Chapter 175: The Family Audit
"Haha... Family... family must stay together... let us... become one..."
In the center of the next transit bay, a three-meter-tall horror composed of a dozen fused Poxwalkers was "giggling." This was a Pox-Amalgam. It possessed multiple heads, several sets of limbs, and a distended, translucent belly that pulsed with green light.
It reached out with a massive, multi-jointed arm, grabbed a standard Poxwalker, and pressed it against its own torso. The smaller zombie didn't resist; it smiled serenely as its flesh began to liquefy and merge with the giant.
With every "addition," the Amalgam grew larger and more distorted. Each of its heads began chanting in a wet, synchronized harmony: "Family... union... stay together..."
Kian Voss and the Voss Guard burst through the door, and the sight immediately triggered a "Sanity Check" on their HUDs. Several soldiers gagged behind their bird-masks.
"PURGE!!" Kian roared.
The squad unleashed a volley of sun-fire. Every Lasgun was set to Overcharge Mode. The ruby beams were thicker and brighter, carrying a massive thermal payload.
Sixteen high-intensity beams slammed into the Amalgam, triggering a sequence of kinetic and energy explosions. Rotted flesh was torn away in fist-sized chunks; limbs and heads were scorched black as the thermal energy flash-boiled the fluids within.
The Amalgam was raked with fire, its surface turned into a landscape of blackened craters, but it didn't fall.
It turned its massive, multi-headed torso toward Kian. All the heads laughed in unison. "Haha! Come, brothers! Join us! Become the family!!"
"Holy sh*t, you ugly piece of Warp-trash! Fire again! Burn this mother-frighting freak until there isn't a molecule left to laugh with!!"
Kian's roar galvanized the men. They entered a rapid-fire rhythm. Lasguns operate on a "Stacking Damage" logic—in the 41st Millennium, if you hit a target with enough lasers at once, the energy buildup can vaporize even the densest material.
Under the concentrated fire of sixteen elite Las-patterns, the three-meter giant finally hit its thermal limit. Its internal gases ignited, and it detonated in a spray of charred, foul-smelling pulp.
Kian dialed his rifle down to a lower power-setting to pick off the remaining "trash-mobs" in the room. By the time the bay was clear, the squad's Lasguns were sizzling, white steam venting from the cooling jackets.
Reno's voice crackled through the wall-speakers:
"Masterful clearing, Voss. You've audited twenty percent of the route. But the data says the 'difficulty spike' is coming. The scanners show the Amalgams are merging together. They're forming 'High-Value' targets. You need to adjust your tactics."
Kian walked over to the security lens. "What's behind the next door, Reno?"
"Twenty standard units and two heavy Amalgams."
"Two of them?" Kian frowned.
Sixteen Lasguns on max power could drop one before over-heating. Dealing with two meant risking a complete meltdown of their primary weapons. It was time for a "Class-Change."
Kian unslung the 30mm Heavy-Pattern Shotgun—the "Bolt-Thrower."
He checked the internal magazine. Five rounds of Grade-7 Mass-Reactive Bolts.
"Alright, beauties," Kian told his squad. "Standard Las-volley on the left-hand giant. Burn it down. Ignore the right-hand one. That's my personal project. Clear?"
"Clear, Boss!"
The squad stacked up at the next bulkhead. Kian gave the "Thumb-Up" signal to the camera.
The door cycled open, revealing a horrifying scene. This room had been the facility's staff canteen. Now, two Pox-Amalgams were seated in the center of the room like bloated parents, surrounded by dozens of "children" Poxwalkers.
"Children," one of the giants murmured in a wet, paternal voice. "Do you wish to hear the story of the Little Duckling? Or the story of the Little Grox?"
The Poxwalkers looked up, their milky eyes full of innocence. "Mother! Father! Tell us the story of the Plaguefather!"
The Voss Guard felt a wave of cold revulsion. The monsters were role-playing a "Happy Family." It was a grotesque, Warp-fueled mockery of human domesticity.
Kian stepped into the doorway and shouted: "Hey, kids! I've got a better story for you!"
The entire room turned. A hundred vacant smiles locked onto Kian. "What is the story, traveler?"
Kian's voice turned into a lethal growl. "It's called: 'The Kind PDF Uncle Who Vaporized Your Mother and Blew Your Father Into Atoms.'
DA-DA-DA! OPEN FIRE!!"
The soldiers pulled their triggers. A blizzard of ruby light slammed into the "Mother" Amalgam, turning its upper torso into a charred wreck of exploding meat.
Simultaneously, Kian leveled the 30mm Bolt-Thrower at the "Father."
K-BOOM.
The shotgun barked with a bass-heavy roar that made the canteen tables rattle. A massive flame erupted from the muzzle as the 30mm shell shrieked across the room.
The Bolt-round didn't just hit the Amalgam; it buried itself deep in the monster's distended belly. A millisecond later, the mass-reactive sensor triggered the internal charge.
THOOM.
The Amalgam's stomach erupted from the inside out. A fountain of black ichor, rotted organs, and half-digested human remains painted the cafeteria walls. The giant didn't even have time to laugh; the internal explosion simply bisected it, the upper half of the monster sliding off its legs and hitting the floor with a wet splat.
Kian racked the slide, ejecting a massive brass casing, and put a second bolt into the twitching remains.
The "Mother" was already a smoking ruin under the squad's Las-fire. Within seconds, the "Special Threats" were neutralized, and the squad moved in to mop up the "Children."
Kian signaled a rest-period while his rifle cooled. He began thumbing fresh Bolts into the launcher.
"We're burning through the high-tier stuff too fast," Kian voxed to Reno. "Two bolts per giant is an expensive audit. Is there a 'Loot Room' nearby? I need a resupply."
"Good news, Brother," Reno's voice crackled back. "Ten rooms ahead is the Security Vault. It was the garrison point for the Spire-Guard. The armory should still be stocked with PDF ordinance and high-capacity Las-cells.
Clear the path, Voss, and you can restock your 'Gifts' at the Spire's expense."
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