Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 810 Demonic Construct (Second Update)

The Falls Church is a magnificent building that has been abandoned for a long time. Even after years of disrepair, the exquisite reliefs on the stone walls and arches remain lifelike, and much of the intricate gilded runes have withstood the test of time. The once-glorious gate is now submerged in the murky lake water, and the collapsed, heavy gray stone walls are covered with dark green moss and various creeping plants. The roots of giant trees are slowly and steadily cracking and disintegrating the collapsed stone walls at the base of the church along the cracks in the stones. Perhaps in another hundred years, the part of the Falls Church that has sunk into the lake will completely turn into rubble and silt.

The dense foliage blocked Salomon and the witch's view of the church spire, but they had already witnessed on their way there that constructing such an exquisite spire required mathematical and architectural knowledge far beyond that of the time. Any scholar familiar with history would recognize that this building was not something that could have been built by human labor hundreds of years ago, because at no time did this region possess the productivity and population to construct such a large structure.

Only magic, a power beyond reason, can explain this.

Salomon thought Laura Crawford would love the Falls Church ruins, but unfortunately, she still had to travel to the Middle East and South America for further research. The sorcerer thought he could introduce the place to her after his mission, since Richard Crawford's lifelong pursuit was to uncover the secret of immortality. Laura Crawford followed the path, and if she knew about this place, she would surely jump for joy.

He highly valued Laura's work, sparing no expense to allocate the resources of the Immortal City to her, to reveal hidden mysteries of history to an ordinary person. Laura Crawford's job was to excavate the past and define the meaning of the human race. Even if humanity lost all its technology, even if humanity began interstellar colonization, this definition would reunite the human race and re-embody history, legends and myths, and ways of behaving and thinking within it.

"Little one, are you alright?"

The witch's voice pulled the eccentric sorcerer back to reality. Salomon noticed the boy seemed to be experiencing another headache, as if the building had awakened some memories within him. However, the boy simply shook his head, not recalling much as before. The sorcerer glanced at him. "Looks like you're alright. I thought you were going to be the projectionist again."

The boy was so angry with Salomon that he forgot all about his headache.

"You're so mean, darling," the witch rolled her eyes.

Although the path to the waterfall church was submerged by the lake, solving this problem wasn't too difficult for the sorcerers and witches present. They found a window.

What was truly perplexing, however, was what they saw upon entering the waterfall church. Inside, numerous oddly shaped gray stone tablets stood on the circular steps, engraved with dizzying runes, and in the central circular area was a huge diamond-shaped device.

Before the sorcerer and witch could figure out the purpose of the runes and the device, the boy walked up to it without thinking, and the sorcerer's nerves tensed instantly. At that moment, Salomon and Bayonetta both sensed a mysterious connection between the boy and the church, as if some inexplicable will was driving his actions.

He spread his arms, releasing magic and manipulating the device in the center of the church. An astonishing amount of magic surged into it like the rushing waters of a fjord at low tide. With the boy's unconscious movements, the device began to operate.

The sorcerer and the witch looked up and saw that the shattered church ceiling was beginning to be repaired, and the fallen bricks and stones had returned to their original positions. Even a speck of dust that had fallen from a brick had returned to its original location, like a stretched spring returning to its original position. The witch and the sorcerer had witnessed this exaggerated phenomenon of manipulating time before, back on Sun Island, the former home of the witch clan, when they first encountered the circular arena of the Four Virtues [Perseverance]. As spectators, they had to dodge the trajectory of the falling debris, after all, "bullets have the highest right of way on the battlefield," let alone unstoppable spatial movement.

"The Eye of the World," Bayonetta murmured. The town's connection to the World Watchers was closer than anyone else imagined.

She raised her hand to keep the sand and gravel from getting into her eyes from the raging winds sweeping through the church. Salomon nodded; the boy's power was strikingly similar to Bayonetta's Eye of the World, and the sorcerer even recalled her past encounter with Bayonetta's biological father on Sun Island. The boy's power was too weak when he used cards in battle, which was why the witch and the sorcerer couldn't discern it.

"This boy." Salomon's shoulder armor was struck hard by a large piece of gravel. Because he had been protecting the witch, who was only wearing combat leotards, he had taken the most hits; the stones pounded against his armor like drums. "This boy is connected to the Eye of the World. No wonder the sage wanted to kill him. Perhaps your summoned beast's outburst and Jeanne's death are related to this. Darling, it seems we're in deep trouble. I need to get a good look at what's in his brain."

Salomon had originally planned to use force to find out what the boy remembered after he finished casting the spell, but reality didn't give them that time. A blood-red teleportation array suddenly spread out from the church dome, and a gray-blue metal coffin carved with spiral patterns fell from the sky and crashed in front of them.

The metal coffin began to transform. Grayish-blue metal blocks with complex mechanical structures stretched upwards along the seams, and two comical spiked wheels emerged from above. The metal blocks that stretched to the sides then reassembled to form a rectangular head, from which two limbs emerged, each composed of three bladed ratchet teeth inlaid with skulls.

"A demon?" Bayonetta asked, somewhat puzzled. "They don't seem very friendly."

This monster, named "Pain," emitted no roars or threats, yet anyone could sense its malevolent aura. It was as if the cold metal was constantly cutting into its flesh and tormenting its spirit, driving it to a frenzy and an impatient attack. This demon differed from other animal-shaped demons summoned by witches; it was a creation. The general process likely involved torturing and taming the souls of beings from lower planes before stuffing them into pre-made machines. Salomon could guess its creator with a grain of salt. He desperately wanted to find Malbus and ask how many monsters the Fifth Primal had created for the lower planes in his spare time.

No wonder Malbus was so eager to help Salomon when he learned that Salomon was going to the lower planes; it was because he had already guessed that Salomon would encounter the works he had sold to some hell lords in the past. In order to prevent Salomon from pursuing his past actions, Malbus accelerated the production of weapons and equipment without hesitation, without even a single complaint.

"The forces that maintain the balance of all things have become somewhat distorted."

Rodin said this before setting off.

As a fallen angel craftsman who frequently travels to the lower planes to "procure goods," Rodin certainly has the right to speak. Perhaps this is why the witch's contracted demons break their contracts—because they cannot defy some more powerful force. Undoubtedly, this force is far inferior to Madame Butterfly's, evidenced by the fact that Madame Butterfly still maintains her contract with Bayonetta. Perhaps it was the work of some lord-level demon, but before entering the lower planes, they will find no answer. Salomon believes that an enemy is already there, waiting for Bayonetta to walk right into their trap.

But that guy certainly didn't expect Kamar-Taj to be involved.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)