Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 834 The Right to Choose (Second Update)

"Your sins are ignorance and blind obedience!" the sorcerer proclaimed in a deep voice, condemning the rioters' crimes.

The villagers were terrified. They didn't understand why Salomon said that, but soon a shout rang out from the crowd, and someone brandished a weapon to kill the false messenger. Salomon, expressionless, extended his power-armored hand, brushed aside the rusty, pus-covered farm tools, and smashed their heads into their chests with his fists, then tossed the mangled bodies aside like trash. Within a few steps, his power armor was covered in blood, but he didn't care, continuing his methodical slaughter.

Killing was not a difficult thing for Salomon, but he never killed an ordinary person.

No matter how much he loathed these mobs, he had to abide by the commandments of Kamar-Taj. Perhaps the Sorcerer Supreme saw the molten gold of rage buried beneath his armor, for he gladly told him that these people had to die; they had been directly incited by beings from higher planes, and their emotions were not natural. Later, the Ragnarok Order, residing on Sun Island, consisted mostly of immigrants from other parts of Italy, with only a few survivors. This was one of the few extermination-level operations ever carried out on Kamar-Taj, and the executor was Salomon—"You blindly follow inhuman beings, embracing the evil of the soul." He fired his explosive gun at ordinary people for the first time, "Superstition is the greatest sin; your souls have been corrupted, betraying the noblest reason and wisdom; you are beyond redemption."

The slaughter ended quickly. A single explosive shell was powerful enough to cleave a human body in two, and Salomon cleared the plaza of all living beings in the time it took to empty a magazine. He spared not a single creature whose brain had been corrupted by extradimensional forces. The burning fires were extinguished, charred corpses littered the plaza, and rain washed away the ash and blood, forming murky reddish-black streams on the ground. He hadn't encountered a single sage or angel; these mobs were merely cannon fodder and tools used to storm the witch's stronghold, and no one cared about their lives.

"Are you feeling better?" the Venerable One asked, standing beside the foul-smelling stream. "Does this help you control your emotions?"

"I didn't kill because of my own emotions, teacher." Salomon removed his helmet, his eyes filled with desolation. Compared to this turmoil, the Salem witch trials could even be considered civilized; this turmoil was nothing but blind killing and inexplicable hatred. "Why do humans so eagerly embrace superstition, discarding noble reason and wisdom like trash?" he asked in a deep voice. "If humanity goes down this path, can it ever escape ignorance and leave this earth?"

"This is the problem you will have to solve in the future, and I don't have a definite answer to it either. I believe you have studied history, and I can only tell you that humanity's potential is limitless, but it needs proper guidance to ascend." The Venerable shook his head. "In any case, the outer dimensions rely on the power of the spirit, and if you embark on this path, it means you will be at odds with all the outer dimensions. I can only give you the best and let you face that future. That's all Kamar-Taj can do."

"I won't regret it, teacher. This isn't the first time I've witnessed the fanaticism erupting from ignorance and blind obedience. I'm just grumbling a little; I'm not disappointed in humanity, I'm only disappointed in myself." The sorcerer sighed deeply. "Although I've planned for the future, I feel sorrow when I see the worst in humanity. I'm just wondering if I should bear all this with a human heart. Can I really do it...?"

"I have little doubt about your abilities."

"I don't have any either. I know what a Stigmata is."

"But you have a choice, my disciple. Bearing such a burden is cruel to anyone, and I believe I will say something similar in the future. You can choose to give it up; the decision is yours." The Venerable pointed to the silver key hidden beneath Salomon's breastplate, indicating that this was another way out. Salomon shook his head without much hesitation—learning from the First Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto, to abandon his human identity was not something he wanted; he had never even entertained such a thought, and even despised it. This was one of the reasons why his relationship with the Vishanti was not good.

"But don't rush into a decision, Salomon. Time will give you the answer, and you need time to think," the Sorcerer Supreme said with a smile. "However, that's another matter, not one we should be discussing right now. Come on, your course isn't finished yet. Let's move on, and you'll see the wonders of the timeline."

"Can I kill some sages or angels?" Salomon asked.

"Of course, my disciple, you can do whatever you want." The Venerable One spoke like a parent agreeing to buy a gift for their child. "They're all going to die anyway, so it doesn't really matter who kills them. Of course, the prerequisite is that they complete their work. I know it's cruel, and what you've seen before will continue to happen, but that's what they have to do."

Bayonetta and Rosa didn't spend much time on their way to the tower. Even after sacrificing their precious combat mechs and killing several Quadruple Virtue Angels, they still dragged their exhausted bodies to the witches' final line of defense. However, what they saw was not the witches fighting, but a meteorite falling from the sky. The burning meteorite accurately pierced the tower that had stood for hundreds and thousands of years, burying the accumulated knowledge and technology of the witches beneath the ruins or burning them in the flames. Under the pale full moon, there were only mangled corpses of witches. The pair of witches Rosa had sent to the tower earlier had perished; a quick glance revealed that there were no survivors. Those witches who had managed to escape the collapse quickly died at the hands of the angels.

Even Rosa was stunned by the sight.

"No! He wouldn't do such a thing!"

The meteor shower was unleashed by none other than the Quadruple Virtue Angels who had survived the attacks of Bayonetta and Rosa. To eradicate the witch race and seize the Eye of the World, the upper planes had spared no effort in dispatching a large number of powerful individuals who had previously been hidden. Rosa hadn't expected her lover to actually order those angels to do such a thing—although Bayonetta wanted to say that the one who did it was the Bald she knew, she swallowed her words out of consideration for her mother's overwhelming grief. A violent explosion erupted at Bayonetta and Rosa's feet. Bayonetta quickly dragged the grief-stricken Rosa aside to prevent her from being caught in the fireballs spewed by the Quadruple Virtue Angel [Perseverance].

Rosa didn't hesitate for long and immediately launched a counterattack. The ease and leisure Salomon had shown her vanished completely. As the most powerful witch and the holder of the Eye of the World from the previous era, Rosa displayed astonishing talent. She swept through the ruins with a fury that Bayonetta had never seen before, like fire bursting forth from rock. Whether in ranged combat, melee, or summoning magic, she was far more powerful and skilled than Bayonetta had ever displayed. Rosa even twisted off the dragon head of the Quadruple Archangel [Perseverance] that had destroyed the tower, and she also summoned creatures from the lower planes to drag the [Perseverance] angel into the abyss.

Bayonetta suddenly fired, the bullet deflecting a point of light that was heading towards Rosa.

She recognized who had attacked Rosa. "Little thing, what are you doing here?"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)