"Our superhuman genes were bestowed upon us by the great Master of Mankind. You have no right to alter our genes or our appearance. This is disrespect toward the Emperor!" Nemiel argued with righteous conviction.
Even knowing that the person before him was the Lion herself, mistress of the First Legion, there were some lines that could not be crossed.
The Emperor's will came before a primarch's command.
"This is the holy water granted to us by the Emperor!" Lion declared as she vaulted over the railing, dropping from more than five meters up and landing firmly on the deck.
"Then can you swear it in the Emperor's name?!" Nemiel pressed on, watching Lion stride toward him with mounting pressure but refusing to yield.
Lion said nothing. She simply stared him down and kept walking.
"I already drank the potion, and I ended up looking like this. That proves it—this 'holy water' is a lie!" Nemiel ground out through clenched teeth.
Damn it. What holy water? I drank it and turned into a ridiculous form no different from some xenos freak. I will never accept this as a sacred gift from the Emperor!
"Then why did you drink it in the first place?" Lion shot back sharply. "And without my order, no less!"
"Well... I couldn't help myself. I took a sip too..."
A soft, hesitant voice suddenly rose from the crowd.
Everyone turned.
There stood a golden-haired, blue-eyed cat-eared knight, clutching at her chest and lower body while her black armor with red trim lay scattered around her feet.
Ahhh! So this is what happens when you drink it?!
For some of the Dark Angels, the sight of their battle-brother transformed into something so beautiful instantly lit a fire in their hearts. This was almost exactly the same form their primarch now wore.
It really was holy water.
If Nemiel's transformation had stirred doubts about its side effects, this knight's inability to resist drinking it had dispelled those doubts at once.
After all, the form it produced was nearly identical to the primarch's current appearance. That meant it was genuine. So drinking it clearly posed no problem.
If their primarch had become like this, then as her followers, ought they not become the same?
Nemiel looked at the shift in the crowd's mood and reflexively hissed.
"Lion King! Swear it! Swear that this is holy water bestowed upon us by the Emperor!"
At this point, Nemiel had given up on being reasonable and thrust his finger straight at the heart of the matter. It all came down to whether Lion dared admit it.
If it really was from the Emperor, then fine—what was there to fear? But if Lion had lied to everyone?
That was by no means impossible.
"Are you questioning me, Nemiel?!" Lion clenched her fists, fury reaching its peak. She looked as though she wanted nothing more than to smash him with one punch.
I am Lion. In this Legion, my word is law. And you dare doubt me? I am the lord of this Legion. That authority was granted to me by the Emperor Himself!
"I am loyal to the Emperor!" Nemiel answered loudly, making his position unmistakable.
After a long silence, Lion slowly relaxed her fists. She no longer paid Nemiel any mind. Instead, she raised the bottle in her hand high.
"My sons! Whether or not you drink this is your choice!"
"This is only one opportunity. There will be others in the future."
With that, Lion drained the transformation drink in one swallow.
A cloud of smoke burst around her, and in the next instant, the little girl who had been shorter than Nemiel transformed into a mature, curvaceous woman well over two meters tall.
Fortunately, primarch-grade power armor possessed adaptive functions. Despite the sudden surge in height and build, the armor held and reconfigured itself without issue.
A fine piece of forge world engineering.
At the sight of Lion's dramatic transformation, and of the sacred aura now radiating from her like the Emperor Himself, the last traces of doubt vanished from the crowd.
Then let it be for the Emperor's sake that we drink it!
Of course, there were some who quietly thought that the smaller Lion had been cuter, and that this current Lion... did not suit their tastes at all.
Without anyone quite noticing, a new fracture quietly formed within the endlessly complicated Dark Angels Legion.
"No..."
"No, you mustn't!"
Nemiel raised his voice again. "You must not surrender so easily! We must go to the Emperor first and confirm it before anyone drinks!"
He was no longer doubting the holy water itself, nor did he believe it to be harmful, but—
Using the Emperor's name to deceive them was wrong.
"Nemiel! Are you provoking me?!" Lion's voice, now more mature, carried even greater menace than before.
This time, she truly wanted him dead. This was no longer about the plan. It had become a matter of her absolute authority and standing within the Legion.
If I let him contradict me again and again and do nothing, how am I supposed to maintain my rule over this Legion?
Where does that leave a primarch's dignity?
"Lion King! I honor you! But... I cannot accept a false command!"
"This is not the Emperor's will!"
"Something has definitely gone wrong!"
"I beg you, Lion—think again!"
Though Nemiel did not fully understand what was happening, he keenly sensed that the Midnight Lords were involved somehow. Otherwise, how could this so-called holy water have suddenly appeared?
More importantly, ever since Lion had set foot on the Midnight Lords' homeworld, she had been acting stranger and stranger. Something had clearly gone terribly wrong.
Some vile thing must have possessed Lion and turned her into this.
"Nemiel! Withdraw your words! That is an order!"
A cloud of smoke erupted from Lion's body, and in the next instant, the mature, full-bodied version of her vanished, replaced once more by her smaller form. Though only her size had changed, the sheer weight of her authority seemed to drop with it.
At the same time, however, a portion of the knights' emotions surged instantly.
Ahhh! This is the Lion King we adore!
"This is your last chance!"
"I am the lord of this Legion! You have neither the right nor the standing to question any decision I make!" Lion could tolerate Nemiel no longer.
In the past, had Nemiel dared say even half this much, he would have died long ago. The only reason he was still alive now was because Lion herself had changed.
She did not want to kill a son whose only crime was misguided loyalty to the Emperor. That would be unfair to Nemiel, and it would also chill the hearts of her other sons.
This time, Lion swore to rule through virtue. She would not be a tyrant-lion again.
"I... I..."
Faced with her threat, Nemiel hissed again.
"I'm going to Holy Terra to ask the Emperor myself!"
Utter foolishness.
The killing intent that had been clawing at Lion's restraint finally crushed her reason. She raised her fist and swung straight for Nemiel's head.
If he refused to value his own life, then so be it.
There was no place in her Legion for those who questioned her.
"Stop."
A holy, resonant voice rang out.
Warm light flooded the entire gathering hall, spreading outward with strange psychic waves.
In that instant, everyone understood who had come. The Terran-born Astartes who had been keeping a low profile were the first to drop to both knees before the high platform, like believers kneeling before a god.
"F-Father?!" Lion's fist halted just shy of Nemiel's face. One inch farther, and she would have killed the rebellious son where he stood.
She spun around at once and looked up.
A towering giant bathed in golden light stood above them like a beacon—holy, majestic, impossible not to kneel before.
Ahhh! It is the glorious Master of Mankind!
He has come down to stand among us!
"You have done well, my child."
The Emperor looked down at Lion and Nemiel alike, then gave a small nod of approval.
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 115)
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 (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
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 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
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