Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 650 Before the Storm (First Update)

The distorted pentagram worked wonders after the blessing was applied. Wearing the bronze amulet, the impure energy was driven from her skin, and her intense magical allergy symptoms immediately subsided. The continuous protective spell made her chest itch and her face flush. As long as she didn't remove the old seal, she could temporarily leave Salomon's side and move freely. Meanwhile, she also engraved a simple Kamar-Taj emblem and Salomon's personal emblem on the north side of the old bronze amulet. From a mystical perspective, this combination of symbols pointed precisely to Salomon, the sorcerer of Kamar-Taj, in a similar way to when Salomon demanded Wanda use the psychic tablet—she would never forget that dream, and harnessing the power of dreams was an essential skill for a witch.

Seeing that Wanda's condition was improving, Salomon gradually revealed the mission information he knew to her. However, following the conventions of spellcasters, he obscured many terrifying truths known only to a select few arcane mages. This was not to monopolize knowledge, but to protect the ignorant. Only ignorance is the sole means of protecting the mind; the more one knows, the more mental corruption one suffers. For Salomon, Wanda's mental stability was of utmost importance.

The weather in Maine always seemed awful; lightning flickered faintly in the leaden clouds outside the window, threatening an imminent downpour. As night fell, the air grew increasingly stifling, and sweat beaded on Wanda's forehead. She took off her red leather jacket, but she was still sweating profusely; only by turning the air conditioner to its lowest setting could she find some relief in the suffocating atmosphere. A heavy rain warning kept appearing in the corner of the silent television screen—a storm was approaching.

The sorcerer spoke vaguely, giving a rough description of the enemies they might face. If his guess was correct, then they were about to encounter more than just vampires.

"Agomot's crystal ball detected traces of blood magic, highly overlapping with an even darker force. So our mission isn't just to eliminate the vampire, but also the monsters it summons." The sorcerer's mood wasn't affected by the bad weather. "As for the type of monsters, I can only speculate based on the painting I bought. The seller's story mentioned a spellbook. Kamar-Taj also has that spellbook, though not the original. Other fragments scattered throughout the world might be related to this—no, they're certain. If we're lucky, we might be able to retrieve the original 'Secrets of the Worm' this time."

According to Salomon's description, the monster's spitting slime could hit enemies two or three kilometers away, and the hundreds-of-feet-long creature could easily destroy a human warship. It also constantly burrowed underground. Salomon pulled up data on his phone from the Immortal City's earthquake monitoring stations in the United States. "This is a deep-focus earthquake, so the damage isn't great. Aside from breaking the record for depth and making people shake their heads and break a few plates, there's nothing particularly noteworthy," he said. "But as the epicenter rises, the destructive power of the earthquake will gradually increase. If this terrifying disaster continues unchecked, it will trigger an extremely devastating earthquake."

The earthquake monitoring station had already warned the state government, but the rising epicenter they detected went unnoticed. Only the incumbent governor, Paul Le Page, addressed the public on television to reassure them and maintain the economy. With election day approaching, such matters were even less of a priority. Brunswick wasn't too far from the last epicenter, and while Salomon was explaining his intelligence to Wanda, the receptionist called to mention the recent spate of minor earthquakes and offered free brunch to entice panicked out-of-town tourists. This measure proved effective; the minor earthquakes caused no damage other than breaking a glass. In contrast, the recent murders and disappearances were far more attention-grabbing.

"Is that book important?"

"Yes."

How much time do we have left?

"Half a month. The seismic monitoring station detected that the epicenter was constantly moving, and Agamotto's crystal ball also proved that the traces of blood magic were constantly changing. This change was completely irregular and had nothing to do with the leyline nodes, so we couldn't directly stop those vampires. By the time we arrived, all we could find were the remains of what the vampires had eaten." Salomon raised an eyebrow. "These are the photos taken by the police. Don't throw up here, Wanda, I know it's disgusting. Judging from the teeth marks and the completeness of the corpses, those vampires' bloodlines weren't very strong. Either they couldn't suppress their bloodlust, or they had already sacrificed blood slaves and were forced to hunt for food. As for the local government, forget about it. Paul Le Page's wife is still working at the restaurant! We have to solve the problem ourselves!"

"What are you planning to do?" Wanda remained calm, having already witnessed the scale of the Ultron incident. However, she still felt the plan was risky. "I don't think binding and banishing spells will work on a monster hundreds of feet long burrowing underground! And… the epicenter seems to be moving towards the sea; maybe that monster will burst out of the water like a whale. Are we going to take a boat out to sea to fight a monster several times larger than a whale?"

Salomon stood up.

He leaned against the window, gazing at the Androskokin River in the distance. It was the evening before the storm; the grey waters foamed, surging angrily down the low cliffs. A few cars, covered in white bird droppings, were parked in a park with only one tree along the riverbank. After the downpour, the river would swell, and all the world's filth would flow into the ocean. He didn't intend to go to the estuary; instead, he planned to go upstream—a tributary of the river leading to one of their destinations, but only after consulting folklorists and historians, and figuring out certain things, could he reach the place where the sellers claimed all these events originated.

"The Sky Carrier has already set sail, whether on land or sea, it makes no difference," he said in a deep voice, like a muffled thunderclap that reverberates through the bones. "We just need to find the vampires, seize 'The Secret of the Worms,' and figure out the true purpose of those bloodsucking leeches. Then, we can leave the other problems to the Sky Carrier's macro cannons. We will maintain close communication with the strike force, and once the Hand agents have dealt with those cultists, we will receive fire support."

"What should we do?"

“We’re FBI agents now, here to solve this recent series of murders. Here are your badges, don’t lose them. Only these badges can help us fool the local police and examine the bodies. I don’t want to predict the location of the bodies, that’s a waste,” Salomon said. “There are always traces on the bodies. We’re going to the place where the most recent murders happened, which is here, Brunswick. Once we find the bodies, we can predict the vampires’ next move. But before that, we need to go somewhere—my intelligence tells me that the book *The Secret of the Worm* first appeared in Jerusalem, on the upper River Royal. We need to go there and see; this isn’t as simple as it seems. We have a meeting tomorrow morning, hopefully those scholars can help us figure some things out. Get a good night’s sleep, Wanda. If you want ice cream or chocolate, you can call Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolate Confections and The Gelato Fiasco; they deliver.”

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)