Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 715 Blood Ties (First Update)

Zero was quite certain he could survive in this place because it was just a library.

He clenched his frozen hands. In the thermal imaging of his armor's built-in temperature monitoring device, his limbs appeared blue, while the exterior of his armor was shrouded in a deeper layer of frost. To preserve the ancient books, the library's air was perpetually dry and cold. After detaching from his energy backpack, most of the temperature control devices ceased operation; only a small portion of the emergency systems, relying on small emergency battery packs and motors, barely functioned to resist the loss of body heat. He had to do this; he was playing the role of an alien merchant, and only by removing his armor could he enter this library of the Shi'ar Empire. This was one of Zero's required courses—to learn about alien cultures, to understand how other races in the galaxy operated and survived, especially those alien empires in the universe. His monarch believed Zero could draw wisdom from the developmental histories of those races.

These humanoid races, evolved from some kind of bird-like oviparous organisms, possess limbs similar to humans. This made Zero completely believe the monarch's claim that humans were the most perfect race in the universe and the most perfect product of the Celestials' genetic engineering. The Shia Empire was a militarized race with a clear class distinction. Zero could easily distinguish between two classes by the feathered crests on the Shia's heads. One was a triangular, pointed crest, and the other a loose, flat crest. Similar to how ancient Egyptian nobles used tools to control the development of their offspring's skulls, this indicated a class that did not need to carry objects on their heads for labor. This suggests that the Shia in the past often used their heads to assist in carrying objects.

The owner of this library was a nobleman, and the most prominent display case showcased his bloodline chart, accompanied by patterns of feathers on his forearms as evidence of his ancient lineage. Zero had already examined the chart, finding threads that supported his hypothesis. However, what surprised him most was the Shi'ar Empire's strict prohibition of art—as an intergalactic civilization. The Shi'ar believed art distorted thought, a sign of mental derangement and transgression, and that the death penalty was a judgment for those with artistic dreams. In the past, a race had restored the Shi'ar's capacity for imagination, and for this, the Shi'ar went so far as to destroy that race, erasing all music, painting, and sculpture, and launching a massive internal purge to remove this stain from their genes.

He knew why the Shias did this.

This is a race plagued by extradimensional evil gods. They live so close to the veil between reality and illusion that some Shi'ar variants possess the ability to see through that thin veil and influence the minds of others. Those Shi'ar with this ability are often influenced by the spiritual world, displaying extraordinary imaginative abilities and creating works of art that can affect others. The library of Kamar-Taj records several rebellions within the Shi'ar Empire, each involving mysterious and terrifying mutated figures. Wherever these figures appeared, horrific acts of insane sacrifice followed. To prevent such tragedies from recurring, the Shi'ar Empire completely banned art and even attempted to eradicate the Shi'ar's ability to dream at the genetic level.

However, this natural ability cannot be completely eliminated; the owner of this library is a person with the ability to dream.

He infiltrated the nobleman's banquet, seeking an opportunity to assassinate the nobleman who was performing a vile sacrifice. However, the plan didn't go so smoothly. After entering the banquet, he was forced to relinquish all weapons, and his armor, serving as a life support device, passed inspection. He had been thrown onto a spaceship after receiving the monarch's Halloween gift, and since arriving on this planet, fifteen Earth days had passed within the armor's built-in time. Now he had a plan. The foreshadowing he had laid at the nobleman's banquet a few hours earlier had come into play. Soon, the nobleman would secretly meet him deep within the library with his butler to quietly purchase a priceless and exquisitely crafted gemstone ornament.

"Old man. Go and prepare a gift for our great Baron Neramani; I'll be here to greet him." He beckoned to his alien follower. The voice coming through the mask was mechanical, making it impossible to tell his age. "Get moving, lazybones. Don't forget who picked you up from the street."

"Yes, yes, my master. I'll go right away, I'll go right away." The servant, shivering from the cold, tiptoed towards the lounge after washing himself clean. This servant was an old homeless man he had picked up at the spaceport. After he paid for the old man to have a bath—the kind of bath only nobles and the wealthy could afford—and a hearty meal, this homeless man, nicknamed "Old Loda," naturally became his servant. "Old Loda" didn't ask unnecessary questions; he didn't even know what a "question" was. Years of malnutrition had almost shattered the homeless man's soul. He had no eggs of his own, no nursery, not even a nest of his own. If someone were to shoot this old man, it would be an act of mercy to him. He was a commoner, and even though the Shi'ar held a superior social status among the Imperials, it wasn't impossible for some to fall into a state of utter destitution. After all, the Shi'ar Empire, as a commercial conglomerate, pursued profit rather than social stability.

According to "Old Guy" himself, he was once a proud member of the Death Commando, but nobody believed his lies.

Watching his servant's departing figure, Zero took a deep breath of the dry air. Even without powerful weapons, the strength, speed, and intelligence bestowed upon him by the mysterious gene alchemy gave him combat abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, allowing him to use a small knife built into his armor as an assassination tool and fight his way out of the encirclement.

This is the test that Zero is currently undergoing. He needs to serve as the prototype of the Imperial Guard and test his various abilities through various real-world combat scenarios.

Assassination was just one of his methods, and he had the capability to do so. He had already arranged an evacuation plan, and that nobleman's name would become a footnote on his medal of honor.

"I don't think this is difficult for him at all."

Salomon stared at the image in the water mirror; the white steam exhaled by Guard Zero was clearly visible under the library's stark white lights. Maya Hansen nervously watched the silver basin, fearing that her experimental subject, the culmination of countless efforts, would fail in the upcoming operation. "If he fails... save him."

"If he can't even do this, I'll just take his body back."

"Why are you so heartless!" Maya Hansen jerked her head, looking like a lion. "He can contain your power; we can't find a suitable test subject anymore!"

"That's why he has to endure hardships that ordinary people cannot bear. This is just a mission to assassinate alien cultists. If he can't even complete this mission, then all our work has failed and is worthless, and that he simply cannot withstand the power we give him." Salomon shook his head. "But I believe he can do it. His soul is connected to mine, not only because of genetic alchemy, but also because of the connection brought by his bloodline."

What's so special about the bloodline of the Macedonian dynasty?

"No, not of the Byzantine emperor's bloodline. To be precise, it is of the bloodline of Theodora, the sister of Zoe I [Note 1]. This child has some kind of connection with me, a connection that existed before the genetic modification surgery. That is why he was able to withstand the genetic modification and accommodate my power."

"It's said that Theodora was imprisoned in a convent for 14 years by her sister Zoe I, and even during her co-rule with her sister, she refused to marry. How could that be..." Maya Hansen considered a possibility that sent chills down her spine. "You mean... you can have children with a normal person?"

"I don't know, Maya. It might be a product of genetic engineering that I created after jumping through time in the future. It doesn't mean that anything happened between me and Theodora."

[Note 1] Empress Theodora, the last empress of Byzantium and the last emperor of the Macedonian dynasty.

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(End of this chapter)