Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 347 Breathtaking Art (Second Update)

The power of this armor exceeded Salomon's expectations. He only truly learned to use its power after being instructed by the Sorcerer Supreme—for example, the thrusters on the back of the shoulders, which the Sorcerer Supreme named Dragon Wings. These thrusters consume the user's magic power, and apart from spellcasters like the Sorcerer Supreme and Salomon who are born with powerful magic, anyone would consider it a flashy but impractical function.

Salomon couldn't imagine what kind of enemies the Sorcerer Supreme would face when he wore this armor, but he was certain that those enemies would be far more powerful than the pale, slender aliens beneath his feet.

The Dark Elves possess an extremely prosperous and bloody civilization. They are not some anime villains; they are real cosmic enemies, terrifying and bloodthirsty beyond belief.

According to Asgardian historical records, the Dark Elves were mad practitioners who worshipped chaos and distortion. The primordial darkness was what they yearned for. They fed on the blood and gore of all living beings, accompanied by the screams of slaves. Only when the primordial darkness faded, and the previous Allfather, Bauer, led the iron-blooded warriors of Asgard to personally annihilate this race, did this horrific behavior finally disappear from the universe.

The thrusters lived up to their name, propelling Salomon through the air like outstretched dragon wings, allowing him to glide and pause briefly. He carried the seemingly light but actually heavy android in his arms. As for his assistant's heavy greatsword, he had already thrown it off the plane, and it now lay stuck in the grass of the courtyard, like a metallic gray tombstone.

A hammer slammed into the dark elf's flagship with a whooshing sound. The warship, which was originally perpendicular to the ground, tilted at an angle after the deafening roar. The hull made a series of unsettling "crackling" sounds, and the part that was deeply embedded in the ground pried up a lot of dirt and floor tiles, as if a tremendous explosion had occurred underground.

However, the Dark Elf's warships remained intact, thanks to the astonishing materials science that supported the weight of the hulls.

Salomon landed on the lawn with the android, its thrusters shutting down and retracting into its armor. The android walked backward, picked up its greatsword, and took the large-caliber bolter from Salomon, ready to attack anything that might threaten its master's life.

A blue sedan wobbled into the courtyard. Thor stood brazenly on its roof, followed by a large group of Asgardian soldiers and a S.H.I.E.L.D. operations team. "Sorry I'm late," Thor said, jumping down from the roof. He stretched out his hand, and Mjolnir leaped from the river, returning to his grasp. Just after the tremor, few of the constructs blocking the elevator remained. Dark Elf soldiers repeatedly broke through the encirclement, only to be annihilated by the constructs. The soil near the elevator was soaked with dark elf blood.

"It's not too late." Salomon nodded to the homunculi. Under the command that could not be disobeyed, several special constructs burst into a bright and dazzling burst of lightning. The smell of ozone and burning filled the air. The limbs of the dark elves who had survived were now severely burned, and they had lost their ability to fight.

Dr. Eric Scharvig originally wanted to find a parking space, but at the insistence of Darcy and Jane Foster, he eventually parked the car in a place less likely to be affected by the battle.

After the constructs were completely destroyed, the S.H.I.E.L.D. task force appeared to receive orders. They quickly dispersed, guns drawn, and took control of the Greenwich University library—where there was cover to take. Clearly, Agent Coulson had informed them of the Dark Elves' weaponry, and having cover was essential for dealing with projectiles.

Led by Fandral, Volstagg, and Sif, a hundred Asgardian warriors charged toward the Dark Elf flagship, quickly engaging the scattered Dark Elf soldiers in fierce combat. However, they failed to stop all the Dark Elf soldiers.

Malekith, the Dark Elf King, slowly descended the ladder, indifferent to the casualties of his people. The Dark Elf soldiers faced death without hesitation. Even more terrifying was the crimson substance floating around Malekith.

The Aether particle, something Salomon had previously hidden deep within his dimensional bag. It churned in Malekith's hand, its blackish-red color resembling putrid blood. Malekith's research on the Aether particle was the most profound in the entire universe; in his hands, it was an undeniably powerful weapon.

Fate gave Malekith an opportunity; for the eternal gods, such mortal disputes were utterly uninteresting. Whether a universe is dark or not, past or present, does not affect the essence of eternity. Therefore, Salomon believed it was the will of the eternal gods, a cruel joke of fate; otherwise, Malekith would never have been able to touch the Aether particles.

Malekith's pale face broke into a smile as he looked at Salomon and Thor. Crimson aether spread like liquid, surging like waves. Countless tiny, sharp solids formed within the crimson waves, like the stardarts used by the dark elves of the past. At Malekith's command, they struck Salomon and Thor's armor at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye.

The android caught Salomon as he was blown away, while Thor crashed into a pillar in the library. The arcane mage, with his keen hearing, was gently cushioned and then put down by the android. He heard the complaints of the S.H.I.E.L.D. action team members inside the library, lamenting that there were too many obstacles in front of them, making it impossible to aim at their targets.

The Aether particles seemed to be constantly craving life. In the brief instant that Salomon and Thor were blown away, the crimson tentacles seized a heroic warrior, and a few seconds later, the Aether particles spat out a desiccated corpse clad in armor. As Salomon was set down, the Aether particles crashed into the library; Salomon didn't believe the special forces soldiers could withstand such an attack.

Malekith is using others to pay the price for his use of the Aether!

Salomon instantly understood the Dark Elves' method of using Aether particles.

In the past, when the Dark Elves had a vast number of slaves to squander, the Aether propelled them to dominance through those lives. But now, Malekith must use the Aether cautiously, minimizing its consumption before achieving his goals.

Salomon's current magic was insufficient to dispel the aether particles, and Phoenix appeared just in time beside him, its large, golden-red bird claws clutching the shield given to it by Athena. The sorcerer took the shield and handed it to the android. Now, the android would shield him from the attacks coming from the front.

Thor wasn't so lucky. Filled with rage, he hurled Mjolnir at Malekith, but the aether particles surrounding Malekith began to spread like a storm, and his hammer missed its target entirely.

Then, Malekith spread his arms, and a storm of aether particles rapidly expanded from him, a crimson whirlwind reaching the sky. The homunculus raised its shield, and sand and dirt were swirled up in the increasingly violent storm, pounding against everything in their path. Salomon urged Phoenix to retreat quickly, while he himself supported the homunculus from behind, pushing forward relentlessly.

A dark figure emerged from the crimson storm. Thor raised an arm to shield his eyes from the sand and aether particles, and as the storm intensified, he had to stoop to move forward. "Is there any way you can…" he roared, his mouth stuffed with dirt, spitting several times before he could continue. He roared, "...let me see Malekith!"

The sorcerer nodded, then realized that Thor might not be able to see clearly, so he amplified his voice using magic.

"Alright," he said. Salomon then drew his holy sword, the homunculus blocking the storm and giving him room to maneuver. A golden beam of light pierced the crimson storm and cloud cover, briefly clearing the previously gloomy sky. With Salomon's movement, the golden beam tilted downwards, slicing through the towering dark elf flagship as easily as cutting through paper.

Then came a violent explosion; the reactor of the Dark Elf flagship was melted by the incompletely unleashed light of the Holy Sword. At first, Salomon thought he had gone deaf, then came the sudden, overwhelming ringing in his ears and the shockwave. Immediately following was an explosive decompression; the air began to contract, and smoke and dust were sucked towards the center. Buildings and living beings alike proved utterly vulnerable to such an explosion. If Phoenix hadn't caught Salomon and the homunculus in time, he might have crashed directly into the Greenwich Observatory.

As for Thor, nobody knows where he's gone. Now the effects of the celestial conjunction are beginning to show, and any random step could potentially land you on another planet.

Dr. Eric Shavig's blue sedan tragically perished. It was struck by a falling brick dome dating back to 1890, along with many shattered library books and the bodies of S.H.I.E.L.D. team members.

Only when the crimson storm subsided did the towering black plumes of smoke reveal Salomon's spoils—the spot where the dark elf flagship had been docked was now nothing but a collapsed black wreckage, and a circular gap appeared in the Thames bank, with foamy, surging water pouring into it. And across the river in London's financial district, not a single pane of glass remained intact.

Malekith, also at the epicenter of the explosion, was surrounded by a deep red barrier. He floated in the air, unharmed except for the thinned-out ether particles.

That concludes today's update. "Forced overtime" refers to the situation where refusing to work overtime results in being sidelined, and overtime work receives no salary or bonuses.

(End of this chapter)