Chaos Corruption, Invisible Distortion

Different attitudes toward Daven quickly shattered the consensus among the primarchs. Sanguinius chose to lead his forces down to the planet to investigate, while Lion believed it would be better to simply end things with an Exterminatus bombardment.

Guilliman also felt that Lion had become too extreme and arrogant. He was more inclined toward Sanguinius’s position.

Lion felt rage surge within his chest, almost tangible in its intensity. Why? Why were they unwilling to listen to him?

Why were they so arrogant? Did Sanguinius truly believe himself invincible?

All they needed to do was destroy Daven, and they could leave this damned Ultima Segmentum and return to Terra.

The Emperor was waiting for him. Countless rebels awaited his slaughter and purging.

Silently, he gripped the handrail beside the table. His terrifying strength nearly pressed his fingers into the metal. Lion took deep breaths to suppress his emotions.

Hoguin and Redloss, standing nearby, saw the fury their gene-father was forcing down. Their blood-link, born of shared genetics, allowed them to sense that Lion was as volatile as a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"The IX Legion is landing on Daven. The XIII Legion is preparing for a large-scale descent, my lord," Hoguin said, glancing at the data displayed on the console.

"What should we do?" Redloss, Grand Master of the Dreadwing, was eager for action. He believed Lion’s fury had come at precisely the right moment. "They are stubbornly going their own way, while we are the ones who are right, my lord."

Lion sensed his son’s implication. Redloss was subtly urging him to fulfill the mission of the Dark Angels—to save the Imperium.

To save the Imperium, any price could be paid, even raising the butcher’s blade against his brothers.

Yes, he was right.

Loyalty. A resolute voice echoed within Lion’s heart.

Act. For loyalty, everything can be cast aside.

"Yes. The Dark Angels take loyalty as their duty. Loyalty is everything to us."

Lion’s hand moved toward the scarlet button. Once he struck it, the entire warship would answer his command.

The ship’s prow-mounted planet-killer cannon, lance arrays, vortex torpedoes, and other lethal weapons would all be unleashed.

Captain Stannius remained expressionless. Almost all of his personal emotions had been erased. So long as the primarch gave the order, he would carry it out, even if the planet below were Holy Terra itself.

"Daven is dangerous. The abnormalities Sanguinius has displayed only prove that he has already been affected by some unknown influence. This is a filthy and dangerous place. Landing there is unwise. I must cleanse it."

Do it, Lion.

The voice in his heart grew louder and louder. Lion could barely hear the faint sounds of Servitors moving through the ship.

But if I destroy it now, I will also destroy the IX Legion and Sanguinius, and turn against Roboute Guilliman. Lion considered whether it was worth it.

But you have no other choice, Lion. You are the most loyal son. Sanguinius has wavered. He is about to throw himself into the evil embrace of the Warp.

Everything you do is righteous. These are merely necessary sacrifices. If the Angel has already been corrupted, you will all be dragged to your deaths in the Daven system.

Do what you wish. Commit the necessary evil, just as before.

Lion could almost no longer hear the outside world. Everything around him was silent. It was as if he could hear the thoughts in his own heart, and his right hand slowly reached out.

Yet not everyone would obey Lion’s orders without question. Redloss of the Dreadwing thirsted for destruction, but at least Hoguin, Grand Master of the Deathwing, still possessed a mind of his own.

The unease in Hoguin’s heart intensified. He realized that his revered gene-father seemed faintly… not quite right. Lion was about to order the bombardment of Daven.

The Deathwing’s Grand Master believed that he had to step forward. Lion was walking along an extremely dangerous edge.

Internal conflict at this moment would only grant the Warp a once-in-a-millennium opportunity, and it would bury the Imperium’s hopes.

Sanguinius had already landed. Guilliman, Lox, and Curze had followed him down. If Lion acted now, they would have no chance of survival.

"My lord." Hoguin stepped forward and called softly, "Please reconsider."

Hoguin’s voice pierced through the whispers. The Lion suddenly froze. He realized that his son had somehow arrived before him, and immediately halted his movement.

What was I just doing? Lion felt a long-forgotten terror. It was as though his blood had frozen solid.

He looked at his hand hovering above the scarlet button, unable to believe it.

Moments ago, he seemed to have experienced an incomparably real dream. Another version of himself had been guiding Lion toward a decision.

I was going to kill my brothers? Just to speed up our return?

How would that make me any different from Horus?

Hoguin was frightened by the Lion’s appearance. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.

With a sharp ring, Lion drew his Lion Sword. The blade, its disintegration field still inactive, scraped against his vambrace and let out a piercing shriek.

He breathed heavily. The Dark Angels around him could even hear his bellows-like breaths, as though he had just endured a hard-fought battle.

"I was so close. So close to acting."

The rage and anxiety in Lion’s heart were instantly doused by a basin of Fenrisian ice water. The Calibanite’s intellect came back online, becoming as inscrutable as that shadowed forest once more.

He realized something was wrong with him. Why had he been so desperate to destroy Daven? Why had he been willing to turn on his own blood for that purpose?

An unknown presence had been quietly influencing him. It was not mere corruption, nor the temptation of whispers, but a subtle guidance, a gradual and imperceptible alteration.

After he had used Exterminatus again and again, that change had seeped into him, continuously planting psychological suggestions.

This was an invisible distortion.

At the final moment, prompted by Hoguin’s warning, Lion finally awoke to the truth.

When he believed Sanguinius to be excessively arrogant, he had never considered another possibility: what if he himself was the arrogant one?

Lion was proud. The Lion of Caliban had always believed that he was the best candidate for Warmaster. Even though the Emperor had ultimately chosen Horus, that was only because the Dark Angels Legion’s accomplishments could not be made public. They were cleaners who walked in darkness, which meant the achievements attributed to the Dark Angels in public were perhaps not particularly outstanding.

Lion could even say without exaggeration that if the strongest Dark Angels had not chewed through the Rangdan’s hard bone, several Astartes Legions joining forces might not have been enough to fill that enormous pit.

"Hoguin, remember this. If anything abnormal happens to me, I authorize you to use any means necessary to bring me to my senses."

"Chaos corruption has always been invisible and unseen. An enemy you cannot see is often more dangerous than one you can."

After giving his instructions, Lion found himself missing Corswain even more. His seneschal had never let him down. By comparison, Redloss was far too reckless, while Hoguin lacked a measure of quick-wittedness.

"Prepare for orbital deployment. Bring my finest knightly orders. We will decide the outcome on Daven’s surface."

Lion closed his eyes and allowed his beastly instincts to take control of his body.

The elite Dark Angels veterans sprang into action. Brothers from every Order brought out their most closely guarded tools, fully armed themselves, and followed the Lion aboard the descending Thunderhawk gunships.

During the descent, Lion sent Guilliman a communications request.

"Lion, what is wrong with you?" Guilliman asked.

Lion did not answer Guilliman’s pointless question and went straight to the point. "None of that matters, Guilliman. What matters is this—during the operation ahead, you must be careful, especially of yourself."

"Never make any decision in a moment of impulse. I nearly destroyed us all."

Lion cut the connection, leaving Guilliman and Lox staring at each other inside Guilliman’s personal Thunderhawk.

"Do you think… he really was planning to kill us with vortex torpedoes just now?" Guilliman could not help swallowing. He had a strong feeling that Lion had indeed intended exactly that.

Madman. That madman. He realized that he had overestimated Lion’s moral standards.

Lox wore a bitter smile as well. "Fortunately, Lion came to his senses on his own. He did not let fear and rage control him. And that warning of his was probably not meant only for us."

What the Lion truly meant was that on Daven, even he had to remain suspicious and cautious.

Lox suddenly felt that their journey to Daven had gained even more uncertainties. They were so fragile. Even primarchs, once led astray, could they truly remain united forever?

They had not even encountered those unknown enemies yet, and a conflict had already quietly erupted within their ranks.