When Adam and his group arrived at the island and found it empty. He immediately spread his Psychic sense to locate the escaped Slaanesh only to find nothing nearby. But, there are definitely traces of lingering Warp energy which mean Slaanesh was here before they arrived.
While this is a disappointment to him, it also confirms that Slaanesh is indeed weakened and that the proud Chaos God rather runs than fights.
Malcador immediately tried to use Divination once more to locate the fleeing Chaos God. But Adam could easily see the frown on his face which indicates his Divination had failed.
"Slaanesh did something to obscure my vision. I don't think it's possible to trace him anymore with my Divination." Malcador stated with a hint of helplessness on his face as if not for the state of the Warp in this Universe which limits his Psychic power, he could perhaps still trace Slaanesh.
"It's fine. His target is me after all. No matter where he ran to. He will return eventually." Adam said although a little worried because if Slaanesh ran away instead of fighting, that meant he had plans. Perhaps to increase his strength which worries him because he can feel his intuition acting up again to warn him about something bad that might happen in the future.
Worried about Ritsuko's group, Adam hastily assembled everyone to open another Warp Rift.
———
With Ritsuko, as they marched towards the United Empire. They saw similar scenes everywhere. Cities and towns engulfed in flame, dried blood and corpses littered the ground. All the corpses from soldiers to common people of old age to newborn are littered with terrible wounds and expressions as if they all died a brutal and painful death.
Ritsuko couldn't hold back anymore and emptied her stomach on the ground while sobbing for the pitiful people.
Nero and her soldiers are also in a similar but better state. At least they didn't vomit everything out but still felt sick by the view.
Some even found a pregnant mother with a hole in her stomach, as if her stomach was clawed open from the inside, with a mind broken face and the bloody whip marks all over her body.
Looking at this, Nero and her soldiers couldn't even hate the supposed traitors. After all, traitors as they were, they are still people of Rome.
Nero stood solemnly before the burning city making her prayer to the gods and divines that were overwatching Rome and its people. Praying that the soul of the dead could pass peacefully to the afterlife and also swore to seek revenge to help pacify their sorrow and pain.
Jeanne joined in a prayer with Jalter. Even if these people aren't believers of her lord, they are still humans that deserve a proper rest after what they experienced.
Sigismund stood over the site and watched with a grim expression. This is nothing unusual for him. In fact, it's rather tame for a place wrecked by Daemon. His critical eyes tried to gain any information from the state of the city.
The attack seems to be hasty and swift. After all, Daemon of Slaanesh is known for reveling in depravity. But from the lack of rape and mostly just simple torture, Sigismund concluded that the Daemon Legion that pass through here didn't attack the city just to destroy it. They have another goal, chasing after an unknown objective. Yet, the track around the exit of the city did not indicate that the Daemon left in a hurry either or left at all with how light their track was. It was as if…
Sigismund snapped instantly and manifested his black sword in his hand which caught the attention of Emiya first who was observing Sigismund. Then Artoria too as she hurried to Ritsuko's side the moment she saw Emiya enter a battle ready state.
"Everyone be careful! There might be an ambush!" Sigismund shouted to the group, sending everyone into a high alert.
Ritsuko immediately found herself flanked by Artoria and the usual Mash. Jeanne and Jalter abandoned their half finished prayer and stood ready near Nero and her soldiers while Sigismund, Sif and Alina stood in between, warily scanning their eyes over the burning city to find even a hint of unusual movement.
For a split second, Sigismund saw a shadow that moved unusually behind the window of a burning house. However, his instinct tells that it was bait. Slaanesh's Daemon are weaker in frontal combat, this is why they favor using illusion, mind breaking pheromones and assassination.
Then, Alina, who is a Psyker, felt a slight disturbance in reality. The fabric of reality is tearing open which is the indication of a Warp Rift is opening.
At first, she thought it was Adam. Because she could sense his Psychic presence approaching her position. However, the moment the reality started to tore open and Slaanesh's corrupting power burst forth like a sickening and bloating pus.
Legion of Excess, Slaanesh's Daemons burst into reality and launched an ambush on them. Thankfully with Sigismund's warning and Alina's detection, they are barely prepared for an attack and have already formed a defensive line around the mortals of their group.
"Archer!" Ritsuko gave her order for him to use his Reality Marble to pull away a portion of the Daemon hordes.
Emiya immediately begins their chant while Jalter uses her ability to create a wall of black spears that act as a physical barrier against the incoming stampede of Daemons trying to trample over them with their sheer overwhelming numbers.
Sigismund swift to meet the hordes of eager Daemonette in battle, each swing cleave through a dozen Daemons and bisected them in half, zipping across the battlefield with extreme breakneck speed despite his bulky armor that did nothing to hinder his movements. His unwavering eyes stare down at those Daemons as he is the Emperor's Champion, first of his kind and a fierce warrior on the battlefield.
"No pity. No remorse. No fear! For I shall deliver His wrath!" Sigismund shouted his warcry after seeing a Slaaneshi Champion on his equally twisted and demonic mount, charging at the group with his Warband of Traitor Marines, seeking to break through the makeshift fortifications around the Chaldean.
Sigismund's body briefly glowed with holy radiance that scorched any Daemonettes in his close proximity to death and open up a path for him to clash directly with the Slaanesh's Champion and lock in their battle of sword as both duelists engage in a deadly dance to death against over a dozen enemies alone but still have an upper hand.
Without Sigismund's support, the group soon find themselves overwhelmed again as they quickly try to find a better place to fight on where they are better defended and have advantages but the Daemons aren't giving them any inch of space to escape to as the soldiers brought by Nero had long be slaughtered to the last dozen mens because the Chaldean are simply incapable to defend themselves adequately much less a few thousands others.
There they witnessed first hand the brutality of the Slaaneshi Daemons, soldiers are tortured and made to suffer as much as possible until they wish for death, harvesting their suffering and pain. Those soldiers are only granted death because those Daemonettes do not have time to further indulge with their vices.
Witnessing this, Nero became enraged and fought alongside the Chaldean too with her crimson sword. However, even if she is superior to her fellow human and capable of subtly using magecraft to enhance her body, she is no match to the Servants as exhaustion sets in on her mortal body.
The Servants fought ferociously but were helpless to break free from the encirclement. There are simply too many enemies surrounding them, it was a well planned ambush.
"Do not falter! Help is on our way! Hold as long as possible until he returns!" Alina shouted, placing all her faith in Adam as she usually does.
Alina could sense him, his Psychic presence approaching from within the Warp, his worried and anxious mind thinking about her and everyone's safety.
Surely enough, another Warp Rift soon tore open. But Alina felt something was wrong about it as her intuition made her grow restless for a moment. But she cannot afford to shift her attention elsewhere with enemies keep pouring onto her.
Then, from the Rift. Instead of Adam appearing. It's a young and unnaturally beautiful girl with long purple twintail hair, wearing black and white headband and dress. But what made her look strange is the out of place horns grown on her head and her glowing purple irises staring straight at Nero.
Without even hesitating, Alina drops everything and jumps at the newly arrived Servant and slashes with her twin Nemesis Force Falchions.
"Get away from there! That's Slaanesh!" Alina shouted and her eyes locked at the Servant carrying the unmistakable Psychic presence of Slaanesh.
But it was too late as Slaanesh simply waved her hand and powerful psychic energy turned into pinkish mist that obscured the battlefield and spawned a myriad of illusions to confuse and disorient the Chaldeans and Adam's companions while Slaanesh secured what he needed and escape. However Alina, being resistant to the Chaos God's trickery, manages to break free from the illusions to try and stop Slaanesh from escaping with Nero.
"Sif!" Alina called and the Fenrisian Wolf whose mind and soul is protected by Adam himself as his battle steed, broke free from the illusion more effortlessly than Alina and rushed to her call.
Jumping on top of Sif, they rip through the air to stop Slaanesh from escaping.
Alina wished to interrupt the Warp Rift that Slaanesh created. But while her Psychic power is greater than the average Gray Knight's Battle-Brothers, mainly due to her long life, were inferior to the likes of Elites, Grand Master or the Supreme Grand Master, Adam himself.
The most she could achieve is to restitch the rip on reality, slowing the opening of the Warp Rift. Even so, she did her best for him. Knowing he wouldn't ever forgive himself if he failed, she did a move any normal Psyker would never dare try unless they are desperate enough to damn themselves to their soul's annihilation.
To temporarily increase her Psychic power, she ignites her own soul as fuel. Her body glows with a blindingly white and silvery shimmers as her eyes.
The Warp Rift Slaanesh opened was forcefully sealed back which enraged the Dark God enough to retaliate in a fit of fury and also fear because he knew, Adam is arriving soon and the more he linger, the more likely he will be butchered like a helpless cattle in this inferior and weak vessel. He refuses such a notion. He will not die here. He will be the one kokilling, not the one killed.
If only he could summon forth his strongest Champion instead of the cannon fodders, he wouldn't struggle this much and slaughter that bitch that dares to interrupt him.
Even if he had to make a sacrifice, Slaanesh did and granted a nearby Daemonette his power and turned it into a Greater Daemon to interrupt Alina and Sif.
Caught by surprise, Alina nearly got decapitated by the newly birthed Keeper of Secrets but Sif acted swift and dodged the attack but it wasn't enough because the Keeper of Secrets swiftly made a follow up move and stabbed Alina in her heart as it's Master willed.
The realization of herself being stabbed did not stop her from preventing Slaanesh from escaping even as the Keeper of Secrets dug it's blade deeper.
Unlike Adam who can be resurrected endlessly, Alina's Immortality is merely an immortality of flesh. She may never age from the moment she obtained her immortality. But if she were to suffer a fatal wound, she could die. Even so, there was never a hesitation in her eyes nor mind to sacrifice herself if needed. Those hesitation had long extinguished from the day she pledged herself with full sincerity to him.
So, even if she would cease to exist. For her, there is no greater joy than being of use to him. A counterproductive thought if considering she is much better alive than dead for Adam. But since when has the previous Universe followed any commonsense? Death is an honor, only in death does our duty end. But even in death we serve. For others, they serve to deliver The Emperor's will. For her, she serves his will alone.
With her vision blurred and her body turning cold as the numbing pain slowly grips her body. Even as her breath turned laborious and her eyes were on the verge of shutting down, she persisted. Only when the familiar figure in silver appeared did she rest her mind and let go of everything as she already fulfilled her duty to buy him time.
———
When Adam returned and saw everything that had happened. For the first time since regaining his emotions, he wished they were dead again so he may not feel this uncomfortable pain stabbing at his heart.
Looking at Alina's state, laying on the ground with her heart pierced and bleeding profusely tells him that she didn't have much time left.
As much as he wanted to unleash the inferno of anger welled inside him, his Indomitable Spirit keeps his emotions flat so as to not affect his mental faculty. Part of the reason why he turn cold and u feeling, because of his over reliance on this ability.
He was resented with two choices, either stop Slaanesh while he is weak but leave Alina to die or to save her but allow Slaanesh to escape and grow stronger.
Staring between the two, Adam had to make his choice quick and decisively…
—————
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