Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 78 Spanning Five Hundred Years

Salomon coughed incessantly due to his lung injury, each word accompanied by blood and foam gushing from his lungs. However, he wasn't too worried; magic could solve the problem. Even if he didn't have time to prepare the spellcasting materials, the scrolls he had already copied could save his life.

Bayonetta carried him as they leaped toward a massive, falling stone slab. The witch's magic created a virtual gravity on the slab, allowing Salomon and herself to stand steadily on it.

"Throw me out." Salomon took out a small bottle of alcohol and poured it into his mouth, suppressing the urge to cough. He swallowed the sticky, sweet, and metallic taste of blood mixed with his own, feeling his throat and stomach burning. Before the alcohol affected his mind, Salomon chanted a spell, casting a spell on himself.

This is the result of Salomon's study of necromancy. The spell "Morphing Life" allows him to use negative energy to stop bleeding, facilitating subsequent treatment. This spell can last for an hour, enough time for Salomon to prepare for treatment.

He coughed up the last clot of blood and said to Bayonetta, "Throw me out, and the rest of the fight is yours. As for Seresa... she can't interfere with you now, so you can do whatever you want with her..."

Seeing that Salomon had returned to normal, Bayonetta's tone returned to its usual tone. She said, "Big sister will handle everything, little brother, don't worry, you've done enough."

Bayonetta glanced at the rapidly approaching figure below, grabbed Salomon's shroud by the collar, and kissed the sorcerer on the cheek.

After saying that, she swung the sorcerer halfway around and threw him away. A golden-red figure streaked across the sky, grabbed Salomon, and flew towards safety. It was Phoenix, which had flown here immediately after bringing Luca back to safety, just in time to catch Salomon being thrown out.

The sorcerer felt something sharp catch his collar, and hearing the sound of flapping wings and falling golden specks, he knew who had grabbed him.

Salomon breathed a sigh of relief, threw away the feathers in his hand (the remaining material from Tasha's Laughter spell, which could also be used as material for Featherfall), gave up casting the spell, and let Phoenix lead him away from this dangerous place where rubble was constantly falling.

He watched as Bayonetta's magnificent black-purple butterfly wings extended from her back, leaping upwards step by step over the falling rocks. Meanwhile, Baldr, having adjusted to the force, flapped his five pairs of wings and pounced towards Bayonetta below. Seeing that a collision was imminent, Salomon quickly told Phoenix to increase his speed and find a safe spot nearby.

Salomon said, "Don't take me too far. I must ensure that the final victor is on our side."

"My Lord, but you are still injured." Phoenix's voice, accompanied by sweet notes, remained clearly audible even amidst the continuous explosions. As a marquis among the seventy-two demonic pillars, Phoenix was kinder than a demon; it was even kinder than most humans. Or perhaps, it was never a demon at all, but simply fell into the abyss due to certain events.

Phoenix had a very high affinity for Salomon, not only because it mistook Salomon for Solomon, but also because it had seen Salomon soothe a child, and being with a cute little creature was far better than being in the most chaotic and disorderly place in the universe. As it flew with Salomon to the rooftop of a nearby building, it also inquired about Ceresa's situation from the sorcerer, "Where's the child? I haven't seen her."

"She was eaten," Salomon said. "That child was Bayonetta from the past; Baldr absorbed her power. Now, Ceresia is gone."

Phoenix fell silent, no longer speaking. This fact had hit it hard, but Salomon was in no mood to comfort it. Then, a swirling shower of sparks appeared before them, and a portal suddenly opened. Phoenix immediately led Salomon inside.

This was a mirror dimension, where all the buildings were tilted, folded up to form a vast platform. "Could it be Mordo again?" Salomon thought. "He's so thoughtful, always appearing at the most opportune moment." However, the person waiting there wasn't Mordo, but the Sorcerer Supreme. Salomon saw that the Sorcerer Supreme was wearing the Eye of Agamotto, the supreme artifact of Kamar-Taj, on his chest.

"Master." Phoenix landed before the Sorcerer Supreme with Salomon. "What brings you here?"

"Because I see the possibility of completely slaying Jubilee, and I am needed here," the Venerable said, extending a finger and gently twirling it above the Eye of Agamotto. The green light of the Time Stone emanated from the Eye of Agamotto, and two rings of green magical light encircled the Sorcerer Supreme's wrist. The Venerable said, "To be precise, it is I who must initiate the slaying of Jubilee."

"Did you also foresee the possibility that Seresa might be absorbed by Baldr?" Salomon asked. "I think you should know about Seresa's origins."

"Once the power of the Eye of the World is gathered, it will possess a portion of the power of the original Chaos Aesir. Although we don't know where this demon god came from, he certainly possesses the power to travel through time. After Baldr obtains the Eye of the World, although it is not enough to contend with the Eye of Agamotto, as long as he spends time crafting a grand magic spell, bringing the young Ceresa back to the present would be a piece of cake," the Venerable replied. "Baldr's absorption of Ceresa's power is a necessary step in completing the killing of Jubilees."

"Well..." Salomon hesitated, but the Venerable One saw through his thoughts.

"Don't rush, Salomon," the Venerable One said. "The future holds many possibilities, and you've already pushed the ending towards the best possible outcome. You've given Ceresia enough care, and Bayonetta has helped Ceresia become stronger. What I need to do next is write this deity's epitaph."

The Sorcerer Supreme effortlessly took control of the mirror dimensions cast by all the spellcasters of the Order of the Wizarding. With a wave of her hand, the building before her began to fold and rotate, bringing a woman lying on the ground to her presence. This woman was Joan of Arc, already severely injured, and had fallen to the brink of death after being struck by Baldr's magic.

The Venerable One held his palm to her, and the green ring of magic on his arm slowly rotated. As his palm rotated, Salomon saw the charred marks on Joan's body gradually disappear, and her external wounds slowly healed, leaving no trace on her skin, as if she had never been injured at all. Then, the Venerable One rotated his palm in the opposite direction, and the external wounds reappeared, but his other hand was casting other spells. Under the combined effect of the Time Stone and the Vishanti magic, the reappearing external wounds on Joan's body were gradually healed.

The Time Stone was only used to ensure Joan of Arc wouldn't die during the healing process. However, she was also mentally controlled by Baldr. Her battle with Bayonetta not only helped Bayonetta regain her memories but also freed Joan of Arc from Baldr's control. To allow her to complete the final step, the Venerable One couldn't use the Time Stone to rewind Joan of Arc's state to before the battle; he could only heal her little by little.

Through the mirror dimension, Salomon watched Bayonetta and Baldr's battle up close.

Baldr floated in the air, his white feathers unfurled. He blew on a soft, long feather in his hand, and instantly, an extremely long, golden lightsaber made of positive energy appeared in his grasp. Baldr flapped his wings and flew forward at incredible speed. The weightless lightsaber effortlessly sliced ​​through the falling rocks with its intense heat, and he swung this terrifying weapon viciously towards Bayonetta.

Bayonetta summoned Gomorrah, a giant beast from the Demon Forest, but it couldn't break Baldr's golden shield. The sage easily snapped the demon's neck. The witch then summoned other demons, such as a giant centipede from the River Styx. This centipede, its body coiled around Baldr like a hunting python, managed to crush his shield before being torn to pieces by Baldr's sudden burst of power.

The battle was extremely fierce, with Baldr and Bayonetta moving at an absurd speed. To ordinary people, they were nothing more than a blur of motion, with bullets flying everywhere and dazzling flashes of light streaking across the battlefield. If Salomon hadn't been safely in the Mirror Dimension, he might have been injured due to his inability to dodge in time, and the injury wouldn't have been as "simple" as a lung injury.

Bayonetta's combat skills were exceptional; she consistently dodged Baldr's attacks and retaliated with her diverse arsenal. Salomon even spotted a lightsaber from Star Wars—definitely Rodin's work, as he was a true film enthusiast.

"May the Creator Jubilee protect you!" Suddenly, Baldr, struck by the attack, screamed in agony as he plummeted to the ground with his arms outstretched. Bayonetta leaped down after him, and before Baldr hit the ground, she reached into his chest and pulled the little girl out.

"Is it over?" Salomon looked at the Sorcerer Supreme who was healing Joan of Arc with a puzzled expression. Even while casting a spell, the Sorcerer Supreme still took the time to speak with Salomon, gesturing for Salomon to look at Bayonetta.

"It's not that simple," the Venerable One said. "This matter is not over yet."

The witch carried the little girl toward the huge rune disc that had fallen to the ground. Even though the disc had crashed hard from the top, it was still undamaged.

As Bayonetta approached, carrying the little girl, the runic disc and the pocket watch on her chest began to glow brightly. This was a resonance of power; the runic disc contained a grand magic spell written by Baldr, the very spell through which he had brought Bayonetta from five hundred years ago to the present.

Bayonetta instinctively removed the pocket watch from her chest and aimed it at the rune disc. A blinding light burst forth from the stained glass at the center of the disc. Bayonetta saw a cold, stone-built room. The exquisite carvings on the stone walls were all too familiar to her. In the corner of the room stood a large iron bed covered with thick white blankets. The witch carried the little girl over and placed her on the bed.

Baldr's magic made the little girl incredibly sleepy, but she still managed to keep her eyes open, looking at Bayonetta by the bedside, and mumbled in a daze, "Mommy... Daddy..."

"Don't be afraid, child." Bayonetta's voice was incredibly gentle. "The nightmare is over. It was all just a dream. You are a strong little girl, and there is nothing you can't overcome."

"Mommy..." the little girl asked groggily, "Did you find it? The thing you were looking for?"

"Yes, I found it," Bayonetta said. "So you don't have to worry anymore. You should also take good care of your treasure and remember to keep this pocket watch with you at all times."

"When I grow up... I want to be a woman like Mommy." After saying this, the little girl fell into a deep sleep.

"Sweet dreams, child," Bayonetta hummed softly, a familiar lullaby her mother, Rosa, had sung to her during sleepless nights when she would visit Rosa in her captivity. And each time, her mother would sing this lullaby, a gentle melody that accompanied Bayonetta throughout her childhood.

Salomon only saw a flash of bright light before the little girl in Bayonetta's arms vanished. The witch covered her forehead, seemingly lost in thought. The runic disc that had withstood the fall from the sky was completely destroyed, its stained glass shattering into pieces. If he wasn't mistaken, Bayonetta had used this runic disc to send the little girl back five hundred years.

"Shouldn't it end here?" Salomon asked. "This ending seems perfect."

Having just finished treating Joan of Arc and sending her out of the Mirror Dimension, the Supreme Master pointed to Baldr lying beside him. "Why do you think I treated Joan of Arc?" the Supreme Master said. "Because she was the one who completed the final step, and that lipstick hadn't even been used yet. And the effects of time are only just beginning to manifest."

As the Sorcerer Supreme spoke, Bayonetta let out a painful scream, and suddenly red magic erupted from her body. Just like the power released by Baldr's 'right eye,' the magical storm pushed everything around her aside. This was the sign that Bayonetta had awakened the power of her 'left eye,' and the power displayed by this red magic was even more exaggerated than that of Baldr's 'right eye.'

After Ceressa was sent back 500 years, the love and care from Bayonetta and Salomon filled the void in her heart. And because of Bayonetta's warning, Ceressa kept the pocket watch close to her chest and blocked Joan of Arc's sword. A history completely different from this world began to develop, and a parallel world began to be born.

In that world, Ceresia grew into an independent and strong witch. She did not lose her fighting spirit despite her mother's death during the witch hunt, thus avoiding being sealed away by Joan of Arc. Perhaps due to interference between parallel worlds, two completely different memories spanning five hundred years flooded into Bayonetta's mind in an instant. Under intense mental fluctuations, she fell into a coma, and her 'left eye' successfully awakened.

"Next, you will learn how to use the Eye of Agamotto," the Sorcerer Supreme said, looking at the bewildered Salomon. "If you want to know what happened in another world, you must use the Eye of Agamotto to examine those possibilities, because each possibility is a parallel world that may be born. This involves many complex issues, including the reversal of time flow, which you have never learned before."

"When will it start?" Salomon asked.

"Wait until this is over," said the Supreme Master. "But now you should pay attention to someone else."

"That completes it all!" From some unknown time, Baldr, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly stood up. His entire body was enveloped in the blue magic of his 'right eye'. "The right eye observes the light, the left eye observes the darkness, and both eyes observe this world together."

"In my plan, there was no woman named 'Beyond', but you, Ceresa, as a child," Baldr said with extreme smugness. "She looked at the world with pure eyes, she could create new history, and her power could awaken her left eye. This was all part of my plan, Ceresa, you did a great job!"

My head was throbbing from writing, so I revised the theory to better align with the conclusions of Avengers: Endgame regarding time travel, as well as parallel universes—this is the future.

The next chapter concludes the Bayonetta storyline, and then the Marvel storyline begins. There are also some legendary tales. Hint: Salomon doesn't like coffee.

(End of this chapter)