Marvel Magic Case Files.

Chapter 90 Negotiation

When Salomon revealed one of Nick Fury's biggest trump cards, the veteran agent's pupils trembled uncontrollably. For an intelligence agency, or an agent, secrets are equivalent to weapons; Salomon's revelation was tantamount to disarming Nick Fury. But Nick Fury quickly regained his composure; he had more trump cards than that. Now, he needed to consider the losses suffered by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Salomon's heels clicked against the floor as he circled the room, finding nothing unrelated to work. He glanced at Nick Fury, deciding he'd given himself enough time to think, and waved his hand again. Everything in the room returned to normal, and Phoenix stopped flapping its wings and landed on the desk in front of Salomon.

"You see, we can only talk properly once we've calmed down." Salomon sat back down in his chair. The sorcerer treated Nick Fury like a viper, only speaking when he held down that scaly head. He said, "You think you know a lot of secrets, but that's not the case."

"I know, magic." Nick Fury accepted it quickly. As one of the few Earthlings who knew about extraterrestrial life, Nick Fury's open-mindedness far surpassed that of many ordinary people. Anything unbelievable could happen in this world, and magic was one of them. He rubbed his aching arms, then abruptly raised his pistol and pointed it at Salomon. "This is the only proper way to negotiate. Tell me, how did you know about Carol Danvers?"

"Shoot." Salomon suddenly grabbed his pistol and pointed it at his own head. "That's what those action team members did. As for why I'm not injured, you can try shooting me."

Nick Fury didn't move, just stared straight at Salomon—it was a threat assessment. The arcane mage impatiently snatched the pistol and fired a shot into his temple. The bullet stopped abruptly near Salomon, as if losing all its momentum. Salomon removed the scalding bullet and tossed it, pistol and all, to Nick Fury.

“I must make something clear to you,” Salomon said. “Kamar-Taj has stood for millennia, knowing far more secrets than S.H.I.E.L.D. I know more than just Carol Danvers. Do you really think a cosmic police officer who gains power from the Tesseract and only knows how to wield that power recklessly could escape the Mirror Dimension? Magic relies on intelligence, not brute force. If she hadn’t repelled the Kree fleet, what do you think awaited them? The Sorcerer Supreme wouldn’t let someone who could threaten human civilization escape, even if it’s not a matter for the magical world.”

"The magical world?" Nick Fury's tone softened slightly. He glanced at Phoenix—he now understood he was isolated and helpless, left only to listen to Salomon. "Are there many people like you?"

"Yes, but any wizard, even those not from Kamar-Taj, whoever lives on Earth must be subject to the Sorcerer Supreme's jurisdiction and surrender a portion of their magic as proof," Salomon said. "You can think of the Sorcerer Supreme as the king of the magical world, and I am his student."

"Sounds like a tyrannical dictator," Nick Fury probed.

"Perhaps. People in democratic societies often associate dictatorship with tyranny. You received a Western education growing up, so it's not surprising that you think that way." Salomon casually propped his legs up on the desk, unfastening his King's shawl with the Eton College crest—it was indoors, so he didn't need to wear it. He said, "The crisis in the magical world is far more dangerous. Any one of them could destroy the world. We don't have time for democratic votes. Do you remember when all the satellites disappeared a year ago? That was because of a battle between a god and a demon. Even the aftershocks of that battle could destroy human civilization. The Sorcerer Supreme activated the planetary defense system and the mirror dimension, protecting Earth's civilization."

"Since it's so dangerous, it shouldn't be outside the government's jurisdiction..."

Salomon sat up abruptly, looking at Nick Fury with extreme seriousness.

"Who do you think you are, Nick Fury? Do you think the reason humanity hasn't been colonized by aliens is just luck? Do you think the bastards of Heaven and Hell haven't established their own kingdoms on Earth and ruled humanity because of mercy? Who do you think is the king of Earth? In every dimension beyond your imagination, there are the footsteps of the Sorcerer Supreme, and beneath each step lie the corpses of his enemies. That is a throne forged in blood and bones. Do you think that throne was obtained through sham votes and weak political declarations? Do you think the laws of the world have any meaning for the Sorcerer Supreme? Do gods and demons care about who gets more votes? In this universe, the only one with legal right to rule Earth is Kamar-Taj."

"What about Salem? Does an organization like that need to rob a senator of his jewelry? And Collins, weren't you responsible for all those murders? Does the Sorcerer Supreme intend to turn his sword against his own people?" Nick Fury said with utter sarcasm.

"The Salem incident was about retrieving a magical item, and I think you've probably seen the result," Salomon said. "As for Collins—vampires, werewolves, the usual dark magic creatures—there's just a whole nest of dark magic creatures in Collins, and I was just doing routine cleanup."

"Aren't they human?"

"I had no idea you were a sympathizer for dark magic creatures, Nick Fury." Salomon gave him an extremely disgusted look. "Both vampires and werewolves are plagues existing in human society. They reproduce extremely quickly, and if they wanted to, they could easily convert countless of their kind. Moreover, after being converted into dark magic creatures, they are no longer human; one becomes a dead man, and the other suffers from an incurable beastification disease. Wait… vampires and werewolves don't just exist in Collins Town. Did S.H.I.E.L.D. already know this?"

"Yes," Nick Fury readily admitted. "I know about werewolves and vampires; S.H.I.E.L.D. has researched them. But I assure you, they are all under control, and we have not increased their numbers."

"I believe you had no ulterior motives when you researched these things. I know what kind of person you are. But don't let me catch you, Nick Fury. I won't care who those werewolves and vampires are; they'll only end up dead," Salomon said. "But vampires and werewolves are just a minor threat. There are many far more terrifying beings threatening the Earth."

"You are the one who understands this feeling best. You should know that under the proposition of 'survival,' all of human civilization is meaningless. Whether it is democracy or autocracy, whatever the ideology, it has no meaning at the moment of life and death. There is no racial distinction in the face of death. Only under this proposition are humans truly equal. Those extraterrestrial beings and aliens will not spare someone just because their skin is whiter."

Kamar-Taj is humanity's last line of defense, a barrier between reality and the outer dimensions. That's why those mythical creatures haven't appeared under your bed. Do you want to see angels descend and the Church reinstate tithes? Don't let me hear your provocations again, Nick Fury. I've lost patience. I've always had a good impression of you; at least your S.H.I.E.L.D. is quite adept at resolving the messes created by capitalist countries and S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.

"Then I certainly don't want the Sorcerer Supreme to rule the world," Nick Fury said, spreading his hands. "That sounds like a pretty egalitarian form of rule."

"The Venerable One narrowed his realm to the magical world because magic is not the future of humanity," Salomon said. "The future of humanity lies in universally applicable technology."

After the conversation, Nick Fury had a general understanding of what Kamar-Taj was. He said, "But you also know the technological gap between us and aliens; it's almost impossible for us to catch up. If possible, I'd like to obtain magical assistance, in any way. Presumably, the number of sorcerers has always been relatively small compared to humans, otherwise S.H.I.E.L.D. would have discovered it long ago. I can send agents to Kamar-Taj to learn and supplement your numbers. We are warriors fighting together for humanity; we should be friends, not enemies."

"The one who chooses who becomes the Archmage is not me, nor the Sorcerer Supreme, but the Vishanti." Salomon held out his hand, showing Nick Fury the ring on his finger. "Without signing a contract with the Vishanti to acquire magic, ordinary people cannot use magic. I understand your ulterior motives, but do you think that even if your agents manage to sign a contract, they might not later participate in the outer dimensional battles but instead leak information? Wouldn't that be considered treachery, wouldn't they be eliminated?"

"And who is Vishanti?" Nick Fury asked.

"The Vishanti, the Trinity, is the source of white magic, an omniscient being, and the first Sorcerer Supreme. I cannot reveal his name," Salomon said. "But your schemes are meaningless. The Vishanti will guide anyone qualified to learn magic to Kamar-Taj, and those who are not qualified will not be able to learn. If you wish to peek into magic, then you must pay the price."

"Fine, then what's the point of you coming to see me?" Nick Fury said. "Don't tell me it's just because the action team members stopped you from going to school? Do wizards even want to live normal lives?"

“You’re right,” Salomon said. “His Holiness ordered me to use my intellect and physical strength to overwhelm those arrogant Saxons, but your team disrupted that plan. Although I’m somewhat impatient with school, I will obey the Sorcerer Supreme’s decrees.”

Salomon was far too young; he still let slip some information during his conversation with Nick Fury. For example, he mentioned that Salomon Damonnet would obey the Sorcerer Supreme's orders, the Vishanti, and the existence of magical artifacts—purely matters of experience. It's important to remember that Salomon was an academic mage, not a thief; you can't expect him to be perfectly discreet in his speech.

Nick Fury was quite pleased with what he had learned, but he didn't show it on his face, continuing to feign deep resentment. "But you killed them!" he said. "They were just following orders!"

"When I was in Collins, I was also following orders, but I also borne the pain of the choices behind them," Salomon said. "Everyone has to bear the consequences of their actions. I did, and so do they. And who knows, maybe in a little while, you'll thank me."

"Alright." Nick Fury nodded. He knew all too well what those team members' lives had cost him; to put it arrogantly, it was precisely because of their sacrifices that Salomon Damonette appeared before him, giving them the opportunity to communicate.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Do not disturb my life. Any surveillance or tracking will be considered hostile, after all, you are not the only ones spying on magic. If you send anyone, I will show no mercy." Salomon said, taking out a piece of parchment and writing this on it. "Also, you cannot reveal the existence of Kamar-Taj to anyone, you cannot record anything about Kamar-Taj, and you cannot explain or imply any information about Kamar-Taj to them, including written messages and electronic storage."

"They're really young," Nick Fury thought. "They even thought to write this down to remind me."

"I'll do it. Why don't we talk about collaboration?" Nick Fury said. "I personally feel I still need your help. S.H.I.E.L.D. has collected many strange items over the years; perhaps I could invite you to authenticate them?"

"Okay." Salomon wrote that down as well. He then wrote a long, detailed piece of paper, finally taking out sealing wax from his pouch, melting it with a flame, and pressing it onto the ring on his left pinky finger. He pushed the parchment towards Nick Fury. "Sign it. I don't trust an agent's promises. Only this document can serve as a guarantee."

"You mean, this is..." Nick Fury realized that this was not a memorandum at all, but a contract.

"A magical contract," Salomon said. "To prevent you from breaking it, the contract imposes restrictions on both of us. It's fair and reasonable. Tonight, you will witness the scenes of hell for yourself; that's where you'll go in the future."

Please vote for me!

Thank you to 我不是乔峰x for the 100 donation.

Thank you for the 1000-point donation from "I don't know what nickname to use".

(End of this chapter)