LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 86: All Clear?
Her reverie was shattered by a thunderous explosion, even louder than the ones before. Elizabeth opened her eyes, her sharp gaze cutting through the smoke. The battle was nearing its conclusion. The addition of the flamethrowers had extinguished the Daemons' last desperate hopes. They had nowhere left to run. The outcome had been decided long before. From the moment Kayvaan infiltrated the tent, victory was inevitable. A charred mountain of corpses now blocked the tent's entrance, the twisted remains of Chaos Daemons who'd been driven into the kill zone by the coordinated assault. Kayvaan had meticulously planned the trap, funneling the creatures toward the exit where Elizabeth and her Sisters held them at bay. The final explosion was the coup de grâce, obliterating any stragglers caught in the crossfire.
Inside the tent, the scene was grim. Most Daemons lay lifeless, but a few still clung to existence, their guttural moans like the dying gasps of a defeated army. Kayvaan, hidden in the shadows, methodically picked off the survivors. Each bolt round was precise, silencing the wounded with a sharp crack and the wet splatter of flesh. "All clear," Kayvaan's voice carried over the comms, steady and calm. "Ladies, finish the cleanup. We're on the clock."
Elizabeth acknowledged him with a nod. The Sisters advanced into the tent in disciplined formation, their bolters ready. The flamethrower team led the way, purging any traces of life beneath their boots. The ground was no longer visible, covered entirely by the bloodied remnants of Chaos. Every few paces, they unleashed another burst of fire to ensure nothing remained to rise again.
Kayvaan slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder and moved toward the center of the tent, his sharp eyes scanning for anything suspicious. "Where's the altar?"
"Center stage," Elizabeth replied, gesturing toward a stone platform that exuded an unnatural aura.
Without hesitation, she emptied her bolt pistol into the platform, the explosive rounds reducing it to rubble in moments. "That's it," she murmured, closing her eyes and focusing on the dissipating Warp energy. "The Chaos ritual's power is gone, but the Warp rift remains unstable. And Rosina's not here. This was a decoy."
She turned to her Sisters, her voice firm and commanding. "Sisters, pick up the pace. The Emperor watches over us, and there's more evil to cleanse. Onward to the next battlefield!" "May the God-Emperor protect us!"
A sudden, guttural roar split the air, shaking the ground beneath them. From behind Kayvaan, a massive golden form leaped into view. The beast was a grotesque mockery of a lion, its fur shimmering with an unnatural glow. Its eyes burned with unbridled fury, and its bloodstained maw opened wide as it charged. The Golden Lion roared again, its voice a thunderclap of rage and hatred. It had waited for this moment, vowing to tear apart the mortals who dared defy Chaos. And first on its list was the sniper who had orchestrated this slaughter.
Kayvaan turned slowly, his bolt sniper rifle already rising to meet the beast's charge. "Well," he muttered under his breath, a faint smirk on his face. "Looks like the show's not over yet."
The golden lion fought with relentless ferocity, whether his prey was a rabbit or the despicable humans who dared to challenge him. Towering over most beasts, the golden lion's colossal frame was matched by claws sharp enough to tear through anything that dared block his path. On one fateful day, a group of human planetary defense forces foolishly sought to defy him. Armed with their pride and a Chimera troop transport, they believed their armored vehicle could shield them from the wrath of Chaos incarnate. Their arrogance was short-lived. With a powerful swipe of his claws, the lion overturned the Chimera, ripping apart its thick metal plating like parchment. Their so-called fortress was nothing more than a toy, insignificant against the divine strength Chaos had bestowed upon him.
The battlefield was no different from the plains where the golden lion once hunted. He approached his prey with practiced precision, crushing them underfoot, peeling back their armor like a hide, and reveling in the taste of blood and raw flesh. To the golden lion, the universe itself was a sprawling grassland, and he was the sovereign ruler, unchallenged and unstoppable.
Unlike the ordinary lions who lazily basked in their territories, content to rely on others for sustenance, the golden lion lived for the thrill of the hunt. Larger, stronger, and more determined than his kin, he disdained complacency. His days of prowling the wilds, chasing down prey, and indulging in his primal instincts were his greatest treasures. But those days ended all too soon when human hunters invaded his domain. They shattered the sanctity of the plains, hunting not for survival but for sport, mocking the natural order. Infuriated by their audacity, the lion rose to defend his land, only to be captured and sold to a circus, a mockery of his former glory.
Chaos soon swallowed the world that betrayed him. A colossal warp rift consumed the planet, transforming all life into twisted, mutated forms. Infused with the power of Chaos, the golden lion transcended his earthly limitations, becoming a Daemonic beast of unparalleled strength and intellect. To him, this new universe was a boundless hunting ground, and he reveled in the endless slaughter it offered. Chaos promised him infinite potential, and each hunt brought him closer to his ultimate evolution as a Daemon of immense power.
Yet, even in his heightened state, he could not ignore the stench of humans hiding in the shadows. Outside a makeshift tent, a group of humans brazenly roasted the flesh of Chaos-touched creatures, their pungent odor fouling the air. Most Daemons loathed the acrid stench, but the lion's sharp senses pinpointed a single human hiding within the tent. The scent burned in his nostrils, aggravating his rage. This human was cunning, but no one could outlast the patience of a predator.
The lion crouched low, his massive body blending into the shadows. He stalked silently, each step calculated to remain unnoticed. The prey—arrogant and oblivious—believed itself hidden. It was typical of humans: small, fragile, yet insufferably self-assured. The golden lion relished the thought of tearing this one apart. His chance came when the human began firing indiscriminately, the muzzle flashes betraying his location. The shots were wild, uncoordinated—clearly, the human thought he was in control. Foolish. The lion locked onto his position and prepared to strike. Before he could pounce, a group of women armed to the teeth entered the scene. These humans were no ordinary soldiers; they moved with grim precision, slaughtering Chaos beasts as if it were second nature. The lion snarled in frustration. Even among humans, these females were unnatural, their skill in combat unsettling. He needed to act before they regrouped.
Seizing his moment, the golden lion launched himself toward the lone human, a blur of muscle and malice. His claws aimed to shred the prey in an instant, but the human dodged with uncanny reflexes, rolling away just as the lion's attack crashed into the ground. The lion's momentum carried him forward, and before he could recover, pain exploded across his abdomen.