Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 862 The Forgotten Souls
"You said you didn't want to fight me with swords."

Morpheus said coldly, his handsome face showing no sign of friendliness.

"That's right. Chief Think Tank. We have no intention of being your enemy."

Zaan – or rather, Hyperion said softly, glancing at Ramizann.

"So what are you doing now?"

Mephisto's expression changed, and Vitalus's sword was pointed at Hyperion's brow—behind him, the paladins displayed their skills, using the blood, amalgam, or other mysterious liquids they had brought, mixed with the ashes of the dead who had just died with intense emotions, to meticulously draw various lines and runes in black, gold, and silver on the ground.

Their silver armor was still stained with blood and bits of flesh, and their appearance—holding open spellbooks and chanting incantations—quickly transformed them from divine warriors of justice into a highly suspicious secret psychic group.

"Drawing a reversal magic circle. In order to complete our mission here—to eternally banish the sealed demon Magnus, to pull Prospero back to the present universe, and to prevent Wizard Star from ever entering the Prospero system again—I hope to obtain your cooperation in order to accomplish these tasks."

Hyperion waved his hand, and the area beneath the former royal tower of the demon Magnus was now littered with corpses.

The remains of mutants, horned beasts, and wizards from across the galaxy who have been gathering here for tens of thousands of years are piled up here, an unimaginable sight, like a hell of bones left after a demon army has passed through. It is hard to imagine that this was done by only eleven people in front of us—oh, not quite, Mephisto just fought alongside them and had a great time.

“Of course I can tell, Grey Knight.”

The chief think tank member said sternly.

“But I can also see that this magic circle is merely a utilization of Magnus’s original ritual, a carefully planned deflection, a reversal of the polarity of the spell. The silver tower we entered on Sabathus must be related to this, right?”

"You have excellent eyesight, sir."

"Let me guess, I just sensed the power stirred up by the Demon Prince... I sensed the dormancy of that black fury... To temporarily annihilate such a powerful entity as the Black Angel, it can only be the power of a warp entity even stronger than that—the silver tower on Sabathus is not a creation of Magnus?"

Hyperion glanced at Mephisto, and for some reason, Ramizane felt that he was also giving him a meaningful look.

"That was Tzeentch's creation."

When the Grey Knight bluntly uttered the name, Mephisto realized with a puzzlement that it caused no ripples in this place filled with the energy of the Lord of Change.

Did they not hear it? Or were they too busy to pay attention? Or was there some other reason?

Mephisto took out the pages of prophecy and traced the various possibilities of fate.

Ramizann shrugged.

"You don't mean to say that these nine silver towers are actually fragments of the Crystal Labyrinth, creations split off from the Soft-bodied Monster, wedges driven into the real universe, and that Magnus, upon learning of this, wanted to use a ritual to link Wizarding Planet with these nine labyrinth fragments, using these nine wedges to pull Wizarding Planet into the real universe and tie it down, do you?"

He gestured jokingly, "Like a balloon being pulled from one side of a door to the other and then tied to the doorknob?"

"..." Hyperion's smile was very formulaic.

"..." Mephisto put down the Prophecy Page in his hand—the newly added engravings on it clearly described the beginning of the passage just now.

"And if Mephisto was tricked by his nemesis, the demon, for a century to lure Sabathus, just because the demon coveted his unconventional psychic powers and his triple personality soul and planned to use him in this ritual to make a big move—hmm—what if Magnus only wanted Wizarding Star and I was going to offer him a new kingdom in the entire star system? Haha, impossible, right? As a Tzeentch demon, surely he understands how easily his grand plan can fail at the last step...right...right...?"

Seeing the expressions on Hyperion and Mephisto's faces, a certain person who had been waiting and watching for a long time stood up straight.

"...Really? Really? I was just saying it offhand..."

“I know that the Silver Skull think tank has always been extremely good at prophecy, and they will make illogical battle plans based on the prophecies of their own think tank. In the past, I thought this was a bit too superstitious.”

Mephisto carefully examined Ramizane, who was clad in silver armor. "But perhaps I should now consider paying more attention to the prophecies of the Silver Skulls. I will certainly visit the Hall of Divination in Vasavia when I have the chance. How are the Chief Prophet and your Chapter Master doing lately?"

"Um, well, I..."

LOGOS: I need all existing personnel and relevant information for Silver Skull immediately!

The power armor immediately projected a wealth of information onto his retina. He blinked and found the few pieces of information he needed.

"Chapter Commander Ajanthius is well."

Lamizain answered, forcing out what he thought was a very gentle smile.

“I think Chief Prophet Vasillo would also be pleased to welcome you in the chapter’s hall, Chief Think Tank.”

The two names eased the tension around Mephisto slightly, while Hyperion seemed to be using all his strength to restore his facial muscles to a calm and composed state.

“There will surely be an opportunity. I haven’t seen Ajantius for a long time. I wonder if he is still the same person I have met before.”

"Haha, haha. The battle leader has always been great..."

What should I say now? This is so awkward! The more I say, the more mistakes I'll make. Right, I need to quickly strike up a conversation with Zao!
"By the way, Hyperion, I suddenly thought of a question."

"What is it, Lord Lamizain?"

Mephisto glanced thoughtfully at Ramizane and Hyperion.

"Uh, well, if that demon originally called Dekiel..."

“Zaedgir,” Mephiston said, “the vulture of greed, the changeer, the one who sacrificed his body and soul to become a demon, was once one of Magnus’s followers.”

"Ahem, if Zaedgir's original plan was to use Mephisto's power and the three personalities of his soul to trigger some kind of massive astral impact, psionic contamination, or something similar..."

Ramizan asked in confusion, "So, you're drawing this reversal magic circle here now without needing to inject Mephisto's power and soul to activate it?"

Hyperion gave this question a formulaic smile.

Mephisto's expression returned to calm as he raised Vitalus in his hand. Then he roared, his psionic power surging through his body once more, and swung his sword at Hyperion.

The overwhelming power of the Chief Think Tank was unleashed without reservation, causing the tower to tremble and the surrounding rocks to crack, threatening to spread to the magic circle that the Gray Knights had just completed. The leader of the Gray Knights and Paladins calmly raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly in an instant, as the blade of Mephisto's sword, which was about to strike his head, descended slowly in an eerie, slow motion.

Hyperion took a step to the side, then reached out and grabbed Vitalus's blade.

The psionic sword, burning with flames, emitted a blood-red light, then flickered a few times. It did not harm Hyperion, but slowly extinguished in his hand, transforming back into a black, dull blade.

Then, under Mephisto's incredulous gaze and slowed thought, Hyperion pried open the chief think tank's sword-wielding fingers one by one, taking Vitalus from his grasp.

“I know this is an excellent psionic amplification and release weapon, so I’m sorry, I have to take it away temporarily before the ritual is over.”

Hyperion explained, then took a silver sash from his belt and placed it around Mephisto's neck.

Upon touching the Chief Think Tank's body, the ribbon immediately came to life, coiling around his neck like a silver snake before its head bit its own tail.

Then, Hyperion snapped his fingers again.

Time resumed its flow, and Ramizam blinked—he hadn't actually felt the stop and resumption of time; to him, the sequence of events appeared roughly as follows:
Hyperion was indeed going to use Mephisto to activate the magic circle!

Hyperion and Mephisto's negotiations have fallen apart!

Hyperion snapped his fingers in a cool way!

Hyperion used a magical movement technique, as if he were walking on water!
Hyperion catches a blade barehanded!
When did Hyperion put on that silver snake collar?

Hyperion snapped his fingers again in a cool way, and Mephisto suddenly lost all his strength and knelt down on the ground!
"He...what happened to him?"

Ramizan cautiously inquired of the Grey Knight Paladin.

“Please rest assured,” Hyperion said to him. “We will send you back as soon as we are done, my lord. We will not stay here for long. This labyrinth itself has a folded spacetime section with the Crystal Silver Tower of Sabathus. In a moment, once the ritual is started, the altar will reveal the escape route that Zaedgir left for himself, and we can evacuate smoothly from there.”

"It's reassuring to hear that from the Grey Knight—don't try to avoid the question. I'm asking, what happened to Mephisto? You're not really planning to sacrifice him, are you?"

“What if I said so, sir? After all, the entire ceremony was set up to ultimately place Mephisto on the altar, including the evacuation route.”

"...That just means the stereotypes about the Grey Knights have been reinforced once again..."

“Just kidding, sir. I know you certainly wouldn’t want to see us do this.”

Hyperion laughed, this time a genuine and pure laugh. "This collar only temporarily cuts off all the driving cycles of his physical and spiritual power, so we can proceed with the ritual as soon as possible. The most powerful third of Mephisto's triple souls has been temporarily neutralized to the point of near annihilation by the power of Tzeentch's origin. Although it is destined to rise from the ashes, it will take a long time. We have bought the Blood Angels a considerable, considerable period of safety."

Mephisto, who was being held down by two paladins, was completely powerless, but upon hearing this, he struggled to raise his head and asked, "Is what you're saying true?!"

"Whether it's true or not, wise Mephisto, why don't you ask yourself how you feel?"

"Since you were able to devise such an unbelievable prophecy and time-manipulation scheme, and even banish the demon Magnus to the depths of this tower, why not simply take this opportunity to completely seal away the Black Angel?"

The chief think tank member frowned and hissed, "If you had told me beforehand that you could seal the Black Angel, why would you have taken such an extreme and hostile approach? I..."

“Do you really believe what we, a group of unfamiliar warriors, have to say?” Hyperion said, his eyes sharply fixed on Mephisto. “Besides, your power will be greatly weakened as a result. Now that the Great Rift has opened, are you really willing to risk cooperating with us to help Dante?”

He paused.

"Moreover, a seal completely preserves the power it possesses at that moment. Once broken, the sudden impact of this type of curse can plunge many unprepared or weaker Sons of Saint Gilles into a terrible abyss of no return. Its inevitability, its rapid occurrence, its vast scope—perhaps you haven't seen such vicious magic and find it unbelievable? Then I must say, Mephisto, I have. I tell you, curses of this nature are like a bone-deep affliction, traversing the space of the galaxy and the river of time, only able to survive by hiding in a third, isolated space like the Web of Destiny."

“…You speak so sincerely, Hyperion.” Ramizane couldn’t help but think of a certain famous spell.

“Indeed.” The Grey Knight smiled more gently. “Thank you for helping our predecessor escape this terrible fate, and many tragedies will take a turn for the better in the foreseeable future. In any case, having more options is much better.”

"Huh? Huh? Me? Uh? I didn't do anything... I just did a little something I could..."

“It’s alright if you don’t know,” Hyperion said. “My premonition tells me that we will meet again in the future. Now, if you don’t mind, we need to ask the Chief Think Tank to help us complete this reversal ritual before the next wave of attacks is organized.”

"certainly?"

Ramizan stepped aside, and the eleven paladins solemnly lifted Mephisto's weak yet beautiful body. The armor, sculpted into human muscles, gleamed with a blood-red luster. They placed him in the center of the ground magic circle, and then ten paladins stood around him, while Hyperion stood at the eye of the circle where the power converged.

“You… this isn’t Sabathus. Even if you hold the ceremony here, you won’t be able to complete the final step of the guidance. The nine crystal towers are located on Sabathus, where there must be a similar, pre-laid guidance node,” Mephisto seemed unafraid. He stared intently at Hyperion, his expression somewhat strange.

"You don't have time to find such a person, and Zaedkir will never tell you about his conspiracy. How exactly do you intend to complete the ritual?"

“Chief Think Tank,” Hyperion sighed to Mephisto, “Why ask when you already know the answer?”

He began to guide Mephisto's power to resonate with the magic circle.

“Lucius Anteros—the disciple everyone considers to be your prized possession—isn’t he the very pawn you planned to feed to Zaedgir for corruption and control, and the one you would use to sabotage Zaedgir’s scheme after the demon has fallen for it?”

Mephisto's face turned even paler than pale.

"So you see, Chief Think Tank, this pawn, Zaedikir can use it, you can use it, and naturally we can use it too."

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Lucius Anteros, who was excitedly squatting in front of the first altar in the first silver tower of Sabathus, trying to unravel its mysteries on his own, looked up in confusion, took a step back, and looked at the magical vortex that had suddenly appeared on the altar in front of him.

"!"

The vortex suddenly surged, engulfing the young editor.

(End of this chapter)