In legends, Lilith is said to have intricate and complex relationships with both the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Regarding the origin of this demon, even the texts preserved in Kamar-Taj offer differing accounts.
Some books claim that Lilith was originally Lilitu, the Mesopotamian embodiment of the storm, or Baalat, a deity of Canaan. Other texts suggest that before she became a Mesopotamian deity, her body had already been dismembered by three angels and scattered across the Earth—or possibly imprisoned within the primordial sea of life, in the corpse of Tiamat. However, her soul continued to wander the Earth. It is said that she once manifested as an Atlantean deity and created the first vampire. After the gods of Atlantis were forgotten, she became part of the Mesopotamian pantheon. In some versions of the myth, Lilith is described as the daughter of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who eventually became pregnant with Solomon's child. (Even Solomon himself was uncertain about the truth of such claims.)
The Book of Isaiah in the Bible refers to Lilith as a Lamia, the prototype of a vampire. Elsewhere in the Bible, Lilith is depicted as Adam's first wife. She abandoned Adam, fell into the lower planes, and united with Samael, giving birth to many offspring before being ultimately cast out. In yet other traditions, Lilith is described as a succubus from the lower planes, a nightmare demoness who embodies lust and has lovers spanning various pantheons.
Regardless of which of these contradictory stories—if any—are true, one undeniable fact remains: Lilith is deeply interested in King Solomon. Solomon wasn't certain whether the entity that aligned with her was Mephisto himself or merely one of his incarnations. However, when the cunning Mephisto used Solomon as bait, Lilith was quick to take the hook.
Solomon let out a long sigh. He ignored Captain Rogers, who was still dangling mid-air from a cable, and instead looked up toward the sky. Following Bayonetta's command, the stormy clouds in the heavens parted, revealing two enormous, semi-ethereal female demon forms emerging from the clouds. These were Madame Butterfly, bound to Bayonetta, and Lady Styx, contracted to Jeanne. The two witches stood before their respective demons, gazing down at the sorcerer from on high.
From the portal that had been blocking Lilith, a single hand emerged, quickly followed by another. She used both hands to forcefully widen the portal until half of her body came through. Not to mention what the ordinary passengers aboard the airborne bus might have thought of the sight, even Solomon himself had never imagined that a delicate portal spell could be expanded through sheer brute force. Bayonetta and Jeanne leapt down from the magic circle suspended in the sky, landing gracefully on the plane's deck. The moment they touched down, Madame Butterfly and Lady Styx vanished, while the burning wing of the airborne bus caused it to descend in a rapid nosedive. The howling wind filled the ears of the sorcerer once more.
Captain Rogers had already climbed back into the cabin using the cable, sparing himself another bout of turbulence.
"Hey, boy, miss me?" Bayonetta still had the presence of mind to greet him, even going so far as to plant a kiss on the sorcerer's cheek, seemingly making some kind of statement. Jeanne, on the other hand, wore a much more serious expression. The enormous demon that had revealed her upper body was once again reaching out toward the airborne bus. Although Solomon wanted to ask the two witches why they had chosen to appear at this moment, now was hardly the time for such questions.
"Cereza!" Jeanne called out, reminding Bayonetta of the urgency of the situation.
"Fine, fine," Bayonetta replied, winking at the sorcerer before summoning Madame Butterfly again. This time, Madame Butterfly's aura was far more menacing than before. Bayonetta summoned the demoness in her full form. Madame Butterfly emerged from the summoning circle and launched herself directly at Lilith, who had long black hair cascading in waves and small fangs glinting in her mouth. The two enormous female demons clashed violently in mid-air. Each punch Madame Butterfly threw was accompanied by the sharp sonic boom of breaking the sound barrier, while each of Lilith's counterattacks radiated blinding magical light. Solomon continually cast Feather Fall spells on the plummeting airborne bus, trying to slow its descent. Jeanne wasn't idle either—while Solomon cast his spells, she and the artificial humans battled the pursuing vampire creatures.
Unseen by Solomon, Jeanne leapt from the plane's deck, stepping on the vampire creatures as she ascended. Then, falling in freefall, she extended her limbs and fired continuously with the pistols attached to her high heels and in her hands. Each vampire creature received a bullet destined to end its life. Behind the slowly descending airborne bus, an enormous blood-red rose bloomed downward, resembling a crimson silk ribbon trailing from the plane's tail. However, before this magnificent sight could be fully appreciated, a gust of wind shattered it. Lilith and Madame Butterfly's intense battle brushed dangerously close to the airborne bus, and the resulting gale was as powerful as a hurricane. The bus, like a fallen leaf, was tossed and spun in mid-air.
Solomon didn't know how the passengers inside the plane were faring, but based on his own experience, it was far from pleasant. Spider Climb wasn't a spell that nullified gravity—he was still subject to its full force. The violently spinning bus felt like a washing machine drum, and Solomon was like an unfortunate cat trapped inside. By the time the bus finally began to stabilize, he was thoroughly disoriented. Fortunately, Feather Fall didn't require active maintenance, so the bus continued its slow descent—a small piece of good news.
As the airborne bus drifted into a dense, dark forest, high above where normal eyes couldn't see, the two colossal female demons continued their battle. Solomon could only judge the state of the fight by the occasional flashes of light, akin to meteors, that illuminated the night sky. Through these fleeting bursts, he caught glimpses of Bayonetta and Jeanne weaving through the chaotic aftermath of the battle, dispatching the vampire creatures.
After some time, the cargo bay doors of the bus creaked open, revealing the battered interior of the transport craft, barely operational. Nick Fury emerged, his face dark with frustration. When he saw Solomon standing on the plane's deck gazing upward at the sky, his anger only grew. But he restrained himself, knowing that the two women fighting in the sky were Solomon's housemates.
When Fury had begun investigating Solomon, he quickly discovered that the sorcerer's companions were surrounded by suspicion. Whether it was the two enchanting women living with him or his beautiful adoptive mother, their identities were riddled with inconsistencies, with early records being completely blank. Fury had opted for covert surveillance and investigation, intending to use these individuals as leverage against Solomon if necessary.
But now it was clear: those two housemates were akin to human nuclear bombs, much like Thor—but entirely unregulated. S.H.I.E.L.D. knew nothing about them, let alone how to control them. If they wished, they could easily destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
Fury was beginning to regret getting involved in magical matters. When Solomon had first made his proposal, Fury had been intrigued, seeing it as a chance to glimpse the true magical world rather than learning about it second-hand through Solomon. Now, it was clear that the magical world was far more dangerous than he'd ever imagined. A single boy (Daniel) had already drawn them into a battle of such terrifying proportions.
Before Fury could figure out how to respond, a bullet struck the burning airborne bus behind him. Though the sound was muffled by the rumbling thunder, Fury, as a seasoned operative, instantly recognized the shot. It put him on high alert. Fury immediately dropped to the ground, rolling behind a tree for cover. Drawing his pistol, he scanned the dark forest, his single eye focused on where the shot had likely originated. The attack from behind was the hardest to defend against, and Fury wasn't about to let himself be caught unprepared.
He glanced at Solomon, still standing on the plane, who appeared not to have noticed the gunshot or the bullet striking the plane. The sorcerer continued to gaze skyward, seemingly unaware. Fury decided against warning Solomon—he had seen firsthand how ineffective bullets were against the sorcerer. If anything, a shot landing on Solomon might serve as a decent wake-up call.
After a moment, no more shots came. The dense forest remained eerily quiet, with only the light from the burning wing providing any illumination. Solomon, standing on the bus, was a glaringly obvious target. Fury quietly instructed the agents still aboard the plane to prepare for battle through his earpiece. Then, keeping low, he slowly crept toward the direction of the initial gunshot.
Before he could advance further, an orange-red spear of magical energy flew at lightning speed into the forest ahead of him. The brief flare of magic upon the spear's dispersal illuminated the attackers—they were human, the same mercenaries who had appeared at the Romanian monastery.
"Well played," a pale figure emerged from the shadows of the forest, clapping slowly and offering Solomon a casual compliment. If the boy's mother were here, she would immediately recognize the man standing before her.
It was the mercenary who had once kidnapped the boy—the same man who had died under the artificial human's greatsword. Nadia's ex-boyfriend, Kerrigan.
But now, Kerrigan was no longer human.
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