Chapter 8: Primarch Education Issues
Konrad watched Wayne instruct him as a father might correct a child's mistake.
While the boss of the human organ trafficking ring knelt on the ground, staring at Wayne pleadingly. Who on Nostramo didn't know Wayne was a madman?
A notorious lunatic. An irrational bastard. How could he possibly care about those at the bottom?
Back then, he'd livestreamed dismembering gangsters for twenty-four consecutive hours. Screams and blood covered the entire area. Everyone felt terror toward the last noble heir of the Wayne Family. And now he'd crossed a whole region to hunt him down?
For a few untouchables?
Was it necessary to come personally?
He just stood there, and whether victims, perpetrators, or the boss, all fell silent, not daring to make a sound.
"Human organ trafficking is not permitted in my territory. Have you not read the billboards? Wayne ignored the boss's plea and looked at the shredded corpses Konrad had torn apart. "You know my rules."
"Sir, I would never come back here. I will not even look towards this place. I just came by accident. I operate in other family territories. Please, please forgive me, sir, agh ha ah, I beg you, sir, show mercy. Show mercy, Lord Wayne." Wayne watched in disgust as the bastard smashed his head into the ground, begging for mercy.
He detested such people. They knew exactly why he'd come, yet played dumb. He took out his scalpel and traced it over the boss's head. "You brought people from my territory here. Don't you understand what fate awaits you?"
He glanced at the children still present, several under six. Then Wayne put away his scalpel and raised his foot with deliberate slowness before bringing it down hard, crushing the boss's shin.
"My people are my property. How dare you think that a trash LIKE YOU CAN TOUCH MY PROPERTY!!"
The boss didn't dare scream. The more he howled, the more Wayne would torture him.
"Boss, I was wrong. I'll give you everything. Please, let me live! Please just let me live, show mercy, great ruler show mercy at this fool, just this one."
"Kill him." Wayne turned to the victims. "Kill them, and only after that, all the victims here can choose to return to my territory with my subordinates, or go to a home that doesn't exist."
Wayne didn't say anything further. He arranged for his men to handle it. Initially, such things weren't his responsibility; his subordinates should manage them.
He'd intended to train Konrad, but realized the Primarch's nature was volatile. Lion had lost control and killed his own chaplain in a rage. Guilliman had charged headlong into battle and fallen when angered.
Even as adults, Primarchs struggled to control themselves. Young Perturabo was born with a mental illness. Mortarion had mental issues from xenos corruption.
Primarchs' psyches came from human psyches. They possessed innate divine power, yet they were human, struggling to control the instinctive rage it unleashed.
Sometimes this rage led Primarchs to victory. Sometimes it destroyed them.
Wayne had to think carefully. There had been instances of Primarchs failing under impulsive rage; even the most rational, calm Dorn had experienced such lapses.
Konrad observed Wayne's actions. His father rarely killed in front of children and had never harmed common people. Konrad liked his father's bottom line, but suddenly felt ashamed. His own father still had a bottom line. Why had he lost control?
Wayne approached and placed a hand on Konrad's shoulder. "Konrad, I told you that when common people break the law in this world, it's not because they have other choices. It's a problem with those at the top."
"Yes, Father."
"And in your very first mission, you succumbed to the thrill of killing instead of rooting out the problem. Why? I want you to tell me the truth."
Konrad looked into Wayne's eyes and saw only trust and hope. "When I killed them, I saw the future where I killed them. I saw the world become better. I wanted to kill more people to maintain that beautiful world. The prophecy gave me positive feedback, and I became addicted to killing."
Wayne sighed. This goddamn prophecy would be his death, for God's sake. "Here's the problem: Is the future predetermined? What if you become engrossed in fantasies of the future and forget what to do in the present?"
Wayne shook his head. "Why didn't you look at the future where you kill the true culprits? Why obsess over the simple future of slaughtering common people?"
Konrad's eyes widened as he looked at his father, then at his own hands. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say. "Wa...was I wrong?"
"No. It'sss my fault. A child untaught is the father's fault, Konrad. Remember this." Wayne didn't know how to educate a child. He wasn't even married, let alone suddenly adopting a Primarch.
But he remembered those principles. He remembered that Konrad was not only a Primarch but also the master of the Astartes Legion. The future Astartes of the Night Lords would all be Konrad's sons.
To prevent the Night Lords from falling, Wayne advised Konrad with these words, hoping he'd manage his legion well in the future.
Most importantly, Wayne hoped to help Konrad control his psychic prophecies. This aspect had ruined his original self.
Primarchs didn't understand where their power came from, and didn't know their own nature. Wayne didn't know Konrad's true essence, but he knew Primarchs were part of the Warp itself.
He would help Konrad adapt to his power. Only then could he help him become better.
At this moment, Konrad was so ashamed he wanted to hide. Wayne had said from the beginning: the target is the mastermind. The goal is to make the victims exact blood for blood.
But Konrad had accomplished nothing. In the end, his father had to fill the gaps. Now he blamed himself for all his problems, and Wayne didn't blame him at all.
"Father, you shouldn't be like this?"
"Shouldn't be like what? If a young son has problems, it's the father's fault. Is it right to ignore a son after he's endured psychological pressure from torment, suffering, and failure?"
Wayne gestured toward the boss about to be executed. "Why do we solve the problem at its source? Here's the thing, Konrad. You can kill all the common thugs here, and then what? He just needs money to feed common people, and he recruits a new batch of thugs."
Konrad had an epiphany: as long as the prominent masterminds lived, the illicit industry would continue. "Is he the source?"
"No. He's just a low-level boss serving those above him. The true source is this world, Konrad. Only by thoroughly dealing with the source can we achieve victory."
Konrad looked at his father. His eyes shone with immense power. The Primarch had to admit that his Mortal father before him possessed what he envied most: self-control.
Wayne was a ruthless madman; there was no doubt. However, he was also a rational and efficient madman. The way he controlled his unlimited power and willpower by using his madness as a weapon, rather than letting it control him, became his inspiration.
"Then what should I do?"
"Learning and practice are what you should be doing now. Let's go home, eat, and rest. We'll continue tomorrow. I'll find you a good teacher."
"A Teacher? What kind of teacher?"
Wayne took Konrad's hand and walked toward the transport vehicle, moving with the measured pace of an old father. "I control a region and know all its secrets, not just because of my power, but because of my devices. It's time for you to see them."
A father holding his son's hand. What a harmonious scene it once was. If only one ignored the various human tissues on the son's body and the blood on the father's, the picture would still be quite harmonious.
Adelaine watched this scene unfold, then turned away. She gestured to her subordinates to take the common people away, then to execute everyone else involved in human organ trafficking.
[End of Chapter]