Pssht, pssht, pssht—
Bruce pressed the nozzle of the spray can against Horus's wound. A cloud of pink mist settled over the rotting flesh for a moment, and then a miracle happened.
Everyone's eyes widened.
The wound was healing at a visible rate.
A single little can had accomplished what the Sons of Horus had failed to solve in three whole months. What even was this thing? Could it be mass-produced?
"What, so a mere case of plagu—cough, cough—a mere illness is only this mu—"
Bruce had barely started celebrating when the freshly healed wound began to rot again. The spread was much slower this time, but the meaning was obvious enough.
Against Nurgle's corruption, Doraemon's wonder-tools were effective, but not completely effective.
"What are you standing around for? Keep spraying!" Abaddon shouted anxiously, so worked up he looked ready to snatch the can and do it himself.
To Abaddon, Bruce's spray was like a candle in the dark. Even if the wind might blow it out at any moment, as long as the flame could be relit, there was still light. There was still hope.
"Calm down. If it heals only to start rotting again, then this tool can only suppress it temporarily. It can't cure the root problem."
Bruce shook his head and did not spray again.
Then he produced a lump of black ointment. This was the Healing Salve. Compared with the spray, it was stronger and more targeted.
Before the wound could further collapse and spread, Bruce quickly spread the salve wide enough to cover the whole area and pressed it firmly into place.
After a while, the rotting flesh stopped spreading altogether. At last, things were moving in the right direction.
Horus still had not awakened. His face was still as ashen as a corpse, and his body as gaunt as though life had already left him. But at least he was no longer getting worse.
"Has Father's injury been stabilized?" Torgaddon asked carefully, swallowing hard.
At this point, if Torgaddon had harbored even the slightest doubt about Bruce before, it was gone now. Bruce was the greatest miracle-working physician he had ever seen, bar none.
Because he truly could save their father.
"In theory, yes. In practice..." Bruce frowned as he glanced at the readouts on the medical monitors.
Machines could not truly measure damage caused by Chaos, but they could still serve as a rough reference.
Judging from the display, Horus's condition had shifted from flashing red, critical danger to yellow, under observation. His breathing and heartbeat were both gradually improving as well.
Still, Horus remained stuck in a half-dead limbo. He would neither worsen nor recover. Better, but not fully better.
So another method was needed—something to raise Horus's health back up and ideally restore the life force he had lost.
"What do you need us to do? Just give the order!" Torgaddon blurted out.
As long as Horus could be saved, they would do anything. If Bruce ordered them to turn the ship around and run straight for Holy Terra, they would do it. The Great Crusade, no matter how important, was not more important than their father's life.
"I need a Librarian. Bring in my Chief Librarian. If you don't trust him, you can also bring one of your own Librarians to supervise."
Bruce spoke like a commander issuing field orders.
"And clear the medical bay. I need some private space."
He could have taken out more of Doraemon's gadgets right in front of everyone, but if there was a chance to keep some hidden, he preferred to do so.
These were trump cards, after all.
"Yes!" Torgaddon and Abaddon answered at the same time.
The two captains, and effectively the men speaking for the Legion at this point, withdrew from the operating room without hesitation.
They had reached the point where they trusted Bruce completely. If he said a life had to be sacrificed to save Horus, the Sons of Horus would probably start shouting over each other, volunteering first.
To die for their primarch would be an honor.
"Agent Commander, could I have one of those sprays and one of that ointment?" Warfarin asked timidly.
After seeing what the two medicines could do, her entire worldview as a doctor had nearly collapsed. With tools like these, why would anyone even need an apothecary anymore?
Maybe from now on she ought to just call herself a gene-seed recovery specialist.
"Sure. I can spare a few for you to play with."
Bruce casually tossed Warfarin a spray can and a patch of ointment.
"Thank you, thank you!" Warfarin caught them like priceless relics and immediately dove toward the nearby medical equipment.
Where was a better testing ground than an operating room like this one?
"Horus's current state is..." Lion asked quietly, unable to hide the worry in her voice.
"Physically, I'd say he's been pulled back from the execution line. But like I said, he was set up by Chaos."
Bruce operated the medical controls as he spoke.
He could not use the more sophisticated functions, but reading the patient's vitals was simple enough. Under the effect of the salve, the large-scale rot inside Horus's body had been halted and was even beginning to reverse, if slowly.
But the main problem remained the same. Compared with his physical injuries, Horus's greatest wound was to his soul—and that was not something medicine alone could fix.
"His soul... Should I call in a few of the Librarians from the Invincible Reason?" Lion asked.
Although the Edict of Nikaea officially forbade their use, the First Legion had never fully obeyed it. In truth, the Emperor had quietly permitted that. If necessary, Lion could bring in much stronger psykers.
"Not yet. Alfred is enough."
Bruce sounded completely certain.
The same was true for the Night Lords. As a criminal legion, they had not exactly obeyed the Edict either. In some ways, the more the Emperor forbade something, the harder the Night Lords leaned into it.
Which meant a psyker like Alfred was dangerous enough to be a major asset in any Legion.
"And psykers aren't something you bring in by the dozen. Let's first determine what state Horus's soul is in."
As he spoke, the door to the operating room opened, and Alfred entered alone.
The moment he saw Horus lying there like a corpse, he froze. Then he noticed Warfarin hunched over the medical equipment, fiddling with who knew what, and for a brief moment suspected the Legion's apothecary had already done something unforgivable.
"Agent Commander, you asked for me?" Alfred asked, still trying to assess the situation.
What exactly was going on here?
"I have an extremely important mission for you, Alfred."
Bruce stepped forward and set both hands on Alfred's shoulders, his expression grave.
"I need you to use your psychic power to examine the current state of Warmaster Horus's soul. But I need to warn you—this will be dangerous."
"The Warmaster's wound came from a powerful Chaos god. During the process of examining him, there is a real chance you could be corrupted. Worse, you might become a channel through which Chaos breaks into realspace."
"And if I see even the slightest sign of that happening, I will kill you immediately."
He paused, then looked Alfred squarely in the eye.
"Now answer me. Are you willing to accept this mission?"
Bruce could have hidden the danger, but these people had already risked their lives together. Better to tell the truth. Besides, he trusted Alfred's ability.
"Of course! It would be my honor, Agent Commander!"
Alfred answered without the slightest hesitation or retreat.
"My duty is to serve you."
After the boarding action, Alfred had been utterly won over. This Agent Commander was strong, capable, and morally sound. Following him truly was an honor.
Maybe, under Bruce's leadership, the Night Lords might one day become as formidable as the Dark Angels.
"Good. I'll remember this merit, and when we return to the homeworld, I'll report it personally to the primarch."
If Alfred succeeded, Bruce fully intended to see him restored to full standing. Hell, if Alfred wanted into First Company to become one of the Black Guard or the Kenterka, Bruce would recommend him with everything he had.
If necessary, Bruce was fully prepared to throw away all dignity, hug Konrad Curze around the waist, bury his face in her stomach, and shamelessly beg until she agreed.
That was basically how Wayne Enterprises had come into being, after all.
"Yes! Alfred guarantees mission success!"
"Good. Saber, I'm entrusting my man to you."
Bruce nodded, then turned to Lion and gave her his request as well.
"Leave it to me."
The moment Lion heard that she had a role to play, she instantly straightened, all attention fixed.
Even if her job was merely to stand by and be ready to cut Alfred's head off if something went wrong, it still meant she mattered here.
And for both of them, that mattered.
For Alfred, dying by the hand of a primarch would honestly be the sort of thing he could brag about forever in the afterlife.
For Lion, it was a rare chance for her to help everyone in a tangible way. Naturally, she would give it everything she had.
"Then... I'm beginning."
As Alfred activated his psychic power, the entire operating room began to warp. His eyes turned into pools of brilliant blue light, and arcs of psychic electricity crackled around his body.
Using Horus's unconscious body as a medium, Alfred would probe deep into the Warmaster's soul and find out exactly what kind of damage had been done to it.
Meanwhile, Bruce would look for one of Doraemon's miracle gadgets capable of repairing soul damage, and once Alfred gave him the diagnosis, he would treat the problem directly.
That was what you called a proper medical team.
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
Uma Musume: I Want All 35
I Can Copy Unique Skills 36
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
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