Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 62 Seresa

Joan of Arc's appearance greatly puzzled Bayonetta, because Salomon's description stated that both the witches and the sages were reduced to a single survivor, and that a struggle had continued for hundreds of years. Yet Joan of Arc fought her in the same manner, forcing the witch to doubt the accuracy of Salomon's account.

But now Salomon has gone to Kamar-Taj to investigate the lipstick that slept in the coffin with her. Presumably, when he returns, he will bring more clues, and Bayonetta wants to ask Salomon why there is now a witch like her.

Now, she needs to go to Rodin for warranty repairs.

About 105 km from Vigerlad lies a rift valley nestled among the mountains. The steep, almost vertical rock faces on either side appear as if cleaved open by a heavy hammer and then eroded by the relentless passage of time. This place is perpetually shrouded in dense fog; neither the mountaintops nor the slopes are covered in vegetation—not even common moss or arrow bamboo. Perhaps due to the extreme altitude, leaden clouds are not far away, and the friction between the clouds often causes lightning to strike vertically into this unobstructed rift valley.

On the two sides of the rift valley, on the closest mountainside, stand two colossal stone statues facing away from each other. These stone sculptures are similar in appearance, both wearing loose robes and hoods, holding long swords in their hands, and with wings spread behind them, forming a platform.

The statue on the left is lighter in color, closer to marble white, with a sun symbol engraved on its neck. It faces left, with downturned eyes and a sorrowful expression. The statue on the right is slightly darker, with a moon symbol on its neck. It looks down to the right, expressionless, but with rust-colored marks on its cheeks, and a huge spiral spear piercing its chest and exiting from behind; those rust-colored marks seem like tear stains.

No need to get close to these two enormous stone statues; even without knowing their story, anyone who sees them from afar can feel the pain they hold within.

In the dead of night, golden light shone on the platform formed by the outstretched wings of the statue on the left, and a golden circular portal appeared on the platform. A little girl with black hair, wearing a pink nightgown, walked out of the portal, looking bewildered. She was clutching a doll, wearing square-framed glasses, and appeared timid. Behind her was a figure in a white robe, with several peacock feathers unfurling from his back. Anyone who had seen the news would recognize him.

"Daddy, so is Mommy here?" the little girl looked up and asked the figure.

Lumen Sage Badr looked down at the little girl, "If you behave well, Mommy will take you home right away."

"Ceresa is a good girl!" the little girl said happily, hugging her doll.

"So, can you wait here for Mommy by yourself?" Bader asked.

"Of course!" The little girl nodded vigorously.

Baldr smiled as he closed the portal. The golden disc shrank and disappeared, leaving Ceresa alone on the not-so-wide platform. The warm golden light had barely faded when a distant rumble of thunder startled the little girl. Cold air rose from the desolate ravine, stirring the mist and causing it to churn.

Ceressa's naive confidence crumbled in an instant, and she hugged the patched-up rag doll tightly in her arms.

"Cheshire, it's okay, right?" she asked anxiously, tears welling in her bright gray eyes. This doll had been her only friend throughout her short, lonely life. But the doll, of course, didn't answer. The little girl stared blankly at the distant dark clouds, murmuring softly, "Mommy, come get me..."

Rodin's makeshift shop was located in an abandoned longhouse in the countryside. Whenever there was demand, Rodin could set up his bar at the nearest location and wait for customers. However, Bayonetta was too far from this location, and it was already early morning when she arrived.

Faced with Bayonetta's request, Rodin naturally agreed to repair the "Elf Knight," promising to make it sturdier. He even opened his armory for Bayonetta to choose from. After successfully resolving the weapon issue, the witch rode a motorcycle she had somehow acquired. Without inserting a key, she used her fingers to release magic and forcibly start the motorcycle.

The witch's power is somewhat similar to Salomon's, both containing a degree of "command" characteristics. However, Salomon currently cannot forcibly control vehicles with magic like Bayonetta. Or rather, Salomon has never tried this at all. His only means of transportation are a portal and a small bicycle; the former is used for long-distance travel, and the latter for going out to buy snacks.

It was barely dawn, and a thin mist still lingered over the small rural town. The witch twisted the accelerator, and the engine roared deafeningly. Bayonetta paid no heed to the residents' sleep, driving this raging beast along the town's road once again toward the distant verdant mountains.

Not long after leaving the town, Bayonetta heard a sob; a little girl's voice was calling for her mother, and Baldr's half-masked face flashed before the witch's eyes again. This wasn't the first time this had happened; previously, on the train to Vigrid, Bayonetta had also seen something in a daze.

She had no idea what this meant, but such a fleeting inspiration held some significance for spellcasters, especially for a special being like a witch—perhaps a sorcerer with the entire library as their backing might know something. The witch planned to remember these things and ask Salomon about them when he returned.

Before Bayonetta could finish pondering the true intent of those inspirations, a golden portal suddenly opened in her path, and she crashed into it without even having time to change course. The witch, without even seeing what was happening on the other side, jumped off her motorcycle to avoid any potential attacks.

But there was no sudden attack, no encounters, and it seemed that there was no one here except Bayonetta.

"Looks like there's someone else besides Rodin who wants me to take a longer route." Bayonetta stood in front of the motorcycle, which had been flipped over several times and was now in a dilapidated state. She looked around; it was a long, narrow stone platform, not very wide, with railings of varying heights on both sides. The sky above was covered with dark clouds, and the air was very humid and somewhat cold.

"So, where is this place? It certainly doesn't look like a party." Bayonetta looked around with great interest. She felt that someone had gone to great lengths to bring her here, so there must be a reason. She was really looking forward to the upcoming performance, which would be a good opportunity for her to try out her new weapon.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The little girl's voice rang out again. But this time it wasn't Bayonetta's imagination; it was a real voice nearby. The witch followed the voice up the slope and arrived at a more spacious platform.

A little girl was kneeling on the ground, clutching her Cheshire Cat plush toy tightly, tears streaming down her face like pearls. Hearing the sound of high heels clicking on the stones, she looked up in confusion, and through her teary eyes, she saw a dark figure slowly approaching.

"Mommy!" The little girl sobbed as she stood up. She kept calling out, hugging her doll, and stumbled towards Bayonetta with her short, almost frozen legs.

This word had a certain shock on Bayonetta, especially since it came from the mouth of such a cute little girl. Even when she encountered Exusiai, the witch wasn't as shocked as by this word. In her astonishment, the witch stopped in her tracks.

"But they probably mistook me for someone else." That was Bayonetta's first thought, followed by, "Who abandoned this child here?"

But before the little girl could reach Bayonetta, a warm golden light descended between her and the witch, accompanied by falling white feathers. The little girl looked up in confusion at the source of the light. "A monster?"

"Can you see angels?" Bayonetta was even more puzzled. She was not in the Purgatory Realm at the moment. Like this little girl, she was in the real world. But this little girl could see the Purgatory Realm through the real world and even see angels descending from the sky.

This time, the enemy's rank wasn't as high as the previous Exias. Aside from a few "ubiquitous" Affinity Angels, there was only one Ardor Angel, a lower-ranking Priest. The Ardor Angel possessed extremely ornate red armor, covered in golden patterns. Its head was identical to the Affinity Angel's, with a bird's beak, and its wings consisted of three enormous golden feathers. In its right hand, it held a large sword composed of many single golden feathers, and in its left hand, a retractable metal shield with a golden, extremely sharp edge.

Judging solely by its design, this angel is quite majestic and handsome. However, it still frightened the little girl so much that she sat down on the floor, crying and screaming in panic, which made Bayonetta somewhat unhappy.

Although she enjoys whipping her enemies, playing pranks on her opponents, and summoning various instruments of torture and demons, she is a loving, home-loving woman who always has band-aids on hand.

Facing the several recklessly charging, benevolent angels, Bayonetta drew her new weapon from her hair—a katana gleaming with purple magic. Like in old Japanese samurai films, the duel ended in an instant; the two passed each other, back to back, each holding their weapon, awaiting the sensation of the thin blade slicing through flesh. Then one would feel the pain, look down in surprise, and discover they were already wounded, on the verge of death.

Bayonetta accelerated to a speed invisible to the naked eye in an instant. She rushed out, passing through the purple magic circle. Just like in the movie, when the sound of a piano explodes, it is the moment of combat. In an instant, she appeared behind the Angel of Kindness.

When the witch stopped, the sharp sound of blades cutting through the air still lingered. The witch's battle left no time for the enemy to notice their injury; the angel's head immediately fell off, then exploded into a burst of golden light and vanished from the spot.

This sword is called the Shura Sword, or the Ryouou Sword, and it was Rodin's prized possession. The sword certainly lived up to Rodin's expectations; the witch sliced ​​off the Angel of Kindness's head with the ease of cutting a cake.

The next few friendly angels did not survive long under the witch's blade, but the crimson Ardor angel allowed Bayonetta to slaughter the other angels, simply standing in front of the little girl.

Hearing the little girl's cry of surprise, the witch then noticed that a benevolent angel was grabbing the little girl by the collar and pulling her into the sky. Bayonetta leaped over the Ardor angel's obstruction, soared into the air, severed the benevolent angel's arm, and caught the falling little girl in her arms.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried out in surprise. As soon as Bayonetta hugged her, her crying stopped, as if the hard wait had never happened.

"Stop crying, understand?" the witch said, slightly impatiently. "The two things I hate most are crybabies and cockroaches! Also, I'm not your mommy."

"Okay, Mommy." Upon hearing this, the little girl's tears welled up again, but she still sniffed hard to stop sobbing.

"Little one, you should hide now." Bayonetta nodded in satisfaction. She hopped aside with the little girl in her arms, then pulled out a cell phone from somewhere, dialed a number, and said to the little girl, "There are still angels here who will be fighting me. I'll find someone to take care of you."

"Okay, Mommy!"

"Huh?!!" Before Salomon could react, Bayonetta said, "Find my current location. I know you can find it. Now, hurry up and come here."

The Supreme Master stretched out his hand, and a portal appeared in the meditation room.

"Remember to bring some snacks," the Sorcerer Supreme said with a slight smile. "You'll need them."

Could you please give me a recommendation vote? I've applied for the Sanjiang Project, remember to place your bet!

(End of this chapter)