Emperor's Bane

Chapter 252 Midnight Ghost
"I have come to ask you for this city, but I am not asking you to give it to me, because I have already taken this city into my hands. This is just a necessary step."

"By means and truth of the world, I have learned how your hearts think and how your heads work, and with this knowledge I will bring peace to this civilization."

"I will become the crime of this city, and it is my vocation to drag you out of the barbarism."

"Peace shall govern all, as I rule all."

"All crimes will be severely punished."

"I am the leader of civilization, shouldering your sins and bringing light to you."

"I'm doing great things."

"so."

"I want more."

"I want to achieve more, get more, and I want to take away my responsibilities and power."

"I will be your king."

------

Konrad-Kurz got up from the ruins.

He is huge and slender, revealing a kind of bleakness brought about by a long period of malnutrition. His pale skin is covered with scars and bullet marks, and his messy long black hair is still pervasive even after the most perfunctory care. A disgusting greasy color.

The black-eyed giant was dressed in a nondescript dark robe with no aesthetics at all, barely covering his body with shroud-like tatters. This was his royal robe, although it was neither like a The luxurious clothes are not like a set of fine armor, but this does not prevent Curze from wearing it and becoming the king of Nostramo and Eternal Night.

After all, his kingship has never been based on heavy crowns and extravagant accessories, but on something simpler and more effective: he knows this very well, and because of it he became [Midnight ghost】.

Midnight Ghost.

It was the first human word that Nostramo had taught him, and it was his favorite, and when he heard the syllables spit out in fits and starts from parched lips that trembled or frightened, he You know, it's time for him to act.

For a long time, this alarm bell has never failed Koz's trust. The fear in the trembling words and the stench of urination is more credible than all the lives in this fallen world combined. It will be repeated again and again. Urging the pace of Midnight Ghost again and again, until even in the darkest night, there is nothing that can make it sound the alarm.

That was the moment Curze was looking forward to: he would hunt no more, and his city would become a quiet hive, illuminated by the lights of reform and silent order.

And to achieve all this is not easy.

At least for now, he hasn't succeeded.

Thinking of this, Midnight Ghost couldn't help laughing. His snow-white teeth were more shocking than his milk-colored lips. There were bone fragments and shreds of rotting meat between his jagged teeth. He skillfully used his tongue Cleaning his own teeth, this is the only way he has cleaned his mouth for more than ten years.

The bone and blood between the sharp teeth came from the disembowelled wild dog at his feet, which he caught with a rat as thin as himself. He tasted the liver and thigh of the wild dog to come. Another protest against an empty stomach.

During such a long period of time, his originally delicate stomach pouch, which would curl up into a ball from time to time, has learned to submit to the master's unfettered control. It no longer growls its thirst for food from time to time, and has become accustomed to putting any rotten meat Eat a piece of it and convert it into energy for the midnight ghost to roam freely.

Even after Midnight Ghost became the king of Nostramo, this habit was still well preserved. Curz never attended those banquets held to flatter him, and he never tasted the delicacies of the nobles. Still can't believe everything from Nostramo.

Willing to be the worst eater in his kingdom, the Midnight King will forage in the solitude of all things, eating whatever [right] food he can find, no matter how bad it may be. Regardless of whether these foods are them or not.

Yes, he tasted the guilty people he judged, and he knew that human eyeballs taste like warm jelly, and the reason why he did this was just to get enough information.

Curz laughed again, as if mocking his own hypocrisy, the dirty nails were inserted into the eyeball of a wild dog that was anxious, and thrown into the hungry stomach of Midnight Ghost, the weird juice satisfied His appetite, and after less than a minute of gorging, Midnight Ghost lost his supper.

He looked up at the night sky.

Even the lunatic who loves Nostramo the most will not praise the night here, there is no clarity, no silence, only an endless quagmire of terrible noise, the dome contrasted by the worst painters against the steel surface The stagnation like asphalt was smeared underneath, strangling hope and starry sky in bony palms.

But Coz was happy.

He is full.

Satisfied, the King of Nostramo stepped forward, and he came to the edge of the deserted terrace, leaning against the uglier statue than himself, and he could not recognize what kind of creature was inscribed on this statue, But from the ferocious face and sharp claws, he found some common ground.

Midnight Ghost stands on one of the highest points of the city he ruled. This ancient building originated from the rumored glorious age. The sharp top of the tower can pierce the sky, telling the ambition and glory of thousands of years ago. When Ghost stopped for a while in this long-abandoned ruins, he always had a lingering thought.

He seems to be standing by the lake, near a crystal-clear lake, his paws are the dividing line between the two worlds, through the non-existent lake, he can see the sparkling shadow of himself in fantasy , just like the miserable Narcissus praying for his lover before the illusory silver mirror.

Above his head, the only few ancient spiers protruded into the churning and swirling dark clouds, stirring the weak stars hidden outside the purple-black sky, the lowest skyline in his pupils and the city can be seen everywhere. The landmarks show the same destructiveness, like rough asphalt spilled at will, crushing countless hearts.

In this world, Midnight Ghost has never seen the sun, and although his mind tells him he should have one, he doesn't: his sun was taken from him, like so many things in his life .

But under his feet, on the land where the Midnight Ghost has already ruled, there is a dilapidation that is completely different from the sky: since Conrad pronounced his mercy to those nobles who had already been frightened, his rule first began in Kuntu. The hive city of Si was established and spread to the remaining industrial cities of Nostramo like a virus. Such expansion was not accompanied by military wars or peace negotiations, but the cloak of the midnight ghost pierced the night sky time and time again. lonely sound.

Such a voice has given Nostramo unimaginable changes. In the past, the Kingdom of Eternal Night was hopelessly indulging in a kind of sick prosperity. The glorious past and the promotion of pure gold are enough to make the existing Struggling to survive on the most extravagant monuments, in the eternal darkness caused by the absence of the sun, the false warmth of monotonous neon signs, dilapidated billboards and hundreds of thousands of lights occupy the entire city, countless protected by armored glass Cars speeding past the wide streets of the old city, with windows covered with barbed wire on both sides, or passers-by staggering and poking around, most of them have [regular] occupations and can live in Those gleaming top floors.

Alongside such roads are dark alleys and fortresses piled high with rubbish. More than [-]% of the Nostramo live in these stinking mounds, and no one knows them. How did they survive? They are like a group of moles with degenerated eyes, they can only swallow the phlegm and vomit in their throats, and their teeth are filled with everything they robbed. To continue that miserable life, and the only light source in the alleys are the shiny billboards above their heads, which are full of goods that they will never be able to afford in their lifetime.

This is what Konrad-Kurz saw on Nostramo, and it is also what he experienced in life: when he slowly crawled out of the darkest corner of the planet, his first The mouth blood food is rotten to the point of almost dissolving minced meat, and it should be stained with the black stench of the sewer.

This environment, which is enough to make life miserable, did not affect the emperor's heir too much. He built a lair here. As a natural, top predator, he showed his fangs, and his innate sense of justice is His best sense of smell, the story about the Midnight Ghost, became the haunting nightmare of Quintus in the first year of Curze's birth. Those who wandered out of their own kingdom among the ruins around the place where they lived.

A few years later, the kingdom was shrouded in the head of Quintus's original ruler, and it was not until then that the Midnight Ghost expressed his emotion too late: it turned out that he had never seen everything in Nostramo, It turned out that he had never known the other side of the world.

It turns out that the inexhaustible supply of pure water, the fine and soft silk, and the piles of food that are discarded at will after one bite, are the real reality in the same hive city as those alleys and slums.

Everything was so strange and fantastic that it even gave Midnight Ghost a kind of straightforward anxiety, until he saw the same fear that he smelled when the blood was splashed on the faces of those nobles.

At that moment, he smiled.

He understood that the nobles in front of him were actually no different from the guilty people in the alley. They were the same kind of people, so they could naturally abide by the same rules.

So, he walked in front of them, among those sad souls gnashing their teeth, he slowly sat on the throne that once belonged to the prime minister, counting every possibility in his vision.

For a moment, he was looking forward to a different kind of courage from the barrels of guns pointing at him, but in the end he couldn't wait for the reason for him to kill. The fear brought by him carried the stench of the slums , stepping on the carpet of nobles majestically, crushing their knees and dignity.

He looked at them, at these silently surrendered figures, and laughed heartily. After that, he made a speech, gave an answer, and expounded a fact.

Then he became their king.

the one and only king.

He finally took this step, knowing that time was running out for him, and he saw a fleet advancing towards Nostramo.

They are coming.

come for him.

------

The midnight ghost returned to his palace in the dead of morning.

This is the tower, the pinnacle of the entire hive of Quintus, where the first and only king of Nostramo proclaimed his reign, and at will the last batch of The protesters hung on the rough spiers that were blackened by industrial waste gas, and the continuous screams surrounded the towers for thirteen days and nights.

And all of that happened a few months ago, the Nostramos were familiar with the return of the monarchy in this short period of time, and the Midnight Ghost's expansion of territory in other hive cities made them abandon With a mind of resistance, those young talents who could endure the fear and bloody smell stepped forward one after another, walked into Curz's palace, and became another pair of sharp claws for his rule.

And when the footsteps of the Midnight Ghost made the last nest succumb, the crimes that had haunted this world for countless generations also died down in the continuous months of Ling Chi videos and live broadcasts of executions, and every family was forced to listen all night Listen to the screams of criminals in the communication network until they understand the importance of justice.

So, when Midnight Specter returned to his capital, his royal court, he saw with satisfaction how the Kingdom of Eternal Night was on the right track under his guidance, and how it was shrouded in a growing environment of absolute tranquility and silence. middle.

Standing on the spire, stroking the dried human skin, Curz could clearly see the dying sun trying to cast a weak halo. Under the light, groups of gray-faced workers were expressionless. The only difference between them and the walking dead is the unbelievably low breathing sound, and at the end of this quiet tide, there are processing plants and refineries rising up on the horizon , the forging furnace is in it day and night, and the huge amount of pollution spewed out dooms every resident to be tortured by deadly chemicals for life.

This is the great prosperity created by Curz, and everything he is proud of: the transaction orders with the surrounding world have grown at an unimaginable speed, the wealth of the nobles has been invested in manufacturing and mining regardless of cost, Stability and tranquility have become the only indicators to meet the jobs that can accommodate everyone in Nostramo. Midnight Ghost does not care whether the nobles’ treasury is exhausted, the poor’s breathing is difficult, and the food in the granary is exhausted during his rule. Sufficient or not, he is satisfied that under his reign of terror, no one will die from the terrible harm of others, and no one dares to single out the evil thoughts again, and this is his irrefutable great achievement.

Standing on a high tower, he ensured the continuation of this feat. As for the specific rule and management, he arbitrarily left it to the city governors he chose from among mortals, just because he saw in these people It's a rare possibility.

In the very beginning, Midnight Ghost also tried his best to manage his kingdom, and his desperate study did bear fruit: the Night King knew at the fastest speed that managing anything would be his eternal disaster, His sharp claws can tear apart all evils, but they can never catch the simplest book.

As a result, the governors stepped onto the stage, and at least now, they are very obedient. The fear from the midnight ghost is still deeply imprinted in their hearts. Although they are already the masters of their respective cities, they only need to come from Science This is the simplest order, and all the governors quickly gathered on the smelly steeple.

Lord Balseus was the first governor to arrive, because he was the manager of Quintus Hive. A few months ago, his question and answer with Curze was the prelude to the King of Night's enthronement.

Midnight Ghost did not look back, because he had already heard the heart of Balseus beating behind him, and he knew that this mortal possessed courage and faith. Therefore, after he left, Balseus would be His spokesperson in Nostramo.

"They're coming."

"My father, my brothers, and their warriors."

"They came for me."

Midnight Ghost's announcement was more like an obsessive murmur. When the state council under him looked at each other because of these huge pieces of information, the Night King just raised his head and immersed himself in his own thoughts. world.

A bold governor raised questions, but the Night King didn't speak. He had already closed his eyes, saw another possibility, and walked into another world.

Those phantoms that have appeared in his dreams from time to time since he became conscious are becoming more and more rampant. At the beginning, they were just slight tingles and occasional hallucinations, but since he became Nostramo After the real ruler, this uncontrolled perspective began to spread like a virus. Soon, Curz discovered that even when he was absolutely awake, he would start dreaming.

He seems to be transforming into something new. Along with the large fleet that he had expected, that cold and merciless light is getting closer and closer to him. Midnight Ghost can clearly feel the transformation in himself, he It seems to be becoming more mature, more complete, and better able to be used.

At the very beginning, he only heard the last words of his governors several years later, and saw their faces in the future. Slowly, dreams began to invade his rest time, and he had to concentrate to distinguish which ones were in front of him What is the truth and what is the gloomy future.

In the end, even polluting his cognition was not enough to satisfy these vicious visions, they tore at the skin, and began to expose the most terrible dreams before his eyes, they made him see the most desperate struggle, the most twisted Betrayal, the longest war, and an entire galaxy doomed to burn.

Perceptions from another time and place began to assail him at any time and place, and the sparkling mote of sapphire brilliance began to swell enough to swallow the scene of real life, enough to break his spirit, disturb his steps, and let him rule everywhere. And the trial turned into a disjointed sad score.

Rarely, Curz frowned. He hated this ability, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't even choose what he could see, and he couldn't find anything about reality from those messy paintings. He is always deceived, misled, and trapped in an invisible cage called hesitation by slightly different paintings.

When he gazes at the feeble sun in the sky, he will see Nostramo burning, will see his efforts finally swallowed up by this doomed city, and the angry punishment will drag the long fire Come, violently kill the source of all evil.

And when he chose to retreat into the shadows, he saw another diametrically opposite situation. He saw a better Nostramo, a quiet and orderly industrial country, sprinkled with bright sunlight. On the healthy faces of the residents, the sound of reciting from the school can be heard next to the ears. This future is obviously better, but it just flashes by, unlike the former occupying the center of the dream.

These two dreams are equally real, as if he has been able to walk in diametrically opposite countries, breathing the air of destruction or hope, he cannot distinguish between the real and the false, let alone the others: in the other world In some of the rarer fragments, Nostramo can be a self-defeating blood country, a dead and lonely wasteland, or a lawless place where a group of barbarians wandered wantonly and waged war.

It seems that everything is possible, it seems that everything is real, it seems that everything is a logical development under the existing conditions, waiting for him to find the real future: not only Nostramo, but a lot of things that happened in his mind Everything is like this, the illusion of the future stands in his mind like a tower, but it is often surrounded by many false shadows.

But apart from this, other things are more accurate and single, maybe their possibility has not been discovered, or maybe their fate has already been doomed: for example, that huge fleet, they have already appeared in the On Nostramo's margin, this is a doomed future that will come true anyway.

And he will leave with them, this is also an unchangeable fact.

However, there are still some worries lingering in the heart of Midnight Ghost, and some changes in details are making him particularly uneasy: in the future he can see at the beginning, the huge fleet will be released in more than ten years. It will come, and it will take him away after he has ruled Nostramo for a whole generation, not now, not just a year after he became queen.

But this worry is not enough to break the confidence of Midnight Ghost. When he sees the silent crowd under his feet, he is confident that he has brought a new order to this world. He believes that this is good. And he's done everything that needs to be done.

He left behind a city without crime and depravity. In front of this, whether his rule lasted seems not to be a problem. Although the governors behind him did not have more talents, relying on his aftertaste, they can Be a good ruler.

There is no doubt that the Night King is proud.

So he assembled his national council, allowed men, women, old and children to temporarily leave the refineries, which were never resting day and night, and flocked to the oldest squares, waiting for his guests.

They are coming, coming for him.

------

Midnight Ghost didn't have long to wait.

The Emperor's fleet arrived at noon so dark that his ships cast great shadows over Nostramo, but no darker than the world itself, when the Night Ghost looked up at the unforgettable When he saw the spectacle of the void, he clearly felt the six auras that were extremely important to him.

The Lord of Humanity, his five sons, and a full quarter of a million Astartes warriors formed a phalanx that nearly fainted countless Nostramos, and marched slowly and solemnly to the tower of the Night Ghost , This blatant invasion made many of the King of the Night's subjects dumbfounded, and the citizens gathered in the clouds were as vulnerable as lambs in front of this unprecedented invader.

The great battle line composed of black, gold, silver, bright purple and gray stopped at the same time, the god of thunder and his five heirs slowly walked out, and the light of the five demigods could not match their father's. Fight for glory, because the Lord of Humanity is the legend that Nostramo fears and admires the most: he is the sun, he is the fire, and he is the burning light.

Any fool who dares to look directly at the Lord of Humanity will lose their light forever, and Konrad-Kurz came to his genetic father and blood brothers on the basis of their wailing, knowing that he could not escape.

God came forward, he opened his arms, ready to speak.

【Kang...】

The first syllable from the Emperor knocked the Night Ghost down completely, his heart pierced, his veins steamed, his cold hands burned in the too close light, and the most terrible future smashed out of his eyes.

No one knows what the Night King saw or thought at this moment. His reaction is really worrying. Amidst the expressionless and slightly sad faces of several Primarchs, the Lord of Humanity took a step forward. The power easily dispelled the despair in the Night King's mind.

【No need to panic, Konrad-Kurz, I have found you, I am your father, and I am here to bring you home. 】

The words of the Lord of Men were passed only among the Primarch and the nearest Custodians, and the demigods smiled with relief, except for a certain Lord of Avalon, whose pupils followed the Emperor's response to the Night Ghost. Soothe, and flashed a few different colors.

At the same time, Midnight Ghost had already stood up, but he did not kneel down before the Lord of Humanity voluntarily, he was unwilling to do so.

"That is not my name, Father, my people gave me a name, and I will bear that name until the day I die."

"I am the Night Ghost."

"And I'm fully aware of your plans for me."

The words made at least two of the Primarchs frown, but the Emperor didn't seem irritated, or even shocked, to accept Curze's words and treat him as his heir for the moment.

【Come to meet your blood relatives. 】

[You have been separated for too long. 】

Curze didn't reply, but he chose to do so, and the Primarchs took a step forward in an orderly manner, introducing their names.

The first is Don.

Koz looked at him, and felt countless fragments and possibilities blooming in his mind. They were different, but most of them pointed to a burning palace, and Dawn was standing there, fully armed, Blood was flowing profusely, and he faced a shadow several times taller than him in despair.

The second is Luo Jia.

The image he brought is not complicated at all. The figure in front of the statue always maintains a kneeling posture, while behind him are endless warriors. They are very similar to the Astartes in front of them, but they are taller , Too much barbarism and brutality, compared to warriors, more like death beasts devoutly believing in evil gods.

The third is Ferrus.

Curz saw him, in countless places and moments, in a state of chaos, like a book that has not yet thought out, he seemed to be standing on a burning steel giant, and he seemed to be with the legion of the dead, He also seemed to be fighting in that golden palace, and seemed to be the breaker of that perfect city wall, flashing a icy and bloodthirsty melody.

The fourth was Fulgrim, with a real light and warmth in his pupils.

Coz couldn't see him clearly, or he couldn't see his whole body clearly. He could see a noble phoenix holding double blades, but then he saw a tail wing dragging disgusting pus. There was a scuffle, a break, and three flags raised high, but at that moment, I saw them being torn down separately, as a piece of dim history.

These are his four brothers, his four blood relatives. He has just met them for the first time, but he has already seen the sad future.

The Midnight Ghost raised his head as he prepared for the next...

[I'm Morgan. 】

"!"

Curz opened his eyes. The light of the Lord of Humanity made him feel unbearable pain, but he still resisted to look at the source of the sound, the shadow that came from behind the emperor, and the Cool voice.

That... a voice that shouldn't exist.

Midnight Ghost took a deep breath, and he took about a minute to simply take a deep breath, and then looked at the non-existent fifth blood relative under the stunned gazes of all the Primarchs.

He saw it.

At that moment, the blazing fragments of the future poured into Midnight Ghost's pupils like magma, torturing his reason and persistence unscrupulously, he wanted to scream, to go crazy, to be like any normal person Do as you will.

But there was nothing he could do, because he had seen those things.

He saw, he saw countless worlds burning, he saw thousands of slaves singing and dancing on the remains of civilization, he saw shadows like stars covering those unfortunate worlds, and the huge iron claws were about to come Every star is torn to pieces.

But in the next moment, he saw the hazy future again, he saw the end of things that had already happened, and he saw what should have happened on the battlefield named Ran Dan.

He saw the lion-like giant raised his sword, piercing the snow-white neck under the silver hair, and there were silent black-armored warriors standing around him, as well as mountains of silver-white corpses, And countless burning warships and ruins.

He saw the nine most profane symbols flashing in the blue pupils, reflecting the only pity and mourning in the heart of the ruthless king of knights. The tip of the spear of victory also pierced the dying heart, but tears were already flowing.

That is the future, that is the past, that is what has happened, and that is what he should see.

He should see him, see Morgan, see a brother, a...

Coz took a deep breath.

He stared at Morgan, with an almost disrespectful gaze, staring at her, like an ordinary human being who woke up and found a bunch of living dead people pulling on the windows of his house.

It wasn't until this overly obvious gaze attracted the attention of all the Primarchs and the pupils of the Lord of Humanity that Midnight Ghost slowly opened his mouth and spoke the first words between himself and all his blood relatives.

"Morgan?"

[It's me, brother. 】

The smile of the Lord of the Second Legion was already a little stiff, but she still maintained it well.

But Curz was not moved, he just nodded indifferently, as if he heard words from a corpse.

Then, he spoke succinctly.

"Are you really Morgan?"

【certainly. 】

"That……"

"Why aren't you dead yet?"

【…? 】

(End of this chapter)