"Good! Come with me!" Rhodes nodded, leading the Custodian to the basement.
Yapool had already started cultivating the Emperor's avatar's flesh, with daily psychic infusions from the avatar.
Now it was ready for fusion, and the Custodian would soon be as strong as a Primarch.
Rhodes planned to train this Custodian, imprisoned for ten thousand years, and have him vie for the Custodian Captain-General position—very beneficial for Rhodes.
"Lord Rhodes, it's an honor for the Imperium to have a Primarch like you. You're not like the arrogant ones—I've met them, and they're all prideful," the Custodian said.
He liked Rhodes a lot—he had some airs, but compared to other Primarchs, he was much more approachable, even to civilians.
"Hahaha! I look forward to you getting stronger and teaching your juniors a lesson when you return to the Imperium," Rhodes said.
"I can tell you don't think much of my juniors. Looks like the Custodians have gone astray after ten thousand years. I'll fix that," the Custodian said.
The Imperium had become everything they once hated. That had to change.
"By the way, after all this time, I still don't know your name! What is it?" Rhodes asked.
"Lord Rhodes, my name is very long—hundreds of characters.
You can call me Custodian, or give me a new name. You saved me—you have that right," the Custodian said.
Every Custodian's name is absurdly long, so he always lets Rhodes call him Custodian. But since he was being renamed, Rhodes could add a new one.
"How about 'Ultraman'?" Rhodes said, suddenly struck by mischief.
From now on, every Custodian I upgrade will be named after an Ultra—Seven, Zoffy, Jack, Taro! The Land of Light gangster legacy must continue!
"Ultraman? Sure. I'll have that name engraved on my armor," the Custodian—now Ultraman—said.
It must mean something special. Since a Primarch gave it, he'd keep it.
Soon, they arrived in the basement, where Yapool and Balt were waiting; the huge ultra-beast fusion machine was ready.
"Go on, just walk into the machine. Don't resist—it'll be over soon," said Yapool.
This fusion was perfect—the Custodian already had Zetton muscle tissue, and his own body was maxed out. He'd been strengthened to the human limit.
"Do I need to remove my armor?" Ultraman asked.
"No, just go in."
Ultraman nodded and entered the fusion machine. Balt placed some cloned Emperor's avatar flesh inside, and the experiment began.
Rhodes nodded for Yapool to start the machine. Tons of red extradimensional energy crystals were injected, and the fusion began.
Red light shone, and Ultraman's body changed, merging with the avatar's flesh. Golden light filled the chamber, and vast amounts of extradimensional energy were consumed.
Hundreds of tons were burned through in moments before the fusion stabilized—a huge golden figure slowly formed.
"This time we used parts from the Ace killer—very rich in psychic energy, perfect for humans, and won't alter his humanity," said Yapool.
That mysterious Emperor was truly powerful—his psychic presence even changed the Ace killer's nature.
He kept all the Ace killer's abilities but was human.
"Should we add anything else? Other monster parts to boost his power?" Rhodes asked.
"No, Master! Adding more would destabilize the fusion. He already has Zetton muscle, and I've given him beam powers. The Ace killer grants flight, space survival, and energy attacks.
If we added more, we'd need even more energy, and our supply is precious," Yapool said.
Ultra-beasts can't be mass-produced—even with the energy they'd borrowed, making a single ultra-beast took months' worth of energy.
Each ultra-beast slot was precious.
And even ultra-beasts, while approaching super lifeform status, were ultimately biological weapons—their souls weren't strengthened. They couldn't match true super lifeforms like cosmic phantom beasts.
Yapool explained how precious extradimensional energy was—enough for maybe 7-10 ultra-beasts, total.
So, they could never mass-produce them, or they'd have made millions and destroyed the Land of Light.
And Yapool was the last of his kind—a fusion of all Yapoolians.
Their true bodies were human-sized—the giant form was all their souls and resentment combined, hence their resurrection powers.
"I understand. I won't waste any more slots. I'll use them wisely," Rhodes said.
While they chatted, the fusion inside was completed. Ultraman emerged: a 66-meter-tall, 60,000-ton ultra-beast.
This fusion used over 2,000 tons of energy, months' worth for Yapool.
"Master, with over 2,000 tons used, this ultra-beast will be truly powerful.
Last time, even the Dreadnought veteran only took a few hundred tons," Yapool said excitedly.
Ultraman emerged, golden armor shining, resembling a gigantic Custodian more than the Emperor's avatar—a giant Custodian!
"How do you feel, Ultraman?" Rhodes asked.
"I feel incredibly strong, Lord Rhodes. Unimaginably strong," said the ultra-beast Ultraman.
He felt boundless power like he could punch out an Emperor-class Titan, fly, and fire all sorts of beams.
"Good! Now try shrinking back to your original size," Rhodes said.
As an ultra-beast, Rhodes had the highest authority over him—even higher than the Emperor.
From now on, you're the Emperor's Chosen Custodian! You'll be the Captain-General—makes sense, right?
Golden light flashed, and the giant shrank back to 3.3 meters.
"Excellent! Get used to your new power. I'm looking forward to your performance on Baal's battlefield—you're a true space combat unit now," Rhodes said.
"I understand, Lord! I won't let you down," Ultraman replied.
…
The next few days were peaceful. The Space Sharks all came aboard to get new gene-seed and Primaris upgrades.
Meanwhile, Guilliman sent word: Space Sharks Chapter Master Tyberos was on his way with all his men.
After a few more days in the warp, Rhodes' fleet finally emerged into the war-torn Baal system.
Thousands of Tyranid hive ships filled the entire system.