Faced with the governor's sudden assault,
Horus—already fully alert—did not hesitate for even an instant.
He swung his power sword in a decisive counterattack.
The moment their weapons met,
the psychic energies of both combatants triggered a violent chain reaction among the surrounding atoms.
Invisible shockwaves erupted outward,
carrying with them searing clouds of flame that expanded from the point of impact.
Heat intense enough to liquefy steel instantly swept across the chamber—
but to the two engaged in combat, such environmental effects were little more than a breeze.
Their movements did not slow.
Their judgment did not falter.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds—thousands—of blows were exchanged.
The sheer force of their swings created air currents sharp enough to become slicing wind blades, tearing apart anything nearby.
The waves of heat they unleashed resembled the detonation of countless nuclear warheads, turning the surroundings into a blazing inferno.
It was as though they were dueling inside the heart of a star.
For the governor—now transformed by Chaos—
every swing of his blade sent a surge of intoxicating strength through his body.
His long-ingrained cowardice vanished without a trace, replaced by manic exhilaration.
A lifelong glutton, he had never experienced the joy of unrestrained combat. Yet simply by holding the Calamity Blade, he felt limitless power flooding through him, and battle instincts he had never learned became second nature.
Even Horus—whom he once feared like a god—
felt suddenly within reach.
Bitterness twisted his expression.
Why were YOU chosen instead of me?
Fueled by jealousy, each of his blows grew heavier than the last.
Under the dual blessings of the God of Growth and the God of War,
his strength surged endlessly,
his skill increasing at a terrifying rate.
Horus sensed this immediately.
Blocking the governor's strikes was becoming increasingly difficult.
Both the force and technique behind the attacks were evolving with every passing second.
A cold warning surged through him.
This must end quickly.
With that conclusion, Horus made his move.
A sudden turn of the blade—
a sharp twist of his entire body—
and at an impossible angle he hooked the Calamity Blade upward, severing the governor's hand in the process.
The corrupted weapon fell—
and Horus finally allowed himself the smallest breath of relief.
Raising his power sword, he moved to finish the fight—
But in that same instant—
Before his eyes, a grotesque arm wrapped in tangled intestines burst out from the governor's swollen abdomen.
The arm shot forward with unnatural speed,
catching the falling Calamity Blade in mid-air.
A heartbeat later—
as Horus's sword cleaved off the governor's head—
the corrupted blade punched through Horus's armor and stabbed deep into his body.
Chaos flooded him.
A tidal wave of Warp energy roared into his flesh and soul, unstoppable and overwhelming.
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Horus! I've won!"
The governor's severed head rolled across the temple floor as his massive corpse collapsed with a wet crash.
Blood and organ matter spilled out,
filling the chamber with choking stench.
Horus had no time to spare for the man's final ravings.
Suppressing his worsening wounds, he noticed something inside his body—
structures that were… not human.
Organs that should not exist in any human anatomy.
'How…?'
'Why does my body look like this?'
He had always assumed that as a Primarch, he was merely a perfected form of humanity.
But now—seeing what lay beneath his skin—
he felt doubt for the first time.
'Am I even human at all?'
As confusion spread, a violent dizziness overtook him.
Horus collapsed.
At that moment, space and time snapped back into their original form.
To Abaddon and the others, it appeared as though Horus had stepped into the temple only moments earlier—
and immediately stumbled out, drenched in blood.
Panicked, the Sons of Horus dragged their Warmaster away from the structure.
Within the Realm of His Consciousness
Horus found himself witnessing visions:
The Emperor negotiating with the Chaos Gods.
The exchange—half of his future sons traded for their assistance.
The true purpose behind the Primarch Project.
The brutal end of the Thunder Warriors,
who had once helped the Emperor conquer Terra.
The subtle divisions deliberately sown between the Primarchs—
preparations for a future purge.
Countless truths unfolded before him in third-person clarity.
Horus's expression shifted from disbelief… to silence.
Finally, he asked:
"What do you want from me?"
Even though the beings had not yet appeared,
he already knew who orchestrated all of this.
A woman's voice—soft, amused—echoed through his mind.
"For all your sacrifices, the Emperor has only ever viewed you and your sons as tools—
means to revive human civilization."
"And from the very beginning…
he already planned the purge."
"You're angry, aren't you?
We can help you take your revenge."
"And the price?"
A translucent avian head manifested before him, replying:
"Your allegiance. Or rather—your return of what was always ours. The Emperor intended to cheat us."
As it spoke, four additional figures appeared—
five Chaos Gods in total.
Horus stared at them in silence,
momentarily confused as to why there were now five, when the Emperor had originally bargained with four.
Even so, he asked the question burning in his mind:
"One thing… Are we Primarchs even considered human?"
The God of Life, Nurgle, answered with calm authority:
"When you were created, vast amounts of Warp-matter were woven into your being. Aside from your outward appearance,
you have almost nothing in common with humanity."
"I see…"
"Then all these years… all our efforts…
were for the sake of a species
we don't even belong to…"
....
🔥 Can't wait for the next chapter? Read ahead! 🔥
If you're loving the story, you can unlock 140+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS right now for just $4/month on my Patreon! Not only do you get a massive backlog to binge-read, but you also directly support my daily translation work. ❤️
👇 Grab your early access here:
🔗 [patreon.com/user?u=79514336]
(Or simply search for Translator-Sama on Patreon!)