Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 528 Black Magic Instruction (First Update)

According to lineage, Wanda Maximov is a senior figure to Salomon, but she herself is unaware of this, and Salomon has no interest in telling her. He deliberately sent Pietro back to his room, leaving Wanda to teach him alone.

The Necronomicon was retrieved by Kamar-Taj during the first suppression of the Starwise cult in Providence, Rhode Island, in the 19th century. It was sealed (magically and physically) and stored deep within the library—but that was only a copy. The original remained sealed within the dungeons of Kamar-Taj, a fact known only to Salomon, the Sorcerer Supreme, and a few extremely old wizards.

After Salomon returned from Salem, Kamar-Taj only wiped out a resurgent remnant of the Wisdom of the Stars cult, a far cry from the scale of the previous Kamar-Taj purge. He carefully selected the spells from the book, excluding spells that summoned beings from outer planes, invocation spells, and communication spells, fearing that Wanda might learn these and contact unspeakable creatures.

Even though this book has been recovered by Kamar-Taj, copies of copies still exist in this world. The Venerable One once went to the Vatican Library, where he recovered a copy of the Necronomicon and other dark magic books, and killed a cardinal who studied dark magic. Sithon will undoubtedly stop at nothing to deliver those lost spells to Wanda, and Salomon's current task is to enhance Wanda's discernment abilities and prevent her from becoming the portal to the Great Shadow's descent.

Of course, this is no easy task.

The exorcism and protection spells he taught left Wanda completely bewildered; she had no idea what they were for. But he insisted that Wanda learn how to expose demons, how to exorcise devils, and how to create magical barriers. He considered this the most important lesson Wanda had learned since she began systematically studying magic, because she needed to know what threats awaited her in this world. "We are all food in the eyes of demons, Maximoff," he said with a very serious expression that was enough to intimidate Wanda. "Magic doesn't come without a price. I don't think you can stick to the methods of a mind manipulator from beginning to end. But if you accidentally cross the line, the knowledge I'm teaching you now will come in handy."

"I won't go out of bounds!" Wanda said, somewhat annoyed. "You taught me how to cast spells safely."

“Fate won’t let us off so easily, Wanda.” Salomon showed her the three rings on his right hand, the three perfectly cut gemstones refracting brilliant light in the dim, bright white lamplight. “That’s what I thought too, and I know how to cast spells safely,” he said. “But circumstances forced us to make choices. You’ve seen the rings on my hand—these three rings burned me to a crisp; if it weren’t for my teacher, I would be dead. I may never be able to take them off. You will face a similar situation, but I hope you find a way to remedy the situation after being forced to make a choice. This is the fate of spellcasters; we are always in danger.”

"But this spell called 'Flesh Barrier' is disgusting! It requires the caster to bite off an ounce of flesh themselves! And this 'Eye of Light and Darkness' requires the blood of innocents!" Wanda exclaimed with disgust. "Only this 'Ancient Seal Consecration' isn't so disgusting. Are these really protective spells?"

"Welcome to the world of dark magic. Believe me, I've seen far more disgusting magic than this. Dark magic is just that stinky," Salomon said, tilting his head. "If you accidentally cross the line into the realm of mind control, abandoning reason and relying on your instincts, you'll need this magic to save your life."

"You keep talking about instinct, teacher, you've been talking about it since I started learning," Wanda said. "But you won't tell me what happens if I use instinctive spellcasting? Will monsters come after me?"

"Yes, and they are very troublesome monsters," Salomon said. "No one's talent comes for free; gaining talent means paying a price. Remember the equivalent exchange I mentioned in the first lesson? This is the truth of the balance of time, and magic is no exception."

"So who gave me this talent?"

"One of the many magical entities I've mentioned to you, and also the source of my magic," Salomon said calmly, his obsidian eyes reflecting the pale light in the room. "We live in a dangerous universe, and magic is the greatest source of danger. We use it, we observe it, we suppress it. You must remember—"

"Always stay vigilant."

"Yes, I hope you'll always remember that." He nodded. "Knowledge is power, but also danger; ignorance is bliss. Be patient, and weigh your curiosity carefully. I don't want you to die unexpectedly while you're learning."

"I understand." It seemed Wanda had temporarily given up on pursuing the secret Salomon was hiding. Salomon also didn't intend to investigate immediately; such things couldn't be done instantly—it had taken the Venerable One several years to teach Salomon this, and Wanda, who had lived among ordinary people for so long, would need even more time to accept it. He needed to constantly instill these concepts in Wanda so that she would understand the dangers of outer dimensions and outer-dimensional magical entities.

"The next spell we'll look at is [Volvados' Purifying Fire], which is a spell that allows extradimensional beings to return to their original plane; and there's [Servant Return], which will make things much easier when you encounter a caster who summons monsters. This spell also has many variations, let me explain them one by one..."

Wanda studied very hard, and her talent in black magic was extremely strong.

Salomon never allowed her to cast any dangerous dark magic spells. Instead, he began to teach her how to inscribe and activate the Old Seals—Cithorn was an ancient god, a god of chaos, and the Old Seals had a certain restraining effect on him. Moreover, the Old Seals also had an effect on the ancient gods who once walked the earth, because their ancestors had an inseparable connection with unspeakable deities, although their effect was not as great as on the demonized Cithorn.

This is the secret guarded by Kamar-Taj, telling of the origins of the Creator, the nature of humanity, and the darkest mysteries of the universe. Salomon didn't tell Wanda why the sign worked; she only knew its function, not its underlying principles. Wanda didn't mind at all; her past life as a wanderer had taught her that no one is kind to others without a reason. She knew Salomon must have his own purpose in teaching her, but that didn't stop her from temporarily deceiving herself, regarding Salomon as a close friend and mentor.

After all, Salomon had never done anything to harm them, even though it would have been easy for him. He would sometimes bring them delicious breakfasts and diligently teach Pietro science so they could go to school later. Even when Wanda discovered that Salomon harbored many secrets, she wisely chose not to investigate, allowing herself to be blinded by appearances, because she didn't want to damage the fragile relationship between Salomon and them—it was one of the few times in so many years that she had felt warmth from someone, and she was very reluctant to let it go.

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(End of this chapter)