At the same time, aboard the Word Bearers' flagship—the Lex Fidelis—
The Primarch Lorgar Aurelian, who had been drafting the Dark Gospel in preparation for restructuring his Legion's creed, had just received a piece of news so infuriating it nearly drove him into a rage.
Erebus had failed.
The mission to Davin had ended in disaster. Not only had he failed to send Horus into the temple, he had exposed himself ahead of time and been crushed before he ever even laid eyes on Horus.
With the sharp instincts and world-shaking intellect of a Primarch, Lorgar immediately grasped the implications. He had checked and rechecked his own side—there was no way anyone here had leaked anything.
Which only meant one thing.
Damn it. There was something rotten on the false Emperor's side.
"You say you are Erebus?" Lorgar regarded the battered white-haired girl before him with deep suspicion.
To be honest...
If she had not been able to recite sacred doctrine word for word, and if she had not known certain highly confidential details known only to the upper ranks, neither Lorgar nor the others would ever have linked her to Erebus.
One had been a bald giant covered in scripture from head to toe.
The other was a slight young girl, her features perhaps a little wide-set, but overall still rather delicate.
How could those two possibly be the same person?
"Yes... I am Erebus." Faced with the challenge, Erebus only felt more and more like dying, but at the same time his hatred for the mocking scrutiny of his Primarch and his so-called comrades burned even hotter.
All of you...
One day, I'll pay this back. I swear I will.
Erebus had always been the kind of bastard who never let go of a grudge. Even now, though he had become a girl named Dong Xuelian, that had only made him more short-tempered, more easily stirred by emotion.
Who are you calling a spy, huh? Who exactly are you accusing?
"Why do you look like this now?" Lorgar asked, his gaze grave as he studied Erebus.
When the first reports had arrived, he had even wondered whether one of his followers had received a blessing from the Chaos Gods—or perhaps whether this was some infiltrator. After all, for an ordinary mortal woman to carve through Astartes and force her way all the way to his flagship...
It had been hard to imagine.
A regular human female possessing such strength...
It was astonishing.
"I failed the mission, and I died," Erebus said, deliberately concealing part of the truth while still giving the correct overall answer. "But the Chaos Gods saved me. They could not restore my original body, so they revived me like this."
Well, wasn't that technically true? I did die, didn't I? And I was pulled back, wasn't I?
"So... a blessing..." Lorgar murmured, and his interest in Erebus's condition deepened.
A miracle indeed.
Marvelous.
To restore even the dead—what greater proof of divine power could there be?
A god was godlike precisely because it could alter what mortals never could.
"Yes! I truly did die," Erebus declared with calculated piety, riding the direction of Lorgar's thoughts. "But the Chaos we worship brought me back!"
What Erebus was actually thinking, of course, was something very different.
He hated the Changer of Ways. Hated him utterly. Turning him into this ridiculous form, making him into a laughingstock in front of his own side—
That grudge was written down too.
"That is how it is..." Lorgar sighed for a moment, then abruptly changed tack. "But your mission failed, Erebus."
"I had no choice!" Erebus protested. "Everything was proceeding according to plan, and then the Dark Angels and the Night Lords both showed up with their main forces and ambushed us!"
Originally, he had gone happily enough to complete the assignment. Even if something unexpected had happened, he had assumed it would be the Sons of Horus trying to stop him—and he'd had plenty of ways to talk them around.
But instead, he had been wiped out before he ever even got close to Horus, let alone the Vengeful Spirit.
What was he supposed to say to that?
"That is not an excuse, Erebus." Lorgar shook his head. "Your failure has caused irreversible changes to our plans—and to the plans of the Chaos Gods. From this moment onward, the prophecy has changed. Do you understand what that means?"
"But who could have known the Night Lords and the Dark Angels—wait..."
Suddenly Erebus realized something. He repeated the words Night Lords to himself again and again, because he remembered that their Primarch possessed prophetic powers.
Which meant the ambush had been arranged by Konrad Curze.
Damn it all.
"I am deeply disappointed in you, Erebus. You assured me again and again that the task would be completed."
"But now..." Lorgar no longer trusted his First Chaplain. Even if Erebus had once enlightened him, even if he had led him to the true gods—
This fool had ruined everything.
Corrupting Horus had been the most important step of all. If Horus's fate had now changed, then the great undertaking—the overthrow of the false god for the salvation of all mankind—might well have been severed at its root.
Still...
It was not entirely hopeless.
Perhaps another brother could still be turned. If he could persuade the others, there might yet be a chance. On the strength of the Word Bearers alone, they could never overturn the false Emperor's rule.
"F-Father! Please, give me one more chance!" Erebus cried out in desperation, even using the word father in his panic.
"Erebus, you couldn't even accomplish something this simple. In a situation like this, what exactly do you imagine you can still do?" Lorgar's thoughts had already shifted toward cutting him loose.
If they declared Erebus a traitor to the cause, then even if the Night Lords and Dark Angels had begun to suspect something, the Legion itself could still come through it clean.
Or rather—Lorgar had prepared contingencies from the very beginning. Even if scrutiny came. Even if Horus began quietly watching him. As long as he had enough time, there was still room to act.
If Horus could not be corrupted, there were others:
Angron. Magnus. Sanguinius. Fulgrim. Mortarion. Jaghatai.
Some had already brushed against Chaos. Others carried instability within their own blood.
If enough of them could be drawn in, the false god's dominion could still be shattered and his lies exposed.
And then—
Lorgar would become the shepherd of mankind, leading humanity once more into greatness through the gospel of Chaos.
"I..." Erebus scrambled for something—anything—to save himself. "I'll make contact with the Primarch of the Ninth Legion! Sanguinius must still be tormented by the flesh-mutation among his sons. If I guide him properly, he'll surely embrace Chaos!"
Even if it was a difficult target, it was still something big enough to catch Lorgar's interest. If nothing else, it might spare Erebus's life for now. After that, he could look for a chance to escape.
After all, he still had influence in the Dark Council. And within the Word Bearers, Lorgar was not the only voice that mattered. As First Chaplain, Erebus could still make things happen.
"If you had succeeded in corrupting my brother, then that supreme glory would indeed have been yours," Lorgar said.
Then he lightly tapped the ritual table before him, where various offerings lay arranged.
Looking down at Erebus kneeling on the floor, he wore a look of utter disappointment.
At the sound of that tapping, several Possessed emerged from behind the pillars carved with scripture, taking up positions behind Erebus like a living wall.
"I require you to carry out another task. Convert the stubborn holdouts. As for how you do it—that is your concern."
"When that is done, return and stand before me again, Erebus."
With that, Lorgar made a dismissive gesture, indicating that Erebus should be dragged away.
"No...!"
As the Possessed hauled him toward the doors, Erebus cried out in fury and despair.
"You can't do this! You're stripping me of my rights, my status, everything I have!"
"I am one blessed by Chaos! You can't treat me like this!"
His voice faded as he was dragged farther and farther away, but Lorgar never spared him another glance.
Because his mind was already on something else.
How do I salvage this?
Failing to corrupt Horus had been a colossal setback. Was his path really meant to end here?
"Father..." Lorgar lifted his head and gazed at the portrait of the Emperor hanging high above, murmuring the word under his breath.
Then, after a moment of thought, he seemed to rally. He reached out with his psychic power and sent an astropathic command.
"Abandon Expeditionary Fleet 1301. Their mission is over. Let the Davin system become their grave."
"It is a necessary sacrifice. By the will of the gods."
It pained him to do it—but under the current circumstances, only by cutting them loose entirely could he buy himself the time he needed to reshape the board and keep his plans alive.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 132)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter95)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter165)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 95
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 155
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 62
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 62
Uma Musume: I Want All 65
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
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