"Well, well. A rare guest..." Magnus said with a meaningful smile as she watched Bruce sneak furtively into the library.
"Huh? What the hell?" Bruce looked at Magnus sitting atop a bookshelf and asked in confusion, "Magnus? Why are you here?"
Wasn't this the Remilia? Why was Magnus suddenly spawning in a place like this? Patchouli, help! There's an unauthorized intruder in your library!
Bruce! I'm so relieved to see you're okay.
"Sigh. So when you speak to me in private, you don't even bother with honorifics anymore?" Magnus said in a complicated tone.
"And what's so strange about me being here? I'm the lord of Prospero, and the master of the Grand Library. Most of the collection may have been split up, but I still retain ownership here."
"Besides, that 'Anywhere Door' the round-headed raccoon gave us is an excellent thing indeed."
"That means I only need to drop by every so often, inspect the place, and see what new books my administrators have found for me." Magnus set the book in her hand aside and smiled at Bruce. "So then, what brings you here? Or rather… what difficulty have you run into that requires an answer from knowledge?"
"You can speak plainly. If I know the answer, I'll tell you."
"Feel honored, Bruce. Opportunities to consult the greatest sage of Prospero don't come often."
Short of some especially twisted problem, Magnus could explain most things. After all, in the entire Imperium, only the Emperor surpassed her in wisdom and learning. To receive her counsel was practically the same as gaining future sight.
"Has the Warmaster already shared the news about Ultramar's Five Hundred Worlds with you?" Bruce asked tentatively.
"She has, but..." Magnus gave him a look that plainly said I see right through you. "That's not really the question you wanted to ask, is it?"
"When you brought it up, you sounded confident."
"That means you came here for something else. If I'm guessing correctly, it has something to do with psychic arts, doesn't it?"
"At this rate you might as well just use divination and read me clean through," Bruce grumbled.
Still, after Magnus laid it out so directly, he laughed in defeat, pulled over a chair, and sat down, clearly prepared to have a proper talk with the most intelligent Primarch.
Fine then. Let's hear your brilliant insight.
But if she came out with some dazzlingly idiotic strategy on the level of shattering the Webway, he would call his mom over on the spot to beat her up.
"Well, that would take all the fun out of it. Though if you don't mind, I'd be happy to," Magnus said proudly.
Honestly, if she really wanted to get inside his head, it would be effortless.
As long as Konrad wasn't around, no matter how clever Bruce was, he'd never win an argument against her.
"Then I'll ask directly." Bruce stopped hedging. "Is there any psychic art that can extract souls corrupted by Chaos? Or… let trapped souls find peace?"
"Hm?" Magnus hadn't expected that to be the issue, and it threw her for a moment.
Since when had this boy grown interested in warp lore? Remarkable.
"Don't look at me like that. You think I didn't ask Doraemon first? He said he couldn't help, because things like souls couldn't be explained scientifically. So the only answer I could think of was psychic power." Bruce clarified further.
"How strange. You support Father's Imperial Truth, yet you don't mind using psychic power..." Magnus murmured.
"I'm a practical man. If something works, I use it. If there's a shortcut, why would I deliberately make things harder for myself?" Bruce replied frankly.
"I do know similar arts," Magnus said after thinking for a moment. "But you probably won't be able to use them yourself."
She paused, then asked, "Can you tell me what you want to use them for?"
"If you ask like that, it gets hard to answer..." Bruce spread his hands helplessly.
"Oh? Then are you planning to act on your own this time, without even telling Konrad?" Magnus perked up immediately.
Just before, the two of them had criticized her for being one-track minded and never thinking through the consequences. And now Bruce was about to do basically the same thing.
So he was just as hypocritical.
"This is just preliminary investigation. First I find a workable method, then I talk to Father, and then I act. I don't think that's unreasonable," Bruce said.
"Then can you tell me?"
"Sure."
"Hm?"
"I want to use that psychic art to save a few souls."
"Whose?"
"Some mortals."
"Mortals' souls?!"
"Yes. A group of gladiators' souls on Nuceria."
Bruce, while I'm really relieved you're okay and all, what are you even trying to do now?!
Magnus stared for a while, then slowly said, "You really are a strange one."
"Why do you always have these bizarre ideas? You even want to save the souls of mortals?"
"The Imperium is vast beyond measure. In the time we've spent talking, who knows how many people have died? If you try to save everyone, could you possibly keep up?"
Bruce shook his head and shot back, "And you—have you even thought about what kind of place Nuceria is?"
Then he defended himself. "Of course I know that if you try to save everything, you end up saving nothing. But in this case? I'm trying to help your brother by saving a few souls already tainted by Chaos."
"Nuceria..." Magnus searched the term in her mind.
Then she remembered, and at once understood what Bruce intended to do. But was it really worth it? For that mad dog?
"Though I don't know exactly what you're planning," Magnus said, "I'll help."
"This time, you owe me a favor—and I'll return one. If you want to save those souls, I'll assist you. As long as you reach the place and locate the souls precisely, I'll act at once."
"Arts that grant peace to souls aren't things ordinary people can master. And if Chaos is involved, it gets even harder. But you're lucky. Both conditions happen to be met in me."
At that, Magnus allowed herself a small touch of pride. The two of them and Konrad might have belittled her relentlessly, but when they truly needed her, they still had no choice but to come asking.
"So a Primarch really would have to do it..." Bruce muttered. "Wouldn't that be a bit..."
"And isn't your target also a Primarch? If I'm guessing correctly, you want to help Angron. That mad dog." Magnus gave him a look of disbelief, but still chose to support him.
"I wouldn't call it helping, exactly. More like trying something." Bruce sighed. "He's already that far gone. Even the Emperor couldn't remove the Butcher's Nails, much less us."
"If possible, I just want him to leave this world a little more peacefully."
"And that would matter?" Magnus found the idea even harder to understand.
"You don't know unless you try. What if it works?" Bruce argued.
Magnus fell silent for a moment, then shook her head.
"You're still hiding something from me," she said. "And not just from me—also from Konrad and Horus."
"What exactly are you thinking? Don't tell me you really have found some kind of solution?"
"Why not share it? Since I'm already willing to take risks and help you drag souls back, that makes us allies on the same side now, doesn't it?"
"Want me to repeat that line to Lion and let her hear it? She'd probably come straight to Prospero and break your back."
"..."
Magnus's face changed immediately.
"But you really want to know?" Bruce tested.
"I didn't at first," Magnus admitted with a pained expression, "but after you dangled it in front of me like that, if I refuse now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life..."
Of course she would. She valued knowledge above all things. Did he really think tempting her like this would end well?
Damn it. This boy was fascinating.
Where exactly had Konrad found a son like this? If one of her own sons had even a tenth—no, a ninth—of Bruce's charm, she'd already be satisfied.
But sadly, none of them did.
"This isn't the right place for that kind of talk. Too many eyes and ears," Bruce said, glancing toward several magical girls hiding behind the shelves and eavesdropping.
Magnus snapped her fingers without a word.
The next instant, a spherical field enclosed the two of them, and the entire library froze in place.
"There. That will do," Magnus said, swinging her legs lightly. "Now talk. Tell me what you know—and what exactly you intend to do."
"All right, but let me ask you something first. Do you know what an IF route is?"
"IF route? That's an ancient Terran term," Magnus said. "I know what it means. But what does that have to do with what we're discussing?"
"What if I told you that, in one worldline, you didn't lose your right eye in a bargain—but in battle against the Soul-Drinking Swarm instead? And afterward, you came to understand that psychic power couldn't solve every problem."
Magnus nodded slowly. "An interesting hypothetical."
"And what I'm about to tell you," Bruce said, leaning forward, "is this."
"There exists an IF route where Angron—the mad dog—can become the Emperor's loyal hound."
"And the prerequisite for that route is the very souls I need your help to save."
Magnus stared at him.
Bruce met her gaze and continued evenly:
"That's why I'm here."
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 155)
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 (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
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 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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