Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 825 Nepotism (First Update)

Rodan waved casually, as if hailing a taxi from the roadside, and a blurry, enormous figure immediately rose from beneath the crimson sea of ​​clouds. The figure circled the distant crimson cloud tornado a few times, then, with visible excitement like a shark spotting its prey, it rushed at incredible speed to the cliff edge near Rodan and the arcane mage. It was a ray-shaped creature from a lower plane, named [Insidious].

Salomon had seen this creature in underground caverns, swimming like a predator in the dark, cold waters.

Compared to the one he had seen before, although this lower-dimensional creature's slimy black skin was also covered in a disorienting, putrid hue, it was noticeably smaller, with denser, chaotic patterns, and its pectoral fins spanned approximately twenty-three to twenty-four feet. Even so, it was already a behemoth, and whenever he saw such a creature, he was reminded of bats—the embodiment of shadows and fear in the dark depths of the sea, silent hunters lurking beneath the silt and reefs. Rodan invited the arcane mage to leap off the cliff, climb onto the [Insidious] pectoral fin, and walk to the behemoth's head to overlook the floating rubble and islands below, as well as the various small lower-dimensional companion creatures. Completely ignoring Salomon's disgusted expression, the fallen angel craftsman gave a call, and the ray-shaped lower-dimensional creature flapped its pectoral fins again, gliding forward with surprising smoothness through the sulfurous, foul-smelling air as if it were in water.

Even though they were still some distance from their destination, Salomon could still hear the piercing screams of women and the sounds of gunfire emanating from the barren floating island above the crimson sea of ​​clouds along their journey. But this wasn't enough to confirm Bayonetta's location; after all, during his few minutes aboard the [Insidious], he had indeed passed through some truly appalling places, witnessing firsthand the games of killing and lust among the humanoid lower-dimensional beings. What truly confirmed Bayonetta's location was Lady Butterfly's astonishing height and the terrifying shrieks emanating from this female demon. From a distance, Lady Butterfly seemed to be punching something in her favorite way—by swinging her fist. Even more astonishing was a female demon clad in a long white dress and wearing a headdress resembling a full moon eclipse, lurking outside the floating island, relentlessly hunting down any lower-dimensional beings that came upon hearing the commotion.

Salomon immediately recognized her as Lady Styx, Joan of Arc's contracted demon. Clearly, the unfortunate soul who stole Joan's soul was being besieged by the witches' contracted demons. As the [Insidious] vessel carrying the sorcerer and craftsman approached the floating island, the gigantic Lady Styx lowered her head, her blood-red twin suns fixed on the sorcerer and Rodan. Her hands, painted with bright red nail polish, tightly gripped another lower-dimensional creature of the same type, the stench of sulfurous blood and the pungent smell of rotting flesh mingling with the cascading torrent of blood. Rodan took a deep drag on his cigar, then tossed the remaining butt aside. "Remember to state your purpose, sorcerer. This is the real body; you'd better be careful," the fallen angel craftsman whispered. "Don't mess with women; that's a piece of advice. I don't want to be attacked for such a ridiculous reason."

Although Lady Styx's appearance was distinctly that of a succubus from a lower plane, Salomon recognized her true form. He spoke to her with the utmost respect due to an ancient Titan god, but it was merely respect; even the Vishanti could not force Salomon to bow his head. "Honorable Oceanides, ruler of the Styx River," he said, "you should know why I have come."

Oceanids, the Oceanid, can be categorized as a type of nymph. She is called the Lady of the Styx because she governs one of the five rivers of the underworld that encircle the lower planes. The reason why one's shadow takes the form of a moth after making a pact with her is because, according to folklore, moths carry away the soul after death, or that moths are the transformed souls of the deceased. Legends, sacrifices, and prayers all influence the worshipped to varying degrees; this is an immutable law.

Salomon used her real name, which was both a sign of respect and a threat.

On one hand, remembering a name means remembering the priest, which is extremely important for a Titan of Olympian descent, unless they are as detached from worldly affairs as Hecate. On the other hand, mastering a true name means mastering power. A true name can be manipulated in countless ways by the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. This is why the Sorcerer Supreme went to great lengths to conceal Salomon's true name, making it unrecognizable, unheard, difficult to write, and difficult to pronounce.

Salomon made it clear that he was definitely going to go.

"Athena invites you to dinner, of course, after this matter is resolved." Oceanids, the Lady of the Styx, nodded and stepped aside to clear the path to the floating island. Even the well-traveled fallen angel craftsman frowned, unsure of what to say. Salomon shrugged, taking a puff of the cigar Rodin had given him. "Whether it's the lineage of Kamar-Taj or my own bloodline, it all traces back to the Olympian pantheon. Moreover, my relationship with the Titans is even closer, so it's merely nepotism."

Even Baron Mordo was taken aback.

He had never imagined Salomon possessed such a large number of war machines. After the giant tanks rolled over the town, numerous self-propelled artillery pieces were also deployed to artillery positions outside the town, beginning reconnaissance fire on positions on the slopes of Mount Finnbowent. In addition, there were various types of mortars and howitzers, displaying a tactical style reminiscent of battleship-based warfare, clearly poised to launch a localized war. Not to mention the fighter jets carrying nuclear weapons and the experimental high-tech weapons deployed throughout Mount Finnbowent, including but not limited to laser weapons, plasma weapons, and electromagnetic weapons. Baron Mordo truly had no idea what tactical objectives Salomon's men intended to achieve.

However, Tita and Sophia weren't entirely focused on the upcoming small-scale war. Even though the Immortal City's regular (though not entirely regular) forces had been deployed near the battlefield, their thoughts remained with the arcane mage. Unlike Tita's pure worry, Sophia deeply understood how important Salomon was to the people of the Lost City—Sophia and her people had a crucial mission: to oversee the battle. They possessed the best equipment and had the authority to eliminate any coward under their command. They had to do this because the enemy in this war wasn't ordinary people, but extradimensional beings, and no one knew whether the sanity of ordinary soldiers would be affected.

Even Sofia herself couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be affected.

She was deeply worried that if she lost her command, the supervisory team, which relied on hierarchical oversight, would be completely paralyzed. If Salomon couldn't return, the Lost City tribesmen, doing this dreadful work, would certainly be ostracized and forced to remain stationed at the Lost City base. Nobody wanted to return to the past, walking nearly a hundred kilometers after hunting to exchange supplies. The only solution now was for Salomon to complete his mission and emerge from the Finnbowent Mountains. Sophia, her brow furrowed, told Victoria Hand about this, but the head of intelligence merely glanced at her curiously and assured her that such a foolish situation wouldn't occur.

Is this silly girl questioning the monarch's ability to plan and coordinate?

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)