Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 29 The Unfaithful (Seeking Investment!)

The process of flipping through the pages was tedious, and Salomon even sneezed from the fine dust that was kicked up. He covered his mouth and nose and waved his hand to create a gust of wind that dispersed the accumulated dust.

It's not without reason that ordinary people consider these books to be nonsense, because a large portion of their content consists of ornate but empty sentences and hearsay stories, with only a few pages actually discussing mysticism. The oldest of these books likely date back to medieval Europe, a time when self-proclaimed wizards and alchemists roamed the land, selling useless elixirs; most of these books were written by such charlatans.

However, no one can rule out the possibility that a few individuals did indeed learn certain spells and then wrote what they knew down in books. They would conceal spells through various methods, such as poems or pictures, and Angelique Butchard may very well have acquired her knowledge through these books. But Salomon cannot simply move these books back to Kamar-Taj and examine them; the Venerable One has stated that this task can only be carried out by him, because only someone like him who has faced the Dark Dimension can possess a certain degree of resistance to dark magic.

Therefore, Salomon could only endure his frustration and try to find what he needed from these magic books. At the very least, he needed to confirm that the spells from the Dark Book were hidden in these books before he could be sure that the Collins family did not have any spells hidden away.

This task will take up a lot of his time, but only after completing this can he move on to the next step.

While searching through the books, Barnabas briefly left the room, then personally carried a large plate into the room and placed it on Salomon's table. The plate contained a cup of black tea, several neatly arranged sandwiches, a few waffles, and some jam.

When Salomon looked at him with a questioning gaze, the vampire sitting quietly to the side blinked. He said, "I heard you have a British accent, so I figured you must have a habit of having afternoon tea. But Willie doesn't usually come here, so I had to bring him. Don't worry, there are no silver items."

"I don't smoke when I touch silver, Mr. Barnabas." Salomon turned back to his uninteresting book. Though he was thirsty, he wasn't foolish enough to accept food offered by his prey; after all, who knew if he was prey in someone else's eyes?

Seeing that Salomon hadn't touched the food and wasn't angry, Barnabas sat to the side, occasionally striking up a conversation with him, subtly trying to glean information about Kamar-Taj. Salomon didn't hide everything; he emphasized the Sorcerer Supreme's status in the universe and his immense power. After all, he didn't trust vampires, nor did he believe they would so easily trust him; the title of Sorcerer Supreme was still quite useful at this moment.

But Barnabas's next question caught Salomon off guard.

"Does God really exist, Mr. Damonette? Are vampires not allowed to go to Heaven?"

"Magic exists, vampires exist, so why can't God exist?" Salomon looked at Barnabas, whose eyes widened as he awaited Salomon's answer, appearing utterly sincere.

The existence of God is of paramount importance to Christianity. Although the Sorcerer Supreme has shut out the influence of Heaven, he has not explicitly forbidden humanity from believing in God. Perhaps the Sorcerer Supreme intended for Christianity and the Odin faith to fight each other, but unexpectedly, one faith ended up dominating.

"As for whether or not I can go to heaven..." At this moment, Salomon turned the chair around, making a screeching sound on the floor, and said, "Is going to heaven really a good thing?"

"What does this mean?" Barnabas asked, drawing out his question, his left index finger and thumb pinched together as if he were holding Salomon's words. "Shouldn't good people go to heaven after they die?"

"I don't know, Mr. Barnabas," the young sorcerer replied, shaking his head. "I believe death should be a silent death, not some blindingly bright place, like a fool endlessly chanting hymns. I don't want anyone picking and choosing my soul, not even God."

"Are you a follower of the devil?" the vampire asked, tilting his head. "Don't all wizards sell their souls to the devil?"

“No, I am an unbeliever.” Salomon revealed a disdainful smile. “In my view, God does exist, but He is not worthy of faith. If my actions conform to that doctrine, it is only because that doctrine happens to conform to me, not because I believe in it; if I contradict that doctrine, it does not mean I need to be punished, but that I simply do not believe in it. What we need is not gods, but humanity itself. Mr. Barnabas, your family’s current achievements are not due to gods, but to your own hands.”

This idea was a deduction Salomon made based on his knowledge from his previous life and the teachings of the Sorcerer Supreme. Although this idea was incredibly naive now, Salomon was a thoroughgoing humanist. His statement, however, left Barnabas speechless with astonishment.

People of faith look down on unbelievers, and this is true in every world. In their eyes, they are far superior to unbelievers. Even if they themselves are destitute, they can still spit on wealthy unbelievers because they are noble and have faith.

From the believer's perspective, heretics are far more despicable than pagans, but even more despicable and unforgivable are the unbelievers. In their eyes, those without faith are without principles, beyond redemption, and utterly pathetic. While faith may not guarantee food and clothing, without faith one is unworthy of basic sustenance. If an unbeliever were to achieve basic sustenance, or even a comfortable life, it would be as if they had committed some heinous act.

Please don't think this idea is absurd, because such ideas are everywhere.

Theists tend to elevate themselves to an unparalleled height, as if they stand alongside their god on a high pedestal. While simply liking to stand on high wouldn't cause much trouble, the problem lies in their desire to pontificate and point fingers, as if they were extensions of the divine will, and their actions were divine mandate. If unbelievers band together, these believers can then legitimately bring war upon them, because they are right, the unbelievers are barbarians in need of enlightenment, and they believe it is God's will.

They don't believe in the efforts of the unbelievers because the unbelievers lack faith. Theists are unable to open their eyes to the facts; no matter how well others do, in their eyes, the unbelievers are simply covering up the filth and corruption. And no matter how bad they themselves become, they are elevated along with their God, because they believe in a deity, they are the Lord's shepherds, qualified and obligated to guide the lost sheep.

As for the double standards and distorting the truth, there's no need to elaborate; that's just standard practice.

Salomon's first memory contained extreme anti-theistic ideas, and perhaps influenced by this, he became a staunch advocate of atheism. In his view, humanity's current achievements have not involved the gods in the slightest. If humans were to fawn over them, the gods would simply rule over them with a clear conscience. If the Ancient One were not in this world, humanity would be no better than lambs.

His idea was also what the Sorcerer Supreme hoped for: an unbeliever as the best weapon against demons from other dimensions.

"Hmm..." The vampire clearly hadn't expected Salomon's attitude to be so aggressive. He held up a finger, forcing a smile. "I think Victoria should be awake by now!"

"Please go ahead, Mr. Barnabas." Salomon turned away expressionlessly. "I'll let you know when I'm done with my work."

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(End of this chapter)