48. The False Truth

"Now you should understand that I haven't Deceit to you?" Fabius Bile Bile said, slightly agitated.

Akurduana ignored him. He frowned and began to read the readings on the medical instruments over and over again. He didn't understand much of their specific uses, but he still read them very carefully.

Only then did he truly turn his gaze to Fulgrim. The phoenix lay on the medical table with its eyes closed, its breathing long and even, as if it were merely asleep.

After twelve days, his wound finally stopped bleeding.

"I didn't Deceit you, Akurduana, I didn't," Fabius Bile Bile kept repeating this phrase from the side.

His incessant chatter drew an annoyed glance from Akurduana, and the chief swordsman finally spoke in a cold voice, "Shut up, Bile. He is indeed recovering, but what do you think will be the first thing he does when he wakes up?"

"That's something to consider later; the most important thing right now is to heal him," Fabius Bile replied firmly.

"And then?" Akurduana stared at him coldly.

"Actually, I have many questions for you, Bile. First, why did Horus allow you to roam freely on the Vengeful Spirit? Second, why did he let you heal Fulgrim? Third, and most importantly, how could you act so nonchalant after betraying us?"

The Emperor's Children's chief Apothecary frowned deeply. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then chose to remain silent, seemingly at a loss for words. After hesitating several times, he finally addressed the first question.

"I also don't understand why the Warmaster trusts me so much," he said. "I don't understand, but I will make good use of this power."

"Perhaps it's because he thinks you're the same kind of person as him," Akurduana sneered.

"Listen to your sycophantic voice, listen to your choice of words. We are bleeding, and you're here talking about power? You even call him Warmaster? Does he deserve that title, Bile? Can't you see what he did to Phoenix?"

"I didn't call you here to argue," Fabius Bile Bile said, without looking Akurduana in the eye.

"I understand how you feel right now. It's certainly not a good feeling, but it's necessary. I can't heal the Primarch, neither can you, neither can anyone on this ship—"

"--Yes, but this ship just happens to be able to." Akurduana interrupted him, shaking his head. "It's strange, to heal a Primarch simply by killing each other without any medical intervention. Did you ever read books, Bile? Did you ever read those fables from Ancient Terra?"

He stepped forward, grabbed Fabius Bile by the collar, and shoved him against the wall. He braced his left wrist against the Apothecary's neck; with just a little force, he could easily end his life.

Faced with this obvious threat, Fabius Bile Bile once again remained calm and rational. Just like last time, he raised his hands, trying to show that he was harmless and to explain himself.

But this time, Akurduana didn't give him that chance.

He no longer wanted to hear anything from Fabius Bile Bile.

"Devils often appear in fables. They can accomplish what humans cannot, they can easily bring our fantasies into reality, and they can immerse people in one dream after another. But devils come at a price, have you thought about that, Bile?"

The chief Apothecary remained silent, slowly suffocating, and Akurduana was not much of a gentleman when he lost patience.

"I've been wondering why you betrayed us. I've considered many possibilities, and I've thought about how you got involved with Horus. Then I remembered the Word Bearers."

Akurduana approached him, his eyes filled with genuine killing intent. It wasn't a fleeting thought, nor was it briefly suppressed by reason.

At that moment, Fabius Bile Bile realized something acutely—if he didn't answer, Akurduana really would kill him.

"Erebus, is that right?" the chief swordsman asked, the blood on his face long since dried, forming some kind of strange mark. He seemed to be smiling, the muscles in his face twitching abnormally, and the strength in his arms increased once again.

"You've been associating with this kind of person, his mouth is full of poison and lies. How many times has he come to see Phoenix? But has our father ever been moved by what he said? Every time, didn't he just tell Erebus to leave? And you? How long have you been secretly hanging out with that bastard who's always faking a smile?"

I did not betray you.

"No?" Akurduana asked softly, looking into his eyes.

"I--"

"--If it weren't for you, we could have boarded the Vengeful Spirit. We could have rescued Phoenix and escaped, returning to seek support. We wouldn't have ended up in this situation. But you are our chief Apothecary. You gave Horus the boarding key, and you suggested we turn against each other."

He increased the pressure again, Fabius Bile felt a sharp pain. His face turned red, and blood spilled from his throat.

Akurduana, however, expressed a sense of relief at his suffering, continuing to laugh without pause, before speaking again.

"So listen carefully, Fabius Bile Bile. Every single person who has died in these twelve days of fighting against each other is to be held responsible for your death. So, whatever your original intentions may have been, you are no longer worthy of them."

"You don't understand--!" Fabius Bile Bile shoved him away, clutching his neck and gasping for breath.

Akurduana chuckled and returned to the medical table, selecting surgical instruments. He ignored Fabius Bile's words, focusing intently on choosing the right blade.

The chief Apothecary noticed his movements and began to move toward the wall, but he continued talking.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. Akurduana Horus revealed the truth about the Withering Disease to me, and if we want to survive, we must stand with him!"

"Hmm." Akurduana nodded absentmindedly, picking up two surgical forceps without looking at them, and tossing them away. Fabius Bile could have dodged them; he was equally skilled in combat. But for some reason, he didn't.

One of the surgical forceps shattered his left eye, and the other smashed into his Adam's apple.

The Apothecary doubled over in pain, coughing up bits of flesh. The chief swordsman walked up to him and kicked him in the face. It was a powerful blow; the shattered eyeball rolled out of its socket. Then came another kick, this time a precise strike to Fabius Bile's jaw, the sound of bones breaking immediately ringing out.

But this was still not the end. Akurduana indifferently raised his fists and began to beat Fabius Bile.

He did this very meticulously and carefully. He was indeed aiming to kill, but he refined the process into an extreme experience of pain and torment.

Each punch was aimed at inflicting more pain on Fabius Bile. At first, the Apothecary could still scream, but later he couldn't make a sound at all.

However, one thing was quite strange: he never chose to fight back. He just looked at Akurduana, half of his tongue moving in his mouth, trying to speak.

Akurduana looked down at him and finally stopped swinging. The ground was covered in blood, Fulgrim lay calmly with his eyes closed on the medical table behind them, oblivious to what was happening around him.

Akurduana bent down and lifted Fabius Bile, whose legs were crippled and knees were completely broken, from the ground, then pushed him against the wall again, forcing him to stand in pain.

"Speak," he said emotionlessly, using his left hand to lift Fabius Bile's chin, temporarily placing it back in its proper place along with the bone fragments. "What did Horus say to you that drove you mad?"

"The Emperor... betrayed us," the chief Apothecary stammered.

His only remaining right eye was bloodshot, and tears streamed down, washing away the blood on his face. At the same time, his speech began to become clearer and clearer, not at all like someone who was missing half a tongue.

"The Withering Disease was his doing, a contingency plan he left behind. He will wipe us out one day. To prepare for possible resistance, he deliberately left this flaw. That's why I can't cure it. The killer isn't some genetic cult from the Luna, Akurduana, the killer is the Emperor, the Emperor."

The chief Apothecary collapsed to the ground, weeping. Akurduana gritted his teeth and took two steps back.

"I don't believe you," he said hoarsely. "It's a lie."

"But the Warmaster showed it to me, he showed it all to me. In that future, we disappeared, all the honors were handed over to mortals, Astartes became a name in history, and the name of Fulgrim was never mentioned again!"

"Get out, Fabius Bile--!" Akurduana roared, turning around and fleeing from the infirmary as if running away. Behind him, Fabius Bile Bile lay convulsing on the floor.

After a long while, he slowly stood up and turned his gaze to Fulgrim, who was still unconscious.

"I must cure the Withering Disease, I must cure it, Primarch. Forgive me."

--

"I don't believe it," Fulgrim said.

He clenched his fists and struggled through waist-deep sea. The sky remained dark, the clouds staring coldly at him like eyes in the starless night. He was naked, shivering from the cold, yet he still chose to move forward.

"I don't believe it's true," he repeated. There was no one around to talk to, so he was probably talking to himself.

"That's absolutely impossible." He repeated it over and over, his determination unwavering, yet his face was filled with fear.

Below the sea level, shadows flashed by. A voice drifted slowly through the blood-stained sea breeze.

"Fulgrim," Ferrus Manus called in a low voice, which turned into a desperate roar in the next second. "Traitor--!"

"I don't believe it," Fulgrim said.

He continued walking.

Update complete.