+ Repent! +
+ Do not continue to betray the blood of Sanguinius! +
+ The Red Angel's words are all lies! +
+ How can you betray the name of the Blood Angels' Ninth Legion? +
Kuldus Mol awoke from his blood-soaked bed. The Chapter Master of the Crimson Angel Chapter clutched his head, trying to dispel the fragmented voices in his ears.
Lately, the warriors of the Crimson Angel Chapter often heard this voice.
The voice claimed to be Apothecary Meros of the Blood Angels Legion from ten thousand years ago, asserting that the Sanguinius the Crimson Angels now worshipped was actually a demon named the Red Angel, and that all the Crimson Angels' actions were a betrayal of Sanguinius' blood.
But Sanguinius told the Crimson Angels: This must be a shameless plot by Tzeentch!
Yes, they, the Crimson Angels, were the purest Sons of Sanguinius.
They were born from the Ninth Legion's ninth Chapter, and Corinal was the ninth planet in their star system.
The Ninth Legion, the Ninth Chapter, the Ninth Sons, the Ninth Planet, the Ninth Blood—was there any purer Son of Sanguinius than the Crimson Angels?
Sanguinius choosing to resurrect on Corinal instead of Baal, wasn't that proof of their purity?
They were the true Sons of Sanguinius, walking the path of Sanguinius and embodying his sacred blood.
Mol struggled to rise from the blood-stained bed, his foot crushing the head of a mortal who had died during last night's blood-drinking. Sticky blood, brains, and bone fragments smeared together under his sole.
Mol frowned slightly. Where were his servants? They didn't even know to clean up the remains of these blood-thralls.
Then, Mol suddenly remembered that during his blood-drinking last night, he had accidentally twisted off his servant's head and was drinking his blood from the gushing stump.
Mol shook his head. The attrition rate of the Chapter's servants had been increasing recently.
A secondary reason was that the Chapter's Space Marines would sometimes accidentally consume their servants when they were in a frenzy.
The main reason was that the replenishment rate of servants was getting slower and slower. Many mortals were unwilling to accept the Chapter's conscription and even went into hiding.
What an ungrateful bunch of mortals! Shouldn't serving an Angel be their glory?
Had they forgotten who protected them? Forgotten who saved them from the depredations of Chaos and xenos?
They were a bunch of ungrateful, shameless bastards! They only needed to offer blood, while the Crimson Angels had much more to consider.
Mol walked to a corner of the room, standing before an elaborately decorated mirror.
He reached out to wipe away the bloodstains on the mirror and looked at the face reflected within.
It was a dark, twisted face, without lips, fangs protruding from exposed, dry gums, without eyelids, bloodshot eyeballs bulging from their sockets, high cheekbones, a long, narrow face, grey-black skin, and pointed ears piercing the air, looking like an ugly humanoid bat.
Mol was startled by the image in the mirror and almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, in the blink of an eye, the image in the mirror returned to normal. His face once again became that beautiful, pale countenance, hidden beneath golden hair, exactly like Sanguinius' beautiful face.
This was yet another strong proof of their purity.
Mol admired his face with considerable self-satisfaction.
But suddenly, his eyes were plagued by another illusion. He seemed to see the figure of his predecessor, Chapter Master Chaud.
He saw Chaud, just before he died, clutching his hand tightly, his eyes wide with terror, saying to Mol:
"A lie."
"It's all a lie."
"We have fallen."
"The Rite of Repentance is a lie."
"Atone for my mistakes."
Mol quickly shook his head. This must be another illusion woven by Tzeentch.
He clearly remembered what Chaud had said when he entrusted the Crimson Angel Chapter to him before his death.
He had clearly said:
"Purity."
"Everything is for purity."
"Only we are the purest."
"The Rite of Repentance is the foundation of purity."
"Continue the Rite of Repentance."
Mol strictly followed the teachings of his predecessor Chapter Master.
Under his leadership, the frequency of the Rite of Repentance changed from once every fifty years to once every twenty years, then to once every ten years, and now it was once every nine days.
This was Mol's achievement, Mol's glory.
Mol walked out of his room and saw a Chapter servant trembling before him.
"My Lord, the Chapter's Captains request your presence at the meeting — — — — — — — — Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
Mol ripped off the servant's head. Blood spurted from his severed neck, and Mol bit into it, drawing out the blood.
In just a moment, the servant's blood was drained by Mol, leaving only a shriveled corpse on the ground.
Do not suppress your crimson thirst, do not suppress your nature.
This was Sanguinius' teaching.
+ This is betrayal +
Mol finished drinking the blood, ignored the whispers in his ear, and walked towards the Crimson Angels' conference hall.
He quickly learned the situation during the meeting with the Captains.
The Crimson Angels' current dominion was far greater than in the past, expanded under Sanguinius' guidance. Otherwise, how could the mortals on Corinal sustain the Crimson Angels and the Chapters summoned by Sanguinius?
And today, battle had erupted on the edge of the Crimson Angels' territory.
A fleet of Blood Angels, claiming to be from Baal, had attacked their border planets.
But Mol was not worried about their defenses.
Because Sanguinius had foreseen it and demonstrated his divine power, summoning allies.
The fleets of Warmaster Abaddon and Primarch Perturabo would defend the Crimson Angels' territory.
+ Abaddon and Perturabo are despicable traitors! +
+ Have you forgotten, Mol! +
Mol irritably banished the cursed whispers from his ears.
Oh, why is the Lord of Change so wicked!
+ That is the fleet of the true Sanguinius! +
+ Repent! Atone! Otherwise, only death and humiliation await you! +
The voice claiming to be Apothecary Meros continued to whisper relentlessly.
It was all a lie!
They had Sanguinius' protection! They had Abaddon, Perturabo, and Vashtorr!
They couldn't even land on Corinal, so how could they bring them death and humiliation?
Both Mol and the Crimson Angels' Captains heard the whispers.
They almost simultaneously burst into mocking laughter, ridiculing the voice for not even knowing how to lie.
Click — — — — — —
Suddenly, an opening door broke their mocking laughter, like a sharp knife piercing the conference room.
A pinkish-red wooden door suddenly appeared in the very center of the conference room.
The wooden door clicked open, and a round hand reached out from within.
The somewhat comical round hand held a dark green, streamlined bomb, half a person's height.
"Ding ding ding!!! Earth Destruction Bomb!!!"