Infinite Metaverse

Chapter 37: The Sacrifice

Gurt led the Sting Squad deeper into the transport ship, moving cautiously through its labyrinthine corridors.

At a fork in the pipeline, Gurt pulled out a data slate. On the screen, several green dots were converging on the transport ship from various directions—other Ultramarines squads were closing in.

As the first squad to breach the ship, Gurt maintained a high level of caution and patience.

The squad moved in a tactical formation, searching the ship's interior. Gurt periodically checked the data slate to ensure the signal was stable, especially the teleportation coordinates.

Fortunately, the feedback from the 'Sosalan' indicated that the teleportation signal was stable. The ship was ready to retrieve the warriors at any moment.

Fu Qinghai, positioned in the center of the squad, felt something was off.

The 'Writhing Worm' was a transport ship, which didn't require as many servitors and crew as a warship. But the number of people inside was far too low.

Unlike the makeshift defenses the Word Bearers had set up outside, the interior of the transport ship had offered no resistance so far. It was as if the enemy had concentrated all their defensive forces on the exterior, turning the entire surface defense into three hollow shells.

***

Meanwhile, in the control room of another transport ship, the atmosphere was eerily quiet compared to the chaos outside.

Krolfa sat in his seat, deep in thought.

A Word Bearer covered in blood entered the room, removed his helmet, and knelt on one knee. "My lord, the Ultramarines have breached our outer defenses."

"Good. It's time to proceed with the next phase of the plan," Krolfa said, tapping the armrest of his chair.

The kneeling Word Bearer hesitated. "My lord… are we really going to sacrifice all of them?"

Krolfa's yellowed eyes sharpened. "Are you questioning my decision, Devitt?"

"N-no, of course not…" The Word Bearer stammered, avoiding Krolfa's gaze. "It's just that these sacrifices were specifically requested by Erebus. If we use them here, I'm concerned… I'm concerned about how Erebus will react…"

Devitt trailed off, not daring to continue.

Krolfa snorted. "Do you think I don't know the purpose of these sacrifices?"

His voice lowered. "Listen, Devitt. I don't care what your relationship with Erebus was before. I am the commander of this fleet."

"Y-yes, my lord…" Devitt bowed his head, not daring to meet Krolfa's eyes.

"These sacrifices are indeed needed on the front lines of Terra. But think with that rigid brain of yours—how are we supposed to fight the Ultramarines with our meager forces and three transport ships lacking macro cannons, lances, or torpedoes? If the Ultramarines capture them, or if we're trapped on this damned planet with these ships, what difference does it make to Erebus in the Sol System?" Krolfa was practically shouting by the end.

"N-no difference, my lord…" Devitt's head sank even lower.

Krolfa glared at the subservient Devitt, then stood and began pacing. "Is the altar functioning properly?"

"The Dark Mechanicum tech-priests are monitoring it. Everything is in order."

"Are the sacrifices ready?"

"Yes, my lord."

Krolfa stroked his chin, deep in thought, then made a decision. "Bring that psyker who can disrupt teleportation to the control room. Send the other psykers and mutants to the ambush points. And… weed out the weak and useless ones. Sacrifice them as well."

"Understood, my lord." Devitt rose and left to carry out the orders.

As Devitt stepped through the door, Krolfa's voice echoed behind him. "Remember, Devitt. Whether the Sol System is the front line or not, wherever the enemies of the Gods are, that is our front line!"

***

Asagiri Hiroshi and the other Reincarnators were confined to a chamber within the transport ship.

Traitors were always the most suspicious of betrayal, and the Word Bearers didn't fully trust these self-proclaimed followers of the Ruinous Powers.

Although they were on the same ship, the Reincarnators weren't allowed to move freely.

The sounds of Ultramarines breaching the ship's defenses grew louder, and some of the weaker Reincarnators began to tremble in fear.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Devitt, covered in blood and reeking of gunpowder, entered with a group of Word Bearers.

A few Reincarnators immediately stood up, eager to please, like dogs awaiting their master's command.

Devitt's cold visor scanned the room, and his voice came through his vox-grille. "You, you, and you—follow him to the ambush points."

He pointed at several Reincarnators, including the black-clad woman with the cloth-wrapped staff. They obediently followed a Word Bearer out of the room.

"You—come to Krolfa's control room," Devitt said, pointing at Asagiri. Asagiri quickly stood and followed another Word Bearer out.

"The rest of you, follow me," Devitt ordered before turning and leaving.

The remaining Reincarnators exchanged uneasy glances but had no choice but to follow. Among them were the red-bearded Bielinski and the hunched, veiled woman.

Bielinski clung tightly to his metal canister, while the hunched woman followed silently behind. As they walked through the dimly lit corridors, the flickering overhead lights cast eerie shadows on the towering Word Bearers ahead.

Suddenly, the hunched woman grabbed Bielinski's arm and whispered in Polish, "Something's wrong, Bielinski. This isn't right."

Bielinski stopped and turned to her. "What? What's wrong?"

The hunched woman slowed her pace, her veiled eyes darting around. "I don't know, but my instincts are screaming at me. This feels wrong."

She sniffed the air, her head tilting unnaturally. "The smell of blood is getting stronger. We're heading toward a place drenched in blood."

Bielinski froze, unsure of what to do.

The hunched woman, however, acted quickly. She glanced around and, before Devitt could turn to check on them, dragged Bielinski into a nearby broken pipe.

Bielinski stumbled and fell into the narrow pipe, clutching his canister.

The hunched woman moved with unnatural agility, crawling on all fours like an animal. She hissed over her shoulder, "Get up, Bielinski! Run!"

The red-bearded man scrambled to his feet, crawling on his hands and knees as he followed her.

Devitt, noticing the commotion, turned to see the two disappear into the pipe.

One of the Word Bearers drew his bolter. "Sir?"

Devitt raised a hand to stop him. "Let them go. The sacrifice is more important. Don't waste time on those two."

As mentioned earlier, the interior of a starship was a maze of narrow passages and pipes, many of which were too small for Astartes to navigate. With Ultramarines already breaching the ship, it wasn't worth the time and effort to hunt down two insignificant humans.

The Word Bearer nodded and fell back into formation, continuing to lead the remaining Reincarnators forward.

The sudden escape left the others confused and uneasy. They didn't know why the two had fled, but they sensed it wasn't for a good reason.

Trapped between two fully armed Astartes, the Reincarnators had no choice but to continue forward.

Meanwhile, Bielinski and the hunched woman vanished into the ship's labyrinthine depths.

*****

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