In the medical bay.
"Once the Custodians arrive, you can leave. There's nothing wrong with me, so don't worry."
Francis patted the Soul Drinkers on the shoulders.
He'd seen it earlier. Since he hadn't had time to tell them what was going on, they'd genuinely thought something had happened to him.
They'd been so frantic that they'd nearly killed the Apothecary, who hadn't even found anything wrong with him.
Now every one of them had eyes as red as rabbits'. The mighty Soul Drinkers had all turned into crybabies.
"Repeat what I just told you." Francis had given them a task.
"Understood. We're to inform Primarch Magnus and have him contact Angron. We're to tell him you have a way to treat him."
"If he wants treatment, he should come to Terra to find you."
Sarpedon repeated the instructions word for word.
"Good. Get ready. They'll be back any moment." Francis nodded.
"Primarch, why not let us treat you instead? We can learn how!"
Ever since Sarpedon had started learning Francis-style treatment, he'd found that he rather enjoyed helping people recover.
Francis saw the eager looks in their eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he quickly refused.
"No! Keep those big clumsy hands away from me. They're too rough!"
The Soul Drinkers looked a little dejected, but soon they heard footsteps outside.
They nodded. The task came first.
Hiss~
The medical bay doors opened, and Valoris walked in with several Custodians and Sisters of Silence.
Valoris was even carrying a large basin of hot water himself. Seeing Francis curled up on the bed with his arms around his stomach, he understood.
They couldn't wait any longer!
Sarpedon nodded to him, then led the other Soul Drinkers out.
"Primarch Francis, tell me what to do," Valoris asked anxiously.
Only then did Francis pretend to open his eyes and look at everyone. Seeing that Valoris still hadn't left, he said, "You don't need to supervise. Just wait outside."
"Let me do it! I didn't know you had an old injury, after all." Valoris wouldn't take no for an answer.
Francis: "..."
"Really, I only need those two. More people won't help."
"This ritual relies on a concept called affinity. You don't have it."
Hearing that, Valoris could only slink out.
That left one Custodian and one Sister of Silence. Francis told them with the utmost seriousness, "The ritual I'm about to teach you is incredibly powerful."
"Once you've learned it, you might even be able to ease the Emperor's pain someday. It's a lost technology."
Their eyes lit up at once.
Everything for the Emperor!
When Francis took off his Power Armour boots and put his feet in the basin, a warm current rose from his soles and spread through his body.
Custodian: ???
Sister of Silence: ???
"This is an ancient human meridian technique. By pressing different parts of the body, you can help it relax."
"Come on! You, Custodian. I'll teach you the proper foot massage technique."
"And you. You're not as strong, so massage my shoulders."
Under Francis's careful instruction, the two gradually got the hang of it.
Still, they voiced their doubts. "Does this really work, Primarch? You're not deceiving us, are you?"
"Don't worry. The gene technology I've mastered tells me it works wonders. The Emperor needs you to do this, too!"
At Francis's answer, the two immediately put their backs into it.
The Custodian learned the single-finger knuckle press, thumb-tip pressure, finger-and-palm kneading, finger-pushing, tapping, and many other mighty foot-massage techniques.
As for the Sister of Silence, her innate nature as a pariah gave her a rare talent for massaging backs, shoulders, necks, and heads!
Francis, who had been utterly exhausted, finally relaxed completely.
After who knew how long, Francis lazily rolled over.
"You've learned enough to graduate. The responsibility of helping the Emperor overcome his fatigue will be yours from now on!"
Hearing Francis say they could help the Emperor, the two immediately sprang up in delight.
"For the Emperor's health, we massage feet!"
"For the Emperor's health, we massage backs!"
That smooth, deft touch—no wonder they were a Custodian and a Sister of Silence. They had even these skills down pat.
They quickly learned to apply what they'd been taught, and every press landed just right. The Custodian even thoughtfully asked from time to time,
"How does that feel?"
Francis's answer was, of course, "Fantastic! Just like that!"
Until they reached Terra, Francis would have a very good time.
There was just one thing he worried about: once he returned to Terra, would they lock him up again?
That was why getting in touch with Angron would be ideal.
At this point in time, the two sides should be at a temporary ceasefire. If nothing went wrong, the Emperor would soon send Leman Russ to deal with Angron.
Francis didn't want to miss that spectacle!
The World Eaters' Primarch—Angron.
After the original Primarch had been lost, Angron was raised on the brutal world of Nuceria. As a slave gladiator, he was forced to fight again and again, until his masters implanted the Butcher's Nails to make him more aggressive.
The implants were similar to a lobotomy. They were constantly eating away at Angron's brain. An ordinary person would have died long ago.
They were also a piece of relic technology of astonishing complexity. Not even the best Tech-Priests, Emperor included, could remove them without killing Angron.
Originally, the only way for Angron to escape the damned things was to fall to Chaos.
Francis wasn't sure he could cure him completely, but it was worth a try.
So when Magnus heard the news, he jumped up in delight. "Wonderful! I'll contact him right away!"
Just as Magnus was about to send the message, he suddenly remembered what Francis had said earlier.
His psychic power might be altered under Chaos's influence.
Sarpedon noticed his concern, too, and continued, "The Primarch said it'll be fine as long as you don't use psychic power on Terra."
"Even if its power is altered, Angron is still a Primarch. He won't die."
"That makes sense! I'll contact him now."
Francis knew full well that he couldn't give Magnus two choices. The moment Magnus had more than one option, he'd agonize over it for ages.
It might hurt some of the other World Eaters, but things were urgent. Francis couldn't afford to consider every possible consequence.
After all, as long as Angron was alive, the World Eaters Legion wouldn't disappear.
And Magnus could think of only one thing: his brother was suffering. He had to save him.
They went to the deck.
Unlike the Chief Librarian, who needed a great many people to gather their psychic power together, Magnus was the mightiest Psyker after the Emperor. He could send a psychic message over an immense distance by himself.
He slowly raised his hands, drew a deep breath, and began chanting an ancient, complex incantation. Each syllable echoed through the air like a musical note, weaving a psychic path to Malcoya.
As the chant went on, the energy around him surged ever more violently, as if the entire space were trembling.
"Angron, there's hope for you! Francis is waiting for you on Terra."
A dazzling light burst from between Magnus's hands. It formed a slender beam and vanished into the Warp.
Sure enough,
A mysterious force in the Warp passed through the beam.
The beam, originally as thick as a thumb, abruptly swelled to the thickness of a wrist.
The force seemed unsatisfied with the result.
As the beam traveled, the force kept making adjustments, increasing its power more than tenfold before finally letting go in satisfaction.
The beam shot out of the Warp and reached the planet Malcoya. It seemed to find its target, then plunged straight down.
At the center of a large crowd stood a man wearing an elaborate headdress that resembled a mass of dreadlocks. His golden Power Armour was spattered with his enemies' blood.
The ground around him was covered with enemy heads. They seemed to be taking part in some kind of strange contest.
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