bookbashuk Page 407
Page 407
Have you seen the monster that is about to descend upon Fenris?
Horus spoke in a low voice, his tone subdued and cold, and Horus was astonished to find that the entire space seemed to darken.
At that moment, a thousand thoughts raced through the Wolf King's mind, while Horus's voice still echoed in his ears.
Our father... he was deceived, by Makado and "it".
The entire alien building began to tremble, as if some enormous, incompatible entity had approached it. Dark cracks crept up from the corners, like undulating frost before the onset of winter.
Ruth, I've seen a lot, I've experienced a lot—I've witnessed the betrayal of my closest friend, but I don't blame him; I've seen my brothers turn against me, but I know it was the result of being deceived by treacherous officials—but I truly witnessed his passing…the passing of our…father.
【What? ! 】
The floor began to shake, and Ruth felt as if he were on the back of a leaping giant wolf. He stood up, and stones began to fall from the dome.
Strangely, Horus remained seated steadily, along with his strange little birds, except that he began to flicker like an unstable projection.
"...I cannot tolerate it."
Tears of blood streamed from Horus's eyes.
He personally raised a wild beast, letting it grow until it was strong enough to severely injure him—yes, everything here is unfriendly to humans, but in this matter, we stand with them.
Horus spoke slowly, spreading his hands.
The starlight has gone out because Father is hiding from it—we need to help him. As long as that monster lives, the starlight will never shine again.
The monster tore everything apart with its own hands—the galaxy, the empire… all of this was the backlash from its actions.
He witnessed firsthand the emperor being severely wounded by wild beasts and dying.
Horus stood up, walked to the panicked Rus, and slowly but firmly grasped the hand that held the Spear of Dionysus.
I am not a fool.
Horus said that his hand reached down, sliding down the spear's cold body, and he touched the sharp tip.
I know all too well that things from the warp are not trustworthy; they are merely tools, temporary allies, their words a mixture of truth and falsehood—so I have come to verify the truth myself.
The Spear of Dionysus
Horus whispered, and Horus saw that eerie light emanated from those damned birds, the flowing light momentarily disorienting the wolf king.
[The wisdom of our father, a portion of which can be obtained by the stabbed, he has bestowed upon you.]
Horus lowered his eyes.
I want to see if what I've come to know is true; nothing is more fitting than the Dionysian spear—it's his work.
[Will he—actually be hurt by that monster, or even worse?]
Horus gave an utterly weary smile. As the warlord, he had failed in his duty, but as his son, he was unwilling to fail again.
I failed to protect the empire he entrusted to me, but this time, I will not let him suffer again.
Those who have been abandoned... they too need the monster's head to soothe their souls.
A drop of blood flowed from the sharp tip of the Dionysian Spear.
Horus roared and reached out to grab Horus, whose form was beginning to dissipate, but as if waking from a dream, Horus's figure vanished like mist, and his hand passed straight through Horus's phantom.
Following the sharp blue light was an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, like a curtain descending. The wolf king's pupils dilated suddenly; he sensed something familiar—
Magnus's psychic powers.
Magnus!!!
Lehman Ruth roared in fury, his hypothesis confirmed at that moment—that damned psychic was using his damned psychic powers again!
The familiar scent told the wolf king that Rus was 100% certain that Horus's appearance and disappearance were related to Magnus.
Amidst the violent tremors, the space was on the verge of collapse. The Wolf King had no time to ponder what Horus had meant; he realized he needed to stop that damned Magnus!
He didn't understand Horus—but Magnus was indeed the mission entrusted to him by the Emperor!
Lehman Russ's top priority is to keep a damn eye on Magnus!
Intuition and the cold wind guided him, and without hesitation, the wolf king charged into the already crumbling net.
Something has descended upon this place, and two forces are clashing here.
The forces he was close to were pulling him away, while the forces he was unfamiliar with were taking him to his destination.
After a moment of dizziness and disorientation, the wolf king suddenly found himself standing in Fenris's raging blizzard.
He caught the scent of the scarlet sinner at the tip of his nose.
Without the slightest hesitation, the wolf king stepped into the blizzard.
Eager to stop the Crimson Sinner from disappearing into the storm, the wolf king felt as if everything that had just happened was a dream in the face of nature's fierce onslaught against the tiny humanoid figure.
But on the tip of the spear behind the wolf king, there was a trace of a dried drop of blood.
Great!
Chapter 479 O Lord of All Changes! Grant strength to your followers!
A cold wind surrounded him.
With one foot deep and the other shallow, the snow piled up to the original body's knees was pushed aside, and Magnus struggled forward across the snowfield.
Winter has come.
Above the vast sky, the edge of the frigid wolf moon glided with cold light; He watched him, and they watched him.
He felt the surging power, and Magnus could no longer tell whether it was Fenris's blessing or part of his deal with the Lord of Change.
But it is not important.
Magnus thought to himself, praising the ever-changing Lord in his heart, condemning the False Emperor's cruelty, and horrified by the impending arrival of the [Jailer]—for which he was willing to make this deal.
Magnus felt a surge of brilliant blue light rising from a corner of his soul.
His speed was just right.
Magnus figured out a way that would prevent Fenris from discovering it, while also ensuring that Magnus wouldn't go back on his word.
The debtor has his own judgment, and his willingness to lend Magnus's power means that he is certain he will receive more than the principal.
This meant that Magnus would eventually submit to His rule.
He—Magnus—would certainly not go back on his word!
He will complete his deal, and if he fails, Magnus will suffer the consequences of that failure.
The cold wind lashed at his face, and Magnus gritted his teeth. This was Fenris's way of blocking Leman Russ's storm, but it also hindered Magnus's journey.
Large snowflakes swept across his bare skin. Luckily, his skin was red, Magnus thought, otherwise his arms would probably be scratched red by now.
Amidst the vast expanse of white snow, he stumbled along, a tiny speck of scarlet moving slowly.
The ancient sound of ice and snow rang in his ears.
+The Crimson King—he's almost here. Prepare your spells; we still have hope.+
Magnus gritted his teeth. The solution offered by the Fenris Soul was to use psionic power to ignite and distract [it], while protecting the network channels within Fenris as much as possible.
Magnus chuckled softly.
Naive, he thought, utterly naive... Anyone who has truly experienced and faced hardship knows at a glance that this simply won't work... Just like... in the past...
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
Such a naive existence is destined to suffer malice.
Magnus gave a twisted smile.
As Magnus listened to Fenris, he silently invoked the Lord of Change, who provided him with another set of spells, similar to Fenris's spells—but with the difference being the ninth syllable from the end. This altered syllable would allow Magnus to successfully sacrifice Fenris and plunder his power.
Magnus let out a groaning laugh that sounded like crying.
He staggered barefoot into the scene he had seen at the time of the prophecy.
The ragged crimson figure stepped onto the altar that Fenris had prepared for him. Magnus was in a daze, the wind and snow lashing at him, urging him on, but Magnus was not in a hurry—because no matter when he started, Leman Russ would only arrive at that point.
Fenris was unaware of this, just as he was unaware that Magnus had already made other deals.
Naive.
Magnus slowly raised his arms and head. The white cloth binding his blindfold had already been removed, and the icy snow fell, landing on his red, smooth face, melting away with his body heat and turning into crystal-clear water droplets.
He felt the approaching darkness.
He's right!!!
Magnus cried out silently, the prophecy was true—but no one believed him!
In a daze, amidst the extreme cold, he seemed to be back on that stage. Magnus blinked, shivering, and saw himself standing on the stage of Nicaea.
Magnus's vision seemed to return, and he took a panicked step back under the gaze of the crowd and the spotlight.
Oh God... how much Magnus wished time could turn back, flow back to that time, even if it was his last fantasy.
He shouldn't have messed it all up; he could have apologized beforehand... Magnus comforted himself, but deep down, he already knew that the moment he made the deal, his fate had already ended.
Magnus opened his single eye, which he had not yet offered to the false emperor, and tried to find the thousand sons below the stage, who were eagerly waiting for him to speak, against the light.
He has let them down...
Magnus gave a smile that looked more like a grimace.
On the stage in Nikaia, Magnus smiled gently and bowed gracefully and slightly tremblingly to the audience.
He began to speak, slowly pacing on the stage.
Friendly entities exist in the subspace.
Magnus said, swallowing nervously. He could do this, not mess it up. Give him another chance, and he wouldn't let them down. Magnus would prove himself right.
However, due to the small sample size, I cannot directly show you the samples.
As Magnus spoke, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Was it his own sweat or Fenris's snowmelt?
A familiar sneer from Magnus rang out from below the stage.
【absurd!】
The Wolf King laughed scornfully, slamming his hand roughly on his chair. Magnus watched him with a smile, but the Crimson Sinner's eyes burned with fury.
He stared at Riemann Ruth—whom he so hated, who was born above Fenris and had witnessed the whole thing—yet, because of his own stance, he had not upheld the truth.
The truth is that Fenris could testify for Magnus at that time and prove that what he said was true.
He is right.
Magnus gasped for breath, a deep blue light welling in his eyes, accompanied by overwhelming hatred and arrogance.
Countless images flashed before his eyes. In an instant, the Lord of Change showed him countless better futures, countless beautiful endings that originally belonged to Magnus—but all of them had been ruthlessly taken away by those damned anti-psychics.
[Riemann Russ,]
He said calmly,
[You have always been a barbarian—a savage, a person who disrespects knowledge, a person who closes their eyes to the truth. You destroyed me, you allowed them to judge me—but you refused to defend me, even though your homeland, Fenris, is the strongest evidence to support me.]
Magnus smiled; he knew he had spoken. His voice, carried away by the cold wind, reached the figure stumbling and hurrying towards him.
【—Magnus—!】
The wolf king's howl carried far on the wind.
What are you doing?! Stop the hell out of here!!!
Magnus smiled, then suddenly raised his voice, his incantation tearing through the winter chill. He raised his arms high, and the wind and snow swirled around him as he chanted.
Even now, when Magnus thinks of the blue glow in his hair, Fenris still believes Magnus to be friendly.
Magnus was once friendly.
The friendly Magnus is dead!!!
Because this world is cruel enough!!!
If you're going to survive, to live—to live above most people's lives, you need to be ruthless enough—trust no one and don't think anyone will believe you.
Magnus realized that he was now living only for himself.