Nisato saw the girder trapping the beast's shoulder twist and buckle until the weld holding it fixed to the upturned chassis of a Chimera finally gave in to the pressure and snapped. The monster roared in triumph and hauled a portion of its vast bulk into the bar.

Its roar galvanised Nisato, and his limbs found strength.

'I've got to get Mesira!' he shouted.

Blaise nodded and said, 'I'm right behind you. Go!'

Nisato lowered his shoulder and began pushing his way through the trapped, terrified crowd, using skills honed in a dozen riots to force himself a path with fist, foot and gun butt.

His progress was slow, but steady, and he could distinguish Mesira easily enough from the grimy, unwashed faces of the factory workers. Her face was serene amongst a sea of panic, beatific and calming those nearest her.

Nisato finally reached Mesira, his powerful grip closing on her thin upper arm.

'Mesira!' he yelled. 'We have to get out of here!'

She turned to face him at his touch.

'No, Daron,' she cried in alarm, 'you have to get out of here.'

Then the frontage of the bar finally gave way with a tortured scream of metal.

Uriel heard the bar front collapse and thumbed the activation stud on the hilt of his sword. The blade leapt to life with crackling energies and he felt the power of the weapon travel up his arm. The Unfleshed had turned to face them and six of the enormous creatures stood between him and the bar.

Pasanius stood next to him, his bolter held at his side.

'So what's the plan?' asked Pasanius.

'I need you to lead the soldiers,' said Uriel. 'Protect the innocent.'

'What are you going to do?'

'I'm going inside,' said Uriel. 'I've got a feeling there are answers within.'

'There you go again,' groaned Pasanius as a beast with elongated jaws and a distended belly that glistened with writhing motion broke from the pack of beasts towards them. 'You and your damn feelings.'

A volley of las-fire peppered the creature and it screeched in pain. Hissing, steaming light erupted from its swollen limbs and gut.

'Go,' said Uriel, slapping a palm on Pasanius's shoulder guard. 'Lead them.'

Pasanius nodded and marched to join the red-jacketed soldiers, who advanced with their rifles blazing. Individually, lasguns were a poor man's weapon, but gathered en masse, they were formidable and only a fool would underestimate the effect of a massed volley of fire.

The Unfleshed roused themselves from the wanton slaughter of the bar's patrons at these attacks, their howls of anguish at odds with the purposeful light that surrounded them. The creatures writhed in the glow that spilled from their wounds, as though their own ambitions were at odds with the purpose to which they were being driven.

The Lord of the Unfleshed pushed his way inside the bar and Uriel ran towards him, leaving Pasanius to lead the Falcatas in battle. His friend could inspire warriors of the Astartes to undreamed of valour and these soldiers had the honour of being commanded by one of the Ultramarines' finest.

If they survived this night, they would be feted for the rest of their lives.

Uriel quickly made his way around the fighting, heading for the frenzied fury of the Lord of the Unfleshed. The creature had torn its way into the bar. Screams and the bark of pistols sounded from within.

Portions of the structure were beginning to buckle and groan, and it wouldn't take much for the whole thing to come crashing down. Whatever he could do here, he would have to do fast.

The Lord of the Unfleshed pushed his way fully into the bar and Uriel vaulted a fallen piece of masonry as he found an open section of wall where iron panelling had come away from the structure.

Even without his armour, his physique was almost too broad to fit and he felt the metal tear at his tunic. He ducked his head and the smell of the bar hit him. It stank of sweat, raw meat and strong liquor, but most of all it stank of fear.

The Lord of the Unfleshed towered at one end of the bar, his form monstrous and swollen. Whatever had happened to him in the mountains had seen him become more terrible than Uriel could ever have imagined, for mixed with the terrifying power that surged through him, Uriel saw the humanity of him, the skin, the anger and the fear.

All the things that made a person human were distilled and magnified within his breast, but whatever daemons drove the Lord of the Unfleshed to this killing rage were of an order of magnitude greater than any human could ever aspire to.

A woman in a pale robe stood before the Lord of the Unfleshed, her expression serene, in complete contrast to the horror on every other face in the bar. Uriel's memory quickly cast up her name: Mesira Bardhyl, Governor Barbaden's psychic truth-seeker.

In the space of a heartbeat, Uriel also saw the enforcer, Daron Nisato and a man who must surely be Pascal Blaise. Both men fought to reach Mesira, but he could see they would be too late.

'Over here!' he shouted, his voice easily cutting through the din of the bar's collapse. Glass smashed, timber cracked and metal groaned, but every head in the bar turned towards him.

The Lord of the Unfleshed looked up and its eyes burned with a mixture of anger and loathing. The light that bathed him spilled from its mouth like droplets of molten gold and Uriel felt a wave of pity for him. The core of the Lord of the Unfleshed remained his own, but was goaded to slaughter by some outside presence.

Uriel dropped into the bar, its terrified patrons backing away from him as much as they did the Lord of the Unfleshed. The creature seemed momentarily confused, as though it was fighting a battle within itself.

Its confusion gave Daron Nisato the time he needed, and he wrapped his hand around Mesira Bardhyl's arm, pulling her away from the hulking monster. Her cry broke the deadlock within the Lord of the Unfleshed's body and it reached towards her with a clawed hand extended.

Pascal Blaise fired his pistol at the Lord of the Unfleshed, one bullet finding its mark in the creature's eye. Viscous fluid spurted and the Lord of the Unfleshed howled, not even the healing light that filled him able to blot out the pain of the wound.

The Lord of the Unfleshed snatched for Mesira again and Uriel leapt to intercept him. Knowing he had no choice, he swung his sword down on the Lord of the Unfleshed's arm. The blade's energies bit through the meat of the arm, but juddered to a halt and slid clear on the creature's bone.

The Lord of the Unfleshed roared and snatched the arm back, lashing out with his other. Uriel ducked and another portion of the bar was destroyed, bottles and mirrored glass crashing to the floor.

Uriel rose to his feet and the Lord of the Unfleshed followed him as he backed away to the tear in the wall through which he had entered the bar.

'Go!' he shouted. 'Nisato, get these people out of here!'

The enforcer nodded, still holding Mesira to him. Her face was twisted in anguish, but in the brief moment Uriel had before the Lord of the Unfleshed came at him, it seemed as though it was due to her rescue rather than the danger.

As the Lord of the Unfleshed followed Uriel, the panicked crowds pressed into the back wall of the bar broke for freedom, fleeing through the enormous hole the monster had torn in the bar's outer wall.

Uriel continued backing away from the Lord of the Unfleshed, giving Nisato enough time to get the people clear. The enforcer handed off Mesira Bardhyl to Pascal Blaise just as the Lord of the Unfleshed grew tired of his prey backing away and charged.

The Lord of the Unfleshed's bulk was too enormous to dodge, so Uriel leapt towards him. His sword slashed at his foe's chest, the blade easily parting skin and flesh, but unable to work deeper into the meat of the body. A thunderous fist slammed into Uriel's side and he was hurled backwards.