Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1297 Skeleton Reef (First Update)

The gushing pus and blood not only violently swept away the black swarm of insects but also came into contact with the first line of defense. Heavy sandbags and ceramic metal plates blocked the increasingly turbulent waves. The heat from the flamethrowers and the unburned fuel floated on the water, the bright orange-red flames resembling small floating islands in the raging torrent. The smoke from the unburned fuel could not mask the stench of the blood tide. Even Laura Crawford, at the highest point of the firepower, almost vomited from the putrid stench. Fortunately, a soldier from the First Class Regiment handed her a breathing mask, which greatly reduced the stench that was clinging to her nostrils like a mucus membrane, preventing her from vomiting bile.

She couldn't imagine what fate awaited the sorcerer still standing before the silver stone gate, but what she saw next was destined to be unforgettable, leaving her no time to ponder the fate of those before the gate—strange, pinkish-white objects rose to the surface with the surging of the red-black tide. At first, no one paid attention to these obstacles, but as more and more appeared, they eventually formed isolated, blood-stained reefs. These objects looked like mutilated human bodies, their muscles and skin hastily removed with a knife, along with fragments of fat and hairy skin. Even more bizarrely, fresh blood vessels and tendons remained on the bones, as if a horrific human slaughterhouse lay beneath the water, and this was the sewer of that slaughterhouse.

Black beetles, floating on the tide of blood, used the liquid's kinetic energy to climb the foremost Alpha defensive fortifications. Hardened gun barrels and flamethrowers were gradually devoured by supernatural mandibles. The lifeless, freely flowing blood, after soaking the sandbags, seeped into the gaps. One soldier accidentally let some of the splattered liquid come into contact with his exposed skin, causing bright red blisters to appear, and he subsequently went insane. The First Class Regiment and five genetically modified warriors were forced to abandon the defensive line and completely relocate to the Beta defensive fortifications, using their superior position to use thermal explosives to clear the monsters seeping below. They also ordered the soldiers behind to bring over more sandbags and thermal explosives; the blood tide absolutely could not overwhelm all the fortifications.

Laura Crawford tentatively fired a shot at the object floating on the water. The bullet shattered the red and white brown rocks, sending up a cloud of semi-solidified reddish-black liquid and bone fragments sticky with flesh. She finally confirmed that the object was a human body. The officer in command finally ordered the defensive platforms to open fire. In the blink of an eye, thousands of bullets and shells flew towards the wrecked rocks in the blood-soaked water. The shockwaves echoed in the skulls of all ordinary people. Laura Crawford opened her mouth wide to avoid having her brain shattered by the gunfire from the explosive weapon platform next to her. The torrent of explosives, plasma, and man-portable missiles streaked across the dim environment, illuminating the cavern. They destroyed the wrecked rocks without resistance, leaving behind fragmented bones and vaporized cavities. Some of the remaining fat was even ignited by the high temperatures of tracer rounds, explosive warheads, and flamethrowers, sending up thick yellow-white smoke between the white bones with bits of flesh.

Although technology held the upper hand for a short time, and all the emerging debris and reefs couldn't withstand the force of the explosions and intense heat, for every reef destroyed that approached the defensive line, a new one would rise. Slippery, bloody bones grew from beneath the dried, hardened skeletons, and the reefs merged to form narrow floating islands, like volcanoes rising at the boundary of tectonic plates. This was not something that could be killed. Frustration lingered in the hearts of every soldier. Their training was geared towards killing, but what they faced now was not a creature that their weapons could kill, but a phenomenon caused by supernatural forces. The acrid smoke rising from the sea of ​​blood was definitely not a sign of victory.

Crimson lightning crashed down on the silver stone gate. Through the hazy smoke, Laura Crawford could only vaguely make out the golden glow reflected from the Guardian's power armor shrouded in smoke, and Wanda Maximoff's signature red hair and the enormous ruby ​​on her snake-bone staff. She couldn't understand the indistinct, non-human language emanating from behind the veil of reality, nor could she comprehend the blinding flashes and roars beyond the smoke. Compared to her, the soldiers of the First Class Secret Service, who had experienced the battle of Noah'dorn, were much calmer. Although they were still terrified by the supernatural phenomena and frustrated by their inability to defeat the real enemy, at least they weren't as bewildered as ordinary, mentally fragile people.

Wanda Maximoff stood behind the Shield of Seraphim, peering through the flickering sparks at the indescribable horror within the silver stone gate. It was an enormous eyeball, but after the initial fear, Wanda felt a strange familiarity with that gaze. However, reality gave her no time to think; she swung her staff again, summoning crimson lightning that crashed into the massive vortex behind the gate, a vortex of densely packed stars. With a scream almost inaudible to the human ear, the eye vanished.

Just as initially anticipated, behind the silver stone door lay not a physical space, but a scar on a spacetime structure. The veil of reality was torn apart behind the door, and illusory predators from the etheric ocean eagerly sought to don the victim's skin, creating mental turmoil in the material universe powerful enough to penetrate barriers and nourish outer dimensions. Gods, demons, elves—whatever you call them, their essence remains unchanged. Mere knowledge of their existence is enough to warp the human spirit. Even highly trained Kamar-Taj sorcerers must constantly resist the whispers behind the door, controlling their thoughts and maintaining focus.

Prayer is the most suitable method, and incantations are a regular practice for concentrating the mind.

A crimson storm brewed behind the door, and no one knew what would emerge. To plunge one's mind into it without any defenses was akin to diving into the deep sea without any protective gear; the immense pressure and unpredictable ethereal currents were enough to completely disorient one, leaving only an empty shell inhabited by extradimensional beings. The Royal Guard, Supiluliumas, with speed imperceptible to ordinary people, slayed the deformed creature that crashed into the material universe from behind the door. His electric-sparkling blades sliced ​​through the tanned, tough, wet skin and fluid-filled contorted joints, while simultaneously and skillfully executing a young arcane mage with tentacles sprouting from his ear.

He glanced at Wanda Maximov, Sithon's daughter. Besides overseeing the entire workflow, one of his most important tasks was monitoring Wanda Maximov's mental state, while Wanda Maximov's job was to investigate what lay behind the door, to hurl her mind into that place beyond the comprehension of conventional psychological perception.

"I need time to cast the spell," Mordo said. While the other Kamar-Taj sorcerers struggled to bind the gate, he led other, more intelligent sorcerers in an attempt to reverse the spell to seal the wound, even though such an attempt was likely to fail, because there had never been a case in history of truly eliminating a wound in the spacetime structure. Apart from the material universe's laws forcibly closing it, all human efforts could only temporarily mend rather than cure it.

"Fire!" came the calm voice of the Royal Guard, Supiluliumas, through the communicator. Due to the extradimensional energy and electromagnetic radiation, the Royal Guard's voice was now mixed with muffled electrical noise, and the sounds of flesh being hacked and blood being slashed, along with the horrifying screams, were also transmitted to all the soldiers' ears through the microphones of their power armor. Immediately afterwards, two more gunshots rang out from the stone door. The Royal Guard seemed to be frantically hacking at something, and something seemed to be stirring behind the stone door. Under the searchlight, deformed claws, translucent skin and bone plates, tentacles, and twisted limbs were vaguely visible. "Aim at the opening of the stone door, ten meters high!"

"Squad C, Squad D, aim at the coordinates the Imperial Guards gave us, laser cannons fire!" the officer immediately ordered the weapons operator on the Beta defense platform. His laser pistol fired listlessly, miraculously killing a black insect trying to crawl down the rock face. The acrid smell was negligible in the current environment, which resembled the smoke from dozens of large bonfires. Equally ignored were the officer's prized marksmanship and the green phosphorescent lights embedded in the rock face. "Sergeant, send men to bring those damned primitives back! If not, kill them!"

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(End of this chapter)