=== Maximus ===
The Ultramarine raised Extinction and brought it down in a blow that cracked the corrupted stone beneath his boots.
His null aura pushed back against the worst of Kharath's sorcerous assaults even as the daemon prince loomed like a towering nightmare of shifting shadows and malicious glee.
Nira darted through the chaos, her blade flashing as it carved deep gashes across the abomination's flanks that wept corrosive blood, while Tu'Shan unleashed roaring sheets of promethium from his flamer that scorched the daemon's hide and filled the hall with holy fire.
Dante whirled his axe in a storm of death that sought to cleave through Kharath's ever-shifting form.
The two veteran Astartes, one a stoic Dark Angel and the other a battle-hardened Imperial Fist, fought at their sides with bolters barking and power weapons humming, the small but determined strike team pressing the daemon prince back toward the pulsing black obelisk through sheer force of will and coordinated wrath.
Kharath laughed with mocking delight as he weathered their assault, his form twisting unnaturally to avoid the worst of their strikes before he suddenly reached out with a clawed hand toward the massive obelisk, wrenching free a colossal polearm of writhing black energy and jagged obsidian that pulsed with malevolent power. The weapon materialized in his grip with a scream of tortured reality that sent Warp lightning crackling across the chamber.
"Come then, little warriors," the daemon prince snarled, his voice dripping with sadistic amusement as he spun the enormous polearm, forcing the team to scatter, the blade's edge shearing through a pillar and sending shards of stone exploding outward like shrapnel.
Maximus charged straight into the fray, jump pack flaring as he brought Extinction crashing down in an overhead strike meant to pulverize the daemon's skull, only for Kharath to parry with the polearm's haft in a ringing impact that sent shockwaves through the Ultramarine's arms and nearly wrenched the thunderhammer from his grasp.
The daemon countered instantly with a sweeping blow that caught the Imperial Fist across the midsection, the massive blade slicing through his armor and flesh in a horrific spray of blood and ruptured organs, the warrior's final roar cut short as he was bisected and hurled against the far wall in a wet heap of ruined armor.
Rage ignited in Maximus' chest as he watched another cousin fall, fueling him to press the attack with renewed savagery alongside Dante and Tu'Shan. Their combined assault forced Kharath to give ground even as the daemon prince unleashed torrents of Warp sorcery that warped the cathedral floor into grasping tentacles and mutating spikes, one such spike impaling the remaining veteran Dark Angel through the thigh.
Nira rolled beneath the sweeping polearm and drove her blade deep into Kharath's knee, drawing a bellow of pain from the abomination, while Tu'Shan bathed the daemon's upper body in promethium flames that blackened his scales and elicited shrieks of agony.
Maximus seized the opening, leaping high with his jump pack to bring Extinction slamming into the daemon's face with such force that the thunderhammer unraveled a portion of Kharath's manifested form in bursts of dissipating Warp energy.
Kharath's polearm momentarily faltered in his grip as he reeled from the blow before spinning the massive polearm in a wide circle that forced the remaining warriors into to evade while he summoned phantasmal duplicates of himself that struck from unexpected angles.
One such illusion nearly disemboweling Dante before the Blood Angel Chapter Master cleaved through it with a roar of defiance. Maximus felt fresh pain lance through his side as a glancing blow from a polearm scored a deep rent across his armor and into the flesh beneath, blood welling hot and sticky inside his suit.
He ignored it, and hammered Extinction repeatedly into the daemon's guard, each strike accompanied by litanies of hatred that seemed to weaken the creature's hold on reality.
The Salamander Chapter Master tried pinning Kharath with sustained flame while Nira exploited every vulnerability, Dante delivering crushing axe blows that chipped away at the daemon's resilience.
Though Kharath bled from countless wounds and his mocking laughter had taken on a strained edge, the daemon prince remained a towering terror, his polearm reaping bloody tolls with every swing. His sorcery twisted the battlefield itself against them, turning what should have been a swift execution into a grinding, exhausting war of attrition that tested the limits of even their transhuman endurance as the greater duel between Vulkan and Magnus raged in the background, shaking the entire structure.
Kharath suddenly unleashed a cataclysmic surge of power, his form flaring with sickly purple-green energy that caused the ancient walls and pillars to shudder violently before erupting outward in a deafening explosion of shattering stone and Warp-tainted debris, the blast wave hurling the warriors from their feet and filling the air with choking dust and razor-sharp shrapnel that sliced across armor and flesh.
Before the loyalists could fully recover, the very ground beneath them heaved and cracked, massive chunks of the cathedral floor ripping free and levitating skyward under the daemon prince's sorcerous command, carrying the embattled group high into the blood-red skies above Abeloth's corrupted planet while the towering black obelisk remained far below, pulsing ominously amid the ruins.
The aerial platform of jagged rock and twisted architecture became a nightmarish battleground suspended hundreds of meters above the surface, winds howling around them as Kharath spun his polearm in wide, lethal circles that forced Maximus and the others to dodge.
The surviving veteran Astartes charged bravely with his chainsword revving only to be impaled through the chest by one of Kharath's duplicates, the blade twisting viciously before the warrior was hurled over the edge of the floating platform, his final defiant roar fading into the void as he plummeted toward the distant ground.
Maximus roared in fury, leaping high with his jump pack to bring Extinction crashing down upon the real Kharath's shoulder, the thunderhammer's head connecting with a sickening crunch that shattered the Daemon's scales and drew a fountain of blood.
The daemon prince retaliated with blinding speed, his polearm sweeping low to catch the Ultramarine across the ribs and send him tumbling across the unstable rock in a trail of sparks and blood.
Dante and Tu'Shan refused to yield, the Blood Angel Chapter Master dancing through the chaos with his axe, bringing it up to severe one of Kharath's arms at the elbow in a spray of gore, eliciting a scream of agony from the daemon even as Tu'Shan tossed his empty flamer to the ground and grabbed his own Thunderhammer from his back, forcing Kharath to stagger backward toward the edge of the platform.
Kharath's rage boiled over, and he slammed his polearm into the ground, sending a shockwave that hurled Dante and Tu'Shan violently across the floating island. The Salamander Chapter Master crashed hard against a jagged outcrop, his armor cracking audibly as multiple bones shattered beneath the impact and blood welled from fresh rents in his plate.
He gave a wheeze of pain that turned into a roar as he rose, tossing a melta bomb that burst directly in Kharath's face, melting his scales and blinded one of the daemon's eyes before a backhand from the polearm caught him across the chest and sent him sprawling.
Dante fared little better, rolling to his feet only to be struck by a blast of mutating Warp lightning that seared deep into his side and left his armor smoking, his movements slowing as pain and daemonic taint took their toll, though his axe still claimed a heavy price by carving a massive gash across Kharath's midsection that nearly spilled the daemon's innards across the rock.
Maximus surged back into the fight with a bellow, Extinction humming with power as he delivered a thunderous strike that connected solidly with Kharath's ribs before swinging a second time.
The Prince caught Extinction on his polearm, the two weapons locking in a contest of raw strength that sent cracks spiderwebbing through the floating platform beneath their feet.
For a moment it seemed as though the thunderhammer might prevail, but Kharath's eyes blazed with malicious triumph as he channeled a surge of raw Warp energy directly into the weapon, the black polearm flaring with unholy light before it shattered Extinction's head in a catastrophic explosion of broken metal and dissipating disruption fields, the treasured thunderhammer reduced to a ruined haft in Maximus' hands.
The Ultramarine staggered back in shock, staring at the broken weapon that had served him through so many crusades.
His moment of stupor cost him, as Kharath brought the polearm back around and caught the Ultramarine across the face, knocking his helmet clean off and throwing it over the edge of the platform.
Kharath stood tall, and Maximus watched in dawning horror as the Prince's wounds all healed.
The Ultramarine forced himself back to his feet, pain radiating through his battered body, the shattered remnants of Extinction still clutched in one gauntlet.
His vision swam for a moment as he locked eyes on Nira amid the chaos of the floating platform.
"Nira!" he bellowed, his voice raw and wet through the blood trickling from his split lip.
"Grab both Chapter Masters and get them to the edge of the platform now!" Kharath merely sneered at the desperate order, his grotesque features twisting into a mask of arrogant amusement as he watched the Ultramarine's frantic movements, the daemon prince's polearm still dripping with the blood of fallen Astartes while he began to advance slowly.
"You won't be going anywhere, little Ultramarine," Kharath mocked, his voice slithering through the howling winds like poison. "None of you will escape this end I have prepared."
Thankfully, Dante and Tu'Shan had ended up near each other after the last exchange, both heavily wounded and struggling to rise, their armor cracked and leaking vital fluids as they leaned on one another for support.
Maximus hurried over to them as fast as his injured legs would allow, the floating rock platform groaning and shifting beneath his boots while Kharath closed the distance with unhurried confidence, clearly savoring the moment.
The Ultramarine dropped to one knee beside Dante, slamming the modified teleportarium device into the unstable ground with a crunch right next to the Blood Angel Chapter Master, who gripped his arm tightly and stared at him through the shattered lens of his damaged helmet, realization dawning in his pain-filled eyes.
"You bastard," Dante growled through clenched teeth, his voice thick with anger at the sacrifice Maximus was about to make. "Don't you dare—"
Kharath interrupt the old Chapter Master as his massive polearm came crashing down exactly where Maximus had been kneeling, the impact shattering the stone and sending a shockwave that nearly pitched them all over the edge, but the Ultramarine triggered his jump pack in a brilliant burst of flame that propelled him across the platform, drawing the daemon prince's furious pursuit.
He locked eyes with Nira across the floating island of rock, her expression shifting from determination to dawning horror as she understood the full weight of his plan.
"Courage and Honor, little one," Maximus called out to her, his voice steady despite the exhaustion and pain tearing through him, before he pressed the activation rune on his wrist.
"NOOO!" Nira screamed in raw denial, lunging forward as if she could stop it, but the teleportarium flared to life in a brilliant flash of light, enveloping her, Dante, and Tu'Shan in crackling energy before they vanished from the platform entirely, whisked away to the relative safety of the SunEater far above.
Maximus let out a long, weary sigh of relief as the light faded, the weight of his cousin's lives momentarily lifted from his shoulders even as he stood alone against the towering daemon prince, blood streaming from multiple wounds.
Kharath paused, tilting his head with mocking curiosity before letting out a low, rumbling laugh that echoed across the windswept heights.
"How noble," the daemon prince sneered, his voice dripping with false admiration as he rested the massive polearm across one shoulder. "You have simply prolonged their deaths, you fool. I will hunt them down soon enough, and yours will be the first soul I savor when I return to finish what I started."
Maximus pulled his combat knife from its sheath with a steely rasp, the monomolecular blade humming faintly in his grip as he dropped into a low combat stance despite the agony wracking his body, his scarred face set in a mask of resolve.
"Enough talk." The Ultramarine called. "Now come. Give me a good death."
The towering abomination spun his massive polearm once more in a blurring arc that left trails of Warp energy crackling through the air, the weapon humming with malicious hunger before Kharath vanished in a swirl of shadowy sorcery, reappearing instantly behind Maximus with the polearm already sweeping in a lethal strike meant to bisect the lone warrior at the waist.
Maximus's enhanced instincts screamed in warning and he triggered his jump pack in a desperate burst of flame, launching himself forward across the unstable platform just in time to avoid the blow, the blade whistling so close behind him that it sheared through the trailing edge of his jump pack and sent sparks and molten ceramite fragments spraying across his back.
The daemon prince pressed on, his polearm whipping through the air in a whirlwind of blurring strikes that forced Maximus onto the defensive, each near-miss sending shockwaves that rattled the Ultramarine's bones and threatened to pitch him over the edge into the void far below.
Maximus twisted and rolled, using the last sputtering bursts of his jump pack to dodge sweeping arcs that cratered the rock where he had stood moments before, his combat knife ringing painfully against the polearm's haft whenever he could not fully evade, the impacts jarring his arms and sending fresh waves of agony through his already wounded body.
Kharath laughed with dark delight as he toyed with his prey, disappearing and reappearing in flashes of Warp sorcery to strike, one thrust grazing Maximus's shoulder and tearing a deep, burning gash through his armor, sending hot blood streaming down his arm while another sweeping blow caught him across the back and hurled him tumbling across the jagged stone, ribs cracking audibly beneath the force.
"Pathetic," the daemon prince sneered, his voice slithering through the winds as he advanced again.
Maximus forced himself upright with a pained growl, spitting blood. He lunged inside the next strike, driving his blade toward Kharath's midsection in a desperate counter that scored a shallow cut across the daemon's scales before the polearm's haft slammed into his chest, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing down hard enough to crack more of his armor and drive the breath from his lungs.
The Ultramarine rolled desperately to avoid the follow-up stomp that cratered the stone where his head had been, scrambling to his feet and using another weak jump pack burst to put distance between them, his knife flashing up to deflect a lightning-fast thrust that would have impaled him through the throat, the deflection costing him another deep cut across his forearm as the blade's edge slipped past his guard.
The Ultramarine saw his opening as Kharath edged closer to the crumbling rim of the floating platform, the daemon prince's mocking confidence momentarily blinding him to the desperate idea burning in Maximus' eyes, and in that heartbeat of opportunity the last original Space Marine exploded forward with every remnant of his strength.
He slid low under the sweeping arc of Kharath's massive polearm, the blade whistling inches above his scarred face as he triggered his jump pack in a final, explosive burst that rocketed him upward like a living missile straight into the daemon's towering form.
Maximus buried his combat knife to the hilt in Kharath's right eye with a savage twist, the blade sinking deep into the corrupted flesh and eliciting a deafening shriek of agony from the abomination as thick, foul blood sprayed across his face and armor.
Gripping one of the daemon's thrashing horns with his free hand, he kept the jump pack firing at full throttle, the relentless blue-white flames scorching Kharath's scales while the combined momentum dragged them both inexorably over the edge of the platform and into the blood-red void far below.
They plummeted together in a chaotic tangle of limbs and fury, the wind howling past them as Maximus stabbed into Kharath's face over and over again, the combat knife rising and falling in a frenzied rhythm that carved deep, sizzling gashes across the daemon's features, gouging out chunks of unnatural flesh and sending sprays of blood whipping away in the rushing air.
Kharath thrashed wildly mid-fall, his massive wings unfurling in a desperate attempt to arrest their descent and regain control, but Maximus roared in defiance and drove his knife sideways, shearing through the membrane and bone of one wing in a gruesome amputation that sent the severed limb spiraling away into the abyss below.
The daemon prince howled in torment, his remaining eye blazing with hatred as Maximus snapped off the horn he was holding onto with a savage wrench and drove the jagged shard deep into Kharath's other eye, slamming it home with the full force of his fist until the daemon's vision was completely obliterated in twin fountains of corrupted blood.
Kharath's agony-fueled rage reached its peak as he rolled violently in the air, using the last of his strength to slam Maximus hard against the jagged cliff face of the floating island as they continued their descent, the impact crushing more of the Ultramarine's armor and driving fresh spikes of white-hot pain through his already broken body, ribs splintering and organs protesting as the two combatants tumbled away from each other in a chaotic spin.
Maximus fought through the blinding agony, his jump pack sputtering with its final reserves as he triggered one last desperate burst that sent him blitzing toward Kharath like an Azure comet, knife raised for a final strike even as the daemon prince recovered enough to impale him straight through the chest with the massive polearm.
The blade punched through ceramite, flesh, and bone with horrifying ease, erupting from Maximus's back in a spray of blood that painted the sky as excruciating pain flooded every nerve, yet the Ultramarine refused to die quietly.
With a guttural roar that tore from the depths of his soul, he spun them both in a violent twist using the last strength in his broken frame, releasing his grip on the polearm just as the sharp, towering point of the distant black obelisk rushed up to meet them.
Kharath's ruined eyes widened in sudden, dawning horror as the obelisk's razor tip impaled him through the back and drove straight through his torso with unstoppable force, the daemon prince's body sliding grotesquely down the shaft in a long, bloody trail of ruptured organs and dissolving Warp essence, his final screams echoing across the corrupted skies as the ancient structure slowly claimed him in a gruesome, impaling end.
Maximus, vision fading rapidly from blood loss and catastrophic injury, felt the world tilt and darken around him as gravity finally claimed what remained of his strength.
The ground rushed up to meet him in a blur, his broken body slamming into the corrupted earth, the last of his consciousness being ripped away in a merciful wave of blackness, the Ultramarine's final thoughts of duty as darkness swallowed him whole amid the ruins of Abeloth's domain.
===
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