The instant Brutus made his choice, the instant that pitch-black Dagger plunged into Horus's abdomen, all thirty Ringwraiths unleashed their power.
A terrifying surge of Chaos power poured from the thirty Rings at once like floodwater bursting through a dam, converging along invisible bonds into a raging torrent of energy that struck Horus's nervous system with pinpoint precision.
That terrible power pierced his brain like countless icy needles, plunging his thoughts into chaos in an instant.
"What!"
Horus felt an icy chill, as though it had risen from the abyss, invade his brain in an instant. His vision blurred, his thoughts slowed, and his body lost its balance.
But his combat instincts, honed on countless battlefields and ingrained in his very bones, saved him at the critical moment.
Driven by instinct, his body twisted sharply to one side, diverting the Dagger that should have pierced his heart away from that vital organ. Instead, it sank deep into the left side of his abdomen.
Blood gushed from the wound, staining his robes red, but he remained standing.
"Abaddon! What are you doing!" Horus's voice thundered through the reception room, laden with shock, anger, and disbelief.
His gaze locked on the figure disguised as Abaddon before him, searching that familiar face for any hint of an explanation.
But the instant his voice fell silent, the remaining twenty-nine figures moved as one.
Those figures lurking in the darkness, merged with the shadows, all lunged at Horus at once.
They moved with astonishing speed, like twenty-nine bolts of black lightning converging on Horus from every direction.
Chaos power completely sealed off everything within the room. A distorted black sheen, like a film of oil, appeared on the walls, isolating the entire room from the outside world.
No one knew what was happening inside. No