So it had finally come to this.
Hearing Lion's request, Bruce felt utterly exhausted. At the same time, though, he knew he had to send the Lion King back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion as soon as possible, then wipe and reset her.
This could not go on.
Otherwise...
One day, Lion really would drag him back to Caliban and keep him there as a permanent plaything.
"Can't you give me a little reward, Bruce?" Lion asked in a coquettish tone.
"But I'm almost out of transformation drinks."
"That's fine, I have some!"
Lion had already anticipated that answer, so she produced a prepared transformation drink and even uncapped it for him.
At the thought of receiving more praise in a moment, Lion was already starting to get excited, and the effect of the medicine seemed to be kicking in faster because of it.
"Fine..." Bruce took the drink and could only swallow it.
He knew there was no escaping this. The only way to get Lion to go to sleep peacefully was to make her happy first, and then he could slip away.
Otherwise, trapped in such an enclosed room, if Lion decided to force the issue, he really would have nowhere to run.
"Mm-hm! Start already! I'm ready!" Lion lay in his arms, gazing up at him expectantly.
How wonderful.
Both Father and Bruce, all at once—this double experience was bliss itself.
Even though Lion knew that indulging too deeply in pleasure was not a good thing, Bruce was special. Since it was him, stealing a bit of enjoyment ought to be fine, right?
Thunk.
In the next moment, Bruce transformed into a towering golden figure, while Lion, who had been waiting eagerly, held her breath and quietly waited for the praise to begin.
"Lion, my most beloved child..."
Bruce began the familiar script. Though he had long since grown used to it, and it even felt a bit like clocking in for work by now, every time he said those lines and saw Lion's expression, he still nearly lost it.
God, I really can't take this anymore. I have to turn Lion back.
I never should have listened to Blue Fatty's idea. I should've found some other way. Then I wouldn't want to die this badly.
But...
Where in this world was there ever such a thing as a perfect solution?
Before long, under Bruce's dutiful performance, Lion's emotional excitement gradually gave way to the drug's effects. Though she fought desperately to stay awake, she could not resist it. At last, she slipped into unconsciousness.
Ah... so this is what happiness feels like. Everything feels floaty now. I just want to sleep.
Lion slowly relaxed into slumber.
Seeing that, Bruce stopped his recitation, and the hand he had been idly tickling across Lion's smooth lower abdomen also came to a halt.
Looks like it worked after all. Blue Fatty's gadgets really were something. They could even knock out a Primarch.
Too bad the drug only worked on a target in a relaxed state. Otherwise, tossing a handful of it in battle and just holding out until it kicked in would've been a guaranteed win.
Still, even so, it had taken a full thirty minutes to take effect. That was honestly a bit too slow. Really, it was only suitable for Primarchs who wanted to sleep but couldn't.
"Lion? Wake up?" Bruce tried calling her name.
Right then, the transformation drink's effect also wore off.
But Lion merely continued sleeping soundly, her breathing smooth and steady, just like a sleeping beauty.
Looking at the now-quiet Lion, and at Saber's incomparably lovely sleeping face, Bruce fell into thought for a brief moment. Soon enough, though, he made up his mind.
Though it was a gamble, he still had to use the Anywhere Door to return to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, hurry up and change Lion back, then erase everything. Once that was done, nothing had happened.
Bruce was already running through the whole plan in his head as he got up, carried Lion over to the bed, and laid her down. He tucked her in, confirmed several times that she was fully asleep, and only then prepared to return to his room for the necessary tools.
...?!
But when Bruce noticed that the door to the room had not been shut, and that a shadow was falling across the floor from the light outside, alarm bells went off in his mind.
Not good. Someone's peeking. Then my secret—that I can transform into the Emperor—is...
At the same moment, Amiya, who had detected Bruce's movement one step earlier, immediately flattened herself against the wall by the doorway, hiding just out of sight.
At that moment, her feelings were unimaginably complicated and heavy.
So this was the truth after all.
The instant Lion's expression changed, she had understood. That was why she had carefully followed him all the way here—just to confirm one final thing.
And now she had.
Dr. Bruce's "cosplay" was the Emperor.
That confirmed her earlier guess.
The Doctor was the Emperor. The Emperor was the Doctor. And Bruce... was the Doctor's reincarnation, or perhaps another form of him.
That absurd yet irresistible conclusion had taken root in her heart the moment she saw the transformation.
Amiya's breath grew slightly heavier.
Not only had Bruce saved her once again, but the person she had longed for across endless time and countless lines of fate had truly appeared before her.
Then what was she supposed to do now?
Wait? Endure? Let him slip away again?
No.
Absolutely not.
She had already regretted it once.
She would not let it happen a second time.
Meanwhile, Bruce clenched his fists as he crept toward the doorway. In that instant, countless contingency plans flashed through his mind, along with a wave of pure regret.
There was already a textbook warning out there about the importance of shutting the door and locking it before doing anything dangerous. And yet he had actually forgotten?
So that nagging feeling from when Lion dragged him in earlier—that was what it had been.
Which raised the question: who exactly was spying on him? If it was one of the Mournival, how was he supposed to silence them? This was not some trivial issue.
The distance between them closed.
Both sides' heartbeats quickened.
And both of them, at the same time, made the same crucial decision after all their hesitation.
Forget it. Move first. Absolutely no regrets—and no survivors.
In the next instant, the half-open door was shoved fully wide, and a black blur shot in. Before Bruce could even see who it was, the figure was already upon him.
Even with Astartes-grade reflexes, Bruce felt like a child moving in slow motion in front of that speed.
Thud!
Little Donkey Charge!
The moment something slammed hard into his abdomen, Bruce's vision blacked out. His whole body lost balance, and he was hurled backward, crashing to the floor and skidding several meters.
...!
Bruce reacted quickly. Just as he was about to strike back, he found both of his hands pinned down by a terrifying strength.
"Bruce..." The figure pressing him to the floor lowered her head. Her expression was impossible to read.
"W-Warmaster?" Bruce blurted out in shock. Then, weirdly enough, relief followed.
Of course. Who else but a Primarch could spin him around like a top and drop him flat in a heartbeat?
Wait. Hold on...
Horus?!
"Bruce, you're the Doctor, aren't you?" Amiya lifted her head and asked in a serious voice.
Bruce's breathing stopped.
Because in that moment, he saw raging flames in the little rabbit's eyes—and her irises were turning into hearts.
What the hell? What was going on? Why had his Warmaster turned into this? Had Slaanesh possessed her?
Damn, that thing had hidden deep.
"Lion! Help me! Save me!" Bruce turned his head and called desperately for backup.
But the Lion on the bed merely twitched her brow, rolled over, and continued sleeping soundly.
"Bruce... chicken wrap... I can't eat anymore..."
What the hell, wake up! Horus is going to kill me!
"You're still thinking about another woman at a time like this, Doctor? It looks like you need a little discipline." Amiya lowered her head and breathed in Bruce's scent.
It was exactly the same as in her memories.
So after all those years, and after so many lines, the smell she remembered had never been wrong.
"You're not Horus! Who exactly are you?!" Bruce cried out, looking at the increasingly wrong little rabbit and truly panicking now.
"I'm Amiya, Doctor." Amiya pressed closer, her face twisting into something like a崩坏—something terrifyingly unhinged.
"I remember everything now."
"Everything. Tens of thousands of years of experience and waiting. And endless searching. Do you know what that means?"
"That day, you said you were leaving Rhodes Island. At first, I thought you were joking. I didn't expect you to mean it."
"I regretted it so much. Regretted that I hadn't used stronger means to keep you there. Even if you'd hated me, even if you'd despised me—what would that have mattered? I only wanted you."
"Doctor, Doctor... you're just too cruel. So this time, I won't be letting go easily."
"This is gibberish! I'm Bruce, not the Doctor!" Bruce shouted.
"At this point, what's the use in denying it?" Amiya replied. "You're the Doctor's reincarnation. You came from another world and passed through reincarnation missions. I've investigated all the clues you left behind. I know everything."
Damn it.
So she was saying that even if the body and name were different, she had already decided they were the same person.
As long as the soul was the same, then in her eyes, Bruce was the Doctor.
"Warmaster, please! Pull yourself together! Pull yourself together!" Bruce wailed and begged.
What even was this?
Why had Horus gone insane all of a sudden?
"It's all right, Doctor. It'll be over soon. Very soon..." Amiya said softly.
Then she tore open Bruce's blue robe and lowered her gaze toward the only thing he still had on—his boxers.
At that instant, she recalled something Warfarin had once said.
Men, apparently, were very easy to control.
As long as you carried their child, that was enough.
Heehee...
This time, she absolutely would not let the Doctor be disappointed.
"Father, save 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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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