Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 811 Leap of Thought (First Update)

The construct, a fusion of forbidden science and dark magic, was connected to its body by tendons and bearings, its terrifying, mechanically modified limbs driven by nerves and cables. Even as an observer, Salomon could feel the demon's agony. The demonic machine, nearly twice its height, had been stripped of its vital organs; it could only silently activate the sharp ratchet beneath its body and pounce—without tactics, without thought, only a frenzied attack, as if only in this way could it alleviate its pain.

Bayonetta immediately engaged in battle, and Salomon threw the boy behind the nearest gray stone tablet before joining the fight.

The witch leaped and spun gracefully through the air, like a world-class female high jumper, dodging the massive ratchet that swung horizontally. The sharp blades spun rapidly, whipping up a biting wind that grazed her nose, chest, abdomen, and the tips of her shoes, but leaving no mark. Landing, still in a half-crouching position, she drew her longsword and, without turning her head, swung it backward, severing the metal spikes that held the demon in place on the ratchet. Then, taking advantage of the construct's loss of balance, she targeted the smaller gears on the demon's upper limbs, intending to cripple the demon's attack capabilities by disrupting its transmission system.

The sorcerer immediately cast a spell, summoning chains and straps to restrict the demon's movements, buying Bayonetta time to attack. The chains, appearing out of thin air, tightly gripped the gears and tiny blades of the main construct, and a massive amount of electricity was conducted through the chains to the construct's body, scorching the demon's remaining flesh and temporarily paralyzing its mechanical structure.

By the time he joined the battle, the witch had already inflicted irreparable damage on the demon in the blink of an eye. Her longsword had precisely severed the tendons and bearings. Black engine oil and red demon blood gushed from the pipes, splattering onto the ground. These foul-smelling, greasy liquids were immediately ignited by sparks from the ratchet rubbing against the stone bricks, producing smoke thicker than a burning tire. An ordinary person who inhaled this stench would immediately feel dizzy, nauseous, and vomit.

Just as she demonstrated in her daily sword practice with Salomon, the witch's melee combat skills were quite outstanding.

The combat techniques taught by the witches were mostly for dealing with large targets. This was of great reference value to Salomon, who had already begun learning swordsmanship. It could even be said that the Venerable One only imparted knowledge; his combat skills, whether swords or spears, were basically trained by Bayonetta and Athena.

He summoned a whirlwind, swirling the obscuring smoke up to the church dome to prevent Bayonetta from being injured by not being able to see the enemy's movements. He didn't immediately draw his holy sword to attack the demon, not because he was lazy, nor because he suddenly remembered he was a spellcaster, but because this demon wasn't a particularly powerful creature; for a sorcerer and witch, it was no more troublesome than dealing with cockroaches in the house. After casting two spells, he became too lazy to do anything more, instead changing the magazine of the large-caliber explosive gun on his left arm, activating the feeding system, and beginning to solve the problem with the power of technology.

As he has always advocated, technology is the best option for solving all problems.

The boy hiding behind the stone tablet noticed the gunshots, explosions, and clanging of metal gradually subsiding. Mustering his courage, he cautiously peeked out from the side of the tablet and saw the witch standing there with her hands on her hips. The enormous demonic construct was covered in filthy flames and thick smoke. Unlike the corpses of other extradimensional beings, this demonic construct hadn't vanished after death; instead, it left behind numerous mechanical fragments. At Salomon's feet were two empty magazines. The reason there were no more magazines was because the witch had killed the construct in the time it took him to finish firing.

"Take this!" The witch grumbled, hurling the two bladed ratchet blades, each inlaid with a massive demon skull, at the sorcerer. These were among the few relatively intact parts of the demon's body. She wasn't giving them to Salomon as a gift; she wanted him to see the markings on the bladed ratchet blades—the Fifth Demon Pillar's mark was rather conspicuous. In truth, he didn't know exactly how many demon constructs the Fifth Demon Pillar had sold in the past, but Salomon had to vouch for Malbus to prevent Bayonetta from causing trouble on Mars after her return.

The waterfall church had a magnificent spiral staircase leading to the upper level. After the battle, the boy, eager (partly to escape the awkward situation with the sorcerer and witch), led them up. He said the "Bridge to Heaven," leading directly to the mountainside of Mount Finnbowent, was at the top of the church. This memory was so accurate, coupled with the magic the boy had unleashed not long ago, that even he began to doubt himself. "I don't remember anything. I don't even know why I have to go up that damn mountain. But I have to go, that's all I know. Does that sound normal?"

"Let me put it this way, I have quite a lot of experience with 'blank minds'," Bayonetta's words of comfort sounded more like a joke. "I didn't know my identity for 500 years, and only learned the truth in recent years. Come on, little one, whatever awaits us up there, we have a reason to go."

The locals call this building the Waterfall Church. Although they don't understand why it's called that now, they'll surely understand its origin once they see the church restored by magic. The spiral staircase that the witch, the sorcerer, and the boy traversed was built along a man-made waterfall. The lake they saw outside the church earlier actually originated from this waterfall, and the device restored the church also repaired the old waterway.

Compared to the boy who was still troubled by his memories, Salomon was much more relaxed.

He walked at the back of the procession, commenting with great interest on the church's sculptures and architectural style. The church windows were not stained glass, nor were religious images depicted in stained glass, nor were there any inscriptions or distinctive symbols of worship. The only indication that the building served a religious purpose were the hooded, robed sculptures of sword-wielding figures, standing alone in niches along the long, spiraling staircase. Their exquisite faces were shrouded in the indistinct shadows cast by the hoods, looking down at those ascending the stairs. Salomon speculated that these sculptures served the same purpose as the soaring domes, exquisite murals, and altars of Catholic churches: to exert psychological pressure on worshippers.

These statues were originally just broken gray stones, but after being restored by the device, both the statues and the windows were restored to their original appearance. There was no moss, no damage, which allowed Salomon to deduce the situation when the World Watchers ruled this place.

"Honey, how about we take some statues home after the mission is over?"

One second the boy was trapped in the melancholy of losing his memory, the next he was stunned by Salomon's boundless imagination. Not just the boy, even the witch was astonished. However, after a moment of surprise, she got used to it; after all, Salomon's thinking speed was incredibly fast. Often, while others were still pondering one problem, he had already solved the second, or even the third. Ordinary people often found it difficult to keep up with his leaping, unpredictable way of speaking.

Where would be the best place to put it?

“The manor’s fountains and paths need sculptures like this,” Bayonita nodded, satisfied with Salomon’s idea. Such sculptures were indeed very suitable for the Oxfordshire manor. She added, “And I think my foster mother would appreciate such art; we can tie a bow to the sculpture and give it as a gift!”

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(End of this chapter)