The Quadrangle Seraph representing the element of fire, Fortitude, spread its magnificent white wings. Under the Sage's command, the dual dragon heads embedded with red and blue gemstones opened their jaws and unleashed a terrifying torrent of magma toward the magus below. Solomon reacted instantly. As soon as he recognized the type of angel summoned, he reached into the void and drew Athena's gifted shield, fully displaying the expertise of a top-tier Kamar-Taj magus.
"Darling, I could use a little help here!" Solomon called out without hesitation to Bayonetta—he had no intention of putting on a show of bravado.
It wasn't that he couldn't defeat a Quadrangle Seraph. Maybe the first time he encountered the witch or one of these grotesque beings, he wasn't equipped to handle them. But now? With spells gifted by Yog-Sothoth and the holy sword at his disposal, Solomon could eliminate Fortitude with relative ease—if he had the time.
But he didn't.
His true opponent wasn't the angel, but the masked Sage—one who wielded Radiant Lightflow, a terrifying time-altering spell that mirrored Bayonetta's Witch Time. Even with the blessing of the stigmata, Solomon's reaction time wasn't fast enough to completely halt time. And while his power armor was reinforced to a tremendous degree, it still had seams. One lapse in attention could mean that the next golden spear thrust wouldn't merely scratch the engravings on his armor but deliver a killing blow.
Bayonetta raised a single finger. Solomon immediately nodded in agreement—it was one of their private signals, a way to determine who got to be "midnight bedroom cowboy" that night. Understanding perfectly, Bayonetta summoned Madame Butterfly to engage the Quadrangle Seraph. Most of the angels had already been slaughtered by her; she just needed to focus now on this one.
The ferocious demoness seemed to have some kind of communication link with Bayonetta, and upon hearing there were more angels to kill, she even offered to cover part of the summoning cost with her own magic. As soon as Madame Butterfly emerged from the summoning circle, she landed a massive punch on Fortitude's pudgy marble-skinned body. The angel's pristine porcelain shell shattered, and scalding blood and shards rained down like a storm.
Madame Butterfly let out a gleeful cry—and followed up with more blows.
The battle between giants moved from the ground to the sky. Yet even up high, their clashes stirred scorching gray cyclones that swept through Noahduun. Anything not bolted down was hurled away by the gale. If not for their protective headgear, both Solomon and the Sage would've been blinded by the debris-filled winds.
"Hiding under a woman's skirt again?" The Sage didn't seem concerned about the cries of Fortitude, instead opting to taunt. Even without ethereal sight, Solomon could detect the burning rage buried in the masked man's tone. "Come—let's see what you're made of!" he snarled, raising his golden spear and pointing it at Solomon's face. "If this is all you've got, you'll die here today."
"I'm an egalitarian. I don't see anything wrong with it."
Despite the casual tone, Solomon adjusted his stance. He raised his shield to cover the lower half of his face, masking any visible lip movements. He used the clatter of dust and sand against his armor to obscure the sound of his voice. Whether in hand-to-hand combat or spell duels, information was a critical asset, and he didn't want the Sage to guess which spell he was preparing. He wouldn't even risk using his familiar Mirror Image spell, knowing how easily any Sage could see through such illusions.
"But I am quite confident in my swordsmanship. Hand-to-hand is a required course at Kamar-Taj. And one more thing—" The masked Sage waited for him to continue. "—If I remember correctly, the World Watchers sell souls to contracted planes for reincarnation. So is that beast getting punched right now someone you used to know? Some deep grudge there?"
The Sage didn't seem to expect such a leap in topic and was momentarily thrown off. As a response, he hurled his spear.
Even though that conversation had taken place years ago, Solomon remembered it vividly:
"Both the Right Eye and the Left Eye grant the power to manipulate time and space. That's why Cereza appeared," the Ancient One had explained. After the Sun Island incident ended, the Sorcerer Supreme finally had time to resume Solomon's training. During the Jubilee crisis, the Ancient One had been too busy guiding events to fully unpack the unique magic used by the witches and sages, rooted in their Eyes of the World.
"Witch Time is a crude imitation of the Eye of the World's power. It accelerates the user's perception, mimicking time-stop without truly controlling time itself. You can find similar magic in the Kamar-Taj library, but we never managed to integrate such spells into our bloodlines. Witches and Sages cast these spells instinctively, thanks to their inherent magical heritage. All it takes is basic training," she had said. "If the spellcaster is an Eye-bearer—like the witch who wants to shack up with you—she could probably stop time at will. Ask her if she's willing to be honest with you."
After living with Bayonetta for years, Solomon knew her as well as he knew himself.
He had long ago devised countermeasures for spells like Witch Time—magic that accelerated sensory perception to near-time-freeze. One such countermeasure relied on principles similar to event listeners and triggers in coding. Anyone with a touch of programming knowledge could grasp the logic: when a predefined event is detected, it activates a preset spell sequence. He and Bayonetta had developed this technique to its full potential. Their coordinated combat just a few days ago had demonstrated how this trick could even transfer the time-warping effect to another person.
Put simply, if the Sage activated Radiant Lightflow, Solomon's pre-cast Trigger Spell would automatically respond. He was confident this would happen—because he had just performed a prophecy spell, foretelling the Sage's next move. People might forget that a magus who bashes heads with barrier spells is still a magus. Divination and shielding were both specialties of Kamar-Taj.
Solomon easily dodged the thrown spear. A tenth of a second later, the Sage appeared behind him, catching the golden weapon mid-air. Without hesitation, he thrust it toward the seemingly sluggish Solomon. But the instant the spear tip touched the embossed designs on Solomon's armor, the magus's spell activated.
(End of Chapter)
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