Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1526 The Lunar War (Thirty-Eight)

It saw the chaotic future grow ever slower, like an insect trapped in amber, finally solidifying at a certain final moment. It knew this meant it was a pawn moved in the eternal game of the gods, bait to lure that king, and now it had been moved to its rightful place and was playing its role. It felt terror and anger, but also excitement—the Great Will had turned its gaze away, even with the immense risk, because it meant everything it did was permitted by the Great Will—it was the eternally existing Great Will that inspired the awakened among the Kree war slaves to perform the ritual, giving it birth into the material universe, all for the purpose of slaying that cursed king. Its power had not diminished; its authority was higher than before. It would become a monarch of the sea of ​​souls, exercising supreme power until the eternal heat death of every atom in the universe ceased to move. It would become part of the gods' grand plan, just as it had destroyed countless advanced civilizations in the universe in the past; the destined races in the future timeline would now become its spoils.

"I will not die here, for I will live forever."

Even with its head pierced by the Guardian's Spear and its ankle firmly pinned to the ground by the Oath Dagger, it calmly spoke to the Royal Guard. Derrick was not surprised by the eccentric behavior of this aetheric entity; he did not intend to try to understand this incomprehensible thing with human reasoning. He only needed to resist it, banish it, and kill it. "This is fate, toy tin soldier." Sharp bone spikes and claws slowly seeped into Derrick's jewel-encrusted gold breastplate, piercing the flexible metal lining, piercing cables and circuits, until they finally broke through the skin and were stopped by the numerous scarred ribs. Derrick endured the pain without uttering a sound, which surprised the monster.

The two faces on the monster's chest, which had been closed, now opened their eyes.

It was taller and stronger than the Imperial Guard, but its body was completely different from that of humans.

"Even your master couldn't defy fate. Did He think that the ripples created by a stone thrown into the sea could stop the tides?"

Derrickson had sworn to the Emperor that he would never let go of his weapon. He pulled the trigger, the bullet flying from the barrel and striking the monster's face at close range. Blood splattered, the skull contents exploded instantly, and Derrickson stubbornly rolled over, grabbing the lance that was about to fall to the ground. Then he charged again at the monster whose head was rapidly regenerating, slashing the blade at its deformed skeleton, formed from its desecration of the sacred human body.

Black Bolt pushed open the door and saw his parents.

He recognized their faces as identical to those in his childhood memories. He saw his mother enter the greyish-white mist, while his father, King Argon of Attiland and chairman of the Genetics Committee, stood outside the thick glass walls, watching his wife, his mother Linda, enter the Terrigen Mist. Black Bolt realized he had read a document that explained this behavior in detail; after all, Terrigen Mist was highly toxic to everyone. His mother, Linda, possessed extraordinary abilities; while she hadn't been given a strong physique or powerful abilities, she was immune to toxic substances. Under King Argon's guidance, Linda used her abilities to filter the toxic substances from the secondary Terrigen Mist mutation, making it closer to the "primitive substance" produced by the Creator on the "World Farm" in Kree mythology, rather than the failed Terrigen (the specific mutation methods possessed by other clans were also clumsy imitations of the primitive substance by the Kree; commoners of the commoner clans could only use Terrigen Mist containing more impurities). She prevented any impurities or unstable mutations from entering her body and affecting the fetus in her womb. Linda could control the concentration of Terrigen chemicals in the fetus's brain.

This secondary mutation did not affect the second child born, his brother Maximus.

Thinking of his blood relative Maximus, Black Bolt recalled the time when, after learning to remain silent, his father allowed him to leave the quarantine zone. At that time, he was already destined to be King of Attilan, and his relationship with Maximus had grown increasingly close. He could even ignore Medusa, who was already destined to be queen, flirting with Maximus, because they were childhood friends, while he was merely an older brother born over a hundred years ago, who had only recently learned self-control, was allowed to leave the quarantine zone, and was always a potential threat to others. He knew Medusa was promiscuous, but compared to this cousin, he cared more about Maximus, a blood relative he had only heard about from within the quarantine zone.

The end of all close relationships can be attributed to Maximus's ambition. Even King Argon and Queen Linda died in the conspiracy orchestrated by Maximus, who colluded with Corboy to bring the Kree army to Fort Kree Star. Fortunately, Medusa and her family chose to oppose Maximus, ultimately thwarting his attempt to seize the throne and placing him on the throne of Attilan. They also helped him completely destroy the Kree Empire's spaceship. Apart from the Birdman clan, who lived atop the tower at the very top of Attilan and in the smallest settlement on the continent, few ordinary Attilan citizens were harmed. The Birdman clan, who had always lived apart from other clans and preferred a solitary life, and had not even participated in the Genetic Council, were unlikely to oppose Black Bolt's decision to succeed him and instead choose Maximus.

Outrage brought Black Bolt back to his senses. He found himself staring blankly into a dusty room, his comrades standing behind him. Only after a Ghost Clan gunner pointed it out did he notice the fleshy vines clinging to the floor, walls, and ceiling. These hardened vines emitted a cancerous stench and were expanding at an alarming rate, defying the law of conservation of mass. Even without touching the flesh, he could feel the chilling atmosphere in the room, which was deeply unsettling.

"Your Majesty, I suggest you stand back a bit so we can explore this place."

The temperature had dropped to a level that even the Ghost Clan, a war clan specifically designed for high-temperature and mountainous environments, could not tolerate. Naturally, the Centaurus Clan, designed for underwater environments, was extremely uncomfortable. The Electromechanical Expert's combat suit had no heating function, and the fin-like organs erected on its head and back had completely retracted. Therefore, it could only barely lift its shivering limbs and extend its frozen, purple fingertips to tug at Black Bolt's sleeve.

"We haven't found the reason for the temperature drop, but we found this in the previous room." It held up a sample bag; a wisp resembling muscle fiber was twitching inside the plastic bag, its end gradually hardening and losing its activity. Surprisingly, this was clearly not a neural reflex; it was as if the muscle fiber or something else was still alive, writhing like a parasite detached from its host, and constantly transforming into inorganic matter. In response to Black Bolt's gesture, the electromechanical expert said, "I don't know what those things attached to the walls are either; perhaps some kind of fungus, but my advice is not to touch anything you don't understand. We need some fire, and if you're careful enough, it might even clear a path for us. Let's not test the sealing capabilities of the combat suits."

Black Bolt made a gesture, then faced forward and gently opened his mouth.

The sound was almost inaudible, yet its effect was astonishing. The ever-expanding, even mountain-like, flesh and blood in the room was as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. Massive amounts of blood and flesh were forcefully pushed against the brick wall opposite the room by the powerful force. Within the flesh and blood that had been smashed open, one could vaguely make out things like floating chairs, steel bookshelves, filthy books, and even the mangled bodies of members of the Chimilian clan. The last thing was already lifeless; no Inhuman could possibly survive to this day with half of their waist blown open and then exposed to an oxygen-deprived mountain of flesh and blood. Black Bolt emitted another slight guttural sound. This time, the sound wave not only shattered the remaining flesh and blood in the passage but also blew out all the liquid in this temporary passage, completely revealing and cleaning up the original stone bricks.

Black Bolt briefly put aside his troubles, grinned, and gestured to his comrades with a hint of smugness.

He could guess that after hearing the electromechanical expert's idea, the others were prepared to see a room with a recessed passageway, and the sight before them would surely shock them. His prediction was correct; almost all the clan warriors stared at him in disbelief—the only time they had ever seen him use his abilities was when he rammed a Kree reconnaissance ship out of Attilan Fortress. Even then, they had only seen him utter a single word, not perform any intricate tasks—this ability was a skill he had honed over the years, as he needed to master it to leave the isolation room. But he had never had the opportunity to use it before; as the King of Attilan, he had never had the chance to demonstrate this non-combat ability to others, not even Medusa would know that his ability had other non-combat uses, and the tuning fork on his combat suit was not just a simple controller.

Perhaps the tower possessed some kind of power to influence people's hearts, or perhaps it was the carnage they had witnessed along the way; the higher they climbed, the more oppressive they felt. Black Bolt knew he absolutely could not show panic, especially here. The clan alliance squad needed a leader who could stabilize their morale and enable them to utilize their abilities, even if he didn't believe he possessed that ability. In previous battles, they had clashed with the invaders several times, but the enemy seemed particularly adept at concealing themselves, setting traps, and launching surprise attacks. They were often caught off guard by these ambushes; a Chimerian clan warrior and a villainous clan warrior had stepped into a trap and were never seen again. Black Bolt mourned for his warriors in his heart. He could sense that the enemy was a professional; all their attacks followed some kind of tactical doctrine. Attilan, on the other hand, had been at peace for so long that even its most elite warriors had not received much practical training or drills.

This forced him to consider why the invaders had come to Attilan.

Attacking Attilan from Earth would be extremely costly. As far as he knew, Earth's technology did not support large-scale mass delivery to the Moon. Using a gravity slingshot would increase the payload somewhat, but the personnel and logistical support would require significantly more due to the long flight time. Without a gravity slingshot, the launch window and location would need to be precisely calculated. All of this indicated that the power capable of sending a fleet to the Moon was no ordinary force; if necessary, no one would undertake a thankless task.

Could this matter really be related to the witchcraft of the Chimerian clan?

Or is it, as the Kree envoy told Maximus, that a major crisis is spreading to Earth? Humans have learned of this and discovered Attiland, thus considering it an enemy?

Black Bolt didn't think any further; now was not the time.

"Your Majesty, we made the right choice." The Ghost Clan warrior extended his claws, pointing to the cleared path of flesh and blood. Among the debris were several objects, one of which was a black mechanical box with four short, retractable supports. A glowing red probe adorned the top of the box. This was likely some kind of motion and energy detection device, definitely not an Attilan creation. After all, it was clearly a mass-produced industrial product; Attilan's production capacity was extremely limited, and they didn't have a production line for such an item. "The enemy definitely used this route." The Ghost Clan warrior pointed his gun forward. "I'll open the next door, Your Majesty. I believe the enemy is definitely nearby."

"Mother Evo." The deep green lizard bowed its head deeply, expressing its respect for the creature before it. "The clan's defense forces have suffered heavy losses, Mother Evo. We have lost the maintenance passage and airlock that we protected in cooperation with the civilian clans, and we have lost the accident site. Now the enemy is riding through the airlock in armored vehicles and is about to reach our settlement. I beg you, incite your people before them to fight to defend their homeland."

"Our weapons and ammunition stockpile?"

"Here you are, Matron Evo." The deep green lizard head rose, handing over the data panel. "Our weapon stockpile is sufficient for the entire clan. Although those weapons lack maintenance, they can still reach their original power after repair and adjustments."

"Tell the Gene Council that I need the weapons and ammunition reserves of every clan." Matriarch Evo shook her crimson lizard head. "Tell them that if we want to mobilize all Inhumans to fight the invaders, then we need to share the same weapons reserves."

"That's unlikely."

"Why?" Matriarch Evo's snake eyes widened. "What idiots would refuse?"

"Mother Medusa. Mother Medusa is now unable to make any decisions."

(End of this chapter)