Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 844 Meeting the Parents (Second Update)

"Evacuate?" Victoria Hand asked, her face full of surprise.

Baron Mordo nodded, then turned and left without looking back, followed by almost all the Kamar-Taj mages who had boarded the Retribution. The other two sky battleships, the Cross Rose and the Golden Blossom, were in the same situation; each ship would leave only one mage to open portals, while the rest of the Kamar-Taj mages would be sent to the ground to assist the Immortal City's armed forces in their evacuation.

"Wait," Agent Hand called to Baron Mordo. She pointed to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Finnbowent, painted with golden and blood-red light, and the massive horde of extradimensional creatures surrounding them. "Without the firepower support of the sky battleships and siege forces, how will the Lord fighting on the summit cope with so many extradimensional beings?"

"These are the last extradimensional beings. At the current rate of fire, they'll be wiped out soon," Baron Mordo explained patiently. "The Sorcerer Supreme has already freed up his resources to deal with the portals. Teleportation will be disabled in this area; no more extradimensional beings will be able to teleport here. This is our last chance to retreat to a safe distance. Do you have any further questions? I need to help evacuate more important things."

"That's all." Agent Hand's face was stiff. She finally understood why she had received the order to launch all the nuclear missiles of Immortal City. Although she was the head of the intelligence department, there were still many secrets within Immortal City that she had no access to, which made her quite unhappy. Although Salomon's style of doing things was exactly like Nick Fury's, no one would be happy to have such a boss. She believed that she had proven her loyalty and ability, and Salomon had no reason to hide anything from her.

If Mordo knew what Victoria Hand was thinking, he might comfort her.

This wasn't because Salomon distrusted Victoria Hand, but because Agent Hand had been hesitant to undergo bio-modification. The Immortal City's intelligence department was already busy enough for her; if she were to be told secrets, her unmodified mortal body would struggle to handle the workload. Furthermore, some secrets required magical concealment, burying them deep within her soul. Victoria Hand had always resented anyone tampering with her brain—ever since someone shot her in the head—so she could only access classified information that mortals could know. For example, those war machines; she had never uttered a word about them before, and those were secrets she couldn't possibly know.

Agent Hand stood on the bridge with her arms crossed, watching the sorcerer beside her cast a spell, leading the sky carrier slowly through the portal to a safe location some distance from Mount Finnbowent. Two other sky battleships were nearby, teleporting simultaneously with the Punisher. She waited about half an hour, then saw a golden beam of light shoot straight into the sky from the direction of Mount Finnbowent, piercing the deep blue sky that had just been tinged pink by the rising sun, followed by a deafening, piercing wail that seemed to come from the very depths of the soul.

This was the first time Tony Stark had ever heard of the town of Noah's End, or Mount Finnbowent, but he would never see it with his own eyes again, only able to observe the snow-capped peak through old satellite images. Whatever had happened there, the massive craters left by multiple high-yield nuclear explosions erased all traces, high-intensity radiation permeated every inch of soil, all evidence was buried beneath the collapsed mountain, and even as far away as Britain and Siberia, seismic readings could be detected.

The only reliable evidence he had was a satellite energy reading, exactly the same as the one he'd seen during his recap of the Battle of New York. Other evidence consisted of vague testimonies like "there were two suns in the sky," insufficient to be considered reliable. He was certain Salomon wouldn't easily break the seal on the Holy Sword—Salomon had specifically told him and Nick Fury the conditions for breaking the seal to reassure them. Although this wouldn't be of much use—Stark couldn't tolerate the Avengers being completely unaware of the massive catastrophe that had occurred, as if knowing it would automatically provide a solution.

But when he tried to find Salomon, he discovered that he had completely lost track of the arcane mage.

Salomon was very embarrassed, extremely embarrassed.

He was facing both Rosa and Baldr, the former owners of the Eye of the World. The reason for saying "former" is that the Eye of the World had reverted to its original state, sealed within a sapphire pocket watch face, sealed by Rosa and Baldr themselves, with the Sorcerer Supreme overseeing the process. Bayonetta and Joan of Arc sat on either side, but they seemed to have no intention of helping Salomon out of this predicament, as their own situation was equally awkward, given their limited experience facing elders. Rosa's expression remained unchanged, as the Sorcerer Supreme had revealed the entire plan after resurrecting her. Baldr, despite the grief of losing his wife, had nothing to complain about with Rosa now standing alive before him.

The only thing that made him unable to remain calm was the report on the Sun Island incident.

He knew all too well that if it weren't for Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme's earth-shattering scheme, his fate would be written in the report. He still couldn't believe he would attempt to kill his own daughter—Bard was only in his forties, and even after all the trials he'd endured, he found it hard to imagine what would happen five hundred years later, carrying the soul of the Prophet. He could only be thankful that Salomon and the Sorcerer Supreme had made their choice, but he would never express his gratitude; his only statement was to remain silent about his daughter's relationship with the sorcerer.

Baldr remained silent.

Salomon couldn't complain either, because this was a rare Disney-like family ending in his life. Even though he hadn't even had time to remove his armor, his muscles ached from the long battle, his mental state was terrible, and he was sticky with sweat, he had nothing to complain about. What he cared more about was how much the Immortal City had paid this time, and how long it would take to replenish the production capacity of these weapons.

One can imagine Stephanie cursing as she scribbled down the logistics report.

"We're planning a trip, so you can stay at the Oxfordshire estate yourselves," Rosa broke the silence. She glanced at Baldr, who sat beside her sulking. Ironically, all the witches present were, by various coincidences, five hundred years older than their partners. "After all, you're capable of living independently now, and you don't need this old woman bothering you. You all have your own careers, and you don't need a father figure suddenly appearing to discipline your lives, especially since Baldr has never been a father before."

"Rosa." Bald closed his eyes, shook his head helplessly, and didn't know what to say.

"I'll bring you some small gifts, but don't expect Baldr to write you any postcards. He didn't send me a single letter while I was imprisoned in the witch's prison. If it weren't for his plan to attack the witch's stronghold and rescue me, I would have even suspected he was dead!" Rosa added relentlessly.

But if Bald hadn't listened to the angel's slander and instigated that riot, none of this would have happened. Rosa, caught between the perspectives of a witch and her partner, didn't know how to accept Bald's actions; a complex mix of gratitude and anger swirled within her. Fortunately, she had five hundred years to slowly let go; otherwise, she would have already settled accounts with Bald for the destruction of the witch race. She looked at Salomon, "Although I've seen you as a child, this is our first formal conversation. Salomon, do you know what awaits you in the future?"

"Yes I know."

"Don't hurt Ceresia's feelings," Rosa nodded. "And Joan of Arc. Try your best."

Baldr narrowed his eyes with an unfriendly expression.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)