"My lord Dante."

Mephistopheles said to the distinguished uninvited guest standing in front of the think tank sanctuary and his private room in an almost nonchalant manner, "I thought you were resting. ”

The unwavering tone of the director of the Holy Blood Angel Think Tank is really unfavorable, judging the emotional tendencies in this sentence. This may be a simple expression of surprise, or a subtle complaint, or even a kind of transgression if strict standards are applied - but the Regent of the Dark Side of the Empire, the head of the Holy Blood Angel Warband, and a living legend who has served for fifteen hundred years, Dante, only showed a wry smile to Mephiston:

"I did rest." He said this with only a loose and soft robe. This is perhaps the best commentary on his previous sentence, but it is also the source of some surprise to Mephiston.

The current leader of the Holy Blood Angel doesn't like to show his overly decrepit face and body in front of people. Even now, after the success of the original casting, he looks much younger than before.

It wasn't the first time the Chief Think Tank had come face to face with such an unarmed War Leader, but the premise that made this fact—the trust, closeness, and understanding that connected the Blood Angel War Leader and the Think Tank Master—made Mephiston equally clear that if it weren't for something unexpected, it was unlikely that Dante would have knocked on the door of his chamber in civilian clothes at such an awkward time.

These thoughts only flashed through Mephiston's mind for a moment, and at the same time, he had already moved out of the way of the door and ushered the warband leader into a warmer room: "Did something happen?" ”

The shadow of the Leviathan hive still haunts the dark side of the Empire, and the Angel's Heir is supposed to go to the next battle that will save the Imperial world, but the head of the warband still returns to the Angel Fortress of Araks at this roughly designated time. This wasn't because the Warband's home planet was about to be attacked again, but because of a diplomatic mission that had been told about half a Terra standard year ago.

In the next moment, the Chief Think Tank suddenly grasped the thought that it was once again drifting towards "what was the means used by that star language to get through the Great Rift", and ordered it to refocus on the reality that was happening, as Dante spoke after entering the door:

"I had a dream." There was a hint of confusion in the Warband's Leader's tone, "It's just a gut feeling, but I believe it's not ...... 'normal'. ”

Prophetic dreams. Mephiston thought.

This may be some kind of subconscious reorganization of information, or it may be the effect of subspace waves. Whatever the cause, it's not uncommon in this universe to happen, but that doesn't mean they can take it for granted when it does.

Rather than asking about the contents of the dream, the Holy Blood Angel Warband's chief think tank's more priority at this moment was to raise one of his hands and symbolically ask his warband leader, "If you agree?" ”

Dante bowed his head softly: "That's what I'm here for." ”

They didn't put into words what was going to happen next, and the long-term tacit understanding kept everything going on in silence. Mephistopheles' psionic powers infiltrated Dante's mind like a river the moment the words fell; The latter, without the slightest resistance, completely opened the door of his heart to the chief think tank he trusted, like a towering and immovable mountain, allowing the other party to check whether the grass and trees in his heart were mixed with chaotic misdirection and corruption.

There are so many reasons for this phenomenon that they must first determine that there is no ...... in this "unusual dream" The involvement of disturbing factors.

The corresponding examination lasted about 10 standard points. It wasn't an easy process for either of them, but it was completely necessary. The good news is that, after this thorough examination, Mephistopheles can say with certainty that the visions Dante had experienced prior to his arrival did not contain any trace of the Great Enemy's demagoguery or psychic powers; The bad news is that what the Warlord saw in his previous dream was a bit difficult for the knowledgeable Chief Think Tank to understand.

It's not that the vision of Dante's dreams is too obscure in his description—it's because it's too clear.

"I dreamed of San Gillino, on the saline ground of Pastello." The Warlord recounted in an ethereal tone that he himself found unbelievable, "But, it's just San Gillino. There are no bizarre and complex metaphors, and it doesn't seem like there are any subtle hints and prophecies, just me and him, standing in an open space, just talking to each other. It's as if he just had something to tell me. ”

Mephiston was confused.

If it is only said that the part "Dante's warlord dreamed of San Gillino", the chief think tank believes that although this is not common - meaning that there has never been any record of "San Giriliano dreaming" in the past warbands, if it happened to Dante, it does not seem to be so "impossible".

Everyone knows that the current battle leader of the Holy Blood Angel is favored. During the fifteen hundred years that San Giliano served Dante, he probably appeared to him more times than in the nearly 10,000 years before him combined. Legend has it that San Giriliano will only appear on the most difficult battlefields, and legend has it that San Giliano never had a record of speaking at the time of his appearance, but none of these "legendary" experiences are valid in front of Dante. That being the case, legend has it that San Giliano never communicated with the angel's heir in the form of a dream, and it seems not impossible that this happened to Dante.

What puzzles the Chief Think Tank even more is that, in Dante's description, the dream does not include any obscure parts, or any explicit metaphors that make it difficult to understand what it is expressing. Everything was simple, crisp and clear, and even Mephistopheles himself had never made such a "prediction". This even made him wonder if the definition of "prophetic dream" he had made in the beginning was correct.

Even with Mephiston's vast experience in Astarte, he could not have come to a conclusion with complete certainty, but—more disturbing than the prophecy of the clouds, of course, was a clear and unambiguous one.

"It's weird." So says the chief think tank. The moment his words fell, he could easily tell from Dante's unobscured face that his warband leader was similar to that of his hero.

"It's not the weirdest place." There was a complex and subtle "dazed" feeling in Dante's tone. It was so unlike him that Mephistopheles almost couldn't help but want to use his psionic energy again to make sure that the warband leader in front of him wasn't pretending to be some kind of change spirit or something. But then, he realized that instead of doubting the war leader in front of him, he should doubt the "San Gillino" in his dream:

"San Giglino tried to talk to me." Even if it is only mentioned in this matter, Dante behaves in great disbelief, "not a command, not an instruction, not a poetic prophecy, just ...... Chat. ”

It's a very lifelike scene, so lifelike that it shouldn't be in the same sentence as the proper noun San Gillino. Even Dante, who had experienced the experience, was overwhelmed with surprise in disbelief in the scene he had seen in his own dreams, as if he had amassed at least fifteen hundred years of literary literacy as an angel and had suddenly decided to run away from home en masse at that moment, and had not yet returned.

“…… I can't summarize it. Maybe I should tell you directly what I dreamed about. After a brief moment's deliberation, Dante finally said, "Or you can read my memories of that time—you might as well do it." ”

This made Mephiston even more surprised and confused: "Are you sure? My lord, let me warn you, that will be nothing...... A congenial experience. ”

"I'm sure." Dante replied, "Forgive me for forcing you to face these confusing and distressing things, but I really need your wisdom. ”

In that case, Mephistopheles said no more. For a moment, the Chief Think Tank couldn't help but wonder what kind of words he would use to respond to the Leader of the Holy Blood Angels if Callistarius was here. Unfortunately, here it was Mephiston, who didn't say anything—in the next moment, the mind of the Think Tank sank into the memory of the warband leader almost without warning.

This was only something that happened dozens of minutes ago, with the consent of the person concerned, and the fact that the person who cast the spell was second to none even if he looked at the entire empire, so Mephistopheles did not encounter the slightest obstacle in the process. The consciousness of the think tank easily found the memory that was slightly ethereal because it was a dream, and looked into it completely openly:

He saw the salt desert over Barmeda, and felt the hot, dry, salty, gritty wind blowing from it. He felt a strange familiarity, and then it took him a moment more than usual to realize that it was because he was looking at the memory from Dante's point of view - strangeness was his own feelings, and familiarity came from the warlord himself.

Mephiston, or rather Dante in the dream, walked in a clear direction after a brief pause. Combined with the previous situation, the chief think tank was mentally prepared for "this may be a test" in an instant, but in another moment, he wiped this thought himself: the events of this memory were obviously not related to the difficult trek or anything that might be called a "test", and Mephiston felt that he had only walked a few steps, bypassed a small sand dune in front of him, and saw his destination: a rover of the kind used by nomads in the salt desert - and obviously more importantly, Waiting for San Girierno next to the rover.

Mephiston had been fully forewarned of the fact that "San Girierno appeared in a dream", so it did not cause too many ripples in his heart. He was indeed a little surprised, but at the same time, he could still distinguish which of these "surprises" belonged to his own feelings and which were produced by Dante in his dreams.

Slightly unexpected, but reasonable, Dante in the dream did not react much to this incident, but as if he had met an unexpected old friend, he paused in place for a while, and then greeted the other party.

- Maybe it's because it's a dream after all. The unrestrained wandering of the subconscious mind in dreams is almost unpredictable. Mephiston, who knew this well, easily let go of this part after such a simple thought. He refocused on the last step or two, and adjusted his attitude to listen to the instructions of the living saint.

So far, things have not exceeded Mephiston's predictions. San Gillerino turned his head and faced Dante in his dreams with the golden mask that had been forged in the face of their genetic father. Under the cover of this mask, no one could tell when the other person spoke, but there was a voice clearly coming from underneath:

"It's been a while since I last thought about it, Dante." San Giliano's tone was so calm that his words sounded like the most common of the company's "greetings between familiar battle brothers after a long absence," and "I have reason to believe that this time will be difficult for you and for me." But let me say this: How have you been? ”

Mephiston, the chief think tank of the Holy Blood Angels, was shocked by this.

Following the flow of this memory, it was clear to him that Dante had answered after a brief pause, but at this moment, Mephistopheles did not care what the answer was. Even, what happened to this memory a little later was not so important in Mephiston's mind at this time.

The Chief Think Tank pulled his sanity out of the Warlord's memories and returned it to its own body. For a moment, he seemed to see his shocked reflection in Dante's bewildered amber eyes, but only later did he realize it when he recalled it. At that moment, Aastarte's far more than ordinary brain function was almost suspended, and even Mephiston's language center recklessly and rudely made an apparently thoughtless statement:

"I didn't expect you two to be in that kind of relationship." In shock, he tried to ask his war group for the truth, and the sentence, which was clearly not made up from a command from his brain, was only exchanged for a slightly distorted and complex expression of Dante.

Dante's length of service: I checked the lex, Dante was born in 40, and the book "Dante" wrote that he was 40 when he ran out to participate in the trial, and then the 41 regent got up, and this book is the setting of "the Regency returned to Maculag to fight the plague war when the indomitable expedition was about to end" before the world line changed, so the current timeline is about 100+. M42。 I didn't count the specifics (I don't understand the carry of the math GW teaching), but roughly speaking, 1,500 years should be a little less.

Then there's the premise that Dante likes to wear a death mask when he's out and about, and GW explains in different ways that he doesn't like to be seen by others because he looks extra old due to his age and lack of blood, thinking that this may have an impact on morale, or that he himself thinks that an old man like him shouldn't be in the C position of the current version of the Blood Angel or something (I unilaterally think it's hard talking and he thinks too much).

It was supposed to be a very serious matter, but my brain: the Lord of the Holy Blood Angels, fifteen hundred years old, began to have some age anxiety.

I repent (. ）

I feel that San Giliano is basically positioned as a manifesting god in the impression of most blood angels. Replace the same amount, and when you go to the temple to burn incense, the Buddha statue will say to you, "Good morning, have you eaten?" "It's a pretty scary thing (at least that's how I feel).

By the way: What's scarier than the end of the year? The answer is a good start to the beginning of the year (peaceful).

(End of chapter)