Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 271 Freakonomics: War Serves Currency (Second Update)

Father Moru walked away with a relaxed expression; Salomon's words could not shake his faith at all.

He had no intention of preaching, for he believed Salomon would find his faith sooner or later, that was beyond question. But the prophecy he brought filled the sorcerer with worry—"The priest didn't dream of anyone else," Salomon said, holding a wisp of silver smoke. Father Morru, wanting him to better understand the prophetic dream, agreed to Salomon's spell. "He only saw me facing Marduk," he said, "no one else."

"It would be foolish of you to take this dream as the whole story," Bayonetta said nonchalantly. "We'll definitely be there. If you ask me, you should go to the Doorless Bar and see a dream interpreter. That priest doesn't seem like he's studied dream interpretation."

"That might be true, it's possible." Salomon frowned, picked up the soda the android had poured, took a sip, and moistened his dry throat.

"That madman Marduk craves the Seventh Throne. Whether I want to sit on it or not, he'll want to kill me. No hell lord doesn't yearn for it; almost all hell lords are my enemies, including Mephisto. But according to records, there have been hell lords who sat on the Seventh Throne, only to fall quickly, without exception, because the demons never stop fighting amongst themselves. I think if this happened, it must be because the old demon did something—at least, without Mephisto's instigation, Marduk wouldn't have thought to come to the Material Plane to deal with me, where the Sorcerer Supreme is. He's a real madman; I think Mephisto quite likes that fool."

"The devil supports you, Salomon," said Joan of Arc. "Your seventy-two demons, Queen of Sheba. As far as I know, Lady Butterfly and Lady Styx are currently at odds with Lilith, and it is said that Lady Butterfly has even jumped into Lilith's abyss."

"If I wanted to start a bloody war between the abyss and hell, I would do it. Besides, Father Morru also said that Johnny Blaze is going to the lower planes as well, because the seal suppressing the Spirit of Vengeance is collapsing much faster than he thought. In other words, the lower planes haven't been peaceful lately; just a spark and the entire lower planes will be in chaos."

"Ha! You think there's never been a war between demons and devils? My dear, the truce between demons and devils for thousands of years is the anomaly. Billions of years ago, these two races were at war since their birth. The truce only occurred after the birth of King Solomon. Now that Phoenix is ​​by your side, it means this war is about to begin again. Whether you like it or not, this is the collective will of the Abyss and Hell—that's what the Queen of Sheba thinks, and that's what the devils think, especially the devils. The entire devil society doesn't want the souls in their hands to continue to inflate, as that would make them penniless and allow the devils to continue to grow their power. Perhaps Mephisto saw this opportunity, so he wanted to first deplete the currency in the hands of other hell lords to increase his own value."

Bayonetta leaned back on the sofa, sipping her drink as she explained the situation in the lower planes to Salomon. "I know you're worried about the loyalty of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, otherwise you wouldn't have studied mechanical arts. But Phoenix's appearance is a good start. Didn't the Sloth Demon Lord named Belial also renew his contract with you? That ancient contract is still in effect. Enoch is not a language you can speak in a tavern."

Salomon couldn't understand why the witches were so eager for him to sit on the throne. Whether it was the position of Lord of Humanity or the Seventh Throne, the witches hoped that Salomon could sit on at least one of them—especially the Seventh Throne, which the witches were extremely interested in.

However, the sorcerer himself was somewhat resistant to these things, after all, there was nothing in Hell. There, he couldn't buy the latest game releases, there were no concerts by beautiful school idols, and he couldn't even read fanfiction about Agent Romanoff (yes, that stuff does exist, and when Quake appeared, Black Widow x Quake became a popular pairing).

"I believe that even without a contract, Phoenix would respond to the summons." The sorcerer recalled the clingy, golden-red bird, Phoenix like a kitten, always wanting to snuggle into his arms. But Phoenix was too loyal; it couldn't represent the will of the other demons. "The First Pillar Demon, Baal, is one of the demons that both I and the witch Umbera can summon, right?" Salomon asked. "When you summoned Baal, did this monarch say anything?"

"It only reveals one form before witches. Do you think a toad can talk?" The First Pillar Demon God, Baal, has three heads: a human, a cat, and a frog, with a spider-like body. When summoned, it usually only reveals one form; the Baal summoned by witches is the frog form. However, according to Salomon, Baal has far more than three forms. Its frog form might be because it wants to get by in battle—which worries the sorcerers about Baal's attitude towards that ancient pact.

"You need to be aware of your role as a monarch, my dear. Although you're still a minor, you're not exactly a little boy anymore." Bayonetta winked playfully. "I'm the one who has the most say in this, aren't I?"

"You can't stay young forever, darling. You'll have to give up video games and school idols someday." The witch took a sip of red wine. "You're destined to bear responsibility. Rather than the responsibility you were born with, I'd rather you bear the responsibility the Sorcerer Supreme has given you." "Poor little thing, the Sorcerer Supreme explained this to us, and so did Athena."

Salomon blushed.

The Venerable Master paced back and forth before the Ark of the Covenant, appearing somewhat hesitant. This was an extremely rare sight, as the Venerable Master rarely hesitated. The only person who saw the Venerable Master in this state was Balthazar, who sat silently to the side, looking at the teacup on the table.

Undoubtedly, it was also the Sorcerer Supreme's plan to have Salomon reignite the blood war in the lower planes. The Sorcerer Supreme had planned this from the moment he adopted Salomon—keeping the lower planes preoccupied with the Material Plane would greatly reduce the pressure Strange would face after taking office.

But the Venerable One had no intention of letting his most outstanding disciple lose his life in this conflict.

Therefore, the Ark of the Covenant, which Salomon retrieved from the Queen of Sheba, became the subject of the Sorcerer Supreme's study. To ensure Salomon's safety, the Sorcerer Supreme planned to open the Ark by burning incense and take out its contents for use—Aaron's Sprouting Staff possessed the power to resurrect certain individuals, and without a doubt, Salomon was that person who could receive the resurrection.

Prior to this, the Sorcerer had tried many methods to break the seal on the Ark of the Covenant. However, unlike opening Salomon's refrigerator, the seal formed by the two cherubim statues on the Ark of the Covenant with their outstretched wings was of an extremely high level, and even the Sorcerer Supreme could not completely break the magic within it.

Balthazar knew the legend of the Ark of the Covenant, a thing even his teacher couldn't open, so he didn't intend to speak, lest the Venerable One's attention be diverted to him and then he be angered by him—he knew the Sorcerer Supreme's true nature well—Merlin's spell on him only prolonged his life; he would die just the same if he touched the thing.

In Balthazar's view, the Sorcerer Supreme's reluctance to pry open the Ark of the Covenant was already a great favor to God. He watched as the Sorcerer Supreme, after failing to break the curse, retrieved various items to continue the attempt. He recognized the Holy Sword and the Holy Lance, but no matter how the Sorcerer Supreme hacked at them, the Ark remained unopened, the room filled with a clanging noise. Enraged, the Sorcerer Supreme opened a portal, left for a moment, and returned with a golden spear and a hammer.

That was Gungnir; the Sorcerer Supreme had gone to Asgard to borrow weapons. The Sorcerer Supreme used Gungnir as a crowbar, attempting to pry open the Ark of the Covenant.

As expected of a king, his temper hasn't changed at all.

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(End of this chapter)