Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1304 (Second Update)

Hammurabi and Amun had been tending to Supiluliumus in his sickroom. Upon the emperor's arrival, the two guards rushed forward to greet him. Despite their long sleeplessness, the two guards were still alert, but their expressions clearly showed their deep sorrow over Supiluliumus's ordeal. "Mary (High Priestess of the Sorahrin Druids) believes his condition is improving," Hammurabi said in a deep voice before the emperor could ask. "The genetic code you designed for us helped him through his most difficult time; genetic alchemy will not stop his heart from beating."

The complex vital signs all indicate that Supilulius is still in a state of meningeal induced sleep, and the huge wound in the inspector's abdomen, which had almost been ripped open horizontally, has been covered with artificial skin. In this state, organs operate at minimal power to avoid entering a state of shock. When the emperor designed the system, he had considered how to help the Praetorian Guard survive severe injuries, and Supilulius's current performance is almost identical to the experimental data.

Stephen Strange remained in the observation room, waiting for the Janissary Supiluliumus to awaken. He had been kept in a state of heightened alertness through medication throughout the long surgery, only falling into a drowsy sleep on a bench after the thirty-two-hour operation concluded. He had woken once before the Emperor returned to the intensive care unit in the dungeon, but perhaps due to exhaustion or other reasons, he fell asleep again after confirming that Supiluliumus's vital signs matched the data on the documents, without even drinking the glucose water Mary had prepared for him.

The Emperor sat down in the chair next to Stephen Strange and placed a roast pork chop made by Dinah on the table. A few seconds later, the former doctor opened his groggy eyes, and after being confirmed, he immediately picked up disposable cutlery and began to devour the food. "How long has it been since you slept this soundly?" the Emperor said. "You didn't even dream."

"For a long time, I felt like I was back in medical school." Stephen Strange casually popped a floret of broccoli into his mouth. Perhaps because his blood sugar had spiked, clearing his head, he brought up another matter after finishing his meal, a sly glint in his eyes. "Also, I've found my hand is more stable, though it still hurts. Do you know why?"

The emperor glanced at him and stood up silently.

"Do you have to be this much of a jerk?" Stephen Strange stood up from his chair, raising his voice in displeasure, like a wild animal trying to intimidate its opponent. However, compared to the Emperor's height and imposing presence, his actions were as laughable as a child threatening an adult. "I've done everything you asked, so is there anything else you must be hiding from me?"

"Go and search in your own dreams, Stephen Strange." The Emperor walked out of the observation room without looking back. "You should learn to meditate and daydream. Seek the highest spirituality within your soul, like the Hermetic school, and you will find the answer there."

His return to Kamar-Taj wasn't just to visit Supilulius, who was recuperating, but also because of the summons from the Sorcerer Hamil. Wanda Maximoff and Laura Crawford had been left stranded at Kamar-Taj for forty-eight hours. Even after the Sorcerer Hamil had checked them according to procedure to ensure they hadn't been corrupted by extradimensional forces, the two girls were unwilling to leave so easily. They wanted to see the Emperor, and the Sorcerer Hamil also wanted to discuss the issue of the Sorcerer Mordo with him—with the Sorcerer Supreme still absent, many affairs and powers of Kamar-Taj were in the Emperor's hands, meaning he had to simultaneously assume the administrative responsibilities of the Immortal City, Latvinia, and Kamar-Taj.

"About Mordo..." Master Hamil looked troubled. Although Hamil was somewhat reluctant to undergo prosthetic surgery due to his past habits and beliefs, he had been persuaded by Master Xiao Wang to have a pair of mechanical prosthetic hands fitted with no extra functions. If one didn't pay attention to the gaps between the artificial skin, at a cursory glance, no one could tell that Master Hamil's hands were technological creations. "...He hasn't left his room for several days, and I'm very worried about his mental state."

"He was destined to suffer this calamity."

“I know, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help, nor does it mean you need to order the Royal Guard to monitor him.” The mage Hamil moved his legs slowly, trying to slow the emperor’s hurried pace. “I know what you want to do, and I have no problem with your cold-blooded methods, because that’s why we’ve survived to this day. But Mordo has a good character, and we can’t waste his talents. I believe His Excellency thinks so too.”

The Emperor finally stopped in front of the guest room. "I had no intention of killing Mordo; he was like an elder brother to me. The Royal Guard's surveillance and the stripping of his stigmata were merely to prevent things from escalating further," he said. "I hope you can transfer my will to another organization, Mage Hamil. The schools of magic on Earth need reform, and there will be no shortage of bloodshed."

"Aren't you getting a little impatient?" Master Hamil deliberately drew out his words. As a scholar of high moral character within the Taoist school, Master Hamil was actually quite reluctant to do something so contrary to his personal will. "Could you explain why?"

"No. You and other sorcerers can retain human emotions, but I cannot, which is why I am the ruler of Kamar-Taj." The Emperor shook his head, stopping the sorcerer Hamil from continuing. "Now I have another problem to solve. If there's anything else, we can talk about it later."

For Laura Crawford, these two days were nothing short of a relaxing vacation, a chance to rejuvenate her mind and body. The tranquility of Kamar-Taj shut out all her worries. Initially, Laura Crawford wanted to attend the apprentices' meditation classes, but she was ruthlessly turned away. This was because the meditation at Kamar-Taj was not what those charlatans in Silicon Valley who offered esoteric wellness courses described. Instead, it stemmed from the Hermetic and Taoist philosophical concepts of the unity of heaven and man, a preliminary exploration of the external dimension. For an ordinary person without talent to join such a course would undoubtedly put themselves in a dangerous situation, and there was also a certain risk of leaking secrets.

To divert the attention of this inquisitive archaeologist, the Kamar-Taj sorcerers introduced her to the Pallas's cat and Himalayan blue sheep populations on the southern slopes of the mountains. Kamar-Taj has long been involved in the conservation of these wild animals, with the round-headed Pallas's cats playing a significant role in controlling the rodent population around Kamar-Taj, creating a beneficial symbiotic relationship between humans and animals. If Wanda Maximoff hadn't urged her on, Laura Crawford, upon seeing these adorable wild animals beyond her comprehension, might very well have embarked on a long mountain exploration.

"When I was a child... no, perhaps it was just a dream, an unrealistic fantasy." The Emperor approached Laura Crawford, cradling a fluffy, chubby Pallas's cat, a subspecies unique to the Himalayas, purring in his arms. The Emperor recognized the creature; he had personally fed its first five generations of direct relatives. "I dreamt I was a wildlife biologist, driving a jeep across the African savanna after the rainy season, chasing herds of wild elephants, observing lion prides hunting."

"And then?" Laura Crawford asked, intrigued. "So you learned about wildlife?"

"After I woke up, I could understand them." The Emperor smiled gently. He whispered something to the animal in his arms, then placed the furry creature into Laura Crawford's embrace. "Although the Kamar-Taj library has various minor spells for communicating with animals, I don't need to use those spells. I can communicate with them in human language, even if the meaning isn't quite accurate. Although the principles behind this phenomenon are very complex, you can think of it as a kind of superpower that humans can understand."

"You always have a hidden meaning in your words, Salomon. Don't think I'm some naive trust baby." Laura Crawford shook her head, stroking the creature in her arms. "Why do you like using stories to persuade people so much?"

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(End of this chapter)