Magnus's eyes snapped open. He crushed the information in his hand.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Even if the Adeptus Custodes are here, they must be here to take me to inherit the throne."
Magnus's gaze was unwavering. The prophecy couldn't possibly be wrong.
Someone must have twisted the Emperor's meaning. It had to be that!
With that thought, Magnus immediately closed his eyes again and began to meditate. He needed to deepen his understanding of the Warp. He would offer this precious knowledge to the Emperor!
He would show the Emperor that His choice had been right!
Little did he know, his actions had angered certain beings.
In a dark, twisted corner of the Warp, Chaos and the unknown hung heavy in the air.
A gigantic mound of flesh, covered from head to toe in plague and decay. Before it stood an equally enormous cauldron, bubbling with an astonishingly delicious stew.
Especially after seeing his sworn enemy's scheme fail, ■■■■■ was even more delighted, scattering delicious broth all around.
Because his plan had worked!
■■■■■ was watching his own masterpiece.
On the planet Davin.
Toxic green gas filled the air, and visibility was less than ten meters.
The Sons of Horus Astartes were still unleashing a furious hail of bolt rounds. Shouts from the warriors and snarls from the plague zombies rang out through the fog.
"Roar~"
Horus's keen hearing immediately pinpointed the sound. He dodged the zombie's attack in a flash and ripped it in half with one claw.
Yet the zombie, reduced to its upper half, still crawled toward Horus.
Squelch!
Horus crushed the zombie's head beneath his foot, and only then did it finally fall still.
"Eugene Tamba, is this all you've got? Are these filthy, ugly walking lumps of rotting meat all you can send to stop me?"
A rustling sound rose around them again. Dozens of zombies in battered Power Armour charged with howls.
Horus recognized the insignia on their armour. His eyes reddened as he roared, "Damn you, Eugene Tamba!"
"You're insulting my beloved children!"
"I'll make you pay!"
With that, he swung his massive Power Sword in fury, striking down the children who had once been his.
Squelch~
One blow severed their heads, but their bodies remained standing, dazed and motionless.
Just as Horus felt a pang of sorrow,
suddenly,
a smaller, hideous figure sprang from the corpse of a zombie.
"Hahaha~ Die, child of the Imperium!"
Madness gleamed in Eugene Tamba's eyes. Horus reacted at once, swinging his sword back and cleaving him in two.
The strange dagger flew straight toward Horus.
Horus raised an arm to block it. But instead of the expected shower of sparks, his vambrace rapidly corroded.
As Horus watched in disbelief, the dagger sliced effortlessly across his arm.
"Eugene Tamba, repent before the Imperium!"
Horus shot him a cold look, then plunged straight back into the fight.
Unbeknownst to him, the wound had already begun to fester and rot...
Aboard the Hrafnkel.
"You've got a lot of boils. How can you stand it?"
Francis examined the Soul Drinker's symptoms and asked, "Do you like to find your opponents' weaknesses by eating their flesh during battle?"
"You're a miracle worker, Primarch! Save me!" The Soul Drinker warrior was beside himself with excitement.
Though treatment by their own Primarch was agonizing, it was still better than turning into a Xenos!
Even back on Terra, no doctor or Apothecary had been able to save them.
"Go to conference room two. Have Sarpedon operate on you."
"Next!"
"Those are some huge chicken wings!"
"Primarch, those grew out of me after I mutated."
"Three arms?"
"Octopus tentacles?"
"You've grown another face on your stomach?"
"This one's easy. It's just scales and feathers."
"..."
Francis had certainly seen it all today. He'd always thought flesh mutations were nothing special.
But seeing all these strange things with his own eyes was quite the thrill!
Suddenly,
Francis felt as if something had glanced at him.
When he turned around, there was nothing there.
Then the ground shook violently, the tremors growing stronger and stronger.
Strange hallucinations began appearing around them, too.
Francis knew they were hallucinations because he saw his toolbox wave at him.
"Hey, brother~!"
Vrrrrm~
"Sixth Brother, what's going on?"
As Francis contacted Leman Russ, a group of Adeptus Custodes rushed to his side and surrounded him.
"We've been caught in the wake of a Warp Storm. The Navigator has already passed out."
"We can only fly blindly, following the flow of energy, and hope it takes us out of the Warp!"
The Custodian's voice was loud, but the huge machinery clanging throughout the battleship made it hard for Francis to hear clearly. "What?"
Rumble~
Suddenly,
the entire Hrafnkel went dark. Then the whole ship seemed to roll violently, tossing everyone about until they were utterly disoriented.
Then came a thud!
It was as if the ship had been dropped straight onto the ground.
Drip~ Drip~
After who knew how long, the ship finally came to a complete stop.
Using his superhuman vision, Francis found Leman Russ. "Sixth Brother, where have we ended up?"
"I'm not sure. The ship's suffered quite a bit of damage. It'll probably take a while to repair." Leman Russ was still calmly directing the crew as they carried out emergency repairs.
"Then I'll go outside and see where we are."
"If we've landed near a colony, we might be able to get repairs done faster." With that, Francis hurried off.
Leman Russ was already swamped and had no time to stop him.
Outside the Hrafnkel, it seemed they had landed in a deep ravine.
The area was lush with greenery, full of enormous fruit trees. There was no sign of anything artificial.
With every step Francis took, heavy footsteps followed behind him.
He glanced back. Who else could it be but the Adeptus Custodes and the Soul Drinkers?
"Can't you people keep it down? If this is an enemy stronghold, we'll be surrounded and served up like dumplings!"
Francis was at a loss. Why were they like knights, with nothing but a single thought in their heads?
Under Francis's orders, the Adeptus Custodes and the Soul Drinkers dispersed, forming a wide net as they made their way into the forest.
Before long, Francis found something interesting.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
A large-mouthed creature resembling a long-haired poodle-lion barked furiously at him.
"A Squig Hound?"
Francis looked puzzled. Usually, these little guys were kept by Orks.
Excitement gleamed in the Squig Hound's eyes as it wagged its tail wildly. It bit down on Francis's Power Armour, nearly breaking its teeth.
"Yow! Yow! Yow~"
It rolled around on the ground, yelping in pain.
Sure enough, hearing his pet's cries, a huge, green-skinned Ork with massive muscles came running over, cursing under his breath.
The moment he saw Francis, he leaped for joy, yanked the big club from his back, and swung it at him.
In the blink of an eye,
the Ork was sprawled on the ground. The Squig Hound nudged his toes with its head, but got no response.
Francis quickly collected the Ork's blood and materials. Then several people nearby gathered around.
"Remember, keep your distance from me for a while. This should be Ork territory."
"I'm going to scout ahead."
Before anyone could say anything, Francis had already removed his Power Armour. He took the Ork's blood and drank it down.
The sticky, foul taste was so nostalgic!
A stream of genetic information appeared in Francis's mind.
Ork genes, Stikk Likes watching Squig Hounds bite other Orks' toes. Born on an unnamed planet. Identity: Ork Boyz ...
Francis's arms surged and transformed into Ork arms.
Francis bit off another piece of fresh Ork flesh, and the rest of his body changed violently into an Ork's form as well.
The Squig Hound, which had been whimpering moments earlier, caught its master's scent again. It tilted its head and stared at Francis in confusion.
The others immediately took up fighting stances. "Who are you?"
Before you continue