Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 50 Legal Consulting Services (Seeking Investment! Seeking Add to Favorites!)

Despite the summoning circle being filled with another kind of magic, and the unknown demon already extending its hand, Salomon remained completely unfazed. Although the demon itself had paid for the summoning magic, the summoning circle Salomon had inscribed was only a second-circle summoning spell. Even the most powerful demon could not squeeze through this narrow exit and reach the Prime Material Plane.

That Hideous Demon was already at its limit by using a summoning circle; any slightly stronger demon wouldn't tolerate the feeling of crawling through a pipe. Unless, of course, the demon's name is Mario, and that abyss is Nintendo.

This was an experience he gained from his memories, a small trick to prevent summoned creatures from summoning more demons through the summoning circle. If it were a mage specializing in spellcasting, there would be many more methods set up in the summoning room, including but not limited to placing water nozzles above the summoning circle to spray holy water when necessary; or inscribing a teleportation circle in the summoning room with the destination being Mount Paradise. After all, teleportation circles are anonymous, and Mount Paradise would not know who threw the demon there.

Salomon ignored the trembling, hideous demon who had been pushed aside by that hand, and instead extended his right hand, adorned with three rings. As he spoke, a sapphire, an orange sapphire, and a pink diamond lit up in turn.

"In the name of Vishanti, I command you to depart from this realm!" he said, as a torrent of pink, blue, and orange magic surged into the summoning circle, quickly pushing aside the crimson magic. This method of using magic was something Salomon had learned from the guardians of the British Museum; his body didn't rely on magic, but instead directly summoned Vishanti's inexhaustible magical power. Although this method was crude, it was extremely effective in the current situation.

As Vishanti's magic was about to engulf the summoning circle, the Hideous Demon, scorched and groaning by the magic, quickly waved its crimson hand to indicate it hadn't resisted. Salomon paused his magic output slightly, glancing at Bayonetta. The witch nodded, agreeing to Salomon's decision to postpone seizing control of the magic circle. However, Bayonetta still held her gun, aiming at the hand.

Then the deep red hand made a thumbs-up gesture.

A yellowed parchment scroll appeared out of thin air in its palm, with metal rods at both ends. The hand grasped one side, unfurled the scroll, and magically presented it to Salomon.

"So this is the contract?" Salomon reached out, using his mage's hand to stop the scroll from approaching him. He took out a magnifying glass from his pocket and began to examine the scroll closely. The parchment was quite old, with some cracks at the edges. Although Salomon could understand the language written on it, the contract was so long that he could only read it line by line.

He needed a copy that was free of unwanted ink splatters, decorative borders, meaningless punctuation, typos, annotations, and overlapping sheets of paper. Salomon scanned the parchment inch by inch with a magnifying glass, but found no trace of tampering; the contract was remarkably simple.

Salomon also pulled Bayonetta, who was on guard nearby, over to look at the contract, because the witch's Enochian level was much higher than Salomon's, and the arcane mage's biggest concern was the problem of understanding the sentences.

However, upon reading the entire contract, it is found to be very rigorous, and even a lawyer would not be able to find any ambiguity.

Salomon spent nearly an hour examining the contract, but the deep red hand showed no impatience whatsoever. It remained raised, gesturing the animal's shadow in the moonlight. Only when Salomon looked at it would it give a thumbs-up, whether out of absolute certainty that the contract would be signed or out of complete indifference, it was unclear.

"This doesn't look like a devil's contract at all," Salomon said. "The fact that there's no trickery involved makes me uneasy."

"This is a demonic contract, Boya," Bayonetta said, frowning. "You're connected to the abyss, not hell. Only devils like to tamper with contracts."

"Then I'm even more worried." Salomon looked at the self-amusing finger, a hand that could easily pierce a human body, trying to contort its shadow into a rabbit. "I'm more worried about demons than devils. Not every demon is willing to keep its contract; some demons are more cunning than devils."

For example, there's Grazt, the ruler of the Tri-realms, a notorious demon lord. This demon is very willing to abide by contracts, but like a devil, he can also tamper with them. Making deals with beings from lower planes requires extreme caution; when you think your wisdom surpasses theirs, that's when you fall into a trap.

"More importantly," Salomon pointed to the contract and whispered to Bayonetta, "there's no place to sign this contract."

Yes, this is a signed contract. The contract defines the true names of 72 demons that can be commanded, and the signatory of this contract is called Solomon, while the other party to the contract is a long list of countless names. These are all real names, and although human throats cannot utter these names, Salomon has managed to memorize a few.

"This is not my contract, Belial!" Salomon pulled Bayonetta a few steps away, shouting at the crimson hand, "I will not give you my soul, nor am I Solomon!"

The hand opened, and a line of writing, like paper after it had been burned, appeared out of thin air: "We hold the relevant views and reserve the right to pursue legal action."

"I don't admit it, Belial. I haven't even touched the contract." Salomon was also a little curious. Wasn't Belial a fallen angel, one of the Seven Lords of Hell? How did he end up in the Abyss? Could it be that the person who wanted to sign the contract with him wasn't Belial?

The palm visibly drooped in frustration, then another line of text appeared: "This is a fair trade, this is to reaffirm the contract."

"I will not sign unless the contract is changed." The sorcerer took another step back. "Never. I believe that using sacrifices to summon willing demons is a fair trade."

The owner of the hand seemed to ponder for a moment, then snapped its fingers. The few lines on the contract burst into flames and disappeared, and that clause was the one about selling one's soul. Salomon stepped forward again, examined the contract closely with a magnifying glass, and used a little magic to summon a quill pen, beginning to add conditions to the contract.

Clauses such as "any additions must be agreed to by the contracting parties, and the contracting parties must be of sound mind; if the modification of the terms is agreed to due to magic, drugs, superpowers, coercion, etc., the contract shall be void" were included. Salomon also added certain terms that are difficult to define legally.

For example, the word "etc." is extremely vague, indicating that the list is incomplete. But the owner of that hand had already seen through this little trick; it pointed at the word with its sharp nails, but Salomon simply shrugged and didn't offer any further explanation. Anyway, he couldn't be sure whether the demon would keep its contract, so it was better to be cautious.

Although it's unclear why Belial insists on a contract with him, Salomon can still summon demons even without one, albeit with slightly more complicated procedures. Therefore, whatever Belial wants from him, he must form a contract with Salomon—currently, Salomon holds the upper hand.

The crimson hand raised its middle finger and casually slapped the hideous demon cowering to the side, then grasped the contract and disappeared back into the summoning circle. This greatly puzzled Salomon, because he had only added some terms and conditions, without signing anything. He thought back carefully; he hadn't left any blood, hair, or anything like that on the contract or the magic circle.

"What's going on here? Legal consultation services? Why doesn't he just hire a lawyer?" the sorcerer asked, spreading his hands.

Bayonetta, however, was unaware of what had happened. Her knowledge of the lower planes was limited to the one where Lady Butterfly resided. She had long forgotten the knowledge of the witch race.

"So now, you can summon demons?" the witch asked.

"I don't know," the sorcerer replied, "but I think that thing could work."

At the center of the magic circle, where wisps of smoke rose, lay grayish-white embers, and in the middle of those embers lay a ring.

Salomon suddenly had a feeling that this might also be part of the Sorcerer Supreme's plan.

Smoking.

(End of this chapter)