*Endurance*, the Librarium.
Now.
Thanks to Hades' foresight, he had preemptively cleared all organic matter from the vicinity of the Librarium and sealed the area. Now, the entire zone reeked of a foul stench.
Fernando had almost passed out. Fortunately, Hades dragged him out of the most pungent chamber in time and delivered a punch to rouse him.
*I know you vomited, but don't remove your helmet, or you'll die,* Hades thought silently.
With his scythe, Hades gently prodded Fernando, ensuring he wasn't contaminated. He then found a sealed room at the edge of the area for Fernando to recover.
Although their power armors were smeared with pus, the good news was that the fluid wasn't corrosive. At least for the short term, their armors would remain intact.
Hades then communicated via his helmet's channel, updating the ever-waiting Barasin, the Chief Commander, on the situation.
There was a prolonged silence on Barasin's end. "I didn't anticipate this form of attack," he finally admitted. "We'll need to open a separate ventilation duct."
"And, good job, Hades."
Fernando probably felt relieved now.
However, Barasin pondered. An entity capable of possessing a Space Marine and using psychic power to drastically alter its body was something he hadn't encountered before.
A psychic creature? Or the demon Hades mentioned?
With many pressing matters at hand, Barasin momentarily shelved his thoughts.
Although he was curious about their battle and the specifics, the priority was to cleanse the area. According to Hades, the foul air might carry viruses.
Based on Hades' description, the Chief Commander began delegating tasks. He first instructed the nearby Second Squad to don enhanced power armors with respiratory systems and guard the sealed entrances, replacing the previous guards.
Next, he ordered the ship's crew to identify two separate ventilation ducts for the Librarium area, ensuring they didn't connect with other zones. One would be set to maximum intake, while the other would expel the air, releasing the waste directly into space.
Once the initial ventilation was done and Fernando had somewhat recovered, Barasin, Fernando, and Hades reconvened for a brief discussion.
They decided to abandon the affected area and relocate the Librarium activities to the deck below.
Massive amounts of disinfectant and Promethium fuel were transported into the area through sealed and repeatedly sanitized ducts.
Finally, Fernando decided to incinerate all the books in the Librarium, using Promethium fuel and incendiary weapons for a thorough cleansing.
Hades sighed silently. As much as he hated to destroy so many books, those tainted by Nurgle's stench were clearly no longer fit for reading.
Had Fernando kept the Plague Marine elsewhere...
Fernando, sensing Hades' regret, chuckled over the comms, sounding unusually relaxed. "It's okay. No one besides the Librarium would read these books anyway. The Death Guard's Librarium was always destined to perish. The Legion's decision is correct."
"Burning these books now is just a more thorough way of erasing our traces."
Despite his words, as the Chief Librarian, Fernando had memorized the contents of most important books. Given time, he could rewrite them. Those he hadn't remembered were either unimportant, too niche, or blasphemous.
Exhausted and regretful, Hades instinctively took a deep breath, forgetting that the air was still foul. He nearly choked on the stench, swallowing back the bile that rose.
But before they destroyed everything, there was one more thing.
Hades spoke, his voice raspy, "Summon Mortarion."
Barasin blinked.
Anger, confusion. The Master of Death, with both hands on the communication console, stared intently at the screen beneath his hood.
Behind him stood Barasin, who seemed to be thinking, *They did it, not me.*
On the screen, the footage from Hades and Fernando's helmet cameras played.
The room filled with arcane symbols, the grotesquely swollen corpse that was unsettling even to look at, the rapidly writhing flesh, the opening slits, the eerie sentient being.
Mortarion thought his xenos foster father was revolting enough, but now he had seen something a thousand times more disgusting.
That bloated Space Marine... By the Emperor, he couldn't believe a human could become that.
If he ever turned into that, he'd rather perish. Even wasting a second in that state would be a disgrace.
The footage ended, the screen filled with the splattered viscera.
Mortarion's gaze returned to Hades' face on the monitor.
He looked at Hades, whose familiar awkward smile instantly reduced half of his anger. No, it made Mortarion even angrier.
No, that's Hades. Perhaps he should trust him.
"Explain," Mortarion's raspy voice demanded.
Hades' hard-earned smile froze.
***Thank you for subscribing. Enjoy reading!***