"Achoo—!"
Bruce sneezed without warning while lounging in the bathtub.
Can even an Astartes catch a cold?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the paper-cup communicator at his side crackled to life. He did not dare delay. Rising halfway out of the water, he grabbed it and answered at once.
"Acting Commander, the Anywhere Door has been confirmed operational. We haven't detected any Warp-related fluctuations for the time being." Alfred's voice was brimming with excitement.
"Everything normal?"
"Yes. After repeated testing, it works perfectly anywhere we've been before—whether on Nostramo or aboard the Remilia."
"Good. Very good."
The news immediately put Bruce in a fine mood.
It was only a small test, but from another angle, it meant humanity had just acquired an extremely valuable emergency evacuation technology.
In the past, if something truly terrible happened during Warp travel, the usual outcome was death. Total, irreversible death.
But this time was different.
I've got the Anywhere Door.
If things really went sideways, he could just open a door and run.
That was a good thing. A very good thing.
"I'll report this to the Primarch and Captain Sevatar as well," Alfred added.
"Mm…"
Bruce let out a long, satisfied sound, completely relaxed.
The call ended. He tossed the paper cup aside and sank himself deeper into the bathwater. As for that sneeze earlier, who cared?
They were traveling through the Warp. Compared to that, a sneeze meant nothing. Even coughing up some malformed daemon would count as relatively normal.
That aside, this voyage through the Warp really had gone on a long time.
From the moment they entered it until now, his internal clock told him that a full month had passed. During that time he had gone from tense, to indifferent, and finally to utterly relaxed.
After all, the horrors in the Warp were not likely to come personally knocking on the Remilia's hull. And even if they did, there were Librarians aboard. In the worst case, he could even call on the Emperor.
What was there to fear?
If anything, they should be afraid.
Submerged up to his nose, Bruce hummed cheerfully to himself—until he noticed something like the shadow of a giant bird reflected on the surface of the water.
It loomed there, claws spread, as if about to peck down.
A bird?
Where had that come from?
Why was there a damned bird in his repurposed torture-bath chamber?
"The hell is that?!"
Bruce shot upright out of the water at once, but after looking around, he found nothing.
Had he just seen a ghost?
The thought sent a chill up his spine. Quite a few people had died in this place before it had been converted into a bath chamber. Who knew whether some lingering specter remained?
No. Bath time was over.
His mood ruined, Bruce stepped toward the cabinet where he'd left his robe. Yet the closer he drew, the stranger things seemed.
Why was the mirror… reflecting such an odd light?
He stopped in front of the full-length mirror and frowned at it.
"Caw caw caw!!!"
The next instant, a gigantic blue bird wreathed in Chaos fire appeared in the mirror and let out an eerie shriek.
Then it froze there.
Bruce stared back, scratching his head in bafflement.
What exactly was this supposed to mean?
In any classic horror scene, after a series of strange events, a jump scare like this would send someone reeling.
But Bruce felt astonishingly calm.
Or rather, any Astartes—or even an Imperial Army trooper—would not be frightened by such a cheap trick.
He almost laughed.
Trying to lecture a Night Lord on the art of scaring people?
"Wait—why didn't you jump?!" the blue bird demanded indignantly.
This was not how it was supposed to go. Not at all!
"Why would I?"
Bruce turned to face the mirror directly.
Blue. Giant bird. Chaos flames. Acting like she'd come to settle a score.
Who could this possibly be?
What a mystery.
"You just wait, Bruce Wayne! Don't think I can't deal wi—"
As the mirror-bird flared with sorcerous fire, it transformed into a beautiful girl with blue hair.
Then her gaze dropped.
And the angry tirade stopped cold.
Silence.
They stared at each other.
An awkwardness so thick it could be cut with a knife filled the bath chamber. Water dripped softly into the tub.
"Could you at least put some clothes on first?" Tzeentch asked, covering her face.
For some reason, she felt dirtier now.
"I refuse!"
Bruce planted his hands on his hips and answered with utter conviction.
"Why should I listen to the orders of a Chaos god? Are you joking?"
And as if to reinforce his defiance, Bruce's "chicken wrap" also rose with righteous determination.
In truth, there was one thing Bruce did not dare admit:
Tzeentch's current appearance hit almost exactly on his tastes.
Blue hair. Gorgeous face. Great figure. Full chest, generous hips. A high, noble, almost saintly aura—and somehow still a little airheaded.
If she weren't trapped inside a mirror, he would have had half a mind to "punish" her in the Emperor's name. Even more enthusiastically than he had "punished" little Nahida.
"You bastard!"
Tzeentch snapped.
"You have no upbringing at all! What exactly do you think that thing is pointing at? Pervert! Shameless! Scoundrel! Despicable—"
Bruce listened to the tirade with complete composure.
Far from angering him, it actually delighted him.
Not because getting scolded by a beautiful girl felt good—though perhaps it did a little—but because this was the rage of an enemy.
If the enemy was furious, and cursing him besides, then clearly he had done something right.
"Ahhhh! You—!"
Tzeentch was on the verge of screaming. The more she cursed, the more energized Bruce seemed to become.
What kind of human was this?
"Finished?" Bruce asked at last, the corners of his mouth lifting. "My turn?"
Then he said coolly, "We're enemies. Why would I waste good manners on a creature of Chaos? The fact I haven't punched you to death already should count as your good fortune."
He narrowed his eyes at the mirror.
"If I'm not mistaken, that mirror is only a medium. You can't come out and kill me, and you can't really do anything to me."
Even in the Warp, for a being as powerful as Tzeentch, locking onto his exact location wasn't easy without a firm coordinate.
This was still the era of the Great Crusade. The Warp was unstable, yes—but not yet as unbound as it would later become, when the laws of realspace had grown even weaker.
So the question was—
What exactly was she after?
Did she really go to all this trouble just to peep at him?
"You just wait! Just wait!!!" Tzeentch fumed. "I'll make you regret this, Bruce Wayne! I'll make you pay!"
Now she really did remember his full name.
"So how did you lock onto me?" Bruce asked, trying to lure some useful information out of her.
"This has nothing to do with you. It's psychic power," Tzeentch replied at once, seeing through his attempt.
As long as she wanted to observe a soul badly enough, she could eventually find it. Was that really so strange? Especially after they had crossed paths so many times.
"Fine, fine. If you can't actually do anything, then whatever."
Bruce decided to ignore her—and, more importantly, to have every mirror in his room removed.
No wonder he had kept feeling as though something was watching him at night lately. And here he'd thought he'd finally escaped once Lion was gone, only to find something even more persistent had taken her place.
"W-wait!" Tzeentch cried as Bruce turned away. "Aren't you even curious how I plan to take revenge on you?!"
That was wrong too. All wrong.
She had just made a grand declaration. He should have been alarmed, not dismissive.
"Not really."
Bruce drew the bolt pistol hidden in his robe and fired.
Bang.
The mirror shattered.
Tzeentch's image broke apart with it.
Bruce stared at the cracked glass scattered across the floor, wholly unconcerned.
Whatever scheme Tzeentch was plotting, he was fairly sure Magnus would be involved somehow. This trip to Prospero was unlikely to be simple.
Still, that was fine.
If trouble came, he would deal with it.
"Ahhhh! That bastard! That bastard!!!"
In another chamber, Tzeentch glared at the now-blank mirror and screamed in frustration.
He had humiliated her three times now.
Three times!
"My lady…" the magic mirror ventured carefully. "Why not simply dispatch an army and destroy his fleet while you still can?"
Tzeentch snapped back at once.
"Do you take me for some crude, unreasonable goddess?!"
Then she lifted her chin proudly.
"I'm going to make him lose properly. With my plans. My intellect. My personal charm."
She would make Bruce Wayne lose so thoroughly he would have no choice but to kneel, apologize, bark three times, and shout, 'Lady Tzeentch, I was wrong!'
If she did not get that, she refused to let this go.
"But…" the mirror began, then sighed. "As you wish."
It was true that its mistress had found a new amusement. Still… neglecting her great designs just to fixate on a mortal—was that really wise?
"My lady! The Hero Summoning Array has developed an anomaly! A real anomaly! Ahhh!" shouted a blue-haired girl with crystal-like wings floating behind her as she came rushing in.
"An anomaly?" Tzeentch turned toward her daemon servant.
"It summoned some strange thing calling itself Leviathan! We've never seen anything like it! It opened its mouth and tried to eat us! It was terrifying!"
"Leviathan? What kind of ridiculous name is that?"
Tzeentch immediately perked up.
"Come on, then. Let's go have a look."
After all, if something had entered her domain, then dragon or tiger, it would still have to kneel eventually.
Once she'd granted it an overpowered cheat and sent it off to defeat the Dark King, it could do as it pleased.
For now, however—
her new favorite pastime was still Bruce Wayne.
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 139)
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 (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
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 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
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 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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