Zeke's eyes went cold as he heard Mai tell him that there was an Azarian coming in from below. He looked over at the small family of Zenni and grimaced as he answered her. "A sewer? Fuck... Bunch of shepherds stuck under the rubble beside me Mai. Can't use anything that might shift the rubble too much so no using my rifle or any of the other shit I brought... So, please... Ignore the readings you may get and delete any footage collected at this point. Please, Mai."

With that said he breathed out a long sigh. A solemn and repentant look graced his normally stony visage as he muttered a prayer. "Lord Basillius. The Great Redeemer, the Anguished Savior, and our glorious Emperor... Please, forgive me for the sin of worship and bless this acolytes blade so that I might smite the Azarians threatening to devour the souls of our new friends. Grant me the power to save them. Allow this humble one to follow in your great and glorious steps."

He opened a small pouch at his side and pulled out what looked to be the hilt of a sword fashioned from an Azarians fangs. The fangs for the hilt were gathered together with the point down, creating a nasty mess of needle-like points where a pommel should be. The guard was just two fangs pointing to each side, and there was no blade.

He held the hilt out for a moment, pointing at empty air. As he did so, a small cloud of nanites flew out of another pouch before they began forming a black, Basillian steel blade. The blade was a simple design reminiscent of a medieval longsword aside from the runes engraved across it. The runes lit up and a weak pale-green flame engulfed the blade.

He readied himself and took a defensive stance. "I follow the Great Redeemers path of the blade. Allow me to cleanse your soul, child of Mael."

As if in response, a sickly-yellow tentacle covered in vicious barbs shot out of the pavement towards Zeke. The tentacle was lightning quick, reaching Zeke in an instant. He spun to the side, narrowly dodging the disgusting limb. Using the momentum from his dodge, he brought his sword down upon the outstretched tentacle. The blade left a bright green trail as it passed through the Azarian flesh with ease.

As the smoking appendage dropped to the ground, a horrifying screech rang out from below ground. The Azarian shot up out of the ground, raining pavement and dirt across the surroundings. Zeke's eyes widened and he looked back at the house that the Zenni family was trapped beneath. Thankfully, the Azarian hadn't knocked it down any further.

The Azarian capitalized on Zeke's momentary distraction, sending a few of it's barbed limbs flying at him like whips. Zeke snapped back into the fight just soon enough to dip to the side, dodging the first tentacle. The second and third were coming from either side. As if it was a natural movement he leaped into the air, spinning his body and swinging the blade with perfect timing, dismembering the two tentacles.

He landed and quickly readied himself for an offensive strike. Pointing his blade toward the Azarian, he muttered, "Frak'Ta". A weak pillar of flame shot out from his blade, striking the Azarians fleshy body. It closed its dozens of eyes and flinched.

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The flames did little to the massive creature, however, they gave Zeke the time he needed to dash in. By the time the Azarian opened its eyes Zeke was already bringing his sword down in a magnificent arc with green flames trailing behind. The attack nearly bisected the Azarian and it collapsed to the ground with its innards and brains spilling out of its sizzling remains.

Zeke gave a solemn bow, "You have been cleansed, creature of chaos. Repent in the name of the Great Redeemer. I will take a part of you so that you may cleanse the sins of your brothers."

Zeke placed his blade by one of the many barbs. He swiftly cut it free of the tentacle and caught it. He stared between his blade and the barb with a look of sadness before dissipating the blade into a cloud of nanites that returned to their pouch. He held the fang hilt aloft and placed the barb where the pommel should be. It fit in perfectly within the cage of needle-like fangs.

"With this... I have finally finished the hilt. I can finally receive my priesthood... Perhaps, I will even finish the blade's spine before this battle is over."

He smiled softly and placed the hilt back in the pouch before tapping into his squad comms. "Mai?... I'm assuming you saw all that. I'll explain myself once I get back. For now, I'm going to make sure these pups get to safety."

He got nothing but silence back for what felt like an eternity before a soft voice rang out in his head. "Shit... You fucking idiot... worshipping him? Sure. Cults? Fuck... I thought Basillius got rid of all the dangerous cults doing the veil sacrifices and shit... Explain that shit soon while I consider deleting this shit."

A strange look between sadness and relief crossed his features as he sighed awkwardly. Then, another voice popped up, "Bro! The fuck was that?! Shit was cool as fuck! No, we aren't getting rid of that footage, it's too badass to delete! Gotta get myself some Azarian fangs for my baby next! Out here looking like Basillius all solemn and badass and shit! Fuck! Fuck yeah!"

Zeke burst out laughing at Mattias' reaction and all of his worry over the reveal and eventual explanation disappeared. "Thanks, Matt... If everything goes well with Mai later, I'll help you collect the fangs for your SAW."

Mattias whooped and threw his fist in the air, "Fuck yeah! Gonna make Basillius proud with this gun!"

Zeke shook his head as he pulled out the beacon for the SAR team. He walked over to the house and placed it where the family was barely visible. "Don't you little guys worry. The Imperium is here to rescue you."

One of the Zenni spoke in a gruff and deep voice, "T-thank you, Terran... Please, get my wife and daughter out first. Menia took a hit to the head when we covered our daughter from the rubble... She's... She's still breathing, but I don't know for how long..."

Zeke grimaced, and he released the small number of nanites he had, sending them toward Menia. "I'm sorry... I only have a small amount of nanites, the amount they could do will be small, but I will try to stabilize her. Once SAR gets here they can save her."

Zeke got information on her condition through the nanites. He whispered, "She's lost a lot of blood... skull fracture... massive concussion. I can stabilize her long enough if I stop the bleeding, hopefully." He commanded the nanites to clean and cover the gashes on her head while avoiding putting pressure near the fracture.

"Now we just have to wait for SAR..."