This is bad.
Something filthy has interfered.
The moment Bruce learned that Ahriman had vanished from the Thousand Sons' command structure, and that no one knew where he had gone, he immediately realized that some blue-feathered oversized bird was definitely plotting something in the dark.
Especially after hearing that, during the battle at the Silver Bastion, the last captives had seen Ahriman leave with ninety-eight others—including a very particular list of names.
Khayon Kyrelax, of the Black Raven discipline, deputy chief librarian of the First Fellowship, and the number two of the First Company.
Hasor Maat, master-instructor of the Shining Feather discipline, and captain of the Third Fellowship.
Amon, captain of the Ninth Fellowship.
Ignis, a psyker of the Seventh Fellowship.
Severis, the most mysterious member of the Raven discipline within the Thousand Sons.
That was when Bruce knew they were finished.
The moment he heard that Ahriman himself was among those nine key figures, one thing flashed through his mind—
the Rubric.
The time was different. The place was different.
But the people were the same.
And the purpose was very likely the same as well.
Bruce remembered it clearly: Professor Ahriman, in all his brilliant wisdom, had managed to "cure" the Thousand Sons' flesh-change.
After that, living Thousand Sons had become rarer than daemons.
Never mind that most of them ended up as piles of dust—just answer the question. Had he cured it or not?
On top of that, Bruce clearly remembered hearing the mocking cry of a certain blue bird from the warp gate just before the Emperor's invisible hand had shoved his soul back into his body.
There was a very good chance that was the moment she had slipped down the line and arrived on Prospero.
How could that bird be this disgusting?
The situation had practically been won, and she still had to jump out and make trouble.
"Magnus!" Bruce dropped all pretenses of politeness. "Can you contact Ahriman through your psychic link?"
"This is bad—really bad!"
"I already sent Ahriman my command," Magnus replied, not quite understanding why Bruce was so frantic.
It was just a few men slipping away. What kind of trouble could they possibly cause?
At worst, once his injuries recovered a little, he could just go find them himself.
"Try again," Bruce urged weakly. "I think whatever stop order you sent before may have been blocked by something."
Then he turned to Uthizzar.
"Captain Uthizzar, do you have a direct communications line to Ahriman?"
"No... none." Uthizzar shook his head.
That was it.
Now Bruce could finally go die in peace.
"So... why are you this nervous?" Magnus asked as he once again tried to contact Ahriman psychically.
Instinct told him Bruce definitely knew something important—but for some reason, he just refused to say it plainly.
"It's related to that so-called guardian in the warp again. As for its real identity... I don't think we should say it out loud here."
Bruce let out a drained sigh.
The Thousand Sons really were impossible.
Magnus was an idiot, and his First Captain was an idiot too.
What was this? Father and son both falling for the same blue bird's scam call?
"Then I understand..." Magnus's expression changed at once, and he finally realized how serious this was.
Ever since learning that guardian's true identity, Magnus had been deeply afraid. It was only because he hadn't continued making deals that neither he nor the legion had been completely ruined.
Still, he found a little comfort in one thing.
If the one who had fooled him was Tzeentch, then getting tricked once wasn't that shameful, was it?
"No, wait."
No matter how Magnus flexed his psychic senses, he could not get his intentions across to Ahriman.
More disturbingly, he could no longer even locate where Ahriman was.
And it wasn't just him—those ninety-eight Thousand Sons who had retreated from the Silver Bastion were the same.
"You can't reach him, can you?" Bruce asked. He had expected this, but it still made him feel helpless.
"There's some kind of barrier blocking my psychic connection to Ahriman!" Magnus cursed angrily.
Could it be that Chaos God who had tricked him?
But if so, what was the point?
Even if she lured away Ahriman and ninety-eight Thousand Sons, what good would that do to the legion or to Prospero?
"Meiling!"
Bruce pulled out his map device and turned to her.
"Use this to track Ahriman's location. Mobilize all our scouts. Find him as fast as possible!"
"Yes!" Meiling snapped a salute, took the device, and ran off.
"What time is it?" Bruce asked anxiously.
"By Terran reckoning..." Koiz thought about it for a moment. "Should be around seven, maybe eight in the morning."
"That means we've got a little over an hour to find Ahriman. After that, things get bad."
Bruce laid out his guess.
"Based on what I know about that blue bird, she'll definitely choose nine hours, nine minutes, and nine seconds in the morning to start the Rubric. Especially now that she has ninety-nine Thousand Sons and exactly nine top-tier psykers."
"But that's only six nines," Koiz said skeptically. "Where are the other three?"
"What if coordinates and dimensional layers count as nine too? And if you count her herself as one more nine, it's not impossible."
"What is this Rubric?" Magnus interrupted sharply. "How have I never heard of it?"
Just hearing the name told him it was something deeply wrong.
But why did he have absolutely no knowledge of it? Was there really a psychic rite in existence that even he didn't know?
"I didn't know either," Bruce replied. "Because it shouldn't exist yet. But that bird probably realized she was about to lose and decided to pull one last desperate counterattack."
"What does it do? Tell me." Magnus became visibly agitated. "As long as I know the principle and effect, I'll know how to break it. In that case, it won't matter even if we don't find Ahriman!"
At last, they had reached a field Magnus actually excelled in.
He didn't dare boast about anything else, but when it came to psychic sorcery, he truly was very, very good.
"Clear the room first," Bruce said after a moment.
"I have something very private to discuss with my brother... and with Bruce."
Magnus waved everyone out.
"Yes!"
Uthizzar obeyed at once.
Very quickly, the previously crowded medical command tent was emptied, leaving only the three of them behind.
Even Warfarin, who had still been secretly studying Magnus's blood and skin samples, was kicked straight out.
"Now can you say it?" Magnus asked, drawing in a breath, full of expectation.
Bruce nodded.
"The Rubric is basically..."
He did his best to explain its origins, principles, and effects in the simplest terms possible, carefully avoiding anything too specific about the original timeline.
But Bruce had underestimated Magnus.
Magnus could tell there were deeper layers here, much deeper ones, but with Koiz staring at him, his intelligence briefly won out over his emotions.
Hehehe. Better to pretend I know nothing.
If Bruce is hiding it from me, he must have his reasons.
"I actually don't think there's any need to panic," Magnus declared after hearing the whole explanation.
"This spell won't affect everyone. Not only will it fail to turn all my sons into dust—even those closest to the ritual's center won't necessarily end up that way."
"After all, my soul, my flesh, and my genes are still intact. My sons are linked directly to me, not to that damned thing."
"So the situation isn't as terrible as you imagine."
"At worst..."
"They'll become sacrifices—mocked, used, and then have their souls harvested by that damned creature."
So in the worst-case scenario, Ahriman and a group of immensely talented psykers would merely become Tzeentch's toys.
But to Magnus, losing ninety-nine gifted sons was still preferable to losing tens of thousands. Painful, yes—but bearable.
And perhaps their sacrifice could even serve as a warning to the rest of the Thousand Sons.
Let them understand that when dealing with the warp and sorcery in the future, they needed to be far more careful.
Your sacrifice will be remembered. And I will find a way to avenge you.
Ahriman. My proud sons.
Magnus sighed, deeply pained.
"This was my mistake. But afterwards, I'll personally apologize to the sons who remain."
Koiz could only stare at him.
Then she sighed and said in disgust, "You really are a red one-eyed Ogryn."
Magnus frowned in confusion.
If things were really as simple as he claimed, Bruce wouldn't be this worked up.
"True, your soul and body didn't become that bird's playthings," Bruce said.
"But aren't you forgetting something else?"
He pointed at Magnus's empty eye socket.
"Do you remember the first time you met it? That trade you made?"
Magnus's expression changed instantly.
No medium?
Then what did that eye you handed over count as?
"Not good!"
He reflexively covered the missing eye, then sprang off the bed.
"Uthizzar!"
Now truly panicking, the Crimson King ignored the pain, used his staff as a cane, and limped toward the exit.
"Gather everyone!"
"Find Ahriman at any cost!"
Oh no, no, no.
My sons can't be allowed to die like this.
I will not accept the flesh-change being "cured" in this way.
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 150)
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 (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter222)
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 190
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 Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 215
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 200
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 61
Checking In in Demon Slayer 65
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 15
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin