Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 226 The Devil's Demand (Second Update)

Salomon brought the newly completed alchemical android here to test its intelligence. Everyone in Kamar-Taj knows its origins, making testing impossible there. Therefore, this funeral also became an exam to verify if the alchemical android could pass the Turing Test. He and Stark were the examiners. He even wanted to take Dinah to see Jarvis, allowing the alchemical android, with its weak AI and intelligence no different from a normal human, to communicate with it.

Diana communicates seamlessly with ordinary people, her slight awkwardness masked by her alchemical body. However, due to her seemingly aloof nature, her interactions with others often fall into an awkward silence. Whenever this happens, the homunculus sends a plea for help via telepathy to Salomon. Salomon watches anxiously, even wanting to rush over and offer encouragement—placing Homunculus's alchemical soul within the meticulously crafted construct is far too difficult. Incompatibility often results in the body failing to accurately express the homunculus's actions and thoughts, unable to manipulate the bionic muscles of the face to perform corresponding movements. Furthermore, to prevent the uncanny valley effect, Salomon chose to make the construct's expressions and body movements indistinguishable from those of a normal person. To achieve this, he consulted numerous anatomical works and papers; a mishap was absolutely unacceptable.

"How much programming work have you actually done? I think your output is about the same as Jarvis's," Stark asked quietly. "What models do you use for natural language processing? Jarvis is still using the bag-of-words model; I think I could upgrade it. Your Diana is about as intelligent as Jarvis, but just a few days ago, she was a metal skeleton."

"The intelligence of alchemical artificial lifeforms is no different from that of ordinary people, at least after the alchemical soul was implanted. The tests are just for verification." Salomon picked up his champagne and took a sip; this was the only drink he, a minor, could afford. He looked at the mecha girl clumsily comforting Audrey not far away. "I don't know why, but my creations always seem a bit clumsy. Her asking me to introduce other people seems to be her greatest courage. Captain Rogers is already suspicious; he suspects that Dinah is something I created. His test score doesn't need to be recorded anymore."

"Okay~" Stark took out his phone and crossed out Captain Rogers' comment. "When are you going to let Dinah and Jarvis communicate?" he asked. "Maybe this can promote the progress of the two AIs."

"Alchemy-based artificial lifeforms are not artificial intelligence," Salomon corrected slightly, then said, "Not today."

"Of course, today is Agent Coulson's funeral," Stark nodded in reply.

"No, not tomorrow either."

"Why?" Stark seemed somewhat surprised by the answer.

"I'm busy, and I don't feel comfortable letting her go to your villa alone. Don't tell me you don't want to separate her; I know what you're thinking. But let me tell you, she's a cyborg; she doesn't use any screws."

After the funeral, Salomon took Dinah back to Kamar-Taj. He simply didn't have the guts to bring the alchemical lifeform back to the witch's apartment, especially after he'd made Dinah so erotic; his courage in the face of the witch had vanished instantly. Although this wasn't a solution, he figured he could just wait it out, and prepare himself mentally, because Bayonetta's little whip really hurt. Salomon had Dinah sit on the bed, then placed the cat in her lap, telling her to wait there for him to return—and so Dinah sat there obediently, hugging the Cheshire Cat, saying nothing.

The arcane mage was conflicted. He hadn't figured out which faction the androids belonged to, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Master..." Salomon hurriedly spoke upon seeing the Venerable One, but the Sorcerer Supreme seemed to have known what his disciple wanted to say, so he reached out his hand to tell Salomon not to rush.

"I know, I know," the Venerable said. "Modu has already told me what you said in your text message."

"A person who had been dead for several days came back to life, and not through magic but through drugs." Salomon sat on the cushion and recounted the entire process of Agent Coulson's resurrection. He believed that his resurrection spell hadn't actually brought Agent Coulson's soul back; the spell had at most restored Agent Coulson to a near-death state. The soul's return to the body only occurred after the use of drugs. Therefore, he concluded: "I suspect that hell has intervened in this."

"Hmm." The Sorcerer Supreme didn't give a direct answer, but instead posed a question, "What was your purpose in casting the spell on Agent Coulson?"

"Because Agent Coulson might save the world in the future." Salomon pointed to his eyes, then to the silver key hanging on his chest, "and his resurrection is destined to be done using GH325. My spell only accelerated the process; it wasn't the decisive factor."

"What you see, I've seen in the Eye of Agamotto as well. Agent Coulson's future achievements will save the entire Earth, except that's what Coulson did without sacrificing himself on the Helicarrier. In another possibility, Agent Coulson will only be seriously injured, not dead," the Sorcerer Supreme said. "So, given the possibility of the same catastrophe, what would you choose to do?"

"Resurrect Agent Coulson."

"That's right." The Venerable nodded. "So I made a deal with Mephisto to get Agent Coulson's soul back from Hell. Between two evils, I chose the lesser. This is a comparison between Mephisto's deal and the great catastrophe that will happen in the future. I had no choice."

"So what does Mephisto want to do?" Salomon agreed with the Sorcerer Supreme's approach. Compared to the impending annihilation, making a deal with the devil seemed insignificant. However, Salomon believed that even if the Sorcerer Supreme hadn't left Mephisto many loopholes, the old devil would certainly find a way to achieve his goals.

“An incarnation,” said the Supreme Master. “Mephisto wants us to send one of his incarnations on Earth back to Hell.”

"Huh?" Salomon could hardly believe his ears. "Why?" he asked. "Wasn't Mephisto happy to place his avatars on Earth?"

"This touches on the theory of idols. For example, why is the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son a Trinity?" The Sorcerer Supreme seemed to be alluding to something. "Not every incarnation is willing to be a salesperson. The demon incarnation we saw last time was the most dedicated, which is why he died the fastest. One demon incarnation left offspring on earth, the offspring of the Demon King. If that incarnation usurped the offspring's body, then the Demon King, the demon incarnation, and the demon's son would be a Trinity, no different from the incarnation of Jesus. The demon's son, whose body was usurped, would possess Mephisto's powers on earth. Mephisto is no benevolent fellow; he wouldn't allow an incarnation to usurp his power."

"So...we have to help Mephisto retrieve his avatar."

"I only signed the contract on behalf of myself, not you, Salomon." The Venerable smiled and winked. "By telling you what happened, I mean I'm fulfilling the contract—Mephisto must know that too, but he has no choice. Every day that passes increases the chances of his avatar usurping his power. He also knows that I will prevent this from happening in order to keep the devil out of the mortal realm. Although he still has Ghost Rider in the mortal realm, everyone knows Ghost Rider's true nature, especially Johnny Blaze. The vengeful spirit within him is no simple matter. If Mephisto wants to reclaim his avatar and power, he won't send Ghost Rider."

"So what should we do?"

"Of course, we should let Mephisto lose both his money and his life. Between two evils, we should choose the lesser one. The old devil has no choice."

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(End of this chapter)