The Sorcerer Supreme did not use the Eye of Agamotto to turn back time and save Salomon's life. This was something many people would not permit; there were many stubborn individuals in Kamar-Taj who believed that using the Eye of Agamotto disturbed the normal flow of time.
However, there was some truth to what they said, and the Sorcerer Supreme also believed that if she reversed time on Salomon, it was very likely that his contract with Vishanti would disappear.
So the Ancient One used white magic from the Book of Vishanti to help him heal himself.
This magic consumed Salomon's own life force, which is why Salomon felt weak when he woke up.
This side effect was not unbearable; allowing a person with severe burns to be reborn was already something modern medicine could not achieve, as just recovering the skin would require extremely long and painful treatment, yet Salomon, who received magic treatment, felt no discomfort.
It should be known that when the Sorcerer Supreme brought Salomon back, every piece of skin on his body had carbonized, and the flesh beneath his skin was almost cooked through.
If the Ancient One had not acted quickly, Salomon could have died at any moment.
However, this treatment method had to be based on Salomon's strong life force; fortunately, Salomon's body had already been strengthened by positive energy, so he only needed a few days of good rest to recover.
Moreover, his long hair, which he had lost, had now grown back, though it was still a bit short.
Salomon was quite satisfied with this; he really couldn't stand his hair being only as long as a fingernail, which was worse than death to him.
When Salomon was able to get out of bed and eat, he also took the opportunity to examine the charred black shell he had shed after receiving treatment.
In fact, when the Ancient One treated him, it was like peeling a chestnut; she peeled him out of these black shells.
Moreover, his new skin was too delicate; not only did he lose the calluses from his martial arts training, but the skin on his face also became soft and smooth again, which led to him being playfully pinched by the female sorcerers in Kamar-Taj, each of whom would pinch his face twice when they passed by.
"Sigh…" Salomon sat in his room, dipping a quill pen into ink and drawing scrolls on parchment.
Salomon believed that a large part of the failure of this operation was due to him not having brought all the necessary scrolls.
If he hadn't had two "Protection from Evil" scrolls available at the time, his and John's fate would have been even more tragic; people possessed by evil spirits almost never come to a good end, and if they had been possessed, they wouldn't even have had a chance to wait for the Sorcerer Supreme's rescue.
According to the Sorcerer Supreme's instructions, he still needed many days of rest before he could move normally.
Master Zhang, who taught Baji Quan, also didn't want to see Salomon in such a weak state, so the self-defense class was canceled.
To this day, Master Zhang still believes that Salomon was attacked by the Black Wizard because he didn't study self-defense properly.
So Salomon became a negative example in self-defense class.
The excuse of "being attacked by a Black Wizard" fooled almost everyone; no one knew the truth except for the Ancient One and John.
As for that Black Wizard? The Ancient One had acted, so he must be dead, his soul unable to even go to hell.
Salomon put down his quill pen.
He raised his hand and carefully examined the three rings on his right-hand fingers.
A sapphire ring on his index finger, an orange sapphire ring on his middle finger, and a pink diamond ring on his ring finger.
These rings were clean on the surface, leaving no traces of being burned, and the gems shimmered charmingly under the sunlight.
Although these rings looked very expensive, they were no different from ordinary rings and had no connection to magic items, lacking any magical aura.
No one would have thought that these rings could control Vishanti's magic.
He carefully tried to take off the rings, but found that not only did these rings automatically adapt to his fingers, but they also clung to them.
Salomon gradually increased his strength, but finally realized that he couldn't pull these three rings off at all.
Salomon sighed.
Well, now these rings were clinging to him like drunken rogues.
In the warlock knowledge he understood, such behavior meant that the contract had been established, and he could openly use Vishanti's magic.
Regardless of Vishanti's considerations, Salomon could only calmly await Vishanti's arrangements for him.
However, his contract was much looser compared to others in Kamar-Taj, and dissolving the contract was incredibly convenient, so he also had the right to refuse, provided he could take off the rings.
Moreover, for him, the benefits of wearing the rings were not just that he could use a large amount of Vishanti's magic; he also gained initial control over the stigmata through them.
However, thinking so much now was useless.
Salomon sighed again, picked up a ruler and protractor, and continued to draw scrolls.
For him, adding to his spellbook and scrolls was what he should be doing now.
---
What happened in Salem naturally attracted the attention of certain agencies, and to deal with this supernatural phenomenon, they promptly arrived at the scene.
Because the affected area was neither too large nor too small, and it was in the suburbs, this incident was not serious enough to be reported to the World Security Council.
However, due to protests from the Senator of Salem Town, S.H.I.E.L.D. dispatched an experienced Agent to handle the matter.
"Mutant? Terrorist attack? Or accident?" Coulson, dressed in a black suit, took the tablet from his colleague.
He took off his sunglasses, looked at it for a few moments, then handed the tablet back to his colleague, and looked at the staff members who were examining the scene, "Have you found any other information?"
"Nothing at all." Silvert shook his bald head.
"However, according to the Salem police report, on that day, Senator Ricky White of Salem Town was robbed.
It is said that someone used a flashbang at the scene and then snatched a ring with a pink gem from the Senator's finger.
However, we cannot confirm whether this robber is related to this mutant."
"No ringing in the ears, so it wasn't a stun grenade.
It might have been a homemade flashbang.
Witnesses?" Coulson sighed.
He was prepared to face an out-of-control mutant; he had already brought light weapon equipment to Salem.
Ever since Melinda experienced the Bahrain incident, she had transferred to clerical work.
If Melinda were here, Coulson would feel more at ease.
Facing mutants, the sense of security these weapons provided was far less than the sense of security Melinda provided by his side.
"None.
After the sudden bright light, Senator Ricky White found himself robbed.
The only useful information we extracted from him was the bruises on his wrist." Silvert pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"We can infer the attacker's height and weight from this.
However, most of the people present at the time were arrested by the police, and we couldn't find anyone who matched the description."
"The real robber must have escaped the scene.
We are not here to find a robber for the Senator, nor are we here to look for beggars, gamblers, and drunkards.
Our purpose is to investigate supernatural events; the robber should be left to the local police to investigate.
If the local police hadn't found bomb remnants, they wouldn't have come to us.
No terrorist attack would specifically take place in the suburbs.
However…"
Coulson stepped on the asphalt ground beneath his feet.
In front of him, the asphalt on the road had completely melted, indicating that the high temperature had spread in an arc.
The asphalt ground showed different degrees of melting depending on its distance from the center of the circle; the asphalt closest to Coulson was only slightly raised, while the very center of the ground had clearly melted into a fluid.
For an experienced Agent, such a scene contained enough evidence to investigate.
Coulson originally didn't expect to find any clues from surveillance footage.
He pointed to the ground in front of him and said, "There's a footprint here, leading to the very center.
We can easily deduce the physical information of the owner of this footprint.
Once the trace analysis results come out, we can compare this information with the robber.
I have a hunch that these two are very likely the same person.
And his companion, the person at the center of the high temperature, is very likely the mutant we are looking for.
But the problem is, we haven't seen an exit footprint, so it's possible the owner of this footprint is also a mutant."
"You mean, he can fly?"
"Achoo—"
"Achoo—"
John and Salomon, who were freeloading a meal at the Hong Kong Sanctum, were completely unaware that S.H.I.E.L.D. had already investigated them.