Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 297 The One-Eyed Skull (Second Update! The Real Second Update!)

"I think you don't need to worry about food, Joan." Salomon narrowed his eyes, looking up at Bayonetta falling from the sky. With each step she took, a pair of dark purple, multicolored butterfly wings appeared behind her, their kinetic energy neutralized by levitation magic. As she was about to land on the sun-reflecting snow, Bayonetta, like a water nymph from a fairy tale, tiptoed down, accompanied by fluttering butterflies and dazzling colorful light.

She was wearing red-soled high heels, which Salomon had personally chosen for her.

"I think you'll have a good appetite," the sorcerer said boastfully, turning back and gesturing with his chin towards Phoenix in the distance. "Phoenix found a poor, lonely little thing, a lost goat," he said. "We're above the snow line, and that little guy was starving, so I decided to take pity on him and save him from that terrible fate. You should be able to smell his delicious aroma now. Phoenix really went to great lengths, didn't you say, buddy?"

Phoenix let out two weak cries from afar. It was squinting in a snow pit filled with melted snow, its golden-red feathers floating on the surface. When Salomon decided to bury Phoenix in the snow, leaving only its head exposed, he had a long-term plan—the snow water was gradually warming, thin steam was rising slowly, and soon, a hot spring heated by Phoenix would be complete.

Salomon believes that enjoying a hot spring in the biting cold wind is a rare experience, and even more rare is that he might be able to experience it with Bayonetta.

"Dream on, you little bastard with a head full of vulgar thoughts!" Joan of Arc stretched out her long leg and kicked the sorcerer aside, showing him no mercy whatsoever. Bayonetta, on the other hand, casually tossed her high heels aside, gathered up her thick, dark hair, unbuttoned her clothes, and slowly walked naked into the hot spring.

"I don't really mind. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to it. The bathtub at home is too small; there are many things we can't do there." The alluring witch leaned against the edge of the pool with her eyes closed, the stark contrast in temperature causing her to let out a soft, seductive moan. Bayonetta licked her lips, stopping Jeanne before she could gouge out Salomon's eyes. "It's spacious here. I think Salomon can enjoy himself with me. Jeanne, won't you come along?"

"Don't even think about it, Ceresia! He's a teenage boy, a beast in heat!" Joan of Arc nearly jumped up in a rage. Her words even made Salomon glare at her. *Do I look that bad?* Salomon thought. *You must have never seen a normal human male.* Indeed, having grown up in the witches' territory and later becoming known as the Sage's Executioner, his social life was incredibly limited.

"I love wild animals, remember to be rough, Boya~"

Salomon was exhausted from soaking in the hot spring, but before he could catch his breath after escaping back to New York amidst Bayonetta's laughter, a phone call interrupted his reminiscence.

"I feel like I need to do what I'm about to do alone, Anna. You shouldn't be calling at this time." Salomon answered the phone angrily, but something sounded off about the voice on the other end.

"I knew you'd do what any ordinary high school student would do, but now's not the time." Anna Helstrom was still joking, but her voice sounded a little flustered. "I have something I need you to see, Salomon. I don't know if it's Marduk... but this thing is really too weird."

"Marduk's matter is no longer my responsibility, Anna. It's the weekend, please let me rest for a day. My experience today was just too exciting."

"No, Salomon, this thing... I think you should take a look." Anna sent a picture to Salomon's phone. The arcane mage pulled up the photo and almost threw the phone away after taking one look—it was a blackened, hideous skull, but the skull only had one eye hole, and a bloodshot eye was vaguely peering out through that eye hole.

“After I drip my blood onto this skull, the eye appears,” Anna said. “This skull seems to have some kind of power; it keeps whispering in my ear. I don’t know why I do this, I just have a gut feeling… it seems to be alive…” Anna’s voice gradually became incoherent. “It was found near the body of that missing nurse… the nurse’s body was turned into pieces. It ate that person… it was alive…”

"Hey Anna, are you still listening? Could you repeat what you just said?"

"I just said you should look at this... Did you see it?"

"Ah, I see it," Salomon said thoughtfully. "You stay away from that thing and wait for me, okay? I don't know if it's related to Marduk, but it's evil enough. I don't want you to fall into depravity now, or I'll have to send you to hell."

"Okay, hurry up, my partner is acting a bit strange."

After Anna hung up, Salomon dialed another number. It was the arcane sorcerer who had accepted the mission to pursue Marduk's spirit; Salomon wanted to get some information from them. As mentioned before, with Kamar-Taj protecting Earth, the easiest way for demons and monsters to influence the material plane is through possession, just like Anna and Damon's parents.

It is nearly impossible to accurately identify people possessed by demons and devils, because these possessed individuals do not use much supernatural power. The crimes they commit are exactly the same as those of ordinary people, only much more cruel—lower-dimensional beings prefer pain, and all victims are subjected to extremely cruel treatment before their deaths.

Therefore, finding someone possessed by Marduk immediately is practically a matter of luck. Salomon currently only has one clue: the strange skeleton Anna just mentioned. If Anna was telling the truth in her delirium, then the bewitched nurse at St. Teresa's Asylum was very likely eaten by that thing.

Salomon splashed cold water on his face and sent a text message to his mentor requesting leave. Then, he changed into his saffron robes, grabbed his scroll case overflowing with scrolls, and hung two leaf-shaped swords, one long and one short, on his belt. He took his two wands and the prototype bolt-action lance, ordering the homunculus and Cheshire Cat to guard the house—Salomon hesitated for a moment, ultimately deciding not to summon Phoenix from the witch's side, unsure if he would face Marduk again.

The arcane mage donned the sling ring and opened a portal to Los Angeles.

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(End of this chapter)