The Tau Empire could not even begin to assess what had happened to dozens of its colonial planets, as all communications had been severed.
However, one thing was glaringly obvious.
"Every planet exhibiting this anomaly is a world that was terraformed by the serpent-folk. We must suspect they employed some form of malevolent technology!"
"Did we not investigate thoroughly when we accepted their technology?"
"We can discuss the assignment of responsibility later. Right now, we must contain them immediately!"
As Yuki had suspected, the Ethereals had never fully trusted them. They had stationed a significant number of troops near the planet currently occupied by Yuki and Yuno, specifically to guard against any potential uprising. Although a large portion of those forces had been redeployed due to the Imperium of Man's invasion, the remaining fleet was more than sufficient to deal with a single planet.
"This is the order of the Ethereals."
Osh understood that the decisions made by the Ethereals were always rational and absolutely correct. As a Fire Caste warrior, he had to obey, yet he still felt a trace of hesitation.
"Is it confirmed? The accidents at those colonies were caused by Yuki and Yuno?"
"Regardless, we must take them in. Now that the colonies have lost contact, they have a responsibility to be questioned by us."
Osh quickly adjusted his mindset, though a sense of bewilderment lingered in his heart. Yuki was a good person. His appearance was completely different from the Tau, yet he had shown kindness toward them, unlike other races that carried inexplicable malice.
Could it all have been an act?
The Fire Caste arrest squad arrived swiftly at Yuki and Yuno's residence. It was still the same mountain cave, but the glowing, fungus-like plants that used to surround it had vanished at some unknown point. Drones moved in first, but the moment they entered the cave, they all lost control.
The Tau approached in tactical formations until a figure slowly walked out of the cave—a human?
She wore a long robe, and there were scars over her eyes; she appeared to be blind. Bathed in the sunlight, she let out a yawn.
Osh aimed his pulse weapon at the woman, as did Fal, while the remaining warriors kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings.
"Hey! Who are you? Where are the serpent-folk who live here?"
The woman did not understand his words. With a slight flick of her finger, Osh found himself unable to move, as did his comrades. The helmet was torn from Fal's head by a mysterious force, and the woman flew directly toward them.
"Monster—"
Osh didn't understand what she was saying either, but her next move made their hostile relationship clear. With a gentle press of her hand, Fal's head instantly shattered into pieces.
"Fal!"
The drones immediately tagged and opened fire, but all the ammunition came to a standstill around Eleven. She rubbed her fingers together lightly, and the projectiles shot back along their original paths, destroying all the drones.
What was this thing?
Osh was flung aside by Eleven, his battlesuit protecting him from the impact. Around them, the vegetation seemed to possess a life of its own, receding like a tide. The once-lush jungle was rapidly converted into barren ground. Osh scrambled up and fired at Eleven, but all his attacks were blocked by an invisible barrier around her.
"A pulse shield?"
Eleven was in no hurry. She had just woken up, and her body still felt a bit numb. She approached the nearest Tau and gently plucked off their heads, setting them on the ground like ripe fruit.
The scene filled Osh with nausea and horror. Why could the woman before him take the lives of his companions so nonchalantly?
In the air, support fighters arrived. Heavy weapons spat fire, but Eleven raised her hand, and an invisible force tore the aircraft apart, crushing the pilots inside.
The Tau's shadow in the Warp was extremely thin, which meant they had high resistance to the seduction of Warp demons. However, this did not mean they had high resistance to psychic powers. After all, psychic energy could exert physical influence on the real world.
"Osh! Retreat! This woman is one of the humans' 'weird ones'! She possesses a power we cannot fully grasp!"
Osh hesitated for a moment, but after seeing Eleven tear apart another fighter, he chose to retreat immediately. He ran frantically toward a low-flying fighter sent to pick him up, and a comrade pulled him aboard.
"The situation has changed. This planet is crawling with enemies now. Those bugs are erupting from the ground everywhere. Other units are helping the colonists evacuate; our mission has been changed to saving as many people as possible."
"Who is our enemy?"
"According to records, they are extremely similar to the Tyranids that attacked us nearly fifty years ago. It is presumed they have returned."
"What about the serpent-folk?"
"They've all disappeared."
Osh still didn't understand what was happening. The pilot offered his own deduction.
"Those serpent-folk might be the vanguards of the Tyranids. I've heard of such creatures—it's just, why were they able to mobilize so many resources? Tyranids are incomprehensible, uncommunicative creatures, but these vanguards—why is the plane stopping?"
Osh looked back and saw the woman who wielded that strange power flying behind them. With a slight clenching motion, the fighter was held stationary in mid-air. The next second, the entire craft was hurled toward the ground. In the critical moment, Osh and the pilot managed to eject.
The co-pilot and the other Tau perished in the resulting fireball.
The pilot was in bad shape; his chest was pierced by debris when they hit the ground. Osh, protected by his battlesuit, remained uninjured. The woman landed in front of him and lifted him into the air by an invisible force.
After pinning him down, Eleven stepped back, and Yuki and Yuno appeared.
"You... who are you?"
Osh felt a sense of familiarity, but these were two humans!
Yuki smiled slightly and manipulated his eyes, turning his pupils into vertical slits.
"Is this familiar enough, Brother Osh?"
"Yuki? How...?"
Yuki looked around. This place had originally been a warehouse filled with food, now entirely picked clean by the Tyranids.
"A matter of survival, Osh. This is just how the world works."
"I thought we were friends."
"We were. But as you know, friends are delicious."
Osh resisted desperately, but the psychic force held him in a death grip. His battlesuit was on the verge of collapsing, yet he couldn't break free.
"Enough, stop playing around." Yuno urged Yuki to hurry, which was rare for her. "The main force of the remnants of Hive Fleet Gorgon is almost here."
"Fine." Yuki plucked Osh's head off.
"What are you doing?" Yuno asked.
"I want to make a trophy room."
"Then you better be careful. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from eating it all."
"Watch it, or I'll fight you for real."