"In your eyes, am I, or rather, are we, like these resurrected corpses?"
"Like an ugly, deformed bug?"
Genestealer Loken lay in the muddy swamp, roaring at Alexander.
Alexander slightly raised his eyelids, looking at him with a hint of surprise.
He had actually seen through the genestealer's mental distortion.
Was it because Loken was the first to see through Erebus' conspiracy and realize Horus' corruption ten thousand years ago, leading most people to believe Loken had the ability to see through the truth?
The resulting echo in the Warp also gained the characteristic of seeing through the truth.
Should he tell him the truth?
Looking at his gaze, if the truth wasn't revealed, Alexander feared he would have to kill him here.
This would mean falling out with the genestealer prematurely, potentially affecting subsequent developments and preventing the Dark Angel from entering Horus' body.
"Yes," Alexander replied succinctly, "You are an xeno, an xeno called a genestealer."
Loken's gaze wavered. As Alexander spoke, the illusion before him seemed to grow thinner.
He clearly wanted to refute Alexander, but he seemed to instinctively believe what Alexander said.
"But you..." Loken spoke softly.
Before Loken could finish, Alexander, in front of him, tore off the Body Clay from his face, unfastened the Phantom Thief DX Suit's helmet, revealing his true head and exposing his human face to Loken's eyes.
"Gavriel Loken, is everything about me fake?" Genestealer Loken's eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.
"Not exactly fake. You are a true echo of Gavriel Loken from the Warp, a phantom, projected onto this genestealer body."
Alexander was silent for a moment, then, after organizing his words, said to Loken:
"It is now the 40th Millennium of humanity. It's just that you are still in an illusion, mistakenly believing you are living in the 30th Millennium, and that you are the former Luna Wolves."
Loken's mouth slightly opened, speechless for a moment.
Alexander said no more. this genestealer, both mentally and in its behavioral patterns, was similar to the true Gavriel Loken; he would not break down.
He just quietly waited for Loken to accept all of this.
"It's Erebus," Loken said in a dry voice, "I think I remember now, it's Erebus, isn't it?"
"Tamba's sword... Tamba's sword killed the Warmaster. Erebus corrupted him."
Loken's voice was stuttering, as if searching for the truth within fragmented memories.
Alexander was not surprised by this. As an echo, Loken did possess complete memories from the Horus Heresy era; they had simply been obscured by illusion and he couldn't recall them until now.
Loken struggled to his feet from the muddy swamp, then turned and walked forward.
"What are you going to do?" Alexander asked from behind Loken.
"..I'm going to save the Warmaster," Loken said after a moment of silence.
"There is no Warmaster. That is just a genestealer."
Alexander shook his head and said:
"Gavriel Loken, out of respect... I will call you Gavriel Loken."
"It's over. There is no Warmaster, no Horus. That is just a genestealer."
"It will die according to normal history, then the fake Erebus will resurrect it, and then the Dark Angel who caused all of this will possess its body."
"I will take the opportunity to kill that Dark Angel, and you can also find liberation from your illusions."
"..Perhaps I can help you," Loken said, turning his head slightly. "That feather is real. Sanguinius trusted you."
"Then I trust you too. I will help you."
"Why?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"..Perhaps it's hatred. That Dark Angel you spoke of toyed with us."
"..Perhaps it's a desire for liberation. The entanglement of these illusions is painful for me."
"..Perhaps it's for the truth. We only have the truth."
Loken was silent for a moment, then said:
"But if, as you say, I am an echo of Gavriel Loken..."
"..Then there's only one reason left."
"I am a Luna Wolf, the last Luna Wolf."
"And Luna Wolves will never betray humanity."
"Warmaster." A sticky, damp voice echoed from the cold corridor.
It was a monster, a monster covered in rot and decay, its body like a corpse, stained with disease, pain, and death.
It moved its putrid body, holding a sharp blade, and stood before Horus.
"Do not call me by that title," Horus replied calmly, slowly extending its claws. "You abominable xeno."
"Xeno?"
The reeking xeno let out a low laugh. It lunged at Horus, the sharp blade in its hand cutting through the air with a fierce gust.
But it was slower than Horus. It had not grown nearly as much as Horus.
Horus sneered. Its claws were irresistibly sharp, clashing with the blade in Tamba's hand, the sound of metal on metal resounding.
"Don't you remember me, Warmaster!"
Tamba let out a piercing shriek:
"I am Tamba, I am your comrade, your loyal servant."
"When you pursued glory, when you galloped across the galaxy, you abandoned me in this corner to fend for myself!"
"No," Horus sneered, its claws tearing a bloody gash in Tamba's body. "You are not Tamba."
Its claws plunged into Tamba's chest, tearing through chitinous shell and layers of fat, bringing forth a gush of sticky blood.
Tamba let out a low wail, but it did not fall. Instead, it twisted its body, bringing the blade in its hand down towards Horus' neck.
The clash of blade and claws was like two arrows, loosed from a bowstring, intersecting in the void.
"I am Tamba! I have been enlightened! The Lord of plagues has blessed me!"
"I am immortal! Warmaster!"
"No Lord of plagues has blessed you," Horus shook its head again. "You were never Tamba, nor will you be immortal."
Their weapons clashed again. Tamba's sword, with an unparalleled desire for destruction, thrust towards Horus' shoulder.
The strange blade, in an extremely bizarre posture, stabbed towards Horus' shoulder.
However, Horus merely sneered, and violently ripped off Tamba's sword-wielding arm.
Tamba let out a wail, falling to the ground in agony, its body twitching and contorting.
Horus slowly walked up to it, its claws pointing at its throat:
"I'll say it again, you were never Tamba."
"Just as I was never Horus."
Illusions constantly intertwined before Loken's eyes, various chaotic scenes appearing and merging, memories from different times echoing in his mind.
When he painfully confirmed that everything he had experienced was indeed an illusion, fragmented memories surged from his head.
Those were the memories of the past, of the true Gavriel Loken.
Erebus' trick, the fall on Istvaan III, the Great Heresy—these memories caused Loken even more pain.
The most agonizing was the human hatred for xenos from ten thousand years ago, which made him hate himself.
But Loken still chose to side with the human who called himself a Blood Angel.
Although he said a lot, Loken himself wasn't clear about the reason for his actions.
Perhaps it was because, in people's hearts, Gavriel Loken was the one who could never betray humanity; this perception lingered in the Warp, even gaining power and influencing his current genestealer self.
"Abaddon and the others have sent a message. The Warmaster has entered the crashed Tamba starship. He insists on leading the team himself," Loken said, his voice a little hoarse.
There was an impulse in his heart to save the Warmaster.
But according to Alexander, he couldn't do that; he had to wait until Horus was possessed by the Dark Angel.
This made Loken feel pain, yet he knew he had no choice but to do it.
His reverence for Horus as a father and his hatred for Horus' past actions during the Great Heresy intertwined in Loken's heart.
"Don't be sad, those things are in the past," Alexander said, patting Loken's shoulder consolingly.
"Horus was stabbed to death by the Emperor with a stone dagger; many things ended long ago."
Loken's face immediately became complex, and he said, almost in tears, "I seem to remember that moment."
"I witnessed it, I saw it, I saw my father smiling before he died."
"What kind of smile was that? Not terrifying at all; instead, it was the kind of smile I once cherished in my heart… a father's smile, a child's smile, even innocent."
"It wasn't until that moment that I suddenly realized the Warmaster was the most innocent among humans."
Madness and pain flashed in Loken's eyes.
But his voice quickly calmed.
"At least he shouldn't be desecrated again. Death is his best ending. Nothing in the name of Horus should be resurrected again," Loken said flatly.
Before long, Alexander and Loken arrived near the so-called Tamba flagship.
In Alexander's eyes, this Tamba flagship was just a colossal train half-submerged in the swamp, mixed with various collapsed buildings.
the genestealer patriarch who called himself Erebus, Abaddon, and the young Horus were all standing outside.
"Loken." The young Horus, Acydeman, walked up to Loken, his tone low and hesitant: "After the Warmaster led the team inside, an explosion occurred, and we were trapped by the corpses that surged out from all sides."
"But just now, all these corpses stopped moving."
"I don't know if the Warmaster won, or if a tragedy awaits us. We should be mentally prepared."
Loken was silent for a moment, then sighed imperceptibly.
"The Warmaster should have already—"
"Loken." A voice that made Loken tremble suddenly rang out.
He abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the voice.
Horus slowly emerged from the ruins. His body seemed to have grown taller, a unique glow shimmering around him, as if an invisible black flame burned all over him.
In his hand, he held a head—Tamba's head.
Immediately, the Luna Wolves let out excited roars, celebrating the Warmaster's new glory.
Only three people were silent.
Loken, Erebus, and Alexander looked at this scene with a slight sense of bewilderment.
The Warmaster actually counter-killed Tamba; he wasn't harmed.
"My Lord—" Erebus leaned forward, seemingly wanting to ask what had happened.
However, Horus suddenly extended his hand and, with his sharp claws, squeezed Erebus' head.
Bang!!!
Before Erebus could speak, his head exploded in the Warmaster's hand.
Yet the other Luna Wolves seemed not to have seen this, merely cheering and celebrating.
Alexander watched this scene silently.
the genestealer Horus before him had clearly grown to its limit. Its flesh had swollen, its height reaching nearly seven meters, like a monstrous humanoid beast.
Its chitinous carapace had transformed into armor, tightly encasing him. Its triangular head had become almost human-like; if not for some deformities, Alexander would have truly suspected that Horus had been resurrected.
"I should thank you, Son of Sanguinius."
Genestealer Horus looked at Alexander, his eyes seemingly flickering with a wild flame, full of madness and the desire for slaughter:
"Your reminder made me see through Erebus' trick and made me pay enough attention to Tamba. You see, just as I said, no matter what kind of trap or danger, nothing can harm me."
"My Lord…" Loken, standing nearby, hesitated, then stepped forward and said, "Actually, there was no—"
"I know what you want to say, Loken." Genestealer Horus interrupted Loken with a gentle smile on his lips.
He lowered his gaze slightly, looking at his own body: "That Dark Angel, the darkest, most twisted, and chaotic part of the echo from Sanguinius' death, it is full of wildness, instinctively recreating Horus' past fate, hoping to enter the physical universe through this."
"But I changed this fate and negotiated with him through it. He will merge with me, an equal fusion, just like Lorgar's Blessed Son."
"There's nothing strange about it; he and I were always meant to be one."
"I am the culmination of humanity's impression of Horus, an echo generated in the Warp."
"He is the embodiment of humanity's fear, hatred, and other emotions towards Horus, an existence generated in the Warp."
"How did you do it?" Alexander asked, frowning slightly. "How did you see through that layer of cognitive distortion?"
This was indeed somewhat beyond Alexander's expectations; this genestealer Horus had escaped its predetermined fate.
"I didn't see through it; in reality, that layer of cognitive distortion still trapped me. In my eyes, everything was still in the thirtieth millennium."
"But I noticed the sense of incongruity within it and guessed that I might be caught in an illusion. Only after merging with the Dark Angel did I truly understand everything."
"As for how I did it? Son of Sanguinius, the Warp is a reaction of emotions, and emotions cannot be absolutely objective. Loken and the others might be closer to their original forms, yet over ten thousand years, through the fear of countless people, my image has become increasingly cunning and powerful."
Horus said slowly:
"In the perception of most people, how could the cognitive distortion of a mere genestealers possibly deceive Horus?"
Alexander's lips twitched slightly.
Indeed, the Horus in the minds of countless people over ten thousand years could never be trapped by the cognitive distortion of a genestealer.
The Warp is an idealistic dimension; what people perceive Horus to be, this echo of Horus would be.
"My Lord, but everything has already ended. You are not the true Horus, and I am not the true Loken," Loken said with pain.
"No, Loken." Horus' tone became slightly more serious: "My actions and spirit completely conform to the Horus in humanity's mind. If so, what difference is there between me and Horus?"
"Not only am I Horus, but as the Dark Angel, I am also a fundamental part of Sanguinius; I am also Sanguinius."
Alexander narrowed his eyes slightly at this.
"What do you want?" he asked in a low voice.
"What would Horus do in people's minds?" Genestealer Horus retorted.
"Of course, it's to make the galaxy burn."
"Don't rush to refute me; I know I am not yet strong enough."
"I will possess this power. Don't forget that the Dark Angel is also a fundamental part of Sanguinius."
"The Blood Angels cannot resist or defeat me. They will fall into the Black Rage just by seeing me, and even if they don't… they can never defeat me. This is a spiritual suppression."
"As for Sanguinius… I have the right to contend for that body. In battles in the Warp, the two angels, Dark and Golden, are evenly matched."
Hearing this, Alexander couldn't help but touch his chin.
He was considering whether this genestealer in front of him had its brain fried.
"What if I kill you here?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You cannot. I told you, the Son of Sanguinius cannot defeat me, even if you possess powerful Psyker abilities."
this genestealer Horus said arrogantly.
"Wait, you know who I am?" Alexander couldn't help but show a somewhat playful expression.
"Of course, on this planet, there is only one Blood Angel who can stand before me without falling into the Black Rage."
"You can only be the Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels, the Lord of Death, Mephiston, who has overcome the Black Rage."
Horus looked down at Alexander.
"Is that right?"
Alexander tilted his head slightly, barely holding back a laugh, but still nodded repeatedly:
"That's right, that's right!"
At the same time, Mephiston, disguised as an Ogryn, who was trudging through the swamp towards Alexander, couldn't help but sneeze.
"Yes, yes."
"I am Mephiston, I am the Lord of Death."
Listening to the words of the genestealer Horus in front of him, Alexander couldn't help but smile.
Although he didn't know why it and the Dark Angel weren't aware of his existence, they clearly mistook him for Mephiston.
Genestealer Horus' expression stiffened slightly, as if it instantly realized something.
"You're not Mephiston? What are you!"
But before Genestealer Horus' voice could fully fall, Alexander appeared in front of it in the blink of an eye.
Bang!!!!
The Superman Gloves-clad fist collided with Genestealer Horus' sharp claws, and Alexander's other hand subtly pressed the mechanizer.
His arm suddenly turned into liquid, coiling around Genestealer Horus' arm like a snake.
This genestealer patriarch, which had grown to its limit, let out a muffled grunt, its arm shriveling in the blink of an eye, as if the moisture had been sucked out.
But that didn't matter—
Genestealer Horus' arm almost instantly returned to its original state, powerful energy surging within its body.
It wasn't just the power of the parasitic demigod body cultivated by the Great World Eater; the Warp entity, dwelling in the Warp and composed only of hatred, curses, and disgust, was blessing Genestealer Horus.
That was the culmination of countless beings' emotions towards Horus over ten millennia.
They hated Horus for initiating the Great Heresy, cursed the name of Horus Lupercal, and loathed his betrayal.
However, these very emotions, in turn, gave Genestealer Horus strength.
"I accept," it said in a low voice to the Warp entity.
The Dark Angel born of pure hatred had no true intelligence, but it still responded instinctively to Genestealer Horus.
Hatred sprouted in Genestealer Horus' heart, and it let out a low growl, a burning desire to incinerate everything swirling within its core.
If one were to discuss the Eightfold Path of Chaos, that Dark Angel would likely belong to the realm of erosion and destruction.
Within it was only fear that robbed one of sanity, only a pure craving for destruction, only an impulse to grind everything to dust.
Yes, in the eyes of all beings for ten millennia, Horus was a destroyer.
Genestealer Horus let out a roar, and a profound desire for destruction emanated from its body, a dark, profound, and crazed dark illusion spreading outwards from it as its center.
As the genestealer patriarch, it was the core of the entire brood's Psyker link, and the illusion it wove spread into the minds of all genestealer.
Primitive and chaotic destructive desires intertwined into an illusion, and roars echoed from the mouths of those genestealer.
"Wolf God! Wolf God! Wolf God!!!"
Those genestealer roared as they charged at Alexander, creating a flurry of splashes in the muddy swamp.
However, at this moment, countless sword lights streaked across the void, and the genestealer closest to Alexander were torn apart by wounds that appeared on reality itself.
An Ogryn over two meters tall suddenly burst out of the ruins in the swamp, guarding Alexander's side.
Mephiston rushed to Alexander's side.
In their previous plan, neither of them had anticipated that Horus would overcome the cognitive distortion.
So Mephiston acted first, going to find the likely location for Horus' corruption ritual, intending to set up a Psyker teleportation trap to send Horus into Alexander's four-dimensional pocket as soon as he resurrected.
Who would have thought that this genestealer Horus would overcome the cognitive distortion and reach an agreement with the Dark Angel in the Warp, with the two fusing in a relatively equal manner?
Upon receiving this news, Mephiston rushed here almost at top speed.
Genestealer Horus noticed Mephiston, who had intervened, and its claws clenched into a hammer, swinging down fiercely at Mephiston.
Mephiston extended his silver-steel longsword to block, but the immense impact force transmitted through the sword made Mephiston's whole body tremble.
He was actually suppressed by this genestealer giant beast, and this was not only a physical suppression but also a spiritual and mental one.
The Dark Angel that comprised this giant beast was also born from the death of Sanguinius, also a part of Sanguinius' Warp essence, the source of the Black Rage.
Mephiston even felt layers of terrifying black feathers slowly covering him in the Warp.
"So you are Mephiston, disguised as an Ogryn?"
Mephiston's appearance made Genestealer Horus pause for a moment, then, through its perception in the Warp, it confirmed that this Ogryn was actually a descendant of Sanguinius, a powerful Adeptus Astartes.
Excluding the scenario where Sanguinius and some Psyker female Ogryn made a mistake and overcame reproductive isolation,
Then it could only be the true Lord of Death, Mephiston, disguised as an Ogryn.
However, Genestealer Horus merely sneered; a descendant of Sanguinius was impossible—
"Nova Cannon."
Suddenly, Alexander's voice rang out not far away, and the roar of subatomic particles echoed.
"What?!"
Genestealer Horus was startled, but it only saw Alexander's arm, like a cannon barrel, firing a scorching subatomic shell.
That was a Nova Cannon, which could only be equipped on a leman russ tank.
Genestealer Horus instinctively wanted to dodge, but after Alexander fired the subatomic shell, he pressed the mechanizer again.
A two-meter-wide force field was released from Alexander's fingertips, instantly enveloping half of Genestealer Horus' body.
It immediately became stuck in mid-air—that was a Static Field—
The subatomic shell roared, and half of Genestealer Horus' body shattered and roared.
The seven-to-eight-meter-tall giant beast let out a wail, dragging its half-shattered body, and ferociously raised its head to look at Alexander.
"Body turning into liquid nanobots to extract moisture?"
"Firing subatomic shells and Static Fields with bare hands?"
"Are you an Iron Man from the Golden Age?"
As it spoke, the giant beast's body rapidly healed, and the Dark Angel dwelling in the Warp continuously permeated its power into the genestealer's body.
"Iron Man from the Golden Age?"
"Incorrect, I am a nanny robot from the 22nd century."
Alexander grinned and replied, glancing at Mephiston.
The two briefly exchanged thoughts and came up with the next plan.
Alexander would hold back Genestealer Horus, and Mephiston would prepare a Psyker teleportation to send Genestealer Horus into Alexander's four-dimensional pocket.
"A nanny robot from the 22nd century?"
Genestealer Horus frowned and said with confusion; it didn't quite understand the meaning of that term.
But it still slowly raised its massive body; under the influence of Warp power, its body had largely repaired itself.
Dense layers of black feathers grew on the original wounds, looking exceptionally terrifying, like layers of blasphemous cloaks woven from death and destruction.
Not only it, but the genestealer standing beside it also underwent similar mutations, growing more and more bizarre black feathers on their bodies, becoming increasingly deformed.
This group of genestealer roared the name of the Wolf God, stepping on the viscous swamp as they lunged at Alexander, Mephiston, and Loken.
Alexander, however, unhurriedly reached into his four-dimensional pocket and slowly took out an item.
Illusions wrapped around the restaurant owner's eyes, attempting to erode its consciousness.
It was a summons from the genestealer patriarch; the restaurant owner understood that a new patriarch had been decided.
A new cognitive distortion would envelop all genestealer, and everyone could once again immerse themselves in it, forgetting all their pain.
It could see the scene in the illusion.
It was an era of glory; it would become part of the Great Crusade fleet, conquering the entire galaxy with the Warmaster.
Let the galaxy burn.
A murmur sounded in the restaurant owner's ear.
Let the galaxy burn, let the galaxy burn, let the galaxy burn.
In a haze, it saw several figures entering its restaurant.
They were sometimes genestealers like the owner, sometimes noble Astartes warriors waiting for new recruits to awaken.
A searing pain came from the restaurant owner's chest.
It tightly clutched the beautifully decorated bolter, and the searing pain from it made it suddenly clear its head a bit.
the genestealer owner silently watched the three genestealer in front of it, who had already fallen into the illusion, waiting for itself to also step into it—its three brethren.
the genestealer owner silently looked at the ornate script carved on the bolter, which was about the five virtues.
"I shall be focused, lest my self be overwhelmed by my Lord's wrath."
The restaurant owner murmured softly, pointing the bolter in its hand at its own head.
Its action startled the three genestealers.
But the restaurant owner's lips involuntarily curved into a smile.
"I shall be humble, knowing my own vileness."
"My blood and flesh are born of the xenos, my soul harbors blasphemy."
"Purity and nobility are all false, but only virtue is true."
The restaurant owner slowly lowered the bolter pointed at its head, and then—
Bang!!!
The roar of a bullet, and the head of one of the genestealer surrounding it exploded.
"Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings is false, and the Warmaster is false."
"Only virtue is true."
The other two genestealers roared at the restaurant owner, waving their grotesque claws and pouncing at it.
But the restaurant owner saw madness, pain, and fragmentation in their eyes.
They had once seen the truth, and now, even if they actively integrated into another illusion, the pain brought by reality still tormented their souls.
The restaurant owner sighed softly, and its other two arms also picked up weapons.
"I shall be merciful, and give my brethren release through death."