"The Emperor's son will teach me?"
Kenmei Isayama heard the woman's words, and while they sounded like a joke, he knew she wasn't joking—it was real.
The look of utter disdain for the Emperor in her eyes, the arrogance of being above all living beings, and that overpowered, evil psychic energy—everything indicated that Kenmei had hit the jackpot with this loot box.
Fck, he actually encountered a True God.
Kenmei sighed. This smiling, seductive older sister before him was, without a doubt, one of the four Chaos Gods of the Warp: Slaanesh.
[The Prince of Pleasure] Slaanesh.
And she claimed to be so fond of him that she insisted Kenmei go back with Her to become a Chosen of Slaanesh. A "Chosen" referred to individual humans most favored by one of the four Chaos Gods.
They would be blessed and receive immense power from the Chaos God.
Very few humans could attain this honor; the threshold was quite high. For example, Kenmei's unseen mentor, Ahriman, was the Chosen of Tzeentch, the [God of Change].
Well, it mainly depended on the Chaos God themselves. If They truly liked you, slaughtering a dog could get you ascended to Daemonhood and blessed. If They didn't like you, They wouldn't even glance at you if you sacrificed several planets.
Being favored by a Chaos God sounded like a good thing, but in reality, nothing was more terrifying.
Of those who fell to the forces of Chaos, which one didn't look like a Xenos monstrosity?
The entire "Death Guard" Legion threw themselves into the embrace of Nurgle, the [Plague Lord], collectively turning into "stinking tin cans" that were neither human nor ghost. Their Power Armor became living organisms fused with the Astartes' flesh. The armor had mouths, and the breath exhaled when those mouths opened was a deadly plague.
The situation on Slaanesh's side wasn't much better. Many who received Slaanesh's rewards underwent facial changes. Some faces would transform to resemble Slaaneshi steeds or Fiends of Slaanesh, possessing extremely bizarre features and long, slender tongues capable of dragging opponents close to be torn apart and tortured.
But that was for ordinary recipients of blessings. Given Slaanesh's fondness for Kenmei, it would inevitably be the highest honor—receiving the visage of Slaanesh's true form. This change was irreversible.
Most importantly, one of the characteristics of Slaanesh's divinity was hermaphroditism. Therefore, the most common mutation among Slaaneshi Champions was...
Hermaphroditism!
Kenmei couldn't accept a mutation where one side of his chest was perky and the other flat like a man's. Furthermore, whether a certain organ would still exist was a question.
Thinking of this, Kenmei shuddered. The image was too "beautiful" to imagine.
Even a son of the Emperor couldn't withstand this terrible erosion, so how could Kenmei resist?
The Master of Mankind, the Emperor, had twenty-one sons in total. These demigods were created through complex genetic engineering using the Emperor's own genes as a blueprint, so they were called Primarchs.
The Imperium's vast territory, spanning the entire galaxy today, was entirely due to the conquests led by these Primarchs and their respective Legions.
The Imperium's prosperity was due to these Primarchs, and its natural decline was also because of them.
Just as the Great Crusade was nearing a victorious conclusion, Horus, who had just been promoted to Warmaster, defected to Chaos and betrayed the Imperium. Before long, eight other Primarchs successively joined his faction.
This led to the outbreak of the massive Imperial civil war known as the [Horus Heresy].
Kenmei felt there were major issues with the Emperor's parenting style.
The rebellion launched by the Emperor's nine sons involved the mass slaughter of Loyalist Legions. They basically used firepower far exceeding standard Exterminatus orders to deal with the brothers they once considered family. The Loyalists suffered heavy losses.
Even the Emperor Himself, in the process of personally killing his unfilial son [Horus], whom He had just granted the title of [Warmaster], suffered irreversible, fatal injuries. He relied on exploiting a bug by sitting on the Golden Throne to suppress his own apotheosis, unable to ever stand again.
This was also why the forces of Chaos liked to call the Emperor the "Corpse Emperor." An emperor like a corpse—the Emperor's current state fit that description perfectly.
Thus, the Imperium of Man headed toward decline, teetering on the edge of destruction.
As an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, Kenmei knew even more. In fact, among the original twenty Primarchs of the Imperium, very few Loyalist Primarchs remained.
On the Imperial side, Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands and Sanguinius of the Blood Angels were confirmed dead.
The Primarch of the White Scars was lost in the Dark Eldar Webway.
The Primarch of the Imperial Fists disappeared during a Black Crusade while under siege by Chaos warbands, his fate unknown; only one of his hands was found by his subordinates.
The Primarch of the Ultramarines and Lord Commander of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman, had his throat slit and was kept in stasis fields. His current condition was a top Imperial secret that Kenmei, as an Inquisitor, had no authority to know.
The Primarch of the Dark Angels, the Lion, was sleeping in the Rock, and it was estimated he would be hard to wake.
Leaving aside the tragic ends of the Imperial Primarchs, the Chaos Primarchs lived quite nourishing lives.
Currently, six of the Emperor's sons had ascended to Daemonhood, serving as "supreme" Daemon Princes under the four Chaos Gods. They were all living good lives in their respective divine realms within the Eye of Terror, occasionally going out for activities.
These sons of the Emperor who defected to Chaos mastered even greater power and had now become the Imperium's most terrifying enemies.
Among them was the [Thousand Sons Legion] led by "The Red" Magnus, one of the twenty Primarchs served by Kenmei's mentor, Ahriman. After throwing himself into Tzeentch's embrace, Magnus had crashed the Space Wolves' party twice. Each time the commotion was bigger than the last; the second time, he almost wiped out Fenris, the homeworld of the Space Wolves Chapter.
And the master Slaanesh wanted to find for Kenmei was one of the eight traitor princes, the Primarch of the [Emperor's Children] Legion, the [Phoenician] Fulgrim. He was listed alongside Sanguinius of the [Blood Angels] as one of the two most famous beautiful men in the Imperium.
During the Horus Heresy, Fulgrim killed his best friend, Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the [Iron Hands]. After ascending to Daemonhood, he slit the throat of the Lord Commander of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman of the [Ultramarines]. His battle record was quite glorious.
His swordsmanship was superb and his strength powerful. Fulgrim also had high attainments in art, which gave him a very high affinity with Slaanesh.
Because besides the familiar indulgence in desire, enjoyment of pleasure, and continuous depravity, Slaanesh had another characteristic: artistry.
In short, driven by desire, using art to display the joy of Slaanesh. A Greater Daemon under Slaanesh once ground the humans of an entire planet into flesh-and-blood paint to create a painting in the starry sky, just to please their master.
Fulgrim, such a charismatic and beautiful man with powerful strength... Slaanesh was naturally very satisfied with him and favored him greatly.
If Fulgrim were to teach using his strength from before he fell to Chaos, he would undoubtedly be a rare and excellent teacher.
But Fulgrim had stayed under Slaanesh for so long that he had already picked up a heap of bad habits. After all, the doctrine was to feel pleasure.
It was said that his favorite things now were doing drugs on planets gifted by Slaanesh, getting incredibly high, playing S&M games with Daemonettes, and holding orgies... He had been a shut-in for who knows how many years.
If such a fallen bastard came to teach, could Kenmei learn anything useful?
Are you sure he wouldn't just learn all those bad habits?
Kenmei watched as two long-haired girls with white hair and red eyes, looking like twins, walked over gracefully. They wore very revealing black-and-white maid outfits and had collars around their necks, giving them a pitiful appearance as they served desserts that looked like afternoon tea.
Or maybe join an orgy together?
Slaanesh lowered Her head and stirred a glass of pink liquid as if stirring coffee. From inside came the fragrant scent of despair from the dying.
"And your answer? I think you won't disappoint me."
Slaanesh's fair hand pulled hard, revealing the chains around the twins' necks.
"Look at these two beautiful maidens."
"I can have them both serve you right now. Feeling pleasure is human nature."
She dragged the sisters to Kenmei's side so he could examine them closely, but he didn't even give them a second glance.
"Hmph. What a cold man."
Slaanesh parted Her crimson lips to dismiss the two, Her expression full of resentment.
She pushed the stirred wine in front of Kenmei.
"Just drink this, and we will be family from now on."
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
Kenmei simply picked up the glass to look at it, and the alarms of the long-silent [Warhammer Simulator] rang out one after another.
[Once the Host ingests the Wine of Pleasure, the Apotheosis Ritual will begin immediately.]
Note: The Host's soul will be polluted!
Good grief. Ascension is that simple?
Kenmei knew that those favored by Chaos Gods had privileges, but he didn't expect that drinking a glass of unidentified liquid would directly grant powerful strength.
Under Slaanesh's expectant gaze, Kenmei raised the glass.
Just as it was about to reach his lips, Kenmei let go of the glass directly.
In that single second, there was not only the crash of the glass shattering into debris on the floor but also a dazzling blade light tearing through the air.
It was Kenmei's chainsword unsheathed in an instant. An imposing light broke through the confinement of the blade, slashing toward the bad woman's slender, swan-like neck.
Stepping on the table, Kenmei performed a draw cut—fast, accurate, and ruthless—aiming to decapitate Her. However, the separation of head and body did not occur.
That skin, fair and tender as milk, remained unharmed under the full-speed operation of the chainsword. Not a single scratch appeared.
"Truly unbeautiful behavior."
Slaanesh's face was filled with distress and disappointment. With just a light touch of Her fingertip, the blade that Kenmei was pressing against Her neck with both hands was moved away.
"Is this the answer you give me?"
Kenmei didn't reply. He simply switched hands, released the blade, quickly pulled the bolt pistol from his chest, aimed at that charming face, pressed the barrel directly against Her forehead, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
High-explosive gunpowder charged within the chamber. Just as the bullet, baptized in the Emperor's cathedral, was about to penetrate this lecherous woman's head...
In the next second, the bolt pistol in Kenmei's hand—the old partner that had accompanied Macarnos Elfman for decades—actually exploded in the chamber.
Ignoring the intense pain from his gun-holding hand, Kenmei, in the extreme limit of time, could only hold his sword horizontally in front of him in a vain attempt to block the explosive firepower.
But the crimson flames containing the rage of the [Prince of Pleasure] engulfed his entire body. The terrifying shockwave blasted him dozens of meters away.
Like a kite with a broken string, Kenmei was blasted away and finally smashed heavily into the lavishly decorated wall, crushing the framing metal and glass shards of the masterpiece painting behind him into a twisted mess before stopping.
This heavy blow left Kenmei unable to stand for a moment, paralyzing him in the ruins. He felt the burning pain on his back. His gun-holding hand was a bloody mess, with white bone visible, but the chainsword remained tightly gripped in his hand.
"Silly child. You didn't have to suffer this pain."
Slaanesh looked at Kenmei's miserable state, a look of fake heartache on Her face.
"There's still time to turn back."
"Stow your hypocrisy!"
Kenmei forcibly propped up his body with the chainsword and said viciously:
"I will absolutely never betray the Inquisition! Never betray the Emperor!"
Worst case scenario, the simulation ends. Could Kenmei let a woman ride on his head?
Kenmei dragged his exhausted body, gripping the blade in his hand tightly.
A Chaos God possessed terrifying power even in an insignificant clone. Slaanesh merely moved a finger and suppressed Kenmei again. This time, even the chainsword shattered into several pieces.
The scarred Kenmei fell into the ruins, imprisoned by evil psychic power, unable to move. He could only look at Her with a vicious gaze.
"Hahahaha..."
Seeing this naughty child finally immobilized and looking at Her with a gaze full of spite, Slaanesh couldn't help but laugh.
"I just love this look of yours—wanting to resist, but lacking the ability to refuse me."
When Kenmei saw the movement Slaanesh's body made, his eyes widened.
The terrifying older sister laughed while slightly bending one knee, balancing on one foot.
She bent her other calf backward until she hooked her slender finger around the black silk fabric hanging on her bent calf and took it off, before lowering her leg again.
"It feels better to be unrestrained like this."
She actually threw the thing to Kenmei's hand. He could see the lace and sheer fabric clearly.
Not only that, but there was even that glistening residue left from when it was taken off.
Kenmei had thought the stringy texture he saw earlier was an illusion. Now it seemed he hadn't seen wrong.
Something's wrong. Kenmei felt a massive sense of crisis.
"I will make you my Chosen."
The corners of Slaanesh's mouth rose slightly. A wine glass appeared in Her hand—identical to the one Kenmei had smashed earlier.
The bad woman drank the magic wine in the glass in one go, but didn't swallow it. Instead, she held it all in her mouth, her cheeks slightly puffed.
You won't drink? Then I'll feed you personally.
"Crap. This woman has no martial ethics."
Watching her getting closer and closer, Kenmei instantly understood her intent.
Great. She's coming for my body.
This was forcing Kenmei up Mount Liang (forcing his hand). Today, he had no choice but to become this Slaaneshi Chosen.
As mentioned before, Kenmei didn't want to become an androgynous existence. Thinking of that appearance, he'd rather die.
And drinking the magic wine from her mouth was impossible. Kenmei found it dirty.
One of Kenmei's hands in the [Warhammer Simulator] interface was placed directly on the [End Simulation] button. He could end the simulation with just a thought.
He was just gambling on whether he could kill this clone of Slaanesh. Maybe he could. After all, a gamble could turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
"Sigh. Let's end it."
Kenmei watched helplessly as Slaanesh squatted down slowly in front of him, reaching out a hand as if to caress his face.
If he didn't end it now, his integrity would be lost.
Zzzzt...
But unexpectedly, before Slaanesh's hand could touch Kenmei, Her finger was caught off guard and struck by a bolt of black-red lightning.
The moment they touched, a massive hole was blasted into Slaanesh's palm, leaving it a bloody mess.
A blood-colored barrier seemed to appear in front of Kenmei, obstructing Slaanesh's touch.
It was a phantom of a ferocious, giant blood-colored wolf head roaring. Kenmei was very familiar with this shape; after all, this was the first gift he had received from a Chaos God.
The blessing from the Blood God: [Eternal Hunt].
But hadn't Kenmei fed this thing to the Summoning System, shattering it? Only a stone remained. Why did it appear now?
[Detected Super-Super High Risk Unit ??? currently reverse-locating the Host.]
An alert appeared in front of Kenmei again, but unlike last time where the System directly obliterated the thing locating him, there seemed to be a turning point.
[Receiving application...]
[Access complies with Regulation 167989. Application approved.]
[Intervention authorized.]
[Establishing Webway Portal...]
Just then, Kenmei saw an eruption of power from that blood-colored stone far more terrifying than the Prince of Pleasure before him.
Blood-red, dazzling light illuminated the entire room. That crimson demonic energy condensed into a massive rift, as if forcibly opening a direct highway in Slaanesh's divine realm that led straight to another Chaos divine realm.
Even the air there was filled with the smell of scorching brass rust and thick blood. This terrifying existence hadn't even descended yet, but the aura was already unimaginably powerful, reaching a level that froze the soul.
"Damn it! Why is that mad dog's power appearing here?!"
On the other hand, Slaanesh's face turned uncertain, seemingly extremely apprehensive.
Kenmei only understood after seeing the [Warhammer Simulator] notification.
[The Lord of War] Khorne greatly appreciates your courage in drawing your blade against the [Prince of Pleasure], perfectly demonstrating the character a warrior should have.
Khorne's divinity included bravery. Anyone who dared to launch an attack against someone stronger than themselves would be appreciated by Him.
At the same time, He expressed contempt and fury toward the [Prince of Pleasure], considering Her behavior a pure insult to a warrior.
Khorne valued combat and slaughter, regarding them as supreme glory. Slaanesh, however, treated the combat and slaughter Khorne valued most as mere tricks for play, pastime, and entertainment. Furthermore, trying to turn Kenmei into Her slave using improper means was undoubtedly blasphemy!
Seeing the things He valued most being treated so frivolously by someone else, this short-tempered brother directly located Kenmei's position and came along the network cable.