Chapter 46: Erebus — Hahaha! Perturabo, Your Father Is Mine Now!
Olympia
The moment the Conqueror and the World Eaters fleet translated into orbit above Olympia—
Angron finally relaxed.
"…At last."
No more warp disturbances.
No more rituals.
No more—
Madness.
Because what Erebus and the others had done on the journey here…
Even Angron found it unbearable.
The Incident on the Conqueror
After settling in, Lorgar and Magnus had wasted no time.
They dragged Erebus into an empty chamber.
Then—
In front of Angron's own eyes—
Lorgar summoned an entire Word Bearers tactical squad from the holds.
They began a ritual.
A real one.
A blasphemous one.
Daemon summoning.
At first, Angron thought it was nonsense.
A game.
Because—
Erebus failed.
Lorgar failed.
Magnus failed.
Nothing came.
Angron was just about to tell them to stop wasting time—
When they turned to him.
"Your turn."
"…What?"
Before he could refuse—
A contract was drawn.
Signed.
By Angron.
And then—
They used his name.
His essence.
His connection to the Warp.
It Worked
Reality split.
A Daemon emerged.
A creature of Khorne—the Blood God.
Molten blood.
Burning brass.
Rage incarnate.
It clawed its way into the chamber—
And froze.
Because—
Three Primarchs and Erebus were staring at it.
Angron stood there.
Silent.
His remaining sanity barely holding.
Then—
They attacked.
The daemon was beaten.
Brutally.
Pinned.
Forced to kneel before a statue of the Emperor.
Its true name extracted through sheer force and ritual binding.
Then—
It was banished.
Crying.
Aftermath
Angron said nothing for a long time.
Then finally:
"…What is the point of the Imperial Truth?"
Three heads turned to him.
The looks they gave him—
Were the same.
Like he was an idiot.
"It makes excellent toilet paper," Lorgar said calmly.
"It's very practical."
"Ask the Emperor," Erebus added. "He believes in it."
Magnus hesitated.
"…It might reduce warp interference?"
Silence.
Then—
All four reached the same conclusion:
The Imperial Truth was—
Useless.
At least—
To them.
Arrival Over Olympia
When the fleet entered orbit—
A message arrived from Perturabo.
Brief.
Cold.
Busy. Unable to receive you at present. Make yourselves… comfortable.
Silence.
Then—
Angron's eye twitched.
The World Eaters were furious.
Their Primarch—
Ignored?
The Word Bearers agreed.
This was an insult.
And under the unified command of—
Erebus
A decision was made.
"…Let's make some trouble."
Dantioch's Realization
Elsewhere—
Barabas Dantioch, Warsmith of the Iron Warriors, frowned as he reviewed incoming reports.
Perturabo was busy.
That was normal.
But ignoring visiting Primarchs?
That was—
Less normal.
He moved to intercept.
But before he could—
Khârn spoke calmly aboard the Conqueror:
"Oh, it's fine. Lord Angron, Lord Lorgar, Lord Magnus, and Lord Erebus have already gone down to Olympia."
Dantioch froze.
"…Four?"
The original message said one.
One envoy.
Not—
Four.
His expression collapsed.
"…Lord Perturabo is going to kill someone."
Olympia — The City
Erebus and the others walked through the capital of Olympia.
The architecture was severe.
Mathematical.
Cold.
Perfectly ordered.
Perturabo's influence was everywhere.
Magnus observed.
Lorgar analyzed.
Angron frowned.
Erebus smiled.
"…Let's find a test site."
The Prison
They found one quickly.
A prison complex.
Magnus explained:
"To determine if a world is tainted by Chaos, one measures summoning latency."
Lorgar nodded.
"If daemons answer quickly, the veil is thin."
Erebus grinned.
"Then let's test it."
They entered openly.
No resistance.
The guards saw towering figures in power armor—
And assumed they were agents of the Imperium.
Inside—
Rows of prisoners.
Thin.
Broken.
Hungry.
Erebus frowned slightly.
"…Their food is better than Colchis."
Selection
Magnus and Lorgar began selecting subjects.
Unlucky prisoners.
Test material.
Then—
A voice.
Old.
Sharp.
"Perturabo sent you to kill me?"
Erebus turned.
At the far end of the cell—
An old man.
Frail.
But unbroken.
"…I raised an ungrateful son," the man continued bitterly. "If you are here to finish the job, then do it."
A pause.
"…But grant me one request. Let me see my daughter one last time."
Erebus blinked.
Then—
Realization.
"…Oh."
This was—
Dammekos.
Perturabo's adoptive father.
Confirmation
Magnus examined him.
"No warp taint. Clean."
Erebus stepped forward.
"State your identity."
"I am Dammekos. Former Tyrant of Lochos. Father to Perturabo."
"Former," Erebus repeated.
"Yes."
"Because he abandoned you?"
"…Yes."
Erebus inhaled slowly.
Then looked at Lorgar.
"…That's harsh."
Lorgar shrugged.
"What does that have to do with us?"
Erebus grinned.
"…We take him."
"…What?"
"Take him," Erebus repeated. "We'll bring him along."
"…Why?" Lorgar asked.
"To keep Kor Phaeron company."
"…You are insane."
Decision
Erebus turned back to Dammekos.
"Where is your family?"
"My daughter, Calliphone, is in the palace. My sons… here, imprisoned."
Erebus nodded.
"Good."
Dammekos narrowed his eyes.
"You are not with Perturabo."
"Correct."
"And what do you want?"
Erebus smiled.
"Your freedom."
A pause.
"And your family reunited."
Dammekos stared at him.
"…Why?"
Erebus tilted his head.
Then asked:
"Perturabo doesn't want you anymore, right?"
"…No."
Erebus clapped his hands once.
"Perfect!"
He turned to the others.
"Pack him up. We're taking him."
Lorgar stared.
"…You cannot just take someone's father."
"Why not?" Erebus shrugged. "He threw him away."
Magnus pinched his nose.
"This will end badly."
Erebus waved him off.
"I'm just collecting abandoned things."
A grin spread across his face.
"Think of it as… recycling."
A pause.
"…No one gets angry when their trash is taken away, right?"
Silence.
Distantly—
The sound of Iron Warriors mobilizing echoed across the city.
End of Chapter 46
Check out my Patreon for advance chapters
patreon.com/BIGBRAINJOSHUA