"The lord ordered us to pull back."
"Pull back where? There isn't anywhere else to go but down. He's a fool, I tell ya."
"You wanna take it up with him?"
Steel met and parted flesh cleanly with a meaty thwack.
"Shit! SHIT! It's the-"
Lasguns began to whine. There were a few loud crunching noises, followed by muffled gurgling. Blades whistled and sang through the air, slicing through organs and bone with as if they were nothing but cloth; two swords glinted with neon light, a pair of claws slick with blood and viscera. Thud. Thud.
Twenty seconds later, the screaming stopped.
Puddles of curdling crimson splashed a little as boots stirred them.
"Where is Hess?"
No answer.
"Try to leave at least one."
The smelting cavern was devoid of life, but echoed with the furious thunder of the mantle's overwhelming heat. Its ceiling arched up into inky nothingness and reached down with arms of rock and granite - abandoned, makeshift furnaces sat quietly, as if in awe of the pitching, roiling magma splurging hundreds of meters high from the core of the planet. The display of raw power glinted off unfeeling metal, half-complete swords and guns; Arkangel tossed red lava over criss-crossing stone bridges, dousing them in flame and heat and sparks. It was as massive an any one of the Emperor's cathedrals, but there was no salvation here.
Jeremy Hess flexed his fingers. His nails had grown long and unkempt, a trite rebellion against Elysian protocol. They now glowed with unholy magicks, a gift from the dark gods he served -
Served. That word. How long had he been serving them? He wanted to rise, to taste the potent heresy wielded by some sorcerers he used to face in battle so long ago; like a drop of honey on the tongue, the more he had, the more he craved it. Emerson would see. Logan would see... and the deluded cur would realize who the real traitor was. He would show them all.
Right on time, a pair of blood-soaked figures emerged in the distance.
Hess smirked.
"I can shoot him from here."
"No," Logan snarled, "he's mine."
"What do you want me do, watch and place bets? I'm coming with you. Also, he's got some serious advantage." Korramyn slung his rifle over his shoulder.
"Remember the melta charges?"
"Oh...." the Ghost nodded in understanding. "It's... still not an fair exchange. I want to kill of these sons of bitches with my bare hands," he croaked. "They took... everything. Everything, Logan."
A bionic arm clasped his. "I know how you feel. One day, Korramyn, they will have theirs. I swear it."
Korramyn held his emotions in check.
"For the City."
Logan Howlett stopped and dropped his autogun to the ground. Across from him, Jeremy Hess yanked his laspistol and threw it aside, waiting for the clattering echo to fade away before raising his arms in mock supplication. He licked his lips.
"Wait long, old friend?"
"I am not your friend," Logan spat. "Where is she?"
"Oh, she's got a good view, don't worry. Needless to say, your little friend could probably snipe me from all the way up there, but I know that's not how you roll, right, Logan?"
Three long blades, each as long as a forearm, slid out from above Logan's knuckles on each hand. In response, Hess' palms began whispering flame and energy; his eyes twinkled with terrible light.
"Any last words?"
With a scream of rage and grief, Logan barreled into his former comrade, knocking them both over the edge.
Clashing steel and crackling electricity bounced around the huge cavern. Korramyn climbed what seemed to be the hundredth rock wall today, wheezing like an old man; he resisted the urge to take a potshot at the traitorous bastard below. Might hit Logan. That would suck.
She's got a good view.
What was it with heretics and long, flowery speeches? Emerson was somewhere up high, that was certain, but the damn place was enormous. It could take ages to -
Footsteps. Lots of footsteps.
All around him, a literal army of black-clad men and women, all covered in scars, tattoos and tainted marks began rushing from hidden entrances, hefting lasguns. One pair handled a large autocannon mount. It took them all of two seconds to spot him.
"KILL!!!!!"
Oh, shit.
