Bruce drew his plasma pistol and charged it.
At the same time, another flash of warning burst through his mind.
This time he saw two Word Bearers leaning out from the corner of the corridor ahead and opening fire.
Bruce fired at once.
At nearly the same instant, Alfred pulled the trigger on his bolter.
A heartbeat later, the Astartes hidden at the corner leaned out to shoot—
And the plasma bolt took him full on, melting him where he stood.
The other was luckier, if only slightly. He was hit by a bolt round and staggered, thrown off balance but not yet dead.
The Black Guard, however, had no intention of giving him a chance to make a desperate last attack.
She stepped forward in great strides and covered ten meters in an instant, then drove her lightning claw straight into the enemy trying to fire on them.
"Heretic! You will pay with your life!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!"
The Black Guard finished the fallen Word Bearer with a level of cruelty that was still brutally efficient.
As a Nostraman, she did not worship the Emperor. In fact, she believed only Curze's rule could truly save humanity.
But that did not stop her from despising the abomination that was Chaos.
You've sunk this low and still expect me to respect you?
"Acting Commander, just now… was that…?" Alfred asked, still replaying the moment in his head.
As a Librarian, Alfred naturally possessed the Primarch's gift of foresight.
But it had never been this clear before.
Never this controlled.
He had also keenly sensed that the effect had been triggered by Bruce himself. It was as if, by making use of Bruce's inborn prescience, the two of them had briefly formed a psychic resonance.
"Don't ask me. I don't know either. That power isn't really under my control," Bruce said as he kept moving.
"It only appears when I'm in mortal danger. Why it's affecting you too, I have no idea."
Truthfully, Bruce really wanted to take this opportunity to show off a little.
But after thinking about it, he decided against it.
This was too important for nonsense. Better to speak honestly.
Besides, this foresight only seemed to work now. It never helped whenever Curze or Lion were giving him a mercilessly hard time, did it?
The squad fell silent as they followed their Acting Commander onward.
But in their hearts, their regard for him had risen even higher.
As expected.
No wonder the Primarch had chosen him.
"What are these two clowns, exactly?"
Bruce stopped beside the two dead Word Bearers and examined the remains.
Even though both traitors had been mangled beyond recognition, there were still clues to be found.
The symbols etched into their flesh, the obvious Chaos markings, the script burned into their skin…
"Not sure. We only spotted them. Based on previous experience… they were probably a patrol squad."
"And if that's true, then shortly, a whole lot of heretics will come running to this location."
The Black Guard reported what she knew.
"How much ammunition do you all have left?"
Bruce asked the question after a brief pause.
If that was the situation, then their tactics had to change.
They could not afford to burn through all their ammo before ever reaching Erebus—the actual boss fight.
Going full melee against Chaos Astartes would certainly be cool.
But Bruce had no desire to lose people.
Or make his own life harder.
Whenever I play games, I always use the easiest possible build. And you expect me to willingly go for challenge mode now?
"Give us a moment."
The other seven quickly checked their remaining ammunition.
The answer was not encouraging.
Ignoring standard melee weapons, the group's remaining ammunition combined would not even fully resupply three men.
That was very bad.
If they ran into a heavily defended line, there was no way they could push through.
And of course, it was not because they had been wasteful.
This mission had always been a one-way trip, and the number of enemies they had encountered was genuinely absurd.
No resupply, no rapid breakthrough, enemy ammo unusable—
The result was obvious.
They were approaching empty.
"Warfarin, what are you doing now?"
Bruce had been speaking with Alfred about how to ration the remaining ammunition when he noticed the Apothecary again.
She now had two chainblades strapped at her waist and a bolter held in both hands.
It was an absurd sight.
Everyone else still looked more or less like proper warriors, but she looked like a Night Lord who had wandered in straight out of the 41st millennium wearing budget gear.
"I figured these count as supplies too," Warfarin answered, completely serious.
"Throw them away. They're tainted by Chaos."
"…What? But that would be such a waste!"
"If you don't throw them away, and you fire even one round, do you believe your armor's machine spirit will not immediately throw a fit?"
"…Fine."
So, under Bruce's insistence, Warfarin once again reluctantly discarded the Chaos-tainted junk she had "recovered."
"Based on our current route, we'll have to fight through at least five more enemy encounters before we reach the target," Alfred said after replanning against the map. "With our current ammunition reserves… it won't be enough."
Bruce distributed the last of the ammunition while simultaneously removing the Pass-Through Ring from his gauntlet and handing it to Alfred.
"What if we use this? It can open us a direct route," Bruce suggested.
"Let me see…"
Recalling Bruce's bizarre method of arrival, Alfred experimented with the device and—without even needing instructions—managed to set it against the wall.
No.
Not merely the wall.
He had opened it into the next section beyond the wall.
"And what if we combine it with this?"
Bruce pointed to the map gadget.
"Ten minutes. Give me ten minutes and I can lead you—and all our brothers—to that heretic's bridge."
Alfred's confidence was absolute.
Honestly, with these two miracle tools in hand, if he still could not navigate them to the bridge, then he might as well chain Doraemon to the prow and let the cat lead the way.
"Good. Then lead us there."
Bruce had just finished handing out the very last bolt shell.
Warfarin, now holding onto her one precious round, could not help voicing a question.
"Acting Commander… if you had something this convenient the whole time, why didn't you just go straight to the bridge yourself?"
Silence.
Bruce said nothing.
He simply followed the others through the Pass-Through Ring.
The entire squad fell silent with him.
Warfarin, suddenly realizing she had definitely said something stupid, did not dare make another sound.
Although Bruce had not actually said anything, everyone around him interpreted the silence in the most heroic way possible.
This was the Acting Commander's mercy.
He had chosen not to rush ahead alone because, compared to completing the mission, he valued the lives and honor of his brothers.
The truth, of course, was that Bruce had completely forgotten he still had the Pass-Through Ring until just now, and saw no possible way of admitting that without being laughed at forever.
So he had chosen silence.
In that awkward, thoughtful quiet, the squad advanced far faster than before.
Now and then they could hear the sounds of Chaos cultists searching nearby.
"I know you're in there! Come out!"
"What was that noise?"
"Trouble. There's an enemy nearby—I'll check it out."
"You really think you can hide?"
Step by step, Alfred guided them through the twisted ship.
At last, they reached their destination.
And disturbingly, the bridge—of all places—was unguarded.
The sealed command door ahead of them was the entrance to the main command chamber.
Which also meant Erebus was inside.
"This is it."
Alfred retrieved the Pass-Through Ring and pressed himself to the side of the doorway.
The others took up firing positions, guarding against the possibility of hidden enemies.
"Prepare to enter."
Bruce nodded to everyone.
Then his eyes landed on Warfarin again, who was standing with a face full of seriousness, and he nearly lost it.
"…?"
Warfarin's expression instantly shifted from solemn to confused.
What? Does the Acting Commander really have that much of a problem with me?
"Where's your tactical helmet?" Bruce asked, exasperated.
Bruce actually had no issue in general with his subordinates choosing not to wear helmets.
But Warfarin's current look was just too much.
She was in full power armor—but above it was only a tiny, exposed head.
The contrast was absurd.
"It feels better without it," Warfarin explained reasonably. "And besides, if I wear it, I'm too obvious a target. What if the enemy focuses all fire on me just because I'm the Apothecary?"
"But your surgical pack already makes you obvious."
Bruce could not help pointing that out.
"Do I really have to wear it?"
She looked pitiful.
"Forget it. Just be careful."
Bruce shook his head, then turned to Alfred, who was still holding the Pass-Through Ring in its expanded state.
"Place the device. I go in first."
He flexed his claws and looked at the others.
"Brothers—move with me!"
"Yes!"
The squad answered in a low murmur over the vox.
Alfred placed the enlarged Pass-Through Ring over the sealed bridge door.
Bruce became a streak of blue in an instant, blasting forward through the opening with his plasma pistol already firing in the same motion.
Erebus.
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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