Lion had imagined every possible enemy: perhaps a bio-engineered monstrosity secretly bred by one of his ambitious brothers, or some grotesque creation spawned by their blasphemous technology. In any case, the owner of that voice had to be something huge.
He swore on his more than ten years of experience surviving in Caliban's dangerous forests that it was an opponent worthy of a truly exhilarating fight.
Ever since he had united Caliban's great knightly orders and completely eradicated the rampant giant-beast crisis across the world, Lion had not fought a beast capable of stirring his excitement in a very long time.
Yet this sudden arrival was actually Vulkan, the long-missing Lord of Drakes.
Before the joy of their reunion had even settled, Lion's superhuman mind began racing. The first person he thought of was that damned Guilliman, who had concealed news of Vulkan from him.
He really did keep far too many secrets!
At that moment, the faint guilt he had felt over his mistake allowing the Night Haunter to wreak havoc on Macragge vanished entirely. The Lion's face darkened as he used the Lion Sword to deflect Vulkan's frenzied warhammer.
It was an utterly terrifying force. Even Lion had needed every ounce of his strength, combined with his exquisite skill, to block that blow.
From that moment on, the Lion cast aside every extraneous emotion. He truly realized that his maddened brother had not held back in the slightest.
"Though I don't know what happened to you, you should calm down first."
"Do not try to anger me."
In an instant, the Lion entered a life-or-death combat state. The savage instincts of Caliban's forests guided his movements as the Lion Sword, its disintegration field activated, traced an arc of light toward the Lord of Drakes' throat.
Before this, Lion