The glint of a fully swung scythe, aimed straight for the Rotbringer's skull, sliced through the air.
The Rotbringer's eyes contracted in alarm, realizing the impending danger. With no time to employ his spiritual shield, he hastily raised his whip, slashing towards his own head! The decapitated head, adorned with massive fly eyes, spun through the air—
Countless compound eyes stared resentfully at the apparition of the soul, as if foretelling its eventual downfall.
Hades, not anticipating the Rotbringer's self-sacrifice, missed his mark. Yet, he swiftly adjusted his scythe, retracting the abyssal void and hooking the junction between the Rotbringer's half-human torso and the fly body.
From this height, without cushioning, Hades would most likely not land safely.
The massive headless corpse began to descend from the sky in slow motion.
The flies, now without the Rotbringer's command, dispersed in all directions, fluttering aimlessly. Those targeted by the Protectorate Army were swiftly taken down.
Hades crouched atop the back of the Rotbringer's lifeless form, descending rapidly—
"Thud!"
"Splash!"
The enormous corpse and Hades plunged into the flesh-mud, reaching up to the knees, stirring up a torrent of thick, viscous waves. Fat, white-yellow maggots, mixed with vomit and decayed flesh, traced beautiful arcs in the air.
With the sky cleared of the fly swarm, the survivors gazed in shock at the epicenter of the upheaval, their gun barrels drooping unintentionally.
However, the thick waves obscured their vision.
When the waves finally settled, the flattened giant fly corpse lay motionless, oozing a translucent greenish slime.
A figure stood there, the enemy's body fluids tracing the contours of his armor, his weapons emitting a faint smoke.
He leaned on his scythe, embodying the aura of a death god.
Behind them, countless fly corpses rained down, creating ripples.
"Praise to Omnissiah."
Jin, trembling, looked at Hades, in disbelief at the hellish scene that had just unfolded.
He felt his logic engine had ceased its calculations. What had they just witnessed?
This... this was hell!
When twisted flesh surged from the ground, when the swarm of flies charged at them, Jin felt he was already dead. Only by instinct and the engine's forced calculations had he managed to fire his weapon.
But now... he was still alive.
Praise Omnissiah, he was still alive!
Was it all because of that man? Was that truly Hades, the technical sergeant he had always assisted?
He seemed... like a death god returned from hell.
The last bit of flesh fell into the mud, and the once still figure stirred.
"Ugh..."
This was the first sound from Hades, a dry heave.
Before Jin's rationality, the first to return to normalcy was his memory storage concerning Hades' actions.
Ah, it was him.
Jin thought dryly.
Currently, Hades was directing the Protectorate Army to set up barriers, clear some obstructions blocking their view, create open spaces, and plant mines.
It was evident that a vast army was rapidly marching towards them from outside the forest.
The weathered and man-made destroyed city walls couldn't provide any defense, especially given their insufficient troop strength.
The enemy would breach the city.
Hades planned to use the city's layout to divert them and engage in guerrilla warfare.
But... guerrilla tactics meant individuals were prone to danger, and it was clear the enemy's target was him.
Hades felt despair.
Where's the rescue team? Rescue us!
He hoped the rescue team would arrive before they were wiped out.
But most likely, Hades thought grimly, the distress signal had been intercepted.
Hades chuckled bitterly, realizing he had begun to pray, hoping the ship from the Cast World, meant to rendezvous with him, would notice something was amiss. He hoped the Death Guard would find the suddenly missing tech sergeant.
But by Hades' estimation, by the time the Death Guard realized something was wrong and rushed over, they'd probably just be in time to collect his body.
The sudden appearance of the Rotbringer, the abnormal weather, the ambush in the forest, the army cutting off their reinforcements—all evidenced the enemy's meticulous planning.
Clearly, based on their previous encounter with the Rotbringer, this was a trap set by Nurgle for Hades.
Using a broken Black Stone Obelisk, they lured him out of the Empire's reach, accompanied only by an army of a mechanical sage.
In this manner, with minimal effort and impact, they could eliminate him.
Hades blinked, taking a deep breath.
Let's see if your scheme is smarter, or my scythe is faster.
Seeing Hades meticulously setting up defenses, the dazed Sage Kirkland approached.
Oh, he wasn't dazed. Kirkland had examined the Rotbringer's corpse, then froze in place.
Hades patted the sage, sensing the purity of his soul, and left him be.
After all, setting up defenses and assessing the situation was paramount.
What Hades didn't realize was that while the recent events had deeply shaken most of the Protectorate Army, seeing Hades' decisive actions and his swift takeover of Kirkland's role had actually stabilized their emotions.
Facing an incomprehensible scene that shattered their worldview, people craved a strong figure to lead them out and tell them what to do.
Like a shield between them and the crisis.
The emotional state of many in the Protectorate Army began to stabilize.
"Those... are the Sub-Space Beings?"
"Those... blasphemous entities?"
Kirkland's electronic voice questioned.
Entities that defied all known physical laws, the grotesque flesh that grew in humanity's wildest nightmares. Without a straight line or a discernible pattern, life forms despised and scorned by the God of All Machines.
Had he, all this while, been researching weapons against these blasphemous beings?
"Hmm."
Hades grunted, continuing to monitor the Protectorate Army setting up mines outside the city through the visual feed.
"So... I've always been researching weapons against them?"
"Hmm."
Hades hummed nonchalantly.
Kirkland paused, seemingly struggling to comprehend.
"Oh my god."
The sage murmured, a phrase not found in any mechanical dictionary, void of any real meaning.
"I seem to no longer care about that imposter."
"Hmm?"
Hades was puzzled. What was the connection?
"That man, he's human, right?"
Kirkland knew he wasn't a god. He was human, a deceiver, a human with powerful spiritual energy.
But was he aligned with those Sub-Space Beings?
"Hmm, he's human."
Without hesitation, Hades responded,
"And he's always been dedicated to combating the influence of Sub-Space Beings on humanity."
"That's why you're here, Kirkland."
Hades spoke calmly, immersed in planning the Protectorate Army's movements, unaware of the cold, hoarse tone in his voice.
"Because he needs your technology. We need your technology. Humanity needs your technology."
"These beings will return, these demons."
"When that happens, galaxies will burn, planets will boil."
"Living beings will be decimated, corpses will litter the ground."
"So, I've always been committed to finding anti-spiritual weapons specifically for them."
"So,"
Hades blinked,
"If he knew you've always been researching anti-spiritual weapons, I think he'd be quite pleased."
Kirkland remained silent for a while. Hades could hear the cogs inside Kirkland grinding hesitantly.
"I understand."
After a long while, Kirkland spoke again.
He felt the knowledge engine inside him boiling.
Among countless sages, he was chosen.
By the God of All Machines, he would step onto another battlefield.
And for this, Kirkland had no regrets.