Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 865 The Little Secrets of the Sewers (First Update)

Many areas of London still use the Victorian-era sewer system, designed by Sir Joseph Bazargit, which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Engineering World. However, one can imagine the immense resources required to maintain such a public facility. For the London government and council, the sewers only needed to be functional. It's easy to imagine how much crime this extensive, dark, and damp place bred. Thugs, drug addicts, and vagrants swarmed in like lice and fleas, while garbage, corpses, and anything else they wanted to hide were crammed into the dark, concrete tunnels by gangsters and murderers.

Salomon had seen the homeless man twice before, but he was alive the last time, and not so alive this time.

Wanda decisively drew her pistol, aimed at the homeless man's head, and fired several shots.

Clearly, she had diligently reviewed the materials provided by the Immortal City, only lowering her gun after she had the unfortunate man's head to pieces. She didn't use the small-caliber explosive pistols common in the Immortal City, those guns being extremely difficult for someone not particularly strong to handle. She used a modified Beretta M92F, equipped with an extended magazine and capable of three-round bursts and fully automatic fire. This firepower was sufficient for Wanda; if not, she could use magic—though not powerful, high-level evocation spells. Wanda's practical results in "Elemental Theory" had always been poor; the most powerful evocation spell she could unleash was at most a small explosion, roughly the size of a grenade.

A thin air bubble covered their heads to filter out the air from the sewers, preventing them from being overwhelmed by the sludge deep within London's sewer system. Two blinding white lights hung overhead, helping them spot the blackened brickwork and the brownish-yellow water that reached above their shoes. However, this trick was somewhat redundant, as Salomon and Wanda were both wearing transspectral combat goggles, a piece of equipment still in the experimental stage. Once testing was complete, it would be distributed to intelligence special operations teams, and all the electronic eyes in their power armor would be upgraded.

"I mean, he can still move. Of course I know he can still move, but last time he was alive instead of having two bite marks on his neck. Looks like the traces I found last time have been discovered," Salomon said in a muffled voice. Wanda's decisiveness impressed him; it was hard to imagine that she could make such progress in such a short time.

Perhaps Western left-wing intellectuals would condemn such brutality, but for Salomon, decisiveness is an advantage; those who show sympathy to vampires, drug dealers, human traffickers, and robbers deserve to be bitten. Wanda's contact with Pietro did not change her mind or lead her to accept the Western human rights rhetoric, indicating that she fully agrees with the approach of Kamar-Taj and the Immortal City.

Wanda clearly realized that her differences with her blood relatives weren't just about their views on the future, but also about their differing approaches to life. However, she didn't try to change this, because she had witnessed the world teetering on the brink of destruction. She didn't agree with the Avengers' "even in defeat, give it your all" mentality; the Immortal City's "win by any means necessary" approach suited her better, just like Salomon had taught her in Sokovia.

"Well done, Wanda. I'm glad to see your progress." Salomon believed that the last mission to track the burrowing worms had a significant impact on Wanda. "Let's keep going. I gave this homeless man a bottle of Jack Daniel's last time; that vampire should be drunk by now."

According to the records, the vampire leader of London fled into the sewers in a panic, and it took the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj several days to find and kill him. However, before that, no one knew how many bloodlines he had spawned. Over a hundred years later, those newly born vampires, having lost their leader, have multiplied like pests, to the point that the vampires in London's sewers have severely degenerated, resembling rats. The one Salomon captured wasn't so severely degenerated; it merely had thinning hair and lacked white in its eyes. Otherwise, the victim wouldn't have been so easily hooked in the dim light.

Wanda shrugged. She was already familiar with Salomon's humor, and she didn't believe that vampires could get drunk.

"Let's keep going," the sorcerer said. "Our goal is to determine the number of vampires so we can prepare for the next extermination. So if you encounter something you can't defeat, just leave. I believe that shouldn't be difficult for you."

"I brought the scroll you wrote; you yourself said I could take it as I pleased," Wanda said with a laugh. "I don't think those vampires can withstand a bombing comparable to a nuclear explosion."

"Our mission is reconnaissance, not to overthrow London."

"So you really left a girl in that filthy sewer?" Bayonetta asked the sorceress, who was busy taking off her waterproof boots, with curiosity. "Didn't I tell you to invite Wanda over?"

“She’ll be knocking on the door in about an hour.” Salomon took the hot towel Diana offered and wiped his hands and face, then tried to use magic to get rid of the sewer smell. He stood in the entryway the whole time, because he was really dirty, and Bayonetta waved her spatula to stop him from leaving stains on the fine oak floors. “She said she’s going to take a shower.” After cleaning himself up, Salomon was finally allowed to step onto the floor. Bayonetta pinched her nose and gently pinched the hem of his shirt with her fingertips. Salomon said, “I really don’t understand. She can shoot a vampire without batting an eye, but she’ll run away at the sight of a swarm of cockroaches!”

"Foolish man!" Bayonetta waved her hand. "Go take a shower. I don't want to smell the sewer odor on you. If you still smell that bad, you're not allowed to sleep in the bed tonight! Dinah, go help him, or he'll just wash up quickly."

"You've given me permission to do this?" Diana's eyes lit up immediately.

"Of course, but you have to be quick!" Bayonetta snorted. "I don't want him still in the bathroom when the guest knocks on the door."

When Wanda entered the Witch's Apartment, her hair was still damp.

Bayonetta warmly welcomed her and said she could stay for a while. The room she'd stayed in last time was still there, and the spare clothes had been washed. Salomon, oblivious to her feelings, led her to the sewers, exposing her to swarms of cockroaches and rats, which Bayonetta found quite inappropriate. When the three witches gathered around the dinner table, Salomon emerged wrapped in a towel—he didn't seem to mind at all; Wanda was his apprentice, the witch was his lover, and there were no outsiders present. Joan's approving gaze lingered on his chest and abdomen before she cheerfully announced the start of dinner. Only Bayonetta angrily picked up a spoon and smacked him on the head, demanding he get dressed first and then bring Dinah out of the bathroom.

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(End of this chapter)