Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 239 Population Allocation (First Update!)

"I am the Messiah, I am the saint walking on the earth." Salomon spread his arms, standing before the black priest as depicted in Raphael's famous painting, "The Transfiguration," except that he lacked the clouds beneath his feet and the presence of Moses and Elijah beside him. But this was irrelevant, for he had already untied three stigmas and one of the silver clasps on the burial cloth. His status was rising, and he believed that this somewhat capable clergyman, who had found the Ghost Rider, should be able to discern something from him.

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Father, if you wish to show your piety, you should bow now," he said. "It is said that the entire wizarding world knows that I was born seventeen years ago, and that I am the real-life Harry Potter. If you can find Johnny Blaze, it means you have some connection to magic, so you should have heard of it."

"Sixteen years, and Christmas hasn't even arrived yet." Father Moru looked up, staring at Salomon. "Sixteen years ago, in New York, someone ascended to heaven. When we got there, the woman was gone, the child was gone, and all we found in the parking lot was gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Someone greeted the child's birth with the rites of a king, priest, and savior. We spoke with that priest, and if you are that child, then you are the one we've been searching for. It seems you were adopted by the wizard who stole the Shrine of Relics, so you haven't fully mastered your powers yet. Look at yourself now. Can you turn water into wine? Can you cure leprosy? Can you calm storms? Can you walk on water?"

"It's not impossible to try. My father, who abandoned me and took my mother's life, gave me a lot of things that taught me, and I feel that I can definitely do these things in the future—at least I can turn water into wine now." Salomon shrugged, and his holy aura quickly disappeared—he wouldn't activate too many holy marks for too long. Ever since he was burned and his skin peeled off when he was eight years old, he had developed this habit, and it wouldn't be good to go bald again.

However, his answer was met with disdain from Father Moru. "Not with magic, but with your own power! Look at you now, you reek of fucking magic! Now, have your men release me, then come with me, and I will help you get back on the right path. And what the hell is this, a piece of printed paper?"

Salomon gestured for the android to release the black priest. Moru stood up and rubbed his shoulders. "This woman's fucking strong." He took the paper Salomon handed him with a skeptical look. "What's this? A high school report card?"

"My theology grades, even though I read the 1611 King's revised Bible, I think that speaks for itself. Please forgive me, I don't mean to show off my grades in front of the Sunday school students, I just had a holiday before doing this." The sorcerer waved the photograph in his hand. "Now, I'm looking for this boy. Or rather, I'm looking for someone who needs this boy."

"Excuse me, excuse me, may I say something?" Johnny Blaze rubbed his eyes and walked over. Earlier, when Salomon unleashed his Stigmata, he had seen a dazzling white light emanating from Salomon, completely calming the vengeful spirit within him, and instantly dispelling the hatred that haunted his soul. But this was temporary; after the light faded, the feeling slowly returned.

"What exactly do you want to do?" he asked. "And what am I supposed to do to get rid of that mad spirit?"

“I can help you.” Father Moru gestured for Salomon to be quiet for the moment. “I can help you get rid of the demon inside you, but only if you help me find that boy. Where is the photo… Give me the photo… This boy is the child of the demon you made the deal with. You have connections with that demon. Follow your instincts, and you will find him. We must find the boy and save him, because the demon’s body has decayed, and he needs a new body to contain his evil soul.”

"That's exactly what I'm after. This won't be the first Mephisto incarnation I encounter, nor the only one to have left offspring on Earth. There's also a Mephisto son in New York; he's now Kamar-Taj's economic and legal advisor, managing a portion of the assets." Salomon chimed in. "Karmar-Taj might not necessarily be a threat to this Tyflin, but our main target is Mephisto. I know he has many aliases, but his real name, pronounced this way in human language, is..."

"Are there other children of the devil in this world?"

"Hmm, there are many things in the world that those who hide in the mountains studying the Bible don't know," Salomon said with a slight sarcasm towards the black priest. "This matter isn't as simple as you think. If Mephisto's incarnation transferred his soul into his offspring's body, then he would be a Trinity—I don't need to elaborate on the Trinity, do I? Unless you sold your Bible for alcohol, or betrayed Catholicism and converted to the French Cleans or the Polish Brotherhood (both Protestant denominations), you must have studied it."

"And you still haven't answered my question," Salomon pointed at Johnny Blaze, "Is someone helping you cover your tracks?"

"Finding him was easy for me; he's been hanging around here," the black priest said. "The magic's not working anymore, huh? Our organization has the technological power and money to hack into a few cameras and facial recognition. We've been tracking him ever since he appeared on television. We are the real Roman Catholic Church, the Inquisition that rules the world. We are accountable only to the real Pope, not some old man elected after taking bribes. Do you think your wizarding organization has that kind of power?"

Salomon rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to the priest's self-praise.

"Oh, no, right?" Father Moru twirled around the sorcerer with tiny, dancing steps. "You should come to our organization to learn; that's your destiny. Once this is over, you'll be learning from me."

"Dream on, you bunch of little boys who want to fuck boys." Salomon shoved the annoying guy aside and said to the android, "Dina, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be here soon. Talk to Agent Romanoff and see if she can hold off the action team."

"Yes, Master."

"No, I can't do it, Salomon." Natasha's helplessness was palpable through the receiver. "The team has already set off. The World Security Council wants an enhanced human—don't ask why it's called that stupid name, that's what they call it. Bruce Banner is with Stark, the captain has Nick Fury protecting him, Thor is an alien, so the World Security Council wants an enhanced human they can control. Johnny Blaze is perfect; he has passion, he has ability, he's the perfect target. Besides, Fury is leading this operation himself; I can't let the Airbus slow down."

"But the targets I assigned to S.H.I.E.L.D. were those devil-worshipping cults and various arms dealers, not Ghost Rider. Why don't you just have the World Security Council go after Abomination? He's probably still on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s blacklist right now." Salomon idly rubbed the plastic bag under his shoe. Father Morru stood not far away, watching him with a mocking expression, occasionally taking a swig of his drink.

"You told Diana you wanted to talk to me, but this is how it turned out."

"Your android only ever repeats the same few phrases; talking to her won't solve anything. Besides, Abomination is extremely uncontrollable, and the World Security Council doesn't trust her."

The arcane mage pursed his lips. He wondered why the deacons of Kamar-Taj hadn't shown up yet. Perhaps they had already found Mephisto's avatar? Salomon couldn't be sure; he'd have to confirm in the next call. "The same goes for Ghost Rider," he said. "If he insists on having Ghost Rider, then I can only wish him good luck—trying to control something that's impossible to control, typical S.H.I.E.L.D. style."

"There's another way, which is to reveal your identity. Nick Fury anticipated you would say that."

"He then had two choices: to die by a sword or by a gun."

"Ha, he guessed you would say that. He told you to rest assured that he has never revealed your identity."

“That would be for the best.” Salomon looked at the priest, who waved his hand to indicate that he had heard something. The wizard returned the middle finger. “Then please tell him that I need the Ghost Rider now. Anyone who comes looking for trouble will not have a good end until I have finished my business.”

"So? What did S.H.I.E.L.D. say?" Father Morru jumped down from the box after Salomon hung up the phone. "Are they unreliable?"

"And what about you?"

"I've already said I represent the church's stance on this matter. What do you want, armed support? Or technical support?"

"Once I find Mephisto's avatar, Kamar-Taj will deal with him."

"We're going to take the boy to a monastery where we'll purify him, so that whatever the devil wants to do, he can't do it. We all need knights, don't we? Why can't we help each other in this?"

"Deal. I want the adult, you want the child."

"Deal. Also, none of the support I mentioned earlier is available."

"Flower Q!"

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(End of this chapter)