(Alexander pov)
I followed Delta team behind them as they flew towards Jacinto. As I pondered the last words of the traitor.
[Moments after he dragged Euphoria into his subverse, from the throne room]
I just transfered the fallen brother into a planet that held no significant resources. Not in the level that held galactic ending weapons.
Just a dusty planet that filled with sand.
It was just him and me.
He looked around and scoffed at me.
"Seriously... Why didn't you make a more grander stage, a fortress filled with guns or even a fleet that held no end.
Just this dusty planet alone?" Euphoria sarcastically spoke.
"Such privileges is not worthy for a scum like you ... May this planet be your tomb."
I began to unravel my human form.
Not letting anyone see what i did truly become.
A winged figure holding a flaming sword began to encapsulate around me... The halo now began to glow brightly, bringing pressure beyond his reach. Weapons began to materialized with at my waist.
Euphoria realize that some of the weapons
The Halbert, The Shield and the Grimoire.
His face paled as he knew that the fact that it was already materialized, is that the deceased brothers already gave me their strength.
"Oi,oi, you can't be serious?! Already merging all the sentience of all the body parts is impossible! They have different personalities and I sure that some of them is very hostile to each other!" Euphoria panicked. As he attempted to reach the atmosphere to escape from this place.
A giant hand of spirituality lunged forth and grabbed the man. Crashing him into the dirt
With such velocity that it made a dirt tsunami.
"You can't leave... I told you, you've already been marked for death. And I am your executioner."
"You are not much of a speech guy." Euphoria growls.
"The dead do not talk, lets see if you are worthy of his creation." I emotionlessly spoke. The tone was neutral, there was not a voice of concern of hatred. Just pure apathy.
Euphoria materialized his armor.
It was sleek and refined, but faded engravings of the runes and wards scattered across the armor.
"Now... I shall-" before he could speak
His face was met by MY fist that appeared before him. I don't care about the villain monologue. I don't care about his reasoning, the fact he joined with the locust and bedded the queen of locust, disgusted me.
He could sense the intent of the blow and cause his regeneration to falter.
It caused him spiraling into the ground once more.
He found his body paralyzed as he slowly attempted to get his body upright.
"Get up." I spoke as I stood before him.
Looking back, the man before me was pathetic.
'I would if I could!' euphoria internally screamed out.
I swung my sword and several of euphoria limbs flew out. And burned to nothingness. The limbs were cauterized.
"You are... Definitely a clown... Come, on... Tell me a joke. Maybe you can make the dead laugh."
I held the Halbert and tossed it into space. And as euphoria blundered, it was already too late.
The Halbert came crashing down, bearing a asteroid of the size of Texas poking above the Halbert.
"Clown... Time out. Punishment time~" I smiled as I swung the makeshift hammer at Euphoria general location.
"Wait *Gurgle*." His throat felt like it was impossible to speak as fluid now filling his lungs." For the first time in eons, he found himself at the face of his brother special hammer.
As the asteroid collided with the target, it created a crater that is vastly deep.
I raised it up and swung again, each blow is faster than the last.
If I hit euphoria with the speed of 5 km per hit. Now, its already 520 km per hit.
Each blow is becoming a blur as the friction of the asteroid hammer crash, have shaved several inches each blow, making the friction more heated up that it heated the atmosphere.
By the time I gave the last blow, the hammer is already in flames as the asteroid is more akin to a molten metal than a rock.
I looked at the target.
Now charred before him.
It was turned to paste, his armor was torn to shreds, I tossed a potion and he slowly regenerate. But I ripped his soul from the flesh and crucified him.
This was the appetizer... Not the full meal.
"What are you doing to me now!?" He screamed. As he found himself, tied up on a cross. He shudder of the people before him.
"Oh, I just grabbed all the souls that the locust killed, nothing much really." I smiled as millions stood behind me.
I glanced at the souls and they were on the verge of becoming a evil spirits. They have hatred towards the locust but we're unable to vent.
"Alrighty, each of you, get to stabbed, shoot and do whatever you want to the King of Locust! And by doing so, I will oversee that and make sure that those of the living will hear what you done!"
I projected a massive armoury for the souls to use.
I think it was around... 50 million souls that had a grudge with the Euphoria.
The soldiers that died, had their time with the man, sure he have ungodly regeneration, but it makes him the ultimate punching bag.
If his flesh did died, his soul is already ragged by my attacks. And the souls swarm over his nailed soul.
Lancer fire and longshot rang out and some even tore his limbs with their chainsaw attachment or bayonet them.
The civilians that died, were incense that the man took their lives away and took up arms.
From the children stab him with kitchen knifes to a woman that smack him with a hammer.
Each of them grew more violent than the last.
Ahhh .. one thing I learn from humanity.
Their malice is neverending.
I didn't finish him off, he done so much harm and denied his calling to defend humanity for some skank of a locust queen?
50 million was already enough to did considerable damage. And by the time he was through. It didn't matter it was cog, uir or the independent nations, all of them hated Euphoria.
His soul was already in shreds.
Muttering as the last one ripped his groins out.
I knew my weakness, perhaps it was already imbedded in all of us.
The Mass production variant of a primarch, yes we are powerful, to save cost, we do not grow in height, we only control a single aspect of humanity, we have absurd amount of stamina and regeneration, but there is one key weakness, a redundant feature.
We are all weak to attacks that affect the soul. Perhaps a hindsight, of the Achilles heel?
I nearly died perhaps 3 times, but I arrived from the brink of death, strengthening my weakness.
And the man... No this body of mine brother, was clearly the weaker version.
I looked at my predecessors memories of him.
When he face the weak, he toys with them.
When facing the strong. He fled like a rat.
He is a Walmart discount of Konrad Curze, except flirting was all he knew. The only reason our creator, didn't tossed him into disposal, was that he was gifted in Biological cybernetics.
I looked back at the countless souls had their grievances fulfill.
I raised my arms.
"The Holy Father welcome you, children of sera, to his beloved heaven. I am selfish to keep you alive till this day, but I hope that your hatred will be vented and your hatred be cleansed. Perhaps one day, when your living rejoin you in the afterlife, you can bragged to them that you killed the Locust king. I will guard over them, just as I watched you ascend." I smiled as the halo above my head glowed, the ghost of the fallen, realize that they were going to heaven.
One of the children smiled as he waved goodbye.
I turned back to the coward before me.
"Halp. I ..have...information... I can tell you anything!"
I knelt down beside him, and spoke.
"I don't need the word of a traitor, I just absorb your brains, the soul can lie, but not a dead corpse. This is my regards of those that gifted me with their strength."
He realizes as he saw my smile, because I never intended to let him alive, he turned to fear, as he tried to scramble out to his souless body. I impaled him with my sword.
"Rejoice... You will see father... Very soon. Tell him... I say hello when you get there."
The flames of my sword erupted and soon covered the planet in flames, the man screamed as his soul and body was turned to cinders.
A screen popped up next to me.
. Kill the Locust queen. By either your hand or Marcus Fenix.>
. Fully consolidate the population to accept imperial rule.
. Find a solution to kill the scourge>
I smiled, as one enemy dies, means one less moron. It's a positive outlook despite there are probably more than I could think of.
I am not a character that just wait for the villain to unleashed his final form.
I do not care about his sob story, why he betrayed my creator. That moment passed eons ago. And those people he could manipulate through emotions died in the rebellion.
I just want to get shit done and be over with.
Humanity need to be united...
Against the coming storm.
I popped out from my reality and found that Marcus was busy dealing with Skaar. So I find my way into the royal bedchambers.
It was filled with musk and sweat. Seemed like they been had it going... Ugh, aphrodisiac and stamina potions made by brumak balls...
And I felt more disgusted of going through the scum belongings
But my success is through a artifact...
It looks similar to the Black orb I possessed...
And papers and notes for the traitors collaborators that survived.
I grinned as they are going to be the targets.
Maybe there is a correlation with it?
After I felt the tremors, I know it was time.
I arrived at the platform without them noticing and left with them.
I said nothing because it was, not important.
As we all arrived at Jacinto, it was a slaughter house.
Despite the fact I practically send all the local converted soldiers to aid Jacinto, it wasn't enough.
The reavers flowed like crazy and the skies was filled with flak.
Reports flooding in that they managed to breached the outposts I laid out.
Hell, I think I got several plumes of black cloud in my face.
I glance at the situation below.
The evacuation is already underway, and my soldiers is providing the escorts, while the Cog fought tooth and nail to delay them.
I looked at Marcus, now he seemed to have his hero moments shining through.
We all given the okay sign to land.
Marcus reaver, being the first crash landed on the landing platform.
I held out a Noctux Labyrinth and captured my reaver.
Baird noticed it, but didn't say anything..
Good for him, or I just say his bald hair jokes.
Perhaps I just assist the deployment soon...
(3rd Pov)
In a control room that held the remnants of the Onyx guards guarding the front door, All the important players of this defense gathered around the screen that oversee the battle.
The remaining council of cog, was destroyed, a reaver crashed into their evacuation helicopter and killed most of the crew, leaving Chairman Prescott the de facto leader of the organization.
"Alright, if we are evacuating. Delta, take a force to breached a way into the caverns, the seeders and the nemocyst is blocking our passageway.
Alexander, can the church provide more support?" Prescott asked.
"We are already stretched thin. Even the orbital fleets are unable to provide close bombardments with the fight now in close quarters, but they will delay the incoming waves. I will oversee the evacuation progress on the ground." Alexander spoke.
A half lie, it was true it was stretch thin because all the converted sera soldiers are literally defending the capital, but not the actual army behind him that is slowly amassing for a counter attack.
"Noted, alright, we shall begin our final stand."
Hoffman grinned as he held his lancer.
"If this is the final stand of Jacinto, this shall be it, I'm joining the front!"
"Glad to have you by my side, Hoffman, let's get the people out of here!"
Alexander went to the ground levels and assisted the defenders and the evacuation.
While Marcus and Delta team ventured to the depths to activate the Lightmass bomb.
The hordes of locust was unending.
Brumaks flowed through the streets, trampling any sort of defenses.
Alexander and Hoffman fought back, behind the sandbags and broken rubble, along with a few remaining cog and Church followers, as they watched the last Apc and Valkyries set off into the ocean.
Building of untold value crashed down around them. And statue of their founder burned and crumble to the ground. The notion of civilization is being destroyed under their very footsteps.
Alexander listening to Delta reports as they arrived to the depth and took out the seeders.
"Come on Hoffman, let's show these rookie how the vets do their thing!" Alexander spoke as he fired at a Brumak with his Lascannon, sending the beast collapsing to the ground.
A secret radio transmission entered Alexander helmet.
"Alright, enact a fighting retreat to the docks, ensure that when one defense line retreat, you must provide cover support. Inform any cog element if they want to follow you, humanity is not going to die in this place!"
"Wilco, over and out."
Alexander watched from the different part of the city as the light from the heaven now glowed with a bright orange.
Hoffman beside him had mixed feelings about it. After all, he was the one that enacted the first hammer of dawn.
"Hoffman, land can be retaken and rebuilt... As long as the people is safe... There is always hope."
Hoffman cover his eyes as he turned towards the locust barreling towards them.
"Shit, Hoffman, let's go, our task is done here! All men, follow me and evacuate!"
Many of the cog and Church soldiers alike, rushed towards their evacuation shuttles.
The locust noticed something was wrong as they swarm the location.
The Church planes began their strafing runs as they attacked the locust.
A swarm of king raven rushed out from a pit nearby and following a few minutes there was a large tremor erupted.
It shook the core and the city began to collapse by the its own weight, as the foundation was destroyed.
Due to the difference in height, the ocean began to flood into the sunken city, swallowing everything in its path, the locust were unaware and unable to escape as they were engineer to have metal skeletal frames, became their doom.
The survivors of Jacinto watched as their last bastion destroyed.
Whether it was from the ships or the swarm of helicopter and planes. All watched their defenses and effort to keep their city alive gone to waste.
Alexander watched from the distance as Marcus attempted to call for Anya.
He smiled as those two love birds is just a helicopter away.
But while the people are looking at the city.
Alexander looked at the ocean below.
The yellow liquid is now begining to infest the local fishes and merging with the ocean itself.
It noticed Alexander gaze as it disappeared from his sight.
Alexander sighed as he knows the war is not over.... Its only the beginning.
The remnants of cog, arrived to a island that is close to land their ships and planes to refuel.
But what they didn't realize was that it is now Under controlled by the Imperium of Mankind. The cog soldier noticed that these people have the same weaponry and armor to the church.
Alexander was asked about this newly formed faction.
He plausible denied that it was his own forces.
And was sent as a delegation from the cog to this unknown faction.
Alexander wryly smiled as he negotiating with his own imperium.
Which caught them by surprise on how easy their demands were, since they had nothing to put to the table.
The only thing was that they were not allowed to fight the local forces and did some crime.
In this island, some of the cog soldiers began to reflect on themselves as almost every waking day, they always fear the locust. Some didn't even know they had PTSD until they undergo therapy. Every tremor, they always looked at the ground, with weapons raised thinking a locust hole would popped out.
Perhaps first time in a while, they found a peace.
Hoffman, took the remaining civilians to Anvil Gate as there is no space to settle in. At least in his mind, he is planning to bleed the locust dry.
Delta team had their own things to do.
Cole didn't realize that he was a local celebrity in the imperial circles, and was tasked to formed a team of trashball to compete with the newly formed imperium.
A sort of a sport for the military.
Marcus and the rest was doing patrols around the area. Occasionally spending time with Anya.
Baird... Well just doing Baird things.
He first got a laboratory set up in a toilet. But after speaking with Alexander he got a more decent laboratory provided that he worked with the mechanicus.
"Jeeez, you want me working with... These tin men?"
"Look at the bright side, Baird, want to do chemistry in a toilet? You looked like a drug dealer in that setting, At least they have a proper tools for what you want to make."
All the bantering and understanding.
But peace didn't last forever.
Marcus, Dom and Carlos heeded a distress call to a oil rig that served as a outpost and a supply source of fuel.
But the oil rig was covered with this strange growth of polyps with Lambent colored sacs covered around it.
"What the hell is this?" Marcus muttered.
"Wait... How can the lambent be here?"
They ventured to search for survivors, but they found only blood left behind.
"Control, Oil Rig Seven is empty, there is no survivors and there's these strange polyps encased around it."
There was growling as Delta team aimed at the direction of the noise.
A humanoid like figure with pulsating sacs of imulsion slowly walked towards them.
"That's not a locust."
"Wait... Isn't that what Alexander spoke, about Imulsion infecting humans?" Dom pointed out."
It howled as it began to rushed towards them in high speed.
Marcus and the rest shot at it, but the lancer bullets only hindered the now infected human. Marcus used his chainsaw and rend it apart. But he noticed that the sacs were beginning to violently shaking, he kicked the corpse before it exploded into imulsion.
"Shit, it's harder to kill."
As they make their way to the ship, several polyps sprouted out from the ocean and began attacking the ship.
"What the hell are those things?!" One of the ship crew yelled as they fired back.
Marcus jumped into the fray and assisted the defenders, he noticed that one of them was using a flamer.
"Yeah! Come get some!"
Benjamin, now a part of a patrol team is using the flamer to scorch the threat as the polyps screamed as it calcified.
"So flames are effective huh?"
"We going to need answers." Marcus grimly spoke. Only one man might knew about this.
Marcus barged into the command center, where Cog and Imperial alike is watching a horrifying scene from the mainland.
Videos of giant movin polyps swung down on cog defenders and the locust now infested with imulsion now swarm across isolated bases.
Brumaks now having a harden armor than before.
"What the hell just happen."
"Wait, you telling me all that imulsion was just another war we have to face?!"
Marcus, looked at the man that knew it all.
Alexander Tyrus.
His emotionless face betrayed him as he clenched on his seat.
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
"What wasn't supposed to happen?" Marcus spoke.
Alexander looked at Delta team.
"Haven't you heard? Chairman Prescott disappeared somewhere. And as of now, the cog government collapsed, leaving all cog members stranded. And the Imperium is now the holding the command structure. Or at least the current government."
"Wait, what do you mean he left us!?" Marcus eyes widen.
"The imperials told me that he left in a ship with the onyx guards."
"I want to ask you one thing, Alexander, did you know about the lambent?" Marcus asked.
Alexander watched him and sighed.
"Yes, I did told you about the infection, those with rustlung have the potential to become lambent. But the infection wasn't supposed to spread this fast." Alexander spoke openly, making the cog realize that Alexander had been aware of this threat the entire time.
"Then you should know what is Prescott is up to?"
"No, even I don't know where his slimy ass been through. And now I am currently the leader of both cog and the Imperium."
"Wait... You are the leader of this government?" Dom eyes opened.
"Always was, but I prefer it that you call me Major. Hoffman was Informed about the disappearance of Chairman Prescott. And he cede his soldiers to the imperium."
He turned towards Dominic.
"You are looking for your wife and kids? Go to the communication tower and hand this identification slip to the officer in charge there and tell him High Lord sent you. That would shut them up. Rest assured your wife is still safe." He tossed a permission slip that was signed by him.
Dom left in a hurry to the communication tower in the top of the city, where he met his wife, all these years she didn't aged a day.
But Marcus was having a shock. As the very same man he fought in the locust war is the leader of this so called imperium.
Yeah, he had Carlos and Anya to keep him down to earth, as Prescott and Alexander kept secret behind him.
But at least Alexander was more honest about it. Providing you asked him.
With the information gathered, it seemed that the lambent was afraid of fire and the fumes was consumed by the flames.
More plans and fortification was made to the island. And more expedition fleets is sent to the mainland. But before any of that were to enacted.
Lambent polyps began to erupted around the island and a fight ensues.
The civilians is now forced to leave their homes a second time as the island was in flames.
They aboard their ships as they watched as the imperials took a stand, as the ships went to the horizon, with the plumes of black smoke signify the island location.
Three years they spent in the ocean, barely surviving in the sea of polyps that erupted around them.