How Pathetic
A drop of murky, scalding liquid.
Tears struggled to spill from Angron's downcast eyes, slowly tracing down his rough, red cheeks marked with old scars and the joints of the Butcher's Nails.
It eventually dripped onto his crossed arms, leaving a dark, damp stain.
It is tears.
Angron is crying.
It wasn't for the physical pain, nor for the torture of the Butcher's Nails, but for the extinction of his home planet that he had personally participated in but was powerless to stop.
For those dearest friends and family he abandoned, and who ultimately died indirectly because of him.
At this moment, a twisted longing even arose in his heart—an intense desire for Guilliman to appear here immediately.
Hopefully, that incredibly powerful brother can use his immense strength—enough to rival Warp Chaos Gods —to simply and cleanly snap his own neck.
Ideally, it should be a complete annihilation of both body and soul, with even the soul's imprint being thoroughly erased.
May he find final release from this eternal nightmare filled with betrayal, pain, and endless regret.
So, at this moment, facing Cypher's clamor and questioning...
Surprisingly, he didn't erupt in anger; instead, he revealed an almost deathly tenderness.
Because of the intense physical pain and mania caused by the Butcher's Nails.
Compared to the ultimate grief about "love" and "betrayal" that has gnawed at his soul for millennia, it seems insignificant now.
"Kid..."
Angron leaned against the cold corner of the wall, his voice hoarse as he began to speak, as if recounting a tragic event from an ancient legend, unrelated to himself:
"Do you know... I slaughtered my homeworld?"
Cypher's body tensed up suddenly.
Of course he knows!
This is an outrageous crime that has been prominently recorded in the histories of all Chapter, a stain that Angron and the World Eaters Legion can never wash away!
This is even more abhorrent to some warriors who adhere to the "human supremacy" principle than simply siding with Chaos.
"Of course I know!"
Cypher's voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed anger and contempt:
"The 'Holy' Twelfth Primarch, Lord Angron."
He arrived at his home planet and ordered his entire army to slaughter the world that gave him birth and nurtured him, leaving no one alive and nothing to live!
Several layers of the earth's crust were shattered!
This record exists in the archives of every Chapter with a bit of history in the Milky Way!
It spread even further than the filth you World Eaters later committed under Khorne's throne!
It's even more disgusting!
He stood up agitatedly and paced back and forth in the cramped space, as if trying to vent his anger through violent movements.
Even us... us Dark Angels who are called ' The Fallen '!
We have borne the name of traitors and struggled in darkness for ten thousand years!
But we will always love our home planet, Caliban!
Even if it has been torn apart by Chaos energy and turned into a ring of debris surrounding the star!
Even though I have spent ten thousand years in exile, never seeing the light of day!
I still love that place!
I love every blade of grass, every tree, every person, and every piece of land there. I love its former forests and castles, and its past knights and vows!
I've always loved it!
"Until death do us part!"
Cypher's voice trembled with excitement. He abruptly stopped, turned around, and stared intently at Angron, who was still cowering in the shadows, his eyes burning with intense fire.
"In the end... I despise you, Angron!"
I despise you from the bottom of my heart!
He practically growled, each word seemingly spat out from between his teeth, "I wish I had a Power Sword in my hand right now!"
I wish I could slice open that damned head of yours, the one with the Butcher's Nails stuck in it!
Cut it open!
Take a good look!
Then, from the bottom of my heart, I ask you--"
He took a step forward, ignoring the Ultramarines' gazes outside, which had instantly sharpened, his voice distorted with extreme rage:
"What exactly is your purpose?!"
What kind of madness or despair could drive you to issue such an order?!
Only then can you watch with your own eyes, and perhaps even participate in, the place where you were born and raised.
"Slaughter all those who may have given you warmth, those who share similar blood with you, wipe them all out?!"
"You... don't you have a heart?!"
"Didn't the Emperor say... that you were the most compassionate and tolerant of all the Primarch?!"
Didn't you say you were the 'most loving' Primarch?!
Cypher's questions exploded like a machine gun in the cell:
"Why?!
Why did you have to 'grow' into the way you are now?!
Why would someone commit such an inhuman act?!
You are more despicable to me than any Xenos, more hateful than any Chaos Daemons!
Despicable!
Because you are not a mindless beast, nor a puppet utterly twisted by Chaos!
You were once a human being!
It's the Primarch!
He is a demigod who is destined to protect humanity!
Yet you did not hesitate, actively, and on a large scale to slaughter your own kind!
Your compatriots!
The atmosphere outside the cell instantly became extremely tense!
Although the twenty white-helmeted Ultramarines did not move, their overall "aura" suddenly became as sharp as a knife!
All eyes instantly shifted from "surveillance" to "target locked, preparation for action!"
If Cypher makes any more aggressive moves, even just taking another step forward or making any action that could be interpreted as an attack—
Their hands would blast through the specially made transparent barrier at speeds beyond the reach of sight, then grasp Cypher's head, neck, and limbs...
I personally and precisely broke every bone in his body!
This includes those small but crucial parts, such as the scrotum.
They are rigorously trained and know how to incapacitate a super soldier without killing him immediately.
Instead, they need to "rest and recuperate" in the medical ward for one or two months, experiencing the numbness, itching, and stinging sensations as each bone heals.
Cypher knew the consequences of doing so.
He clearly felt the sudden surge of cold, ruthless killing intent and decisive action from the twenty pairs of eyes outside.
He knew that he might very well turn into a "human jigsaw puzzle" that needed to be carefully picked up and put back together in the next second.
but--
He did it anyway.
He stood still, his chest heaving violently, his single eye fixed on Angron, showing no sign of backing down.
He genuinely despised Angron's actions.
This contempt even surpassed his fear of his own situation, and the cautiousness he had accumulated during his millennia of exile.
"Why... Angron...?"
Cypher's voice lowered, becoming even heavier, like the murmur of a dying man, filled with deep confusion and unyielding anger, "Why slaughter your own homeworld?"
"Take an entire legion back to carry out... a complete annihilation against their own origins?"
He seemed not to be questioning Angron, but rather Destiny, questioning the mad universe that had twisted everything and created countless tragedies:
"Is there... really nothing there left for you to cherish?"
"Is there... really no one you've ever loved there?"
"Answer me... even just one word... Liar... Butcher... Coward..."
Angron did not answer.
He didn't even react to Cypher's harsh words and disdain.
She remained curled up, burying her face in her arms, like a crimson statue cast from pain and regret, devoid of all life and responsiveness.
Only that long-dried tear stain, like the deepest brand, remained on his rough cheek, a testament to the brief, almost heartbroken grief he had expressed.
His silence, echoing with Cypher's angry questioning, grew ever heavier, ever more... suffocating.
It was as if he was "enjoying" Cypher's contempt and questioning in a distorted way.
These words, like whips lashing his already numb soul, seemed to somehow bring a sliver of warmth...
The pathetic sense of reality that proves one still "exists" and is still "worthy of being hated."