Elizabeth smiled faintly, noting that Kayvaan hadn’t corrected Sydria’s assumption. She chose not to crify the misuanding, allowing it to work in her favor. “I am Elizabeth, a loyal servant of the God-Emperorw. Sydria of Aitoc, I am aware of your purpose here. It’s heartening to see yhe y of unity in the face of Chaos. pared to the filth we fight, the tensioween our races are trivial. Cooperation is our only path to victory.”

  With that, Elizabeth performed a slightly awkward Eldar gesture of respect. Though her attempt was clumsy, it was enough to leave Sydria with a more favorable impression of the human leader. “We share a on goal—Rosina’s death,” Sydria said.

  “And we need her body,” Elizabeth tered without hesitation. “Her crimes against the Imperium—massag civilians, attag officials—must be judged. Even ih, justice must be decred.”

  “How you use human ws to judge an Eldar?” Sydria asked sharply.

  “Oh?” Elizabeth’s smile didn’t waver. “Do you still believe your friend is Eldar?”

  Sydria fell silent. The Rosina she had known—the genius and pride of Aitoc—was gone. In her pce was a sve to Chaos, a puppet of Sanesh. After a moment, Sydria relented. “Very well. You may take her body, but anything that belongs to my people must be returned.”

  “Agreed.” Elizabeth stepped aside, motioning for Sydria to follow. “Now, let’s discuss further details in the and post. We’ve been w to up the filth iing the a city, but the situation is far from ideal. Fortunately, we’ve had assistance from a researcher familiar with the area, which has been invaluable.”

  “Lead the way.”

  Elizabeth guided them past one of the Vul gun towers to a bunker partially buried in the ground. “This is our temporary headquarters,” Elizabeth said as she gestured for them to enter. “It’s far from luxurious, but we’re not here for fort. Please, e inside.”

  Ihe and post arse but funal. Gustav was bent over a table, ily studying a map. Across from him sat Hilsa, the squadron leader, meticulously ing her firearm. Hilsa’s focus was unshakable, her movements almost reverent. For her, on maintenance was more than a practical task—it was a ritual, akin to the way a knights teo their swords after battle.

  Elizabeth frowned slightly. “Hilsa, the ons wait until after the battle. Take my retinue, equip them with fmers, and ensure every trace of flesh outside is purged. Leave no residue of Chaos behind.”

  Hilsa set down her firearm without hesitation. “As you wish, my dy. I’ll burn it all.”

  “Don’t worry about the otion outside,” Elizabeth said, her tone calm as she gestured toward the military history map pio the wall. “Hilsa and the others are handling the up. Let’s focus on the current situation.” She poio a location on the map. “We initially marked the dungeorance as our assembly point because we didn’t anticipate it being overrun by Chaos corruption. Logically, that shouldn’t have been possible. Until the ritual is plete and the dimensional gate stabilizes, no Seraphea should be able to breach the -tearing currents of an unstable passage. Higher-level Serapheas wouldn’t risk the journey, and lesser ones would be shredded by the violent energy flows. Normally, sucursions are impossible.”

  Elizabeth paused, her expression hardening. “The pn was straightforward: bring the Eldar strike team to the dungeon, intercept Rosina, destroy her altar, and divide the spoils before heading back. That hase One. Phase Two involved baiting the defenders into ambush positions outside, where our forces could strike decisively. Ideally, we’d ralize the Eldar as well—because no one uimates their ing and walks away unscathed.” Her voice greer. “But no one expected issues this early. The first step alone fell apart. We assumed Rosina was the only threat, focused on her rituals and vulnerable to a coordinated assault. Even if she owerful, she couldn’t stand against our birength.”

  Elizabeth’s brow furrowed. “We didn’t t on her having Chaos Serapheas as backup.”

  Kayvaan, standing beside her, crossed his arms. “Those Serapheas shouldn’t be here. It’s far too risky for them to cross unstable rifts. Yet they’re here, hidden within the dungeon. Why?” He shook his head, clearly frustrated. “This doesn’t add up.”

  Elizabeth nodded slightly but remained silent. In her mind, the answer was obvious: a more powerful Chaos entity ulling the strings. Sutities cared little for the expendable lives of lesser Serapheas, using them as tools to achieve their goals. However, this wasn’t something she inteo say aloud, especially not in front of their Eldar allies. Trust only went so far. “High-level Chaos Serapheas are far too calcuted to waste resources on a whim,” Elizabeth said cautiously. “There must be something in this duhey want—a prize worth the risk.”

  She goward Kayvaan, who seemed deep in thought. “We could request immediate support from the Ebony Shadows,” he muttered. “Ship-based artillery could level this pd destroy whatever Serapheas are after.”

  Elizabeth sighed. “If only it were that simple. The Adeptus Meicus would never allow it. Gustav’s presence alone makes that option impossible.”

  “True,” Kayvaan admitted, shaking his head. “Still, we ’t afford endless specution. Whatever Rosina and her Serapheas are pnning, it ends here. Kill her, destroy the altar, and close the rift.”

  Elizabeth gave a curt nod. “Agreed. Now, onto practical matters,” Elizabeth tinued. “Before your arrival, I led a team into the dungeon for preliminary reaissa’s as dangerous as you’d expect. Serapheas are lurking, ready to strike, so we couldn’t risk going too deep. We lured some of them to the entrand elimihem, but we’ll o venture further this time. Be prepared.” She gestured toward the map again. “This a city is anything but ordinary. It has a unique shielding effect—outside its gates, it appears pletely mundane. her eleistruments nor psychic dete work. The moment you step ihough, it’s like crossing into another reality. The air itself reeks of Chaos, and every breath carries its foul taint. Strangely, the corruptio leak beyond the city’s boundaries. It’s as if the walls tain it.”

  Kayvaan frowned. “You mentioned interference. Is that why we ’t pinpoint Rosina or the altar’s location?”

  “Exactly,” Elizabeth firmed. “It’s as if the city was desigo block all psychic activity. Instruments are useless, and our spiritual senses are blirag Rosina in these ditions will be nearly impossible.”

  Sydria, a veteran of tless battles, muttered under his breath. “An a city with this level of prote... it’s incredible. He is this pce?”

  “It’s enormous,” Gustav remarked as he pced a three-dimensional model oable. The structure, made of interected metal rods, resembled a honeyb.