"Helael, I am now named Helael." Helael bowed his head and said, guarding Azrael: "My Lord, he absolutely did not intend to swing his sword at you; the Tyranid once deluded us with illusions; he mistook you for a phantom."
"Why so tense, Helael." The Lion nodded slightly: "Since my return, my sons have swung their swords at me countless times; I no longer feel much anger."
"I just wanted to verify his identity," the Lion's words lowered slightly, becoming somewhat profound.
Helael hesitated for a moment, gently moving aside a little.
"Take off your helmet." The Lion ordered Azrael.
Azrael's body stiffened for a moment, not moving.
"Take off your helmet!" This time, the Lion's words carried an unquestionable force.
Azrael's body trembled, his arms slightly shaking as he raised them, placing his hands on either side of his helmet and pulling upward — — — —
Click!
Azrael's helmet was stuck on his head; the Lion's slap had deformed and twisted Azrael's helmet, and now it wouldn't come off.
But the Lion's gaze remained sharp as a blade, unquestionable.
Under the urging of this gaze, Azrael struggled to remove his helmet; after some delay, he finally pulled the helmet out a little.
Azrael was sweating profusely; he had a premonition that if he took off his helmet, things might go wrong.
A bit of Azrael's chin was exposed.
"Luther?" Just then, the Lion, as if sensing something, suddenly turned his head and shouted behind him.
Seizing this opportunity, Azrael quickly put his helmet back on his head.
Lion El'Jonson turned back at this moment, looking behind him; shadows were writhing in the flesh tunnel, and a familiar aura emanated from the shadows.
A gentle breeze stirred in the woods, the meticulously maintained steel armor bright as a mirror, reflecting the verdant trees; a horse blacker than night crossed a cold stream, its rider stopping in a clearing in the woods. He lowered his head, revealing a face with black hair, black pain, and a black beard.
"It's a child!" The knight's attendant shouted loudly at the Lion.
"No." And the knight looked at the youth in the woods, "This is a hunter! And he will be a knight!"
"I didn't realize then that you would also be my son, my brother, my father, my lord, my enemy." As if stepping out of the Lion's memory, Luther smiled, standing in the shadows, and said to the Lion.
"Traitor." The Lion growled.
"I did betray you, Lion." Luther looked at the Lion with a sorrowful gaze: "I was so foolish; I was filled with jealousy, jealous of the glory you achieved; I was overly curious, preserving the Chaos tome of the Star Wolves Knight Order; I was stubbornly entrenched, indulging in the past unable to extricate myself; I was enraged and lost my mind, my fury consuming my reason."
"I thought I could master the power of the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods and control the Warp, but instead, I was controlled by the Gods and used to persecute you."
"But Lion, you did not truly commit an irreversible mistake."
"You remember, right? In the final moment, I broke free from the Gods' constraints. I… I didn't kill you. I realized I was heading towards madness."
Luther's face showed pain:
"But Caliban fell apart at that time; I didn't destroy Caliban, I didn't gravely wound you, you know all of this."
"You have pardoned many; why can't you pardon me again?"
"Oh Lion, I beg you. I beg you to let me return to your side."
Luther slightly opened his arms towards the Lion.
Helael took a deep breath; he turned his head and looked behind him.
The man with two pistols at his waist, a hood over his head, and a greatsword on his back stood behind Helael.
"Cypher." Helael uttered the name.
Lord Cypher, this title originally belonged to a special position on Caliban; the person holding this position would abandon their past identity and name, existing solely as Cypher.
And now, the title Cypher referred exclusively to the being before Helael, this Fallen Angel of unknown identity, origin, and purpose, who carried a Primarch's sword and wielded two pistols.
"Who exactly are you, and what is your purpose?"
Helael had been hunting him; it was a hunt that had lasted ten millennia.
"I exist for a mission; I exist to ensure that the ultimate moment does not arrive."
"Everything I do and all my actions are for a greater will, for a grander goal, for the Emperor, for the protection of humanity."
These were words Cypher had once said to Helael; now he was merely repeating them.
"...If you want to know who I am, why don't you come and see for yourself?" Cypher twitched his hood a few times, staring at Helael and saying: "You can personally take off my hood."
Helael involuntarily took a step forward.
Azrael strenuously cut down the psychic tentacles; the Astartes' healing ability had already restored most of his internal balance, enough for him to fight.
The Scourge of Macragge was entrenched at the end of the flesh tunnel; this flesh tunnel was closer to that bizarre lighthouse, and the power of this Scourge of Macragge seemed to have been enhanced, even the Lion seemed to be disturbed and affected by its psychic abilities.
Only Azrael had slipped through the net; Azrael felt that the hive mind had done this intentionally, as if last time Azrael's sword had cut a flaw in the psychic illusion woven by The Scourge of Macragge, making the hive mind somewhat wary of him, not dragging him into the illusion, but instead using dense psychic tentacles to deal with him.
Watching the Lion's figure approach The Scourge of Macragge, Azrael's heart beat faster and faster.
Fulgrim gently exhaled; unlike Azrael, the direction he chose to break into the flesh spire was at the other end, and the hive mind had also dispatched units specifically to counter Fulgrim.
It was a broken cocoon, as if the creature within had been forcibly torn from its shell before birth, pulled out, and this cocoon was held up by grayish-brown fleshy limbs.
A twisted, broken body hung from the opening of the cocoon; this body simultaneously contained features of spiders, butterflies, and humans, with eight pairs of limbs, a withered body, and an ugly, twisted face hanging from a swollen abdomen.
His abdomen was distended to six or seven meters in size, covered with ugly insect eggs, within which some biological embryos could vaguely be seen wriggling.
Fulgrim looked at that face, a face he knew intimately.
"Fabius." Fulgrim softly spoke the name of the owner of that face.
Fabius Bile, the former Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, had been preyed upon and repurposed by the hive mind; his will and his genetic sequence were fused by the hive mind with a Norn Queen, creating the terrifying monster before Fulgrim.
Not only that, Fulgrim noticed that within the current Fabius, his blood flowed with a genetic sequence similar to Fulgrim's.
The hive mind had fulfilled Fabius's grand ambition; the Tyranids / Tyranid had reshaped Fabius with the genetic sequence of the Primarch Fulgrim, and had injected the progenitor, born from Fabius's wasting disease and his creations' faith, into this body, shaping it into something akin to a Primarch.
+ What blasphemy!!! +
A roar echoed in Fulgrim's mind.
"...Fabius, father." Fulgrim said softly: "I have come to end your suffering."
"Fulgrim."
A hoarse whisper emerged from the mixture of Fabius, the progenitor, and the Norn Queen in front of Fulgrim.
The hive mind had clearly realized Fabius's value; it devoured Fabius but did not destroy him. Instead, it reshaped Fabius into this form, using his will, his wisdom, and his understanding of biological genetics to serve itself.
The massive egg sacs hanging from Fabius's abdomen writhed and twitched, and a Tyranid rapidly formed within one of the follicles, breaking free from its sac.
It was a four-legged Tyranid Bio-Titan, but its foremost limbs, instead of the typical scythe claws seen on Tyranids, were a pair of tearing claws resembling wolf paws. Its head was also larger than that of a typical Tyranid, vaguely showing some canine characteristics. Its mouth was filled with sharp claws, and faint traces of psychic organs could be seen behind its head.
The Tyranid Bio-Titan moved, pouncing on Fulgrim and the Sons of the Phoenix squad he led like a giant wolf in a snowfield.
Its tearing claws swung, transforming into a winter blizzard pressing down on Fulgrim and the Sons of the Phoenix.
But just before the claws descended, the forgebreaker warhammer transformed into an equally dazzling hammer-wind, blocking the sharp tearing claws.
"Leman Russ." Fulgrim softly spoke the name of his barbarian brother. He immediately recognized whose genes had been integrated into this Tyranid's genetic sequence.
As Fulgrim called out the name, the Tyranid opened its maw. Its massive head instantly unfurled like petals, revealing a gaping mouth larger than Fulgrim's body, filled with dense, spiky tendrils, grappling tongues, and sharp barbs. These myriad predatory organs lunged at Fulgrim like a pack of wolves.
Relying on Fabius's past teachings, Fulgrim quickly discerned the design philosophy of this Bio-Titan: a ravenous beast modeled after the Tyranid Mawloc, modified with Leman Russ's genetic sequence.
"As expected of the The Galaxy / Milky Way's biggest glutton. Even a worm-like Leman Russ is the most voracious one."
Fulgrim laughed. Orange-red flames burst from the forgebreaker, and the intense heat caused the grotesque predatory mouths to retract by a few centimeters. Fulgrim seized the opportunity, his figure flashing, exposing the Leman Russ beast's massive maw to the Sons of the Phoenix squad.
In an instant, dense firepower wove into a net, firing at the Leman Russ beast.
But the Leman Russ beast's bestial eyes suddenly narrowed, and a psychic power surged forth, forming a barrier that instantly blocked the Sons of the Phoenix's volley of fire.
However, the Palace Swordsmen among the Sons of the Phoenix flashed, instantly crossing the psychic barrier. Each of them was equipped with phase weapons provided by the Necrons, and their sharp, emerald blades buzzed, stabbing at the Leman Russ beast's body.
The Leman Russ beast had no choice but to dodge, narrowly escaping the net.
Although this Bio-Titan used Leman Russ's genetic sequence, it was far inferior to the true Leman Russ, not even comparable to a pure clone.
Fabius evidently dared not create pure clones, because the Primarch's genetic sequence was so powerful that its inherent instincts and genetic memory alone could contend with the Tyranids / Tyranid genetic sequence, capable of resisting the hive mind's control.
Completely cloned Primarchs would not be subject to the hive mind's jurisdiction and would likely view the Tyranids / Tyranid as enemies due to the instincts in their genes.
Even these Tyranids, which integrated partial Primarch genetic sequences, required Fabius to expend mental energy to suppress their genetic memory and instincts.
Fulgrim left the Leman Russ beast for the Sons of the Phoenixs to handle and charged alone towards Fabius.
But at that moment, the ground trembled and collapsed, and a Tyranid resembling a giant python burrowed out from directly beneath Fulgrim. Clearly, it was a Trygon, but completely different from a typical Trygon. This Trygon was covered in thick carapaces, even its head was covered by cowl-like armor. All six of its scythe-like limbs had atrophied and degenerated into slender tendrils, growing numerous hideous venom glands. These glands extended all the way to its back, forming swollen tumors that sprayed large amounts of misty venom, corroding the surrounding ground.
Its tail, no longer a stinger, was instead a massive, sharp bio-scythe. That scythe, wreathed in a cloud-like poison gas, struck at Fulgrim.
Evidently, the base of this creature was a Trygon, blended with parts of the Venomthrope's design, and integrated with Mortarion's genes, endowing this Bio-Titan with extraordinary resilience and toxin resistance.
It was precisely due to the toxin resistance brought by Mortarion's genetic sequence that this Trygon could produce several types of toxins that the hive mind had long designed but had always been unable to produce. These toxins were designed by a species outside the The Galaxy / Milky Way to resist the Tyranid Swarm, and they were extremely potent, but if produced by other Tyranids, they would even poison the Tyranids themselves.
The toxic gas approaching Fulgrim contained billions upon billions of nano-sized bugs. Each nano-bug could secrete highly concentrated corrosive fluid and generate power through its DNA-sized biological coil, driving the tiny drill at the front of these nano-bugs to pump into the target's body.
In an instant, Fulgrim's power armor bubbled profusely.
Fulgrim realized that this Mortarion python had probably been meticulously designed by Fabius and the hive mind, and its strength far surpassed that of the Leman Russ beast from earlier.
Fulgrim hastily retreated, trying to distance himself from the Mortarion python.
But at that moment, the Mortarion python's tail lashed out, its sharp scythe blade, wreathed in a completely different kind of poison gas, closed in on Fulgrim.
Inside the nano-bugs within the toxic gas, biological coils pumped out a positron and an electron. The two electrons instantly annihilated, releasing 551 kilo-electron volts of energy. Countless nano-bugs combined, and dazzling light erupted from the scythe blade, instantly engulfing Fulgrim's body.
But Fulgrim's figure also passed through the light and the toxic gas in the blink of an eye, charging towards the giant worm at a speed the Mortarion python could not react to.
Beside Fulgrim, a Mini-Dora, holding an Adaptation Lamp, silently shone it on Fulgrim, then vanished into the air in an instant.
The Mortarion python's reaction speed was very fast. The cowl-like carapaces quickly closed, covering the Mortarion python's brain.
Hammer and carapace collided, a dull sound echoing. Coupled with the toughness bestowed by Mortarion's genes, the carapace actually managed to withstand Fulgrim's hammer blow.
But Fulgrim took a deep breath at this moment, feeling the constantly growing power within him, that storm of interwoven purple and gold.
His face suddenly twisted into a vicious snarl, like a venomous snake. Purple afterimages burst forth from the forgebreaker warhammer, tearing through the Mortarion python's carapace and smashing the giant worm's head into fragments.
"...You are becoming... more complete." Fabius watched Fulgrim. Beneath Fabius's writhing abdomen, three new Tyranids had been born.
One of them was a Brain Bug Tyrant, but its size was abnormally huge, with a massive brain tissue standing five or six meters tall. A single eye hung beneath the brain tissue, and crimson tendrils extended around the eye. The psychic power emanating from its body was so terrifying that merely looking at it caused nerve pain.
Behind this Brain Bug Tyrant stood two Hive Tyrants.
The one on the left was massive, enveloped in thick carapace. Dozens of wriggling tentacles extended from its head, piercing into the chitin, clearly enhancing this Tyrant's capacity as a neural node. Its four arms were equipped with twin-linked heavy venom cannons and twin-linked crushing claws, and a flamethrower was mounted on its back. Six Tyrant Guards also circled it, like its six fingers.
The one on the right wielded a crimson greatsword in both hands and a thick, wall-like carapace shield in both hands. It was also surrounded by six Tyrant Guards, who likewise wielded swords and shields in both hands, standing together to form an unyielding wall.
Magnus, Perturabo, and Dorn.
Magnus's Brain Bug's single eye suddenly contracted. The smell of ozone in the air was sharp and acrid, and streaks of howling psychic lightning stabbed towards Fulgrim.
Just then, Fulgrim's Phoenix Guard caught up to Fulgrim. They arrayed themselves beside Fulgrim, their powerful psychic energy converging into a shield.
The psychic lightning unleashed by Magnus's Brain Bug howled, but all of it was blocked by the psychic energy released by the Phoenix Guard, held a meter away.
At this moment, the Perturabo Tyrant raised its pair of heavy venom cannons and began to unleash firepower. The six Tyrant Guards circling it did the same. Terrifying firepower pressed down on the psychic barrier supported by the Phoenix Guard, causing the entire barrier to tremble and shake repeatedly.
The Phoenix Guard did not sit idly by, but retaliated by unleashing firepower on the Tyranids.
However, the Dorn Tyrant, leading his Tyrant Guards, formed a solid wall, steadily advancing step by step, resisting the Phoenix Guard's firepower and covering Magnus's Brain Bug and the Perturabo Tyrant.
This made Fulgrim feel danger.
In a duel, the most dangerous Primarchs were Fulgrim and Lion El'Jonson.
In a battle, the most dangerous Primarchs were Angron and Sanguinius.
In a war, the most dangerous Primarchs were Ferrus and Horus.
Overall, the most dangerous was Guilliman.
And in a campaign, the most dangerous were Perturabo and Dorn.
Without Perturabo, the traitor faction could never have accomplished the Siege of Terra that year.
Without Dorn, the loyalist faction could never have held the Terra Imperial Palace that year.
Even if these two Tyrants before him were merely bugs with the traits of Perturabo and Dorn, as part of the Tyranid Swarm, a cooperative Perturabo Tyrant and Dorn Tyrant were still extremely dangerous.
Just as Fulgrim was fully alert, something unexpected happened.
The Perturabo Tyrant, surprisingly, led his Tyrant Guards out from behind the solid wall formed by the Dorn Tyrant, unhesitatingly running past the Dorn Tyrant, one step ahead of him, and charging towards Fulgrim.
The posture was as if he absolutely had to be one step ahead of the Dorn Tyrant, utterly unwilling to be protected by him.
Fulgrim was stunned for a moment. Fabius also clearly froze, seemingly not understanding why the Perturabo Tyrant would suddenly lose control.
After his momentary stupor, Fulgrim recalled what Alexander had once said: "Even if it's a pile of shit, as long as Dorn is protecting it, Perturabo will snatch it and eat it at all costs."
This was just a bug that integrated a partial Perturabo genetic sequence! How strong was Perturabo's resentment towards Dorn, that just a part of his genetic memory could suppress the Tyranid's nature, making him willing to expose himself to danger rather than fall behind the Dorn Tyrant?
Although he found it incredibly bizarre, Fulgrim did not let this opportunity pass.
He did not hesitate, stepping forward and swinging the forgebreaker warhammer in his hand towards the Perturabo Tyrant. The Perturabo Tyrant raised its crushing claws high to meet the blow head-on. The six Tyrant Guards around him also surrounded Fulgrim. The warhammer, glowing with forge fire, roared, instantly crushing two Tyrant Guards and repelling the Perturabo Tyrant.
The Dorn Tyrant charged forward, attempting to ram Fulgrim with its shield.
But the Perturabo Tyrant beside him tilted its shoulder slightly, actually knocking the Dorn Tyrant off course. This was still the Perturabo genetic sequence within the Tyrant acting up, the stubborn and twisted memory in its genes influencing the Perturabo Tyrant, making it difficult for Fabius to control.
If the hive mind itself were to intervene, it might be able to suppress it, but after Alexander took over the controller from Omegamessiah Xiao Fu, the hive mind was increasingly at a disadvantage in its struggle with Saint Doraemon, unable to spare any effort. Even the hive mind's control over Fabius showed some fluctuations, and Fabius's will subtly began to revive.
An inspiration mushroom, previously sown in Fabius's will by Omegamessiah Xiao Fu, silently sprouted. A vision then appeared before Fabius's eyes.
He saw the figure of Omegamessiah Xiao Fu and Melusine in Xiao Fu's hand. Fabius's will began to fluctuate intensely.
The genetic memories and instincts within the Primarch genes, which he had suppressed, began to erupt.
The Magnus Brain Bug, attempting to attack Fulgrim with psychic powers, stiffened for a moment, then suddenly twisted its body, sending streaks of sharp psychic lightning towards the Leman Russ beast, which was entangled with the Sons of the Phoenix.
The Leman Russ beast was struck directly by the sudden psychic lightning. The Bio-Titan roared, abandoning the Sons of the Phoenix and charging straight towards the Magnus Brain Bug.
The Perturabo Tyrant was even faster, directly leading his Tyrant Guards to fight the Dorn Tyrant.
The hive mind tried to directly suppress its will and micromanage them, but Alexander's perfectly timed roundhouse strike interrupted it.
The hive mind let out a sharp shriek. Its emotions transformed into a harsh roar that echoed in Alexander's ears.
Alexander understood what the hive mind was cursing.
It was cursing the Emperor, questioning why he had designed the Primarchs to be so overly masculine.
The hive mind shrieked, cursing the Emperor for making the Primarchs too hypermasculine.
The Primarchs were genetically mutually exclusive; they were like fierce beasts with the star systems as their territory.
If their brothers stepped into their domain and clashed, conflict would almost certainly erupt, and one Primarch could almost never be commanded by another.
This design, in the view of the hive mind, was utterly inferior, yet the complexity of the Primarchs' genetic sequences was such that even the hive mind found it difficult to process and could not fix this flaw in a short time.
In the Warp, Nobi Emperor smiled slightly, his nose tilting up, as if the hive mind wasn't cursing him, but rather praising him.
"I don't want the enemy on the battlefield to be able to directly use my Primarchs if they capture them," he said proudly.
He wasn't joking when he said this; it was indeed why he designed the Primarchs to be so hypermasculine.
Hypermasculinity, along with father-worship, was designed into the Primarchs' genetic instincts.
Every Primarch was a male among males; compared to a Primarch, even the most hormonally active Astartes could only be considered female.
And without the Emperor's suppression, without the control of father-worship instinct, Primarchs would almost never be able to truly cooperate or submit to a single, unified will.
Half of the Primarchs rebelling was an inevitable outcome.
The Emperor's design was to prevent those rebellious Primarchs from uniting, to make them consume and oppress each other, and to make it difficult for the Four Chaos Gods to control them, even if they corrupted them.
Unexpectedly, this design, after ten thousand years, once again caused trouble for the Tyranid Swarm swarm.
Nobi Nobita watched Saint Doraemon and the hive mind fight with increasing ferocity, and he vaguely felt a heavy pressure.
It was about to be born.
The hive mind, having devoured the genetic sequences of twenty-one Primarchs and integrated the power within the source-blood stack, was about to give birth to its cultivated vessel.
Once the vessel was born, the hive mind would converge, the path to ascension would open for the Great Devourer, and the divine position of the eternal dragon would begin to descend.
The Emperor, infinitely close to the Dark King, naturally had a clear sense of this; not only the Emperor, but even the Gods sensed it and let out anxious roars.
They condemned Alexander, condemning his slow actions and his lack of effort.
"Most things are under control; nothing is happening."
"Perhaps some things did happen, but I don't think I should take action."
"I admit there were some things I should have acted upon, but at the time, I couldn't do anything."
"Perhaps I could have done something earlier, but now it's too late."
Alexander's expression remained almost unchanged, and with a few words, he fobbed off the Gods in the Warp.
He knew that the Gods were not only displeased by his delay in fighting the Tyranid Swarm swarm, but also because Alexander had always conserved his strength, not investing all his energy into the battle with the hive mind, so they had no opportunity to bite a piece of flesh from Alexander.
Whether Fulgrim or Guilliman, the Gods were now eyeing them covetously.
However, now that the body cultivated by the hive mind was about to descend, Alexander also needed to speed up.
Alexander took a slight breath, and the people working in the Tsukimi-dai district looked up, their eyes quickly shifting from confusion to clarity.
They realized they were all peripheral extensions of Alexander's will; Alexander's will instantly became immense, and the entire Warp churned with violent waves because of it, with countless Mini-Dora appearing in the waves.
The Mini-Dora took out various gadgets from their pockets and, following Alexander's round hand, smashed them together towards the hive mind.
The hive mind tried to resist with the shadowy tentacles as before, but it was suppressed by the Mini-Dora with their various gadgets.
Alexander's round hand then slammed heavily onto the body of the hive mind, and soft singing burst forth from the round hand.
Billions of humans sang in unison, praising the glorious 22nd century; their emotions transformed into light in the Immaterium, tearing open the Warp Shadow and causing true damage to the hive mind.
The hive mind shrieked, and blood named Hunger flowed from its wound, wrapping around Alexander's arm.
Alexander immediately felt a surge of weakness, as if a mortal who hadn't eaten for days.
But Alexander merely shifted his body slightly, revealing Nobi Emperor behind him.
The revolver spun, and bullets transformed from the old crone sword shot out, piercing into the wound Alexander had torn open.
The terrifying energy of the erosion and destruction domain was released, like a black sun rising from the body of the hive mind.
The hive mind let out a sharp shriek, and many Tyranid fell into a frenzy, losing control and being dominated by bestial instinct.
Lion slowly walked towards Luther in front of him, and Luther showed a gentle smile, gently opening his arms as if to embrace Lion.
Screech!!!
The Sword of Loyalty was drawn, its tip piercing into Luther's body with almost no hesitation.
Lion's eyes showed almost no emotion as he fiercely pulled the sharp blade from Luther's body.
Luther raised his head and let out a sharp wail, and the illusion surrounding Lion instantly dissipated, leaving only The Scourge of Macragge, its body violently trembling after being impaled by the Sword of Loyalty.
Intense psychic energy burst forth from its body, eventually losing control as The Scourge of Macragge's life dissipated, transforming into a howling psychic storm that crushed everything around it.
Lion raised the Emperor's Shield in his hand, and the azure psychic storm violently crashed against the Emperor's Shield, but caused no damage whatsoever.
Lion silently watched the exploding body of The Scourge of Macragge.
He had to admit that, at least for that brief moment, he too had failed to see through the illusion woven by The Scourge of Macragge.
Or rather, The Scourge of Macragge wasn't weaving illusions; that Tyranid simply lacked the intellect to understand human hearts.
It was merely using its vast psychic energy to dig into what people most desired in their minds, just as a anglerfish uses light to attract fish but cannot understand why light attracts fish.
It was precisely for this reason that the illusions it wove were almost impossible to see through.
Yet Lion still killed Luther, swinging his sword at him without hesitation.
One of the secrets deep within Lion's heart: he truly regarded Luther as a father, a brother, and his most beloved progeny, but...
"But before I become your son, your brother, your father, I am first the First Primarch, the Emperor's eldest son; responsibility is more important than love."
Lion looked at the sword in his hand and murmured softly.
Then, he turned his head to look at Azrael, who was trying to slip away unnoticed.
"..." Fulgrim, holding the forgebreaker warhammer, stared at Fabius.
After the Tyranid, modified with Primarch genes, lost control, Fulgrim had rushed to Fabius, destroying the monster with almost berserk power, leaving only the shriveled torso and head that resembled Fabius's original form.
Fulgrim understood that this was merely a Tyranid that had copied Fabius's genes, intelligence, and will; there was no true soul within it.
But the hive mind had copied him so perfectly that Fulgrim still couldn't help but treat him as Fabius.
"Melusine," the dying Fabius murmured.
"...I don't understand, Fabius," Fulgrim's tone was slightly anxious due to Fabius's murmur: "Am I not your most perfect creation?"
"I am strong, I am excellent, I am rational, I am beautiful, I have no flaws, but you... you don't love me."
"Melusine, she's not perfect, she's so fragile, she's corrupted by Chaos, but you love her."
"..." Fabius twisted his withered head and looked up at Fulgrim: "My lord, my lord."
Fabius seemed not to be speaking to Fulgrim, but to the true Fulgrim.
"Because you are too perfect."
"Young life is so fragile and in need of protection, so life evolved the mechanism of love, urging a father to protect his child."
"And when a father looks at his child, he actually sees the future... But if you have already achieved perfection, do you still need a father's protection? And what future can a father still see in you?"
"A father's love for a child is inherently an imperfection; how can you, a perfect being, possess it?"
Fabius let out a low wail; having lost most of his body, his remaining body lacked sufficient nourishment and was slowly withering and disintegrating.
Fulgrim watched this scene with a cold expression, saying nothing.
But Fabius stared at Fulgrim.
"You are changing, I can see it; your inner self is dissolving, your internal organs are disintegrating, your molecules are disappearing, just like a pupating insect.
Everything about you is merging into a larger entity. Or rather, being devoured by a larger entity."
"Your individual self is about to be worn away; you are about to return to him."
"Perhaps I will devour it instead?" Fulgrim's lips curled slightly as he clutched the forgebreaker warhammer and questioned.
Fabius smiled: "...You are indeed my most perfect creation, and you have grown perfectly, so perfectly that you are becoming more and more like the true Fulgrim.
If you achieve perfection, what difference is there between you and the true Fulgrim?"
"Whether you achieve victory, or that fallen one achieves victory, the final result is Fulgrim's victory.
How can two different fruits be born from the same tree?"
"My lord, this is the fate of pursuing perfection."
As his words fell, Fabius's body rapidly shriveled and withered, and his eyes lost their light.
Fulgrim clutched the warhammer in his hand, his face grim and terrifying, with what seemed like burning anger in his eyes.
The Tyranid Bio-Titan named the Sadist Queen unleashed One by one psychic lightning; this Bio-Titan was the largest, strongest, and most terrifying existence among Tyranid, the highest-level existence among all Tyranid node creatures, even more powerful and terrifying than the Insect Saint.
The hive mind chose him to confront Sanguinius.
Sanguinius vibrated his wings, light as a pure white feather, drifting and flickering among the psychic lightning, easily dodging the terrifying psychic energies unleashed by the Sadist Queen.
The azure brain tissue within the Sadist Queen's massive crown began to violently writhe, and intense psychic energy began to manifest from within.
In less than a second, a Warp energy pulse thicker than an average Titan appeared out of nowhere, howling as it pressed down on Sanguinius.
Sanguinius laughed loudly, seemingly amazed by the terrifying psychic power unleashed by the Sadist Queen.
The spear of accomplishment in his hand drew an arc, held horizontally at his side, and he charged directly towards the Sadist Queen.
Sanguinius's psychic energy was even greater than the Sadist Queen's; that psychic energy, released through the spear of accomplishment, actually tore apart the psychic pulse unleashed by the Sadist Queen.
Not only the psychic pulse, Sanguinius transformed into a pure blade of light, piercing through the psychic pulse and simultaneously piercing into the Sadist Queen's crown, impaling the Sadist Queen's body.
Like a mountain collapsing in an earthquake, with a huge crash, the Sadist Queen fell heavily to the ground.
"Confucius... Confucius was right; ruler, minister, father, son, each in their place."
"This galaxy, never mind ruler and minister, but father is certainly not father, and son is not son."
"In fact, father is the son of the son, son is the father of the father, father is also the brother of the son, and brother is also the father of the son."
"If Confucius's spirit were in the Warp and saw this scene, he would probably ascend to Daemon Prince of Khorne on the spot and just kill, kill, kill."
Alexander, in his flesh and blood body, flew beside Sanguinius with a Take-copter, saying.
Now Nobi Emperor and Omegamessiah Xiao Fu were responsible for entangling the hive mind, while Alexander once again walked in the material universe in his flesh.
To be honest, this body now made Alexander feel very cramped and confined, feeling as if a casual stretch of his arms would tear open this flesh and blood body of his.
He was different from the Emperor; the Emperor was a genuine immortal back then, while Alexander's own body was merely mortal.
To accommodate his self in the Warp, Alexander even had to use Ziggs Flybath Fluid to ensure he wouldn't explode from within.
"Is it time to begin?" Sanguinius asked softly.
"It's time to begin." Alexander's gaze fell on the flesh and blood lighthouse right before him; he could vaguely sense something being born within it.
The hive mind's shell was about to be born, the Tyranids / Tyranid's Emperor was about to descend, and the greed dissolution domain was trembling, eager to be born into the world.
The pressure on Alexander's malicious art domain was steadily increasing, and this pressure, in turn, pressed on the erosion and destruction domain, urging the birth of the Dark King.
The Dark King, the omnissiah, and the eternal dragon were all impatient, wanting to be born into the world.
In the Warp, the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods were equally eager; they longed to see a more thorough struggle between Alexander and the hive mind, wanting to seize that opportunity to tear off a few pieces of flesh from Alexander.
Fulgrim and Guilliman were their current coveted prey.
In the Warp, on the steroid planet, Magnus, who was exercising, opened his single eye and looked at Tzeentch floating before him, letting out a sigh.