Emperor's Bane

Chapter 737 Emperor – LILY
"The Emperor is waiting for you inside."

"go in."

This was not Morgan's first solo visit to the Emperor's Vision.

But in her current impression, this was definitely the time when the atmosphere was the most tense.

In the Great Crusade before this, the Spider Queen had done similar solo battles no less than twenty times: when the Golden Guards of the Lord of Mankind looked at the Dawnbreakers under Morgan's command, although they generally trusted their abilities, they were always unwilling to further trust their loyalty.

So, whenever the Emperor summoned his only daughter aboard his flagship for a conversation or a mission, the Dawnbreaker Guards were always forbidden to accompany them, and at first, they were not even allowed to follow their Primarch into the teleportation array.

Later, when Morgan's status in the Emperor's sight gradually rose and the people who were responsible for receiving her were replaced by a group of the most gentle imperial guards, the Primarch's guards were allowed to warp together into the transport room of the Emperor's Vision.

But despite this, they were not allowed to leave the room itself, and the golden walls kept the warriors at bay: when the tribunes of the Custodians were in person to oversee, even figures as powerful as Rana and Bayar had to show proper respect.

However, these are all old stories.

After the storm on Nikea dealt an unimaginable blow to the Imperium of Man, and after the Custodians imprisoned the entire fleet of the Thousand Sons Legion with their ruthless blades, every ship still remaining in the system was shrouded in confusion, silence, and a state of restlessness and anxiety. Even the Emperor's Vision was not immune.

The flagship of the Lord of Mankind has become the eye of the storm of the entire incident. Thousands of eyes are staring at the silent giant ship day and night: they are uneasy about the silence of the Emperor lurking inside, but the Imperial Guards guarding the giant ship are also nervous because of the prying eyes from all directions.

Naturally, when Morgan once again stepped onto the deck of the Emperor's Fantasy, she was greeted by complete indifference and vigilance: at least five hundred imperial guards were on high alert, with swords drawn and guns loaded. The brief warmth that had emerged from their long time together had melted away like spring snow.

A closer look revealed that they were old faces that the Primarchs had long been familiar with, and they had all been transferred ahead of time this time: most likely they had already headed for the sky above Prospero.

Instead, there was a group of radicals represented by Diocletian, who were just short of pointing their guns at Morgan's head: there was no words or respect in their eyes when they looked at the Spider Queen.

Fortunately, she left Rana, Bayar and others on the boat in advance this time.

The Primarch's mind was in a mess, her thoughts were in disarray because of the concentrated outbreak of events during this period, but despite this, Morgan was still keenly aware that the Emperor's Dream was too quiet today.

Abnormally quiet.

The Primarch's brow twitched.

She knew that before this, the Emperor's Dream was a very quiet warship.
Unlike its huge size that exceeds the limits of human imagination, because most of its functions have been automated, very few people are needed to operate the Emperor's flagship: when necessary, no manpower is even needed.

The engine room can operate on its own in silence, and the artillery fire that is enough to raze countless civilizations is still deadly and accurate even without anyone operating it: the only life this battleship needed in the past was a large number of armed guards and those non-combatants who were responsible for maintenance or blessing work on weekdays.

These people either patrolled silently in the marble corridors of the Golden Palace, or shuttled across the decks of the Emperor's Dream, wiping the thousands of statues and war temples in this giant space city: in Morgan's impression, these silent and hardworking servants were the only kind of vitality she could feel on this ship.

But today, even these pitiful vitality disappeared: the servants were not sure whether they were taken away for inspection or transferred from their original posts. In short, when the Primarch walked on the deck, she felt a dead silence that made her extremely uneasy.

Morgan began to think, and she had to think seriously: Behind the solemn promises of Malcador, the Emperor, has he achieved any decent results in the war against the dark thoughts in his heart? Or is he at a critical juncture of losing cities and territories?
Judging from the performance of this battleship, no one is optimistic about the result.

【…】

Never mind: let her make the decision herself.

After thinking about all this, Morgan adjusted her state: she ignored the gazes of the guards beside her, showed no respect, and did not intend to perform any unnecessary courtesy. She casually knocked on the heavy door in front of her, which was slightly larger than a dreadnought, as a courtesy to the emperor as a subject.

【it's me. 】

The Primarch's lips touched, and then he pushed the door open.

It was heavier than she had imagined.

By the way, every time she visited the Emperor's Dream, the Emperor would specially choose a room to receive her: was he afraid that she would secretly memorize the terrain here?

Morgan snorted softly, and the harsh sound of the door closing behind her made her annoyed: the Primarch first quickly searched around and found that this was an ordinary library: in any mortal elementary school on the Goddess of Dawn, there was a Palace of Wisdom that was more academic than this pitiful place.

【Father?】

She spoke tentatively, her voice echoing between the bookshelves and the tables and chairs, a little hoarser than she had expected: Soon, the Emperor's response came from a corner, and because of the densely packed bookshelves, the Primarch needed to take a few steps to open up his field of vision.

＋I'm here. ＋
How strange, this was not a word, but a psychic sensation in his mind: as if there was some reason why he couldn't speak now.

The Primarch tilted his head, but still obediently moved in the direction of the voice.

He kept mocking as he walked.

[Malcador told me that this might be the last time we would be able to meet face to face in the next fifty years: he asked me to cherish this opportunity.]

The footsteps echoed far away.

[But seriously, father, I think this sentence should be said to you. After all, I have never had anything...]

【…】

【…】

＋Nothing at all? ＋

【…】

(*)
Morgan's frivolous voice stopped abruptly the moment she turned the corner.

Her voice, her breath, her thoughts and even her soul, after seeing the things that existed in the new vision, all fell into silence and stagnation: they fell into a short circuit in the realm of thought.

[You... this...]

She opened her mouth wide, revealing a dull expression that she had never had before: her originally lively blue pupils were too wide, like two lifeless coins, and her nose, which should have been straight, was squeezed up and down by her eyes and lips that were wide open at the same time, pulling her cheekbones and making her whole face look like a funny child.

The original body's breathing stopped, her facial features were stretched to the limit, only her pupils were still jumping because of the instinctive reaction, and her neck was stuck up and down, like a swan with its neck grabbed, but she couldn't squeeze out even a word.

「You……you……」

＋Me what? ＋

When the Spider Queen's mouth opened wide due to excessive shock and even began to accumulate tears that damaged her image, even the Lord of Mankind, who had been sitting there, intending to enjoy his daughter's embarrassment, could not help but remind her out loud.

＋What do you want to say? ＋

【…】

Morgan did not reply, and after her shattered rationality had returned a little, the Primarch quickly recovered her hearing, carefully distinguishing every tone she heard to prevent her pathetic pupils from deceiving her: but in fact, the answer conveyed by her ears was equally pathetic.

At this moment, the Emperor's originally deep and charming voice is so...

Crisp?

Even... sweet?
Compared to his...her...it...his current appearance, they really complement each other...

【call--】

When the Spider Queen finally came back to her senses, her first reaction was to take a deep breath, in case these were just fantasies caused by lack of oxygen in her brain. And when she found that the madness in front of her still hadn't dissipated, the Spider Queen's lips were shaking so much that she could hardly utter a complete sentence.

[You...you...are you serious? ]

"How to say?"

The Emperor laughed.

The voice was like a silver bell, even more innocent than Morgan's favorite daughter Virgo.

【……All right】

The voice was so real that it could not be denied in any way, and the Primarch had to acknowledge the reality: she had to acknowledge what she saw after turning the corner.

What did she see?
In an empty room surrounded by bookshelves on three sides, on a short wooden table and a slightly small chair, a slender, sweet-looking little girl with long dark brown hair was standing with bare legs and feet crossed, patiently waiting for her daughter. This is... uh...

This can be considered an emperor.

Although Morgan really didn't want to admit it.

Her eyes searched everywhere, too embarrassed to know where to look, but she couldn't stop looking at the current attire of the Lord of Mankind: her skin color was like a slightly thicker honey, under her slender black eyebrows were a pair of slightly scarlet almond-shaped eyes, and her hair that fell to her waist was casually wrapped by a belt, and lazily spread on the white dress that needed to be tied at the waist.

[What are you doing? ]

Morgan could swear that she had never lost her composure like this in front of the Emperor... no, she had never lost her composure in front of anyone: neither Jonson's extravagant spending nor Conrad's stubbornness, nor the unimaginable monsters in the galaxy, had ever given the Spider Queen's iron heart such a severe shock.

As expected of her father...

No...wait...could this thing in front of me really be her genetic father?

The Primarch had to doubt this matter.

＋What should I do? ＋

The Emperor smiled. If Morgan chose to cover her eyes at this moment and only listened to the voice, she would definitely believe that this was a little girl who was in elementary school or the first grade of junior high school: such a voice was connected with the Emperor in her memory, which was really more painful than death.

＋Do you want to know the answer? ＋
【…】

The words struck the Primarch as familiar: she knew what was coming next.

【so……】

Morgan sighed.

[Another mission?]

+That's right. +
The Emperor put the book down, looked up, and locked eyes with her daughter.

+If I remember correctly, you have always had a tradition of creating daughters for yourself, right: what are your creations called? Maidens of the Stars or something else? +

【What does this have to do with you? 】

Morgan tried her best to put on the smile she once had: she no longer cared how rude her tone was now.

+I'm having some... trouble. +
The Emperor weighed his words.

＋So, I need to separate a part of my soul or essence from my body and store it in a safe place. ＋
[For example, in the body of a strange little girl who looks no older than thirteen? ]

＋This is not unfamiliar. ＋
The Emperor shook his head.

＋This is me, the me in the past, but that was a long time ago: among the countless identities I have experienced, I actually like this one quite a bit. ＋
+ Do you know? A long time ago, this body was more in line with the aesthetics of ordinary people than your curvy figure. +
【…】

Morgan's eyes widened: she suddenly wanted to shoot herself in the head.

So, what do you want to say?

＋Like I said before.＋
+ I need to hide a part of my essence in a corner of the galaxy, a corner that no one will notice, like a new star maiden created by a spider queen in the Far East for herself: no one would think that a part of the Lord of Man is hidden in it. +
【…】

Morgan felt that he seemed to be silent more often today.

[Are you trying to say that I need to take you back to the Far Eastern frontier in this state, and then declare you my newly created star maid, and put you together with Virgo and the others to complete your plan of hiding from others' eyes? ]

＋It's a part of me. ＋
The Emperor corrected.

+The real me still needs to devote myself to the great cause of Holy Terra. +
【…】

She needed a slogan for rebellion.

Right now!
Morgan adjusted himself: mainly to prevent himself from picking up a book or something else at hand and smashing it on the little girl in front of him.

The Spider Queen herself was impressed with herself for being able to laugh out loud.

[Father, please forgive me for this matter...]

＋Lucy. ＋
【……What? 】

+ I said: Lucy. +
The Emperor interrupted his daughter impatiently.

+In front of your people: Remember to call me Lucy. +
【You are wrong. 】

The Primarch adjusted her breathing: she finally stabilized her mentality.

[In front of my people, I have always only called my daughters by code names.]

[Virgo, Orion, Cassiopeia, or Ophiuchus: something like that.]

[Which one do you want? ]

+...+
The emperor frowned slightly: He indeed had not thought about this question.

+ Random: You decide for yourself. +
The Primarch laughed: She had to be sure if this was her father.

Regardless of anything else, if any Primarch were to switch positions with Morgan, he would definitely do something similar: except Horus, who would only be ecstatic.

So how can we be sure?
[Code names are like this. ]

The Primarch coughed lightly.

[What do you think: Sagittarius? ]

+...+
The Emperor looked at Morgan, and a silent exchange of words echoed in the air between the two.

Did you do this on purpose?
of course.

"boom!"

Severe pain struck, and before the Primarch could even react, she was blown away by the overwhelming psychic energy, which not only pierced through half of the room, but also caused hundreds of bookshelves to turn to ashes or simply buried the fallen Morgan.

【Hehehehe...】

When the tearing pain came from his limbs, the Lord of Avalon, who was slow to realize it, couldn't tell whether his own voice was a groan or a laugh in the shadows.

Grass……

This is really her biological father!
Will she have to support her biological father from now on?
Right next to you?

On the Aurora?

【…】

This is truly an unforgettable souvenir from Nikea.

------

hiss……

Hey, wait!

On her ship: Was there also an old thing from Terra?

(End of this chapter)