Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1342 Bigfoot (Second Update)

The answer was naturally the latter, and although Master Hamil did not answer directly, Victoria Hand understood perfectly.

"The Immortal City?" she asked, "or Latvia?"

"The Immortal City's defenses were built by our own hands to prevent anyone from summoning unnatural beings into reality and damaging vital facilities. Latvinia's defenses were designed by him, but they focus more on attacks from the material universe than defenses against extradimensional beings; the Guardians are part of these defenses," said Mage Hamil. "He was the most powerful and intelligent human being in history, but he was unwilling to take the final step, because that would mean reality would become an illusion. The path to perfection is endless, but what awaits at the end is not the answer we seek."

Victoria Hand asked, "So this is my lesson? To teach me some secrets of witchcraft?"

"You have completed four days of learning. The first four days were to help you understand the truth of this world, the next day was for comprehension, and the last two days were for your rest. Seven days, no more, no less. Your learning journey is essentially a ritual. A ritual doesn't necessarily require lengthy texts or passionate prayers; the action itself carries metaphor—that is the essence of witchcraft." Master Hamil seemed to sense her unease, so he comforted her, "This is a safe ritual, used to protect your soul and body from defilement. From now on, power, money, honor, and other things that trouble mortals will no longer confuse you, because you have seen the view from above and naturally won't care about the mud beneath your feet. Now you have recognized the truth of this world and what we must dedicate to protecting humanity. When your lifeline and the human race survive, what is there to hesitate about?"

"The first half of what you said sounds like a hippie sermon," Victoria Hand gritted her teeth. "I've seen what those apprentices look like after they take drugs; their eyes light up at night. I'll never swallow LSD like those hippies. I'm not an addict."

"Don't worry, the medicine the apprentice is taking has nothing to do with you," Master Hamil shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "However, I admit that those ancient remedies do contain some ergot diacetamide. We recognized the effects of ergot fungi a thousand years ago. Our job is to use the power of outer dimensions to fight against outer dimensions, and the foolish apprentices need trace amounts of the medicine to even begin their training. Compared to the terrifying hallucinations they're about to witness, the drug-induced hallucinations are relatively safe, and the side effects are tolerable. After all, it's much better than driving them completely insane."

Seeing that Victoria did not immediately object, the mage Hamil continued, "I confess to you that taking this path is like stepping into hell. Everyone you see in this building will suffer a terrible death. The amount of magic they used and the debts they incurred in life will determine how long they torment themselves in death. Even so, we did it because no one else was capable of doing what we had to do, because we swore an oath to protect the survival of the human race with everything we have. There is no justice higher than the survival of humanity, and no morality lower than the survival of humankind."

The old master was visibly dejected, as if those grand pronouncements had nothing to do with him. Victoria Hand understood this sense of mission that urged others forward. Accepting the mission meant giving up many things. To this day, she has not been able to start a family, nor does she have any spare time. All her energy is devoted to her work, and her dormitory only contains a bed and a computer.

Sometimes she would be in a daze, not understanding what she was doing.

"We see too far ahead; we're outcasts among humans. No normal person would believe everything you see, or everything we resist. That's why he founded Latveria, using the power of science to make us stronger. Now, do you want to continue learning, or do you want to see Bigfoot?"

Although everyone already knows the answer, there is a difference between formally admitting it and privately suspecting it.

Regent Viktor von Dum held a press conference, acknowledging the raid on the UN detention center in The Hague, Netherlands, where prisoners held by the former Yugoslav Criminal Tribunal were seized. He also released documents showing the Hague tribunal's refusal to return prisoners for trial by the Latvian government. As the prepared statement indicated, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the UN recognize the federation's status and respect the political entity of the Yugoslav Federation; otherwise, the spokesperson threatened to release the names of all agents attempting to infiltrate Yugoslavia and to execute spies in response.

"I don't think the Federation has any real standing right now. Aside from its geopolitical and military strategic importance, it's utterly insignificant." The Emperor, watching the live news broadcast from the Pegasus-class Pegasus heavy assault transport ship, equipped with extremely powerful electronic warfare equipment and protective systems, couldn't help but say to Hammurabi. "However, bluffing is an art. All five permanent members now possess nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them, but without nuclear weapons, they can only rely on conventional military means, which will have extremely serious political and economic consequences. Therefore, low-intensity, low-impact decapitation strikes have become the choice for most countries. The capabilities we've demonstrated are no less significant to the world than nuclear weapons in special operations."

"You mean, teleportation strikes are the source of our deterrent power, not orbital strikes? If other countries also master teleportation strike technology, then Latvia will have no advantage whatsoever," Hammurabi asked. "Do you think General Hale would hand over the Chitauri teleportation stations to the US military?"

"Hydra is always selfish. If you don't push her to the limit, she will hold onto that machine forever."

The Emperor offered his assessment without hesitation. In his eyes, General Hale's claim of saving humanity under the alien fleet was tinged with ulterior motives. If humanity were truly saved by this so-called alien alliance, General Hale, who could communicate with the alien fleet and become a member of the alliance's committee, would naturally possess unprecedented political status. The Emperor sensed the strong scent of ambition emanating from General Hale from their first meeting—he admired ambitious people, but General Hale foolishly placed her hopes on an organization she didn't understand, and was foolishly and blindly deceived. From beginning to end, the Emperor believed that General Hale was incapable of shouldering heavy responsibilities, at best suited for mid-level, basic work.

"She'll realize that the teleportation strike and that machine are technically the same. If she wants something from us, she'll most likely use that as an excuse to blackmail us," Amon suggested. "Right now, we need Ruby to tell us the location of that machine. Immediately, and then take it. The importance of the Kobo Belt Star Fortress is nowhere near the deterrent power of Latvinia. Without Latvinia, even if we go to the production base, all our lifelines will be in Mars' hands."

"But Ruby's involvement is not progressing well," Hammurabi said. "According to Gideon Malik and White House informants, intelligence file A-11415, General Hale seems to have become suspicious of his daughter. Although he has entrusted Ruby with day-to-day affairs, Ruby has not yet arrived in Washington, but is instead working and training at a training camp."

"We'll talk about this later." The Emperor pulled up the flight route map. They were now less than ten minutes away from Poh, even including the speed of the assault transport boats carrying armored vehicles. "We need to help Victor resolve this problem first."

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(End of this chapter)