Chaos was a profoundly metaphysical thing.
If you knew nothing about it, that was actually better. It would try to corrupt you little by little, quietly and insidiously—and you would at least still have ways to resist it.
But the moment you became aware that Chaos existed, that was it. You were done for.
It was like a blank sheet of paper: the instant paint touched it, it was stained forever, with no way to restore it to what it had been before.
That was why, the moment Bruce carelessly blurted out the true name of a Chaos God, the Red Devil Mansion—and even the entire planet—had, strictly speaking, been put at risk of Chaos corruption. At worst, it could even have become a gateway for daemons to invade the material universe.
Chaos was just that unreasonable.
Fortunately, the thing Curze feared most never happened.
After a long while, the entire Red Devil Mansion remained exactly as it always had. Nothing seemed different.
Well—except for the occasional strange, breathy moans drifting up from some deep corner of the labyrinth.
Other than that, everything was normal.
"So… nothing happened at all? Could this be some Chaos daemon plot?" Curze sat astride Bruce's bound body, lost in thought.
"Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph—"
Bruce writhed sideways like a worm, unable to say a word with a sock and a shoe stuffed into his mouth.
"You idiot. Do you even realize how dangerous it was to suddenly say something like that?" After confirming several more times that nothing was wrong, Curze cursed him out and planted one sweat-damp little foot squarely on his face.
Seriously.
If there had been more people here, then the instant you spoke that being's name, at least ten—no, at minimum nine—would have fallen on the spot, corrupted outright. The Red Devil Mansion would have needed to be renamed the Chaos Demon Den.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!" Bruce was aggrieved, but speechless.
"Father, the inspection is complete. Nothing has happened inside the Red Devil Mansion. Everything is normal. I have already ordered the Librarians to monitor all psychic fluctuations closely." Sevatar happened to return to the room just then.
To seal the matter completely—and to eliminate any chance of corruption—everyone present except Curze had been restricted, and kill-switch devices had been fitted to them.
If anything abnormal happened, Curze could kill them all on the spot, cutting off any possible route for daemons to invade realspace at the root.
"That's good…"
After hearing the report, Curze let out a long breath of relief.
But soon enough, she sank back into thought.
If Bruce had openly invoked a Chaos God's true name, then why had Chaos not invaded? Given the way daemons operated, they should never have let such a good opportunity slip by.
That was a question Curze might never answer in her lifetime.
Because Bruce was from another world, and because the Red Devil Mansion had already become a domain somewhat independent from the Warhammer universe, Warp rules could still take effect—but never in such an obvious way.
"You got lucky this time! Otherwise, you'd be in for it!" Curze jumped down from Bruce, then used her bare foot to hook the shoe and sock out of his mouth.
Hands on hips, she scolded him furiously. "Even if what you said was true, what if you had been used as a channel for Chaos daemons to invade the material universe?"
"Do you have a death wish? And you dragged everyone else into a mess this huge too?!"
Faced with Curze's perfectly justified tirade, Bruce could only lower his head sheepishly and try to hide his embarrassment behind an awkward grin.
Because while Curze and Sevatar had been panicking and standing guard, Bruce had also belatedly realized just how catastrophically stupid he had been.
Calling a Chaos God by name really was touching the live wire. Even if, as a transmigrator, he had some degree of exemption, the natives absolutely did not.
Whoever was meant to go mad would still go mad. Whoever was meant to be corrupted would still be corrupted. It was like confronting an unspeakable horror—there was no dodging the consequences for ordinary people.
"I didn't do it on purpose…" Bruce muttered in self-defense. "If I hadn't said it like that, what if you thought I wasn't telling the truth?"
If he'd answered vaguely and hesitantly, he definitely would have been suspected. So he'd simply gone straight for the nuclear option.
Only, he hadn't expected that option to be quite this explosive.
The kind of explosive that could have forced the entire Night Lords Legion into a hard reset.
"Tch. Could that thing have planned even this much in advance…" Curze suddenly realized just how terrifying their opponent really was.
No wonder Savrok had been corrupted. What a damnably troublesome god.
Looks like I was right not to fall to Chaos or bow to a god.
"Who knows." Bruce shrugged.
"Then… since everything's fine now, can you untie me? Father, First Captain?" Warfarin wriggled closer, looking up at Curze with big, pleading eyes.
Smack.
Curze stepped directly on her face.
"Did I say you could speak? What does any of this have to do with you? Be quiet!"
"Sorry…"
"In that case, it's confirmed. Savrok must already have fallen, which gave Chaos an opening the moment he died." Curze set the tone for the incident with that conclusion.
At the same time, however, it also made her more alert.
Something like this absolutely could not be allowed to happen a second time.
This time it had been the new recruit.
What about next time?
Who could guarantee anything?
And because of that…
I have to purge the filth inside the legion even more thoroughly.
Besides Savrok, there were several clearly compromised internal factions that had to be dealt with—for example, the Mechanicum sub-sect that controlled a Titan Legion.
Curze remembered that they had been secretly researching alien technology tied to Chaos. She had ignored it before because they were still useful.
But things were different now.
I have to make the legion new again. They cannot be allowed to continue existing.
"That kind of underhanded move—who could defend against it? I killed one completely insignificant guy, and suddenly I got hit with that." Bruce sounded helpless.
That kind of thing was like arranging to hook up online with a cute femboy, only to discover in bed that it was actually a landmine girl. Who could keep their composure? Who could have seen it coming?
"So! Raise your guard!" Curze used blood magic to release the ropes binding Bruce.
Now free again, Bruce didn't look particularly happy. He simply climbed to his feet and said, in a more troubled voice:
"Actually… the reason I got targeted is simple. Because I changed the plot."
"Savrok wasn't supposed to die at this point. That's why, after I killed him…"
With a Primarch's intelligence, Curze naturally understood what Bruce meant.
And she fell silent.
If Curze wanted to change back, then this world had to be thrown deeply into chaos—chaotic enough to force a reset.
But every system came with antivirus software, didn't it? If this kept up, Bruce might die first.
For a moment, even Curze felt disgusted by how uncharacteristically sentimental she had become.
Damn it. I'm Konrad Curze, and I'm worrying this much over the life of a single recruit?
How pathetic I've become.
"You don't need to worry that much," Bruce said with a smile. "I can just ask Doraemon for some more mysterious gadgets. I'll treat this as a lesson learned."
"I won't fall for something that easily again next time!"
"Hm? Really? That would work?" Curze sounded unconvinced.
"Don't underestimate him. Theoretically, that guy is stronger than… anyone in this world." Bruce paused and rephrased it a bit.
"Fine." Curze was only barely persuaded.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. It opened a crack, and Meiling poked her head in.
"Um…"
"Acting Commander, that blue round-headed tanuki who likes dorayaki is here to see you."
"To see me?" Bruce frowned in confusion at first, but then his expression sharpened.
Could something have happened?
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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