Warhammer: The Worst Start There Is (40k) - Chapter 6: Victory

The blazing Emperor’s Sword descended upon the Daemon. The Daemon instinctively raised its own weapon to block the attack, but its weapon was instantly severed, and one of its arms was chopped off, still burning with crimson flames.

Even if it had once been human and gained the favor of a Chaos god to ascend into a Daemon, it would receive unimaginable blessings, possessing terrifying power and a body beyond ordinary mortals.

Guilliman didn’t know how many human planets this former Space Marinehad slaughtered over the ten thousand years, how many skulls he had contributed to Khorne, to earn the favor that led to his transformation from a human into a Warp Daemon.

Even the Space Marines, known as God Emperor of Mankind’s Angels, required the assistance of Librarians to kill a Daemon.

Among the Imperium’s many forces, only the Grey Knights, specialized in combating against the Daemons and the force of Chaos, could do so without suffering catastrophic casualties.

The terror of the Daemon was beyond imagination. The more powerful Tzeentch Daemon could even influence entire star systems and extinguish stars using their physic power.

Any planet with a Daemon of this level was usually authorized for Exterminatus.

Exterminatus involved the Imperial Navy using weapons such as vortex torpedoes and lance strikes to physically annihilate a planet deemed beyond salvation, reducing it to nothing but ash and scorched earth.

One can imagine the strength and terror of Warp Daemons.

Even though he possessed the sword of the Emperor, Guilliman still had to be on high alert. Otherwise, he might get mortally wounded by the Daemon.

But before Guilliman, this Warp Daemon appeared exceptionally weak and completely inadequate.

In just one strike, Guilliman had severed the Daemon’s weapon and arm, using the holy power of the Emperor’s Sword.

The Daemon, with its yellow-brown eyes filled with disbelief, couldn’t change the fact that it had been severely wounded by a single blow, no matter how much it roared.

The Daemon had been one of the Space Marines who participated in the Great Crusade ten thousand years ago. After his Genefather, Angron, betrayed the Imperium and joined the Chaos gods, he had fled to the Eye of Terror with other warbands following the defeat of Terra in the Horus Heresy.

Even though he hasn’t personally met with any of the Daemon Primarch, or fought against any of the Loyalist Primarch, he is absolutely certain that none of the Primarch of the past are capable of severely wounding a Daemon of his caliber in a single blow.

Celestine, Amalrich, and the others were equally stunned by Guilliman’s performance.

They had mentally prepared themselves, considering that the Primarch were God Emperor of Mankind’s offspring and had powerful abilities. However, this scene was still surpassing their expectations.

A single blow from the Ultramarine Primarch is strong enough to severely wound a Warp Daemon.

Guilliman’s power wasn’t solely derived from his physiology as one of the 20 Primarch itself; it was also enhanced by the collective beliefs of the humans who followed him that were converted into power thanks to the Sovereign Template.

The more beings trusted and worshiped him, the stronger his available power became.

It was akin to the legends of deities, where the more faith they garnered, the more their combat prowess skyrocketed.

After Guilliman stepped onto the battlefield, the revived Imperium soldiers were all ecstatic, screaming in joy. His name spread among the terrified civilians, and everyone saw him as the God Emperor of Mankind’s envoy of salvation.

Even though the planet Maccragge was now mostly under the control of the forces of Chaos, there were still millions of soldiers and billions of Imperial civilians on the planet.

The blessings bestowed upon Guilliman by these people were truly terrifying, making it incredibly easy to combat the Daemon.

“Never thought that the so-called bloodthirsty Khorne Daemon would turn out to be the weakest among the four Chaos gods, from the look of it, your so-called Blood God should also be the weakest amongst the four gods.”

Guilliman taunted the Daemon, infuriating it to the extreme, causing it to roar in anger.

Unfortunately, its weapon had been severed, and even as a Warp Daemon, it couldn’t defend against an attack from a Primarch. It was forced to retreat after losing two consecutive battles to Guilliman.

Several Chaos Space Marines attempted to launch attacks to rescue the Daemon, but Guilliman easily dispatched them with a sweep of the Emperor’s Sword, cutting through their armored forms, which had grown flesh and eyes over the millennia they had spent in the Eye of Terror, into two halves.

“Why so silent? Aren’t you creatures from the Warp known for your verbosity? Pathetic insects.”

Guilliman continued to approach the severely wounded Daemon, his tone mocking.

The God Emperor of Mankind’s sacred sword in his hand radiated a brilliant golden flame, exuding a divine aura.

The Daemon seethed with anger, but it was powerless. It wasn’t Guilliman’s equal; he was only toying with it, humiliating it. Guilliman even called it an insect, a phrase he had always used on human warriors who attempted to banish him. Now, the words had come full circle, and the Daemon felt deeply humiliated.

“You will pay for this. The Chaos gods will watch you, Roboute Guilliman. What do you think you can achieve? Your return is all planned by the Chaos gods. You can’t change anything.”

Before the Daemon could finish its sentence, Guilliman swung the Emperor’s Sword and decapitated the Daemon. The massive head rolled on the ground, eventually stopping next to a scrapped hoverbike.

Guilliman bent down, picked up the Daemon’s head, and raised it high.

Seeing the demise of the Warp Daemon, cheers erupted from countless Astra Militarum, Maccragge defenders, and Space Marines.

Even Celestine, Amalrich, and the others showed excited expressions.

Warp Daemons were enemies they could hardly contend with. However, a resurrected Primarch had beheaded one of them with just a few moves, treating it as a trophy.

This incredible scene of him slaying a Warp Daemon so easily solidified the belief among all the warriors that Guilliman was a gift from the God Emperor of Mankind, returning to save the Imperium and humanity from the brink of abyss.

With the death of the Daemon, the morale of the Chaos army collapsed. There was no decent resistance left.

On the other hand, the human Imperial forces, boosted by Guilliman’s return, rallied. They shouted slogans and oaths as they charged against the enemy.

No human traitor or Chaos Daemon could leave their homeland alive. All invaders had to pay the price.

The battle in the skies over Maccragge’s low orbit was also affected by the situation on the ground. The Imperial fleet, learning of the Primarch’s return and the defeat of the Chaos forces on the surface, had their morale greatly boosted. Simultaneously, reinforcements from other warbands arrived at this moment.

With intense flashes, magnificent warships leaped from the void of the Warp into real space and attacked the Chaos fleet.

The Chaos fleet was defeated one by one. Realizing their mission had failed, they could only choose to retreat. However, the Imperial fleet refused to let them go and swore to wipe them out entirely.

In the end, only a few lucky Chaos ships managed to escape the gravitational influence of the star system and tear through the fabric of reality, vanishing into the Warp.

The fires of battle subsided, and Maccragge had suffered unprecedented losses.

In the space battlefield, wreckage burned everywhere, and lifeless bodies floated amidst it.

Rescue and cleanup operations began promptly.

The surface of Maccragge had also endured severe destruction, with Maccragge City reduced to ruins and countless casualties.

Compared to the heavy losses they had suffered, people still felt it was all worth it.

They had welcomed back one of the God Emperors of Mankind’s own son, and in the dark expanse of the universe, hope was no longer lost.

With excitement in their hearts, Astra Militarum, Space Marines, planetary defense forces, and countless civilians came from all directions.

They shouted Guilliman’s name and sang hymns praising the God Emperor of Mankind to express their excitement.

Even though the war had seemed utterly lost, with Guilliman’s return, they easily routed the invading Daemons and traitors.

Everyone cheered for Guilliman’s name.

A decade of dark struggle had finally led them to the guidance of a great soul.

Guilliman was that great soul, whether you were a planetary noble in fine attire or a ragged civilian.

Survivors from all over the planet and other worlds in the Maccragge star system rushed to greet him.

When Guilliman, clad in his blue power armor, descended from the battlefield, the overwhelming cheers were like a tsunami.

Everyone looked at Guilliman with excitement in their eyes. Some women holding children couldn’t help but cry. They raised their children high, hoping that their offspring could see this legendary savior.

Calgar guided the Ultramarines to create a barrier around Guilliman using their bodies, preventing him from being engulfed by the fervent crowd.

“Everyone is cheering, hoping that as an God Emperor of Mankind’s own son, you can rescue them from this eternal war,” said Saint Celestinee, standing beside Guilliman.

As a devout follower of the God Emperor of Mankind, she had the privilege to stand beside a Primarch.

“And that, is exactly why I awakened,” Guilliman responded calmly.