Looking at Magnus's smug expression, Francis curled his lip. "Sixth brother, I think you should use the move you're best at to tell him."
Leman Russ looked a little confused. He tilted his head slightly. "The move I'm best at? Which move do you mean?"
Magnus wore a puzzled look too. What move? What was he talking about?
Francis raised both arms as if pulling up his trousers, then lifted his right leg slightly.
Leman Russ immediately caught on. In a single stride, he came up beside Magnus and lifted him into his arms.
"Leman Russ, what are you doing? Put me down!" Magnus felt an inexplicable sense of panic. He had a feeling something bad was about to happen.
Leman Russ didn't answer. Once he had Magnus in his arms, he abruptly pressed down with both hands, then raised his knee.
"Ahhhhh!"
A scream rang out from the pyramid. Even the Astartes at the monastery far away heard it loud and clear.
"That was a Primarch's voice! Something's happened to our Primarch!" The Thousand Sons' warriors immediately tensed up.
They were about to rise when the Soul Drinkers' warriors stopped them.
"Don't worry. Our Primarch is best at healing people. They're probably treating the Flesh Change."
The Thousand Sons' warriors looked doubtful. "Really? Then why does he sound like he's in so much pain?"
The Soul Drinkers lifted their shirts to show them.
"Look! All the mutations on our bodies have been cured. The process was just incredibly painful."
"Our Primarch doesn't use anesthetic. We don't know how it works, either."
The Thousand Sons, who had suffered from the Flesh Change themselves, were stunned.
This was something even their own Primarch couldn't cure, yet the Primarch of the Soul Drinkers had managed it!
He was incredible!
At that moment, Magnus's scream filled the Thousand Sons with envy.
"Lucky him!"
That scream rang across the sky above the City of Light.
On the planet Deda—
"Ahhhhh! Primarch, what's wrong? Please don't scare us!"
The Sons of Horus gathered around the unconscious Horus, their faces stricken with fear and helplessness.
Not long before, during the battle against the plague zombies, Horus had led them to wipe out the Chaos rebels headed by Eugene Tamba.
Horus had planned to head straight for the next battlefield, but an infected wound had left him growing weaker, forcing the Great Crusade to pause.
Even after the Apothecaries treated him again and again, Horus's condition continued to worsen.
The Sons of Horus were overcome with grief. They loved their Primarch dearly.
With their Primarch unconscious, control of the Legion had fallen to Horus's advisory council—the Council of Four.
"What do we do? The Primarch's condition is dire, and the Imperium's Apothecaries are all useless!"
"We should just kill them all!" Abaddon slammed his palm angrily against the table.
"We should ask Terra for help and have the Imperium send court physicians and its finest Apothecaries." Loken fell silent for a moment.
"By the time help from Terra gets here, the Primarch might already be dead! Are you trying to get him killed?"
Abaddon's bloodshot eyes widened. The veins throbbing on his forehead showed he was on the verge of exploding.
"Stop arguing. The most important thing is figuring out how to save the Primarch."
"We shouldn't be blaming each other. Loken's idea may not be a good one, but he wants the Primarch to recover, doesn't he?"
Seeing the tension rise, Torgaddon hurried to defuse the situation.
If they kept arguing like this, the Primarch really would be beyond saving.
"I think Abaddon is right! That plan won't work. We should find a solution with the people we have here."
"Earlier, one of the Word Bearers' Chaplains mentioned a power called Chaos. Could we ask them about it?"
As the Council of Four's strategist, Aximand had earned the other three men's trust.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
After the Council of Four unanimously approved the proposal, they sent for the Word Bearers' Chief Chaplain, Erebus.
Soon, Erebus walked in, clad in iron-gray Power Armour covered in passages from the Book of Lorgar.
The moment he removed his helmet, the others present felt a chill of unease.
The Book of Lorgar had been inscribed all over Erebus's gaunt, pale head, making him look more like a daemon from Chaos in the shadows.
But they stopped paying attention to it almost immediately and explained what they wanted.
They wanted Horus woken up.
"But the Warmaster explicitly rejected that power before and told us it was heresy. We must not touch it."
Erebus of the Word Bearers looked reluctant and uncomfortable.
"What does that matter now? We can't afford to worry about that! Just tell us if you can save him!"
Watching Erebus dither, Abaddon wanted to pull out his Chainsword and bleed him.
At the sight of Abaddon's ferocious expression, Erebus took a couple of small steps back and said awkwardly, "We can try. Back on Deda, no matter how badly people were injured, they all recovered once they entered the 'Serpent's House.'"
"I'm sure the Warmaster can be healed there too."
Abaddon's eyes lit up at once. He shouted, "Then why are we standing around talking? Get the Primarch ready and let's go!"
Abaddon couldn't wait another moment. He stood up and headed for the door.
Syennes stopped him. "Could it be dangerous? The Primarch already rejected this power once."
"Are you hoping the Primarch never wakes up? Syennes, are you trying to take his place?" Abaddon slammed into Syennes and glared at him.
"I think Abaddon has a point. The Primarch's condition is terrible. We can't afford to wait any longer."
At that, Aximand stood and backed him up. "I agree. We should take the Primarch to the 'Serpent's House' for treatment."
Torgaddon, who had been standing between them, also gradually moved to Aximand and Abaddon's side.
Now, Torgaddon, Abaddon, Aximand, and Erebus stood together, while Syennes stood alone on the other side.
"Fine. Let's do what you say." Syennes hesitated, then seemed to shrink in on himself.
Standing behind the three men, Erebus wore a subtle, hard-to-detect grin.
He would heal Horus. He absolutely would. Heh heh heh.
After all, the dagger with the power of plague that Eugene Tamba had carried had been given to him by Erebus.
Everything was going according to plan...
False Emperor, your good days are over!
When everyone turned around, Erebus once again looked like a devout priest of the Imperium.
"Come on. We'll take the Primarch to the 'Serpent's House' right away."
On Prospero.
"So Horus really will betray us! And it won't be because I become Father's favorite son."
After hearing Francis's prophecy, Magnus sank into deep thought.
Leman Russ: "..."
Francis: "..."
Francis hadn't expected the most powerful Psyker among the Primarchs to be so narcissistic.
"That's right. And it'll also be because you use your psychic powers against the rules, causing the Webway to shatter and the Imperium to descend into civil war."
"Of the tens of thousands of Adeptus Custodes, only a few thousand will remain. The Sisters of Silence will suffer heavy losses too. The Imperium will lose half its territory, and half our brothers will betray it."
Francis's words struck Magnus like a series of heavy blows.
"No, that's impossible!"
"Then I'll be the greatest sinner in the Imperium! I'll have betrayed Father!"
"No! That's not me! That's not me!"
Oh no. Francis had forgotten that although Magnus was a tremendously powerful Psyker, extreme emotional turmoil could still make his powers run wild.
Now, a mighty psychic storm began to gather around Magnus.
It looked ready to explode at any moment!
At its center, Magnus clutched his head, his gaze unfocused as he kept repeating the same words.
Before you continue