Blocking another sword stroke with his gladius, Alpharius delivered a crushing punch with his left hand that sent one of the remaining Lucifers flying backwards. He grabbed another, and broke his neck with one twist of his armoured fingers.
Chayne swung his sabre in, and it was barely blocked by the primarch’s sword. He altered his attack dynamic. Alpharius had to take a step backwards to defend against Chayne’s extraordinary swordsmanship. The primarch parried and thrust, but Chayne dodged the strike, and ran his sabre into Alpharius’s side. The tempered blade, as strong and sharp as any metal known to man, punched under the side of the power armour, through the segmented layering, and deep into Alpharius’s torso.
Alpharius looked down at the wedged blade. A tiny amount of blood oozed out.
‘Hmh,’ he murmured. He stared at Chayne, who knew he could not pull the sword out.
‘That’s all you get,’ said Alpharius, and split him in half.
Alpharius sheathed his gladius, and dragged the sabre out of his torso. He tossed it away, and walked through the litter of bodies to where Namatjira was kneeling on the deck.
‘Please! My lord primarch! Please, I beg you!’ Namatjira pleaded, his hands making a desperate namaste.
Alpharius drew his boltgun.
‘Why?’ shrieked Namatjira. ‘Why are you doing this?’
‘For the Emperor,’ said Alpharius, and pulled the trigger.
EPILOGUE
Cabal
T
HE COPPER DISH
spun out through the darkest part of the void. John Grammaticus walked its silent halls for the last time.
‘Where are you going?’ asked Slau Dha.
‘Away. It’s over. I’m done.’
‘There will be other tasks.’
‘Not for me,’ said John Grammaticus.
‘The Cabal is grateful for your efforts,’ said Slau Dha.
‘I bet that was hard to say,’ Grammaticus replied, scornfully.
He walked away from the autarch.
‘You were successful, mon-keigh,’ said the eldar lord. ‘Why do you not seem satisfied?’
‘Because of the measure of my success,’ said Grammaticus. ‘I successfully signed the death notice of the human race.’
‘John?’ Slau Dha called out. ‘You are heading in the direction of the external hatches. John?’
John Grammaticus ignored him and kept walking. He felt he deserved it.
It wouldn’t be his first death, but he hoped it would be his last.