Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 71 Phoenix and the Madman's Missiles

The Ancient One is the de facto ruler of Earth. This title was not obtained through sensational elections or empty political promises, but rather through a throne pieced together by the Ancient One's magic and the corpses of extradimensional beings. The bloodstains on that throne are palpable to everyone. As the supreme sovereign, the Sorcerer Supreme has the power to decide the lives of every person on Earth, an unquestionable authority.

Although His Holiness did not interfere with the development of human civilization, nor did he exercise authoritarian rule on Earth, when making certain decisions, he acted like a king, not allowing others to question him. Or rather, the questions raised by others had no effect on the Supreme Master. Democracy, human rights, and all the order developed by human civilization lost their meaning before this throne of bones, for seated upon it was the epitome of the most brutal competition in the universe.

That is the continuation of human reason, the most basic right to survival.

Salomon didn't know what possibilities the Venerable One had seen with the Eye of Agamotto, or what arrangements the Venerable One had made for Ceresa, but he still wanted to persuade his teacher to keep Ceresa away from there. Because Ceresa was innocent, he could kill a werewolf cub without batting an eye, but facing a young human, Salomon simply couldn't bear to push her into the abyss and subject her to that trial of blood and fire.

"Teacher," Salomon said, "I don't know what role Ceresa will play in this plan, but it's too dangerous. She has no way to protect herself and could easily lose her life."

"Only when Ceresa reaches Vigrid can Bayonetta kill Baldr." The Sorcerer Supreme remained unmoved by Salomon's questioning. "Besides, Ceresa will be fine. Baldr will not harm her, and no angel will harm her."

"I think even if Ceresa is Baldr's daughter, the angels won't think much of her because of that. We all know how extradimensional beings treat humans." Salomon was getting impatient, and his speech quickened considerably. "In their eyes, humans are like ants. Do you think they would give her special treatment during a battle? Even Lumen Sage is nothing more than a mere human in their eyes."

The Sorcerer Supreme glanced at Ceresia, who was whispering to the puppet, and sighed. "Ceresia is the key that Baldr the Sage of Lumen awakened Jubilee," the Supreme said. "He will not allow Ceresia to be harmed under any circumstances. Moreover, all the angels will not harm Ceresia, but will protect her, even at the cost of their own lives."

"Master, I don't know which of your schemes are yours and which are Baldr's." Salomon frowned deeply. He glanced at Ceresa, then turned to the Sorcerer Supreme. "But can you guarantee that Ceresa will be safe and sound?"

"I promise." The Sorcerer Supreme was both happy and sad, but she still made the promise. She knew how much the boy before her trusted her, and she wouldn't let that trust be overdrawn here. Salomon's appreciation for humanity and hatred for beings from other dimensions perfectly aligned with Kamar-Taj's educational principles, but in some ways, Salomon was undeniably too soft-hearted.

Just as Odin adopted Loki, Salomon represents the Sorcerer Supreme's long-term plan for the Seventh Throne. If the Supreme's scheme succeeds, Salomon will lose everything he cherishes. However, the Supreme also knows that Salomon has no attachment to the Sorcerer Supreme's position. His lazy nature makes Salomon more inclined to stay in his little room researching magic, which saves the Sorcerer Supreme a lot of trouble. Feeling guilty, the Sorcerer Supreme is preparing compensation for Salomon before leaving Earth to pursue eternity and materialize his soul.

Salomon pondered for a while, and the Sorcerer Supreme did not urge him, for the Sorcerer Supreme knew that Salomon was at a crossroads in his thinking. It is easy to articulate a principle, but to truly put it into practice is quite another matter.

In reality, His Holiness's expectations of Salomon were always somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, he hoped Salomon would value the survival of humanity; on the other hand, he hoped Salomon would be decisive and ruthless, willing to sacrifice some lives. These two conflicting ideas inevitably clashed after being instilled, and even the Sorcerer Supreme himself found it extremely difficult to find a balance. But His Holiness still hoped that Salomon could find his own balance, believing that truths derived from his own thinking were far more useful than those spoken by others; if he couldn't find one, then perhaps he would go mad.

To some, the Sorcerer Supreme's behavior appeared as a lack of understanding of human nature. Salomon noticed this as well, but said nothing. He believed that the Sorcerer Supreme, burdened by the pressure of maintaining humanity's order, had already achieved a remarkable feat by not suffering a mental breakdown, and given that this pressure had persisted for millennia, some unusual behavior was to be expected. Nevertheless, she imparted all the wisdom she could to Salomon, leaving it to him to choose whether to accept it or not.

"I understand." After a moment, Salomon made his decision. Since the Sorcerer Supreme had assured him that Ceresa would not be harmed, then she wouldn't; the Sorcerer Supreme had no reason to deceive him. However, he was still worried about Ceresa's safety, so he came up with a compromise.

His summoned creatures were naturally useless; the chubby gray shorthair cat was just good for being cute. He planned to summon a demon to protect Ceresa. He had been thinking for so long precisely to choose a suitable demon. This approach was also approved by the Sorcerer Supreme, and with the Sorcerer Supreme's permission, Salomon began drawing the summoning circle in his meditation room.

This summoning circle is different from the "Monster Summoning" circle. This one allows demons to remain on the material plane for an extended period, a spell from the Summoning School of Conjuration. This summoning circle is square, with two concentric circles nested in each corner, and runes written in the four corners. Inside the square are three more concentric circles, with the outermost circle bearing four names: EHEIIE, ELIION, ELOA, and IEOVA, each corresponding to a direction and representing "Crown, Beauty, Foundation, and Understanding." In addition, there are four pentagrams, with Salomon standing at the very center.

Salomon mixed his own blood into the ink, because his blood was the best material for summoning the seventy-two demons. In addition to his blood, there were four incense burners filled with frankincense and myrrh, placed in the corners of the room.

As he lit the incense and finished chanting the incantation, the other side of the summoning circle responded eagerly. Accompanied by a beautiful and melodious song, a giant eagle with golden and crimson feathers burst forth from the circle. It spread its magnificent wings and floated in mid-air, its long feathers moving without wind, the golden and crimson shimmering between its wings illuminating the slightly dim meditation room. Ceresa stared in astonishment at this beautiful sight. She cautiously touched the floating golden and crimson light; the light was not hot and disappeared immediately after being touched.

"My Lord." The giant eagle opened its beak, its voice as tender as a child's. A sweet melody overlapped with its voice, making it sound like a beautiful poem. It said, "Have you entered a new cycle? My legions will serve you, awaiting your return to the Seventh Throne."

This is the thirty-seventh Demon Lord of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demons, Phenex, a Marquis, commander of 20 legions. He is kind and gentle by nature, making him an ideal choice for raising children. Only Cheshire, the chubby gray shorthair cat, felt its position was threatened, its ears twitching back and its mouth constantly hissing.

"But that's not why I asked you to come." Salomon's face was stiff. Although he didn't know why these demons thought he was Solomon, it didn't stop him from ordering them around. He said, "I need you to protect someone."

"It is my pleasure to serve you." Phoenix slowly flapped its wings and landed in front of Salomon, gently touching the ring on Salomon's left pinky hand with its beak. "I will obey any of your commands, as I have in the past, as I am now, and as I will be in the future."

"Protect her." Salomon pointed at Ceresa. "She's going to be in danger, but I don't want her to lose her life."

"She is lovely, and powerful." Phoenix walked up to Ceresa, bowed slightly to the Sorcerer Supreme, and then tilted his head slightly, like a real bird, to examine the little girl who was staring at him with her mouth agape. "My lord, I think she may be far more powerful than you imagine."

"But she can't do anything now," Salomon said, "and she likes to cry."

"Don't worry, sir, I love children the most." Phoenix let out a satisfied hum after being hugged by Ceresa. "I will definitely carry out your orders."

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Salomon called the reporter's cell phone back, and the call was quickly answered.

Before Salomon could speak, Luca launched into a tirade, complaining about everything from the lava rivers and earthquakes in Vigrid's old town to the raging storms that swept through the entire city, the strange ocean currents crashing into Vigrid, and the sky in the distance turning into shards of glass. He had never encountered anything so bizarre in his life.

Several times, Salomon tried to speak, but Luca interrupted him with a barrage of complaints. Luca recounted his near-death experience and the state of Vigrid after its destruction. The entire city was now sealed off by the storm and the waves; no one could enter or leave. Salomon waited for Luca to finish, wanting to know what had happened while he was away from Vigrid.

The reality was likely even worse than Luca described. The sky was a dark gray, with thick, heavy clouds almost reaching the top floors of tall buildings. Lightning bolts darted wildly through the clouds like headlights in a fog. A torrential downpour swept from the sea into the city, the leaden, icy water forming several large whirlpools that tightly enveloped Vigrid. Tornadoes whipped up seawater, sucking it into the clouds before unleashing it upon the city. Vigrid, situated on the ocean, had truly become an isolated island surrounded by the storm. For ships and planes in such severe weather, taking off was out of the question; simply surviving a crash was a miracle.

Salomon stood on the black reef near Vigrid, the seawater splashing against it and occasionally wetting his clothes. With him were the mages of Kamar-Taj, their hands gleaming with magical light. They were here to place the final barrier around Vigrid, completely isolating the place from the world. Later, Ceresia would be sent to Bayonetta's side—a fact Salomon couldn't deny.

"Where are you, Luca? And where is Bayonetta?" Salomon waited until Luca finished his rambling before speaking. He looked up at the slowly closing arc of mirrored dimensions in the sky. "You'd better hurry up and tell me, or the satellites will be unusable in a bit, and nobody will be able to make any calls."

"What? Does all this have anything to do with you?" Luca shouted. "Whatever, I'm on Sun Island. Get over here right now, Salomon. I know the Ragnarokists are all lunatics, but they've gone way mader than I expected. You won't believe what I saw—I saw a row of missile launchers. I don't know what warheads are, but even a fool knows they're going to launch missiles!"

"Where's the target?" Salomon asked, but he seemed somewhat dismissive, because once the mirror dimensions merged, no missiles could escape Vigrid. Missiles exploding within the mirror dimensions were completely harmless.

"Wait a minute, I'm looking at some documents, wait a minute!" Luca said hurriedly.

"I didn't rush you..." Salomon yawned quietly; he was exhausted today.

"Found them! Holy shit! They..." Luca took a deep breath, "These missiles were targeting... themselves!"

Please vote for this chapter! I've simplified the summoning ritual a bit, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to write this chapter; I could have just described the ritual.

(End of this chapter)