Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 212 Excalibur (Second Update!)

Compared to Captain America, who focuses on rescue—in this timeline—Salomon is more focused on hunting large animals, even abandoning the Chitauri soldiers who fly around aimlessly. If he happens to encounter one, he doesn't mind running it over on horseback, but if they just pass each other, Salomon won't turn back to chase. This approach is very effective. Although Salomon can't kill a giant beast with a single shot every time, several charges are enough to change its flight path. Whether it's the constantly swaying fishbone tail or the back covered in artificial metal armor, he inflicts pain on the giant beast every time, and its constantly writhing body creates good opportunities for him to kill it.

He had seen Hulk jump into the top floor of Stark Tower, so he followed him in and used Kamar-Taj prison-specific handcuffs to seal Loki's spellcasting abilities—however, he couldn't kill him. Although the agreement with the Asgardians hadn't been reached yet, under the reputation of the Allfather and the Sorcerer Supreme, the matter was already settled and couldn't be changed by Salomon.

The distant explosion brought Salomon's attention back to reality. He looked up and saw lightning shooting upwards through the portal above New York City. Powerful electrical energy clung to the metallic surface of the still-emerging behemoth, inflicting immense pain on the half-machine, half-flesh creature. The engines and other machinery within its body sparked under the high-voltage current, and it exploded into a charred mess of metal and flesh, blasting the other behemoth in two. One half of the wreckage drifted into the dark depths of space, while the other half, pulled by gravity, plummeted from 50,000 feet, crashing heavily onto buildings near Stark Tower. Brick and steel shattered and twisted, kicking up a cloud of dust, as if a massive explosion had just occurred.

"I've been looking for you, wizard boy." Stark landed in front of Salomon, his armor bearing obvious scratches, even more than Salomon's. The arcane mage recognized the tone immediately—this Stark was a younger version of himself in this timeline, a Stark with a lighthearted tone, a Stark still carefree. "Why didn't you connect to the communication channel?" Stark lifted his visor, unable to resist complaining. "Or are you trying to slack off? Well, I can understand that, after all, you're still a minor."

"No, Stark." The arcane mage's voice was low, almost drowned out by the explosion from the next block and the distant rumble of a behemoth. "No, Stark." Salomon cleared his throat; after a long hunt, his mouth was dry, but he refused to show weakness in front of people he didn't know well. "I won't slack off; I just don't have my headphones."

"Poor kid," Stark joked, seemingly wanting a break himself. Thanks to Thor and Salomon's hunt of the behemoths, the situation on the battlefield had improved considerably, and Stark allowed himself thirty seconds to rest. "You did a good job." He had seen Salomon's efforts; even as the behemoths plummeted, the arcane mage would conjure shields to protect those below. It was said that Salomon would cut off the heads of his enemies as trophies, but Stark was somewhat pleased that he wasn't doing so now.

That was absolutely barbaric.

"Tired?"

"No." Salomon didn't turn around, but instead peered at the surrounding battlefield through the slits in his helmet. He saw it; the smaller Hulk was the future Bruce Banner, pretending to smash things around. Where were the future Stark and the future Captain Rogers? Salomon couldn't see them.

"Let's get moving... See that big guy? Give me a hand, okay?"

The arcane mage nodded silently. Stark quickly took off, using a heat decoy to draw the behemoth's attention. Salomon also propelled Pegasus forward; he first flew upwards, then Pegasus retracted its wings, carrying the arcane mage in a rapid descent. "Well done, little guy," Stark whistled. He saw the behemoth pinned to the ground, struggling in its death throes. As he fired pulse cannons from his palm, killing the Chitauri soldiers crawling out of the behemoth's belly hatch, he said to Salomon, "Superpowers are so convenient. If you don't mind, could you help me take care of these ugly creatures?"

"I don't have time, Stark." The arcane mage frequently looked up at the New York City skyline. "Time is almost up."

"When?"

"The time for politicians to betray us. Stark, are those turnips growing on your shoulders? How could politicians not intervene in something this big?" Salomon casually directed Pegasus to trample the approaching Zeta Swiss soldiers, his attention fixed on the horizon.

"What are they going to do?"

"A nuclear bomb," the sorcerer said. "They want to launch a nuclear bomb."

"Shit! How did you know about this?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Fury, tell me, the Magic Boy's information is wrong."

"He's telling the truth, Stark. The Council just passed a resolution to launch a nuclear weapon at New York—but don't worry, I won't agree to that stupid proposal." Nick Fury's voice was always reassuring in crucial moments, but this time was different; Stark wanted Nick Fury to reassure him repeatedly. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. did as he was told, but Stark still couldn't shake his unease.

He knew what bureaucrats were like: they would abuse their power as much as possible, prolong procedures as much as possible, and make a simple matter incredibly complicated. Important matters were often missed, while decisions made by bureaucrats on a whim often passed quickly. Don't trust bureaucrats—that was Stark's hard-earned lesson.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked Salomon. "Nick Fury is a smart man, but he alone isn't enough."

"I have a way." Salomon waved his hand. "Give me a pair of headphones, and I'll make those bureaucrats regret it for the rest of their lives."

"What are you planning to do?" Stark asked again.

"I plan to open a portal and place the nuclear bomb in the White House basement," the arcane mage blinked. "Or the Pentagon, you can choose."

"No! Don't joke around, Salomon Damonette!"

"Okay, I plan to put the nuclear bomb in the mirror dimension. There's no signal there, so the nuclear bomb won't detonate."

"That's still some good news."

The communication channel crackled, the portal severely disrupting signal transmission. "I... can close the portal here." Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s transmission path was still intact, and Agent Romanoff's voice came through the headset.

"Stark, bad news," Nick Fury's voice came through the headset. "A plane has taken off without permission..."

"Great." Stark activated his thrusters, his tone resigned. "What are you planning to do?"

"Close the portal." Salomon had Pegasus turn around and start jogging towards Stark Tower. "The Chitauri are cyborgs; they can still move even if the portal is closed. Only destroying their mothership will stop them."

"Then we need that nuclear bomb."

Pegasus began to flap his wings and accelerate, with Stark close behind Salomon, his voice amplified to the sorcerer's ears. "No need," Salomon said. "I have something better than a nuclear bomb."

When the arcane mage brought Pegasus to a stop on the top floor of Stark Tower, the resulting gust of wind nearly knocked Agent Romanoff over, but the woman magnanimously forgave such a minor incident. In her hand she held the Mind Stone scepter, its tip having just pierced the protective energy field of the Tesseract.

"Is it okay?" she asked. Eric Scharvig, standing to the side, was extremely nervous, desperately wanting to atone for his actions. "This is a backdoor I left," he said. "It was something I left unconsciously; I never expected it to work."

"Don't worry, Professor Saviorg, you're my mentor's mentor." Salomon dismounted and stood beside the device that opened the portal. He carefully examined this seemingly high-tech thing—please forgive his crude terminology, as he really didn't understand thermonuclear physics.

"I heard a nuclear bomb," Agent Romanov asked. "What are you planning to do?"

"I need to take care of what's on the other side of the portal before I can deal with the nuclear bomb." Salomon handed Professor Sulverg the lance and shield, the heavy weapons and armor nearly causing him to trip. "Remember to step back a bit and close your eyes. I've already sent Stark to track down that plane that took off without permission." The arcane mage removed his visor, revealing his long, black, curly hair again. He was covered in sweat, but his expression was relaxed, because this was the last task the Sorcerer Supreme had given him. Although it wasn't easy, he could finally slack off after it was done.

Agent Romanov and Professor Saviger stepped aside as instructed. Salomon drew his longsword, gripped it with both hands, and uttered the oath for the first time. Immediately afterward, Agent Romanov and Professor Saviger witnessed the most magnificent light they had ever seen in their lives.

"The Thirteen Seals are Released, the Round Table Council Begins!"

"admit!"

Countless golden points of light erupted from Salomon's body, and they saw twelve golden pillars of light surrounding him. The spectacle even surpassed the thunder that Thor had unleashed, and the resulting gale was so fierce that it lifted Salomon's heavy armor. Agent Romanov and Professor Saviger clung tightly to their lances planted in the ground to avoid being blown away.

"I hereby declare!"

"This is not a war that deviates from humanity."

"Gareth—confirmed—"

"This is not a battle with the elves."

"Lancelot—confirmed—"

"This is a war to punish evil."

"Mordred—confirmed—"

"This is not a fight for personal gain."

"Galahad—confirmed—"

"This is a fight for survival."

"Kai—confirmed—"

"This is a battle in pursuit of truth."

"Agravivan - Confirmed -"

The voice, seemingly emanating from the heavens, resounded in the ears of everyone in New York City. Everyone heard the Round Table Council's resolution, and they looked up to see the radiance emanating from the top of Stark Tower. The light emanating from the sword grew increasingly intense, and when Salomon uttered the final oath, the radiance even surpassed the sunlight for a fleeting moment.

"This is a battle to save the world."

"Arthur—cough cough, has it started? Confirmed!"

Aside from a slightly odd moment when the final seal was broken, the rest of the ceremony was extremely solemn and majestic, and Salomon didn't pay much attention to this minor oversight. After all, the Sorcerer Supreme was currently roasting beef, and he needed to hurry back so he might be able to have a serving himself.

"This is the battle for the revival of Camelot!"

"Ex—calibur!!!!!"

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(End of this chapter)