Angron slowly woke up. His mind felt completely blank, clearer than it had ever been.
His head still felt a little dull, but that was fine. It had always been dull.
"You're awake? How do you feel?"
At Leman Russ's words, Angron nodded dully. "Thank you."
Leman Russ's eyes immediately widened in disbelief as he stared at the scene.
Angron had said thank you?! He could say thank you?!
"By the Emperor, Angron can say thank you!!" Leman Russ prayed, trembling as he looked toward the Emperor.
Angron: "..."
Even now, every thought and every word still brought Angron pain. It was just a lot better than before.
After all, you got used to pain when it kept hurting.
"You're thanking the wrong person. Francis saved you. He nearly died here—he really went above and beyond for you." Leman Russ shook his head in confusion.
At that, Angron's mind began throbbing again. It seemed that every emotion other than anger still caused him pain.
Clutching his head, Angron said with some difficulty, "Who is Francis?"
"Are you all right?" Leman Russ frowned.
"Who is Francis? Tell me!" Angron clutched his head and roared.
"He's your brother, the Eleventh Primarch."
At Leman Russ's answer, Angron fell into confusion again. "Why did he save me? Where is he?"
"How should I know? He's in the next room. Go thank him—"
Before Leman Russ could finish, Angron bolted out. Leman Russ wanted to follow, but he was badly injured too. No one was looking after him, though.
As Angron reached the doorway, he heard voices from inside.
"Does anyone know how to give a Primarch a nutrient infusion? I can't see his veins."
"We don't know either! Maybe try his butt. I heard it absorbs faster."
"Why not just pour it down his throat?"
"Oh! You're right!"
Angron pushed the door open and saw a group of Soul Drinkers gesturing over Francis.
Angron: "..."
At the same time, they sensed someone entering. They immediately turned around and glared at Angron with hostility.
Sarpedon in particular had already lit up the staff in his hand. Flesh Change was even appearing on his body again. He was clearly gathering all his strength.
Just as the two sides were on the verge of a fight, Francis woke up.
He'd felt that if he didn't wake up soon, his virtue would be in danger.
"Move aside, all of you. I'm fine. Get me some more food. I want to talk with him."
"But—" Sarpedon said anxiously.
"Wait outside. We're not closing the door. You can rush in whenever you want."
"I trust you."
Since the Primarch had said so, they obediently went outside.
"They really care about you," Angron said suddenly.
Francis hadn't expected things to turn out this way. He'd only meant to absorb a little.
But he hadn't been very practiced the first time, and ended up sucking it all out in one go.
It hurt so much he'd nearly killed himself!
"I know what you want to ask. That's right. I used your ability to absorb all the anger and murderous feelings you've built up over this time."
"The process was incredibly painful, but I had no choice! You're my twelfth brother, after all. Sigh~"
Francis looked at him with fatherly kindness.
Angron's head began to hurt again. Clutching it, he said, "I wanted to ask if you could absorb it one more time."
Francis's eyes widened as he stared at Angron in disbelief.
He'd never met anyone so shameless!
"You! How can you be so brazen? Look at the state I'm in, and you still want more from me!" Francis pointed at Angron, wishing he could poke him to death!
"I can't help it. I really can't." Angron clutched his head as the Butcher's Nails writhed again.
Francis: "..."
Before long, the Soul Drinkers brought in a huge amount of food, and Francis began devouring it.
In no time at all, he'd eaten the food meant for an entire company.
Once he was full, he had the strength to work. Francis said, "Little Twelve, lie down on the bed. I'll examine you."
"It's no use! The Emperor opened up my brain too, and there was no way to fix it!" Angron's speech grew more hurried, and his eyes gradually turned bloodshot.
"I'm not curing you. I'm just going to make you feel a little better. Don't worry, it'll be over soon!"
Francis pinned Angron to the bed, then put on the bio-armor covered in Navigator eyes.
As all the eyes lit up, Angron felt as though his entire body had been seen through.
And Francis did see something different. Angron's body seemed connected to the Warp, his physical form more like an anchor in the material universe.
"I'd been thinking about killing you and then having the Emperor bring you back to life. Wouldn't that get rid of the Butcher's Nails?"
"But now that I've seen you, I'm afraid that won't work. If you leave this body, who knows what you'll turn into."
Francis examined Angron greedily, as though the man before him were a curvy beauty.
Angron: "..."
Angron had lost every emotion except anger, but now he felt an icy chill. He wasn't sure whether that was good news or bad.
Even the anger he'd built up again felt much calmer.
"But that's all right. Wearing this Hundred-Eye Armor has made me much more familiar with your body."
"I have a few possible solutions. Want to hear them?"
Angron looked down at himself, bound hand and foot, and asked, "Do I have a choice?"
"Of course! You can choose one of the plans."
"Since the Butcher's Nails have eaten into your brain and spinal cord, we could..."
"We could try a mutation-based approach. I'd use your spinal fluid to grow a new spine and brain, then implant them beside your existing spine, fusing the two together. That way, you'd have two spines and two brains."
"Then you could practice transferring your consciousness from your old brain to the new one."
"That way, when you feel awful, you could switch to the new brain. When you want to fight, you could use the old one. How does that sound?"
"And once the new one's mature, we could try removing the old brain and spine while you're awake! Then you'd be completely normal!"
Thinking about how perfect the plan was, Francis couldn't help rubbing his chin.
As Angron listened, he felt as though the Butcher's Nails on his head weren't even hurting that much anymore.
"Th-then... what's the second plan?"
At Angron's question, Francis sighed. "I knew you wouldn't dare try that. The second plan is conservative treatment. It can't cure you completely."
"Then I'll hear about the conservative treatment!" Angron replied hurriedly.
Francis shrugged. "The second plan is to make an antenna on your head and distort your perception again, like the Butcher's Nails."
"It only lets you feel anger and the urge to kill. We could try twisting your other emotions into anger and the urge to kill too."
"That way, at least you won't be thinking about killing all the time. You'll get a change of flavor now and then."
"But you'll have to take our growth serum long-term to keep your body from breaking down. The Butcher's Nails have already gone too deep."
Before Francis could ask Angron what he thought, the other man roared, "Two! Two! I choose two!"
"Fine! Let's get ready."
"Ready? For what?" Angron asked, confused.
Then he saw Francis drink a bottle of red liquid, and a huge eye grew out of his forehead.
Angron: ??!
"Relax. This is my improved Navigator gene, specially designed for delicate work like this." Francis pressed the red button on his chest.
The entire suit of armor shifted to his head, and all the eyes lined up in a row, like a giant telescope made of several sections.
Angron was utterly bewildered, just like anyone else who encountered Francis. His mind turned to chaos.
"Don't make such a fuss. This is what genetic engineering looks like!"
Before you continue