Chapter 60

We arrived at the lavishly decorated banquet hall in an ornate carriage befitting a nobleman of my elevated standing. I stepped down onto the stone courtyard first, turning back to offer an arm to escort my companions onto the red carpet.

Angelica placed her snow white-gloved hand into mine, beaming with radiant pride.

“Thank you, Leon.” Her scarlet gown shimmered brilliantly beneath the courtyard torchlight.

Clarice descended next, turning her silk cuff to put her emerald engagement ring on full display for the whispering crowd gathered near the entrance. “This marks our first public function as your official fiancées, does it not?”

“It does indeed.” Deirdre followed in step behind her, flaunting the deep blue sparkle of her sapphire ring to the gawking aristocrats who had once turned their backs on her. “Ladies, take care that none of our actions tonight besmirch our fiancé’s good name. Understood?”

The rest of the women nodded in quiet solidarity. Cheeks lightly flushed, they stepped down one by one, arranging themselves around me with backs straight and chins held high.

As the carriage rolled away toward the stables, I took a quiet moment to admire the sheer grace surrounding me.

My future brides flanked me, like a personal treasure trove of polished gemstones, each radiating a distinct and individual brilliance. No matter what trials and tribulations the future held in store for us, with these remarkable women by my side, I knew I would always possess the resolve to rise and face whatever came.

“That was quite an entrance.”

Duke Vincent Redgrave strode down the grand marble steps of the venue to greet our arriving party. The imposing nobleman of the kingdom wore a rare, softened expression as his eyes settled on his daughter. “It is good to see you, my darling. Has Lord Aremus been treating you well?”

Angelica threw her arms around her father in an enthusiastic embrace. “Leon treats me better than an imperial empress, Father. I am fortunate to have such an extraordinary fiancé. He is everything I ever hoped for—and more.”

Her unbridled warmth and vibrant happiness seemed to wash over the Duke, dissolving his usual stern demeanor. Relieved beyond measure to see his daughter flourishing at Leon’s side, Vincent lifted his gaze to meet his future son-in-law, his eyes full of profound, unvarnished gratitude.

“What I say to you now comes from a father, not a duke,” Vincent said, holding my gaze with steady resolve. “Thank you for granting my daughter the peace and joy she has long deserved. Before this coming war begins, I wish for the two of you to wed. If the worst comes to pass on the battlefield, it would bring peace to my heart knowing she is safe by your side.”

“Likewise!” Earl Roseblade’s booming voice came from the grand balcony overhead, his arms resting on the carved stone balustrade. “I intend to know that my lineage will endure under your protection long after I am gone!”

Beside the Earl, Prime Minister Bernard Atlee dabbed a handkerchief against his tear-streaked eyes, sniffling softly as he watched Clarice smiling in her emerald gown.

“My sweet girl…” His voice trembled with emotion as he caught his colleagues’ amused glances. He cleared his throat, tucking the cloth into his coat pocket to regain a semblance of composure. “All I ask of you, Leon, is that I am standing there to place my daughter’s hand into yours. Please grant an old man this one wish. If only your mother were alive to see it, Clarice...”

I wanted nothing more than to take every single one of them as my lawful wives, but doing so right now felt premature. The enemy was knocking at our gates; we had to crush the encroaching dark and secure the safety of our planet first.

Only then, with peace secured and the fighting done, could I arrange the kind of dream wedding my brides truly deserved.

“Father, it is totally unfair of you to drop a demand like that on Leon right now,” Angelica crossed her arms with a fierce pout. “The Kingdom and the Principality need him focused on the messy war on our doorstep. Once that is sorted out, then we can talk about setting a date.”

Deirdre gave her own father a teasing, disappointed look. “Or are you saying we should settle for some rushed, half-baked wedding just to give you peace of mind?”

Under their daughters’ scolding glares, the great lords deflated. Exchanging sheepish grins, they quickly withdrew their requests.

With more guests pulling up behind us, we moved inside to join the assembly. Angelica, Clarice, and Deirdre drifted off into the crowd to handle the high-society networking, while the rest of our group stuck by my side near the food tables, happy to stay out of the spotlight. We collected drinks, piling our plates with savory skewers and pastries whipped up by the royal chefs.

Lucoa took a leisurely sip of her cocktail, paying no heed to the dozens of gawking noble youths staring at her from across the floor. “Shouldn’t you be out there working the room with your peers, Leon? We are more than happy to hang out by the snacks; you don’t have to babysit us.”

“I am not standing here just to keep you company.”

I shifted my focus across the grand hall, probing the room with both physical sight and psychic awareness.

With the Staff of the Imperium augmenting my focus, my perception felt sharp as a tack.

“If there is still an enemy rat hiding out in the capital, tonight is their best shot at sowing chaos and ruin. The kingdom’s top brass, the noble VIPs, and the Crown are in one room. It is too juicy a target to pass up.”

My companions stopped chewing, their eyes turning wary as they swept their gazes over the gathering crowd.

Solaris shook his head at them, his blue eyes flickering with clear amusement as if finding their sudden panic hilarious.

I gave them a small, teasing nudge. “Relax, girls. Go on and enjoy the party; I’ve got this covered.”

Reassured by my words, the tension left their shoulders, and they went right back to raiding the dessert table.

<You were right to stay vigilant, Leon, > Starweaver’s ancient voice echoed in my head. <A Greater Daemon has slipped into the ballroom. As for the host… their presence remains cloaked to avoid detection. >

Knowing the creature would bolt if it caught a glimpse of the Sigillite staff or noticed my radiant energy, I wove a swift veil of magic to mask my aura and disguise my presence. With the trap laid, I leaned against the haft of my staff and watched for anyone acting out of place.

---3rd Person POV---

Marie slunk into the grand banquet hall, ducking into the shifting shadows cast by taller guests. A handful of nearby nobles caught sight of her, but thought better of causing a scene in such a public venue. With the Crown in attendance, any vulgar breach of court decorum could easily spell the end of a family’s political standing.

Relieved that nobody was making a move against her, she tucked herself behind an ornate stone column, tracking the palace guards and memorizing their patrol routes.

“Any sign of that monster you were panicking about earlier?” Marie pressed her back flush against the pillar to make herself as small as possible. “If they are in this room, I’m not risking my neck for your stupid scheme.”

<I felt that overwhelming presence crumble away a short while ago. > The dark entity squirmed within the depths of her consciousness. <What I mistook for an active threat was merely the fading phantom of an ancient wraith. My apologies for the false alarm. >

“It’s fine. I would rather be paranoid than dead when my life is on the line.”

Just as Marie prepared to sneak toward the banquet spread, the loud hum of conversation across the hall died down.

Flanked by the Royal Guard, the King and Queen stepped into view. Adorned in the finest silks and jewels the nation could furnish, King Roland and Queen Mylene entered the ballroom with picture-perfect smiles, exchanging pleasantries with their vassals before addressing the highest-ranking lords near the center floor.

Once the opening formalities concluded, the royal couple ascended the dais to address the sea of nervous faces before them.

“Thank you, one and all, for gathering here tonight for this send-off celebration,” King Roland said, his resonant voice carrying across the quieted hall. “As many of you are already aware, open war with the Rachelle Holy Kingdom is now unavoidable. Their forces have massed in vast numbers along our eastern frontier, readying their invasion force. We have mere weeks, perhaps only days, before the fighting will start.”

Queen Mylene stepped forward, gracing her vassals with a serene smile.

“Therefore, tonight we celebrate, make merry, and forge unbreakable bonds as one united realm.” Her tone swept over the uneasy crowd like a soothing balm. “And when we triumph over this trial, I expect every single one of you to join us right back in this hall for our victory ball.”

The grand hall erupted into cheers and raised goblets; adventurers and the aristocracy stirred into a patriotic frenzy for the coming conflict.

Marie seized the opening, slipping out from behind the pillar and weaving through the distracted crowd as she approached the banquet table. From the lining of her formal coat, her trembling fingers closed around a slender glass vial.

‘Just a few drops in several decanters, then slip out into the gardens. That is all I have to do.’

Marie popped the cork with her thumb, extending her arm toward the nearest silver pitcher.

Before the first drop could leave the rim, the temperature throughout the packed ballroom plummeted. The air turned brittle and biting, frost feathering across the crystal chandeliers as the hall fell into suffocating silence.

“I should have known you were connected to the attack on the capital…”

An ancient, booming voice cut through the stillness like a drawn blade, dragging the terrified gaze of every soul in the room straight toward her.

Marie’s neck felt stiff as iron as she forced her head to turn.

Leon stood there, staring down at her like an apex predator that had its prey dead to rights.

In his grip rested an ancient golden staff crowned with a living pyre of violet flame. She tried to jerk her arm back, but her limbs refused to obey, pinned down by a paralyzing psychic weight that pressed against the back of her neck like a mountain.

<Shit! Shit! Shit! This is bad—this is really fucking bad! > The dark entity quaked inside her skull, its earlier arrogance shattered into unadulterated hysteria. <Since when did the Imperium of Man have people on this godforsaken dirt ball?! >

Marie opened her mouth to demand answers from the voice in her head, but her breath seized in her chest.

Leon looked down at her with eyes of constrained fury. Every hair on her arms stood on end; the sheer weight of the power in his gaze tore straight through her flesh, pinning her very soul to the polished floor.

“I have only one question for you, Marie Fou Lafan.” The immense pressure of his voice made the marble tiles beneath their feet crack. “Are you a willing vessel for the Warp, or did the cultists force this parasite upon you?”

His commanding presence settled over the ballroom. Not a single royal guard, knight, noble, or adventurer possessed the strength to move, let alone demand an explanation.

<We have to get the hell out of here, right now! >

Gripped by blind panic, the entity seized Marie’s motor functions to force her body toward the exit.

Before the possessed limbs had time to receive instructions, a silver gauntlet blurred through the air.

Leon’s fingers clamped shut like an inescapable singularity around Marie’s throat. With cold ease, he hoisted her off the polished stone, leaving her hanging in midair. She clawed at his wrist, but the metal remained unyielding.

“I… I didn’t want this…” Marie wheezed, her tear-filled eyes wide with desperate terror as she looked to Leon for salvation. “They… did something to me… I can’t stop myself…”

Enraged by the vessel’s defiance, the Greater Daemon lashed out internally, attempting to burn Marie’s soul away and seize total control of her flesh.

Marie refused to yield. Clinging to life with every shred of stubborn willpower she possessed, her soul fought back against the invading shadow.

As the two clashed within the confines of a single mortal frame, shockwaves of warped psychic force erupted through the room. The violent resonance shattered glassware, fractured banquet tables, and broke the assembly’s frozen stances, knocking nearby aristocrats and guards onto the trembling stone.

<Just because your soul is a bit special does not mean you can overpower me, little bitch! > The daemon’s words tore through Marie’s throat, warping her voice into a guttural, layered hiss. <This vessel belongs to the Warp now, and there is no room for you. Release me at once, mortal! Obey, and I will make your demise swift! >

“Mortal…? Is that what your sight perceives?”

Leon’s irises collapsed into razor-thin vertical slits.

A tempest of psychic pressure erupted from his form like a supernova, tearing outward with the roar of an awakening star.

Before the petrified eyes of the royal court, his mortal visage melted away. The modest form of the young nobleman vanished, replaced by the towering, fourteen-foot-tall majesty of a demigod Primarch. Resplendent in ancient, terrifying grandeur, his aura flooded the vast hall, shattering every window and blowing the heavy double doors clean off their hinges. Overhead, the vaulted ceiling and support pillars groaned as the masonry strained to contain his presence.

The instant the Greater Daemon laid eyes upon his true visage, its arrogant screeching died in its throat.

<No… It cannot be! > The abomination thrashed within Marie’s flesh, desperate to flee the horror towering before it. <The Corpse Emperor! You walk the Materium again?! >

Before the living incarnation of the Anathema, the creature recognized the bitter truth. Against a power that rivaled the Dark Gods themselves—the very masters it served—a Greater Daemon of the Warp was nothing more than an insect awaiting the boot.

“You are mistaken, daemon. I am not the Emperor of Mankind.”

With a surgical burst of psychic force, Leon ripped the creature’s tendrils from Marie’s mortal soul. The parasite flew out of her back, its twisted form skipping across the polished floor like a stone cast over water.

“Ah!” Marie convulsed, gasping for air as her nervous system recoiled from the sudden void. “It hurts… my body—my head—my soul! It all hurts!”

Leon lowered her onto the cracked stone, his focus never leaving the manifesting abomination.

“Olivia, take care of her.”

Without looking back, Leon strode forward. Every gaze in the room locked onto the multi-limbed, serpentine monstrosity writhing in the center of the hall. The creature coiled upward, its solitary, glaring eye darting across the shattered room in search of an escape from impending death.

“I am Leon Fou Aremus, Primarch of the Second, Son of the Emperor of Mankind!”

Unable to see a way out, the Slaaneshi Greater Daemon did the only thing it could: fight. Coiling its muscular coils, it threw itself forward with everything it had.

<Die! >

Its wicked talons slashed downward toward Leon’s skull.

Instead of tearing flesh, the claws crashed against an invisible barrier that encapsulated the giant. Stunned, the daemon recoiled in confusion as the talisman resting against Leon’s massive breastplate ignited with blinding, mystic light.

<So, this is one of those Warp entities you spoke of. Intriguing. > Agamotto’s curious voice echoed from the golden relic. <To better assist you, how about I take it for research? It may give us a lead on how to suppress the tear in your home galaxy. >

“Very well, do as you wish.” Leon nodded, his expression implacable. “Just ensure you seal it away permanently once your study concludes.”

Thousands of brilliant golden chains erupted from the Eye of Agamotto, snaking through the air to lash around the serpent’s limbs and torso. The creature shrieked in unholy agony as the eldritch bands seared its ethereal flesh down to the conceptual core.

With a final, violent pull, the chains hauled the thrashing horror backward into the radiant aperture of the relic.

A heartbeat later, the light snapped shut, and the abomination vanished from the Materium entirely.

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