Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim.

Chapter 149 Koz saw nothing!

Nostramo.

The only large hive city in the dead world with life stands amidst a complex of countless towering black spires. The streets are crowded and noisy. In this world where the population is severely overcrowded, the depths of the hive city are filled with the stench of money, which is tinged with blood and decay.

The ventilation fan spewed foul air into the eternally dark Northum, its old, neglected blades groaning and pounding against the bearings.

The stench of the Nostradamus, a mixture of industrial waste heat from indiscriminate emissions and the stench of sweat from layers of high-temperature steam, was even more unbearable.

As these waste heat and toxic particles rise, they eventually condense into water droplets in the atmosphere, combining with the randomly released acidic substances to form rainwater that pours down again. Through the lights on the Hubble Spire, they shimmer with color, splashing up a cloud of acidic mist against the gray-black sky.

Recycling centers that have ceased operations due to a lack of profit incentives, and outdated and nearly unusable tap water purification systems, have long since lost their original function.

The wastewater flowing back to the ground, under the high temperature and amidst the uncollected rotting corpses, continues to breed new, flourishing life.

Just like the countless cycles it has gone through, it is playing out in this nest city, on this planet.

A rotten world.

Like a distant star that is gradually dimming, Nostrama is decaying.

The upper-class nobles who control the trade and processing of refined gold have everything in the world. They have more resources than they can use, yet they refuse to give even a fraction of them to the rest of the people. Under layers of corruption and embezzlement, they cannot even spare a little mercy for the lower classes.

If that's the case, then why show pity?
Whether in the upper or lower classes, people who lack hope for the future live aimlessly in this world.

In the crowded, dilapidated, and dimly lit streets of the city, filth breeds when the lights are dim.

There are countless other hive worlds like this, filthy, dilapidated, and lacking any form of control.

People crawl and live like wild beasts in this severely polluted and barren land, and fight endlessly like wild beasts for those laughable and pathetic resources for survival.

Ultimately, they too are robbed and murdered, or they exhaust their meager life force in the intoxicating haze of anesthetic drugs, dying like stray dogs whimpering in a corner where no one cares.

All of this should have continued indefinitely, until everything in the hive ceased to function under the erosion of time, and the people on the planet gradually perished in the decline of civilization.

But an uninvited guest interrupted it.

The adamantine incubation chamber, carrying the monstrous creature it was born with, rushed into the surface of Nostramore, penetrating its corrupt and rotten heart.

Conrad Coates.

he came.

Another mangled corpse was hung on the spire of Nostrama.

The legend of the midnight ghosts gradually spread around the city of Nest.

Legend has it that the body of any gang member who dares to occupy this area will be hung on the city's spire the next day for all to see.

At first, not many people took it seriously—murder and revenge were as easy as breathing in Nostrama, and the kind of guys who could survive in this treacherous underbelly wouldn’t be intimidated by such simple threats.

As more and more corpses hung atop the spire, the traces of blood and flesh on their bodies became increasingly blurred.
There might really be a midnight ghost, carrying out aimless vendettas in the streets of the Underground Nest.

Some people began to fear its rumors and gradually dared not act as recklessly as before.

Then, the influence of the midnight ghosts spread.

More and more corpses were adorned with spikes, and more and more horrific scenes were etched into the eyes of every Nostramoman.

Corrupt high-ranking officials, notorious gang leaders, and ruthless outlaws were murdered using all sorts of novel and creative methods, and then adorned with even more creative devices on top of government buildings, security nets, and clock towers.

Fear began to spread among everyone.

The murders committed by the midnight ghosts have no pattern—the poor and the rich, gangsters and family tycoons, people of all classes, powers, appearances, ages, and genders are all turned into terrified corpses hanging from the top of the city by the midnight ghosts' claws.

The only people it doesn't kill are those who never commit crimes and have a clear conscience.

But on Nostradamus, who can truly say they have a clear conscience?

In order to survive, too many people in this resource-scarce world have resorted to trickery and force to seize what does not belong to them.

Furthermore, due to spiritual emptiness and lack of discipline, various anesthetic drugs became the only remaining form of entertainment for the lower classes, spreading rampantly in the city's pipes and alleyways.

Logically speaking, everyone who survived in Nostrama should be guilty.

But Conrad Coates didn't care about any of that.

If you are guilty, you should be killed.

He must instill fear and justice in the hearts of everyone.

No reason.

Or rather, he was created for the purpose of upholding the seemingly illusory goal of "justice."

No matter the cost, no matter the means used.

He had to do it, even if it was somewhat cruel.

Sometimes, when he is alone and lost in thought late at night, Koz will reflect on whether he has gone too far in everything he has done.

Did he really kill the evildoer in the name of upholding justice?
Or perhaps, in his heart, he simply enjoys torture and killing, likes to see others filled with fear and terror, and likes to hear the pitiful cries of others as they are dying?
"Killing the wicked to uphold justice" is just a self-comforting anesthetic to find a suitable target for him. In fact, everything that Midnight Ghost does is no different from anyone else on Nostrama.
But in the end, I convinced myself.

All of this is for the sake of upholding justice, and all of this is for the sake of creating a better world.

There is no other way.

Despite his killings and tortures, many in Nostradamus still risked their lives to survive, and countless others risked everything to make a last-ditch effort.

But the guilty cannot escape the clutches of the midnight ghosts, no matter what.

—We haven't killed enough, we haven't been ruthless enough.

It is not enough to instill in people more fear of future misfortunes.

This is Coz's assessment of those in Nostramore who still harbor wishful thinking.

We have to keep killing.

Perhaps this is indeed a cruel, foolish, and stupid approach.

But for Nostrama, the Midnight Ghosts' frenzied murders ultimately proved effective.

Not only did the noble families who controlled the adamant gold trade begin to squander their wealth out of fear, trying to make amends for their past mistakes and praying that they would not be pursued by the midnight ghosts;

After taking control of the neighborhood, lower- and middle-class gang members actively cultivated relationships with local residents and took the initiative to maintain public order.

As for the old and dilapidated purification and emission systems in the nest city.
Initially, engineers who held positions without merit and obtained their jobs through favoritism and corruption had no idea how to repair these exquisite creations of the past.

Until the midnight ghost began his murderous journey.

As more and more engineers died tragically, the last few engineers, driven by fear, unleashed an unparalleled learning ability.

Finally, guided by clues pieced together from the corpses of his deceased colleagues, the Midnight Ghost completed the renovation of the Nest City's ancient drainage and self-cleaning system.

That was a masterpiece.

It must be said that even a midnight ghost might be amazed by his work.

Surely, after building such a beautiful and complete system, I will be able to escape the mad slaughter by those midnight ghosts.

I came for you.

With the hissing sound characteristic of the Nostrama language, the pale-faced, tall midnight ghost appeared before the engineer, who was now filled with nothing but despair.

He did a great job.

Even the midnight ghost had to praise his work.

But, it's too slow.

Midnight ghosts don't like inefficiency.

The next day, with the new system in use, the mangled corpse was also hung on the eaves.

Fortunately, thanks to the mercy of the midnight ghosts, the biological tissues that were preserved in the corpses were significantly more than those of their former colleagues.

The remains of the hanging corpse were also creatively spelled out by the midnight ghosts as the word "good" in Nostrama as a testament to his hard work.

To show encouragement.

This incident greatly "motivated" other engineers and all sectors of the company to work hard, and Nostradamo's environment, development, and security were greatly improved thanks to people's voluntary curfew.

Everything is moving in a positive direction.

But seemingly driven by fear, the last survivors also launched a frantic counterattack.

In a state of extreme panic and nervous tension, many families and gangs that had not yet been completely wiped out, knowing that all hope was lost, chose to unite and make a final stand—they dispatched their absolute elites and armed them with the best weapons and armor forged from the finest adamantite ore in Nostramor.

These most powerful family elites began to delve deeper into Nostramore, attempting to help their masters find the Midnight Ghosts and thus eliminate this major threat in one fell swoop.

But all failed.

Every day, the family could only see more mutilated corpses moving around on the top of the superstructure—no one knew how the Midnight Ghost managed to carry the bodies up there undetected, nor did anyone know the extent to which he could hide.

Not only the elite troops recruited, but also family members—before the midnight ghosts, all evil will be brought to justice. At the top of the spire.

Driven by daily despair, entire families collapsed from extreme fear.

Those moderates who advocated reform and charity were brought to the forefront and became the diligent, hardworking and honest rulers of Chaodu.

Finally, after sensing that he had left an indelible mark on the world, Koz stepped out from behind the scenes as a midnight ghost for the first time to tell those who harbored a deep-seated fear of him.
They were given a choice: obey or die a horrible death.

It seems that the leaders of the hive have no other choice.

From that time on, all the administrators on Nostrama voluntarily submitted to Conrad Coz, who was also the Midnight Wanderer.

From a rotten, sinful, and deadly world to a "wonderful" world where justice and law-abiding behavior are upheld and set a good example for others.

The entire Nostramamo was completely transformed.

Under Coates’ iron-fisted rule, his policies were impeccably rigorous, yet surprisingly mild and humane.

When disputes arise but do not warrant criminal charges, his impartiality as an arbitrator is something that makes everyone feel ashamed of.

This wise king seemed to be loved by everyone in Nostramore.

But if he hears of any injustice committed by some tactless fellow on the planet...
Conrad Coates would once again become a midnight ghost.

—We'll be at your doorstep very soon.

After capturing the criminals, Coz would torture and torment them to death in a live broadcast around the world.

Even under his rule, every citizen was required to have a video device so that everyone could understand the only fate of criminals and feel fear before they committed injustices.

Let fear take root in the heart of every Nostradamus.

This strange form of torture actually had a certain degree of effectiveness—Nostrama ushered in a new golden age.

Gold exports increased dramatically, and other industries followed suit. Various innovative technologies reappeared on the land of Nostramo after countless years.

And unlike before, for the first time, economic prosperity benefited all levels of Nostradamus society.

The bottom-dwelling inhabitants, who were once so poor that people had to eat each other to survive, are now able to share in the wealth they never dared to dream of, while the upper class is living in fear of being suspended in a spire.

It seems that the whole of Nostrama is on the right track?

After doing all this for Nostramaur, the great wise king, Conrad Coz, sat quietly on his throne.

He had just been playing amicably with the children who were being fostered in the orphanage. At this time, the world was at peace, and even in the city of Nostramore, which had hundreds of billions of inhabitants, not a single person dared to commit any unjust crime.

Conrad Coates looked up at the sky.

The sense of accomplishment I had imagined did not come; instead, I felt a deep, piercing emptiness.

Fear had been etched into the hearts of every Nostradamus, and with no criminals left, there was no need for Koz to continue his punishments.

Unable to find a suitable culprit, he felt a void, the void of a hunter who has lost his prey.

Accept your fate, Koz, you're just a piece of trash.

He said to himself.

But at the same time, Coz also felt a long-lost thrill.

Soon after, a towering golden giant will lead a large group of warriors to Nostramore, and from then on, Koz, the enforcer of justice, will have a new mission.

—This is his psychic prophetic ability.

At present, when his condition is not yet serious, the prophecy that Koz is facing is relatively mild and will not cause him too much mental stress.

As he meditated on his throne, he seemed to see something more.

He will be leaving Nostradamus soon.

After leaving the planet, what will Nostramo's future be?
hiss.
With a slight sting, Coz saw the future.

It was a huge spaceship, with a size and armament he had never imagined.

The energy released from just one of these giant cannons is enough to destroy a large city.

On this ship, a giant dressed in a red robe and black armor, wielding a long sword—a blond giant as tall as Koz—roared and ordered the ship's cannons to fire, utterly destroying Nostramo.

Is this the end of Nostrama?
wrong.

The scene changes, the interior of the warship changes, the color of the armor changes to dark blue, and the wings on the helmet change from feathers to bat wings.

Two smaller giants are arguing.

“Shen, if you are truly weak enough, then I am willing to do it for you.”

"Stop! Sevita, we can't go on like this, we have to stop his madness!"

Nostradamo

The sounds that followed became unusually muffled and indistinct; he couldn't hear them, which was extremely frustrating.

Fortunately, he was able to see the result—he was blasted to smithereens by another cannon.

This is Nostrama's fate: to be blasted to smithereens by a green cannon, or perhaps a blue one.

There are choices, but not many.

Why did this happen?!

Sitting on the throne, Koz screamed and pounded on the armrests of the chair, wildly swinging his fists as if venting his anger.

why? !

Hasn't he already instilled fear in everyone on Nostrama?!

Haven't the citizens of this planet all become excellent role models? Why did it still have to be blown up in the end? Didn't he already achieve justice? Wasn't this justice?

This is it! This is it! This is justice!!!
Like a child unwilling to accept reality, after his initial furious denial subsided, Koz fell into melancholy with tears in his eyes and collapsed onto the throne behind him.

impossible.

Nostramo has been cured by him, he couldn't be better!

Why blow it up? Ah, why—blow it up!?

What's wrong?
Think about it, Kurtz, something must be wrong.
It's definitely not because of his actions.

Fairness is absolute and brooks no questioning.

In Koz's mind, the image of the golden giant from the prophecy appeared.

he came.

That's right, it's him!

It turned out to be the case.

"Oh it's you!"

"you!"

Koz bared his teeth and growled.

Coz's predictions were highly accurate.

Just as he was governing the planet with great efficiency, news of a giant ruler appearing on Nostramore spread like wildfire and eventually reached the Emperor's ears.

Another Primarch is emerging on his homeworld.

Leading his First Expeditionary Fleet, along with the Emperor's Son, the Imperial Fist, and the newly renamed World Eater, they embarked on a journey to Nostramore.

As Koz anticipated, the sight of countless large warships docking in orbit terrified him—the image of warships and cannons destroying the entire Nostramamo still echoed in his mind.

As the landing craft descended, these extraterrestrial visitors seemed to dispel the smog that had long shrouded Nostradamo with their unique methods.

Under the dim light of a faint star and the long-standing haze, the moment they landed, the Emperor's blinding light dazzled the curious commoners who dared to regard themselves as radiant.

Even on the way to the Cotswolds Palace after landing, the heavily armed honor guard dazzled many curious civilians who watched along the way.

This was not his intention, but there seemed to be no way to stop it from happening.

During the journey, the emperor was very satisfied with what he saw.

Nostradamus was a model of social order and economic efficiency.

Here, everyone abides by the law, and even the upper class will voluntarily pay out of their own pockets to build various infrastructure and welfare facilities for the lower class.

Interactions between people are characterized by exceptional kindness.

The interaction was very harmonious, and everyone had a smile on their face.

Compared to other hive cities, Nostramamo's living environment and level of social governance are a model that the Empire should learn from and emulate!

"It looks like a nice planet."

"The new Primarch doesn't seem as bad as you thought, does it?"

Fugrim gently touched Kasgar's shoulder beside him.

The latter seemed to have been filled with despair ever since they heard they were going to Nostramamo.

Fugrim found it very strange—wasn't Kasgar always eager to help the Primarch?
Why was Kasgar so frightened when I also suggested to the Emperor that we could help the Primarch together with Kasgar and the Imperial Princes?

I wonder what this guy predicted this time, that's why he's so afraid of returning to his original form.

This is not the style of Casca, who dares to joke around even in front of Philus.

"It's not a good habit for me to casually comment on Primarchs, you'll see in time."

With Rogdorn standing beside him, Kasgar wisely chose to keep quiet.

As an architect, he was looking around at the unique, towering spires of Nostradamo's architecture, seemingly expressing a certain degree of appreciation for them.

Roger Dorn, the original critic.

It's best not to make mistakes in front of him.

Otherwise, you'll end up like Plankton (Petrulabo), suffering a nervous breakdown from his sharp criticism.

After a short walk, the joint guard, composed of representatives of the Imperial Guard and various legions, entered the somewhat gloomy and towering palace of Kozna.

Conrad Coates was already waiting at the main entrance of the palace.

At that very moment, the Emperor's radiance shone upon this midnight wanderer.

"Ah!"

With a piercing scream, Coz let out a howl with a frantic tremor in the next instant.

This was the clearest and most distinct vision he had ever seen.

He saw everything.

Over countless millennia, everything is subject to change.

On the towering golden throne, a gaunt man sat in the center, unmoved by the passage of time.

There are four entities eyeing him covetously.

However, these four entities were also outwardly united but inwardly at odds, constantly fighting among themselves.

There is a dynamic balance among these guys.

There was no future, no hope. Under this continued decline, it gradually faded away, just like Nostradamus before Coz arrived.

why?
Why did the creator of Coz, his own father, become like this?

—That was a major battle.

A protracted battle, in which both sides exhausted all their strength, and—

His own battle, and the battle of another giant.

Yes, and those four snickering shadows too.
Those four were the same four evil beings he had seen before, the ones who were eyeing him menacingly.
What was the final outcome, and what were they fighting for?
No, the battle seemed to have no winners at all. Both sides were badly injured, so this was hardly an end, or rather, he used a loophole. He always does that.

Although I have never worked with him, it seems that I already know his personality.

Both sides suffered heavy losses, barely surviving.

What other clues are there?
A fallen angel. And a golden centaur soaring through the air?
what?
What did he see?
For the first time, Coz suspected that the servants had laced his lunch with some kind of anesthetic.

Nine hours? Nine hours that keep repeating?

What does this mean?
And there was also that tall, white-haired giant wearing a gleaming gold armor.

Countless transforming hands and flames, along with raging axes and joyful whips, pierced towards him with bone-corroding poison.

The first cut was made on his arm, followed by a second, and a third.
The increasing number of wounds caused his limbs to disintegrate and break apart.

This brother of mine may face misfortune in the future.

Next came another giant wearing blue and white armor.

His situation seemed to be similar to that of the previous brother; neither of them was having an easy time.

In a crimson world, he is being besieged by some strange entity.

A hateful rage filled Koz's heart.

But the anger that has calmed down is even more powerful, he thought.

The same goes for hatred.

Ugh, damn it.

Koz sensed his disgust.

He shattered the surrounding, eerie demons, and refusing to compromise his principles, he chose to leave alone, covered in wounds.

Next up is the only woman in the group.

Her purple armor transformed into a bright, yet not overly dazzling, ball of light in front of Koz.

It seems that in the future, she will not suffer the same misfortune as her two older siblings.

This was probably the only thing to be thankful for—and it also piqued Koz's curiosity.

Why does this person's future seem different?

As the scenery changed wildly again, one illusion after another filled his mind, leaving him overwhelmed.

Unbeknownst to him, the visions of his Primarch brothers and sisters flashed through Koz's mind.

Receiving so much information at such a short time was enough to cause Kotz's brain excruciating pain—but it wasn't over yet.

The illusion shifted again, and this time, the one who landed was the purple-gold warrior standing next to the purple-armored lady, whom he had never noticed before.

he--?
Who is he?

I don't know, and I don't even have that person's consciousness.

It was as if he shouldn't have been there at all, but somehow he just happened to be there now.

An overwhelming sense of unease washed over Koz in an instant.

No!

This person shouldn't have appeared!
He wasn't even mentioned in the prophecy, so who is he? How did he get in?

He's not here! Nothing at all!

Koz felt a sense of impatience, like an obsessive-compulsive person seeing an odd loose thread in a neat arrangement of fate's threads.

Where did this come from?

Unravel the mystery, and proceed—ah, here it is.

That was an emperor and one.
Wait! The Emperor?
What are you doing?
Koz saw the deal.

A sordid deal between a subspace being and the Emperor!
Fire—he saw warp flames, the same flames he had seen on the Emperor's sword.

The emperor conjured twenty strange beings within the flames—

The twenty-first one, the one before Koz, is a subspace entity that made a deal with the Emperor, existing within the flames.
Wait, why do those twenty beings look so familiar?

Koz seems to have discovered a blind spot.

Putting aside the twenty-first one for now, why do the twenty beings in the Emperor's hands look so familiar?

That's myself! The eighth one!
Yes, that's him! It's Kurtz!!!
What do you mean?
The Primarch is not only a product of genetic science, but also a monster that was created through an exchange with some kind of being!

wrong!

What is this? What are all these?
What did Koz see?!

Primarchs are all monsters! Monsters obtained in exchange for the promises made under the Emperor's Bargain!

What did he promise? What did even emperors promise in exchange?!
Like a variable that should not exist in this world, guided by that strange existence that should not exist in the present world, Koz seems to see things that he should not have seen.

Knowledge is a taboo subject.

Sometimes, knowing more doesn't bring happiness.

(Kortz really did say that to Magnus)

Moreover, he also saw that the being's existence seemed to be brewing some kind of powerful force, which was being restrained by his physical body.

And the source of that power—

Pointy ears!
!! ?
This seems like a terrifying discovery, something that no one seems to have noticed. But it is precisely this kind of problem that no one would suspect that is the most terrifying!
Gua! ! !
Koz, Koz didn't see anything!

In a panic, he frantically tried to gouge out his own eyes.

“Conrad Coates, calm down, for I have come to bring you back.”

But as a soft golden light flashed, all of Koz's illusions vanished.

But memories cannot be erased.

Koz has seen far too much that he shouldn't have seen.

He turned around in terror, his body hunched over in fear, and pointed at Casca, whom no one had paid any attention to before, and cried out in horror.

"you!"

"You are the spirit—"

when!
A sudden burst of golden light soothed Coz's pain under the Emperor's benevolence.

"Haha."

“It seems that Conrad Coates has seen through my psychic power.”

He smiled and gently patted Coz on the shoulder.

“I don’t have that name, Father.”

“I am the midnight ghost, and I know perfectly well why you have come.”

Looking at the instigator beside him who was dealing with the beings of the warp, Koz...
His relieved smile was stiff.

Koz, also known as Midnight Ghost, eventually obeyed the Emperor's orders.

He will ascend the Emperor's Pride, and until he is able to command the legions, he will be under the guidance of Fugrim and Kasgar.

Accept—who?