Many years later, facing the unhappy, embarrassed and injured Mortarion and Curze, Horus would remember the distant afternoon when he pushed open the door of the banquet and saw the chaotic scene.
At that time, Mortarion had the same expression.
It was a slightly hot afternoon, and the news of the loss of a loved one weighed heavily on his heart. They had lost a brother forever after he had done something unforgivable.
The Emperor did not forgive his children, even though he was always tolerant and condoned the private affairs of many legions.
But this time, he finally released the wolf and the lion.
Horus tried to talk to the two executioners, but the Lion King rejected him with his usual blunt language, while the Wolf King was frustrated and did not want to be stained with blood.
But no matter what, when Horus went to find them, most of the truth had been eliminated, and even the killer who carried out the execution could not remember the truth behind the mist.
Horus had forgotten what had happened, but eventually he was asked to bring the news to his altered brothers.
The facts have disappeared, leaving only the pain in the heart. The elegy has not yet been played, and Guilliman and Dorn, who are trusted and chosen by the Emperor, still need to undertake other missions.
What makes Horus sad is that the angel Sanguinius will not feel any positive emotion about this fact. The genetic defects of the 9th Legion are the heart knot of the angels. The wiping out of a legion will only increase the panic in Sanguinius' heart.
Horus walked slowly on the carpet. The wolf god keenly noticed the slackness of the mortal guard of honor, but Horus was not in the mood to dwell on it at the moment.
In the face of the Primarch's story, mortals are nothing but ants.
Horus was thinking about how to start. He was already sad enough, and the Wolf God did not want his brothers to endure more grief.
Guilliman and Dorn had a certain psychological preparation for this matter, while the angel Sanguinius knew everything that Horus had previously known. Mortarion and Magnus were ignorant and they did not need to get involved in this matter.
Horus invited Mortarion and Magnus because Mortarion did participate in the Battle of Randan, and Magnus might be able to express some opinions on the issue of [psychic memory erasure].
The other side was... well, this was Horus's own selfishness, Horus knew he needed to invite the Ignorant, otherwise the conversation between Dorn, Guilliman, and Sanguinius would turn into a disaster -
They all knew part of the details about the disappeared legion.
If there were ignorant people present, the other three would not speak easily. Perhaps this would make them feel better and shift their attention to the new brother.
Mortarion Horus thought he would attract everyone's attention, the Angels and Guilliman would try to help him, and he might have a good chat with Magnus on the topic of psykers.
When he arrived, the door of the banquet hall was closed in front of him, and some faint noises came from behind the heavy wooden door.
It looked like they were having a good chat.
This fact made Horus' heavy heart feel a little relieved. He did not rush in. The wolf shepherd god took a deep breath and forced out a perfect and sunny smile.
At least in front of Mortarion and Magnus, he needed to maintain the appearance that nothing had happened.
He was looking forward to the party on the other side of the door, at least it wouldn't be as heavy as it actually was.
Horus strode and pushed open the door.
"Hello everyone—"
Horus's voice stopped abruptly.
The angel Sanguinius was half-kneeling on the ground. The archangel was pressing down on Mortarion, who was still struggling hard. On the other side, Dorn was standing beside Magnus with his arms folded. The scarlet giant's originally flying and fluffy long hair was sticking to his face limply. He stood there without saying a word.
Seeing Horus coming, the angel looked up and gave him an apologetic smile.
Horus slowly typed a question mark.
Horus sat silently on the chair. The dishes on the dining table next to him had been removed, leaving only wrinkled white cloth, just like Horus' heart.
He might have come here for something, but looking at Guilliman who was evacuating the crowd, looking at the angel with his wings slightly tilted down, looking at Dorn who was sitting there alone and not saying a word.
Horus suddenly had a strange feeling that he shouldn't be here.
Perhaps he shouldn't have invited Mortarion, or Magnus, or neither of them.
Even Horus, who often gave impromptu speeches, felt the powerlessness of language in the face of such abstract facts.
There was an indescribable dullness in the entire hall. For some reason, it seemed that all the Primarchs felt a sense of apology towards Horus.
This also included Magnus, who was checking the injuries of his offspring, and Mortarion, who was sitting on the other side with a stern face, while his offspring was checking his injuries - the angel used a little force.
According to the angel's account, while Guilliman was entangled with the mortals in the communication channel, Mortarion seized the opportunity to break free from Guilliman and Dorn - this guy had endurance beyond everyone's expectations.
With a kind of "great rage", Mortarion tried to fight Magnus.
Then he was pinned down by the angel. The good news was that after seeing the Lord of Death coming towards him, Magnus successfully stopped provoking Mortarion.
Finally, it was Horus' suggestion to let Mortarion's two Death Shrouds persuade him. This was a good proposal. The Lord of Death finally calmed down and vowed not to attack Magnus actively now.
“That’s about it.”
Finally, Guilliman, who had been whispering orders, broke the silence.
"Most people will receive level 2 amnesiac surgery, while those honor guard personnel on the periphery will only need level 3 surgery."
"The Ultramarines will take them to complete the operation. I have just explained the whole situation to the planetary governor of this planet."
The angel Sanguinius smiled with relief, and the Archangel looked at Guilliman.
"Thank you for being here, Guilliman. If it weren't for you, I think the news of this farce would have spread much further."
"In fact, the news of this banquet may still be spread in the form of a secret message, but I don't think anyone would believe such an exaggerated message."
Guilliman gave a wry smile, his gaze wandering between the far ends of the hall, where Magnus and Mortarion sat respectively.
Finally, Guilliman turned his gaze to Horus.
Obviously, only Horus can end this. The angels can't do it, Guilliman is not qualified enough, and Dorn does not have the personal charm to convince the crowd.
In fact, Dorn had just scolded Mortarion and Magnus for their behavior. He was obviously puzzled by the two people's behavior of fighting over a disagreement.
Horus could understand Magnus to some extent. Magnus would not tolerate anyone insulting a psyker in front of him. After all, that was the identity he was most proud of.
But Mortarion Horus did not understand why he chose to publicly insult Magnus when he knew that Magnus was a psyker.
Horus knew about Mortarion's dislike for the think tanks. As early as in Druun, Mortarion had shown a twisted and hidden dislike for the think tanks of the Death Guard.
After listening to the angel's verbatim retelling of the words, Horus suddenly had a terrible thought.
That is, could it be that Mortarion was trying to persuade Magnus
The thought was so horrible that Horus was unwilling to think about it. If it was true, it meant that Mortarion was incompetent in his interpersonal relationships.
Maybe Dorn would have something in common with him.
However, it was not a solution to remain in a stalemate. After the bell tower rang for the ninth time in the night, Horus finally organized a decent meeting.
Originally, Horus was planning to let Mortarion and Magnus leave. Although the estrangement was sad, Horus had no obligation to broker relationships between every legion.
Sometimes, Horus was happy to see some friction and conflicts between the legions.
But the angel looked at him thoughtfully and said,
"I would like to hear their respective debates on psychic powers, Lupercal."
“Perhaps we are already familiar with Magnus’s arguments, but I am curious about the views of this new brother, Mortarion.”
Dorn, Guilliman, and Horus were unaware, but the Angel was.
It is inconvenient for the Archangel to point it out directly, so using Magnus might be a good solution.
Perhaps he shouldn't be so persistent, but anyone with etheric vision would not ignore or underestimate that existence.
He at least needed to confirm whether the Death Guard were conducting some forbidden experiments. Although Magnus was impulsive, the words he shouted still made the angel concerned.
Thanks to Horus' efforts, at the two ends of a long table sat Mortarion with a stern face, and Magnus with an angry and disgusted look on his face.
"I don't expect you to apologize for your slanderous words, but I won't talk to you anymore."
"Let my commander Hades answer your questions and refute your absurdity for me."
Mortarion said calmly that he would never come to the so-called banquet again. This was a disaster for both Mortarion and others.
[What about your slander against psychics?! Your prejudiced words!]
Magnus roared in anger, and any Primarch present could testify that it was Mortarion who started the quarrel.
Mortarion looked at him quietly, with rage in his eyes, but the Lord of Death did not speak again—
It was another slight, another irony, Magnus realized with anger.
So he turned back.
+Ahriman, on my behalf, go and argue with that barbarian. +
+Fear not, my spawn, if it attempts to attack you, I will stop it.+
Ahriman swallowed and looked at the being across from him.
There were hundreds, thousands of unspeakable senses and emotions in the Aether Ocean, but what made Ahriman feel painful was that the existence opposite him was tormenting his senses in all aspects.
It seems that the only way to avoid it is to shut down the vague etheric perception, but this is not realistic for a Thousand Son like Ahriman.
But he couldn't refuse the Scarlet King Magnus.
+Yes, sir.+
Ahriman has no choice, the choice is the only one, which has been observed.
At least for now, it seemed that most of the Primarchs present agreed with Magnus's position, especially the angel Sanguinius. Ahriman did not believe that after causing such a commotion, the angel with psionic talents did not notice something.
Any psychic who sees the true nature of that creature will choose to stand on the side of the Thousand Sons.
Ahriman took a deep breath and took a step forward.
At least he believed he could debate with these inarticulate guys, and studying at Prospero required the necessary skill of public speaking.
Then he saw Hades opposite him smiling at him.
It was the same smile as before, the kind that was half-smile, and it horrified Ahriman.
He even read a hint of apology from that smile. What was he apologizing for
A straight punch.
After that smile, Ahriman was faced with a straight punch.
A pure straight punch without any skill.
The opponent's left eye hidden under the hood flashed a terrifying red afterimage, and the smile on Hades' mouth had not even completely faded.
Then he blacked out.
Ahriman was unsure whether it was the blow that had knocked his body unconscious, or the blasphemous power that had stained it that had broken his mind—or perhaps both.
This was a rare moment. It was the first time that Ahriman had truly fallen into a deep sleep. He no longer actively sensed the etheric field and he completely severed his connection with the outside world.
When he woke up again, he saw his companion groaning continuously—Ahriman bet that after knocking him out, the monster had reduced its strength appropriately.
And the indescribable expressions on the faces of the Imperial Fists and Blood Angels who were watching nearby.
This is wrong.
Ahriman thought angrily that they did not see Hades's projection in the vast ocean, and to them it was just the Thousand Sons being laid flat on the ground.
This was not right, they had fought in the Vast Ocean but no one realized it, they only saw the scene of the Thousand Sons falling down in disgrace.
The feeling of shame and anger rose up, which gave Ahriman the courage to make a decisive move. The Thousand Sons needed to fight back.
He thought about all this. The Angels would understand psionics. Guilliman. If Ahriman could describe the ordered and orderly aspects of psionics, the Lord of Macragge would agree with him.
Lord Horus will definitely help whichever side shows weakness, and he will not try to interfere between the two sides with his own views.
The only trouble was Dorn, but Ahriman was sure that Dorn would not be able to muster much sympathy for his own views.
Suddenly, Ahriman realized that they had already won the battle. If they could defeat the Death Guard and make the adults realize what kind of existence Hades really is, then they could contact the Emperor and expose Mortarion's crimes.
Across from Ahriman, Hades raised an eyebrow, his opponent seemed lost in some kind of thought.
Compared to the Thousand Sons who only wanted to win, Hades didn't care about winning or losing.
If he wanted to win the debate, he could just spill the beans and watch with a smile as all the primarchs in the hall fell into hallucinations and finally successfully fell and became demons.
Language itself is meaningless. When faced with an object that meets Hades's action requirements, Hades will only choose to solve the problem physically.
While this doesn’t quite fit in with 3k’s quaint moral values, it fits in with 30k’s.
Seeing Ahriman still thinking, Hades realized that the other party really wanted to convince all the Primarchs and punish him.
Hades saw the opponent's efforts.
As for Hades' efforts
The door of the hall was flung open, and a guard and a sister of silence walked in with their heads held high. The red mandarin on their helmets was raised high, showing their unignorable image.
Hades noticed that, except for Magnus and Ahriman, the faces of the remaining Primarchs were not very happy—
It's the Imperial Guards!
Ahriman realized that they were here to capture Hades, after all, Hades had the mark of the Emperor's seal on him.
This is really a good thing. The other side has already failed, and the imperial guards will reveal their crimes.
Hades crossed his arms and tilted his head helplessly.
It's not as fun to weave scriptures as it is to shake people, although the other party seems to have misunderstood.
But Charon and his men arrived quickly, thanks to this fact, but Hades suspected that they had actually been lurking near the Death Guard fleet.
Charon saluted the Primarchs, then walked straight toward Hades—
salute.
Magnus' eyes widened.
Yes, code
(End of this chapter)