Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 274 The Advantage of Foresight (First Update)

The devil's hostility did indeed affect Salomon's life. No matter how crazy Marduk, the lord of hell, was, he was still an extremely cunning devil by nature, only more impulsive and not as shrewd as Mephisto.

He has always been a devil who dares to call himself Satan; cunning is his nature.

Salomon believed that Marduk, once he calmed down a bit, would resort to underhanded tactics to try and ruin his life, which was typical of the devil.

Following that attack, several dark magic creatures appeared around the orphanage. Bayonetta and Joan of Arc would ride Pegasus at night to patrol New York City and the surrounding area to ensure that no dark magic creatures from the Prime Material Plane approached their home.

These tense days lasted for several days. It wasn't until Salomon cast an alarm spell within a hundred-meter radius of their apartment and a defense and counterattack spell inside the apartment that the witches' reconnaissance operation ended, giving Bayonetta time to try and prepare dinner.

However, Salomon believed this couldn't continue (he assured him that dinner wasn't involved). Everyone makes mistakes, and he couldn't afford the consequences of a moment of carelessness.

Perhaps Father Moru's precognitive dream was indeed his future? Salomon could only hurry to study what he had brought from the monastery—the parchment depicting Kabbalah and Jacob's hands and feet.

The latter is a muscle reflex and long-lasting magical effect formed through training, which Salomon can practice over time. However, compared to Jacob's limbs, the Kabbalah Tree of Life is closely related to the Stigmata, which is something extremely difficult to understand. Even if Salomon used "Language Proficiency," he simply could not understand the meaning behind those Hebrew words (Language Proficiency cannot understand codes and ciphers).

He could only grasp the literal meaning of the words in a crude and simplistic way, and then read them once with only a half-understanding, which was of no use to him in understanding the essence of the stigmata on his hands.

Unless he went back to study ancient Hebrew, he wouldn't be able to read the contents of those parchments fluently. So he learned Hebrew while also drawing on the wisdom of his predecessors, even if that wisdom wasn't the entirety of Kabbalah.

During his A-Level review period, Salomon added another subject to his workload: studying the works of modern occultists. For example, Eliphas Levy, the modern occultist who combined the Kabbalah Tree of Life with Tarot cards, wrote *The Great Key to Mystery*, which became a source of reference for Salomon. In addition, Samuel Mathers' translations of *Kabbalah Unveiled* and *The Divine Magic Book of Abramolin the Magician* were also important textbooks for his Kabbalah studies.

These books are gathering dust in the Kamar-Taj library, and only Salomon would bother to look through them.

According to Father Morru, the Golden Dawn Society did indeed incorporate some Kabbalah wisdom, but not entirely; even the Solomonian magic circle used by Samuel Mathers was not complete. Salomon had studied the Solomonian magic circle since childhood, when he was only at a level where he could only perform tricks in practice, but this did not prevent him from learning the theoretical knowledge.

To his disappointment, however, the Golden Dawn was not a society dedicated to studying orthodox Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, nor did it employ even the Mystic Kabbalah commonly used by medieval magicians. The Golden Dawn's techniques were mixed with too many other elements, offering no help whatsoever to Salomon's understanding of the text on the parchment.

"Do you know the exam date, Salomon?"

"Know."

"Then why were you daydreaming in class!" Jane Foster angrily slammed her heavy physics textbook down in front of Salomon. Water glass, pencils, scratch paper, and the book—everything on the desk bounced with the force, including Daisy Lewis, who had been sleeping on the desk next to her. She had been busy helping her tutor with experiments the night before, so Jane Foster had specifically allowed her to rest today. Daisy sat up blankly, shouting around to prove she hadn't been deafened.

"I have a lot of homework, Professor Foster," the sorcerer said helplessly, putting the parchment into his backpack. "If I don't study this course, my life will be in danger."

"So you think there's no danger to your life if you study this nonsense in my class?"

"Ah, no, how could you... Hey, woman, don't take the compass!"

"Your mentor is quite fierce, child," Athena said with a mocking smile, placing an ice cube on Salomon's forehead. "This is the first time I've ever heard of a woman using a physics textbook as a weapon."

"Nothing to be surprised about. I doubt that woman knows what fear is. Gently, gently, it really hurts!" Salomon yelled in annoyance. He hadn't expected Jane Foster to actually dare to lay a hand on him, but his mentor was no ordinary person.

As expected of a woman who could punch Asgardian royalty and yell at the Allfather, she truly didn't take Salomon's status as a spellcaster seriously.

"Alright, go play somewhere else. It's afternoon tea time, I'm going to read." Athena waved her hand, signaling Salomon not to disturb her reading time. But the arcane mage had no intention of leaving.

"How's it going at the orphanage?" he asked. "Are the children still there? Were they traumatized?"

"Do you really think those guys can cause any trouble?" the female warrior said dismissively. "Don't forget who I am. As long as they're within range of my spear, those monsters won't leave alive. As for those kids, they have no idea what's going on. They're just a little unhappy about the recent restrictions on going out. But even little Lorna, in her rebellious phase, is quite obedient. She does know something, though. I even saw her firing a pistol outwards! Tell me, was that pistol you gave her?"

"Hoo hoo hoo..." Salomon turned his head and whistled, trying to find a topic to distract Athena.

"This is nothing to feel guilty about, child." Athena saw through Salomon's thoughts and casually let the issue of the pistol pass. "The lackeys of the Lord of Hell will not let any human go unpunished; it's just that this time their target is you. Even if you've been cleaning up Kamar-Taj for over a thousand years, these vermin are still endless. There's no need to take this to heart. What you need to consider is how to deal with Marduk. That precognitive dream can't predict the outcome; after all, no one knows whether it was an oracle or a prophecy, so the result is unpredictable."

"You know about that too?"

"I am the goddess of wisdom! Is there anything I don't know?" Athena laughed maliciously. "Besides, do you think Marduk hasn't angered me? That orphanage is my temple! Attacking my temple is tantamount to being my enemy. Whether it's the Turks, Lord Elgin, or the devil, anyone who provokes me will not be spared!"

"The Sorcerer Supreme has said that the war between Kamar-Taj and the Lord of Hell has begun. Do not let your guard down because of a single compromise with Mephisto. My child, I will arrange the course of your war. I will make that three-headed dragon die by your lance."

"What is this?" Salomon took the paper from Athena.

"Marduk's weakness." The wise goddess of war had accurately grasped the enemy's lifeline before the battle even began. "It is His offspring. Mephisto revealed this information. The Sorcerer Supreme made a pact with Mephisto for this very reason, and it was also this thing that Mephisto used to instigate Marduk to oppose you."

"So, Your Excellency foresaw my war with Marduk? Was this also part of Your Excellency's plan?"

What do you think?

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)