Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 427 The Mystic's Bilateral Deal (Second Update)

Salomon's arrival put Agent Coulson on high alert.

The agents who had come to help had all left by this time. Although Agent Ward's loss of control was unexpected, it was a matter for Agent Coulson's team. Whether it was interrogation or detention, they couldn't get involved at this point. Moreover, it seemed that Clairvoyance was dead, the matter was over, and Agents John Gartler and Victoria Hand both had their own things to attend to.

Although Agent Coulson defended Salomon in front of Agent Hand, he still harbored some doubts about Salomon. It was an agent's instinct; he would instinctively doubt everything, especially since Agent Ward's loss of control was completely illogical.

Every field staff member has undergone rigorous psychological resilience training, and such emotional outbursts should not occur.

Salomon Damonette is one who can influence the emotions of others. No one knows exactly how many kinds of magic he possesses, or what he is capable of. Agent Coulson remembers Salomon erasing his memories, which makes Salomon even more suspicious.

"This is classified. How did you find us?" Agent Coulson descended the cargo hold stairs to greet Salomon, who was carrying a black plastic bag. Simmons and Skye followed nervously behind Agent Coulson. Agent Simmons had originally intended to inform Melinda May, but Agent Coulson refused the offer. He didn't want to appear hostile to Salomon; besides, if Salomon was hostile, no one on this plane would escape.

"I was just passing by." Salomon was dressed in a neat suit, but surprisingly, his trouser legs were covered in mud, and his polished leather shoes were dusty. This was almost unheard of for him; Agent Coulson had never seen Salomon so filthy.

He lifted the heavy plastic bag in his hand, and Agent Coulson glanced at it, noticing that it contained Subway sandwich wrappers. "I was digging something up, and then I saw your plane parked here," Salomon said. "Actually, I got here first; you came later."

"What are you doing?" Agent Coulson lowered his guard slightly as Salomon shoved two sandwiches into Simmons and Skye's hands. The two girls hesitated for a moment, then took them awkwardly. Skye was about to open the package and take a bite when Simmons stopped her with a look—Simons quickly glanced at Salomon, then hid the sandwiches behind his back.

Don't eat anything given by strangers; this is basic common sense for spies. Although Salomon wasn't exactly a stranger, he was still a suspect, and it would be unwise to eat anything he gave.

"Excuse me, this isn't time for guests," Agent Coulson said with a smile. "We're on official business. If you don't mind, could you tell me what you're doing? As far as I know, you should be at Oxford University right now."

"I'm planning to get an archaeology degree." Salomon's words were pure nonsense, but his lies were backed by material evidence, making it difficult for anyone to easily refute him. "Look," he said, opening a black plastic bag. Beneath the Subway sandwich wrapper were pieces of bone and soil packaged in sealed bags. "This is Gaius Julius Caesar's rib; it was the only one I found at the bottom of the river that wasn't burned. I don't know if it's still usable. This is Socrates' skull, the skull of wisdom. This is Ramses II's mummy hand; I only had time to cut off the hand before the museum security stopped me..."

Salomon's confession of his crimes nearly made Agent Coulson dizzy, and Skye was even more relieved that she hadn't eaten the sandwiches placed on the skeletons. It wasn't a hygiene issue, but a psychological one. The sorcerer continued to ramble on to Agent Coulson about the remains of famous figures he had unearthed; he had been to many places, but had only found so few, which left him somewhat disheartened.

Agent Coulson is still considering whether to arrest Salomon now.

Especially that crime of going to the museum to destroy the mummy, Agent Coulson just wished Salomon had a hood.

"Oh, this is Cyrus the Great's radius bone, which was accidentally crushed." After Salomon showed the bottom of the plastic bag, everyone on the cargo hold gangway fell silent.

"You need to understand that simply excavating the remains of historical figures won't get you an archaeology degree." After a long pause, Agent Coulson spoke hesitantly, "You need systematic research and protective excavation of tombs, otherwise you're just a tomb raider."

"I know, I know, I promise I didn't leave any passage for grave robbers. I went in by opening a portal." Salomon wiped the sticky sweat from his face. "I was just about to dig up Washington's remains when you guys showed up. So I came to say hello."

"Please don't do that," Agent Coulson said, his head throbbing. "That's the Founding Father of the United States. Please show him some respect."

"Well, a slave owner doesn't really have many heroic qualities anyway," Salomon shrugged. "Anything else to say?"

Agent Coulson considered for a moment. "Please don't damage historical sites," he said. "I can't stop you anyway, can I?"

"That's why I have faith in you; you're more self-aware than Nick Fury."

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Maya Hansen's use of the Extremis virus to transcribe the DNA of ancient heroes was merely the first step in her genetic experiments. The assistance the Sora Redwood Druid Order could offer was limited to this; their knowledge was insufficient to support subsequent experiments. Therefore, High Priestess Mariana Stern could only conduct repeatable experiments, ensuring the stability of the Extremis virus transcribed with the ancient heroes' DNA, and producing enough samples for later experiments.

The even more terrifying alchemical transformation process could only be witnessed by Maya Hansen.

He first cast a spell on the samples provided by Maya Hansen—test tubes containing somatic cells that had been repeatedly cut and modified. The Extremis virus had combined the genetic material of the Knights of the Round Table, Salomon, and Asgardians, and the DNA in all the test tubes was subtly different. These were variables prepared for subsequent human experiments to observe which base pairs exhibited which traits.

Then came extremely dark magic, spells beyond Salomon's spellcasting level. Therefore, Salomon paid a price with some of his sanity and mental strength to make a deal with the One who unifies all things in another universe. The deal was for the genetic modification technology possessed by the Goddess of Dark Abundance, the Black Goat of the Forest who gave birth to countless offspring.

However, Salomon was never one to lose money in business; he had already planned out the transaction process.

He gripped the silver key tightly, while in his other hand he held Agamotto's amulet. As the First Sorcerer Supreme, who knew the secrets of this universe, He had the power to protect Salomon's soul and confront the most corrupting forces. In return, Agamotto would share this portion of knowledge, bestowed upon him by the One Who Unifies All, with Salomon.

Clearly, the deal was a success. Salomon lost a portion of his sanity forever, but he gained the knowledge he desired. As one of the parties in the deal, Agamotto protected Salomon's soul, preventing him from completely succumbing to madness.

Salomon will need a long recovery period after this trade. Everyone except Yog-Sothoth, who doesn't care about anything, made a killing.

The One Who Unifies All Things' lazy nature led Him to bombard her with a vast amount of knowledge. Maya Hansen saw deep red blood dripping from Salomon's eyes and nose, instantly transforming into plump, milky-white maggots upon hitting the ground. She was about to approach when she was forced back into a corner by the constantly flashing, multicolored orbs of light in the room and the suddenly appearing golden eyes. She saw Salomon's body convulsing, yet he still gripped the amulet and the key tightly.

She heard Salomon chanting incomprehensible words, and she saw golden light emanating from the back of Salomon's head. In the darkness, she heard the sound of chains breaking, and light also shone from Salomon's hands.

When Salomon opened his eyes, a blinding golden light emanated from them, the dripping blood evaporated, and the maggots turned into black mist.

"I understand." His voice sounded like a chorus of thousands. "I understand everything."

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(End of this chapter)