As the core of the Night Lords—and their First Captain—Sevatar never went anywhere without the Legion's elite at his side: the Atramentar. This interrogation was no exception.
So the moment the Atramentar heard something off about the noises coming from inside the cell, they immediately formed up, waiting only for the situation to worsen further—or for Sevatar's command—before charging in and killing whatever was inside at the first opportunity.
In other words, these super-elite killers in Terminator armor were now staring fixedly at the cell door.
It was a sight enough to chill the hearts of many enemies of the Imperium.
The damp, shadowy air of the dungeon gradually turned still, like a spring compressed to its very limit.
…!
When the footsteps coming from inside the cell did not match the familiar sound they were expecting, they instantly shifted into combat stance, ready at any moment to annihilate the enemy.
The Atramentar! Loyal to the Primarch unto death!
Creeeak—
When the heavy wooden door swung open, it gave off a teeth-grating groan.
The Terminators, holding their breath, saw an Astartes wearing the Crown of Night—and froze.
These battle-hardened veterans made a fatal mistake.
First, it took them a full second to process the information. Then they realized—
Captain Sevatar had been taken hostage!
By a recruit!
A recruit with no armor, no weapons, and no equipment whatsoever!
A recruit who had been unconscious for months and hadn't even received any fresh nutritional replenishment!
The shock of it was like watching a child beat an experienced special forces operative into the ground.
The scene was so absurd that they almost failed to notice the little girl perched on the recruit's shoulder—some kind of demi-human by the look of her.
For some reason, though, she gave off an indescribable sense of intimacy and—
Authority.
In such a short span of time, the Atramentar had made multiple mistakes in succession. On a real battlefield, that would have been enough to get them killed several times over.
"Are you pointing your guns at a Primarch's agent, my battle-brothers?"
Faced with the Atramentar, who could kill him hundreds of times over, Bruce remained perfectly composed as he threw the question back at them. At the same time, he set the unconscious Sevatar down on the floor.
Dragging Sevatar out with him to open the door had been Bruce's idea from the start. If he really did get met with a wall of fire, he could at least use him as cover.
Besides, Sevatar was a very useful hostage—and also a perfect "friend or foe" identification marker.
No matter how deranged the Night Lords were, there was no way they would attack Sevatar without hesitation, right?
After all, with the Primarch gone missing, the entire Legion was being held together by Sevatar alone.
If Father was gone, that was one thing. But if Mother went too, then the family would truly fall apart for good.
"A Primarch's agent?"
One of the Atramentar lowered his bolter and looked Bruce over while voicing his confusion.
"I have never heard of such a position."
"That's fine. Starting tonight, I am one."
Seeing that no one seemed eager to kill him just yet, Bruce relaxed and began bluffing with confidence.
Come on. With the Primarch sitting on my shoulder as backing, as long as I can fool them, I can say whatever I want.
Even if I claimed I was Rogal Dorn's bastard son, so long as the logic held up and I didn't expose Curze's identity, nothing should go wrong.
Though… Curze would probably find that extremely unlucky and then kill me herself.
"Do you see this great token above my head?"
Bruce pointed at the Crown of Night on his brow and declared proudly,
"The Primarch bestowed this upon me. This is proof—and a symbol."
"From this day on, I will exercise the privileges granted to me by the Primarch and make the Night Lords Legion greater than ever!"
"I, Bruce Wayne, swear it here and now! On the day the Primarch returns, I will hand back to him an Astartes Legion that is mighty and glorious! The name of the Night Lords will ring across the galaxy, and all enemies of mankind will tremble before us!"
"…"
The Night Lords were utterly stunned.
Of course, it was not because Bruce had deceived them with a few pretty words.
It was because of the Crown of Night.
Everything else could be forged.
That could not.
Every Night Lord knew the Crown of Night on sight. If there had been even the slightest falsehood about it, they would already have killed Bruce where he stood, rather than remaining rooted in place, trying to process the sheer scale of what they had just heard.
The Primarch's prolonged absence had already thrown the Legion into utter chaos. If Sevatar had not suppressed everything by force, civil war might already have broken out several times over.
But missing or not, the Primarch had to still be alive. His sons could all feel that much.
So why had Bruce become the Primarch's agent?
And a mere recruit, at that?
It was just too bizarre.
It was like some nobody of no reputation at all suddenly being informed one day that, by organizational decision, he had been appointed supreme leader.
"Do any of you have further questions?"
When the others still failed to react, Bruce pressed the issue.
"If you have something to say, then say it. I'll answer."
"You… met Father?"
"Of course. Just now, in fact. And I should make one thing clear: I was chosen by Father himself. That is why, when the recruit transport was attacked, I was the only survivor."
"It was all Father's test," Bruce added, half-truthfully.
Was I attacked by the Primarch? Yes.
Did I survive? Also yes.
Then technically, nothing I said was wrong, right?
"And Captain Sevatar…"
"He's fine. When Father entrusted me with this important duty, he did not wish for Captain Sevatar to be present, so he knocked him unconscious."
Bruce answered that honestly as well.
That closed the loop perfectly.
Who besides the Primarch could silently put Sevatar down without making a sound?
No one.
And if Bruce, wearing the Crown of Night, was able to carry Sevatar out here, then that too must have been by the Primarch's will.
So no matter whether you looked at it logically or from any other angle, the whole story was airtight.
"…"
The Atramentar fell silent.
They were analyzing Bruce's words, but the weapons they kept lowering one after another already said everything.
At this point, Bruce knew exactly what he had to do:
He had to bring this lie about being the Primarch's agent to a perfect close.
He stepped forward, removed the Crown of Night, and raised it high with both hands like a faithful believer offering tribute to a god.
"All hail the Lord of Night!"
The moment Bruce's cry of absolute devotion rang out, the Night Lords could no longer suppress the longing in their hearts for their missing Primarch, and they answered in one voice:
"We have come for you!"
For sons who had not seen their Primarch in so long, gazing now upon the Crown of Night—the symbol of Curze—felt as though the Night Lords had finally become whole again.
"Lord… of Night…"
A hoarse, muffled voice rose weakly from the ground, just after the others' battle-cry ended.
"Hm?"
Bruce looked down and discovered that, at some point, the newly awakened Sevatar had seized his ankle in a death grip.
He stared fixedly at the Crown of Night, then asked Bruce:
"Tell me… what did the Primarch… say?"
"He said—nothing at all."
Bruce shook his head.
"…"
Sevatar clenched his teeth to keep himself conscious.
He had countless questions he wanted to ask, but he also understood one thing:
This boy could not be lying.
Because in the instant he lost consciousness, he had sensed it—
the long-missing Primarch had indeed returned.
What he could not understand was why the Primarch would choose a nobody recruit like this to act as his agent.
What meaning did that have?
Or was this simply another riddle deliberately left for him by the Primarch?
But if it was Curze's command, then…
he would obey.
There had to be some deeper purpose behind the Primarch's actions.
"And… who is she?"
Sevatar finally looked toward the demi-human little girl who had been sitting on Bruce's shoulder all this time.
Though it was their first meeting, Sevatar could not shake the feeling that there was something strangely familiar about her. Even her aura and psychic fluctuations felt like something he had encountered before.
Damn it. Why couldn't he remember anything? That made no sense.
"She…"
At Sevatar's question, Bruce suddenly realized that everyone had indeed noticed Curze—and that they were all waiting for his answer.
This was bad.
If he answered poorly, everything he had said before would collapse on the spot.
Meanwhile, Curze continued to act like the matter had nothing to do with her, but when she looked at Bruce, she wore an exceedingly subtle smile, like someone waiting to enjoy a show.
"She is…"
Cold sweat poured down Bruce's back.
He had to come up with a perfect answer—one with no obvious flaws.
And fast.
Otherwise, everyone would definitely notice the holes in his story. And whatever answer he gave also had to sound plausible enough that no one would question why he had taken so long to think of it.
In that case, there was only one option—
"She's Father's illegitimate daughter!"
"…"
"?"
"?!"
"Huh?"
He lasted exactly one second in this challenge of "answering without letting the conversation die."
Go on, give it a try yourself.
That really was something.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Bruce immediately felt that things had gone horribly wrong. He was already mentally prepared for the possibility that everyone here was about to die.
Because who the hell would believe such a ridiculous answer?
And yet—
every single one of them did.
"My respects to you, great child of the Lord of Night!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Atramentar dropped to one knee before Curze and swore their loyalty.
Because to them, Curze had always given off an indescribable sense of closeness, along with an utterly natural urge to submit.
So when Bruce gave this absurd-sounding answer, it somehow felt not absurd at all.
As for the possibility that this girl might actually be the Primarch…
Don't be ridiculous.
What kind of Primarch would be a girl?!
Anyone who dared insult our Primarch like that would find us on their doorstep soon enough—and leave with a different skin.
"…"
The smile Curze had been wearing froze instantly.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Then she looked at Bruce with an expression so cold it was like she was already looking at a corpse. If Curze had not been a reasonable woman who kept her word, she might already have killed him on the spot.
It was not exactly a reasonable explanation, but he had technically pulled it off.
And her identity had not been exposed.
So…
Endure.
"The Primarch…"
"Where exactly did he go?"
Sevatar stared straight at Curze and pleaded:
"Tell me."
"It's been ten years. We have been without him… for ten years."
What?!
Hearing this far more explosive revelation, Bruce stood there dumbstruck.
What did he mean the Primarch had been missing for ten years?
Are you kidding me?
But very quickly, Bruce came to understand.
Now he finally knew why Sevatar had valued information about Curze so desperately—and why these people had believed his performance so readily.
So in the end…
I'm the one who got screwed over by the information gap?
This was not a promising start at all.
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 135)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter67)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter85)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 60
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 65
From Junkman to Wasteland 50
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 35
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 40
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 37
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 27
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 26
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 26
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin