Into the Tiger's Den

On Istvaan V.

The Soul Drinkers were building fortifications with the Emperor's Children, though more accurately, the Emperor's Children built them while the Soul Drinkers secretly loosened screws.

Francis was idly concocting a potion to solve Angron's problem when Fulgrim suddenly burst in.

"Francis, save me!"

"It's been in my head, I can't get rid of it. Save me!"

Unlike his previous seductive charm, Fulgrim now clutched his head in agony, veins bulging on his forehead.

Then, with a sinister smile, he said, "Little Fran, let's play~"

"I have..."

Before Fulgrim could finish, he began clutching his head again, tearing at his own flesh and roaring.

"Get out! Go back where you came from!"

"I won't yield, I'm not enjoying this at all!"

Before Fulgrim could say another word, he began switching between sinister and mad again, leaving Francis a bit stunned by the sudden change.

Before Francis could fully process it, Fulgrim, like the wind, dragged him into a small, dark room.

Bang~

The door closed, and Fulgrim immediately quieted down.

Instead, he stared intently at Francis, the atmosphere suddenly becoming tense.

"Third Brother, calm down. You can find your own offspring to do that with; I'm definitely not into that."

"Please spare my beauty." Francis swallowed hard and hugged himself tightly.

"Francis, who do you really want to join?" Fulgrim's eyes were hazy as he whispered in Francis's ear.

"Hmm? So it's finally my turn to be corrupted! Heh heh~"

Hearing this, Francis's eyes lit up. "You should have said so! You must be the Lust Demon hiding inside Fulgrim's body right now!"

"Got any hardcore stuff? Bring it on, let me see!"

Fulgrim: ???

But Fulgrim quickly recovered, looking at Francis with a faint smile. "It seems you know everything. How about it? Join us and experience unparalleled pleasure."

"A thrill you can't imagine!"

"Stop with the nonsense, let me taste it first. Are Lust Demons only good at making empty promises?"

Listening to Francis's teasing, Fulgrim became furious, his eyes suddenly emitting a soul-piercing glow.

Then, Francis found himself in an oasis.

The air was filled with a sweet, pink scent. Lakes of grape wine appeared, and countless embodiments of desire emerged, constantly tempting Francis and making strange noises.

They licked him frantically, not sparing any part of him.

Francis heard voices in his ear, voices consumed by desire, yearning for deeper connection.

Endless waves of them drowned Francis in a white sea, but Francis merely lay on the surface.

"Sigh~ Is that all? This is how you test a subordinate?" Francis shook his head, sighing. "I've never seen such a weak Lust Demon. My evaluation is just average, a complete failure!"

As Francis's words fell, the scene before him collapsed with a roar.

Francis's consciousness returned to the small, dark room. He walked step by step towards Fulgrim.

"You should do it like this!"

Saying that, Francis ignored Fulgrim's protests and pushed him onto the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Faced with Fulgrim's questioning, Francis replied calmly, "Do you not know, 'When three walk together, one must be my teacher'!"

"Don't resist, I'll show you what pleasure is!"

With that, Francis tied Fulgrim up and turned on several heat guns, reducing their power and hanging them upside down above him.

Pfft~ Sizzling~

As the heat guns slowly emitted high-temperature gas, random red spots appeared on Fulgrim's body.

"This... this... this... put me down." A blush crept onto Fulgrim's face, his body squirming uncontrollably.

So pain and pleasure could be experienced without killing!

"Huh? We're just getting started! Are you even a demon of lust? Are you perhaps a spy sent by that squid?"

Francis seemed confused. This shouldn't be happening.

Next, Francis began to increase the power, and after wounds appeared on Fulgrim's body, he applied a cool growth agent.

The cycle of heat and cold, heat and cold, made the newly grown flesh even more sensitive.

At the same time, he threaded metal wires through Fulgrim's body, connected them to a power source, and delivered rhythmic electrical shocks of varying intensity.

"No, no, no, don't stop~" Fulgrim's body trembled uncontrollably, his eyes even growing hazy.

"Relax, it's time for some advanced tech and hardcore stuff! Do you know what happiness is?" Francis asked a soul-searching question.

"What is happiness?" Fulgrim, and even the demons within him, had never considered this question.

Perhaps this was why they placed their hopes for happiness onto others.

Francis chuckled and pulled out a pile of bottles and jars from his bag. "These were originally for Angron's experiments, but I guess I'll have to test them on you first."

"Hehehe, this is super dopamine hormone and super cortisol hormone."

"And this alien pineal gland that can infinitely amplify senses! I made this by extracting the pineal gland genes from all sorts of aliens!"

Watching Francis hold these strange items, Fulgrim could only weakly roar, "Don't do this~"

Unfortunately, at this moment, 'don't' meant 'must do'.

As the injections were administered, the pineal gland… Fulgrim felt all his senses unleash like never before. He could even feel his body screaming.

Yet, this very screaming made him unable to stop. Finally, a long, drawn-out roar echoed from within the room~

The Emperor's Children working on construction outside heard it and trembled.

After an unknown amount of time, the lights inside the room were turned on.

Francis looked at the sleeping Fulgrim, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Temporary exorcism successful!"

Just then, Francis felt something give him a lewd glance.

"How bizarre!" Francis muttered.

Fulgrim slept lightly, and this single sentence woke him.

Then he saw Francis, still at the table making some unknown black potion that was clearly bubbling.

"Hiss~ Why am I here? And why are you here too?" Fulgrim clutched his head, feeling like he had a hangover from fake alcohol.

His body still ached all over, but there was also a hint of pleasure!

"What else? It's because you were controlled by a demon~ You should be clear-headed now, right?" Francis replied irritably.

All the medicine prepared for Angron was used up, and now he had to make more.

Sigh, he was truly too kind!

"How did you do it? Teach me quickly!"

Hearing this, Fulgrim's eyes immediately lit up.

"Uh… let's forget it. Let me handle this thankless task myself. I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it." Francis stroked his chin and continued, "I'm curious, are you still against the Emperor?"

"Huh? Weren't you joining to overthrow the False Emperor?" Fulgrim asked, confused.

"Ah! I just thought it was interesting, so I joined. When we reach Terra, do you want to kick the False Emperor's ass together? I bet that would feel great!"

Hearing this, Fulgrim shivered all over. Just the thought of it was too thrilling.

"Count me in! I want to hit him! I want to whip him hard!"

Fulgrim's breathing grew rapid, and his hands couldn't help but make whipping motions in the air. It was clear he had been corrupted by Chaos.

Francis: "……"

He had initially thought that restoring the Primarch's consciousness would be enough to turn him. But now, it was clearly not enough.

Just as Francis was about to say something else, a sudden wave of sleepiness interrupted them.

"Why am I suddenly so sleepy~"

"Me too!"

This made Francis feel that something was very wrong. He tried to stab his thigh hard, but Fulgrim stopped him before he could.

Looking at the other's hazy eyes, Francis's heart sank.

"This is bad!"

Immediately after, a wave of Warp energy swept through the place. The intense drowsiness forced Francis to sink into sleep.

Even Horus felt this unusual fluctuation, though his own pressure had significantly lessened.

Not bad!

"I knew it! You can't walk by the river forever without getting your shoes wet!"

Francis's consciousness fell from a high altitude. He saw a giant six-ringed maze.

Seeing this, Francis's heart skipped a beat. "It couldn't be this coincidental, could it!"

Next, in the third ring, Francis saw Angron lying there, lost in slumber. He looked to his side but couldn't see Fulgrim.

Before he could register much more, he was rapidly smashed towards the ground.

Boom!

Francis plunged headfirst into a mountain of gold coins. Countless coins slid down, and the clattering sound caused the human souls trapped in cages nearby to roar madly.

"Give it to me! Hurry and give me my money! My money!"

"Aaaahhhh! My money, it's all mine!"

"Let me out!"

The humans in the cages kept reaching out their arms, their sharp iron spikes repeatedly scratching their flesh. Blood flowed down the cages, only to be instantly absorbed by them.

Then the cages became tighter, and even more spiked~