Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 363 Lower Nest Sanatorium

Just as the 32 plasma pistol was about to overload and explode, the entire space suddenly froze for a moment.

Strange ripples spread through the air, as if reality itself had been forcibly torn open by some force.

A streak of dark blue flame descended from the sky like a meteor, striking the top of the Chaos Egg with pinpoint accuracy.

The flames were no ordinary fire, but a destructive energy composed purely of psionic power, instantly scorching most of the monster's eyeballs and tentacles.

The Chaos Egg let out a painful roar, instinctively curling back, thick black blood gushing from its wounds, only to be evaporated by the psionic flames in mid-air.

The space at the edge of the battlefield distorted and fluctuated, and Ahriman's figure suddenly appeared as if stepping out of a water curtain.

He was clad in black and white power armor, with golden runes embedded in it flashing with each breath, as dazzling as stars.

Beneath the massive, horned helmet, a pair of eyes burning with psionic fire coldly stared at the chaotic creation before him.

The staff in his hand emitted a dazzling light, and the ancient characters engraved on the staff lit up one by one, as if chanting some kind of language that transcended the mortal world.

"Step back!" Ahriman's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority that resonated directly in everyone's minds.

32 felt her mechanical nerves tremble at the sound, and she immediately controlled the remaining intelligent mechs to retreat, while grabbing the fallen Guterres to her feet.

Ahriman's hands moved rapidly, forming hand seals, each gesture leaving behind psionic afterimages in the air, creating complex patterns.

The incantation he chanted was obscure and difficult to understand, yet it caused the surrounding air to resonate and vibrate.

The energy of the subspace gathered wildly in his palm, gradually solidifying into a two-meter-long, dazzling spear of light. Countless tiny rune chains were wrapped around the spear, emitting a teeth-grinding buzzing sound.

The Chaos Egg seemed to sense a deadly threat. It frantically waved its remaining tentacles, trying to escape, but Ahriman simply waved his hand, and the ghostly blue psionic flames transformed into chains, firmly imprisoning the monster in place.

"Return to nothingness, twisted thing." With Ahriman's cold pronouncement, the spear of light transformed into a stream of light, precisely piercing the core of the Chaos Egg.

The instant the blow struck, countless tiny rune chains burst forth from the wound, instantly covering the monster's entire body.

The Chaos Egg let out a final, heart-wrenching wail as its body began to disintegrate from the inside, its flesh peeling away piece by piece like a weathered sand sculpture.

The parts bound by the runic chains were the first to turn to ash, followed by the tentacles, eyeballs, fangs...

In the end, this terrifying creation vanished completely in the psionic flames, leaving not even a trace of ash.

An eerie silence suddenly fell over the battlefield, with only the runes on Ahriman's staff still emitting a faint glow.

He slowly turned around, his gaze lingering briefly on 32 and Guterres, his eyes showing neither concern nor contempt, only an unfathomable calm.
-
Under the dim light of the lower nest, the metal exterior of the Grey Pigeon Sanatorium gleamed with an eerie dark red rust, like congealed blood.

The six-story building looks no different from other medical facilities in Xiachao. The words "Grey Pigeon Rehabilitation Center" are still faintly visible on the rusted sign, and there is even a dim light on in the guard booth at the entrance.

"Action!" With a command from MaiMai and MuSe, the two killing squads dispersed like shadows.

They deliberately avoided the main entrance surveillance cameras and instead chose to sneak in separately from the side fire escape and ventilation shaft.

“Psionic readings are abnormal.” MaiMai’s suppressed voice came through the communicator, accompanied by a faint electrical noise: “The entire building is shrouded in some kind of energy field, and my psionic senses are being severely interfered with.”

He raised his hand to signal the squad to stop, while the psionicists in the group carefully inspected their surroundings. Dusk adjusted the multispectral vision device on his head, the mechanical eye emitting a soft hum.

“The surface temperature is normal, but…” He switched to a special frequency band and suddenly gasped.

Under scanning at a special frequency, the wall was covered with psionic markings invisible to the naked eye.

The glowing patterns writhed slowly on the wall like living things, forming a dizzying and eerie design.

“This isn’t an ordinary sanatorium!” he warned in a low voice, his voice transmitted through an encrypted channel to each team member: “This place has been converted into some kind of ritual site! Be vigilant, there might be…”

Before he could finish speaking, a dull thud suddenly came from underground.

The two squads immediately went into combat mode, and the "click" of the weapons' safety devices being simultaneously released was particularly clear in the silence.

When MaiMai's team descended the stairs to the second basement level, the sight before them froze even these battle-hardened warriors.

"By the Emperor!" A team member gasped, his hands gripping the gun trembling uncontrollably.

Dozens of corpses dressed in hospital gowns were neatly arranged on both sides of the corridor, each with the same eight-pointed star mark on its forehead.

Even more bizarrely, these corpses all maintained a standard kneeling posture, with their withered fingers crossed in front of their chests, as if they were performing some kind of devout prayer.

What's most chilling is that they all had the same identical smile frozen on their lips.

"Vital signs detected!" the medic in the squad suddenly shouted, and the bio-scanner emitted a rapid "beep" sound: "Turn to the third room on the right!"

Suddenly, a piercing static came through the communicator, like some kind of inhuman scream.

When the signal was restored, MaiMai's voice became unusually urgent: "Survivor found! Karl Wayne is still alive! But his condition...something's wrong..."

In the dimly lit ward, they found Karl strapped to a specially made hospital bed.

The former researcher is now skin and bones, but what is most disturbing is his eyes—his irises have turned completely dark red, and his pupils have shrunk to a thin line.

When the flashlight shone on his face, his lips slowly parted, revealing an eerie smile identical to that of the corpses in the corridor.

As dusk fell, the sight before him made him grip the plasma pistol tightly.

Former researcher Karl Wayne was strapped to a specially designed operating table, his skin covered with writhing black lines that formed dizzying chaotic runes.

“They…planted a seed…in my body…” Karl suddenly opened his eyes, his originally blue pupils now glowing with an eerie red light: “When the eclipse…comes…He will…”

The entire building suddenly shook violently, and all the emergency lights on the walls shattered, replaced by blood-red psionic flames.

Karl's body began to twist unnaturally, and black patterns rapidly covered his entire body as if they were alive.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Mai Mai roared. "This is a trap!"

(End of this chapter)