Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 287 The Head of the Demon God Pillar (Second Update!)

"Your brother told me this morning that you were coming." In the marble-tiled hallway, a middle-aged or elderly Black woman, who looked rather robust, blocked Anna's path. "I know what you're going to do, Anna."

"Very well, then let me... and my friend go see my mother." Anna draped her trench coat over her arm, clutching the thin gray coat in both hands. She tilted her head, her short hair swaying playfully. Anna stopped, supporting herself on one leg, seemingly wanting to have a proper talk with Dr. Hastings.

“I told him it wasn’t a good idea.” Dr. Hastings glanced at Damon standing next to Anna, his gaze shifting, avoiding eye contact with Dr. Hastings. Anna also glanced at her brother. “Oh? What did he say?”

"I'm telling you, now is not a good time to approach your mother." Dr. Hastings wasn't angry at Anna's rudeness or Damon's evasiveness. "Your mother had a very bad night... that thing is tormenting her."

"Will she feel better after seeing me?" Anna bluntly expressed her distrust. "We'll only know if we try, won't we? You've disappointed her for twenty years; now it seems like there might be a fresh start!"

She disliked this man. Dr. Hastings was just an ordinary person; there was nothing she could do. The greatest help she could offer was keeping Anna's mother in a mental hospital. Anna disliked Dr. Hastings's psychological probing of her mother. Dr. Hastings knew her mother was possessed, and the mental hospital was funded by the Vatican. Anna believed Dr. Hastings only wanted to use her mother as a case study for exorcism—otherwise, the doctor wouldn't have suggested Damon perform exorcisms in his spare time.

"I don't know what you and your brother talked about," Dr. Hastings said, still not angry. "But your mother is my patient, and I won't let you see her alone, let alone with your shady friend. If you're going in, I'm coming with you."

Anna chuckled coldly, her high heels slamming heavily on the floor. She moved closer to Dr. Hastings. "You know, if I want to see her, you can't stop me." Anna placed her hand on the doctor's shoulder; the rough fabric of his coat made her uncomfortable. "Dr."

"There are surveillance cameras everywhere here. Do you really think causing a scene won't have any repercussions?"

Anna gave a perfunctory shrug. Dr. Hastings repeated her earlier statement, seemingly undeterred. "It's the only way." The doctor shook her head, ignoring Anna's icy gaze. "It's the only way."

"Alright, Anna, Dr. Hastings is a responsible person, and Mother is her patient." Damon tried to separate his sister from Dr. Hastings, but his actions exposed Salomon hiding behind Anna. Salomon rolled his eyes at Dr. Hastings' questioning gaze.

"Good heavens," he said, "I know I'm tall, and Anna is tall too, so can't I hide for a bit? Anna, do you really think I enjoy meeting strangers?"

"You were quite enthusiastic when you came to see me," Anna said teasingly, tilting her head.

Dr. Hastings gestured for Anna to explain, but Anna pretended not to notice and looked away, turning to look out the window. She continued to support herself on one leg, appearing quite relaxed and seemingly not paying any attention to Dr. Hastings.

"He's a wizard. You should know we're not professionals; he has similar talents to me..." Damon coughed twice, bridging the awkward silence. After Damon explained things to Dr. Hastings, the attending physician and the head of St. Teresa's Mental Hospital nodded with some skepticism.

"Is he also going to see your mother, Damon?" Dr. Hastings asked. After receiving an affirmative answer from Damon, the doctor then scrutinized the arcane mage. "He will be under my supervision," the doctor said. "There can be no exceptions."

"But I refuse to be responsible for your safety." Salomon pulled Anna's hand and said to the Doctor, "While it's my responsibility to help ordinary people involved in magical accidents, I can't stop those who deliberately go out of their way to get involved. Good luck, Doctor. Anna, tell me, where is your mother? You can sense that devil."

"Well, well, well, that's wonderful." When Salomon and the others entered the ward, they noticed that the white-haired woman, who had previously just sat on the iron bed in a daze, suddenly turned her head. Like an owl that had found a mouse, she twisted her neck to an angle that was almost impossible for a human to do.

"My daughter, my son, and you, Solomon, the murderer of relatives, Lord of the Temple." Anna and Damon's mother stared at Solomon with almost glowing eyes, her head following the wizard's every step until he stood before her. Damon and Dr. Hastings were curious, because before, the thing's attention had always been focused on Damon, the devil always using a cold tone to torment Damon's mind—but this time, the devil paid no attention to Damon, nor to Anna; its attention was focused on the new wizard.

"It seems my daughter has summoned you," the devil said in the hoarse voice of an old woman. "Is she your new lover? I apologize, I forgot, you have more than one lover. Are you satisfied with my daughter, Lord of the Temple?"

"We're not that close, Marduk." Salomon's voice was chilling. It was just the beginning of a hostile conversation, but Salomon felt as if his words had interrupted what Marduk was about to say.

"Not so familiar?" The old woman lowered her head. "In the past, I was called a god," the devil said. "I could not only make crops abundant, but also influence the sun. I controlled thunderstorms, war, and magic. In the Temple of Esagra, I sat in the position of the chief god."

Suddenly, the devil's wrath erupted.

"Not so familiar!" It sat bolt upright in bed, the demon spreading its arms wide. Behind it surged illusions of a great flood and a blazing sun, and within those flood illusions, a giant serpent. The demon opened its mouth, its voice deafening and piercing, "Behold me, Solomon! I am Enki's firstborn son, born in Apsu, the embodiment of water! I am the guardian god of Babylon, the king who rules the East, I have subdued Tiamat! My right hand is a giant hammer, my left hand lightning! I am Amar-Utuq, I am Mar-Duku, I am the king of gods, the lord of all lands! I am Jehovah's greatest enemy!"

Dr. Hastings gripped the rosary tightly, while Damon and Anna had covered their heads the moment Marduk uttered his declaration. Only Salomon watched it unaffected, the arcane mage's expression unchanged—Dormammu's voice was also loud, but after more than a decade of training, this magical shock was no match for him.

"I can give you a little hint, Solomon." The demon relaxed and smiled. "Seventeen years ago, when you were born, I tried to come to the Material Plane to kill you. But your teacher stopped me. Do you know what she said—'When he is ready to accept his destiny, you must obey him.' Later, Belial gave you the contract again, and that's when I realized you truly are you, and the contract truly works. But the Ancient One forgot one thing, and Belial forgot one thing: I will no longer obey as I did more than two thousand years ago, Solomon!"

"Are you going to get out of here yourself, or should I help you?" the sorcerer said impatiently.

"It seems you still haven't remembered my identity. My king, I've also made a pact with the witch clan; they are all of your bloodline, and their erotic knowledge originated from me. One last hint, Solomon, the witch clan's spell to summon me is:"

Vomit power

EX FA.

"You are..." The sorcerer seemed to remember something, things he usually categorized as nonsense.

"That's right! My king!" The demon bowed slightly, looking at Salomon with mocking eyes. "I am your loyal chief of the Demon Pillars, the First Demon Pillar, Baal! Hahahahahahaha!"

Baal was originally a Phoenician god, a symbol of their abundant culture, and was both a sun god and an agricultural god. After his fall, he became one of the seventy-two demons of King Solomon. Described as a demon, Baal had three heads: a human, a cat, and a giant frog. His body was that of a human or a spider, with a cat's tail and claws, and eight spider legs. He was quite ugly, had a hoarse voice, the ability to make people invisible, and was knowledgeable about sex and law. In medieval Hell, he was a demon king with sixty thousand followers.

Marduk is known in demonology as Bel or Bali, which is Baal, the leader of the Demon Pillars.

They are actually the same thing.

(End of this chapter)