"These years, we've really missed you, Lorgar," said Lion El'Jonson.
"Missed everything you did to the Imperium. Missed everything you did to us," said Horus.
It was this bastard—him and his damned son Erebus—who set him up.
That bastard Erebus was still gallivanting around the galaxy, not yet found. Once Horus caught him, he wanted to shove Erebus's head up his own rear and then yank it back out through his stomach.
Everything—every betrayal—started with that prick named Erebus. And that prick is your son, Lorgar!
"You drove a wedge between me and Horus. Lorgar, we trusted you so much back then," said Sanguinius.
"Don't you want to chat with your big brother? Lorgar? Come on, tell me—how have you been living in the realms of Chaos all these years?" The Lion slung his white soulblade over his shoulder, grinning savagely at Lorgar.
Beads of cold sweat trickled down Lorgar's forehead.
I'm dead, I'm dead—this time I'm really dead!
He couldn't beat any one of the four of them, let alone all four together. His combat power was among the weakest of the Primarchs—maybe he could only beat Omegon at best.
He might be a Daemon Prince now, but these Primarchs had been empowered by cosmic beasts and were stronger than ever.
The problem was, even without the buffs, any one of these four could hang him up and beat him bloody.
What the hell are you lot doing? Shouldn't the four of you be ganging up on Fulgrim?
Why bully me? I'm just a small fry!
"Nobody steal my kill. He's mine," said Horus.
Of everyone here, his grudge with Lorgar was the deepest. This time, he'd teach the bastard a proper lesson.
"That won't do, Horus. He wronged you, sure, but he wronged us too. I was indirectly stuck in the Rock for ten thousand years because of him," said the Lion.
"I even got killed by Horus! Lorgar's mine—I'll defeat him myself and drag him before Father," said Sanguinius.
"I don't care. I'll take last swing," Vulkan shrugged helplessly.
At this point, he almost felt sorry for Lorgar. Getting targeted by the three most formidable Primarchs? Rough luck.
Lorgar's expression grew panicked. He backed away, swallowing hard. How was he supposed to fight this? How the hell was he supposed to fight this?!
Fulgrim, where the hell are you now? Get over here and save me. If you don't come, I'm done for!
Unfortunately, Fulgrim had no intention of saving him. The Alien Empera was busy entertaining him.
Sanguinius, Horus, and the Lion argued incessantly over who got to deal with Lorgar.
None of them wanted to give up this once-in-a-lifetime chance—this perfect opportunity to beat Lorgar senseless.
"Hurry up, you three. Otherwise, why don't you all go together?" Vulkan suggested.
He felt they wouldn't reach a conclusion anytime soon—they were all too domineering to yield the right to solo Lorgar.
"No. Trash like him isn't worth the three of us moving at once," the three said almost in unison.
"Damn you, don't humiliate me! Come on then—think I'm afraid of you? I never owed that old man anything. I even treated him as my god. I wasn't wrong," Lorgar roared, mustering courage.
"Sure, you weren't wrong—that's why you're still alive. We're discussing how to thank you, not how to kill you," Sanguinius said dryly.
"But Father never harmed a single soul in Monarchia! When Guilliman destroyed the city, did he kill even one of your gene-sons?
And before that, Father warned you repeatedly. What he wanted wasn't missionary work; he wanted you to carry out the Great Crusade," Horus said.
He remembered Monarchia clearly. If the Emperor had truly run out of patience with Lorgar, it wouldn't have been Guilliman who came—it would have been Russ or the Dark Angels.
And if either of those two had come, Monarchia wouldn't have just been demolished—every soul on that planet would have died.
"No more talk. You three come at once. Think I'm afraid?" Lorgar said.
Some of the Chaos Astartes behind Lorgar looked at him with a kind of shocked admiration.
What a madman. Facing these guys and still putting on a big-man act?
Any one of them could rip a Greater Daemon apart barehanded. You really don't know the meaning of the word "death," do you?
What rotten luck! Why did we have to bump into this? We're here for a lightning raid, not to draw the main force.
At this moment, Lucius had become the backbone for the Chaos Marines present. Aside from a certain fallen Primarch, he was the strongest here.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Lucius smiled, drew his runed daemonblade, and strode decisively to stand in front of Lorgar.
It looked like he meant to face the Primarchs alongside Lorgar. The sight greatly encouraged the other Chaos Marines. Lucius had once been a chosen champion, and supposedly served the Prince of Excess's scion. He shouldn't be weak—maybe he could lead them in cutting a bloody path out.
Even a Primarch could be swarmed by enough bodies.
No one expected what happened next: Lucius's move left every Chaos Marine slack-jawed.
Lucius swung his purple daemonblade and drove it straight into Lorgar's kidney without hesitation.
Lorgar didn't even react at first, staring in disbelief at the blade that had punched through him. He turned his head, shocked, to look at Lucius.
"You—you—why?" Lorgar asked, incredulous.
Why stab me?
"Sorry. Orders from my new master. And my task is complete," Lucius grinned.
"You! You dare betray Fulgrim!" Lorgar snarled.
"Don't misunderstand. I never truly acknowledged that guy. I never intended to obey him. I've only ever followed one person's will. I've never betrayed anyone," Lucius said.
Goddess Aisha was the one he served.
That's all.
The Primarchs were surprised. Lucius's reputation wasn't good, yet Rhodes had somehow brought him to heel. Though a man like that really ought to be purged.
"My task is done, gentlemen. Do as you like," Lucius pulled out his purple blade, wiped the blood, and prepared to leave.
Sanguinius very much wanted to take up his blade and cleave down the Chaos traitor, but Horus at his side stopped him.
Lucius's deeds were vile, but this time he had rendered great service: thanks to his intel, Guilliman had managed to extract the prisoners, and the team here had intercepted Lorgar. Lucius had also spread the word about the avatar.
He was Rhodes's subordinate now. They had no standing to intervene.
Everyone watched Lucius leave. No one dared stop him.
Once the others were gone, Sanguinius snorted, flashed to the wounded Lorgar, and kicked him in the face.
"Hey, hey, Sanguinius, that's cheating! We still haven't decided who gets to deal with him," Horus protested.
The Lion snorted and charged in too, his massive fist thundering into Lorgar's face.
"Fine. Count me in—I'm not missing out," Horus shrugged and joined the beatdown.
"Ugh! Ugh! Aaaah! Oh! Oh!" came the wretched screams.
The three hulking brutes laid into Lorgar. The poor bastard started doubting life itself as sandbag-sized fists and gigantic boots landed on his face again and again.
Lorgar's screams echoed over the battlefield, while the Primarchs' blows fell like a torrential downpour.
Vulkan stood off to the side, arms folded, shaking his head. "Go easier. Don't actually kill him. Father's waiting to see him."
"Relax, I know my limits," Sanguinius said as he punted Lorgar in the gut again, sending him skidding dozens of meters.
Lorgar rolled, staggered to his feet, blood at his lips, eyes full of terror and rage.
"You… you… bastards…" he ground out, trying to summon his Chaotic power to counterattack.
His power had barely formed when the Lion's heavy punch shattered it.
"Give it a rest, Lorgar," the Lion sneered. "You think that little bit of Chaos power can stand against us? When you betrayed the Imperium, you should have known this day would come."
Horus stepped forward, seized Lorgar by the collar, and hauled him up. "Tell me—where is Erebus? If you talk, maybe I'll let you suffer less."
Lorgar bared blood-streaked teeth in a grimace. "Heh… You think I'll tell you? That wretch… has nothing to do with me anymore! You'll never find him!"
"Tough guy, huh?" Sanguinius' eyes went cold. He slapped Lorgar so hard teeth flew.
You bastards—at least let me pass out first!