Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 126 Disappearance (Second Update!)

To be honest, Salomon wasn't unfamiliar with the name Abigail Williams, but the details of the Salem witch trials were always varied and conflicting across different worlds. Even though he found remnants of alien magic in his office, he couldn't discern their origin, nor did he know which version of Abigail Williams she represented. After all, anything was possible in this world. The only certainty, however absurd, was that this alien magic belonged to an outer dimension; this was an extradimensional magical event. Salomon's task was to expel or kill the source of this event.

The sorcerer adjusted the shoulder straps on his back; the slanted leather straps were digging into him uncomfortably. The rapier that had been fastened to his waist was gone, replaced by a wooden box slung over his back. The Sorcerer Supreme couldn't resist equipping Salomon with Excalibur, believing that he was highly likely to encounter a battle that would fulfill the conditions for its release, and this sword could be an asset.

A full day had passed between his preparations and his arrival. Salomon had spent that time making thorough preparations, including a phone call with Bayonetta to explain the situation again, and greeting Joan of Arc and the Cheshire Cat, explaining that he might not be able to return that night. Bayonetta fully understood Salomon's predicament; she stated that if he didn't return after completing his mission, she would storm Kamar-Taj with a pistol.

Unexpectedly, as Salomon arrived on the outskirts of Salem through the portal, his phone rang again. He glanced at it; it was Nick Fury. After a slight hesitation, Salomon answered the call. Nick Fury immediately inquired about the events in New York City that evening. The Merlin School's actions had previously focused Nick Fury's attention on New York, especially tonight, when satellites detected energy readings there. He believed this was inextricably linked to magic and needed to get to the bottom of it from Salomon, as he couldn't allow anything that might endanger public safety to occur.

"This is Kamar-Taj's official business, we've taken care of it. Don't even think about letting your agents get close. If they die at the hands of dark wizards, the sorcerers won't avenge your agents." Salomon, holding his phone in one hand and a glowing crystal ball in the other, trudged along the soft country path strewn with withered leaves and humus. He had arrived here using the precise location provided by the Agamotto crystal ball and was meticulously tracking the alien magic with this artifact. Nick Fury's call had come at a very inopportune time.

"Contract, Salomon," Nick Fury said. "This is an event that could endanger public safety. Think of Article Thirty; if something like this happens, you should notify S.H.I.E.L.D. to evacuate the crowd."

"I didn't notify you, which means it's not a public safety emergency," Salomon said somewhat impatiently. "Don't make such a fuss."

"What's the big deal?!" Nick Fury raised his voice. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has a roster of people with special abilities. But do you know what kind of people are marked 'Extremely Dangerous'? A completely immoral IT engineer, a petty thug who became incredibly strong but not very bright after using chemicals, a woman who transplanted razor blades into her fingertips (from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). But none of them compare to you, Salomon Damonette. Tell me, how are you going to stop me from getting nervous? And what are you doing in Salem? Halloween is way over; it's way too late to go to a party there."

"This is none of your business, this is my mission. Also, stop trying to trace the source of my signal. Magical events are not something ordinary people can participate in, because they are not things that humans can understand, unless you want them all to go crazy." Salomon saw a small shoe print in a pile of fallen leaves by the light of a small glowing orb. He followed the shoe print until he reached a secluded cave.

"Especially this time... I don't know what I'll be facing..."

Salomon's voice was intermittent. As Nick Fury watched the signal on the screen gradually weaken and eventually disappear, a bad feeling arose in his heart. Coupled with the somewhat eerie words the arcane mage uttered before the signal vanished, this ominous feeling lingered in his mind like a dark cloud.

Nick Fury hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to assign his most trusted agent to investigate the location where the signal had disappeared. The other agents were reassigned to New York to search for the wizard's whereabouts. Only a few were left unassigned; Nick Fury wanted them to go there and assess the situation, because he couldn't entrust public safety to Salomon alone. Risk-taking was never his option; thorough preparation was paramount.

Salomon shook his phone; the screen was lit, but the signal was gone. This wasn't surprising, as he had followed the crystal ball and the shoe print into this narrow cave. Telecom operators don't build base stations in every cave, so signal loss was normal. However, his mission this time was far from "normal," because the small shoe print stopped at the very end of the cave, disappearing without a trace of turning back, and the Agamotto crystal ball displayed no further information.

The arcane mage activated his Dance of Light spell, carefully examining all traces. Even after casting the first-circle divination spell [Self-Search], he found nothing except for the shoe prints on the cave wall. It was strange, but it didn't frighten Salomon; in the magical world, this was nothing unusual. Salomon decided to pause his search, leave the cave, and return to the path he had come from to look for clues again. He put away the Agamotto crystal ball and walked out of the cave.

But when he emerged from the deep cave, the sight before him astonished him. Besides the shadowy mountains, the distant horizon still held the last rays of the setting sun, and Salomon could see a white-painted wooden spire, its surface tinged with a strange pink by the sunset. The small round windows atop the spire shimmered with the fiery red of the setting sun, yet beneath the spire lay a profound darkness. It might be a Quaker church, but it wasn't a building in Salem. Salomon had seen Salem's churches before; they were red brick buildings, quite unlike this one.

In addition, the gradually warming spring breeze reminds Salomon of the changing seasons. Furthermore, a vast forest that never existed before has appeared here, and if you listen closely, you can hear intermittent whispers echoing from the dark and deep woods.

Salomon glanced at his watch. The watch Bayonetta had given him showed 9:35 PM. If the time was correct, Salem should already be shrouded in darkness, not still bathed in the glow of the setting sun. At the same time, Salomon also noticed that his cell phone had completely lost signal, but the time displayed on it matched the watch perfectly.

Even so, Salomon still couldn't explain the scene before him. The only thing he was certain of was that he was still near Salem, because the shape of the rocky hill hadn't changed. He hesitated for a moment, then took his wand and walked along the leaf-strewn country path into the forest.

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"The signal disappeared in this cave, sir." Agent Coulson, flashlight in hand, followed Natasha Romanoff into the cave. "We found a set of footprints, belonging to a boy, which should be our target, Salomon Damonette. But we didn't find any footprints leading out; he should still be in the cave."

"Looks like he's a shy guy, hiding in this cave for half an hour." Agent Romanoff's tone was nonchalant, but her actions became increasingly cautious. She had already drawn her pistol before entering the cave, ready to fire at any moment. She had overheard Nick Fury and Salomon's conversation and knew about magic, but she hadn't told anyone. It was an agent's instinct; secrets are most effective when kept in the right place.

"Why are we tracking him?" Coulson asked. "I mean, I've met Salomon, but I didn't know Director Fury valued him so much. He's not an agent, is he?"

"Perhaps he's been working with Director Fury, but I can't tell you what that collaboration entailed." Agent Romanov scanned the darkness. "After the signal was cut off, Director Fury assumed he was in trouble and needed our rescue. And..."

"What?"

"We're in trouble too." Agent Romanov looked at the stone wall in front of him and the vanished footprints. "Salomon Damonet has disappeared."

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(End of this chapter)