Marvel Book of Magical Events

The sudden noise in the nearby bushes made Salomon extremely alert. He pointed his long sword at that place, ready to release the power of the sword of vowed victory at any time. Jones was also startled by the sound, but after being frightened, it wagged its tail frantically. The sound of rustling in the bushes continued to approach, and Coulson also pointed the pistol at the bushes.

Agent Romanov? Coulson opened his eyes wide, looking at the man who came out of the bushes in surprise. But he quickly reacted, he opened the safety of the pistol, put his finger on the trigger, Who are you!

Me? I'm not a Romanov agent. Natasha emerged from the bushes in an abnormal manner, and her posture was far from that of a woman. She also seemed to be taken aback by Coulson's loud questioning, but when she saw Salomon, she yelled, Salomon, get away from that man, he's fake!

Now there are two Natashas on the field, one is lying on the ground, the other is behaving abnormally, and the Natasha who appeared later spoke is even more surprising. Salomon quickly stood aside, not leaving his back to Agent Coulson. Regardless of whether this Natasha is real or not, the current scene is weird enough, and Salomon doesn't know who is Nyarlathotep, the most important thing is to ensure his own safety first.

The stray dog ​​Jones was also very puzzled. It sniffed Natasha who was lying on the ground, and then glanced at Natasha who came out of the bushes, and couldn't help whimpering in confusion. This must be another trick of Nyarlathotep, the current mystic is deeply involved, and he successfully dragged Salomon's footsteps. It seems that the reason why there are no monsters in the dark forest tonight is that Nyarlathotep wants to prevent the monsters from destroying the good show he prepared for Salomon.

Jones, come to me. Salomon called the stray dog ​​to his side, and now only this dog can be trusted. Jones quickly stood beside the mystic, and like the mystic, it also watched the other three people on the field vigilantly, growled threateningly at the other two standing there, and warned them not to approach. Coulson still pointed his pistol at Natasha, who appeared later, and never relaxed for a moment.

Salomon asked the second Natasha, Who are you?

I'm Philip Coulson. She said, I don't know why I'm here. I've been here since I woke up. Before that, I was clearly at the Stone Tower...

I am Philip Coulson! Agent Coulson did not remove the pistol, This is a trick!

Although the second Natasha's words are a bit weird, Salomon thinks there is some credibility in them, because there is no secret method of stuffing one person's soul into another person's body, Nyarlathotep completely Can do this kind of thing.

The mystic narrowed his eyes. The current situation is very difficult to judge. If the second Natasha is telling the truth, then Coulson's soul is in Natasha's body. Who is this person who uses Coulson's body? Where is Natasha's soul? What is Natasha lying on the ground?

But if she lied, then the situation becomes simple and clear. The one lying on the ground is the real Natasha, the Coulson next to him is also real, and the second Natasha who appears is the monster. All just to let Salomon waste time.

The mystic quickly pointed his sword at Coulson, and Jones barked at him too. Salomon believes that Nyarlathotep, who is keen on deceit and confusion, will prepare where he can calculate, and make the situation as complicated as possible, so that the poor fellow who is caught in the puzzle cannot escape.

Therefore, Salomon chose the situation that seemed to be the most complicated. He did not miscalculate, Nyarlathotep did set up puzzles on every step, and all the questions were like a tangled ball of wool played by a cat, but it was precisely because of his hobbies and Instinctively, Salomon chose the most direct way to solve the problem - he became Alexander once, and solved the Gordian knot in the simplest way [Note 1].

Jones bared his teeth and let out a threatening low growl. It was about to pounce and bite. After seeing Salomon's reaction, Coulson also pointed his pistol at the mystic. Congratulations, you're on to the next question. The evil god with the appearance of Coulson took off his disguise and revealed his real body. It was a man covered in pitch black. He was wearing a black suit. His skin, teeth, eyes, and hair were all black. If it wasn't for the bright moonlight, ordinary people would hardly be able to detect him. This is Nyarlathotep's The Avatar, the Dark One, Lord of the Sabbat.

He smiled and said slowly, I can give you some hints, look at the man lying on the ground.

Salomon didn't dare to relax his vigilance, he quickly glanced at Natasha lying on the ground. No, that's not Natasha, but Coulson, or rather, this is Coulson's body. Nyarlathotep did not use Coulson's body, but Coulson's appearance, and after Natasha was attacked in the hotel, she failed to escape, but was placed in the forest. Presumably the reason there were no monsters tonight was also because Nyarlathotep didn't want those ghouls and Gug giants to harm Natasha's body and destroy the puzzle he left for Salomon.

The mystic took a step forward and raised his long sword. Jones made a gesture to attack and bite him, but he calmly stretched out a finger and waved it, stopping Salomon and Jones from moving. Wait, don't be impatient, sweetheart. His tone was brisk, as if everything was under his control, Aren't you curious, where did that woman's soul go? I have observed you, and I know you Cares about my companions, otherwise you would not have taken me into the forest. Don't you want to have that woman's soul back, Salomon Damonette?

Calm down, Salomon. Coulson, whose soul was stuffed into another body, also spoke out to dissuade the mystic, We must have other ways. Calm down, take a deep breath, calm down.

No. Salomon sighed and made up his mind. Afterwards, he showed a firm and cold-blooded attitude. He stepped forward again and swung his long sword vigorously. The vision came out of nowhere, and a million timelines were declaring the obvious that he was going to die here. These sacrifices are acceptable, including myself, if they can kill you.

Tsk tsk, you are really cold-blooded. Nyarlathotep escaped this attack, and he fired, but the bullet only passed through a silver mist, and Salomon suddenly appeared behind him, facing him Wield the weapon. Nyarlathotep hates using supernatural power in human form unless he has to, and for this good show, he didn't summon monsters, so now he can only dodge Salomon's sword and try to continue using Words challenged Salomon's sanity. But even though he dodged Salomon's sword, he didn't dodge the humble stray dog.

Jones bit his calf, its teeth piercing the Dark One's skin, and Nyarlathotep let out a cry of pain. You! He waited for the steadfast Jones, You...

The mystic wasted no time, leaping forward, slashing down with the sworn victory sword. Nyarlathotep uttered a mantra[Note 2] aloud. When the sword of the oath of victory slashed at him, although his skin and bones were not cut, Salomon's power still made this The sword smashed his shoulder blades like a heavy hammer. Nyarlathotep fell forward to the ground, and he continued to curse loudly, but the object of his curse was not Salomon, but Jones.

You stupid dog! He yelled through gritted teeth, I knew it, I knew it! I knew you would betray me!

Seeing Salomon's attack, Coulson also picked up the stone at his feet and rushed up, but before he could take a few steps, he fell to his knees and coughed continuously, vomiting out a large amount of salty sea water. This is the magic of the dark man, the breath of the abyss, which can fill the lungs of the subject with seawater, but this is just a spell, and the spell of the dark man is not over. He opened his mouth and spit out a poisonous stench of steam, Salo Meng and Coulson, who had just spit out the seawater, couldn't get close at all. They covered their mouths and noses and retreated one after another. They could only watch Jones and the dark man being wrapped in this steam.

However, in the steam, the curse of the dark man did not stop, and he was dragged out of the slowly rising steam mass. Salomon saw the Dark Man grab everything he could with his hands and struggle desperately, but Jones bit his calf and dragged him backwards, drawing a trail on the ground covered with yellow and fallen leaves. Knowing that Jones dragged him to Salomon.

You betrayed me! The dark man just said this sentence repeatedly. Seeing that the man in darkness was dragged out of the poisonous gas, the mystic master held his long sword back and pierced his skin, muscles and spine with force, nailing him to the ground. But Nyarlathotep didn't seem to care about it, and suddenly, his anger disappeared, and he burst into hysterical laughter.

That's right, I enjoyed a good show, but I was the actor. It's really annoying, why am I not the incarnation watching the show? He gasped, buried his face in the fallen leaves, his voice It became dull, I'm a winner anyway, and I'm right to think so. I'll see you next time, Salomon Damonette, you're a great playmate.

No, don't even think about it.

[Note 1] Gordian Knot: Also known as King Solomon's Knot, it was cut open by Alexander with a sword.

[Note 2] Weapon passivation: the caster can make all cutting and piercing sharp objects (swords, knives, bullets, etc.) Also includes the creature's natural weapons. The target of this spell must chant a brief spell repeatedly for the duration of the spell, and takes only half damage from sharp objects (and half damage on very rare successes). The spell's effect lasts for 6 rounds, but is extended by 2 rounds for every additional 6 magic points spent.

Deeper Magic: With an increased cost (12 magic points; 4 sanity points), the spell will negate all damage from slashing weapons, except on extremely difficult successes (still take half damage).

Alternative names: Song of Corruption, Transmutation Skin, Steel Skin