Here There Was No Curse. You Were Just Old!
Very quickly, in less than half a minute,
The Chaos Psyker, who was trapped in the same place as the Lion King, had his armor torn off by the enraged lion, which then cleanly and efficiently pulled out his head, along with his entire spine!
When the Lion King, carrying the head still connected to the spine, walked up to the remaining Chaos Space Marine, the brains of these Chaos Canister sank into rock as if bombarded.
Thump!
The Lion King casually tossed the head at the feet of these Chaos Canister.
Then, the lion looked down at them from its superior position and calmly asked, "Your wizard is dead. Now tell me, how can I lift the curse of weakness he placed on me?"
Weakness... a curse?!
These Chaos Space Marine were even more confused.
He single-handedly, with sheer physical strength, slaughtered almost two Tactical Squad, and even annihilated the Chaos Lord and the Psychic Power Librarian. You call that "weakness"?!
They exchanged a glance, then took it as an insult, letting out roars of Blood for the Blood God and Skulls for the Skull Throne, brandishing their Chainsword and Bolter, wanting to kill this powerful "monster."
Alvin watched quietly from the side, showing no intention of interfering whatsoever.
The Chainsword and the Bolter may be a threat to the Space Marine, but they are definitely not to the Primarch.
The Lion King's dynamic vision allows him to easily capture the trajectory of every muscle movement, including predicting the bullet's trajectory before the trigger is pulled.
Several bullets, by sheer luck, struck the Lion King Power Armor, but were merely deflected without leaving even a trace.
The Chainsword that came slashing towards them was easily shattered into pieces by the Lion King with a casual strike.
The Lion King seized the opponent's wrist and crushed the wrist armor and bones with a sudden burst of force. Flesh and steel fragments fell to the ground. Before the opponent could scream, a punch came crashing down like a cannonball!
Snap!
This Chaos, fragmented head immediately exploded like a watermelon, spilling out a thick, red and white liquid.
The second Chaos wretch, with all his might, swung his sword, but Lion King blocked it with his left arm armor. Then, he grabbed the wretch's head, spun him 720 degrees, and finally slammed his head into the ground, like a headless stalk, embedding it deep inside.
Then came the third, the fourth—
Only after the entire Chaos Squad was wiped out by the Lion King single-handedly did the enraged lion's inner rage subside slightly.
As expected of the Lion King!
Among the Primarch, he was among the top tier in one-on-one combat ability. Despite his advanced age, his strength remained as formidable as ever.
However, after the Lion King dealt with the Chaos Junk, there was no sign of joy on his face. He lowered his head and stared at his palm, as if it were completely unfamiliar to him.
A moment later, the Lion King turned to Alvin: "You're Psyker, you should be able to lift the weakness curse they placed on me, right?"
Alvin blinked.
Weak?
You nearly annihilated him and Zabriel the moment you awoke, and now you've almost single-handedly slaughtered two Chaos Tactical Squad, along with their lords. Where is the slightest sign of weakness?
If this is considered weakness, then wouldn't he be crippled?!
"Is that not allowed?"
The Lion King's voice held a hint of doubt. "--I don't quite understand what you mean, Lion King." To be honest, Alvin really didn't think the Lion King looked anything like someone who was cursed.
"I'm cursed."
The Lion King had no choice but to patiently explain, "I can feel that my strength, speed, and everything else are much weaker than before. What else could this be but a curse?"
Upon hearing this, Zabriel and Alvin exchanged a glance, seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes, and fell into an eerie silence.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the strange expressions on the two men's faces, the Lion King, whose temper was already not very good, became a little irritable, and his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels.
Finally, under Zabriel's pleading gaze, Alvin could only sigh and say to the Lion King, "Lion King, you have not been cursed at all."
"That's impossible."
The Lion King immediately retorted, a hint of anger in his voice. "I can clearly feel that I've become much weaker!"
"This is neither witchcraft nor a curse."
As they spoke, Alvin conjured a mirror and showed it to the Lion King's face, reflecting how the Lion King looked when they first met. "You've just gotten old, Lion King."
This was the first time the Lion King had truly and clearly seen his own face since he awoke.
He was old and frail; the years had etched the marks of time on his once handsome and imposing face, leaving deep wrinkles and graying hair that had once resembled Lion's mane.
The person reflected in the mirror was no longer a young, majestic, and handsome Lion, but an old man.
Zabriel saw the complex emotions flowing in the Lion King's eyes and spoke softly beside him, "My lord, you have been missing for ten thousand years. No one is immune to aging, not even you, the Emperor's divine son."
Senescence.
This was the first time the Lion King had faced this cruel reality. He had initially thought his "weakness" was due to an evil curse.
But what I didn't expect was an even more cruel time!
Zabriel stared at the Lion King with trepidation, fearing that this somewhat mentally unstable "father" would fly into a rage over this and use him as a punching bag!
But in reality, after learning, or rather witnessing, his own aged appearance, the Lion King remained silent for a long time before speaking to Alvin in a calm, almost unnatural tone. "The enemies here have been dealt with; it's time for us to go back."
Surprisingly, the Lion King did not get angry, nor did he show any sign of difficulty accepting it. He quickly accepted the fact that he had grown old.
Alvin deactivated the Dimension Mirror.
They returned to Redmoon Keep, Lion King ordered Zabriel to cleanse the place of traces of Chaos, then stepped outside alone.
Alvin followed.
Throughout the journey, the Lion King remained silent until they arrived outside Red Moon Fortress, at which point he removed his helmet and gazed up at the starry sky.
"If you're here to comfort me, you needn't." The Lion King naturally sensed this, and Alvin, though still dejected, spoke with a touch of arrogance, "I am the Lord of the Dark Angels, the Primarch, Lion El'Jonson Eljonsson. This little difficulty cannot break a true Caliban Knight."
Alvin scratched his head in agreement. "Of course I know you won't be defeated by this little difficulty."
The Lion King's lips curled into a slight smile, seemingly satisfied with his answer, before his gaze fell upon the others. "This battle was a test for you personally, and the result—barely passing."
"Test?!"
Alvin twitched the corner of his mouth.
Is this considered a test?
You single-handedly crushed your opponent, while he and Zabriel were merely bystanders. Was there any need for that test?
"Do you think that with me here, this test is unnecessary?" the Lion King said calmly.
"Woolen cloth--
Alvin was a little confused and couldn't figure out what the Lion King meant.
"Based on my assessment, you relied too much on Psychic Power during the battle," the Lion King said mercilessly. "Your awareness, footwork, combat skills, and firearms—all are subpar. As the Grand Master of the Sons of the Forest, my First Watcher Rider, I am very disappointed in your performance!"
Alvin was speechless. How could he be blamed for this?
I'm Psyker by nature, I don't rely on Psychic Power, so why should I resort to hand-to-hand combat?
Moreover, his close combat skills, firearms, and awareness were only developed initially after a few days of training by Tucker; everything after that was learned through his own efforts.
"Don't be nervous, I haven't finished yet."
The Lion King glanced at him sideways and sneered, "Since I have appointed you as the First Watcher Rider and Grand Master of the Sons of the Forest, you must be able to shoulder this honor and responsibility. Otherwise—what makes you think they will respect you?!"
You mean—
A familiar feeling welled up inside him. Alvin gazed into the Lion King's eyes, a strange sense of foreboding creeping over him.
"It's very simple."
The Lion King raised an eyebrow and grinned. "From now on, I will 'personally' teach you how to become a qualified Calibanite Knights. Be prepared, I won't hold back!"