Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1419 The Library Guardian (First Update)

The steel giant, over four meters tall, charged forward with such force that the impact was almost unbearable.

Normally, the human brain cannot make the right choice. It's like facing a car coming straight at you on a busy street; you know you should step back, but your brain just can't seem to give the right instruction. However, Laura Crawford had overcome this weakness. She immediately pushed the woman against the bookshelf, moving herself close to it to avoid being stepped on by the robot—at the same time, she held up her signal flare, her neck stiff like a wild horse, brandishing flames to intimidate the thick gray fog. "Threat detected!" The giant robot's microphone began playing a synthesized human voice alarm, its two pincer-like arms rising, blinding sparks crackling from the heavy steel. "Threat detected!"

"Hurry up!" Laura Crawford pulled the woman along, inching backward along the bookshelf. She felt her clothes were covered in dust, and the sweat on her back and neck had mingled with the dust into grimy splatters, but she didn't have time to care about such trivial matters. "I just hope the threat that robot was talking about isn't us."

The iron-gray steel giant charged straight into the thick gray fog, plunging its pincer-like arms deep into it.

The next second, scalding hot air expanded instantly in the passageway, and a fiery dragon of unimaginable length rushed in, illuminating the previously dim library with blinding light, as if someone had dropped a bomb inside. Flames and howling wind roared in her ears. Laura Crawford had to pull the woman down to crouch, closing her eyes to protect herself—she felt her skin rapidly losing moisture, her hair being scorched by the overflowing, terrifying heat, and even her eyes, protected by her eyelids, couldn't escape the blinding flames—but this wasn't the only torment she endured. She heard faint, dense cries within the firelight, felt the chilling stench of dust from extradimensional corpses settling on her skin, and smelled the acrid stench of steel, oil, and fuel.

The pain started in her increasingly dry eyeballs and spread backward, shooting straight into her brain from the fragile nerves connecting her to her eyes, and then down her spine. She heard and saw things she had never seen before, things the human brain could not comprehend, yet the magical meanings inherent in the actions of "seeing" and "hearing" were constantly being passively analyzed, stuffing incomprehensible information into her brain. Even afterwards, she couldn't say what she was thinking at that moment, and nightmares followed closely behind.

Just when she thought she was going to die there, icy air rushed in from other passages, blowing away a large amount of the foul-smelling air. The bright flames disappeared, and darkness enveloped the area again, but the stench of ionized air still lingered in her nostrils. She opened her dry eyes and, by the faint light of her signal flare, saw that the giant robot's arm had been lowered, and the gun barrels under its industrial pincer-like claws were glowing red, emitting the smell of burning metal—she had expected to see a fire scene, but the fire hadn't ignited any bookshelves, and everything was exactly the same as before the flames appeared. Except for the moving mass of gray mist, which had completely disappeared under the scorching heat of the flames, and the unidentified, snowflake-like substance melting on the ground, she saw nothing.

"Threat eliminated." The giant robot turned its upper body to face the direction it had come from. "Threat reported."

"What is this?" Laura Crawford suppressed a cough and the urge to brush the ashes off her skin, speaking in a low voice to avoid attracting the attention of the giant robot. The signal flare in her hand gradually went out, leaving only the acrid smell of gunpowder and oxidized sulfur. "Do you recognize that thing?"

“That’s the library’s protector, only recently placed here,” the woman replied calmly. “I knew it would come to save us; they’re far more dutiful than those wizards.” Laura Crawford wanted to ask more, but felt a little embarrassed, knowing her earlier overreaction seemed ridiculous to the woman—even with her blindfold on, Laura Crawford knew she could still see. She didn’t want to delve into the specifics; after all, this was the magical world, and even the most wondrous things would seem perfectly normal—in this chase, the only thing hurt was her pride.

"Does this happen often?" Laura Crawford watched the giant robot's heavy footsteps as it left, wondering whether she should follow. "I mean, you were in the library for twelve days, if you really were here for twelve days."

"No, this shouldn't happen," the woman replied. "The defenses here are very strong. Tens of thousands of defensive spells protect every atom here. Even the most powerful mage would find it difficult to enter and steal or destroy anything."

The Spear of the Guard was eventually returned to Hammurabi.

The Sorcerer Hamil breathed a sigh of relief. If the Emperor insisted on bloodshed today, even he could not stop it. The Sorcerer Supreme had been far too merciful; even during the transfer of power, he hadn't thoroughly purged the sorcerer families. The few deaths were mostly among the more stubborn radicals of the sorcerer families, and Kamar-Taj's overall strength hadn't suffered much loss.

The emperor's next order to Hammurabi left the monk Hamil with a troubled expression.

"Go and fetch the molten weapon. Anyone who dares to leave this meditation room is under your control to kill." The Emperor waved his hand, beckoning the young mage to follow him. "Now we're going to the library. Let's rescue them before those old fogies make things irreparable." He said, "Laura Crawford's exploration shouldn't have been dangerous at all. This isn't over yet, Mage Hamil. The Venerable One has entrusted me with authority, including the lives of those old fogies who should have died. From now on, they will no longer have the privilege of prolonging their lives. The merits accumulated by their ancestors have long been exhausted by them. From now on, only mages who have played a significant role can enjoy the Six-Winged Angel Serum."

"Is this the result of your negotiations?" asked the monk Hamil. "Then who controls this power?"

The Emperor glanced at him. The mage Hamil immediately understood that he had to shoulder this responsibility and reclaim this power for the department the Emperor had ordered him to establish. The Doorless Bar was now empty; truly capable and willing spellcasters had come to serve under Hamil. Under the supervision of the genetically modified warriors, the framework of the future department—the Psionic Academy—was being built. This was the organization's name—simple and tedious, yet its work was incredibly complex. The future Kamar-Taj would be the largest faction within the Psionic Academy, divided into many branches that cooperated with the Emperor's various departments. Even matters outside Kamar-Taj's current jurisdiction would be brought under the Psionic Academy's management.

"I accept." Master Hamil bowed slightly. "Then can I build the tribe's framework myself?"

"I believe that all the Temple Guardians, except for Mage Daniel, should bear more responsibility."

The Emperor waved his hand, signaling the young sorcerer to follow quickly. He paid no heed to the power struggles among the mystical families, nor to Hammurabi's actions in carrying out his orders, including bringing the double-barreled fusion rig from the estate and ordering his servants to bring an automatic turret originally positioned around Kamar-Taj. To him, nothing was more important now than Laura Crawford's life.

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(End of this chapter)