The Destination of the Soul

Salomon booked a table through room service, called for a taxi, and even brought Bayonetta a set of clothes while she was showering. It was a pure white evening gown, tailored closely to her figure. Salomon had learned the exact measurements by asking Bayonetta herself.

Fortunately, the Sorcerer Supreme had given Salomon a generous expense account. It seemed that The Venerable One had anticipated this situation and increased his budget accordingly. On top of that, Salomon had an extra bank card in his pocket, one that The Venerable One had slipped in without his knowledge. There was so much money on it that he could not even be bothered to count it.

Salomon felt that booking a restaurant table had been somewhat unnecessary, since Bayonetta looked as though she could survive without eating at all. In truth, that was indeed the case. Bayonetta had been sunk at the bottom of a lake for five hundred years. If not for the enormous amount of magic sustaining her life, she would have starved to death long ago.

The Arcanist wondered whether Bayonetta's stomach could still function normally, and whether everything she ate was being tossed into the lower planes through a portal.

Several hours had passed since they had eaten at Enzo's house. Fighting consumed a great deal of energy, and Salomon had long since become ravenous, eagerly anticipating the local specialties.

The Witch's preparations took another hour. The Arcanist was not impatient in the slightest, because all the complaints online about such matters had prepared him mentally.

The Witch seemed to thoroughly enjoy being cared for. When she emerged from her room, she found that everything had already been arranged. She was very satisfied with Salomon's preparations, especially the style of the dress. She examined it over and over for quite some time before finally putting it on after Salomon covered his eyes and urged her on in exasperation.

This woman did not even wear clothes after taking a shower!

"Looks like the little one knows how to take care of others now." Her voice rose in a lilting drawl as she pulled Salomon out of the hotel and into the taxi that had been waiting for some time. "Come on, a culinary adventure is still waiting for us."

Italian cuisine often used seafood as its main ingredient, and seafood pasta was a dish not to be missed. For those who did not like noodles, there was also seafood risotto. After the appetizers, the waiter brought over a deep square plate filled with oysters, squid, shrimp, and mushrooms, accompanied by two slices of toasted bread.

Olive oil, black olives, and tomatoes appeared in nearly every dish. Cold cuts mostly consisted of Italy's distinctive salami and cured ham, and there were even different varieties of wine to pair with various courses. Although no one here cared about underage drinking, Salomon still declined Bayonetta's suggestion that he drink wine and ordered himself an iced cola instead.

They chose T-bone steak for the main course. The thick, generously portioned steaks were seared to rare, bold yet refined. These steaks were sold by the kilogram, but that was nothing to Salomon and Bayonetta.

Italians placed particular importance on dinner, and by evening, this restaurant was always packed with diners. Yet to provide guests with a private dining environment, the restaurant did not turn on its lights. Instead, it placed a lamp on each table. Everything around the diners remained pitch-black, and they could only make out the face of the person seated across from them.

As a result, Bayonetta's beauty did not attract much attention. It also gave the Witch and Salomon an environment where they could talk. Some things were easier to say over a meal.

"Boya, when do you intend to tell me what I should know?" Bayonetta scooped into her dessert with a tiny silver spoon, a crisp cream cake.

After eating so much, Salomon could not see the slightest sign that the Witch was full. She seemed capable of continuing to eat. "Don't be like your teacher and keep this from me forever. Little boys shouldn't tell lies."

"I won't. If you want, I can tell you the story first." The Arcanist ordered another cola. Drinking was bad for brain development. As a mage, he had to protect his brain properly. "After all, finding the Darkhold will take an extremely long time. I'm not in any hurry."

"I'm very curious about your answer." Bayonetta looked at Salomon. "There must be an answer I need in it."

"Have you completely forgotten your past?" Salomon looked up and asked. "You don't remember anything? Not even a little?"

"I only remember that I'm a Witch," Bayonetta said. "And that hunting angels and summoning demons are instincts, as though I was born knowing those spells."

Salomon ate the last piece of beef. After wiping his mouth, he told Bayonetta everything he had learned. To keep it secret, however, he used a little trick so that his voice went directly into the Witch's ear. Others could only see his lips move, but could not hear what he was saying.

"So you're saying that the power I possess is called the 'Left Eye,' the power to summon demons?" The Witch fell silent for a while after hearing Salomon's account. "And the angels are hunting me in order to reclaim the 'Left Eye' and awaken their god?"

"Yes. And the 'Right Eye,' the part of the power that summons angels, is in Wigrid. There is a reason why such a vast number of angels gather there.

But no one knows what The Sage intends to do in Wigrid. On the surface, Wigrid's technological level is highly advanced, but there is nothing else particularly special about it. I don't know the specifics, since I am not a professional intelligence broker." Salomon said, "But the number of angels has grown far too great, which is why The Venerable One sent me to help you hunt them."

"It seems The Venerable One is using me as a tool too," the Witch said with a smile. "I'm just a weak woman being hunted by angels, you know."

"The angels you killed would cry if they heard that, Bayonetta!" Salomon rolled his eyes. Anyone who believed the Witch's words was a fool. Perhaps after Salomon unlocked the Holy Marks, the power he could wield would be enough to contend with Bayonetta, but his speed was nowhere close to hers.

The Arcanist had once watched Bayonetta pull the trigger many times in an instant. If he faced an enemy like that without any preparation, death would be his only possible outcome.

"And The Venerable One has already sent me here. Maybe I won't be of much help, but this also means that Kamar-Taj stands behind you."

"Tch, Boya, you really are a bad boy." Bayonetta turned sideways and crossed her long legs. "Wouldn't it be best if big sister ended up perishing together with the angels?"

The Witch's words tore away the mask of warmth, but no one sitting at this table cared about that.

"Bayonetta, you need to understand that The Venerable One has established rules. Whether they are creatures of the upper planes or the lower planes, none may set foot on Earth. Humanity does not need them. Now, the only ones on Earth capable of summoning such creatures on a large scale are Witches and Sages.

The power of the 'Left Eye' and the 'Right Eye' does more harm than good for Earth." Salomon sighed and continued, "And do you think summoning demons comes without a price? Your soul likely already has a destination. I suspect it belongs to a Demon Lord spawned from the part of Chaos God Echidna's body that fell into the Abyss.

It is very likely that the Witch clan could summon demons only because they made a contract with that Demon Lord. But everything comes at a cost. When you die, your soul will be dragged into the Abyss."

"Oh my, how frightening~" Bayonetta said with her arms folded. "So, little one, do you have a solution?"