A dazzling bloom of light flared across the void as the Hand of Fate, that vessel steeped in sin, was destroyed from within. The simultaneous detonations tore through both the command deck and the engines.
At that point, let alone a corpse, it was doubtful Erebus even had atoms left.
And that still was not the end of it.
A moment later, a full broadside from the Invincible Reason blasted the battle barge apart completely, reducing it to cosmic dust.
Now, only a scattering of debris remained on the battlefield, and only those tiny fragments proved that Erebus and the Hand of Fate had ever existed at all.
"Target destruction confirmed!" the observer reported.
"Mm." Bruce watched the wreckage fade into little white specks, swallowed by the stars, and finally let himself relax.
He had personally stuffed the melta charges into Erebus's body, and before that, he had chopped him to pieces for good measure. The command deck had been packed with explosive barrels, and then the engine detonation had followed right after.
If Erebus had somehow still not died from all that...
Well, Bruce would have had nothing left to say.
If the bastard was shameless enough to survive that, what could Bruce possibly do about it?
Still, no matter how one looked at it, this battle had been a crushing victory. It even made the earlier desperate pursuit seem like some stroke of tactical genius.
If not for the Chaos corruption Erebus had dragged into the fight, most people from both Legions would never have realized just how dangerous the Word Bearers truly were. Once Chaos entered the equation, there was only one proper response: hit them with everything.
And from the evidence recovered aboard that ship, there was more than enough to make both the Word Bearers and Lorgar choke on the consequences.
Chaos sigils, Possessed warriors, tainted rites — if all of that was brought back to Terra, Monarchia could absolutely happen all over again. Except this time, the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels would come together for the job.
But it was also here that Bruce and Lion's opinions began to diverge.
"Acting Commander! The Invincible Reason is requesting communication."
"Put it through."
"Yes!"
Soon, Lion's hologram appeared over the star chart. This time, though, she was not wearing armor. She had chosen to appear as the gallant little Saber-like king instead.
And, well... people were visual creatures.
The moment Bruce saw that golden-haired, blue-eyed, dainty little knight, his mood immediately improved.
Back then, he had never understood why people modded games.
Now he understood.
Cute girls really were easier on the eyes.
"Bruce, have you thought about what I mentioned before?" Lion asked immediately, without any detours.
That was just how she was. With other people, Lion might test your loyalty a little first. But Bruce was different to her.
"I still think we should be cautious," Bruce answered just as directly. "Splitting up now only gives the enemy an opening. We should save Horus first, then think about the rest."
That was the point of disagreement.
Lion wanted to take the evidence they had gathered and head straight to Holy Terra to expose the Word Bearers' corruption to the Emperor. Or, failing that, go back to Caliban, gather her full strength, and crush the Word Bearers herself before reporting everything afterward.
Bruce, however, thought Lion's plan was too rash. Better to revive Horus first and proceed from there. Once Horus was back on his feet, they would have three Primarchs on their side. No matter how much Lorgar wanted to jump around, how could he possibly stand against three Legions?
"But isn't Horus's side of things already in your hands?" Lion asked.
"Me?" Bruce pointed at himself.
You really think that highly of me...
"I trust you with my brother," Lion said. "I'm at ease leaving him to you. That lets me go handle the more important matter. Isn't that the perfect division of labor?"
You really are overestimating me. Thanks for that.
"And what if the Sons of Horus take one look at me and decide I'm an idiot?" Bruce shot back.
Why did they need a Primarch present in the first place? Wasn't it obvious?
Because if the Sons of Horus panicked, they might just kill him on the spot.
Bruce was not Erebus. He did not have that silver-tongued cult-leader charisma. That man was a genuine prophet-type schemer. Bruce was just one little Astartes.
"That doesn't make sense. With your abilities, you should absolutely be able to—" Lion looked Bruce up and down, unable to accept it.
Hmm...
This was weird.
Still, it was fine. Weak and adorable Bruce could simply be protected by her. Like a Master and Servant relationship.
"I still think it's safer this way. Besides, rather than going to Terra alone, why not bring Horus along once he's recovered?" Bruce offered another angle.
"If Horus himself speaks, won't the odds of success be much higher?"
Was there actually anything wrong with Lion's plan? Not really. In fact, it was probably the most efficient plan available.
But Bruce did not want efficiency at the expense of stability.
They currently held the initiative, sure. But did those four gods — especially Tzeentch — really plan to do nothing?
Maybe Erebus had just been a disposable pawn. Maybe an even worse pile of garbage was waiting around the corner.
"But my instincts are telling me something," Lion said uneasily. "If we do not return to Holy Terra and expose Lorgar quickly, the Word Bearers will definitely lash out in desperation."
"It's fine. Worst case, we beat him three against one. Or pull in the Ultramarines too. How much can Lorgar really do?" Bruce was unconvinced.
Curze had already sent people to establish relations with Guilliman's side. As long as they had justice and proof of wrongdoing on their side, the Ultramarines would never stand idle.
If anything, these crimes might even break through Guilliman's lingering guilt.
What he did to Monarchia was not the mistake.
The real idiot was Lorgar.
"I understand." After a moment, Lion gave in again and chose to follow Bruce's pace. "Then Horus comes first. How certain are you that you can save him?"
"One hundred percent," Bruce said.
You can doubt Bruce if you want, but never doubt the universal genius of Doraemon.
At worst, there would be some side effects. But compared to death, what did a few side effects matter?
"Good." Lion nodded.
A moment later, the stern look on her face softened. Her eyes began to shift shyly, and it was obvious she was thinking about something terribly improper.
"...?" Bruce watched Lion visibly start blushing, and almost lost it.
No, come on. Privately was one thing, but everyone was watching right now.
There were only Bruce and three Blackguards on the bridge of the Remilia, plus the penitents. But on the Invincible Reason?
Half the Inner Circle was probably watching this live.
Hey.
Your Lion is blushing.
Do none of you plan to stop her?
"Um... Bruce..."
"Yes?"
"Do you really not plan on coming to the Invincible Reason to see me?"
Not a good sign.
Bruce instantly tensed up.
That question practically answered itself.
No.
Absolutely not.
"Why are the three of you suddenly standing behind me?" Bruce asked instead, turning to the Blackguards who had quietly moved closer.
"Please continue, Acting Commander."
"We have not received any order saying we must execute you immediately if you betray the Primarch."
"That's right. Please rest assured — we are always loyal to you."
Those were threats. Those were very obviously threats.
"No." Bruce forced himself to answer properly under pressure from every direction. "The Remilia still has a lot to deal with. I really can't get away right now."
If he actually accepted Lion's invitation, forget the Blackguards — the penitents who still served Curze loyally might tear him to pieces on the spot.
Bruce had built himself some reputation, sure, but compared to Curze's standing? He was nowhere close.
"Then..." Lion thought for a moment and dropped another bombshell. "Should I come to the Remilia instead?"
Damn it, why are you blushing even harder?!
Don't do this to me!
Bruce now truly began to sweat. In that instant, he deeply regretted ever agreeing to let the blue raccoon implant his protagonist-template memories into Lion.
This kind of backlash was too much for him.
"Calm down, Lord Lion," he said quickly. "You're the fleet's supreme commander. If you leave, who's supposed to command the fleet?"
"Exactly," Nemeir's voice came from the other end. "If you go, who are we supposed to listen to?"
"What a pity..." Lion muttered, visibly deflating. "All right."
So you really were thinking about coming?
"Let's just meet on the Vengeful Spirit instead," Bruce hurriedly offered, trying to placate her.
"I'll cook for you myself when we get there. How about that?"
"Really?!" Lion's gloom vanished instantly.
"Yes. We should celebrate this victory anyway. And if we can invite Captain Krulu and Warmaster Horus too, even better."
"A double celebration. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Mm! Then it's settled!"
As if that were not enough, Lion asked again, "Bruce... you really weren't upset that I didn't jump-board with you?"
"I wasn't upset at all." Bruce shook his head. "If anything, I should be writing a self-criticism. Charging off to board alone without warning only made things harder for Captain Krulu."
Jump-boarding was one thing. But the real issue was that he had gone with only a handful of people. If anything had happened to him, the blame would have rolled downhill and crushed a lot of people.
Looking back now, Bruce had to admit he had been reckless.
But at the time, he had only wanted one thing:
Kill Erebus.
Some emotional baggage just ran that deep.
"Then we'll meet aboard the Vengeful Spirit," Lion said brightly. "I'll be looking forward to your cooking."
"Yeah. See you then."
"Mm!"
Neither side cut the call.
The silence that followed turned unbearably awkward.
Bruce kept a polite smile plastered on his face while sweating like mad. There was no way he could be the one to end the call — Lion outranked him in every possible way.
Meanwhile, Lion simply kept staring at him with that soft, almost melting smile of hers. And because she looked like a cute little girl right now, it somehow all felt far too natural.
It was just that the air now reeked of sweet, rotten romance.
There is no way those two don't have something going on.
Even the Astartes — people notoriously dull when it came to emotions — could see something was off.
"L-Lord Lion... maybe..."
"You can just call me Saber," Lion said gently. "Calling me Lord Lion feels too distant. We're comrades, aren't we?"
"But we're on official duty right now..."
"That's fine."
I am very much not fine with it!
"If there's nothing else, maybe we should end the call for now?" Bruce tried again. "You're the fleet commander. I'm sure you have a lot of things to deal with."
His toes were already curling inside his boots.
No one on the bridge had said anything, but Bruce could already feel everyone's gaze turning more and more strange.
This is not what you think it is...
"But..." Lion hesitated, then said it. "I wanted to look at you a little longer. Is that so wrong?"
Bruce nearly died on the spot.
Stop right there! Do not say things like that in public!
That was not just "a little too intimate." That was straight-up girlfriend-level emotional damage.
And on a work call, no less.
There would be records of this!
If she kept this up...
Bruce was going to become public enemy number one in the Dark Angels. And if this somehow made it to Holy Terra, then even if the Emperor did not seize him by the throat and thrash him around like a dog, it would only be because He was feeling merciful.
Because Lion was not a feral beast-boy anymore.
She was a young lady now.
And if the Emperor abruptly turned into the world's worst overprotective father...
Bruce would be finished.
"How about this," Bruce said with desperate calm. "Once you're off duty, we can talk again, all right?"
"It's not great to tie up comms resources like this."
"Hm..." Lion reluctantly accepted that logic. "All right. Then it's a promise."
"Yes, yes, absolutely..."
"Then... goodbye, Bruce."
Lion lingered for a few seconds more, reluctant to cut the connection, before finally ending it herself.
"..."
The moment the hologram vanished, Bruce collapsed back into his command chair and held his head, staring up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle.
At some point, he really did need to change Lion back.
The mission was done. It was time to remove Saber's memories and character settings from the Lion's mind.
Otherwise, one day he really might be overpowered by this Primarch lady and squeezed dry like a little boy caught by a grown woman.
"Youth really is wonderful..." Huafarin sighed, sipping her blood-beer cocktail.
"I never imagined the Acting Commander would be this formidable in that area too," Alfred added solemnly.
A short while later, another important message came in — this time from Krulu's flagship, the Black Raven's Throat.
"Acting Commander, message from the Black Raven's Throat: initial contact has been established with the Sons of Horus flagship, the Vengeful Spirit."
"They are allowing the fleet to approach!"
"Good!"
The moment Bruce heard that, all the tangled worry and embarrassment in his head vanished in an instant.
"How long until arrival?"
"Estimated seven standard Terran days!"
"Excellent!"
Seven days.
That was fast.
As long as Horus could be saved, then...
The Warhammer timeline really would have changed.
He refused to believe it. With such a god-tier opening, there was no way the Imperial civil war could still happen. No way the Webway Project could still fail. No way the Emperor could still end up on the Golden Throne. No way Curze's prophecies could still come true.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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