Slaanesh Nun's Intelligence

"Hmm?"

The Chaos Lord's gaze turned cold. He had been about to make this mortal, who knew no respect for rank, pay the price—an excellent chance to test the six extreme tortures he had devised during that tedious wait.

But he quickly realized what had happened.

The mortal attendant staggered to his side, then finally gave out and collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Every nerve, every muscle, even her skin and all her organs seemed to come alive, writhing like worms. With a faint pop, she instantly unfurled across the spot into a carpet of flesh and blood.

The mortal maid, who should have died at once, had somehow kept her head intact under the influence of some Chaos power. She even seemed to retain her senses, her face twisted in despair and agony.

Countless threads of blood stretched through the air, forming a hollow sculpture. Its features were blurred, but it could roughly be identified as a woman.

The figure opened what could vaguely be called a mouth, and psychic power stirred the air as a burst of laughter rang out.

"Heh, Malven, are you planning to violate our contract?"

The Chaos Lord recognized the newcomer and said coldly, "Miriael Sabathiel, I have no idea what you're talking about. When have I ever violated the contract between us?"

To communicate with the fallen Nun far away in Slaanesh's Six Rings and facilitate his grand plan of ascension, he, as a seasoned Dark Apostle, had successfully created a Warp ritual. Mortals carved with ritual runes could serve as vessels for the fallen Nun's consciousness to descend temporarily, allowing her to discuss the next stage of the plan with him.

"Oh? Is that so?"

The Slaanesh Nun's voice carried a teasing lilt. "You may say that, but you've been pulling quite a few tricks behind my back. I think highly of your potential, but that is no reason for you to play games with our contract."

The Chaos Lord narrowed his eyes, though an uneasy feeling rose in his heart. "What tricks? When have I ever deceived you?"

"You're still being stubborn?"

The once sweet, teasing voice abruptly turned several degrees colder. "You secretly withheld quite a few souls, didn't you? Souls that were meant to be offered to me—Salinas, McKnight, Sims... Where are their souls now? Don't tell me you don't know!"

"And that Unborn One I gave you—why can I no longer sense its existence at all? What exactly have you done?"

As she spoke, Miriael seemed to think of a possibility, and her voice suddenly became dark and grim.

"Have you been concealing another pact with a Warp god from me? Let me guess..."

She paused slightly. Though it was a question, her tone held absolute certainty.

"...It was the Changer of Ways, Tzeentch, wasn't it?"

What the hell are you talking about?!

The Chaos Lord's eye twitched.

I'd sooner worship the False Emperor than Tzeentch!

Tzeentch, the god of change and inconstancy, truly would turn Chaos Space Marines who faithfully devoted themselves to seeking ascension into Chaos Spawn simply because He found it amusing!

Though he found it utterly absurd, the Chaos Lord swiftly put his wits to work and picked out the key details from Miriael's words.

Wait, the names she mentioned...

Weren't they all commanders from the same group of Chaos Astartes squads that had just carried out a Boarding Action on the cruiser?

Salinas was the overall commander, a Chaos Space Marine Captain. In the Chaos Lord's eyes, the man had lofty ambitions but little ability and was useless, though his basic command skills were passable.

McKnight was a Chaos Sorcerer who claimed he merely made use of Slaanesh rather than worshipping Slaanesh fanatically like the others. He always wore the air of someone sober while everyone else was drunk. The Chaos Lord considered him an idiot, but his sorcery was indeed formidable.

Sims, meanwhile, was a madman who loved fencing. As an enchanted warrior, he spent every day indulging in pleasure and pursuing thrills, often irritating the Chaos Lord to no end.

Still, there was no denying that they were all powerful Astartes. The Chaos Lord had been quite confident in sending them on the Boarding Action.

So how could something have gone wrong?

They might even all be dead, their souls never having returned to the Warp?

"I'll repeat myself: I have no idea what you're talking about."

The Chaos Lord suppressed the surging fury in his heart and kept his voice as steady as possible. "The people you mentioned just carried out a Boarding Action on a Lunar-class Cruiser under my command. We lost contact with them afterward. Like you, I don't know what happened."

Miriael stared fixedly at the Chaos Lord, as if trying to determine whether he was telling the truth, and murmured, "A Lunar-class Cruiser?"

"A Lunar-class Cruiser."

The Chaos Lord repeated it.

"...How is that possible? Is there something strange aboard that cruiser?"

Miriael's voice was thick with distrust.

"I will investigate this and give you an explanation."

The Chaos Lord gritted his teeth. "I will certainly make compensation for this as well."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a burst of hurried commotion.

The Chaos Space Marine who had just run out from the Bridge rushed back in, a trace of terror on his face.

"What is it?"

The Chaos Lord frowned and looked at the one reporting to him.

"My Lord, we... may have a problem! We just received a report that there's been an anomaly in the Teleportation Chamber. It seems enemies used it to teleport aboard our ship!"

"Say that again?"

The Chaos Lord froze. How was that possible?

This was simply absurd!

He forcibly suppressed the urge to split open the other man's skull and eat his brain to find out what was going on, then asked in a low voice:

"How many enemies are there?"

"I don't know."

"What specific intelligence do we have on the enemy?"

"I'm not sure."

"...How do you know nothing? What use are you, then?!"

The Chaos Lord gritted his teeth and roared, "Where are the guards in the Teleportation Chamber? Are they all useless? Hurry up and find out what happened!"

Before he finished speaking, he saw the Chaos Space Marine shake his head with difficulty. "The garrison there... was almost entirely wiped out in an instant."

"Their life signals... have almost all vanished. We know nothing about the attackers."

"Ha!"

The Chaos Lord laughed in fury.

Still unwilling to believe it, he glanced outside the ship.

That was right—a perfectly ordinary Lunar-class Cruiser, the kind any Imperial World could assemble and build.

Listening to your description, I'd thought I'd just launched a Boarding Action against the Vengeful Spirit!

Even Warmaster Abaddon wouldn't be this outrageous!

"Looks like you've run into trouble?"

Perhaps seeing that the Chaos Lord was not putting on an act, Miriael was no longer as angry as before. She spoke with interest, "Do you need to summon me to help?"

The Chaos Lord had originally intended to refuse, but the faint intuition in his heart made him change his words.

"If I need it."