Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [290]

It turned out that during his duel with Mortarion, some mysterious force had aided him—it was the bright side of his gene-father, a soul fragment?

Now, Supreme Grand Master Draigo had figured out a lot of things, including some extremely unreasonable aspects about himself, like how he could survive in the Warp for long periods, even without food or supplies.

These abilities must be related to the soul fragment of his father.

Magnus opened his mouth but finally placed his daemonic hand on Draigo's shoulder, helping his gene-son to his feet.

Standing to the side, Rhodes recalled information about this Grey Knight Supreme Grand Master in his mind.

Draigo, the current Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights, was a legendary figure, famous even among Chaos Daemons. He had defeated the corrupted Daemon Primarch Mortarion and bested countless famous greater daemons and daemon princes.

Because of his formidable battle record, Chaos forces had cursed this Supreme Grand Master, condemning him to never leave the Warp.

Yet, in the Warp, he had carved out his territory! Many daemons even wished he would hurry up and leave, so he'd stop wreaking havoc there.

Occasionally, this Supreme Grand Master could use the power of the Warp to return to the material universe.

For example, when some Chaos sorcerers tried to summon a Warp daemon, they might suddenly summon this Grey Knight Supreme Grand Master instead.

Or, when the Grey Knights needed to deal with a powerful enemy, they would initiate a special summoning ritual to bring him back.

Since their Supreme Grand Master was long considered missing, the Grey Knights had already appointed their 49th Supreme Grand Master.

Although he was, in theory, cursed not to leave the Warp for too long, that was only a surface-level understanding. In secret, the Grey Knights knew their Supreme Grand Master could occasionally return to his Chapter.

Especially after the appearance of the Emperor's Avatar, whose power perfectly suppressed the Warp fluctuations around the Supreme Grand Master. This prevented him from being suddenly yanked back into the Warp.

This was the main reason why Draigo kept the Emperor's Avatar by his side.

"Get up, my gene-son. Have your problems been thoroughly resolved now?" As a former top-level Chaos figure, second only to the Four Chaos Gods, Magnus easily saw through Draigo's issues.

If not for the soul fragment of his bright side protecting him, this man would have long since been turned into a daemon by the Warp's energies.

Many daemons in the Warp wondered why, after this Grey Knight Supreme Grand Master was pulled in, nothing seemed to happen to him; he could even come and go as he pleased.

Now, Magnus finally understood the truth—it was his bright side, his soul fragment, that had been with Draigo. That was tantamount to always carrying a positive minor god's soul fragment. Who wouldn't be formidable with that?

"Thank you for your protection, great gene-father! As long as the Emperor's Avatar is at my side, his psychic power will block the Warp from pulling me back in," Draigo said.

"This is a very special daemonic curse, but I know how to break it. I can lift it right now, so you'll be able to freely walk in the material universe, no longer getting randomly pulled into the Warp," Magnus said.

As a former Daemon Primarch skilled in strange Chaos sorcery, Magnus's knowledge of daemons was second only to the Four Gods.

A curse from a greater daemon? He could dispel it with a wave.

Magnus raised his blade, and chanted a strange incantation, and a surge of Warp energy washed over Draigo, stripping away the curse binding him!

"I've lifted the greater daemon's curse from you. You won't have to worry about that issue anymore," Magnus said.

Draigo felt his body—his strange connection to the Warp, that mysterious sense that kept trying to pull him in, was now resolved.

Truly worthy of being the gene-father! After infiltrating Chaos for ten thousand years, he had learned so much about Chaos.

A curse from a Chaos greater daemon was unsolvable to the Imperium, but his gene-father handled it easily.

Come to think of it, the Grey Knights did use some daemonic methods to banish daemons, like allowing themselves to be possessed by a Warp daemon to fight back, probing weaknesses, or even learning a daemon's true name.

It was all inherited! Their gene-father had been undercover in the Warp for ten thousand years!

No wonder the Grey Knights had a penchant for using daemon power against daemons—it was inherited from their gene-father.

"From now on, stay by my side. I'll teach you many safe Chaos spells, even some that can easily deal with daemons, to help you better fight Chaos," Magnus said.

At this moment, Rhodes began thinking: Magnus's role was similar to the original Warlock in World of Warcraft.

Given Magnus's knowledge of Chaos, he could develop a new combat system: using Warp power against Warp daemons; and enslaving Warp daemons to fight other daemons.

"Magnus, can you forcibly enslave daemons by special methods?" Rhodes asked.

"Brother Rhodes! I can use certain methods to control some lesser or even greater daemons," Magnus nodded, though unsure why Rhodes asked.

He could indeed enslave daemons.

"I have a good idea. You could lead the Grey Knights and countless Imperial psykers to use daemon power against daemons—enslave Warp daemons to fight for you, using Warp power against the Warp," Rhodes said.

None of them had ever considered this. They looked at Rhodes in disbelief.

"No, it's too dangerous," the Emperor's Avatar said, shaking his head.

Rhodes' idea was unusual—using Chaos daemon power against Chaos. It wasn't that simple!

"Why not? If just touching psychic power or Warp energy meant immediate corruption, the Imperium would have fallen long ago. The Imperium can't do without psykers," Rhodes argued.

Currently, Imperial psykers were using Warp power like mad, but their anti-corruption methods were crude—just reciting Ecclesiarchy texts and relying on Lorgar's spiritual legacy.

More importantly, with the Great Rift now open, a psychic awakening would soon break out across the Imperium, with a massive surge in psyker numbers.

If left unmanaged, without a legitimate system or new class, this psychic awakening could be catastrophic. Countless psykers would become channels to the Warp, the most dangerous scenario.

"Father! In theory, this is doable. I do have the means to control daemons.

Psykers can use special sorcery to control lesser or greater daemons, but not those at the level of greater daemons or daemon princes," Magnus said.

The Chaos sorcery he mastered included many ways to control Warp daemons, even exploiting their power, draining their life, and enslaving their souls.

He could also develop new psychic sorceries along these lines.

"But what about Chaos corruption? Not everyone is as strong-willed as you," the Emperor said, hinting at something.

You might be able to turn over a new leaf, but what if you bring your whole team, or even vast numbers of Imperial psykers, into contact with Chaos again and you all fall once more?

"This is easy to solve. The Emperor's Avatar has psychic power—you can use some of his tissues to make special amulets. All who practice Magnus's new class can wear them to effectively resist Warp corruption. The Emperor's psychic light will protect them," Rhodes suggested.

The Warlock class must be established. The four Chaos Gods are powerful, but not the true rulers of the Warp.

"Father, Rhodes is right. Rather than have psykers persecuted, let them study Magnus's new system, using Chaos to fight Chaos," Horus said.

"Warp power is too dangerous—ordinary humans can't handle Chaos temptation, especially enslaving daemons," Guilliman disagreed.

As for the Custodes Ultraman, Mephiston, and Draigo, they said nothing—they weren't qualified to join this discussion.

Elena, however, supported Rhodes.

"We could start with a small-scale trial, Father! I think Rhodes' proposal is great.

All Grey Knights are psykers, already strong-willed. I can teach them to enslave daemons and use Chaos power against Chaos," Magnus said.

"Emperor! The Great Rift is open—you must sense it. The future is changing. Warp energy will soon erupt among humanity on a massive scale.

If we can't control it, this psychic awakening will devastate the Imperium. But if we learn to control it, we can use it to fight the Warp.

We accept Warp travel, psykers, Librarians, Navigators, Astropaths—why not let recognized Imperial psykers gain a more efficient training method?" Rhodes pressed.

"I agree to attempt it on a limited scale—use Warp power against the Warp, enslave Chaos daemons!

But until safety is ensured, this class can't spread. I must ensure we are enslaving daemons, not the other way around," the Emperor said.

Magnus had spent ten thousand years in the Warp—maybe this time he could truly bring something new.

"Father! According to Rhodes' suggestion, use the Emperor's Avatar flesh to make special amulets for every practitioner.

That will solve many problems. I've been exposed to Warp energy for ten thousand years—I know it well. I promise you," Magnus said.

"Good! Begin with the Grey Knights, pick the most strong-willed Grand Masters to train first.

Then spread it among the Grey Knights, but only as a last resort should it reach ordinary Imperial psykers.

It's too dangerous—I must ensure the daemon-enslaving spells are only passed among Magnus's gene-sons and the Librarians," the Emperor finally relented, though not fully.

He agreed only to let Magnus and Rhodes develop this new system—using daemon power against daemons—but only among Magnus's gene-sons.

Maybe in the future, it could spread to other Librarians, but not to ordinary psykers yet.

Rhodes and Magnus exchanged glances and nodded. Progress must be step by step; the Emperor's caution was warranted.

"So, what will you call this new class?" Guilliman, standing to the side, asked.

He firmly opposed large-scale propagation at first, but within the Grey Knights and Librarians, he was willing to give it a try.

"Warlock! This new class shall be called Warlock! Must be psychically gifted and wear an amulet.

Study the Warp, enslave Chaos daemons, and use their sorceries to fight Chaos and the enemies of the Imperium," Rhodes said.

After much discussion, a new class was quietly born—one that would terrify Chaos daemons, enslave countless Warp daemons, and even make the four Chaos Gods curse in frustration.