"I don't think you need to worry about food, Jeanne." Solomon squinted his eyes, looking up at Bayonetta as she fell from the sky. With each drop, a pair of black and purple butterfly wings appeared behind her, absorbing the kinetic energy with floating magic. Just as she was about to land on the snow that reflected the sunlight, she resembled a water nymph from a fairytale, rising on her toes, surrounded by fluttering butterflies and dazzling light as she gently touched the ground.
She was wearing red-bottomed high heels, which Solomon had personally chosen for her.
"I think you'll have quite an appetite." The sorcerer proudly looked back, pointing toward the distant Phoenix with his chin. "The Phoenix found a poor, lonely little creature—a lost goat," he said. "We're above the snow line, and that little thing was starving, so I decided to show mercy and save it from that dreadful fate. You should be able to smell its scent now. The Phoenix has worked hard, don't you think, buddy?"
From a distance, the Phoenix weakly called out twice, squinting its eyes as it stayed in a snow pit filled with melted snow water. Golden-red feathers floated on the surface of the water. When Solomon decided to bury the Phoenix in the snow with only its head exposed, he had a long-term plan in mind. The temperature of the snow water was slowly rising, and thin steam was rising. Soon, the pool would be turned into a hot spring by the Phoenix's warmth.
Solomon thought that enjoying the hot spring amidst the biting cold wind would be a rare experience. Even rarer was that he might be able to experience it with Bayonetta.
"Dream on, you little pervert!" Jeanne extended her long leg and kicked the sorcerer aside, showing no mercy. However, Bayonetta gracefully tossed aside her high heels, tied her dense, cloud-like black hair into a bun, and unbuttoned her clothes, walking slowly into the hot spring, completely naked.
"I don't mind. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to it. The bathtub at home is too small, and there's a lot we can't do in there," the alluring witch said, closing her eyes as she leaned against the edge of the pool. The stark contrast in temperatures made her let out a soft, enticing moan. Bayonetta licked her lips and stopped Jeanne from poking Solomon's eyes out. "This place is spacious, and I think Solomon should join me and enjoy it properly. Jeanne, aren't you coming?"
"Don't even think about it, Theresa! He's a teenage boy, a randy beast!" Jeanne snapped, nearly jumping up. Her words made Solomon give her a glare. Do I really look that bad? Solomon thought to himself. You've definitely never met a normal human male. Well, growing up in the witch clan's stronghold and later becoming an executioner known as the Sage, Jeanne had very little social interaction.
"I like beasts. Make sure to be rough, okay, Boya~"
The hot spring left Solomon physically and mentally exhausted. Just as he was about to catch his breath after escaping Bayonetta's laughter and heading back to New York, a phone call interrupted his moment of relaxation.
"I think what I need to do next is a solo mission, Anna. You shouldn't be calling me now," Solomon angrily answered the phone, but the voice on the other end sounded strange.
"I knew you'd do what any ordinary high schooler would do, but now is not the time." Anna Helstrom was still joking, but her voice seemed a bit flustered. "I have something for you to see, Solomon. I don't know if it's Marduk, but this thing is really weird."
"Dealing with Marduk is not my responsibility right now, Anna. It's the weekend. Please, let me have one day to relax. What I've experienced today has been too intense."
"No, Solomon, you really need to see this." Anna sent a picture to Solomon's phone, and when he glanced at it, he almost threw the phone away—what he saw was a blackened, menacing skull, but the skull only had one eye socket, and a bloodshot eye was faintly peering through the hole, watching.
"My blood dripped on this skull, and the eye appeared." Anna continued, "This skull seems to have some kind of power. It keeps whispering in my ear. I don't know why I'm doing this, but I just feel like I should... it seems alive..." Anna's voice became more chaotic. "This was found near the corpse of the missing nurse... the nurse's body was torn into pieces. It ate that person... it's alive..."
"Hey, Anna, are you still listening? Can you repeat what you just said?"
"I said you should look at this thing... did you see it?"
"Ah, I saw it." Solomon said thoughtfully, "Stay away from it for now, and wait for me to come over, okay? I don't know if it's related to Marduk, but it's already evil enough. I don't want you to fall now. If you do, I'll have to send you to Hell."
"Okay, hurry up. My partner isn't acting right."
After Anna hung up, Solomon dialed another number. It was the sorcerers who had taken on the task of chasing Marduk's spiritual form. Solomon wanted to gather information from them. As mentioned before, Earth, guarded by Kamar-Taj, was the easiest target for demons and devils to influence the material plane through possession, just like with Anna and Damon's parents.
Finding someone possessed by demons or devils was almost impossible, as those possessed would rarely use supernatural powers. Their crimes mirrored those of normal humans, but were far more brutal—lower plane creatures favored suffering, and all victims were subjected to extreme cruelty before death.
So, finding someone possessed by Marduk would be a matter of luck. The only lead Solomon had right now was the strange skull Anna had just mentioned. If Anna's story was true, then the nurse from St. Teresa's psychiatric hospital, who had been enchanted, was most likely eaten by that thing.
Solomon splashed cold water on his face, sent a leave request message to his mentor, and then changed into his sacred burial robe. He packed his scroll case, filled with scrolls, and hung two leaf-shaped short swords on his belt. He grabbed two wands and the prototype Explosive Arrow Gun, then instructed the Automaton and Cheshire Cat to guard the house—Solomon hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to summon the Phoenix from Bayonetta's side. He wasn't sure if he would face Marduk again.
The sorcerer put on the Hanging Ring and opened a portal to Los Angeles.
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