After a careful discussion among the four of them, they finally reached a decision:
For the time being, the Anywhere Door would be classified as a hazardous technology.
It was not to be used unless absolutely necessary, and most importantly, it would never be used on a location they had not already "mapped" before. Otherwise, the consequences could be catastrophic.
After all, Tzeentch already knew the thing existed. They had to stay on guard.
So if they wanted the Anywhere Door to be truly useful, Lion would still have to make the trip herself. As long as she opened a door from Holy Terra and set a coordinate for the Remilia, everything afterward would become much easier.
The Remilia could then serve as a kind of transit hub. You could travel from A to the Remilia, then from there to B or C. Likewise, someone at C or E could pass through the Remilia and reach any other destination.
That meant Lion's trip was not just about "unlocking the map" for everyone. More importantly, she would act as their representative and hand the Anywhere Door over to the Emperor, so they could see how he intended to use it—and how he would evaluate its value.
To that end, Bruce had Doraemon give Lion five Anywhere Doors. She could keep two for herself, and hand the remaining three over to the Emperor.
Of course, that was already Doraemon's limit. He could not produce any more in the short term. Some of his gadgets did recover with time, yes, but there were limits to that too.
The cooldown was what it was.
"Can I still come back on schedule?" Lion asked. The moment she imagined herself going back to cold nutrient porridge and overboiled meat, she no longer wanted to leave.
Maybe… maybe she could just hand this errand off to one of her subordinates?
Without Bruce's cooking, she was going to break. She had already become completely dependent on his signature meat-stick meal set.
"In theory, there's no problem with coming back around mealtimes," Bruce said, though he could not help feeling sorry for her. "But… the Anywhere Door's been contaminated. Until the Emperor blesses it, you should really use it as little as possible."
The Anywhere Door was an incredible tool, but it could not withstand reckless overuse. A slightly unstable emotional state, and who knew where it might open next.
The image of stumbling onto Tzeentch bathing was still burned into Bruce's mind. Honestly, why did that bird-woman have to look so good? He genuinely did not understand.
Still, thank God it had been Tzeentch and not Nurgle.
Ugh.
"I'll do my best," Lion said helplessly.
"Why 'do my best' instead of 'definitely'?" Curze snapped, glaring at her older sister in irritation. "If you finish the mission sooner, then you can come back to the Remilia sooner and keep mooching food and drink, can't you?"
Were they really this childish over a bit of good food? Did she have to act like an unweaned kitten?
Pathetic.
"There's nothing I can do," Lion said with a sigh. "Now that I'm used to Bruce's cooking, everything else is hard to stomach."
"In that case," Bruce said after a moment's thought, "I'll have Doraemon send meals to the Indomitable Truth on a schedule. Unless I'm too busy, your three meals a day should still be guaranteed."
He was already thinking it might be necessary to build an actual food factory aboard the ship.
Back on Nostramo, Wayne Food Industries was already running. The principle was simple: Bruce prepared a master batch of food, added a drop of food-replication solution, and then the factory lines packaged it at high speed. The finished meals were distributed almost immediately.
That system already fed every employee under Wayne Enterprises, and there was enough surplus to sell to others. The cost was practically zero. If they ended up with too much food to handle, they could just package it and launch it straight into a star before it reproduced enough to bury an entire planet.
"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and do it!" Lion immediately perked up when she heard that even after leaving Bruce, she would still have food.
"This will take time," Bruce said, "but your meals in the near term are definitely covered. Worst-case scenario, the fairy maids can cook."
"No, no, no. It doesn't taste the same when they do it."
"It's the exact same recipe and ingredients! How is that even possible?" Bruce protested, deeply unconvinced.
At that point, there had to be something wrong—either with his recipe, or with their tongues.
"It really is different," Curze said in Lion's defense. "There's always something missing when Sevatar and the others make it."
Bruce turned suspiciously toward Horus.
"It's true," Horus said, nodding as well.
"That's bizarre…"
It could not be that he was somehow adding something questionable to the food, could it? Or maybe he had some passive skill that made everything he cooked special? But that made no sense. He did not even have a system. How could he possibly have some weird passive buff like that?
Click.
The door behind Lion opened. The catgirls Vanilla and Chocola were already standing there waiting, waving for the Lion to hurry up.
"Lion, the Indomitable Truth is fully prepared, and the fleet is ready to depart," they reported.
"Most of the fleet has also received the updated orders you issued. Barring accidents, they'll rendezvous with us at the next operational point."
Hearing the report, Lion understood that this time she really could not stay behind.
"Then I'm heading back to Holy Terra," she said. "If anything happens on Father's side, I'll notify all of you immediately."
As she spoke, she stepped forward and wrapped both Curze and Horus in a hug.
The two of them reacted almost exactly the same way: first a visible flinch of surprise, then a faint blush. They were not disgusted by it, but neither were they entirely comfortable.
There were other people watching, you idiot big sister.
"Don't worry," Lion said softly. "I'll explain your situation to Father. I believe he'll accept your new appearances."
Then, lowering her voice so only the three sisters could hear, she added, "If he doesn't… then run. Run as far away as you can. I'll chase you, symbolically."
That was all Lion could do.
She was loyal to the Emperor and proud of the First Legion, yes—but as someone who had seen both the future and the canon timeline, she did not want to witness another tragedy of brothers turning on brothers.
Especially not in a timeline where Horus had not been corrupted by Chaos and Curze had not gone mad.
If the two of them simply vanished into seclusion and never reemerged, Lion could accept that. But if they openly rebelled against the Emperor, then Lion would have no choice. She would become the Emperor's sword and lead the First Legion against them.
"…All right. Magnus is my responsibility," Horus said, nodding heavily. Then she added in a small voice, "Please tell Father I'm still wearing the Centaurus ring he gave me."
"Me too…" Curze had originally wanted to mock the other two for being absurdly sentimental, but after a moment's thought she gave in. Quietly, she said, "If I really am guilty, then let him punish me himself. If not, then I will become the judge he always wanted me to be—the one who brings true judgment to the sins of the Imperium."
"Good! I'll pass your words along!" Lion promised.
Then she released them with a smile, but before stepping through the door, she glanced back at Bruce. There was clearly a lot she wanted to say, but perhaps worried about frightening him, she kept it all to herself.
"Lion…" Bruce said, looking at her somewhat lonely back. It felt wrong to let her go without saying something.
She stopped in the doorway and turned.
"What is it?"
"Finish the mission as fast as you can—while keeping yourself safe," Bruce said. "Then we'll beat the hell out of that bastard Lorgar together."
"All right! It's a promise!" Lion answered brightly.
Bang.
The Anywhere Door closed. Lion was gone.
Soon after, from the observation window, they watched the Indomitable Truth set sail, a host of large and small warships following in her wake. Quite a few of those escort vessels had been provided by the Sixteenth Legion.
After all, Lion had rushed over to find Curze with only a very small number of ships. To guarantee her safety, Horus had no choice but to assign her a dedicated escort fleet.
That was only temporary, though. Once the First Legion completed its muster, the mightiest void fleet in the Imperium would show everyone what it really meant to go all out. Not even the Ultramarines could compare.
After the Rangdan Xenocides, the Emperor's compensation to the First Legion had basically amounted to: have more battleships.
That, more than anything else, was why everyone had to respectfully call Lion the Lion.
You could have as many elite troops as you wanted—but could they outfight a full broadside from a battlefleet?
"So then…"
Horus steadied herself and began operating the map device Bruce had provided. Looking over the strategic data—which was more detailed than any star chart equipment she had ever seen—she both marveled at its convenience and quickly began planning routes with practiced efficiency.
"We need to reach the Thousand Sons' territory as soon as possible."
The Sixteenth Legion had to seize this window and achieve the strategic objective they had agreed upon in the previous meeting.
And Horus was no longer fighting alone.
The Eighth Legion—and her brother Curze—were powerful allies as well.
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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