While Ian and the Emperor were pummeling the four gods, Guilliman encountered his own opponent on another front.
His cold gaze was locked tightly onto the entity across from him: Magnus, the Primarch who had ascended to daemonhood after betraying the Empire ten thousand years ago. Even the normally steady and rational Guilliman could not suppress the rage smoldering in his chest at the sight of him.
He now knew every detail of the Horus Heresy. The decay of the Imperium of Man was a "masterpiece" to which this former "brother"—Magnus—had undoubtedly contributed. If not for that utterly foolish psychic communication, if not for his refusal to stop his forbidden private research into the warp, and if not for his lack of accountability in choosing betrayal, the Imperium would not be the shattered, divided ruin it was today.
Not to mention the countless losses Magnus and his Thousand Sons Legion had inflicted upon humanity over the past ten thousand years after throwing themselves into the filthy embrace of the Warp. How many worlds had screamed in the fires of their sorcery? How many loyal warriors had perished due to their conspiracies and schemes?
Magnus, however, appeared unusually leisurely. He even had the mind to greet Guilliman.
"Hello, my 'loyal' brother to the False Emperor, Roboute Guilliman." His voice carried unabashed mockery. "I wonder, after sleeping for ten thousand years, has that motionless body of yours completely rusted away?"
Magnus felt not a shred of tension. Some time ago, deep within the Warp, he had sensed the Emperor's awakening and the suffocating, oppressive presence of Ian. He admitted he had panicked then; it was a shiver that originated from the depths of his soul.
Following that, he observed the armies of the Imperium expanding like a tide. Lost territories were reclaimed at a lightning pace. He had initially intended to lead his twisted progeny and daemon servants to offer a "greeting" and obstruct this false renaissance. However, Tzeentch had stopped him. The Master of Change revealed to him the power of the New God as shown in their prophecies, along with the "decision" made by the Dark Gods of the Warp.
The plan was—laissez-faire. They would simply let the Imperium of Man reclaim its lost lands. Magnus found this incomprehensible, but he could not defy Tzeentch's command. Moreover, an ominous premonition constantly haunted his mind like a maggot on a bone.
He soon discovered he could no longer easily glimpse the countless possibilities of the future as he once did. The threads of fate had become blurred. Later, Magnus "witnessed" that inconceivable scene: The Great Devourer, the avatar of infinite hunger and the Warp shadow of the Tyranid Hive Mind, had been solved by the Imperium's New God with casual ease. It was a power he could not understand, a power he had never even heard of. He vaguely sensed that this force transcended the Dark Gods of the Warp—it transcended everything he knew!
At that moment, his panic intensified. He retreated, not daring to show even a trace of himself in the material universe, hiding back in the deepest burrows of the Warp like a frightened beast.
However, after seeing the reinforcements the four gods of this universe had summoned from parallel universes—a total of twelve Dark Gods—Magnus's heart was completely at ease. He truly could not imagine anything that could survive the combined might of twelve Dark Gods. With such power, the mere Imperium of Man could be extinguished with a flick of a finger. That fledgling deity and the False God of the Imperium would both meet their final end!
With such crushing strength on his side, Magnus really didn't see how they could lose. Victory was assured! Consequently, Magnus's mood became increasingly pleasant. Facing the fuming Guilliman now, he even felt like making a few harmless jokes.
Sure enough, Guilliman seemed easily provoked. That eternal poker face finally showed signs of change. Holding a power sword burning with an energy field, Guilliman charged straight at him like an enraged bull!
Magnus watched the charging Guilliman, a flicker of nearly imperceptible mockery crossing his single eye. It seemed his brother was still the same as ten thousand years ago, favoring a reckless, brutish style of combat. A disdainful smile curled on Magnus's lips.
In his eyes, Guilliman's movements were full of openings, incapable of causing him any real harm. He didn't even bother to move, merely waving a hand casually.
Psychic power surged. A viscous, twisting energy field instantly formed in front of him. Guilliman's charging silhouette suddenly faltered, as if he had run into an invisible swamp. His movements became sluggish and difficult. This was one of the countless new psychic spells Magnus had meticulously researched during his ten thousand years in the Warp—a spell specifically designed to deal with "brothers" like Guilliman who only understood muscle and brute force.
Watching Guilliman struggle in vain, Magnus felt immense joy. He began to taunt him slowly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "My brother... it seems ten thousand years of sitting idle has not only rusted your body, but your brain seems less sharp than before as well." He shook his head as if looking at an ignorant child. "Your way of fighting is so childish it's laughable. I feel as though I'm merely humoring a toddler."
Just as Magnus was savoring the pleasure of toying with his opponent, a world-shaking roar erupted without warning from behind him!
"Silence!"
Huh?! Alarm bells rang wildly in Magnus's mind. What was going on? Had Guilliman's charge been nothing but a ruse? A bait? Was the real attack hidden behind him all along?
As that cry of "Silence," imbued with a strange power, rang out, Magnus felt the rushing psychic circuits within his body instantly become a chaotic mess! It felt as if they were being forcibly scrambled by a massive, invisible hand! The various psychic spells he had prepared in advance to handle any situation were all brutally interrupted in that single moment!
Sizzle!
A massive amount of blinding psychic arcs erupted from his body like out-of-control fireworks. Then, following the total chaos of his psychic energy, tiny but violent psychic explosions began to go off one after another inside and on the surface of his body like a chain reaction.
The current Ge, who had undergone a complete transformation and an explosion in strength, was dealing with these psychic beings who were around his level—or perhaps even slightly inferior. It was practically a dimensional strike! His ability was naturally the nemesis of those who toyed with psychic power!
This was going to be a total, absolute crushing!