Mortarion awoke from a faint of despair.
No surprise.
Mortarion thought numbly as he sat up from the rubble, rubble falling from his body.
In his blurred vision he saw a huge, vibrant forest. He was in a clearing in the dense forest and he saw creatures flying among the trees.
But the good news is that they won’t be here for the time being.
Mortarion urgently checked his current condition.
Wet blood flowed from his forehead and he felt a slight sense of suffocation. The gas mask worn by Mortarion was hit by fragments of the phosphorus bomb and was no longer useful.
Unable to repair, the Lord of Death decisively took off the gas mask. The sharp fragment that penetrated the mask even pierced his face, and a clearly visible blood mark passed through the corner of his mouth.
He took off his mask, and the strong stench immediately hit his nose.
Mortarion took out the bandages, pulled out a few bottles from the unbroken bottles on his waist, poured them on the bandages, and then wrapped the bandages around his mouth and nose.
It took only a few seconds from the time he took off his mask to the time he put it back on, but the stench had already made the wound on Mortarion's mouth appear abnormally shiny.
Mortarion just hoped that the wound wouldn't be infested with bugs next—which meant he would have to be exposed to the poison gas again to treat the wound.
His vision restored, he gripped his scythe tightly, and looked down to see that he was in the middle of a broken altar.
The black altar cracked and oozed pus, and seven bodies collapsed on the altar, with the rubble of Macragge Hospital scattered on it.
This is clearly not Macragge.
This, Mortarion thought, was a teleportation circle.
He was transported to some strange place that Mortarion sincerely hoped was not the Warp—it probably wasn't, since the Veil had not yet become so thin.
So... from the beginning, the enemy's plan was to teleport him away and get him away from his Death Guard.
Instead of attacking Macragge.
The enemy's target is him.
Mortarion wanted to take a deep breath to suppress his surging emotions, but his instinct stopped him. The habit he developed on Barbarus taught him to try not to breathe.
His breathing was shallow and slow, like that of a dying person in a deep coma.
There was a noise in the forest, and the damp rain was floating.
Mortarion gripped his sickle tightly, the blade flashed a cold light, he stared at the other end, bent slightly, ready to harvest at any time.
Mortarion swore that it was the most blasphemous existence he had ever seen, and the most disgusting existence.
The bloated body slowly walked out, the whole body presenting the appearance of a giant that had been soaked in water for a long time, the skin was a light rotten green, and there was a big mouth in its abdomen that was big enough to swallow three mortals, with rotten yellow teeth baring outside.
The Generous One, Rotigus the Rainfather.
It bowed comically, as if to show respect to Mortarion.
"We look forward to your return,"
"Everything is prepared here for you, you can enjoy it at any time,"
"You—"
Light smoke rose from the dark lamp of the pistol in Mortarion's hand. The Lord of Death looked expressionlessly at Rain Father, whose stomach was covered with a bloody flower.
Mortarion wondered whether he should go up to him and fight him in close combat, or just wait and see what would happen. Even though he had a great hatred and desire to fight,
But the thought of fighting a pile of vomit that could explode at any moment slowed Mortarion down.
"All right,"
Father Yu finally gave up on his seven-word opening, and the gap in the demon's belly quickly flipped back, and in an instant he no longer looked injured.
"You should return to your loving family, Mortarion."
The big demon said sadly, and even two pus tears squeezed out from its small eyes as big as green beans.
The devil's greasy words licked him, and Mortarion felt goose bumps on his skin. What was that bastard saying? Mortarion didn't understand a word.
"Everyone in the Garden has missed you, and you would have been a good child of His—it's not too late to come back."
Rainfather spoke slowly. He did not like these words. They should have been said by Plaguefather Kugath. Plaguefather had a good compatibility with Mortarion, while Rainfather favored Karas.
But now... Karas, whom it personally gave wings to, has gone off track, and the Plague Father...
Father Yu shuddered imperceptibly, and the fat on his body swayed in circles.
It doesn't know whether the unfortunate one is still "alive", the plague father may have already -
Even just thinking about this, Yu Fu felt a chill. It was ridiculous, too ridiculous. When would the concept of "death" befall the devil
It's dead!
In that monster's realm, it's dead!
And this is not the Death that the loving Father presides over, it is not even—
Even if the consciousness of the Rain Father is stopped, it should not think too much, because the Plague Father will reappear - the Kind Father will reunite the concepts related to the [plague] and grant it new life.
And now, the concepts of [plague] and [disease] are temporarily vacant. They can use it through nearby concepts, but they do not own it.
Some of the concepts that the loving father originally held have also become vacant.
That one, His favorite child, Mortarion.
Rainfather realized that he was still talking to him, so he forced a smile on his face, trying to make Mortarion realize that this was a warm and harmonious family.
Mortarion stared at the Rainfather silently, believing that no matter how he fought, the demon's body fluids would splash on him.
And with the armor slightly damaged, this was the last thing Mortarion wanted to see.
Mortarion was silent. He felt the scar at the corner of his mouth itching. Now he was on a planet full of enemies, isolated and helpless.
First, he could not surrender. Surrender would mean corruption, which would lead to the same outcome as what he saw that day.
Secondly, he cannot die, as death would mean surrender, with his soul imprisoned in this subspace, becoming a permanent slave to the enemy.
Finally, he must resist his enemies and hurt them as much as possible while satisfying the first two points.
Mortarion was a pessimist. He did not think that anyone would come to rescue him at this moment. Neither Angron nor Guilliman were people who could solve such a situation.
And the Empire's true anti-psychic expert... Mortarion gave an imperceptible smile.
He could probably imagine what Hades faced in the end - but Hades was still alive, otherwise Hades wouldn't -
[no way,]
The Lord of Death's hoarse voice sounded, so soft that it was almost silent.
[In the name of Pluto, I will be loyal to humanity. ]
Respond to him.
Mortarion watched with satisfaction as the demon let out a startling scream.
But then—
"That monster! It's dead! Dead! There's no hope for humanity!"
Father Rain's bloated body instantly turned into a pool of pus and soaked into the soil. As Father Rain disappeared, extremely smelly raindrops fell.
Mortarion heard the corrosion on his armor.
Dead
Perhaps he should have realised this long ago, so why continue to deceive himself? Mortarion thought as he saw the Space Marines emerging from the trees, bulky and slow.
Dead
Why, Mortarion asked himself, was he still able to gain power through prayer
Perhaps it was a lie, Mortarion thought, but even if it was true, he could not afford to be swayed by the words of his enemy.
He hasn't seen Hades' body yet... Is he really dead? Or... Hades can see his body.
The rain suddenly got heavier. Raindrops as big as beans hit Mortarion's hood, corroding the cloth in an instant. The irritating water droplets streaked across his face, and Mortarion could hear the sound of flesh being corroded.
The makeshift anti-gas bandage just made disappeared in an instant.
Mortarion breathed, and his body's defense system began to work, operating at an overloaded level, as if wailing.
He was now alone, on the planet that his enemies had prepared for him, and his armor and mask were vulnerable.
The poison gas today is far more brutal than the one used on Barbaros back then.
Mortarion panted, he panted, a deep, deep despair crawling up his heart, gnawing at his flesh like a maggot.
No... no no no no... Mortarion thought, the enemy has already begun to attack him... He can't fall for it.
… Even if he ended up taking the worst branch, he would struggle as hard as he could before falling.
Perhaps Hades is already dead.
Mortarion thought,
But he can't die yet.
Mortarion cannot die yet, he cannot surrender, he cannot fall, he must stand here,
If he fails, it would be disrespectful to the path he has traveled and the people he has met.
He can't do that.
This is disrespectful to his old friend and makes a mockery of all his previous efforts.
This is... This is wrong.
Then Mortarion began to pray, raising his scythe and pointing it at those Space Marines who, at one glance, he felt themselves shattered.
Turbid raindrops streaked across his face.
He wants to use the souls of his enemies to comfort his old friends.
Even if the price is...
Mortarion trembled as he recalled the phantom he had seen on that Eldar planet.
But he had already decided on all this.
No more, yay!
(End of this chapter)