Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 478 A Stroll on Mars (First Update)

Whenever someone asks, "Hey, Salomon! How much magic do you actually know?" the sorcerer in question always shakes his head and tries to evade the question, much like a pigeon in a square searching for a discarded sandwich crust. But when pressed, he always pulls out some data and tables, like a poor lawyer specializing in cases of slipping and falling, to cover up his mastery of various magical arts.

He did this because he didn't want anyone to know what kind of forbidden magic he was now involved in. It was pure black magic, far more terrifying than the black magic learned by Monar, the eccentric old man at the Doorless Bar.

It wasn't just about curses involving insects, saliva, hair, and blood; the evil of those spells was something even the Sorcerer Supreme was carefully concealing for him, and many of them were things he had experimented with in his biological laboratory in the Immortal City.

Nowadays, he rarely lets others see the Silver Key, because the deeper his research goes, the more he feels the key's power is dark and terrifying. As a source of knowledge, as a gateway to the ultimate abyss of another universe, the analysis of the Silver Key is entirely done by Salomon alone.

On Christmas Day, another researcher went mad in the lab. Fortunately, the androids kept the disturbance to a very small scale, preventing the corrupting influence from spreading. Every piece of paper, every word, and every symbol in the insane researcher's dormitory had to undergo rigorous censorship before being distributed to others for reference. Initially, Maya Hansen protested Salomon's harsh and horrific practices, but then she witnessed firsthand the consequences of ordinary people witnessing the desecration of symbols.

She understood that whether someone was an abolitionist, an environmentalist, a refugee sympathizer, a vegetarian, or an animal rights activist, whatever their values ​​were before, once they descended into madness, they ceased to be a person. They became some kind of drooling, tearing beast, capable of spreading its most vile and profound power even a single syllable or glance could trigger the spread of that filthy power.

In the face of the most terrifying visions in the universe, humanity is superfluous.

Maintaining sanity and rationality is the best way to avoid madness, which is why Salomon insisted on thorough isolation for every researcher. Their voices could no longer be transmitted directly to each other's ears, but rather through earphones engraved with runes. They couldn't breathe in sterile laboratories; their lungs were supplied with air from externally filled magical oxygen tanks.

Those spells represent the pinnacle of necromancy, typically spearheaded by Salomon, with further refinements handled by the Sora Redwood Druid Order and scientists under Maya Hansen. Aside from Salomon, no one knew the full scope of the genetic alchemy technology derived from those experiments; even Maya Hansen only knew the scientific aspects.

So when Wanda tried to ask Salomon to teach her some necromancy in order to summon the souls of her parents, the sorcerer refused without hesitation.

Even if others who learn necromancy go astray, there is still a process of their minds being slowly eroded by negative energy, or their bodies being corrupted and their minds and bodies twisted by chaotic positive energy. If Wanda directly learns this knowledge, given the similarity between the Great Shadow and another cosmic deity, Wanda's descent into madness would be like riding a roller coaster without a seatbelt, and then falling from the sky at the highest point.

This is almost certain to happen, and if that situation occurs, Salomon feels he might have to kill her first.

Salomon never let her see the silver key he hid in his clothes, believing that if Wanda Maximov saw the pattern on the key, she would likely fall into darkness. Instead of asking Wanda where her idea of ​​learning this magic came from, he cast a spell on her and then took the girl to Mars to watch a spacecraft re-enter the atmosphere.

As he watched the refractory-clad probe burn through the crimson Martian sky, he jokingly recounted European art history. Salomon greeted her with the American Mars rover, and then they strolled together across the red Martian landscape, beneath Martian dust storms and the vastness of space.

He tried to talk to Wanda about his amusing experiences on Earth and on other planets, even if some of the jokes weren't easy to understand. But when he bragged about his cat, Wanda's mood improved considerably. The fluffy little creature and the novel sight finally diverted her attention, allowing her to temporarily forget her desire to learn necromancy and the hurt of being rejected by Salomon. Even her anger at being forced to finish that math exam vanished with the awe-inspiring sight of the Mars rover.

She instinctively patted the head of a passing Mars rover. After accidentally knocking off the solar panel, she quickly ran back to Salomon as if nothing had happened.

"How did you know something would fall from above today?" she asked.

"Because I launched this thing; it's the first Mars rover," Salomon sighed. November was the launch window for the probe, but Wakanda's Mars mining rover wasn't ready yet. He had to open a portal after launching the rocket to shorten the arrival time—simply put, he opened a door in outer space on Mars and then used a short-range rocket to send the probe over. He then combined this data with information from other countries' Mars probes to select a mining site.

"I've said it before, I'm probably a rich man." He pointed to the massive machine that looked far more technologically advanced than the American Mars rover next to it, which had long since broken down. "I've spent all my money on this. There are many materials here that are hard to buy; they're resources monopolized by major powers. But we do have a nuclear reactor. This thing can probably run on its own for over a hundred years before it dies from a reactor core meltdown."

"What do you want to do?" Wanda showed no discomfort under the protection of magic. She asked curiously, "What's the point of doing this?"

"This will be my factory in the future, a fully automated production facility for weapons and vehicles," Salomon said, pointing to the large pincers extending from the prospecting vehicle. "Its first mission is to destroy any Mars rovers that might detect its movements. The technological value of those rovers isn't in the rovers themselves, but in the satellites that receive their information, so there's nothing to regret."

"I've always wanted to ask you something, Salomon," Wanda kicked at the Martian soil beneath her feet—a treasure trove on Earth—"Why didn't you take me and Pietro with you when you left? What was your purpose?"

"I have many purposes, girl," Salomon said unhurriedly. "I don't mind doing you a small favor while achieving my own. You know there's a subject called divination in magic, and although you haven't studied it yet, I can tell you that divination spells can see many things. Including your goal, revenge. You just need to stay there, wait for the opportunity, and you can achieve your goal. There's another reason: humanity needs to be vigilant, needs to learn from mistakes, needs to realize how dangerous this planet is. Civilizations that haven't even conquered the land beneath their feet are quite primitive, and our enemies are extremely powerful. It doesn't matter if you don't understand what I'm saying now; you'll understand after things happen."

"You always like to tell riddles."

"That's how magicians who specialize in prophecy are; you'll get used to it. Prophecy gives people foresight, and all my plans point to one goal."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)