Each with Their Own Agenda (Bonus Chapter)

By the time the four of them reached the Conqueror, Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard, had somehow joined them too.

His skin was deathly pale, and his eyes were deep and hollow. He wore Barbarus-pattern armor, decorated with distinctive incense burners filled with poisonous fumes.

That smell!

"Urk~" Francis struggled to swallow it down. The other man smelled more than a little foul.

"What's wrong, little Frankie~?"

Fulgrim, clad in purple-and-gold armor, suddenly sidled up to him. But after catching a whiff of the smell, even he couldn't help covering his nose.

"Who are you, anyway? Are we close or something? Do you have to stand so near?" Francis cried out. He felt goosebumps covering his whole body.

What the hell was "little Frankie" supposed to mean?

Come on, you're a man. Don't make things difficult for another man!

Francis ran, Fulgrim chased him, and in the end, there was still nowhere for him to escape.

"Got you now, little guy~" Fulgrim grabbed him by the collar and lightly traced a finger along his neck.

"Warmaster, save me!" Francis wailed. He was genuinely afraid Fulgrim might cut him down.

Fulgrim really would kill his own brothers!

"Enough, Fulgrim. We still have business to attend to. Stop fooling around."

At Horus's words, Fulgrim reined himself in.

The four of them entered the compartment where the World Eaters were gathered. Inside, they saw more than ten little factions, all at each other's throats, trying to outdo one another in hostility.

"What are you doing? Have you thrown your sense of honor to the dogs?"

"This is ridiculous! If you're so eager to fight, go kill some Xenos and the False Emperor!"

"If that doesn't work, fight me! Whoever wins gets to be the new Warmaster!"

As he spoke, Horus leaped down into the center of the crowd. The tremendous impact made the entire floor shake.

The World Eaters stared greedily at Horus. He waved a hand and continued, "Come on! So eager to rise through the ranks? Then fight me!"

"What's wrong? Lost your nerve already?"

The World Eaters were furious, but dared not speak. The crowd continued to stir until someone finally lost patience and charged.

"Let's offer the Warmaster's head to—"

Before he could finish, Horus smashed him away with a single blow. Shards of Power Armour rained down like snowflakes.

The air filled with the stench of blood, and several more warriors charged with red-rimmed eyes.

"Kill!"

"Kill, kill!"

They swung their Chainswords at Horus, but, as expected, he knocked them all flying with his hammer. None even had time to scream.

In an instant,

the World Eaters quieted down. They silently regrouped.

Horus looked up and saw Francis giving him a thumbs-up.

At that moment, Horus almost felt like his headache had eased.

Led by the World Eaters, the group headed to the innermost room. Kharn stood guard outside and shook his head helplessly.

"The Primarch doesn't want to see anyone. He just wants to be alone."

After speaking, he glared at Francis, as if to say it was all his fault.

"Don't glare at me. He wanted to wear it himself. I tried to take it off, but he wouldn't let me." Francis really felt like his good intentions had caused trouble.

But at this, Fulgrim's eyes lit up. "How about I go remove the thing on his head?"

Suddenly!

A bold idea came to Francis.

Francis wanted to laugh, but he still couldn't, so he said solemnly, "There's no need to go to that much trouble."

"When those detestable loyalists arrive, just pull the little spike off his head and throw him into the crowd."

"Simple and easy, and no talking required!"

Francis's words stabbed into the World Eaters' hearts like a knife. They all roared in fury.

"What do you take our Primarch for? A weapon? You'd use him without any regard for his feelings!"

"Warmaster, are you really going to do this?"

"..."

At that, Horus raised an eyebrow. "Loyalists" was a good term. He was going to overthrow the Emperor!

As for Angron, he really was tempted to do it that way. After all, it would be the most efficient.

But saying it outright would affect the World Eaters Legion. Just as he was considering how to satisfy both sides,

Kharn's eyes were bloodshot as he growled, "I think we should. Maybe this is the only way for the Primarch to find himself again. He's just temporarily been led astray. He'll come back to us."

Of course, that was what Kharn hoped.

"Kharn! You!"

"Kharn, you..."

"..."

The World Eaters clearly hadn't expected Kharn to agree, but given his strength, they couldn't say anything.

For now, Kharn was temporarily in command of the World Eaters Legion in Angron's place.

On the way back,

"Francis, where do you think we should wait for the loyalists?" Horus asked.

"Isstvan V. The climate is pleasant there, and its location is convenient. It's a good place for a large-scale battle."

Horus was delighted to hear Francis say that. He patted him on the shoulder and said,

"I never knew you had the makings of a Warmaster!"

"That's exactly what I had in mind!"

Francis's face turned a little red. For a moment, he genuinely wanted to join Horus.

But then he remembered that the Emperor was still at full strength, and that the Ten Thousand were still around!

He decided against it.

Instead, Francis wondered what the Emperor was doing.

Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, isn't this design a little excessive? Do we really need so many hidden entrances?" a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus asked.

"Mm. It's safer this way. After all, this is the Aeldari Webway."

The Tech-Priest found the Emperor's words quite reasonable. Ever since the Emperor had left the Throne, construction of the human Webway had clearly sped up.

It was just a little tiring. The Emperor was like a machine that never wore out. After leaving the Throne, he had constantly been modifying the Webway without stopping.

Just then, a Custodian's voice came from behind them. "Your Majesty, you should rest for a while. You haven't rested in a very long time."

When the Emperor turned around to look at the Custodians he had personally created, he saw one holding a basin of hot water and a Sister of Silence carrying a towel.

"What are you doing? Who taught you this?"

There was clear displeasure in the Emperor's voice. They immediately dropped to one knee and replied, "It was the Primarch Francis. He said this would be good for your health and help ease your fatigue, so when we saw how long you'd been working..."

Magnus, seated on the Throne, had been about to say something. But when he saw the Emperor's utterly stern expression, he swallowed his words.

It was as if a volcano was about to erupt in the Emperor's heart!

"Where is he now? Bring him to me at once!"

But before the Custodians could reply, the Emperor sensed that Leman Russ and Rogal Dorn had come to see him.

The moment he gave his approval, Leman Russ rushed in and said,

"Father, Horus has rebelled!"

"This time, we have solid proof. They destroyed Isstvan III and even tried to kill the warriors who remain loyal to the Imperium!"

"Francis is inside, undercover! I'm afraid he won't be able to hold out much longer!"

At that, Magnus immediately shouted excitedly, "Father, I told you Horus had turned traitor, but you didn't believe me."

"Francis is fine!"