Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1609, Chapter 1605: The Lunar War (121)

"You're late."

Upon hearing the Commander of the Guard's words, Aparisha could only shrug. Every knight's power armor was splattered with blood, much of it still fresh from the blood that had seeped into the gaps in the armor plates. Standard procedure dictated a biochemical protective cleaning process to prevent radioactive dust and pathogens from entering critical facilities, but no one had the time or equipment for such a task. There were over five thousand cultists, and the special operations team consisted of fewer than thirty. To eliminate them all without a single one missing in a thirty-minute massacre was already considered highly efficient. Moreover, there were requirements to conserve ammunition, and those cultists were not unarmed; even the genetically modified warriors would feel exhausted.

Seemingly sensing the gaze of the Royal Guard, the Knight Commander, Lord of the First Army, pointed at the priestess being escorted by two battle sisters. "The leader of a cult, possessing psionic abilities, danger level Crimson," Aparishia said. "I got scratched several times by those giant claws for this thing."

Aparisha's tone suggested he was reminiscing about the exhilaration of wielding his battle axe.

Constantine could feel the surging blood and adrenaline in his veins, the tense yet relaxed muscles of Aparisha, and the frenzied slaughter and unrestrained rage. Although he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, Constantine was determined to carefully study the combat footage of the genetically modified warriors after the war. After all, the Emperor's cost-cutting measures would inevitably create certain flaws, and Maya Hansen's genetic laboratory would certainly be happy to improve the products and technology.

"We will hand her over to the Regent at the portal. The Regent promised me that the Sisterhood will preside over this heretic's trial in the Immortal City. We will make her thoroughly repent and cleanse her of all sins." The Royal Guards exchanged glances. They could roughly guess what Tita meant by repentance—nothing more than painful torture and fanatical rituals. They believed the Emperor maintained the Sisterhood's monastery for a social experiment, while also providing education and care for the small number of human female infants rescued from war-torn regions. Having completed their most important task, all the androids, including Tita, felt much more relaxed. She said in a light tone, "Let's go, the Regent is waiting for us at the portal."

Hammurabi carefully examined the woman's restraints.

The anti-psychic shock collar, mind-binding device, and other restraints were all functioning properly. Only after confirming that the female psychic could not possibly break free of the restraints did the Commander of the Royal Guard nod in agreement. During the preparations for the Battle of Attilan, many psychic restraint devices were on the inventory list. These were drawn from the Royal Guard's warehouses and were generally used to capture disobedient psychics from magical schools on Earth. Unless the Emperor gave his explicit approval, the Royal Guard would never neglect any security measures, especially since they were heading towards a rift in the material universe where psychics would be greatly enhanced. If Regent Victor von Doom hadn't told everyone that he was waiting for them there, Constantine would never have agreed to let such a dangerous person approach the portal.

The commander of the Royal Guard stared at Catherine with suspicion.

Compared to the priestess, all the guards, including Constantine, harbored suspicions about Catherine. Even though they trusted the Emperor implicitly and couldn't disobey any of his orders, Catherine's unusual behavior forced them to be suspicious. Catherine wasn't on the deck. She spread her steel wings; the now-dormant wings had cooled, the smell of hot metal and fuel had dissipated, but her black steel boots floated a few centimeters off the ground, and the radiance she emitted remained intensely bright.

They descended the spiral staircase.

Perhaps due to a deep-seated attachment to their homeland, the Inhumans of Attilan had set their gravity to be the same as Earth's. However, the gravity calculated by the power armor was gradually weakening, and the oxygen content was becoming increasingly scarce. Although they were close to the fusion reactor, the railings beside the spiral staircase, far too slender for the genetically modified warriors, were still covered in frost. This anomaly drew the attention of everyone present. "Psionic, we're getting closer. I hear some emotionally charged sounds, but the battlefield audio detector isn't picking up the sound waves." The genetically modified warrior, Zigglis, extended an arm holding a heavy-explosive machine gun. He pointed to his helmet, then to Catherine. "Getting closer to her will block out that sound. At least get closer to the beam's range."

"I'm finding it hard to fight this filth now. The deeper we go, the denser the filth becomes." Catherine, who hadn't spoken for a long time, finally spoke. "The power here is too strong. I'm just a limited vessel and can't bear too much of His power to fight against it."

"I heard it too, but it's just noise. Don't listen, don't think about it. There's no point in speculating about the purpose of this kind of witchcraft. Thinking about witchcraft is just falling into its trap," Hannibal said calmly. "As androids, you are vessels for our Lord to infuse with spiritual energy. There's no need to deify this behavior."

Guided by a reconnaissance drone, the special operations team encountered few enemies during their half-hour journey. If you included the mutants embedded in the walls, barely clinging to life, and the utterly insane and filthy aberrations, the team sped along without even emptying a single magazine. They discovered that someone had inscribed spells on the walls; even though it was just meaningless graffiti hidden beneath the filth, the knowledgeable Guards noticed these details.

As generations of mutants are born, grow up, age, and die here, their minds are subtly altered. This alteration further alienates their bodies and minds, until they possess extreme mutations and corrupt beliefs that even the mutants on the lower decks do not possess. If these incantations were inscribed before Fort Attilan was moved to the moon, it means that the cult influence of Fort Attilan had already permeated the entire fortress.

Catherine herself is the primary means of killing.

As she passed through, the radiant light would scorch their flesh and blood. After the chaotic energy of the non-material universe dissipated, physiological structures that shouldn't exist in the material universe would rapidly collapse and disintegrate. If Constantine hadn't constantly urged her, Catherine might have stopped, her noble face filled with compassion, and offered these mutants a release. They were all victims of the portal. The portal released excessive aetheric energy, completely disrupting reality here and the minds of these mutants who already lived miserable lives. These mutants had gone completely mad; their bodies merged with the malevolent aether, their flesh and blood, exceeding the limits of human genetic mutation, turning into amorphous clumps. Even if they themselves were unaware, their souls continued to suffer torment.

These victims were originally human; they should have stood with the Emperor, but their tragic fate led them to this state. As the Emperor's servant, she had a duty to release them, to let them die as human beings, but she now had a more important task to complete. She would pray to the Emperor for these unfortunate people, praying that her mission would bring them liberation upon completion.

"I'm glad you brought her."

Regent Victor von Doom stood on the vast deck, his dark green cloak billowing in the energy torrents emanating from the portal. He wore no helmet, his greyish-white hair falling across his temples. His eyes were coldly fixed on the swirling, deforming, and exploding psionic incantation within the portal—an irregularly shaped oval fissure from which filthy, deep purple energy constantly surged and dissipated. Even a fleeting glimpse was enough to send chilling howls straight into one's mind; even with eyes closed, the nascent, twisted claws, tentacles, and bony plates within the portal would be deeply etched beneath the eyelids, mingling with the dizzying flashes of pink and blue light into a nauseating cacophony—each geometric shift beyond three dimensions in the incantation triggered an energy burst behind the portal. Though they couldn't understand the raging demonic language, the others could sense the fury emanating from it.

"I've temporarily sealed this portal with a spell." Regent Victor von Doom held the staff bestowed upon him by the Emperor, pure flames blazing on the wings of a golden eagle. Even those without psionic talent could sense the immense power of this flame; thanks to the firelight, the defilement the special operations team had witnessed on this deck was absent. "This won't last long. I need the secrets in her mind. We must completely close the portal; this star fortress cannot have any weaknesses."

"Your Excellency, you promised us..."

Victor von Doom looked at the priestess who had awakened from her pain. Perhaps the priestess, Feliel, had understood the regent's meaning in her hazy state, or perhaps the being behind the veil had revealed her fate to her. The priestess Feliel opened her shattered jawbone, revealing a blood-soaked smile, and uttered muffled laughter from her bleeding mouth.

"The gods promised me... I will reach the divine realm." She opened her blood-stuck eyes and glimpsed the enormous portal in the distance. She had a feeling that the portal was inextricably linked to her body and soul; with each breath she took, the edges of the portal would slowly move, like ripples on the surface of a pond. However, these ripples released terrifying energy and dazzling light; staring at them for too long could even burn her eyes. Yet, she still stared wide-eyed, even as an unbearable itch slowly spread from behind her eyes, as if thousands of tiny tentacles were burrowing into her eyeballs.

"Catherine, you know your mission."

Victor von Doom ignored Priestess Ferrier's laughter. He stopped Tita with a look, for the latter was attempting to kill Priestess Ferrier on the spot. The Sisterhood Commander understood the cultist's intentions. The Regent had brought Priestess Ferrier here to completely close the portal; it was highly likely that Priestess Ferrier would be sent behind the portal, conforming to the destiny revealed to her by the evil god.

Upon hearing the Regent's words, Catherine nodded solemnly.

The emperor had already informed her of the mission she was undertaking.

“We need to seal the portal from both the inside and outside. This cult priest is both the portal and the key,” Catherine said. “We need a key. Attilan Fortress is humanity’s future war fortress, and He wishes to eliminate this weak point in the material universe.”

“Yes. We need the keys, but not all of them.” Regent Victor von Doom calmly looked at Priestess Feliel, then at the somewhat impatient Chief Commander of the Sisterhood. “Tita, you will get what you want.”

"What are your plans?"

Regent Victor von Doom reached out and placed his hand before Priestess Furiel, whose face was contorted with pain, anger, and longing. Two fleshy objects fell into his palm. They were two slightly hardened spheres, tinged with blood, from which countless tiny, fleshy tentacles extended. The moment they touched Victor's hand, these tiny, crimson tentacles eagerly sought to burrow into the armor's weak points. Tita looked up and saw that where Priestess Furiel's eyes had once been were now empty; numerous tiny, crimson tentacles, seemingly nerve plexuses, were prying open her withered eyelids, probing into the air outside her eyes.

"This is the key to the soul." Regent Victor von Doom tore an eyeball that was trying to escape his grasp from his armor. "Her soul is both the door and the key, and we will use her soul to close that door."

(End of this chapter)