"Commander got completely bewitched by those newly arrived pretty girls. He even brought them on a vacation and kicked all of us out!"
"Waaah... Mom, Commander doesn't like us anymore, waaah—"
At the base, Kiana buried herself in Cecilia's arms, teary-eyed as she muttered complaints.
"Eh?"
Cecilia looked a bit puzzled and pinched the white-haired girl's cheek.
"Don't talk nonsense. The Commander must have something important to do."
"But he brought so many girls to another world for a vacation!"
Kiana puffed up her cheeks.
"How am I worse than them? Hmph... even if they are really pretty... but it's suspicious! Their origins and identities are all super suspicious!"
Pfft—
Cecilia laughed and gently patted her. So it was just a bit of competitive jealousy between girls.
"Just wait. We'll know once he comes back."
"Mom, you're already winning in life, of course you don't care. I waited so long, and then some random strangers cut in line ahead of me. How can I be happy..."
The white-haired girl looked like her filial piety had completely gone bad, leaving Bronya and Mei staring in shock.
"And who knows how long the Commander will be gone? What if he goes off to some world to enjoy himself and forgets all about us..."
Just as her thoughts began to spiral—
Boom—
The Astral Express broke through the clouds and slowly descended onto the docking platform.
Setsuna jumped out of the carriage, holding Sparkle tucked under his arm.
This trip had been extremely efficient, taking less than a single day.
"Eh?"
"Commander? That fast?"
Kiana and the others at the base looked at Setsuna in confusion.
They glanced upward—the "descendants of the Nameless" who had just arrived earlier were all gone.
Only a small twin-tailed girl remained, dangling in Setsuna's grip.
Sparkle looked both depressed and shocked. She couldn't run, and she couldn't outplay Setsuna.
Pulling a prank on an Aeon and getting caught on the spot—there was nothing she could do but accept it.
"Commander, where are those newly recruited Nameless?"
Mei and Gudako asked.
"They were Aha and Their Masked Fools."
Setsuna smiled.
"I threw them into a universe more suitable for having fun."
Shua—
A hyperdimensional star map unfolded before them.
Within the distant fog, a new world lit up.
It was a place he had discovered long ago while exploring, but never entered.
[Warhammer 40K (Space Age)]
This world contained multiple civilizations such as humans, Orks, and Necrons. Within the Warp existed unique Chaos daemons and dark gods.
The Warhammer universe—a setting centered on the Milky Way, telling endless conflicts between humanity, alien races, and Chaos.
Among them, the most famous were naturally the four Chaos Gods.
Khorne, Slaanesh, Tzeentch, and Nurgle.
Just as their names implied, each god represented a composite of concepts and emotions. Khorne was the god of war, symbolizing endless battle, slaughter, and rage.
Slaanesh governed pleasure, indulgence, and excess, tempting humanity into self-destruction. Tzeentch specialized in endless schemes, manipulating fate from the shadows.
The situation in this universe was utterly chaotic. Every faction was locked in constant conflict. The Imperium of Man had long since decayed, and the Warp's dark gods infiltrated everything, waiting to corrupt every living being.
The entire world could practically be described as a massive cesspool.
Back then, Setsuna wouldn't have been able to handle it. Now, he wasn't afraid of those Chaos Gods—but the world still held little value to him.
On the other hand, if he let Aha stay around, They would probably cling to him like gum every few days, constantly looking for amusement at his expense.
So Setsuna figured he might as well send Aha to bring some "fun" to the Warhammer universe. After all, They could do whatever They wanted over there.
"Huh?!"
Everyone was stunned for a long moment.
March 7th's expression was especially strange. She had just been moved to tears earlier, only to realize moments later that Aha had been playing them the whole time.
If Setsuna hadn't seen through it at a glance, who knew how many antics Aha and the Masked Fools would have pulled aboard the Astral Express.
Still, throwing the Aeon of Elation into another universe to compete with the four Chaos Gods—just thinking about it already felt incredibly fitting of Elation itself.
"Does Aha have any objections?"
Grey asked curiously.
"I think They're quite happy about it."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
Then he opened a holographic interface.
Using an anchor he had left behind, he could monitor the general movements of that universe.
Shua—
Aha, a being without a fixed form and composed of countless masks, drifted through the Warhammer universe.
"Oh! Akivili! The people in this universe don't seem very happy. They have way too many troubles!"
"And those strange things in the Warp—what are they?!"
Aha darted wildly between realspace and the Warp, searching for anything interesting.
"..."
Within the Brass Citadel, Khorne sat upon Their throne.
They were the lord of slaughter and war, embodying endless violence and rage. Within Their domain, daemons constantly fought and devoured one another.
Their followers offered countless skulls at Their feet—blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne.
Khorne Themselves existed in a perpetual state of fury and bloodlust.
Having just finished meeting with Their subordinates, They looked up—only to find a massive smiling face suddenly in front of Them.
Aha greeted Them:
"Hi! Why are you so angry? Cheer up—give me a smile!"
"Want a drink? Suleda or Pepper Doctor? My treat."
Bang—
Aha tapped Khorne on the head with a mask.
"?"
Khorne had no idea where this lunatic had come from and immediately flew into a rage.
Rumble—
The god of war's fury erupted outward as They drew Their weapon and struck.
Slash—
Aha was split in half, turning into two masks that circled Khorne, laughing mockingly.
Smack!
Another strike—two Ahas became four, four became eight, eight became sixteen, thirty-two...
A swarm of Ahas surrounded Khorne, laughing wildly. The sound echoed throughout the Warp, driving Them into even greater fury.
The power of the Chaos Gods—enough to shatter mortal bodies and souls—had no effect on Aha, because They themselves were also a god formed from a philosophical concept.
"Oh! You love fighting! Your temper is way too bad!"
"Aha declares—Khorne should embrace love and peace!"
Shua—
A surge of Imaginary energy swept across Khorne's Chaos domain, twisting the rules of reality and concept.
Those savage, bloodthirsty Bloodletters and berserk fiends simultaneously laid down their weapons, their violent instincts forcibly suppressed.
The Warp daemons even developed a strange desire to retire from battle and return home to farm the land.
"Praise Aha!—"
"...Wait, who's Aha? Forget it—praise Aha!!!"
The daemons became cheerful, linking arms with Aha's avatars and dancing in bizarre circles.
They sang distant, ethereal songs—harmonies once passed down from an ancient celestial choir that had followed Order. Aha directly infused the melody into their minds.
Even the Chaos Champions locked in battle dropped their weapons, tears streaming down their faces as they embraced Space Marines.
"Peace and love, brother!"
"By the Emperor!! Who the hell is your brother?!"
"???"
Slaanesh and Nurgle looked toward the Brass Throne, unsure what madness had overtaken Khorne—probably another of Tzeentch's schemes.
"!"
Khorne, in the depths of Their fury, was momentarily stunned.
It was the first time They had ever encountered such a troublemaking lunatic.
Boom—
With a furious roar, They unleashed a surge of power, reigniting the daemons' bloodlust. The sounds of clashing combat erupted once more.
They rose to pursue Aha, but the latter had no interest in fighting and had already slipped away across light-years of space.
"Ahahaha—!"
Manic yet carefree laughter echoed throughout the Warp.
"Oh, you battle-crazed lunatic! And the one who loves indulgence, the big guy who brews plagues, the bird-headed schemer?"
"You remind me of some acquaintances from over there, though you're a bit different from them."
In a short time, Aha had grasped the general state of the universe.
Khorne was somewhat similar to Nanook. Both Abundance and Nurgle were tied to life. Slaanesh also embodied the concept of "Elation," though for the sake of indulgence—unlike Them.
As for Tzeentch, Aha found Their ever-changing nature rather admirable, since that too was a form of amusement.
Ruining Tzeentch's grand schemes was fun. Finding ways to prank Them was also fun.
"Hmm... these gods all have their own cults and followers. Perhaps I should establish my own church here as well?"
They observed further—each of the Chaos Gods had numerous worshippers in the material world.
"Akivili, Akivili, can you hear me? Could you bring some Masked Fools over? Oh! It'd be even better if you brought the Mourning Actors too!"
"They'd definitely have fun here!"
Aha called out toward the sky, unsure whether Setsuna in the other universe could hear Them.
"..."
"You really are a good Aeon—bringing your own followers straight into the Warhammer universe."
Setsuna gave a thumbs-up across dimensions.
"I'll send some over when I have time."
"Thanks!"
After drifting around for a while, Aha turned Their gaze toward the humans on Holy Terra—and the Emperor seated upon the Golden Throne.
"Maybe I should go say hello?"
"Why is he always sitting there? What's beneath the throne? Can I make him stand up and walk around?..."
Aha's mind filled with all kinds of bizarre ideas within the Warhammer universe.
Whether Warp gods or the Emperor of mankind—everything was simply part of the amusement.
"...Yeah, I can see it now. They're definitely having fun."
Everyone was speechless.
The Warhammer universe was already pure chaos—Aha could do whatever They pleased.
Previously, it had been a grand melee between Chaos Gods and countless factions. From now on, it would also include a whole group of chaos-loving pranksters.
No one could predict what it would become in the future.
"Eh—wait a second?"
Gudako suddenly thought of something strange.
"Aha was completely thrown into the Warhammer universe, right?"
"Yes."
Setsuna nodded.
"To deceive me, They transformed into over a dozen ordinary people—that was Their true body, not avatars."
"So there's no Aha left in this universe?"
Gudako blinked.
"None. Otherwise, why would I rush to send Them away?"
"Eh?! Really?!"
Sparkle jumped in shock.
"Oh... wait?!"
After a brief pause, everyone realized something.
The Path of Elation was controlled by Aha.
Now that Aha had been sent to the Warhammer universe—and unlike Setsuna, Aeons had no ability to enforce their will across worlds—they couldn't traverse the multiverse freely.
That meant the Path of Elation had effectively lost its controller and was now ownerless.
Shua—
Setsuna released Imaginary energy. From a higher-dimensional perspective, he attempted to observe how the power of Elation had changed after losing its Aeon.
Whoosh—
A tide of Imaginary energy spread outward from him.
The power of Elation was familiar to him. With Aha gone, it existed in a chaotic and disordered state.
However—
Boom!!—
The moment Setsuna's power came into contact with the power of Elation, the two seemed to resonate.
A torrential flood of Imaginary energy poured down, nearly drowning him.
Rumble!!—
A storm of energy erupted within the base as an immense amount of Elation's power surged into Setsuna's body.
"Ah!!!"
Grey were stunned.
Normally, only someone who embodied the Path of Elation to its absolute extreme could wield its power.
"Commander, you just turned Aha into the biggest joke possible!"
"You're now the greatest agent of Elation in this universe!!!"