Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 189 Joint Hunting Operation (First Update!)

Beneath the deep night sky, a colossal dragon shaped like shadow spread its wings amidst the still-warm sandstorm of the day. Its pitch-black shadow obscured the stars, casting an even deeper darkness over the shimmering desert. The dragon soared high, above the clouds, reveling in the dry, cold clouds and the howling wind rushing past its ears and horns. As it passed through the clouds, the wispy moisture condensed on its scales due to its body heat. Then, with the movement of its scales and the extreme cold, it froze, shattered, and fell, evaporating again in the air, finally returning to its original state as wispy clouds.

He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of flying, something he could never experience while riding a flying broomstick. The wings truly felt like they were part of his body; he could even feel the air rushing past his skin. Oh! There were some small holes in his wings, but it didn't matter; they would heal, because they were just wings made of shadow.

The shadow dragon's jaws, filled with sharp teeth, clashed a few times. Then, quite humanely, it scraped its interlocking fangs with its forepaws and licked between its teeth with its long, thin tongue. Something fell out—a tattered burrito? And what else? A half-smoked cigar and a twisted metal lighter. No wonder its breath tasted like kerosene. It seems hiding things under the tongue isn't a reliable method. The cigar stolen from Enzo is now useless, and the burrito is inedible too. What a pity.

A black man in a black leather jacket stood in the desert, looking up at the night sky with his single eye. Perhaps because even a dragon appears small above the clouds, the man saw nothing. Even when he brought his binoculars close to his eyes, his single eye could see nothing. Nick Fury glanced impatiently at his phone—the appointed time was approaching, why wasn't he here yet—until a metal lighter fell from the sky at incredible speed, creating a small crater in the sand in front of him. Only then did he notice the dragon swooping and circling above him.

"Monther F*uck!" Before he could finish speaking, the dragon crashed to the ground like a truck with its brakes failed, sending sand flying everywhere, as if a new sandstorm was sweeping across the area. When Nick Fury took off his leather jacket to shield himself from the sand, his collar and pockets were already full of sand and gravel.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Salomon stood up from the ground with a deep scratch, spitting out kerosene-smelling saliva. "It's my first time being a dragon, so I'm a little clumsy. I promise I'll be fine next time."

"You're a dragon?" Nick Fury slapped his head, trying to clear the sand from his ears. "Aren't you human?"

"I am human. That dragon was just magic," the sorcerer said matter-of-factly, brushing the sand off his body. "It's my new spell, don't be surprised. If you're this surprised every time you see a new spell, I suggest you get your heart checked, because there are many more things that will surprise you in the future."

The spell just now was called "Shadow Dragonform," created by a kobold archmage named Hechron. There's a third-circle spell called "Basic Dragonform," which transforms a person into a miniature pseudo-dragon. To transform into a normal-sized dragon, there are sixth-circle transmutation spells: Lesser Dragonform and Dragonform. However, sixth-circle spells are a bit too difficult for Salomon at his current level, and he doesn't possess any dragon scales. As a compromise, this fourth-circle spell is quite good, and it's also less likely to be seen in the dark.

"Do you think I'd be scared to death by those trivial matters? I'm Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Let's go, time waits for no one, that monster has already run quite far." Salomon patted the long scabbard tied to his left waist, which was the longer part of the Fallen Leaf Twin Blades; the short sword was sheathed in the leather scabbard on his right. Below the scabbard were four light, silver metal cylinders tied together side by side, filled with parchment. If one had good eyesight, one could even see the tiny writing and delicate, intricate geometric patterns on the parchment.

"I'm only letting you watch my hunt out of respect for you—of course, it's also to show you just how much trouble your experiments have caused." The arcane mage suddenly sounded a bit annoyed. This was considered overtime work, because Kamar-Taj really wasn't very manpower lately.

Morduna transferred some of the deacons from the New York Temple, and Kasiriosna transferred others. The London and Hong Kong Temples were searching for ancient ruins in the Vangoda Mountains and hunting down cultists in East Africa. The remaining mages were either stationed at the Temples or transferred to the Americas to hunt down extradimensional beings brought by the Cosmic Cube. The mages still able to work at headquarters were either apprentices who had recently signed contracts or too old to walk. Salomon's order to work overtime by the Sorcerer Supreme was a reluctant measure.

He had finally managed to explain to Bayonetta last week that the matter of Natasha Romanoff wasn't what she thought, but rather about restoring Natasha's health. However, due to some minor misunderstandings, he was currently busy appeasing the witch and had no time to hunt monsters. But the Sorcerer Supreme's orders were inviolable, so Salomon had to take a few days off from school and return to the United States to start working overtime.

Not in a good mood, Salomon also contacted Nick Fury. After all, there was no reason to leave the culprit alone and let Kamar-Taj clean up the mess, right? He needed to make this guy see the trouble he had caused so that he would be more careful next time, otherwise Nick Fury would eventually blow up the planet.

"What monster?" Nick Fury patted the jeep beside him. "Look at this! An M3E1 recoilless rifle, standard rate of fire 6 rounds per minute, capable of firing various 84mm caliber ammunition. I brought armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds. Simple to use, highly destructive. This thing is better than your melee weapons. Your so-called monsters are useless against modern firearms. This is a victory for human technology."

"I agree, that's what the Sorcerer Supreme would have wanted to see." The sorcerer placed a sculpture of a white horse on the ground. Before working overtime, he had made a special trip to the stables at Kamar-Taj headquarters, offering Pegasus's help in exchange for two bottles of single malt whisky (nobody knew why the horse wanted to drink single malt whisky). Since following Salomon, the horse had become accustomed to freedom, not only increasing its daily appetite but also diversifying its diet, from grass to meat, from desserts to alcohol—it could eat anything a human could eat.

In contrast, Pegasus's weight was also gradually increasing.

"But," Salomon changed the subject, looking at Nick Fury, "if you miss, nothing happens! Don't you understand?"

"Why are you suddenly so agitated? And what are you doing? I've already driven the car over!"

"Against extradimensional beings, kinetic weapons might be somewhat effective, but those monsters don't exist in the prime material plane. We need to go to the spirit world," Salomon said to himself. At that moment, Pegasus was also summoned.

"What's going on with this horse?! Could this horse be Pegasus? Are you doing this on purpose? This is the Pegasus Base! Tell me, who exactly are we facing as an enemy?!"

"That's a monster that escaped from a lower plane. It's hard to say whether it was lured here or fled. But in any case, the moment it stepped into the Prime Material Plane, it became my enemy! I will hunt it down relentlessly until... let me check the time... um, until I have to go to school in twelve hours. So, Nick Fury, we only have twelve hours to find it and kill it!"

"I understand, I've allocated more time than that, but could you please get down from the roof first?"

Salomon obediently climbed down from the roof of the carriage and then sat on Pegasus's back. This horse hated saddles and required extremely high riding skills from its rider. Fortunately, Salomon practiced riding diligently every day at the Sorcerer Supreme's request, and Pegasus was cooperative enough that he could now ride steadily with the golden reins in his hands.

"That Hell Breath Sprugger will lurk in the dreams, and we must force it out. It will disguise itself in all sorts of forms, both living and inanimate, and I hope you won't hold back."

"I'm an agent, and I'll do what I believe is right," Nick Fury said coldly.

"Very good, that's the kind of helper I need." Salomon nodded. "Next, we'll head to the nearest town. The Hell Breather Sprugg is there, and I've already prepared the spell to deal with it. If we run into the police, that's your problem."

Please vote! Did anyone spot the Char Aznable reference?

(End of this chapter)