The Emperor's Shield arced in a golden curve, striking Luther's face with a heavy thud.
Luther let out a wail as the Emperor's Psyker energy, as hot as a star, exploded on his face from the kite shield, burning the four blasphemous blessings within Luther and making his soul experience a searing pain.
He fell from the megalith to the ground, his face contorted with pain, humiliation, and incomprehension.
The Lion slowly opened his eyes. The eyes the Emperor had fashioned for him were so efficient; pupils that hadn't seen light in ten millennia instantly adjusted to the surroundings. His eyes, ears, nose, and skin all sent sensory input into the Lion's mind, allowing his brain to construct an impression of his environment in the most imperceptible fraction of a second.
He was in a ship's cabin. There were two daemons, Luther, and Erebus.
The grey-black demon was Be'lakor, more powerful than the Lion remembered.
The human-like demon was currently fighting Luther, Erebus, and Be'lakor.
Who was the enemy? Who was an ally? Or were they all enemies?
Why had he awakened here? What mission did he now bear?
No matter what, kill Erebus first!
The moment the thought arose in the Lion's mind, he had already completed a series of actions: flipping up from the megalith, circling Luther to charge at Erebus, reaching Erebus, and raising the power sword named Loyalty in his hand.
But before he could sever Erebus' head, a shadow writhed.
The Caliban Greatsword expertly blocked the Lion's Loyalty sword.
The Lion felt a slight annoyance. His body was weak and sluggish, causing his movements to be a moment too slow.
Had Erebus cast some blasphemous spell?!
The Lion didn't dwell on this. Compared to Guilliman's multi-threaded thinking, he was better at forging his thoughts into a blade, piercing a single target.
He knew that even if he was weak and sluggish now, only one person could block his sword.
That man had found him, raised him, taught him his first swordsmanship and martial arts, but ultimately betrayed him.
"Luther," Lion El'Jonson's tone was filled with rage, his Lion's eyes fixed on Luther, who stood in his way.
Luther's appearance instinctively broke his heart. His face was full of madness, his body bore marks of torture, and behind him, four twisted, ugly shadows flickered faintly.
"Lion, he is my man, do not kill him." Luther blocked the Lion's sword, pleading bitterly, "Only he can heal you."
"Heal?" The Lion growled, then realized he still had wounds on his body, wounds Luther had inflicted, which had not yet fully healed.
"No, I didn't do it." Luther's face wavered, "I didn't, I didn't kill you… Give me a chance to atone, I beg you, Lion."
"My brother, my son, my… my father, I beg you, let me atone…"
"Foolish, he is even cursing me, making me weak." The Lion suddenly pressed the blade in his hand towards Luther.
But… but deep down, the Lion still wavered, still hesitated, not because he believed Luther's words, but because the memories of his past with Luther still lingered in his mind.
The Lion hated this hesitation, hated that he still held old affections for a traitor.
"Curse? Weak?" Luther was shocked by the Lion's words. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Child, you are just old."
The Loyalty sword reflected the Lion's face—an old face full of wrinkles, hair almost completely white, with only a few golden strands remaining, and a beard that softened the Lion's once fierce countenance, like a sharp blade sheathed.
"It's okay, Lion." Luther showed what he believed to be a gentle smile, "You see, I am still young. This is the power of the Warp at work. I know how to tame that power. I can make you young again. We can fight side by side again, just like when we together fought the Knights of Fenris…"
"Is Luther speaking to me?" The Lion was not moved by Luther's words; instead, his tone suddenly turned cold, "Or are those unspeakable monsters inhabiting Luther speaking to me?"
The Loyalty sword instantly vibrated, Luther's arm went numb, and the Caliban Greatsword in his hand was deflected. The Lion took the opportunity to swing his left hand, holding the Emperor's Shield, striking Luther's face with both shield and fist.
Luther's figure flickered, using the power Be'lakor had given him to disappear into the shadows, then instantly reappearing to the Lion's right, the Caliban Greatsword slashing down fiercely.
And the Lion also swung his Loyalty sword; sword met sword, and for a moment, neither gained the upper hand, and both simultaneously sensed the hesitation and doubt still present in the other's sword.
"Lion! Can we put aside our differences for now?!" Luther pleaded bitterly, "First, let's resolve our common enemy together!"
Luther looked at Nobita, who was clashing with Be'lakor: "This is an avatar of a newly born Chaos God. He has corrupted two Primarchs. We must stop Him."
The Lion could tell Luther wasn't lying, but he could also sense that Luther was hiding something, and at this moment, Luther's mind was extremely unstable and utterly untrustworthy.
The Lion slightly raised his head and looked at the humanoid Greater Demon, his eyes filled with hesitation, but in the next moment...
Nobita's black eyes suddenly glowed gold, and Be'lakor, who was fighting him, let out a terrified shriek, retreating several steps.
Instantly, the entire cabin was filled with a silent, destructive scent. The threads of time seemed to slow down a notch, and all things seemed to turn grey.
"False Emperor…" Erebus let out a terrified shriek. He was the first to realize what was residing within Nobita.
Emperor Nobita slowly turned his head, looking in the Lion's direction.
"Lion," Emperor Nobita spoke softly.
"Father?!" The Lion felt the Emperor's presence and froze.
He realized that his recent hesitation regarding Luther had been seen by the Emperor.
"Kill them," Emperor Nobita said with a cold voice.
"Yes." The Lion's tone also suddenly deepened, becoming ruthless and sharp.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the golden glow in Nobita's eyes disappeared, everything regained its color, and the threads of time returned to normal.
The only change was...
"Ah?!" Luther let out a sharp wail. A deep bloody gash appeared on his neck. If his reaction had been a fraction of a second slower, his head would have been severed.
There was no longer any hesitation or doubt in the Lion's sword, only cold killing intent.
"Lion?! Why?!" Luther cried out in anguish. More than death or pain, the Lion's decisiveness caused him greater suffering.
"The Emperor is watching! My Father is watching!" The Lion's voice was as cold as Caliban's deepest stream, piercing straight into Luther's heart.
"He is not your father!" Luther wailed, "I am! Lion, I am your father."
"He, that Dark King, only sees you as His tool. He will destroy you, destroy me, destroy Caliban."
"I am the Emperor's blade, the Emperor's tool. As for Caliban... traitor, you destroyed Caliban."
"I didn't!!" Luther shrieked in rebuttal.
The Lion's sword was unwavering, cutting into Luther's power armor, carving a sharp gash from which Luther's blood seeped.
Even if the Lion was old, even if he still had unhealed wounds, even if he had just woken from slumber, he was still a Primarch, one of the foremost among them.
And Luther was still hesitating, still wavering, still reluctant to strike, utterly unable to resist the Lion's sharp blade.
"Luther, do not hesitate any longer! The Lion's soul is controlled by the False Emperor, manipulated by the False Emperor."
"Only by defeating him, killing him, and then having Doraemon, who has achieved apotheosis, resurrect him, can the Lion's soul be freed."
Erebus' highly seductive voice rang out, and the four blasphemous specters inhabiting Luther's body writhed, whispering into Luther's ear.
Luther's eyes unfocused for a moment, then intense madness engulfed them.
"That's right! That's right! It's all the False Emperor's fault!"
"It was the False Emperor who took my Lion, it was the False Emperor who destroyed Caliban, it's all the False Emperor's fault."
"You've fallen too deep, Luther!!!" The Lion swung his sword down with one hand. Luther hastily raised the Caliban Greatsword to block, while the Lion's left hand, clenched into a fist, smashed the Emperor's Shield heavily into Luther's abdomen, instantly denting Luther's abdominal armor.
Luther spat out a mouthful of blood, and the madness in his eyes materialized. Streaks of Psyker lightning surged from his eyes, striking directly at the Lion's face.
The Lion dodged, raised his shield, and blocked the lightning.
"Let's abandon the Emperor, Lion." Luther's words were full of madness, but his blade was no longer merciful, transforming into a thousand slashes.
And the Lion raised his shield like the wind, blocking all of Luther's attacks.
Luther tirelessly said, "Let's build an Imperium of our own. You be the Emperor, and I'll be the Warmaster—"
The Emperor's Shield smashed into Luther's face with a deafening thud.
"Do you take me for Guilliman?!" the Lion roared in accusation.
Luther spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, feeling dizzy.
Erebus, however, didn't care about any of this. He knew that neither Be'lakor nor Luther would last much longer.
He seized this opportunity to immediately open that door and pass this damned game.
However, before Erebus could react, the glowing door to the previous cabin rippled.
Khârn, bathed in blood, his body highly mutated, six or seven meters tall, with savage wings casting bloody shadows, emerged from the glowing door.
Before Erebus could feel any fear, Khârn swept in with a chilling bloody wind, reaching Erebus' front, and the bloodson in his hand slashed down fiercely.