Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 858 Tizka? Tizka! -
"They seem to have reached some kind of deal."

Ramizan, who was watching the two "people" finally set off together along the valley path, said, "They were trailing behind the blood-red, winged 'Morpheus' and the escaped eight-legged silver hound."

"Unfortunately, we can't hear what they're saying. Mephisto, can you use magic to let us hear it?"

"Judging from what just happened, I would immediately detect that third, and that hound should have a very strong psionic sense of smell."

“Okay, it’s easy to spot. Do we have anyone here who can read lips?” Ramizan said this while looking at Mephisto, which caused a surge of inexplicable embarrassment and anger to rise on the chief think tank’s pale cheeks.

"...I didn't specifically learn it." He admitted, "After all, my power has been increasing day by day since I became Morpheus. I'm stronger every day. I don't need to rely on my eyes to know what I want to know. I only need to think about it, and the surging power will be at my disposal. I can do whatever I want and control it as I please. Why should I take the ordinary path?"

“What you’re saying sounds a lot like how Thousand Sons used to talk,” Ramizan said casually as he walked carefully. “If this were back in Nikaia, a think tank like yours wouldn’t have achieved such a prominent position and honor in the Legion. It would have been the other way around.”

These unintentional words struck Mephisto like a bolt of lightning, sending a chill down his spine and making him aware of the strange features of his surroundings.

The sky was completely dark, yet the earth shone brightly because the clouds emitted a silvery-white light, as if someone had shone lights onto a mercury ceiling. The thick, ever-changing clouds hung down without dripping, like someone had turned the entire ocean of mercury upside down and placed it on top of one's head.

He then hurriedly climbed to the top of a nearby hill covered with crystal clusters and looked around.

"What did you see?"

"It's all crystal..."

The place they had just been in was the only place where they could see more ruins and silt. After leaving the crater, there were hills and plains covered with clusters of crystals of all sizes, stretching all the way to the horizon. The colorful crystals were dazzling under the light of the silver sky. Anyone without protective measures, like Morpheus, would probably be blinded by the glare.

The keyword "crystal" also triggered someone's memory, and Ramizann became visibly nervous.

"Did your soul get thrown into the crystal labyrinth?!"

"No, in any case, it couldn't possibly be a real crystal labyrinth..."

"What? You have thick eyebrows and big eyes, and not only has this soul with my connection to the red kobold written all over your face, you've also been to the Crystal Maze? So, did you also have an affair with the Slaanesh and go for a walk in the garden?"

"No... I haven't been there, I mean..."

Morpheus, who was usually quick-witted, was now inexplicably unable to face such a rude retort.

As Zaon listened, his gaze became increasingly strange: although the Chief Think Tank was honest about his experience at the Crystal Labyrinth, when Ramizan half-jokingly mentioned flirting with the Slaanesh, a name immediately flashed into Mephisto's mind.

Although he didn't know what a fully-fledged Slaanesh would look like, Zaan-o understood the word "flirting" very well, after all, he was a child of Hive.

...No way, Lacerius looks so serious, how come he has a friend with such a colorful personal life? Poor old man.

The little boy couldn't help but wonder to himself.

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“This place is definitely related to the Crystal Labyrinth. The mutated characteristics of all the creatures in the vicinity are very much in line with the preferences of the Tzeentch followers, except for one-third of yours.”

The three of them followed the eight-legged hound and Blood Red Mephisto deeper into the crystal-covered hills.

Along the way, the muscular, blood-red Mephisto wielded his greatsword and claws, slaughtering all the creatures that tried to rob or interrogate them. After angrily charging over and cutting off all the heads, he let out a joyful roar, bathing himself in blood.

This massacre was repeated three times. They found their targets emerging from the dense clusters of crystal bushes and onto a wider road covered with broken crystals. Around this road, nine paths converged into six, then into three, with a towering altar-like structure at the center of the three main roads.

Furthermore, they witnessed an increasing number of mutants, wizards, and monsters appearing around them, with all the "people" seemingly converging towards the altar.

Organized guards of the Evil Horned Beast tribe have even begun to appear around this place. These humanoid creatures with horns, hooves, and brilliant blue-purple feathers are dressed in uniforms and wield explosive guns and other weapons, maintaining order in the area.

Clearly, the eight-legged hound is leading the blood-red Mephisto to some specific destination.

Regardless of what this strange, talking hound said, the blood-red Mephisto seemed to accept it all and followed along, even acting as the hound's henchman three times along the way, his intelligence seemingly severely diminished.

"It would be great if we could get closer and find out where we are... I have a feeling this hunting dog doesn't seem aggressive, but it's not a friendly freak. Wait, is it human?"

From afar, they saw the eight-legged hound, imbued with the blood-red spirit of Mephisto, walk to the edge of the crowd. In a burst of magical light, it transformed into a normal-sized mortal, dressed in a blue robe, wearing a headdress made of pure white feathers, and holding a staff. Apart from his overly protruding eyes without eyelids, he was no different from a human youth.

The hounds then appeared to begin negotiating with the horned beast guards, while the impatiently waiting Mephisto roared and brandished his greatsword at the crowd, immediately causing a commotion, complaints, and several mutant injuries.

"...Such an authentic flavor from that restaurant, just how many shares did that dog-headed man put into it?"

Ramizam has mentioned kobolds for the third time. What kind of kobolds are they? I want to meet them too.

It seemed the hound had resolved the commotion caused by "Crimson Mephisto" and led him to the front. After the group performed a ritual of burning incense and praying, the silvery-white sky changed. Countless shimmering crystal threads began to appear around the altar like a spider web. More wizards and demons, whose magical powers were more powerful and whose forms were either more anthropomorphic or less human, also appeared in turn on the platforms and steps formed by the crystal threads in the sky.

"...What kind of scene is this, with demons lined up like swarms before the start of the evil cultivation sect competition? Is this even in this universe? Mephisto, tell me honestly, when you were practicing psionic energy, did you ever fall off a cliff and end up in a grassy area by a pool of water, and find a booklet or something like that..."

“How could that be?” the chief think tank replied. “I am a native of the Baal tribe*, and I passed the chapter’s selection on Baal. I served the chapter as Callistalis until the Second Battle of Amigidodton. Since then, I have fought again for Saint Gilles and the Blood Angels in the name of Mephisto. There is no such scenario as you mentioned in my life.”

Really? Zao blinked, seeing the scene that flashed through his subconscious mind when Morpheus answered.

The chief think tank had walked past these landscapes for centuries, so much so that he was completely unaware of anything special about them: ancient, towering stone walls and ramparts, moss-covered, damp surfaces, verdant ferns and other plants swaying and growing in the light and breeze cast from who-knows-where, and then he passed through the guarded gate, inside which was…

"Zan'ao? Zaan'ao? What's wrong?"

The boy replied softly that he was fine, but his heart was pounding. The thing he had just seen… “Look, isn’t that a well?”

They hid in a psionic shield generated by Mephisto atop a steep hill at the crossroads, looking towards the altar. They could see that the top of the altar was not flat ground, but rather an unusual deep well.

It is shaped like an equilateral triangle, and its depth is unfathomable. Only the spiraling well walls that extend infinitely downwards can be seen, as if this vertical tunnel has penetrated deep into the earth for countless miles.

The black wellhead was covered by the emerging fine crystal threads, densely woven into complex, multi-layered magic array patterns that made people dizzy and nauseous—they were transparent and overlapping, making them even more difficult to identify. Even a great think tank like Morpheus, who knew all the spellbooks of the Holy Blood Angels Sanctuary by heart, was quite annoyed by them.

"...There's even a well here, are you sure this isn't a crystal maze? But if this is just that well, it seems a bit too casual..."

“It’s just a tunnel.” Mephisto looked away, rubbing his eyes, which had become multicolored, for a long time. “It should be a tunnel that leads to another area. It is supported by very evil, powerful, ancient and numerous spells. People who fall directly down should not have a good ending, because the central point that those crystal thread arrays point to should be the key.”

"A tunnel? Why would this monster bring a third of you into a tunnel? And where does this tunnel lead?"

“I don’t know either,” Morpheus said, his eyes flashing, but his hand had already reached for the spellbook at his waist. “But in a place like this, it’s always good to be prepared.”

As if to verify his words, the wizards above the well began to sing ancient hymns, and a huge stone tablet slowly rose from the intersection of the magic circles. It was pure white but covered with runes and patterns. A stone face opened its eyes in the center of the tablet and looked at the surrounding crowd with obscure obsidian pupils.

When the human-faced stone tablet began to speak in a rumbling voice, the three people hiding on the mountaintop finally realized where they were and what they were witnessing.

"Pilgrims—"

"My fellow countrymen persecuted by the false emperor—congratulations on finally arriving on—Wizard Star—"

“Oh. Damn. It’s here.” Ramizam said. “Looks like we’re going to have a 42K version of The Wizard of Oz now. Let me see how many people we’re missing—one, two, three—just one more, great. Really.”

"What is that?" Zao asked curiously.

"It's nothing, um, it's a storybook about a little girl and her three friends finding their way home, usually written for children."

"I'd like to add it to my reading list when I get back."

"of course can."

The oral account of the human-faced stone tablet continues.

"Thus...those who offer gifts that meet the requirements will be granted the right to view the riddle; the more gifts and wisdom one possesses, the longer the bridge beneath one's feet will be; and those who completely solve the riddle will be able to travel through my flesh and blood to Tizka..."

"Tizka?"

"Tizka!"

Ramizan made an incredulous sound, and Mephisto also exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh, but didn't Tizka disappear along with Prospero?" I haven't heard that Prospero reappeared later.

"Among the rumors circulating in many psionic cults, Tizka, the City of Light, is described as a 'promised land' offered by the demon prince Magnus to all illegal psionicists in the galaxy. However, the think tanks and the Inquisition have been tracking for a long time but have not been able to find the location of Prospero, where Tizka should be. Therefore, the prevailing opinion was that Prospero had fallen into the warp and become a demon planet."

Mephisto frowned as he watched the evil sorcerers below offering gifts and attempting to reach the monument via the fragile bridge made of crystal threads. The first few attempts all failed; the crystal beneath their feet shattered instantly, and they fell into the abyss below with terrified screams.

“I never imagined it was on Wizarding Planet,” Mephisto mused. “Does that mean Wizarding Planet is the site of the missing Prospero…?”

“That’s definitely not it!” Ramizam said firmly. “Definitely not!”

"Why are you so sure?" Mephisto asked, glancing sideways at him.

"Uh." Because I was there when Little Ma disappeared with all of Prospero's people?

Zao blinked and stared intently at the grand (?) scene below. "Look, that dog-turned-human has turned back into a dog!"

Just as he said, the blue-robed humanoid had reverted to its eight-legged hound form and was running wildly across the extended crystal bridge, almost reaching the location of the stone tablet.

Then, the blood-red Mephisto seemed to roar angrily because he had been abandoned or deceived. He took two steps to the well and chased after the frantically fleeing hounds by stepping on the shattered crystal bridge. Although his weight caused the crystal bridge, which could only support eight hounds, to shatter into pieces, his large strides, speed, and a pair of huge black and red wings allowed him to take the next step before each piece of crystal shattered and fell.

"What iron sword that can skim water? Do ordinary dog-headed people have swords that light? Morpheus, have you really not practiced any mysterious manuals?!"

"of course not."

"That dog is almost there!" Zao pointed to the eight-legged hound that was nearly at the stone tablet.

Crimson Mephisto, who was only a few steps behind, let out an extremely angry roar. The crystal threads shook and shattered under the red light, and the mutant wizards let out terrible screams.

Then, the crimson Mephisto hurled his greatsword, which pierced through the laughing, triumphant eight-legged hound with terrifying force and speed, turning it into exploding pieces of flesh and blood before it could take its final step.

However, due to the reaction force of this sword strike, the force that was originally just enough for Blood Mephisto to rush to the location of the stone tablet became half a step less.

The crimson behemoth roared, flapped its wings, and leaped to the front of the human-faced stone tablet.

“This stone tablet must be the key to getting through the tunnel,” Mephisto said, standing up. “If ‘he’ runs into Tizka City from here, it will be even harder for us to find him! But if I split in two to follow him, it will be even harder to deal with him. So you either wait here for me to return, or you have no choice but to come with me…”

“Of course I’ll follow you,” Ramizam said immediately.

—Let me take a good look at what's going on with that city of Tizka.
(End of this chapter)