This servant of Tzeentch quietly began to weave its wicked spells.
Invisible psychic tendrils spread like a spider’s web, carefully gathering, purifying, and amplifying the despair, regret, and self-denial radiating from the hundreds of Ultramarines…
This warped and intensified negative energy began to act like a chisel, slowly and painstakingly prying open the fragile barrier between reality and the Warp.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Under normal circumstances, even in death, the Ultramarines possessed an ironclad will, never believing for a single moment that they had done anything wrong.
Yet at this very moment, in the presence of their deeply revered Gene-Father, they had lowered all their mental defenses to confess sincerely.
This, ironically, became their most fatal weakness!
*Crack…*
A faint, nearly imperceptible sound of fracturing echoed across the bedrock of reality.
An extremely minute Warp rift, virtually impossible for ordinary instruments to detect, was forcibly pried open!
Although the Daemon of Tzeentch exerted all its might, it could only manage to open this negligible sliver.
But this was more than enough for it to project a sliver of its essence like an insidious virus, pinpointing a perfect vessel—
—none other than Leandros, whose emotions were the most turbulent and whose mental defenses were at their weakest!
A conflicted, pain-ridden Ultramarines Chaplain?
Was there any breeding ground more perfect for sowing chaos and deceit?
At this moment, Guilliman was focused on comforting his sons:
“…Yes, you were indeed in the wrong. But, my children, if recognizing an error causes you to waver indefinitely, or even believe that everything you once did—and indeed your very selves—are wrong, then that is sheer cowardice! You are the Emperor’s Angels, the sons of Guilliman! You should follow me and wage war across the galaxy! Even if you have erred, seek atonement! And once you have atoned, die a glorious death in battle!”
With an infectious smile on his face and a voice like a booming bell, he sought to rally his sons’ morale.
“Follow me, my children! Follow me always! I shall bear witness to your glory! I shall shoulder your mistakes! In this universe, there is only one person who has no right to blame you, and that is me, your father! No father would truly blame his own children!”
These words were like blazing sunlight, instantly dispersing most of the gloom in the warriors’ hearts.
Countless Ultramarines shed tears of joy, shouting fanatically at Guilliman, “Gene-Father!” “Father!”
His heart, once heavy with guilt, felt as though it had been injected with a new, warm, and fulfilling strength.
*How blessed I am to be Father’s son!*
Yet at the exact instant his mind was most impassioned and his defenses were most relaxed—
—that invisible, deceptive psychic mark from the Daemon of Tzeentch slithered silently into the depths of his soul like a slimy serpent, anchoring itself there!
Guilliman smiled, feeling the reignited passion and devotion of his sons surrounding him.
He was about to speak further when his acute perception—fused with Viltrumite Smart Atoms and inheriting a portion of a Primarch’s Warp-touched nature—suddenly picked up something.
He caught a highly elusive note of discordance that absolutely did not belong to the material universe.
The “flow” of space suffered a minor disruption, a sensation akin to Warp corruption attempting to seep through!
*Though I’m not sure if I can still awaken the original Guilliman’s full Warp nature after this fusion…* Guilliman’s thoughts spun rapidly.
*…I should still have inherited some of a Primarch’s natural Warp affinity and resistance.
Combined with the Viltrumite Smart Atoms…*
His gaze sharpened, sweeping over his surroundings like a hawk, before landing tangibly on Leandros, who had been the most emotional just moments ago.
*Well then…
time to put it to the test.*
Guilliman sneered inwardly.
*Can my Smart Atoms—a power originating from the physical pinnacle of a material universe, yet carrying a somewhat conceptual nature—affect you wretched denizens of the Warp?!*
He remembered clearly that in the *Invincible* universe, Viltrumites possessed an extremely high resistance even to Earth’s mystical magic!
Smart Atoms essentially represented “all-around versatility” and “invincibility,” acting as a conceptual force capable of adapting to and overcoming all kinds of supernatural powers.
A Viltrumite’s combat power was closely tied to their mental state, such as emotions and sheer will.
And the power of the Warp, as it happened, was also born of the mind!
Countless whispering voices, distorted and fragmented, echoed in his ears as if innumerable cold needles were probing his consciousness.
He was familiar with this sensation; when he had first become a Space Marine and his mind was not yet as unyielding as steel, Warp fiends would often whisper temptations in his ear.
To daemons, the Emperor’s Angels were highly tempting and valuable prey.
But after he became a Chaplain through his unshakeable faith, his will had become impenetrable.
Those whispers had gradually dissipated as his psychic fortitude grew and his convictions solidified.
Today, however, at his most vulnerable moment, when he was overwhelmed by guilt, the sickening whispers returned—clearer and more malicious than ever before!
He felt an indescribable weakness, as though his soul were being corroded by something cold and viscous.
A massive shadow loomed over him—not physical, but a crushing pressure upon his mind.
Struggling to raise his head, he saw the exceptionally stern face of his Gene-Father.
He opened his mouth, wanting to warn his father to watch out for Warp corruption.
But Guilliman’s massive hand had already pressed down onto his head, ruffling his hair with an unquestionable, warm strength.
The feeling…
was like a distant memory from when he was still an ordinary human child.
It felt just like his biological father, whose face had long since blurred, placing a comforting hand on his forehead when he was sick and miserable.
Strangely, Leandros felt his dizziness fade significantly.
The maddening whispers in his ears seemed to be blocked by a barrier, becoming faint and distant.
“To dare tear open reality right in front of me, and even think to possess my son…” Guilliman spoke in a deep voice.
It wasn’t loud, yet it carried a fury that made the very space around them tremble.
“You’ve got some nerve!”