Chương 200: Chapter Two Hundred

++More old references? It is not healthy to live in the past. ++"Nor is it wise to forget what has shaped me. What use is it striving for a better tomorrow if I forget what that is?" ++Well, I will commend you for sticking to your ideals, even after all this time and sorrow. ++"I could say the same about you. Both of us are equally dogmatic about our goals." ++One made by Man, the other by Man's experiences. ++"Aye. Let's get this hunt over with. I want to hug my family before the day is out."

A straw beehive appears in my hand and I give it a shake. Millions of clockwork bees stream from its entrance and spread through the library, mapping the vast rows of books and searching for our foes. E-SIM detaches a lantern from his belt that burns with a disturbing purple flame. A horned figure within the flame silently screams as the flame burns brighter as E-SIM slowly turns around. He points behind us. ++That way. ++"Is that a piece of Bad Penny?" ++Yes.

We do not know where the ruler of this domain is, but they are using what little remains of Bad Penny as a source of power. Finishing him off should bring him to us, and even if that fails, it will weaken our opponent. ++"It's better than searching a seemingly infinite space. I was looking for clues to the inevitable puzzles that would reveal the Demon so it could gloat at us. I am pleased that we do not have to give up the initiative. It's rather fortunate that you can still track him.

I suspect that by the time we're done here many questions I have wondered about for decades will be answered." ++Deploying defensive Machine-Spirits. ++ All around us appear rows of clockwork tin soldiers with giant keys in their backs, dressed and equipped like Roman Legionnaires. I chuckle at the symbolism, for who else could better represent the destruction of this false temple of knowledge than the Romans?

It is not an idle choice either, for in this immaterial realm of techno-sorcery, history and image hold significant power. The clockwork legionnaires spread out around us and within moments we are surrounded by a score of legions, their silent steps following my own in perfect sync. The grand army continues to multiply as E-SIM adds chariots, light cavalry, and war elephants. A cloud of silver metal rushes out from my body and forms a fog around E-SIM and I, though it does not hinder our sight.

At the edge of the infinite horizon of books appears an opposing force of fantastical feathered creatures. They jerk towards us in sharp motions, like corrupt footage from a pict-recorder. Within moments they are upon us, trying to bowl over the neat formations of legionnaires. The Machine-Spirits brace their spears and shields, holding back the tide of bizarre Chaos Spawn. Each Demon is an amalgamation of paper, stone, and wax, held aloft by fine blue chains that stretch into the sky like rain.

As they strike, the bird headed statues around us come to life and lash out at E-SIM and I, attempting to steal the lantern. They fail spectacularly, their forms disintegrating the moment they hit my silver mist. We pass the next row of books and the lantern flares, abruptly directing us to the left for no apparent reason.

"A maze perhaps? I do hope it is not teleporting." ++It matters not. The lantern will guide us closer, no matter where the Demons flee. ++ The clash around us continues in total silence. Not because it is making no sound, but because I have turned my audio feed off. I don't want to hear what the Demons might be saying, because then I will be tempted to respond and that way lies madness, for there is no reasoning with the Ruinous Powers.

Having failed to shock, mislead, or steal from us, the Demons press their assault harder, slowing our progress through the infinite library. Torches appear in the hands of the legionnaires and they toss them at the shelves. The books instantly catch alight, flames rushing up their sides like a pine forest fire. Ash and embers fall upon us as the books take flight, fleeing the hungry flames. My silver mist sparks and erodes as scraps of paper, holding vile runes, fall upon us.

Many legionnaires are destroyed, their red, bronze, and steel bodies seizing up and falling to the flagstone floor, then turning to dust. For several minutes we are hard pressed as E-SIM struggles to renew our defensive forces, then the animated statues crumble, their power lost as the books, whose shelves they guard, flee and burn. The terrain shifts from stone bookshelves to an open plain of paper-grass and wax dew that hinders our footing. Each grass blade holds a single word.

The terrain is filled with intermittent stone obelisks, placed in a pattern that I find irritating for no reason I can discern. Books constantly divebomb us and I expend additional energy to protect the legionnaires from the bombardment with my silver mist. The constant flow of energy from destroyed Demons lets me run my implants at full power without worrying I will be left vulnerable and without power. Back in the Materium, I remove my helmet as my hair starts to glow white with heat.

I haven't had time yet to modify my new Rogue Pattern power armour to deal with my unusual heat output for me. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With my protections in place, E-SIM gains the upper hand, fully replenishing our forces and driving the Demons back to the bookshelves as we press further into the paper-grass plain. More knowledge is carved upon each obelisk face and when the legionnaires attempt to topple the obelisks, they find their strength lacking.

I approach the closest obelisk and examine it. After several minutes, I sigh.

"It's a teleport puzzle. We could keep following the lantern, but we can only be sure it will guide us through a route, not the quickest, and while neither side has infinite resources, that is no reason to squander our own." ++You will have to solve it, Aldrich. It would be best if I reserve my remaining bandwidth and processing capacity for sudden changes. ++"Agreed." I recall my bees. Most exit the library unharmed, avoiding the falling ash and flame with ease.

They plummet towards me and I absorb them, my wards incinerating a small percentage that were Demons in disguise. Their sensor data feeds into my implants helping me map the twisting energy of this place. I send them out again over the obelisk plains to map every symbol. I also spawn donsy of gnomes; a rather apt collective noun given the gnomes impending, unfortunate fate. The Demons continue their assault as I map the area for four subjective days, though really it's just a few seconds back in the Materium.

Simultaneously I send the gnomes out for testing, having them activate specific obelisks and teleport back and forth. The paths are always changing, but there are detectable patterns that let me map out a key and progress through the maze to its centre. Once the puzzle is solved, I hold onto E-SIM's large bronze frame. E-SIM dismisses his legionnaires and we teleport through the maze, checking the route each jump against the flares of Bad Penny's soul lantern.

On our eighty-first teleport, yet exactly ninety-nine percent through the maze, we are assaulted by a tempest of avian gheists and the fragmented souls of the Barghest Marines, who howl and gnash at E-SIM and I with berserk insanity. Many of my cogitators glitch at the odd numbers and my noosphere avatar fuzzes at the edges, delaying my response to the attack. E-SIM weathers the subtle cognito-hazard without issue and flares his energy shield, protecting us both from the nasty spell.

From behind the energy shield, I observe the tortured souls of the men who fought and died for me. A bubbling rage overtakes me and I pull hard on my connection to the Emperor, offering half the souls I have collected over the last few subjective days, some three hundred thousand kills, to free the souls of his sons from their tempestuous imprisonment. I stagger as I receive the impression of being smacked by a grimoire and my mind is forcefully flooded with a hefty chunk of arcane lore and three new spells.

The first is how to dispel the magics of the Warp Storm discipline, the second is how to gather souls myself, rather than have E-SIM do it for me, and the third is a method of safely and secretly transferring loyal souls to the domain of the Emperor without him having to interfere. I groan under the careless influx of knowledge, a goodly portion of my body malfunctioning and the blood vessels in my brain rupturing. Fortunately, I don't feel pain any more but a barrage of alerts instead.

Back in the Materium, my body falls to its knees and I lean my back against the altar. I am quite shocked to be trusted with such arcane lore as it is possible to attack the Emperor with the knowledge and spells I have been given. It could also be arrogance, laziness, or desperation rather than trust though. I doubt I rate as a threat. Either way, I have clearly made an impression and I am as divided as ever on how I feel about that. A messenger mastiff trots up to me and licks my face.

I grab its head with both hands and give its artificial fur a good rub.

"It's not over yet. Tell Bedwyr I'm still alive and fighting. He probably already knows, but the Marines have been almost wiped out. There is a Chaos Knight in the remains of the central cogitator and we have insufficient firepower to dislodge it. He should focus on ensuring the ritual is broken as soon as possible. I will continue with my attempt to slay the Machine-Spirit of the knight remotely, and disperse whatever Demons infect it. Our forces should stay clear of the chamber in case it self-destructs."

The mastiff wines for a moment, then huffs, pats its paw against my knee, then dashes off. Focusing back on the noosphere connection, my minds rapidly process the glut of information and practice the required spells within a simulation. Meanwhile, E-SIM fends off the avian gheists and souls, his energy shield weathering the assault without even a ripple. Puppetted Demons gather around us once again as the Greater Demon hovers nearby, channelling its spell against us.

The Greater Demon is a two-headed, humanoid bird. It waves a crescent topped staff in its taloned hands as it regurgitates its heart wrenching incantations, their words penetrating my mind, even after turning off my audio feed. Bad Penny's statue hangs on a chain around its neck. The patch of feathers around the statue have been plucked clean and the pink skin beneath oozes with blue blood.

Warp energy flows from the statue into the Demon's chest, giving the creature a great sense of weight that pushes upon my mind, sapping my determination to continue this conflict. E-SIM tries to get a lock on it, but his sensors refuse to recognise the Demon as a target and the tracer fire he sprays it with never goes where he is aiming. He doesn't have any trouble gunning down the Lesser Demons and switches to targeting them instead.

This goes on for several minutes, as E-SIM devastates the demonic hordes all by himself, swinging his poleaxe back and forth while I cling to his leg like an unruly child as he slowly pushes through the squall of souls towards the Greater Demon. The Greater Demon does not remain still and retreats at the same pace. The moment I am sufficiently repaired, I draw upon the Warp, tracing runes in the air with my hands and mechadendrites as I utter an incantation in binary.

A burst of static, rapid beeps, and unrecognisable syllables rush from my cracked lips. Through my third eye, I see blue feathers stab at my soul, but I glare at them and power ripples from my centre eye, burning away the corruption. Taking advantage of my digital voice and extra limbs, I layer another spell beneath the first. Both are completed simultaneously and the Vortex Terrors are dispelled. I cup my hands and small, translucent fragments gather in my hands.

Miniature ears, fingers, and many tongues, their torment now still and silent, rest upon my palms. They are too weak to make the journey and the thought of eating them fills me with distaste. Instead, I gently knead them into a new form until the reformed soul looks like a young boy, one a touch too old to undergo the surgeries of a Space Marine. With my third and final spell, I wrap him in a ball of golden light, then press it against my chest, sending him back along the connection I have to the Emperor's realm.

With its offensive magic dispelled, E-SIM has a clear path to the Greater Demon. I jump off his leg and we charge the beast.