Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1265 State the Facts (First Update)

Looking at the Emperor's tired face, Laura Crawford suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Regardless of Natasha Romanoff's description of the Emperor's efforts, the fact was that he had spent a lot of time and paid a heavy price to solve the problem of Quetzalcoatl, and only he was capable of solving it ("Perhaps Thor could too?" Laura thought). Being too harsh on him would be tantamount to ingratitude.

“I wanted to say that I actually really enjoy the adventurous life.” She held a ceramic cup full of hot coffee, adding a dash of gin as usual. She suddenly realized this bottle of gin shouldn’t be here; the liquor cabinet behind her wasn’t even open, but she couldn’t think about that right now. “But I should take a break now, go back to the manor and see Winston (referring to the old butler). Trinity is almost completely wiped out now; I’ll have time to sort through my father’s documents and see what I missed while adventuring all these years.” She lowered her head awkwardly. “I heard you’ve moved to England now. You can come find me at the Surrey Manor; you should know the address, right?”

"Yeah, I'll visit you and Winston in Surrey. He gave me a lot of advice on gardening and plant selection, but he certainly didn't expect my sheep to eat all those flowers." The Emperor shifted carefully on the sofa. This time, he was truly badly injured; the healing magic was slowly taking effect and wouldn't heal his wounds in the blink of an eye. The fact that he wasn't in shock was already a great surprise to the medical staff; normally, he should have been in intensive care by now, instead of being lively and talking to people.

"I heard you wanted to adopt a sheepdog. Although it's a small matter I don't need to concern myself with, I'll still use my limited authority to help you with this as a gift, as long as you fill out the observation form on time and submit it. Be careful, the animals from the lab have all undergone genetic modification, they're all very intelligent, just like the 'Lacey'."

"You're injured?" Laura Crawford frowned. "Is it serious?"

"I should be fully recovered in a few hours. A little gin might speed up the recovery." The emperor raised an eyebrow, feigning nonchalance. "Could you get me a bottle from the liquor cabinet? I'm driven crazy by Onuratu and the Yasoks. I'll go crazy if I don't have a drink."

“Isn’t there a bottle on the table?” Laura Crawford casually reached out, but her fingers touched nothing but air. She froze, staring at her palm in disbelief. There was no bottle, and no smell of gin in the coffee. “What’s going on?” After a brief moment of panic, she quickly regained her composure. “There should be a bottle of liquor here. Is this some kind of prank?”

"Is this it?" The Emperor snapped his fingers. The liquor cabinet opened automatically, and a bottle of gin floated out, landing lightly in the spot Laura Crawford remembered. "This isn't a prank, but a side effect. You've been exposed to too much extradimensional energy. No one knows what the consequences of prolonged exposure will be. You may have accidentally glimpsed the future, or perhaps your brain is sending you warnings. I suggest you have a mental evaluation at the infirmary before leaving the space station to ensure your brain hasn't been affected by extradimensional energy."

What other symptoms might I experience?

“Don’t be nervous, I can assure you you’re safe, Laura.” The Emperor seemed to know something, but was unwilling to say it. He ordered an invisible servant to pour him and Laura Crawford a glass of wine, then drank it all in one gulp. “You’ve connected me to the past, so you’ll be alright. Get a good night’s sleep. You still need to help the Yasok people explore their Netherworld Gate.” He said pleadingly, “That’s the last task I’m giving you at this stage. Although there are still extradimensional creatures roaming that jungle, the knights will protect you. We also need to figure out the secrets behind the Netherworld Gate that the Yasok people speak of.”

Laura Crawford nodded; she had never heard her patron speak so gently. She could even see wrinkles at the corners of the Emperor's eyes, even though he was three years younger than her. "I will do it. I won't allow any mysteries to remain unsolved on this adventure," she said. "I will give you a report."

"I've never been a strong person, Laura. I despise politicians who disregard life, villains who drag others into the abyss for their own selfish desires, and thugs who harm lives for their own lust. You've witnessed how I treated those wizards, and you should know how much I loathe their irresponsible attitude." As the conversation was about to end and Laura Crawford was about to leave the room, the Emperor suddenly said, "I just saw a future that others wouldn't believe, a catastrophe that was about to happen, so I had to make some cold-blooded, morally questionable decisions to save more people. If I could, I would prefer to live a peaceful country life on the manor, but someone has to take responsibility, someone has to do what others don't want to do. I can only ensure that the process is fairer and that more people can survive."

"Is this repentance?" Laura Crawford asked, "or an excuse?"

"No, this is simply stating the facts." The emperor's expression turned as cold as steel, as if the weakness born of his pain had been buried again beneath layers of rock. As a ruler, he had few moments of relaxation, and those were over. "I will never regret what I have done, never excuse my evil deeds, and never be praised for my acts of saving lives. My function is simply to ensure the continuation of the human race, nothing more."

This conversation did not bring Laura Crawford any relief; on the contrary, it sent a chill down her spine.

She couldn't fathom what kind of person would use the word "function" to describe themselves. This word never belonged to humanity, especially when uttered by someone describing themselves; no word could be colder, more mechanical, or more sorrowful. It was a person's most utter denial of their own soul, and she couldn't understand what kind of crisis would warrant a wise person, after seeing the future clearly, going so far as to deny their own free will.

"Do you know how many extinction crises humanity has faced in the last hundred years?" Hammurabi, the guard escorting her to the space gene laboratory, asked in a casual tone on the way to adopt a puppy. "Not counting the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear weapons of the United States and the Soviet Union at that time couldn't all be dropped on the enemy's heads before self-destruction, so they couldn't affect many countries. I'm referring to global crises like the Awakening of Quetzalcoatl... at least ten times, madam. Humanity has always teetered on the edge of the abyss. So please be more lenient with our monarch. The disasters we are about to face are far more terrible than the Awakening of Quetzalcoatl. Those Avengers can't understand the pressure of being responsible for all life and the resources necessary for those lives to live healthily. They are just a bunch of self-centered, boastful scoundrels who have never undertaken any world-saving actions except for the 2012 New York incident."

"I doubt anyone in the world has ever described the Avengers like this."

"This is how Our Lord treats them. Tony Stark's anti-terrorism operations have created more vendettas, Steve Rogers only acts under orders, and Natasha Romanoff has no targets; a little street crime is enough to feed their sense of justice. Our Lord's respect for them stems entirely from the humanitarianism they displayed in 2012, nothing more." Hammurabi's face, resembling that of an ancient monarch, showed disdain. "They haven't rebuilt homes destroyed by war, haven't fed the starving families of war victims, and haven't truly ended the war woven with lies. They simply don't understand how those things can drive people to madness. Few people in this world can withstand that. The wars Our Lord ended weren't limited to the Balkans. If you have the chance, go to the Middle East, Afghanistan, and West Africa, and you'll see just how many people Our Lord's wings have sheltered and sustained. This is something the Avengers could never do."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)