Chapter 650

The crimson giant arm shattered the veil of reality, surging forth with psychic energy akin to a warp stream.

The force of the attack pushed the Xukong shield of the Glory Queen-class battleship Red Tear to its absolute limit, nearly shattering it.

Golden light surged from the blood-tear-shaped prow of the Red Tear, and two angels—one red, one gold—flew out circling the ship.

Saint Guilliman’s figure materialized atop the prow, his white wings trembling gently as they collided with the crimson arm, wreathed in pure, blazing radiance.

The cry of reality echoed as wings woven from red, blue, and over nine thousand shifting hues unfurled; his scarlet, battle-hardened body, drenched in sweat, glowed like a dark ruby in the void.

“So muscles on wings can be trained too!?”

Magnus stared as Saint Guilliman blocked his own hardened arm with his wings, and he exclaimed in awe:

He realized then that his training had been incomplete—he had neglected the possibility of training the wings behind him.

“No wonder you’re my brother!” Magnus burst into laughter, flashing his bright, even teeth, and gave Saint Guilliman a thumbs-up.

Saint Guilliman hovered in the void, gazing at Magnus blocking his path, and his lips moved slightly as he voiced his confusion:

“His control over you has weakened considerably. Why aren’t you back on your steroid planet working out? What are you doing here stopping me?”

Saint Guilliman’s words left Magnus silent for a fleeting instant; the muscle-bound Primarch’s smile vanished in that same moment.

“I have sons. I have family.”

“I want them all to be able to freely take their meds.”

Magnus replied as if answering nothing at all:

“Sorry, brother. Someone like you, who can freely take meds, probably can’t understand.”

“We can only take what our coach allows.”

Saint Guilliman lowered his gaze in pity, the Spear of Lamentation resting lightly before him like a tear; all his emotions condensed into a soft sigh:

“Of us all, you are the one most entangled by fate.”

“Probably because I have low drug tolerance,” Magnus continued with his usual non sequitur.

The two Primarchs seemed to be conversing, yet they were clearly not on the same wavelength.

Eventually, all words faded, leaving only spears, silver swords, and the roar of muscle.

“Nine Birds Pull the Coffin! Hundred Birds Needle Technique! Three Million Muscles Spinning!!!”

Magnus’s crimson muscles swelled as if filled with water, crashing toward Saint Guilliman’s face with greater mass and force than the Red Tear itself.

Saint Guilliman met the blow with his Spear of Lamentation; crimson blood sprayed from Magnus’s arm, scattering through the void.

Merely witnessing that blood caused even the Astartes and Necrons present to feel a sudden, agonizing muscle ache.

“Prospero Gym No. 2! Assemble!” Magnus roared in battle cry.

With his other hand, he clenched the air violently—space tore open, and a wave of Red Word warriors surged forth like a blue tide, rushing toward the Red Tear and Saint Guilliman.

Saint Guilliman thrust his spear at one of the Red Word warriors—but then he froze. The texture of flesh??

The Red Word warriors’ armor had once contained only dust and unconscious souls; now, that dust had partially reformed into muscle—no organs, no brain, no bones—only muscle.

Magnus had truly trained the Red Word warriors to grow muscle.

That moment of hesitation exposed Saint Guilliman’s opening; Magnus’s boundless muscular force slammed straight into his face, twisting and warping his beautiful features.

Saint Guilliman’s expression shifted, and dark, profound, mad imagery emerged—out of his body stepped a Dark Angel, wielding the Sword of Crimson, wreathed in boundless demonic power, driving straight into Magnus’s ribs, aimed at his heart.

“Incredible! You’ve trained yourself to grow another set of muscles!”

“But I’m no slouch—I’ve trained every inch of my body into muscle. I have no internal organs left!”

As he spoke, Magnus reached out, seized the Dark Angel’s head, and hurled it far away with a violent toss.

Saint Guilliman seized the opening, driving his Spear of Lamentation toward Magnus’s neck.

But Magnus turned his head and clamped down on the spearhead with his teeth—hard.

At the same time, Magnus yanked the chain wrapped around his hand; the massive Book of Magnus hanging at his waist swung like a meteor hammer.

The Book of Magnus had changed drastically from its former form: its pages were now blank, but its cover was forged from extraordinarily dense metal, its ramming tip sharpened to a blade, hurtling straight for Saint Guilliman’s temple.

Saint Guilliman swiftly retreated, dodging the Book of Magnus.

In these brief moments of combat, Saint Guilliman had confirmed one thing:

Magnus had truly fused with his warp nature through training, reaching the same level as Saint Guilliman and Korvax.

But Magnus’s state was strange: Saint Guilliman and Korvax had awakened to their own nature, understanding their essence and the form they took within the material universe.

Magnus, however, no longer knew what he was—nor did his warp essence. His warp essence, the Book of Magnus, had been cleansed by Zhou Yun, and now neither he nor it knew what it was. And in this ignorance, he had fully comprehended his warp essence.

This awakening was complete fusion: it could be seen as Magnus’s pre-material-form becoming his current self, or as his current self transforming into his pre-material form—more thorough than Saint Guilliman’s return from death.

For now, Saint Guilliman could not break through Magnus’s blockade.

Saint Guilliman turned his head slightly, gazing into the distance.

Zhou Yun’s form had become strange and indescribable—a cloud of metallic blue mist, sometimes revealing his true face, sometimes shifting into a dragon, finally faintly taking on the shape of Doraemon.

He was merging with the Soul Furnace.

As a rival in the domain of Malevolent Arts, Zhou Yun had been irresistibly propelled toward Ascension the moment he completed the sacrifice; integrating the Soul Furnace was inevitable—a compulsion brought by the warp streams.