Chapter 69: Blood Thirst Experiment
Hearing this, Sanguinius suddenly turned around and stared at him with extreme seriousness.
"This jest is not amusing. I'll allow your insolence this once, but please do not speak of such things again."
Instantly, Francis stopped in his tracks and didn't follow. Sanguinius, sensing this, also halted and turned to look at him.
Then he heard Francis shout from a distance, "Sanguinius, I'm not joking! I really do have a way, whether to alleviate or to cure."
With that, he tossed a holographic projection device to him.
Snap!
Sanguinius reached out and caught it. Activating the device, he saw comparison images of Soul Drinkers and Thousand Sons before and after their flesh mutations were treated, as well as records of World Eaters having their Butcher's Nails removed, even Angron had his removed.
As one set of images after another flashed before his eyes, Sanguinius realized that among their twenty-plus brothers of demigods of war and destruction, there was an odd one, a healer.
In disbelief, Sanguinius spread his wings and immediately appeared before Francis, grasping his hand. His eyes burned with desperate hope.
"Eleventh, do you truly have a way? I am willing!"
This sudden scene caught Francis off guard. He quickly pulled his hand away, stepping back two paces.
"Talk all you want, but keep your hands to yourself. We're brothers."
Sanguinius also realized he was too excited. He gave an awkward laugh and stood there.
Combined with the ruined church behind him, it was truly an artistic scene. If it were painted, Francis had even thought of a title for the artwork: 'The Only Angel After Destruction.'
Seeing his sincerity, Francis couldn't bring himself to refuse. He turned and walked toward the battleship.
"Send a few people over. I'll conduct small-batch experiments first, then proceed with full treatment."
Francis waved his hand. Sanguinius's fists unconsciously tightened. There was hope after all. This future in his visions would not come to pass.
Soon, he dispatched Raldoron, the First Captain of the Blood Angels Legion, along with several warriors suffering from severe Red Thirst, to the Abyss Howl.
When they arrived before the battleship, they saw countless components clattering to the ground, like a peeled garlic bulb.
The Blood Angels: "..."
They felt the other party seemed very unreliable. If it weren't for the father choosing them, they would rather die than come.
"Oh, you're here! Get on board quickly, we're about to depart."
Francis emerged from the front of the battleship, constantly prying off pieces of Ork armor. In his opinion, damaged armor was better off removed.
The Blood Angels nodded and boarded Francis's ship.
Standing on the ship, Francis could see the battlefield outside, strewn with the corpses of Blood Angels. The surviving warriors were currently retrieving gene-seeds from the fallen for their continuation. Some also took their comrades' power armor.
They carefully carried their fallen brothers' bodies into the battleship. Even though Francis hadn't participated, he could feel the brutality and fury of this battle.
This was a premeditated murder, a scheme concocted by Horus and Erebus.
Perhaps due to having drunk Angron's blood, Francis sometimes felt overly sensitive to surrounding emotions. He could clearly feel waves of sorrow and rage constantly emanating from behind him.
Suddenly, a horrifying idea appeared in his mind: what if, when the entire Blood Angels Legion fell into the Black Rage, he used Angron's ability to absorb all that anger?
A sudden chill ran through him. He had a feeling that if he did that, he would definitely go berserk on the spot, and even—
He dared not think further.
Soon, they finished clearing the battlefield. The two Legions followed the Pharos lighthouse beacon to Ultramar, where Guilliman was located.
Inside the laboratory of the Abyss Howl.
"All of you, strip!" Francis said, tidying up the experimental bench.
The Blood Angels: ???
They were very confused, but as warriors, they had to obey orders. So they quickly disrobed.
Raldoron, the First Captain of the Blood Angels, frowned slightly but quickly relaxed. He spoke very politely.
"Respected Primarch, besides removing our armor, what else do you need us to do?"
Francis pointed to four rooms in the corner. "Each of you goes into one room. Each room has a different protocol; you can hear the details before choosing."
The Blood Angels, who had originally intended to just pick a room, immediately stopped and continued listening.
"First, the first observation room will provide all living necessities except for blood."
Upon hearing this, no one wanted to choose this room, and they all kept their distance.
"The second room will continuously provide blood. Those who enter must constantly drink it. Except for necessary activities, you must drink at all other times, even if you don't want to, you must drink."
Upon hearing about this room, they also frowned. They weren't keen on entering this one either, as they didn't drink blood by choice.
"The third room will only provide a fixed amount of blood daily. Once consumed, no more blood will be provided for the rest of the day."
"The fourth room will provide blood for me to analyze, and you will undergo my experimental treatments until the experiment concludes."
Upon hearing this, they waited, anticipating Francis's other rules.
"That's it. Choose for yourselves."
As soon as he finished speaking, several Blood Angels immediately started arguing over the second and third rooms.
"Brothers, I feel terrible if I don't drink for a day!"
"No, I feel terrible too, no, I feel even worse! I see visions if I don't drink blood!"
"Then you guys fight for the second room, I'll choose the third."
"No!"
"..."
Looking at their crimson eyes, Francis could see their condition was indeed severe. He then looked at Raldoron, who hadn't joined the scramble.
"Why aren't you fighting for a room? Aren't you afraid of being left with the worst one?"
"I am a Company Captain. I will not fear any room," Raldoron said sternly.
Francis's eyes immediately lit up, and he gave him a thumbs-up.
Soon, they decided who would take the third and second rooms. The loser hesitated, then looked at Francis and the various organs and samples visible throughout the laboratory. Finally, he chose the first room.
When Raldoron saw that only the fourth room remained, his face instantly fell. He had thought no one could refuse drinking blood. He could endure a bit longer, but this...
He looked back at Francis, regretting not having fought for a room.
But there was no choice. As the First Captain of the Blood Angels, he could not abandon the Legion's honor.
"Come on! Draw my blood!" He gritted his teeth and extended his arm. When he looked at Francis, he quickly shouted, "No! Do you need to draw so much blood?!"
"Ah ah ah ah ah~"
Half an hour later, Francis swirled a wine glass and took a small sip.
Sweet, very bloody sweet. Sweet with a hint of spice. The overall taste was balanced and easy to drink.
Immediately, a wave of genetic information flooded through.
[Blood Angel, Raldoron]
[Observant and adaptable]
[Born on Baal Secundus]
[Red Thirst]
[...]
This was a defect carried in the genes. Francis's back suddenly sprouted wings, and sharp fangs grew in his mouth.
Indeed, he also felt a craving for blood. He couldn't even just look at it; he wanted to drink it all.
Gulp gulp gulp~
After drinking an entire canister of blood, Francis felt immense satisfaction. His muscles even seemed to enlarge subtly, and he became more aggressive.
Fortunately, it wasn't too intense, but this confirmed that a genetic defect indeed caused the Red Thirst.
"Perhaps I can make them constantly bleed from their gums to keep them conscious."
"However, this still depends on what their secondary mutations will be like after long-term blood consumption."
Francis stroked his chin. He needed the change records from the other rooms.
Four days later.
In the first room, the Blood Angel who had not drunk blood for four days was like a feral beast, flailing about, mentally unstable, and close to collapse. He even tore at his own body, trying to obtain his limited blood.
In the second room, after continuously drinking blood for four days without pause, the Blood Angel was like an irritable drunk and had begun to show initial repulsion toward drinking blood. His body started showing a degree of flesh mutation.
In the third room, the Blood Angel who drank a fixed amount of blood daily showed astonishing stability in both mind and body, aside from slight impatience.
In the fourth room, due to too many blood draws, Raldoron's body was somewhat shriveled, and he lay there exhausted, showing no symptoms of Red Thirst.
[End of Chapter]