Relying on a reaction speed far exceeding the nanosecond thresholds of the Adeptus Astartes, Axion evaded the incoming beams with effortless grace.
The Skorpekh Lord, having regained its footing, ignored the Aegis Protector currently carving through its Immortals. Instead, it lunged toward Axion with murderous intent. Detecting the shift in threat priority, the Aegis Protector immediately discarded the Necron it was crushing and pivoted, activating its gravitational tractor beam.
Feeling the sudden pull on its flank, the Skorpekh Lord slammed its six limbs deep into the ship's deck plating, anchoring itself firmly. Realizing the target was immovable, the Aegis Protector simply reversed the polarity; as the gravitational pull intensified, it propelled itself headlong toward the Skorpekh Lord.
Driven by the artificial gravity's momentum, the Aegis Protector arched its chassis and swung a massive arm in a violent, overhead arc, a strike reminiscent of a woodcutter's axe. It was a maneuver born of cold logic, a gambit to trade blow for blow.
The Skorpekh Lord swept its hyperphase blade across its midsection, intending to bisect the automaton at the waist. The Necron felt no fear; it cared little for sustaining damage. So long as the troublesome enemy was neutralized, it could be phased out or dragged back by Canoptek Scarabs for repair. Even for a high-ranking Skorpekh Lord, the process of biotransference had left its engrammatic memory cores fragmented and eroded. In terms of pure tactical cognition, it was perhaps less coherent than the Immortals flanking it.
Yet, its combat prowess and chassis resilience were far beyond any of its kin trapped in lesser forms.
Seeing the Aegis Protector about to commit to a mutual kill, Axion finally deployed his particle vibration sword. The triangular blade shimmered with a pale golden radiance, far more brilliant than the edges of the guardian robot.
In a blur of motion that even an Astartes' augmented sight could not track, Axion left a trail of golden afterimages in the stagnant air.
A jagged hole appeared in the center of the Skorpekh Lord's torso. Its necrodermis flickered as the primary power core shattered. Deprived of its emerald essence, the Skorpekh Lord slumped instantly, the green glow of its hyperphase blades dying out. A small shockwave of emerald energy rippled outward from the ruptured core, and Axion leaped back to clear the discharge.
Chime!
A beam of toxic green light erupted from a dark corner of the rear corridor, striking Axion squarely in the back. Green luminescence flickered briefly against Axion's silver-white chassis before being extinguished.
The moment his feet touched the deck, Axion flickered and vanished.
Stunned by this anomaly, the Deathmark assassin, who had been patiently waiting for the perfect shot, swiveled its ocular sensor in confusion. Axion was nowhere to be found within its multi-dimensional spectrums.
"Hypothesis: Did the Synaptic Disintegrator atomize the metallic shell entirely? Recording new data entry..."
CRACK!
A silver mechanical hand clamped onto the Deathmark's skull from behind, wrenching it backward with terrifying force. The assassin attempted to rotate its torso to prevent its neck from snapping, but half of its cervical support structure gave way with a shriek of tearing metal.
As its limited processing power registered Axion standing unscathed behind it, the Deathmark instinctively raised its Synaptic Disintegrator to fire point-blank into his chest.
A flash of bright green light erupted against Axion's torso. But before the Deathmark could register a success, Axion snatched the rifle from its grip and tore the mechanical head clean off its shoulders.
As Axion's grip tightened, the living metal skull buckled and deformed. Green energy, like dying sparks, bled from the shattered crystalline structures within the Deathmark's head before dissipating into the air. Tiny arcs of emerald electricity danced across the ruin.
Even as its consciousness faded into oblivion, the Deathmark could not comprehend why its Synaptic Disintegrator had failed.
To Axion, the weapon was a curiosity. The subatomic beam had merely undergone minor refraction upon contact with his surface before dispersing. Compared to the terrifying molecular flaying of a Gauss flayer, the subatomic beam offered almost no threat. He possessed no biological components, no organic neural pathways, and no traditional cabling; his internal energy conduits were etched directly into his skeletal frame. Even if the beam bypassed his armor, it found nothing to interact with. He was not carbon-based; he was a machine of high-density alloy immune to the radiation-like effects of synaptic weaponry.
He had initially braced for a Gauss-tier molecular deconstructor, but after taking the hit, he realized the weapon was less threatening than an Immortal's Gauss Blaster. Through real-time data analysis of the Aegis Protector' shields, Axion had already mapped the energy output of the enemy arsenal.
In truth, these weapons were designed to sever the flickering, dim soul-echoes that Necrons still projected into the Warp. The Necrons, believing the C'tan had devoured their souls entirely, misunderstood the metaphysical nature of their own technology.
Against a Man of Iron, a being truly, utterly soulless, the weapon was useless. Had the Necrons faced a standard automated turret, they would have utilized a Gauss Cannon. Against Axion, they had made a fatal categorical error.
Nearby, two Ultramarines who had just led their squad into the fray watched Axion's fluid decapitation of the Deathmark. They found the movement strangely familiar.
It reminded them of a certain Lieutenant recently assigned to the Chapter by Lord Commander Guilliman. That officer had a distinct fondness for such maneuvers.
Word among the ranks was that while serving in the Second Company, that officer had frequently "played" with the heads of Thousand Sons sorcerers and ripped the cranial plates off Tyranid Warriors with similar flair.
The two Ultramarines shared a silent, respectful thought: Truly, an elite of the Second Company.
However, as they watched Axion casually crush the Necron's head into a mangled ball of scrap, even they stood momentarily stunned by the raw, mechanical brutality of it.
Behind them, the Greyshield Primaris Astartes looked at their stalled commanders in confusion, wondering what had caused the veterans to hesitate.
The Aegis Protector continued to mop up the remaining Immortals. The Greyshields quickly moved into formation, several guarding the massive demolition charge while the rest rushed to support the line.
For the first time in this sector, the rhythmic, thunderous thump-thump-thump of bolt fire echoed through the halls.
The Immortals, distracted by Axion's displacement, were caught off guard as the explosive rounds tore into them. Though their necrodermis was far more resilient than that of standard Warriors, the concentrated fire began to take its toll.
Suddenly, the massive trans-dimensional gate flickered with a haunting light. A towering figure, roughly the size of the fallen Skorpekh Lord, drifted through the portal, brandishing a massive, shimmering war-scythe.
"Filthy tumors of flesh! You dare encroach upon the domains of the Nihilakh Dynasty? Your lifespans are but a flicker, and your arrogance has blinded you. In this infinite void, only the Necrons are the eternal masters!"