This is the bonus chapter for reaching 200 Powerstones.
--
Saul Tarvitz closed his eyes.
Vespasian lowered his head.
Even Eidolon, the Fleet Lord Commander famous for his cruelty, felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.
As for the regular Emperor's Children Astartes...
Many of them had already clenched their fists tight.
In the [Wings of Freedom Regional Chat], the Chaos players were absolutely mind-blown:
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "WTF?? What kind of play is this??"
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "I yield. Are these Crimson Dawn guys all classically trained actors??"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "If it weren't for the goofy ID floating above his head, I'd genuinely believe he was a real Iron Hand."
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "They can act so freaking well!!"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Did this guy do an internship with the Iron Hands Legion??"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "That look in his eyes, his posture, the battle cry... he's more Iron Hand than a pureblood Iron Hand!!"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Is this the sheer power of a Closed Beta player?"
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "I'm honestly a little worried for [Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] right now."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] stood at the edge of the crowd, all color completely drained from his face.
His hands were shaking.
His legs were shaking.
His entire body, straight down to his soul, was shivering.
It's over.
It's totally over.
--
Fabius stood rooted to the spot, looking at the Iron Hands warrior who had voluntarily laid down on the examination table.
Looking at his resolute face, listening to his final words—For the Gorgon, for Medusa...
An indescribably complex feeling welled up in his throat.
He wanted to prove that these men were frauds.
But he had just personally vivisected an Iron Hands warrior and seen those irrefutable mechanical augments with his own eyes.
In the [Light of the Emperor Regional Chat], the Loyalist players were also roasting the situation:
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "One's a better actor than the next. They're all faking it till they make it."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "Even I want to give them a round of applause right now."
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "But honestly... it's super satisfying."
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "Look at Fabius's face. He's about to lose it."
[Loyal Battle Sister of the Imperium]: "And Lucius too, dude is pale as a ghost."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Serves them right."
--
Many of the surrounding Emperor's Children Astartes had already turned their heads away.
They couldn't bear to keep watching. This loyal warrior from their brother Legion...
Was currently lying on the platform, waiting to be vivisected by their Legion's Chief Apothecary.
If they went to support another Legion in the future...
And were treated like this, they couldn't even fathom the utter humiliation...
Vespasian closed his eyes, his saintly face refusing to watch what was about to unfold.
Saul Tarvitz's fists cracked, his nails digging painfully into his palms.
He abruptly turned his head, glaring at Fabius, at Lucius, at all the Emperor's Children who were still spectating.
He wanted to say something, but he couldn't speak up.
Because he knew it was useless to say anything now; only their Primarch Father had the authority to make the next call.
Fabius stood before the table, staring at that serene face and that muscular body equally covered in augmentation scars.
His hands were shaking slightly.
He had no way out.
He had to continue the examination.
He had to prove these Iron Hands were fakes.
Otherwise, his reputation was completely ruined forever.
He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and prepared to operate the Narthecium once again.
The scalpel's blade was aimed at the bare chest once more.
Right at that moment.
A bone-chilling voice echoed from the back of the crowd.
"Enough."
The voice wasn't loud.
But the air temperature at the camp gates instantly plummeted by ten degrees.
Everyone simultaneously looked toward the source of the voice. Fulgrim stood there.
His purple power armor gleamed coldly in the night, his long white hair fluttering gently in the wind.
There was no expression whatsoever on his flawless face.
But his eyes...
Those violet eyes were now locked squarely on Fabius.
Staring at the Narthecium on Fabius's back and the naked body on the platform.
Fabius's body went stiff.
The scalpel froze in midair, less than an inch away from [Selling Cola at the Terra Palace Gates]'s chest.
"F-Father..."
His voice trembled.
Fulgrim didn't say another word.
He simply raised a hand.
But Fabius perfectly understood the meaning behind it.
Stop.
Get your ass back here.
He slowly lowered his hand. The scalpel retracted into the mechanical arm, and the Narthecium's automated medical array let out a low hum as it stowed away its vicious tools.
He turned around, kept his head down, and walked back toward Fulgrim.
As he passed by [Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe], his footsteps paused for a fraction of a second.
Those gloomy, venomous eyes swept over the mortal's face like a viper.
Just a simple glance.
But the emotion packed into that one look...
Fury, resentment, pure murderous intent...
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]'s body froze in place.
His heart practically stopped beating.
In the [Wings of Freedom Regional Chat], he was already spamming the feed in a complete frenzy:
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so fucking dead!!"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "Did you see the look Fabius gave me?! He wants to kill me!!"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "I am so fucking dead!!"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "..."
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "Look on the bright side, bro. You definitely played yourself this time."
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "Worst case scenario, you just die. Rest in peace, man!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "Fabius hates your guts more than anyone right now, considering you're the one who dragged him into this mess."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "How the hell was I supposed to know this would happen?!"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "I just want to know what I should do now!"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "Just sit here and wait to die?"
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "Can you guys stop making sarcastic comments for like two seconds?"
[All According to Plan]: "What else can you do besides wait to die?"
[All According to Plan]: "You think you can run away with a Primarch and this many Emperor's Children officers watching you?"
[All According to Plan]: "I told you to stick to the plan and not screw around, didn't I?"
[All According to Plan]: "But you just had to introduce a wild card and do things off-script."
[All According to Plan]: "Now you get to face the consequences!"
[All According to Plan]: "Also, don't forget the resources our faction invested to help you secure that assistant apothecary gig under Fabius."
[All According to Plan]: "You'll be compensating the other players for that out of your own pocket with Imperial Coins later."
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe]: "..."
--
Fabius walked up to Fulgrim, slammed his right fist against his chest plate, and dropped to one knee.
His voice was low, heavy with regret and self-reproach.
"I apologize, Father."
"Our suspicions were entirely wrong."
"They truly hail from the Iron Hands Legion."
"Every test result meets the exact standards."
Fulgrim said nothing.
He simply looked down at his Chief Apothecary, a complex array of emotions flickering in his violet eyes.
Fabius received no response.
He slowly stood up, turned around, and walked toward Paul.
He stopped in front of the silver-grey figure, dropped to one knee once again, and bowed his head.
"Lord Gabriel."
"I am deeply sorry."
"I never should have doubted your identities."
His voice paused, carrying an undertone of sheer, teeth-gritting hatred.
"All of this... was the result of being misled by a treacherous little rat."
Before Fabius could even finish his sentence, a purple silhouette abruptly exploded into motion.
The speed was so blindingly fast that even the surrounding Astartes could only catch a blur.
It was Lucius.
His power sword tore through the air the very instant it left its sheath, the blade dancing with a lethal, icy gleam.
Three seconds.
It took a mere three seconds.
[Are You Sure This Melon Is Ripe] didn't even have time to let out a scream.
His body was instantly diced into seventeen or eighteen chunks of bloody meat.
Blood and fragments of internal organs splattered wildly through the night air.
His face, forever frozen in an expression of sheer terror, rolled twice across the ground before coming to a dead stop right at Fabius's feet, eyes staring blankly at nothing.
Lucius slid his sword back into its scabbard, the movement as elegant as a meticulously choreographed sword dance.
He quickly stepped up to Fulgrim, dropping to one knee and bowing his head just like Fabius had done.
"Father!"
His voice was urgent, loaded with just the perfect amount of remorse and guilt.
"This was all the doing of that traitor's instigation!"
"He was corrupted by the Laer and used that to manipulate Fabius! Fabius then came to me, which is why I ended up misunderstanding our brothers from the Iron Hands Legion!"
He looked up, his flawless face practically radiating sincerity.
"I was also at fault, please punish me, Father!"
A deathly silence fell over the camp gates.
–
In the [Wings of Freedom Regional Chat], the Chaos players were completely dumbfounded:
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Holy fucking shit????"
[I Just Like Sleeping In]: "That play by Lucius... I'm actually speechless."
[Number One Handsome of the Soul Hall]: "That speed, that efficiency, that flawless scapegoating... classic Lucius!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "That was so dirty, oh my god!!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "The guy literally just said Fabius wanted to kill him, and then Lucius beats him to the punch!!"
[Blue Pigeon Knows Nothing]: "He was terrified Fabius would do it himself and then dump all the blame onto him!!"
[Konnichiwa Slaanesh-chan]: "Lucius is a total bitch, the legends are absolutely true."
–
In the [Light of the Emperor Regional Chat], the Loyalist players were also in an uproar:
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Damn, Lucius's reaction time... I gotta respect it."
[I Eat Tomatoes]: "Dicing a guy into eighteen pieces in three seconds and then immediately pinning the blame on the corpse. That is a pro gamer move right there."
[For the Regent Yellow Guilliman]: "The problem is that the guy is actually dead now, so dead men tell no tales. Lucius gets to control the entire narrative."
[Sanguinius Is My Husband]: "Expected nothing less from Lucius. He didn't earn his reputation as Warhammer's biggest drama queen for nothing."
[Loyal Battle Sister of the Imperium]: "But I honestly feel like... that guy got off way too easy."
[Loyal Battle Sister of the Imperium]: "He should've been publicly executed."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "It's fine, he can still use the Respawn function."
[Worthy of Sanguinius's Blood]: "Once he respawns, Crimson Dawn won't let him off the hook anyway. The real fun is just getting started."
--
Paul stood exactly where he was.
He looked down at the pile of minced meat on the ground, and at that severed head with its eyes still wide open.
Then he looked up at Lucius, who was still kneeling in front of Fulgrim.
Looking at that bitch who was desperately passing the buck, putting on a show, and painting himself as a loyal warrior deceived by a treacherous rat...
He paid them no mind.
He simply raised his head and looked at the purple silhouette standing not too far away.
Fulgrim.
The Phoenician's face remained entirely expressionless.
But deep within those violet eyes, a faint glint flickered.
It was profound disappointment... at this entire pathetic farce.
Paul slowly spoke up.
His voice was cold and hard, bearing the unique metallic rasp of the Iron Hands.
"Lord Primarch."
"I wonder..."
His gaze swept over Fabius and Lucius before locking onto Fulgrim's face.
"Do you still require further verification?"
Fulgrim stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he slowly answered.
His voice was gentle, yet it carried all the natural majesty of a Primarch.
"That will not be necessary, Commander Gabriel."
He paused.
"This time... the fault lies with our Emperor's Children Legion."
"I will bear the appropriate responsibility."
"When I next see Ferrus..."
His voice took on a hint of complicated emotion.
"I will apologize to him personally."
With that, he turned around.
His purple cape traced an elegant arc through the twilight.
He strode away, his pace as unhurried as ever.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
He didn't turn back.
Only his voice, now tinged with a frigid chill, drifted back over his shoulder:
"Fabius."
"Come with me."
Looking as though he had just received a royal pardon, Fabius scrambled to his feet and followed.
His steps were quick, almost breaking into a jog to catch up with the purple figure.
Eidolon, Julius Kaesoron, and Vespasian followed right behind them.
The purple silhouettes gradually vanished into the twilight outside the Tenth Company's camp.
Lucius was still standing exactly where he was.
Because he perfectly understood the meaning behind Fulgrim's words.
Fulgrim had called Fabius away.
But he hadn't brought him along. Their Primarch Father's intent was crystal clear.
He was leaving him, the Captain of the Emperor's Children Thirteenth Company, behind to fulfill the promised... duel... with the Captain of the Iron Hands First Company.
Lucius's face looked awfully pale in the dark of the night.
He slowly turned around and looked at the silver-grey figure.
Paul was already staring at him.
There was no expression whatsoever on his cold, hard face.
But a terrifying, bone-chilling light was burning right behind his eyes.
"Lord Lucius."
Paul spoke slowly, his voice completely calm.
"Haven't you been itching to spar with me this whole time?"
He took a single step forward.
His silver-grey Terminator armor stomped against the ground, unleashing a heavy, muffled boom.
"I'm giving you that chance."
--
Next bonus at 400 Powerstones.
Wanna read ahead right now?! Join Patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO to read 20+ chapters ahead for the price of a single happy meal and support me if you wish.