Why did it have to be like this again...?
Bruce sincerely felt he needed to dye his hair blond instead of keeping it black. This was just too absurd. Every time things reached the critical moment, he blacked out before he even got a chance to act cool.
Of course, Bruce wasn't actually unconscious. Buried halfway into the wall, he was still aware—just in a strange, out-of-body way, as if he were looking at himself from a third-person perspective.
So… am I dead?
Staring at his own half-dead body wedged into the wall, Bruce fell into brief contemplation.
Thinking back to the instant before he went down, he vaguely remembered Magnus's staff slamming toward him—and a psychic barrier intercepting the disintegration field. That was the only reason he'd survived at all.
Otherwise, if that force blade effect had actually landed, it would have sliced through him like a hot knife through butter. There wouldn't have been a "Bruce" anymore—just "Bru" and "ce."
Still, even the raw physical force alone had nearly finished him off.
After all, that had been a full-powered home-run swing from a primarch.
"You did well... my child..."
A holy, ethereal voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Bruce turned and saw a towering golden silhouette standing in midair. Like a god, he looked down upon the tiny figure of Bruce, his sun-bright gaze blazing with power.
"You came to pick me up?" Bruce asked, looking at the Emperor and giving a helpless shrug. "Sorry. Fighting a primarch is still a bit much for me."
Oops. Died before I could do anything cool. Can't be helped.
"Of course not..."
The golden giant shook his head.
"Your mission is not complete... this is not the time for you to lie down... I still need your help..."
"Bruce Wayne... you have done well... better than any of my sons..."
Bruce heard the praise and, instead of feeling honored, got a chill down his spine.
Something about this felt very, very wrong.
Why did this have such strong old man Dante energy? Maybe I should just stay dead. In Warhammer 40K, death really did count as a form of mercy.
"Idiot idiot idiot~"
Another infuriating voice suddenly rang out from behind the Emperor.
Huh?
That voice sounded like Sora Amamiya.
Wait, was that Tzeentch?
Why was she here too?
"Continue the fight... child... my plan is not yet complete..."
"The future of the Thousand Sons... my Grey Knights... I leave them to you..."
Bruce had just started wondering why the hell there would be Grey Knights in 30K when a huge golden hand smacked him across the face, punting his soul right back into his body.
The next thing he knew, the alarms blaring from his armor dragged him awake.
Everything hurt.
His body was riddled with injuries, and he could feel the cells in him repairing themselves like mad. Several of his enhanced organs had kicked into overdrive too.
It was only thanks to all of those superhuman implants working at full capacity that Bruce managed to crawl back from his fake-death state, gasping for air.
"Holy—cough, cough! Primarch strength is insane..."
Still seeing the world through a dark red haze, Bruce forced himself to look toward the battlefield ahead.
He didn't know how long he'd been out, but Curze and Magnus had already decided the outcome.
And from the looks of it, assassin beat caster.
As for how Bruce could tell?
Simple.
Magnus was being used as a sled.
Curze had him pinned flat on the ground and was stomping him forward like she was riding a snowboard, his arms bent backward so far they practically looked like wings.
Even someone who knew nothing about combat could tell who was winning and who was losing from that scene alone.
"Magnus! I'm going to make you die die die die die! Die die die die—AAAAAHHHHH!"
Curze had fully transformed into a crazed, shrieking gremlin.
"AAAHHHH— I was wrong! I was wrong! Wait, wait, wait!"
"B-brother! I was wrong!"
The pain wracking his whole body forced Magnus into outright surrender. For all his towering size, his numbers compared to the other primarchs really were just too weak.
And Curze was famous for exactly this kind of vicious first-strike brutality.
In just a few exchanges, she'd beaten the red giant—seven times her size—flat to the floor, and even snapped his spine in the process.
"Ah? Now you're begging? Calling me 'brother' now? I'm telling you—it's too late for that! Way too late!"
"If I don't rip your head off and stomp it to pieces in front of your sons today, I'll write my name backward!"
Curze braced herself and kept trying to wrench Magnus's arms clean off.
"Father! Save me!!!!!"
Driven into despair, Magnus could only pin his hopes on the Emperor.
Surely Father wouldn't just sit by and watch, right?
This was blatant bullying!
Curze was way too ruthless!
She didn't go for clean hits—she kept aiming for kneecaps, for the neck, for the places that hurt most. She wasn't a primarch at all. She was a cat.
"Rip—your—head—OFF!"
Curze bent herself backward with all her strength.
Except, because of the sheer size difference, even if she bent her waist to the breaking point, there was no realistic way she could tear Magnus's arms off.
Bang. Bang.
A bolt shell smashed into the armor along Magnus's side.
Another shot knocked away a hovering psychic staff that had been sneaking up behind Curze.
"Hm?"
Curze turned and saw Bruce holding the gun.
Her face lit up with joy immediately, and she released Magnus's arms.
"Recruit! You're not dead?!"
She flew over at once and began checking him over anxiously.
At first glance, there was no immediate danger. His arms moved fine. But his leg...
Yeah. That looked broken.
"I'm... more or less fine..."
Bruce really wanted to take off his helmet, but he was worried his whole face might be covered in blood. If Curze saw that, she might genuinely kill Magnus on the spot—and Magnus was still useful.
"You can still move? Do you need me to carry you?" Curze had no idea how to heal him. She could only stare at his listless state and fume.
Damn it. Why wasn't there an Apothecary nearby?
"I'm fine. Just a little tired. More importantly..." Bruce pointed toward Magnus, who had stopped struggling and was lying there half-dead. "Shouldn't we deal with him first?"
"Then wait right here!"
Curze marched off in a huff toward Magnus, who looked just as battered and miserable.
Bruce had barely started wondering what she intended to do when a red blur roared past him.
The next second, Curze hoisted Magnus up and slammed him into the wall—
right next to Bruce.
Then she shot upward and came down with a brutal stomp straight onto Magnus's chest.
The red giant coughed up blood at once, groaning in agony.
That kick had not only shattered the chest bones Magnus had just barely begun to repair, it had probably punctured a lung too. Of course, as long as the heart was intact, that kind of "minor injury" would heal quickly for a primarch.
"I'll ask you one last time. Do you surrender, Magnus?"
Curze planted a foot on his chest and grabbed him by the hair as she asked.
"I su—cough—I surrender..."
Magnus choked on blood as he answered through tears.
As pathetic as he looked, he didn't really have any other choice. If Curze hadn't been "merciful," he would already be dead.
Magnus wasn't afraid of dying.
What he feared was dying meaninglessly.
He still had too much left undone.
His research. His sons' flesh-change problem. His psychic arts. His libraries. His chance to seek the Emperor's help.
If he died now, before finishing any of that, he'd never accept it.
"Recruit. Slap him a few times."
Curze turned toward Bruce, who looked thoroughly intimidated.
"Th-that won't be necessary..."
Bruce barely dared to breathe.
Only now did he fully realize that his tiny little primarch was strong enough to rip his head off whenever she pleased.
If she could treat Magnus like a dog, what chance did he have?
Bruce was suddenly very afraid of what would happen if he ever genuinely provoked Curze.
She fought her own brothers like this. What would she do to him?
"When I say hit him, hit him! Stop whining!"
Curze sounded thoroughly exasperated.
I just got revenge for you, and now you're acting all shy? What exactly are you playing at?
"I'll try..."
Bruce gritted his teeth and forced himself forward, but the pain in his muscles made him hesitate again.
In the end, he compromised.
"Sorry, Lord Magnus..."
Bang.
Bruce fired one shot into Magnus's thigh.
It didn't do any real damage and couldn't penetrate his skin, but the impact still made Magnus wince.
"Th... thank you..."
Magnus clearly understood that Bruce had gone easy on him.
"Don't mention it..."
Bruce lowered the gun in peace.
Curze stared for half a second, then turned and slapped Magnus across the face.
The crack echoed sharply.
The blow didn't just make his cheek burn—it ground what remained of Magnus's pride into the dirt.
"Talk! Why did you attack us? If you don't explain yourself right now, I'll kill you!"
Grabbing Magnus by the collar at the neck of his armor, Curze snarled,
"And I swear, you won't even get the chance to live long enough to crawl in front of Father and beg forgiveness!"
"Not even Horus will be able to stop me."
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 147)
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 (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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