Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1285 Men's Tacit Understanding (First Update)

The atmosphere in the front hall of Oxfordshire Manor was not very harmonious; in fact, it could be described as somewhat tense.

This wasn't because the witches and the emperor had any conflict; in fact, they got along quite well. The tense atmosphere stemmed from the two men who disliked each other, and the Royal Guard and the Sisterhood poised to attack at any moment. The former Sage of Light, Baldr, stood motionless in the foyer. Though unarmed and maskless, he still stared sternly at the emperor, who had just returned to the manor from the helipad. The emperor ignored him and walked straight past. He ordered the androids and Royal Guard to lay down their weapons; there was no need to smash the manor's meticulously arranged reliefs and various precious antiques over such a trivial matter.

Besides Baldr, Rosa also arrived at Oxfordshire Manor. The two had been forced to temporarily halt their journey due to a massive earthquake that swept across the globe, and were in Oxfordshire for a short rest and to take on some commissions. Although the Emperor had specifically opened an account as operating funds for Bayonetta's biological parents, this money wasn't unlimited. Coupled with the witches' ingrained penchant for luxury, Rosa quickly squandered the account's money, renting a luxury cruise ship and spending an entire summer in Miami, South Florida. And no one could find fault with it—the Venerable One reversed time and rescued Rosa. However, to avoid disrupting the timeline, Rosa had to spend five hundred years in the dark dungeons and sacral chamber, guarding the Emperor who slept in a stasis coffin until he awoke at the appropriate time and returned to the correct timeline.

The consequences of this retaliatory consumption can only be borne by the emperor himself; it is a debt he owes to Rosa.

When Quetzalcoatl was reborn, Rosa and Baldr had just finished a long journey in South Florida when a sudden storm and tsunami trapped them in a hotel. Initially, Baldr wanted to stay and settle the hotel bill, but Rosa, without looking back, pulled him into a portal and ran to a half-submerged ship to hunt amphibious monsters emerging from the deep sea, completely forgetting about the bill. Baldr secretly returned, settled the bill with his credit card, and brought it back.

The spoils were now piled up in the front hall of the Oxfordshire manor, nearly scaring Milia, who was rampaging through the manor, to tears. The Cheshire Cat, however, was quite fascinated by the overwhelming fishy smell and was currently devouring the bloody flesh by itself. By the time the Emperor arrived, it had already eaten a fifth of the fresh meat and showed no signs of stopping.

"The heads and hearts of Dagon's offspring, fifty-two in total." Before the Emperor entered the hall, Baldr casually handed him the bill from his notepad. The former Sage of Light glanced to the side, as if his interest in admiring the marble sculpture far outweighed the bill and the potential value of the spoils. The colossal marble sculpture Baldr was feigning admiration of was the Emperor's reinterpretation of "The Frenzy of Saint Teresa," used to express his lust for the witch. If Baldr had known the meaning of this white marble sculpture, he certainly wouldn't have been so composed. "I hope Kamar-Taj's offer is as I know."

"The price remains unchanged." The emperor nodded. "I will entrust the next task to you."

"Karmar-Taj took so much from the Sages, they should reciprocate with more," Baldr said coldly. The Emperor glanced at him, confirming that Baldr didn't want a conflict to erupt here. The vast majority of the assets of both the Witches and the Sages, including real estate, were confiscated by Kamar-Taj. Even the research enterprise Baldr established on Sun Island five hundred years later eventually fell into the hands of Kamar-Taj—or more precisely, the Emperor—becoming a facade for the Immortal City. Bayonetta and Jeanne, as heirs of the Witches, divided the assets returned by Kamar-Taj, including artifacts, books, and real estate. The Sages were completely exonerated, leaving only a record on paper; nothing else remained.

There wasn't much for the two men to talk about.

Badr had heard of the bloody purge this man had launched against the entire school of magic on Earth. Even a mediocre wizard who had fled to Miami and mingled with the mob had been killed in a contraband lab on that stormy night. Even the nephew of Miami's biggest drug lord, who was also in the lab at the time, was implicated. Initially, the case didn't alarm the local police, who were preoccupied with the floods following the disaster and the rampant crime, disease, and death. However, because the victim's death was truly gruesome and there wasn't a single piece of flesh larger than a palm at the scene, as if someone had attacked the place with an A-10 attack aircraft, the local drug cartels reacted quite strongly. The Florida FBI office reluctantly took on this case, one of the countless murders that followed the disaster, and lazily conducted a pointless investigation.

Through sensational street news reports, Baldr immediately recognized the damage as caused by supernatural forces. He actually admired the Emperor's ruthless decisiveness in cracking down on Earth's magical schools. The news reports on television and the messages from tourists around the world proved the Emperor's skill. A national leader occupying a key geographical position used his leverage to force a much stronger opponent to kneel, while simultaneously subjugating ethnic groups with constant feuds within his own borders—an achievement that ordinary people could only attain in a lifetime.

But if this person is his own daughter's partner, it's not a pleasant thing. However, Baldr has no say in this matter. The person who really has the right to object is still inside comforting the little girl who was frightened by the spoils of war and may have the talent to inherit the witch's secret magic.

"This is a backup of the physical key to the underground wine cellar. Your fingerprint and iris data have been entered into the cellar's scanner." Before the homunculus opened the hall door, the Emperor suddenly handed a password card to Baldr. The two of them stood outside the door instead of going in. "The homunculus will arrange guest rooms for you. This estate is large; we have many rooms, and the kitchen and staff are on call 24 hours a day. Before that, you might be interested in some of the alchemy projects I'm currently undertaking, wouldn't you say?"

Baldr maintained his indifferent expression, but he turned first into the corridor, as if that was where he intended to go. "Is this the way?" he said as he walked. "I won't be teaching you alchemy for free."

"That's right, my alchemy lab is in that direction." The Emperor waved his hand behind him, indicating that Hammurabi and Amun should continue their security duties as usual; there was no need to identify Baldr as a dangerous target and follow him closely. Now that the former Sage of Light had lost the source of his inherited power, even if he used spells that could greatly activate nerves and cause temporary time-lapse effects, he would not be a match for the Emperor, who was now wearing the robes of the Holy Relic. "There's a wine cabinet there, and brandy too."

"very good."

In fact, Badr had no intention of instructing the Emperor in alchemy. To attempt alchemy before the well-read Kamar-Taj sorcerers would be tantamount to showing off one's limited skills before an expert, especially since Kamar-Taj had already absorbed the Sages' knowledge and placed it in their library; the Sages' knowledge was already Kamar-Taj's knowledge. He had initially assumed his daughter's partner shared this view, and that what he had said five minutes earlier was merely an excuse. However, he hadn't expected the Emperor to actually pull a thick stack of printed papers from his laboratory drawer, covered in text and formulas. "Regarding the question of whether information is lost in the event horizon of a black hole," the Emperor pulled up a chair, believing this issue worthy of discussion, "on this point, I maintain the quantum school's position rather than the relativistic school. What about you?"

What is the event horizon of a black hole?

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)