"That guy is no good, Rhodes. Back in the day, I was framed and corrupted by him," Horus said grimly.
If Logar is a good person, then what does that make Horus? A clown? If it weren't for that bastard, he wouldn't have fallen for the scheme back then!
"It's not as simple as you think, Rhodes. Logar is nothing like Magnus. He's a fanatic worshiper of the gods—he only follows those stronger than himself! He'll only follow you if you're willing to be his god. The Ecclesiarchy has been using his scriptures, but some content has still been modified," Guilliman explained.
Only the Primarchs knew the full truth. The destruction of the Monarchia was a sealed chapter in Imperial history. How did Rhodes even learn about it? Did the Emperor tell him?
In fact, the Emperor himself was puzzled. He never told Rhodes anything about Logar—not even a word.
The Ecclesiarchy's current scriptures were indeed unearthed through archaeology. The founders of the Ecclesiarchy believed them to be divine gifts from the Emperor. In reality, they were written by Logar. Though the Monarchia was destroyed, these texts were secretly preserved.
To be honest, without these scriptures, the Emperor would never have become so powerful. He suspected Guilliman might have told Rhodes on Macragge; after all, Guilliman participated in the annihilation of the Monarchia.
"Maybe we can give him a chance—see if he'd be willing to return and lead the Ecclesiarchy. The Emperor's situation is different now; he needs humanity's faith more than ever," Rhodes suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Guilliman, Magnus, Horus, Sanguinius, Lion El'Jonson, and Vulkan all shook their heads firmly.
On the Golden Throne, the Emperor fell silent. No one knew better than him how fervently Logar worshiped him. Back then, the Emperor sought to sever humanity's ties to the gods—he could never become a god himself, only a monarch of men.
But now, sitting on the Golden Throne and suppressing the Dark King to save the universe from destruction, humanity truly needed the Ecclesiarchy's support.
The miracles performed by the Sisters of Battle on the battlefield weren't a one-off. Most of the Emperor's Living Saints came from the Sisters of Battle. The Cursed Legions were made up of fallen but valiant Imperial soldiers, mainly Astartes.
"Rather than persuading Logar to return, why not try reviving Ferrus Manus?" Lion El'Jonson suggested.
None of the Primarchs liked Logar. If any Primarch should be revived next, Ferrus Manus was the best candidate.
Logar was only good at preaching and founding sects; his combat ability was at the bottom among Primarchs. Even Guilliman, before Rhodes enhanced him, could beat Logar easily, and Logar was also a notorious coward.
Ferrus Manus, on the other hand, was popular, steady, and among the top in combat strength.
"Father! Lion is right. Ferrus Manus should be revivable, right? You still have his soul, don't you?" Sanguinius asked.
"Ferrus Manus's soul is indeed here, but his situation is different from yours. He was utterly killed by Fulgrim," the Emperor said.
Ferrus Manus had volunteered to join the Cursed Legion, gaining a warp body to help the Emperor fight. Reviving him was just as difficult as reviving Sanguinius.
Perhaps the perfect resurrection method Rhodes once mentioned could be used, but the Emperor would rather use that chance on his own Regent, Malcador.
"We'll discuss this later. My children, it's time for you to deal with the Void Dragon," the Emperor said.
He planned to discuss this with Rhodes privately later. The Emperor was uneasy that so many things now depended on Rhodes. Once, it was the Emperor himself that held the Imperium together.
Rhodes was strong now, but compared to the Emperor at his prime, he was still lacking—especially in psychic power. As for physical strength, Rhodes surpassed him, but as an immortal, the Emperor could still hold his own.
"Alright, let's get started. I'll have Tartarus move the Void Dragon, and the rest of us will clean up the Martian traitors," Rhodes said.
At this point, it was clear who was loyal to the Emperor and who had rebelled—they could be purged.
"Be careful! Remember, do not use any technological items when fighting the Void Dragon. Only rely on the power of your cosmic beast forms!" the Emperor warned.
The main reason for this assault was that all the Primarchs, after fusing with cosmic beasts, could use their powers to manifest personalized power armor and weapons, and unleash elemental and psychic attacks.
If you relied solely on technology, no matter how advanced, it was useless against the Void Dragon. When the Emperor won in the past, it was because he limited the Void Dragon—humans had no technology back then, only primitive ironworking.
This allowed the Emperor to use powerful psychic powers, which were more effective.
Everyone nodded, then collectively transformed into their cosmic beast forms and, led by Rhodes, headed to the battlefield.
In the void, Tartarus waved his hand to open a golden portal, teleporting Rhodes and the Primarchs through it.
He then appeared above Mars, radiating golden light so intense that his face was hidden.
Upon seeing the golden-armored giant floating in the sky, all the Sisters of Battle, Space Marines, and loyalist Ecclesiarchy guards burst into excitement.
"By the Emperor!"
"Look, warriors! The Emperor watches us! How can we not win for him?"
"For the Emperor! Destroy the enemies of the Imperium!" roared the leading Sister Superior, firing her bolter at the traitors.
Other human forces were equally inspired.
"No, impossible. The Emperor sits on the Golden Throne. That can't be him," said a Mechanicus Magos, 96% machine.
"Haven't you heard of the Emperor's avatars? He appeared at Cadia, at the gates of Holy Terra! We're not far from Terra—the Custodes will arrive soon. Traitors, you're doomed!" a Space Marine declared.
Many Space Marines training on Mars were from Rhodes' own legion. Rhodes had divided his legion into chapters and brigades; each chapter sent Marines to Mars for training as future tech-sergeants.
Tartarus, floating in the sky, sneered and began to gather immense power in his hand.
A golden light, interlaced with lightning, illuminated all of Mars' sky—this was Tartarus's ultimate move, Absolute Annihilation. He could adjust its power at will; at full strength, he could shatter a planet, or at minimum, not even harm a super being.
"ROAR!" The Void Dragon on Mars's surface sensed the threat, shrinking its massive form to a hundred meters tall and charging a silver energy sphere in its mouth.
"Absolute Annihilation!" Tartarus shouted, unleashing countless golden lightning bolts.
The Void Dragon spat out its silver energy sphere. The gold and silver energies clashed in space, generating a shockwave that blew all mortals on the planet away. Those closer were ejected into space itself. The golden lightning quickly overwhelmed the silver energy.
The golden lightning struck the Void Dragon hard, making this C'tan fragment scream in agony.
Tartarus pressed the attack, firing a golden shockwave from his palm, lifting the Void Dragon off Mars and opening a giant golden portal.
"ROAR! How dare you wound me? I'll kill you!" the Void Dragon roared at the golden giant.
Since the dawn of the universe, it had never seen such a golden being. What was this thing?
"Your opponent isn't me. Now, please go to your designated battlefield!" Tartarus sneered, hurling the Void Dragon through the golden portal and sealing it.
On Mars, the Mechanicus traitors who had followed the Void Dragon were stunned.
Seriously? Their boss was dealt with so quickly? From start to finish, their leader had been suppressed by this golden being. Was the Emperor truly this powerful?
"Traitors, prepare for the Emperor's judgment! You must pay for your crimes!"
"Face the Emperor's wrath!"
Countless Sisters of Battle and Space Marines roared, charging the Martian traitors.
With the Void Dragon gone, Tartarus opened another giant golden portal, anchoring it on Mars' surface.
Marching out from the portal were squads of Custodes in golden armor, wielding enormous weapons.
"The symbol of the Emperor is here!"
The Custodes' arrival greatly boosted loyalist morale. For the traitors, it was a disaster.
After the Custodes, black-armored Dark Angels emerged—veterans of millennia, though only some had received the new Astartes upgrades, most were still original pattern Marines. Even so, they were more than enough to deal with the Martian traitors.
"By the order of the Emperor, all Martian Mechanicus traitors are sentenced to death," announced Custodes Captain Ultraman.
"For the Emperor! Destroy the traitors!"
The Custodes charged, weapons at the ready. Their orders were clear—purge all traitors, protect the survivors among the loyal Mechanicus, Sisters, and Marines.
For the first time in millennia, the Custodes marched from Holy Terra to intervene on a foreign battlefield.
The lead Custodes suddenly grew, transforming into 60-meter-tall giants, unleashing energy blasts at the traitors.
In moments, the Martian traitors were thrown into chaos and suffered heavy losses.
"No! Don't kill us, mighty Custodes! We surrender! This wasn't our intention. We were deceived by the so-called Omnissiah—he's no god, but a monstrous Xenos!" Some Mechanicus Magi who had surrendered to the Void Dragon quickly switched sides.
"We accept your surrender, but even in surrender, you must be judged by the Emperor. You will be destroyed," the Custodes replied. Such turncoats had no right to return to the Golden Throne.
With Custodes and Dark Angels joining the fight, the battle became a slaughter. Martian traitors fell in droves.
…
Meanwhile, in a red giant system hundreds of light-years from Terra, the Void Dragon and the Primarchs were teleported in.
Everyone had grown to gigantic size, wrapped in cosmic beast armor.
"I'll lead the charge!" Sanguinius, ahead of Lion, spread his golden wings, flames roaring around him, and rushed at the Void Dragon with his greatsword.
The Void Dragon snorted, swinging its massive fists to meet Sanguinius.
The Void Dragon was strong, but against a super-being and a god of order, it was evenly matched at first.