My Life as A Death Guard (Warhammer 30K Male MC)

Hades woke up, gripping his dagger tightly amid the jolts and cries of the people around him.

Shaking off the drowsiness, he regained his senses.

He had passed out from exhaustion earlier.

The truck carrying the captives was still moving slowly. Based on the incline, Hades deduced they were climbing a mountainous path and had already reached a moderate altitude.

The night on Barbarus was ending, and the puppet slaves, having completed their hunt, were transporting their captives to the Overlord’s fortress atop the mountains.

Gritting his teeth, Hades crawled within the fully enclosed cage, knocking on the floor as he moved, searching for its weakest point.

Yes, he planned to escape. Despite the odds, despite the slim chances, as long as Hades was alive, he would never accept his fate.

He would never give up.

Even if captured, he could struggle and search for an escape route. Even if his limbs were broken, he could bite his enemies. Even if his teeth were knocked out, he could still glare defiantly and spit blood in the face of his captors, proclaiming his refusal to submit.

He had only one chance to escape, and it was now. If time continued to pass, the slave transport would reach higher altitudes where Barbarus’ poisonous gas was even deadlier. The makeshift gas masks the villagers used would be useless, and they would die agonizing deaths within minutes.

Without information about the mountains, Hades decided to break out of the cage first. There was no other option but to take things as they came.

In the cramped, enclosed space, the villagers wept and wailed. Hades pushed past them, ignoring the noise, focusing entirely on finding the weakest point in the floor.

Finally, he found it.

He shoved aside an elderly woman sitting there. Though she looked old, she was likely only in her thirties. She didn’t react to Hades, as most people in the wagon were consumed by their fear.

Hades took out his dagger and began to chisel at the floor. The toxic environment had weakened the floorboards more than they appeared, and Hades soon created a small hole.

Denser toxic gas seeped through the opening, offering Hades a glimmer of hope. Small, but it was there.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hades continued chiseling furiously. The digging sounds and the increasing flow of toxic gas began to draw attention.

Gradually, the cries in the wagon ceased. The villagers, worn down by a lifetime of hiding and fear, stared blankly at Hades.

They might not have fully understood what he was doing, but they realized something—they still had time to struggle.

A lean young man emerged from the crowd. Ragged and cunning-looking, he half-crawled to Hades’ side, patting his shoulder.

“Let me help you.”

Hades was taken aback and looked at the man, noticing his empty hands.

“You don’t even have a knife. How do you plan to help me?”

The young man hesitated, then spoke with a determined tone.

“I’m a psyker.”

Hades' mind buzzed with disbelief. An adult, intact psyker on Barbarus was almost unheard of.

A thought flashed through Hades' mind like lightning.

"Are you Typhon? Calas Typhon?!"

The man nodded bitterly. "What, even now, you look down on me, a freak?"

Hades shook his head immediately, his eyes filled with determination as he gazed at Typhon.

"No, I believe in you. Let's escape together."

"I just... didn't expect to meet you here..."

Hades carefully chose his words, hoping not to offend Typhon. After all, Typhon was a key figure in the Warhammer storyline. Moreover, Hades needed Typhon's psychic abilities to escape.

Calas Typhon, who was he? Calas Typhon, the true leader of the 14th Legion (not really), Captain of the First Company, Mortarion's once close friend, despicable traitor, and devoted son. Born of a Xenos father and a human mother, he was a psyker.

His claim to fame was single-handedly dooming the entire Death Guard.

In the original story, Calas Typhon was Mortarion's close friend on Barbarus. Inspired by him, Mortarion escaped from his Xenos adoptive father's captivity and successfully reached the human settlements below. Afterwards, Mortarion and Typhon together formed and led the rebel forces (mostly formed by Mortarion). In a way, Calas Typhon was Mortarion's guide to the human world.

Mortarion held great tolerance and indulgence towards this first human he met.

This eventually led to Typhon's betrayal after joining the Death Guard, he repeatedly committing acts of treason, yet not being killed by Mortarion.

Ultimately, the naive Mortarion was betrayed by Typhon, who sacrificed the entire legion toward Nurgle.

Typhon appearing here could only mean one thing.

In the original story, Mortarion and Calas Typhon met after Typhon escaped from a slave wagon.

This meant that soon Mortarion would descend like a hero, making it very likely that Hades would survive this ordeal. 

He could escape! As for meeting Mortarion, Hades felt indifferent. Survival was the priority!

No point in worrying about a betrayal centuries later when they were on the brink of being an alien BBQ now!

Hades stepped aside, signaling Typhon to start his psychic display.

"Come on, Typhon, do your thing!"

Typhon frowned, a strange white light gathering in his hands—

"Alright, let's go—"

The white light suddenly dimmed. "This isn’t right. I feel my connection to the Warp weakening..."

Typhon muttered to himself softly.

Hades stared at him, thinking, Brother, can you do it or not?

What they didn’t know was that Hades' latent untouchable-like nature was interfering with Typhon's connection to the Warp.

They might have been grateful for this, as Hades’ condition would grow with him. Now, as a child, he was very weak, only partially severing the Warp connection.

This slow-growing ability was why Hades never considered himself an untouchable. In his memories, untouchables were like black holes in the Warp, unconsciously and slowly consuming the souls around them, leading any sentient beings to instinctively loathe them.

Untouchables were universally despised, to the point where some might attempt to kill them out of sheer unexplained hatred.

It was precisely due to Hades' understanding that he didn't immediately consider himself an untouchable.

If a psyker attempted to use their abilities near a powerful untouchable, they would likely explode on the spot.

However, Hades was unaware of all this.

He watched, speechless, as Typhon slowly moved back, seemingly gathering energy for a major move.

As they distanced themselves, the white light suddenly became blinding. Through his mask, Typhon shouted, "Get away!!!"

The dazzling white light instantly flooded the confined space. The psyker-induced explosion hit Hades, and the massive psychic shockwave flipped the transport vehicle, sending them tumbling down the hillside.

When the light faded, a massive hole gaped in the floor.

Poison gas burst in, and Typhon was the first to half-roll and crawl out through the gap. He instinctively retched but didn’t immediately run away. He turned back to pull Hades out.

Hades could now see their surroundings. They were on a mid-level slope, surrounded by nothing but rubble and dead grass, save for a distant fortress.

The recent tumble had landed them in a small gully. Higher up on the slope, the slave capture team’s vehicles slowed and stopped. The overlord’s puppets were disembarking, shouting and attempting to reach them.

Further away stood a fortress, its tall walls imposing in the thick fog. The castle seemed more like a prison than a protective structure.

Within the enveloping mist, atop the fortress wall, stood a tall, gaunt figure—

Mortarion.

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Note: The details about untouchables were partly customized. The official lore about nulls (untouchables) is continually evolving, so I've adapted the concept accordingly. Essentially, untouchables are individuals disliked by everyone, including dogs. The stronger their null presence, the more they are disliked.

Additionally, untouchables usually don't handle machinery because it malfunctions around them, since their presence displeases the machine spirits.

There's a rumor that untouchables can control their aura through meditation and practice, but that remains uncertain.

One of the protagonist's unique abilities is a similar untouchable trait.

There will be more custom elements later, which might not align perfectly with canon, and I apologize for any discomfort this may cause.