Chapter 45: Duel

“What’s the matter? A lapdog of the False Emperor, afraid of shedding a little blood?”

Morinette gave Soshyan a cruel, sharp smile. They stood at the center of the battlefield; the echoes of previous screams and the roar of weaponry had long since receded, leaving only the stiff corpses around them and the pounding heartbeats of the observing soldiers.

The Blood Copper Claw Warband was finished; Morinette harbored no illusions about that. But if he could decapitate this creature before him—who appeared to be a platoon leader or perhaps even higher—he would offer one final feast to the Blood God.

From their brief exchange just now, he had confirmed that those who ambushed them were merely a bunch of green recruits. Had it been a group of veterans, they likely would have wiped out the entire Blood Copper Claw Warband without a single casualty.

But their numbers were too small; even a group of recruits was enough.

The unnatural atmosphere within the starport amplified the silent clamor, as if even the surrounding winds were engaged in slaughter and death.

Soshyan did not answer, watching his opponent with the stillness of a statue.

Morinette even briefly suspected the man might already be dead, but he quickly dismissed the thought, feeling the slight vibrations emanating from the other's power armor and tasting the pungent scent of exhaust from the reaction backpack.

He heard the unexpectedly calm heartbeat of the brute, and a faint sound emanating from within the faceplate of the Mark-pattern helmet.

No, he wasn't dead; he just had a poor attitude.

Morinette tore a skull from his waist and hurled it directly at Soshyan.

The other's hand was as fast as lightning, catching the skull just before it struck his face. His only response was to crush the pale bone in his hand, then open his fist to let the fragments scatter through his fingers.

“Hey.”

Morinette let out a laugh like a dog's bark.

“Now that’s more like it. I thought you were ignoring me on purpose.”

Then, Soshyan's voice emerged from the helmet's vox-grille, carrying a low, heavy tone.

“Traitor.”

Morinette tilted his head. Compared to the many Astartes he had encountered, the man's voice was quite soft. When those fellows met them, they either spat curses or erupted in fury; speaking with such calm was quite rare.

Soshyan gazed at the Son of Angron, his eyes sweeping over the reliefs on the red ceramite, as images witnessed aboard the *New Phalos* flashed through his mind.

The numbers on his thermal scanner began to drop in a straight line, but Soshyan felt no chill, only a freezing rage churning within his heart.

“Can't you guys come up with new words?”

Morinette whistled.

“Look at what the Imperium has molded you into. A bunch of dimwits, and the kind that can't even speak properly.”

Soshyan pointed his longsword at the World Eater.

“At least we do not turn our blades against our blood brothers. What happened on Isstvan III will be your eternal shame.”

To understand the history of the Legions, Soshyan often spent entire days in the archives, delving into everything, especially the history and secrets of the Great Crusade era.

Morinette clenched his fists. The words pierced his brain like poisoned stingers. He felt the surrounding light dimming, and the voices in his head growing louder, a cacophony of wailing like a swarming mass of locusts.

He had to kill this loose-lipped bastard, and he had to do it now.

“That's right.”

The World Eater let out a sigh—neither a chuckle nor a roar—followed by a piercing, rage-filled sound from his helmet.

He pressed a rune on the axe handle. The weapon's motor, infused with life, spat out black smoke, and two rows of interlocking monomolecular teeth began to bite at the air; the entire construction was designed for the more efficient dismemberment of flesh.

“Celebrate your final moments, and then let the Blood God's hounds gnaw at your soul through the eternal ages to come.”

“All traitors shall die in shame.”

The two began to circle one another. Morinette took large strides, swinging his chainaxe casually before him, his eyes observing every movement of Soshyan.

This man had a steady gait; his body angles, his breathing, and his reactions were all at the level of an elite veteran.

Before their blades even clashed, Morinette knew his opponent was exceptional—calm and calculating, refusing to launch a rash attack despite his casual provocations. It made him doubt whether this man was truly a recruit.

That thought lasted no longer than a single heartbeat.

The World Eater let out a roar from deep within his chest, raising his axe over his shoulder and hacking down toward Soshyan.

“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!!!”

Soshyan stepped back, using the edge of his sword to deflect the axe blade while simultaneously stepping aside to dodge the screaming teeth.

But Morinette was a veteran of a hundred battles. With his vast experience, he executed a backhand strike, slamming the chainaxe against Soshyan's blade. The latter immediately felt a jarring impact travel up his shoulder, nearly knocking the sword from his hand.

Soshyan regained his distance once more, but the World Eater had no intention of giving him any breathing room. He pressed forward continuously, a flurry of sweeps and heavy strikes suppressing Soshyan.

The Star Knight Captain dodged left and right, only raising his sword to parry when absolutely necessary. With every collision, more metal fragments and teeth scattered around them.

Morinette's strategy was simple: break Soshyan's weapon first, then break Soshyan himself.

If an axe and a sword were to clash head-on, the latter would inevitably suffer.

“Hngh!”

A strike aimed at Soshyan's throat forced him back a step. He hurriedly tried to use his sword to push the opponent away, but the World Eater did not retreat; instead, he lunged forward with a punch, forcing Soshyan to twist his body to evade.

However, his sword still thrust out, the tip piercing the World Eater's crest and severing the dark bronze Blood God icon amidst a shower of sparks.

After withdrawing his sword, Soshyan slashed at the armor on the opponent's neck, but the World Eater's battle-axe immediately batted it away, followed by a roar as he swung the axe toward Soshyan's abdomen.

By now, Soshyan's body temperature had dropped to 20°C. Rather than becoming stiff, his movements grew faster and faster. Gray veins crawled across his face inside the faceplate; had the helmet been removed at this moment, the sight would have been truly horrific.

Soshyan held his breath, tilting his blade so that the teeth and the edge interlocked.

Then, the two duelists were bathed in sparks as their weapons bit tightly into one another.

Suddenly, Morinette delivered a headbutt that knocked Soshyan off balance, nearly causing him to fail to dodge a downward cleave aimed at his head.

He swung back at the opponent's neck, but was blocked by the World Eater's arm armor. Morinette parried the blade and shoved Soshyan away.

The World Eater revved his chainaxe. His former calm was now a shattered illusion; he was lost to the song of the Butcher's Nails, his brain implants driving him into an ever-deepening frenzy of the Berserker.

“KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!!”

Soshyan could see the twitching and trembling spreading through the World Eater's entire body. The chainaxe handle creaked, and the force with which the World Eater gripped the weapon even left indentations in the plastel.

Rage had eclipsed his mind; everything else had been swallowed by the bloodthirsty tide.

Soshyan also charged, his blade moving so fast the eye could barely track it.

His longsword slashed and thrust, while the World Eater danced wildly with his axe.

The two clashed again with extreme ferocity and savage movements, leaving the surrounding recruits staring in awe.

Ultimately, it all ended as the longsword bit into the World Eater's armor, flashing with a diamond-like brilliance.

The disruption field leapt with sparks as it bit into the ceramite and plastel, momentarily illuminating the duel.

(End of Chapter)