[Inquisitor Rosenadel]

He danced his sword around the mutated beauty’s flesh, scoring a dozen deep wounds in less seconds. The thing howled in what Niedderberg assumed was pain, but it sounded like a scream of twisted pleasure to his mind’s fright. Niedderberg knew at this point that this was no Dark Eldar combat-beast. This was once a human, but whoever it was had been replaced by a daemon that merely wore the human’s flesh.

The daemon slashed its clawed fingers across Niedderberg’s chest, and blood started to gush from the wounds. Niedderberg felt like his chest had just caught fire, and the burning sensation overwhelmed his senses, his vision swam and he saw purple spots blot out the image of the daemon bending over to finish him off.

Niedderberg’s vision cleared just in time to see the Arbites officer he had saved put his combat shotgun to the daemon’s head and pull the trigger. There was a deafening roar, and Niedderberg suddenly recognized the weapon and its wielder.

The drum magazine gave the shotgun away as a special automatic model, and the weapon went off on full-auto for three seconds, pumping buckshot into the fleshy head and spraying pieces of butchered meat all over the amphitheatre. Bruster Carmichell was grinning in delight at this gory spectacle, enjoying the destruction of the ravaging monster.

Bruster was a veteran Adeptus Arbites officer before he and Inquisitor Krustyef crossed paths. In the middle of the uprising of a genestealer cult, Bruster was the one that personally led the purgation of his station against the traitorous Arbites officers that revealed themselves as part of the cult. Krustyef was very impressed with the man’s devotion to his cause and invited him to sever in a capacity that befitted his skill and sense of duty. Carmichell refused at first, but Krustyef had reminded him that most of his friends were dead after the fighting, as well as his family, who all stood against the cult while Carmichell was at a meeting with the high-ranking officers of other precincts.

Krustyef could manipulate or he could show a man the brutal, cold truth. Carmichell ensured that the new officers of his precinct were fit for duty, and then joined Krustyef on his mission to thwart the alien.

Now Bruster offered his hand to Niedderberg, and Niedderberg could feel the man’s strength as he was pulled off the ground. “You need to be cared for,” Bruster said sharply. Niedderberg was know for holding off care for himself until his mission was accomplished.

“I need to-“ Niedderberg began.

Bruster never got to cut Niedderberg off. The daemon rose off the floor and both Carmichell and Nidderberg could see the flesh starting to repair itself, extra mass appearing out of nowhere. As its vocal chords became whole again, it laughed an eerie, soul-chilling laugh.

Niedderberg did not wait. He grabbed his sword off the ground and plunged again to the hilt into the daemon. He then focused. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Bruster’s breath mist when he breathed. Niedderberg felt a great warmth flow through him. It intensified, feeling now like fire, and he remembered the burning that he felt on his hand. It was there now, too. He pushed past it and channeled his power into the daemon. A bright flame erupted at the base of his sword’s blade, and it leapt to the daemon, consuming it. There was an explosion of flesh and innards as the daemon screeched, shifting shapes impossibly fast, and then dissipated into a black hole in the air.

Niedderberg turned to Bruster, but did not get a chance to say anything. Bruster immediately caught him as Niedderberg fell unconscious and slipped on the now-melting ice that had been his own blood.