Magnus, who was sitting beside him, revealed a look of understanding. It seemed Axis was about to disclose details about the Saibamen.
A smile touched Axis's lips. In this world, aside from himself, the only other beings who could use Ki were the Saibamen.
The Great Angel Sanguinius was also a Primarch whose loyalty Axis could confirm.
For that reason, Axis planned to place a Saibaman with him. Axis was also incredibly curious to see what kind of Saibaman could be cultivated from Sanguinius's genetic lineage. If the cultivation was successful, this Saibaman could remain with Sanguinius in Axis's place and oversee the problem of the gene-seed's evolution.
"It is just as it sounds," Axis said. "I have a special method that can help you acquire a son who can wield the power of Ki. This Legionary could then take my place in safeguarding your Legionaries during their modifications."
"Such a method exists?" Sanguinius asked, nodding, "Then perhaps it is worth a try. I have brought two members of the Death Company with me on this visit. They are both sealed in iron caskets and held within stasis fields. Would you like to see them?"
"I don't mind taking a look," Axis replied with a nod. "Bring two of those fully mutated here."
It would be good to see them. Axis was curious to know what the legendary space vampires truly looked like.
"Very well," Sanguinius said, nodding, "Wait for me a moment. I will head to the ship, and I will also bring the gene-seed. I have brought quite a lot this time."
"I will help teleport you back," Magnus announced, rising to his feet at once. He took up his staff and, with a psychic teleportation, sent Sanguinius directly back to his vessel.
Magnus himself, however, did not go with him.
If Magnus wished, his mind could easily envelop both ships, allowing him to see everything Sanguinius was doing with perfect clarity.
"You've grown stronger," Axis remarked.
This level of psychic power was beyond even Axis's own abilities. To perceive something at this distance, he would have had to use the power of Ki.
However, this universe was not particularly friendly to Axis. Because there were no other Ki users, using Ki for detection did not allow him to sense things too far away.
Currently, Axis could only confirm the position of life forms by the intensity of the life energy they emitted, a method that could cover an entire planet at most.
"Haha, the reason for my great improvement is all thanks to that fruit from the Tree of Might you gave me before," Magnus said, "It has been strengthening me with life energy for several decades. Otherwise, I would never have reached this point today."
"Try eating the fruit I just gave you," Axis suggested, "With your current physical constitution, you should be able to digest it almost instantly."
Axis also wanted to observe firsthand what changes a Primarch would undergo after consuming a fruit from the Tree of Might.
Magnus nodded at his words, picked up the red fruit, and ate it.
The fruit melted the moment it entered his mouth. As Magnus swallowed, an immense wave of life energy erupted within him, roughly fifty percent greater than that of the fruit he had eaten before.
The terrifying life energy coursed through his body, nourishing every cell and even his very soul.
A milky white aura radiated from Magnus's entire body, and his overall vitality had increased by a full eighty percent. Now, Magnus's physical strength was at least three and a half times that of any other Primarch.
"Hahaha! Axis, I have never felt better!" Magnus exclaimed, his face alight with surprise, "The enhancement this fruit provides to a Primarch is simply immense! My power has increased significantly again. I will surely become something akin to a warp god with a physical body."
Ever since discovering he could ascend to godhood, he had been striving toward that goal.
Now he was getting closer and closer, and it was all thanks to Axis's help.
"You have indeed grown much stronger," Axis said, "I have high expectations for you, Magnus. Once you have fully completed your enhancements and become a Warp god with a corporeal form, we must have a sparring match."
Once the primarch completed his ascension, Axis was determined to drag him into the Webway, or perhaps a remote star system.
There, he would transform into a Super Saiyan and they would have a proper bout.
"Hahaha! I was thinking the exact same thing," Magnus replied, looking at Axis with excitement, "Why don't we test our skills right now? My power has grown to a terrifying degree."
He finally had a chance to shine. Having grown so much stronger, he was eager to find a suitable opponent to test his limits.
"Oh? If you are that interested," Axis said with a hint of a smile, "once we've settled Sanguinius's matter, we can head to the ship's training chamber for a session."
You brought this on yourself, so don't blame me for what happens next, Axis thought. A perfect punching bag like this is a rare find! I wonder if Magnus can withstand the power of a Super Saiyan now? He probably can, can't he?
At that moment, the primarch had no idea what ordeal he was about to face.
"Let's be clear, Axis, I will be using psychic spells against you," Magnus declared, "Otherwise, I won't be able to defeat you."
For some reason, his psychic senses were screaming warnings at him, but his power had already reached this level. He would not be satisfied without a fight. What did it matter? It was not as if he would die. Magnus felt that with his psychic powers, even if he could not defeat Axis, his loss would not be too disgraceful.
"That's no problem at all," Axis said, "In fact, I have some gifts for you as well."
Previously, in the Black Library, Axis had transcribed a vast number of psychic disciplines from the Laughing God.
These were the prized secrets of the Aeldari, some even the treasures of their gods. The level of these disciplines was such that Kasha couldn't get through all of them yet, and her progress would undoubtably be slow.
The most suitable person to master them was undoubtedly Magnus. Once Magnus had learned them, he could then teach Kasha, who could in turn pass them on to Axis or Mader.
"Is that so? Then I look forward to it."
The two spoke for a little longer.
Magnus then sensed that Sanguinius had everything prepared, and his staff glowed with a blue light. Sanguinius reappeared on the ship, accompanied by three large iron chests.
Sanguinius announced. "The two chests here contain my mutated sons. The other one holds five hundred units of gene-seed."
"I see," Axis said with a nod, "Let one of the mutated sons out for me to see."
Sanguinius nodded and activated one of the giant iron caskets, deactivating the stasis field around it. As the casket door opened, a monster standing about 2.2 meters tall with greyish-white skin crawled out.
The creature's appearance was highly unusual. Its skin was the color of ash, giving it the look of a corpse. Its ears were pointed, similar to those of the Aeldari, its eyes were blood-red, and two fangs protruded from its mouth.
This visage was almost identical to the vampires of ancient lore from Holy Terra. The oldest records of vampires did not describe elegant nobles of the night, but rather a swarm of corpse-like monsters. Its hands were also not those of a normal human; they were tipped with sharp claws.
"As you can see," Sanguinius said with a sigh, "this is what becomes of my sons after the mutation."
"Roar!" the creature let out a deafening shriek and stared at Axis with a bloodthirsty expression. It smelled food.
It had been starved for a very, very long time. Now, it craved blood and slaughter.
"Halt!" Sanguinius shouted, attempting to stop his mutated son's advance.
But even he, the creature's sire, could no longer control the famished vampire.
The vampire let out another bloodthirsty roar and charged excitedly towards Axis.
Watching the monster rush towards him, a faint smile appeared on Axis's lips as he unleashed the terrifying pressure of a Saiyan.
The monster, halfway through its charge, stopped dead in its tracks.
Its mouth fell open as it stared at Axis in utter disbelief, and its body began to tremble. An expression of pure terror contorted its features, as if Axis himself was some kind of monster.
At that moment, neither of the two Primarchs knew that in the vampire's perception, Axis had become a terrifying, giant green-furred ape, radiating an aura of destruction, bloodlust, and savagery.
The vampire let out a pitiful wail, scrambled back to Sanguinius, and clung to his leg, whimpering.
"It's good that you know fear," Axis said with a chuckle. This things perception is quite sharp. It can sense just how terrifying I am!
"This is the first time I have ever seen one of them show fear!" Sanguinius said, his face a mask of astonishment.
"They do resemble the vampires of legend," Axis observed, "But vampires, in theory, are undead beings. This one has a heartbeat."
...
...
ps?