Imperial craft.
Boom! Boom!
Two fireballs, laced with pumpkin and metal shards, blossomed in the sky.
The nearly-dead Imperial fighter pilot gasped into comms, stunned.
Immediately, Datch guided the Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet to continue attacking the other Marauders.
The entire airspace seemed to fall silent for a moment.
Chaos comms, once filled with cheers, were suddenly replaced by dead silence.
The traitors' smiles vanished.
"Huh?????"
"No… Wait a minute!!"
"What in the warp… loyalist corpse-worshipper?!"
"No way, this looks more like a Chaos creation than a Marauder fighter!"
"Could it be, the gods have betrayed us and sided with the Corpse Emperor?"
The traitors were dumbfounded by the bizarre sight on the battlefield.
The Imperials, too, were shocked and speechless.
But they were the first to seize this prime opportunity for counterattack.
"Whoever it is, our chance is here! Counterattack with everything you have!"
The Imperial commander roared, issuing orders.
The previously disadvantaged Imperial squadrons were reinvigorated, poured fire into the enemy, and seized the initiative over the airspace.
Once victorious, the Imperial commander immediately tried to contact the terrifying Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet,
wanting to ask for its identity and allegiance.
But the radar screen had already lost its signal.
It was as if the Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet never existed, just a fleeting, absurd illusion on the battlefield.
With air superiority won, Datch piloted the Pumpkin Head Fighter Jet into a dive, bursting into the hive capital to support the ground forces.
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS