Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1575 The Lunar War (Eighty-Seven)

I hope you can come here; I hope I can die with dignity.

Black Bolt closed his eyes, enduring the excruciating pain in his vocal cords. The bloody slaughter was spreading, and he was powerless to stop it. He watched as his people were dismembered and devoured by those monsters, their remaining body parts impaled on dark spikes, held aloft like banners. This gruesome sight fueled his rage, but he could do nothing, for survivors and soldiers remained huddled among the monsters, and any word he uttered would inevitably harm the innocent. He turned his head, opened his eyes, and found a figure radiating a warm, luminous aura standing beside him—a person who had watched the carnage below, his benevolent black eyes filled with anguish. When he looked at those monsters that seemed to come from hell, the hatred and indifference in his eyes burned like an erupting volcano. It was the pain and hatred of a benevolent being witnessing atrocity, an rage that almost materialized, stinging Black Bolt's cheek—without explanation, Black Bolt knew his identity.

"Was this within your expectations?" Black Bolt asked himself silently.

"Yes," the human king replied calmly. Even though he was just a phantom, he seemed like a real, existing entity. "This invasion is inevitable. I cannot allow it to happen on Earth, otherwise the scope of mental pollution will expand beyond control."

"How many of us will survive?"

"Only commoner clans and other clans have genetic technology researchers."

"This is what you wanted, genetic technology?" Black Bolt suddenly became angry. Although he could understand the actions of human rulers—he wouldn't ask such a naive question as why human lives were more valuable than Inhumans in the eyes of an emperor (they, as rulers, were inherently biased)—he still felt indignant. "You think this will allow you to fight the Black Order?"

"Not only the Dark Order, but also many more alien invaders to be eliminated, and many more extradimensional spiritual entities to be fought." The Emperor placed his hand on Black Bolt's shoulder. "I will reveal to you the birth of these extradimensional spiritual entities."

"Not now, I don't have time..."

Before Black Bolt could refuse, he was plunged into the illusion as if into water, the screams and wails around him seemingly separated by a thick layer of water. The flickering firelight accompanied his descent, growing ever more distant, until finally shrouded in black. He saw a figure raising a silver greatsword aloft, engulfed in black flames. Many horned monsters with bat wings behind them roared to the heavens, crowning the figure with an iron-black crown. Time seemed to freeze. Black Bolt tentatively took a few steps forward. He passed through the gaps between the terrifying creatures, feeling the foul heat emanating from them, then he climbed the platform to look at the figure wearing the iron-black crown. Even with the drastic change in appearance, Black Bolt recognized his blood brother at a glance. He found that Maximus had grown to nearly three meters tall, his once handsome face, always bearing a smug smile, was now covered in bloodstains, and his eyes, which had always concealed his thoughts, were now shrouded in pure energy and malice.

"Maximus? No, please don't let it be him." Black Bolt clenched his fists. "What on earth happened?"

"He was chosen as a vessel to hold the will behind the veil." Black Bolt suddenly realized that the emperor beside him, clad in golden armor, had changed. The once towering human king was now the same height as an ordinary person, wearing a tattered gray-black cloak, his eyes beneath it brimming with wisdom. "He is a tool. His purpose was decided before he was even born. Their original plan was to choose you, but your parents protected you so well that Maximus was born."

"What does this mean?"

"They were prepared many years ago. Whether I attacked Attilan before the Dark Order entered the solar system or whether Attilan decided to fight the Dark Order, they had a way to deal with it." The Emperor's voice came from under the thick cloak. "I interfered with his dream and the ritual from another dimension, but that did not change his fate. The ritual began before he was born; the present is the past, without continuity or causality."

Black Bolt was able to understand the Emperor's meaning.

During those long years of imprisonment, all he could do was read and study.

While the science inherited from the Kree Empire lacked fundamental science, the Attilan royal family, possessing only knowledge of applied science, used computers left behind by the Kree to fill the gaps in fundamental science that had been neglected due to war. Blackcard Burt's only pleasure came from learning; he also possessed extensive knowledge of quantum mechanics and relativity, although the terminology of the relevant theorems differed from that of Earth humans, with most being named after successive Attilan kings. King Argon also had a physical law named after him.

"You want me to kill him with my own hands?"

"Yes, this is the only way to break the deadlock," the Emperor replied calmly. "Maximus's fate is inextricably linked to yours. No matter how many prophecies have shown that I will miss the opportunity to fight him head-on for various reasons, and then he will come after you. You must find him first, Blackcard Bertgang. This is the only prophecy with an ambiguous outcome."

Blackcard Burt was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I have a few requests."

"Now you have my oath, the oath of a king." The emperor extended his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Blackcard Bertgang."

"Me too."

"Your Majesty?" The priestess looked at Maximus in confusion. She didn't understand why Maximus was staring at an empty space, where only rubble and mangled bodies lay scattered. A heavy armored vehicle belonging to the human army lay there, flames erupting from its interior, turning the glossy black armor into charcoal. The precision crystals inside the laser cannon barrel were shattered by the violent impact of the collapsed building. However, there were no corpses of the genetically modified soldiers of the human army around, only spent shell casings scattered everywhere.

"There's no one there, and no offerings as you need."

Maximus shook his head. His original clothes were no longer wearable; he was now clad in armor crafted by the Kree Empire for the Inhumans, the adaptive material barely fitting his current form. "Continue," he said, turning to the angel beside him. "Execute my tactics. Drive those swarms of gutter rats out of the lower decks and send them to assault the human army's defenses there. Grant them power if necessary, but let them know what truth truly is."

"My lord?"

"I'm fine, Constantine." The Emperor shook his head. "My ambush plan has failed. We must defeat them on this battlefield and drive them back to their own plane. But this is only their first probe. Summon the mage Hamil. I want to see the veterans stationed in the dimensional rifts. I will give them my final order. After completing their final mission, they can return to the dimensional rifts to remain vigilant for the movements of the gods."

"This task should be undertaken by us, my lord," Constantine said expressionlessly. "Mortals are weak and ultimately susceptible to corruption; the Eternal Watch should be carried out by the Royal Guard." He had seen the veterans of those dimensional rift observation stations; he was not unaware of their methods and wisdom. However, what Constantine said was an objective fact. Even battle-hardened veterans of the dimensional rifts were not immune to corruption. Even these sorcerers, chosen by the Sorcerer Supreme, the purest of hearts, could not help but waver in the face of the eternal, unchanging external watch. The Royal Guard could never be corrupted; this was an objective fact. Even in the heat death of the universe, the outer dimensional spiritual entities could never shake their will, for this was determined by their genetic alchemy; they possessed eternal loyalty and vigilance.

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(End of this chapter)