"I can only express my regret," Balder said calmly. No one knew what he was regretting—Luca's imminent death, or his father, who had been dead for twenty years.
Though the panicked Luca could not see what had seized his limbs, Bayonetta and Salomon saw clearly: four Affinity Angels, as insignificant as cannon fodder. Bayonetta fired four shots in rapid succession, each bullet cleanly piercing an Angel's head. The reporter fell, but Balder seemed to take his promises quite seriously. With another wave of his hand, a stream of golden electricity bound Luca and hurled him out the window.
Bayonetta rushed after him, but she could not match Luca's speed. The reporter smashed through several columns and a stained-glass window, then flew backward out of the spherical chamber with a horrifying scream. Salomon did not turn around, but the pinch of down in his hand had vanished, and Phoenix swiftly flew out through the shattered window as well—if Luca survived, he would have to work for Salomon for free to repay his debt. Salomon loved one-sided contracts, provided he was the client.
The reason Salomon refused to take his eyes off Balder was not merely because Cereza was in his arms. The trick Balder had displayed earlier had given Salomon an intensely familiar feeling. There were many ways to make a flower branch that had yet to bloom burst into flower. Guiding Positive Energy or the elements of nature could both achieve it. As someone blessed with Angelic power, Balder was naturally skilled in Positive Energy spells. Yet Salomon had not sensed any Positive Energy from that tiny flower branch, but something else—the power of time. Salomon had held the Eye of Agamotto in his hands and examined it on several occasions. The Time Stone's power was not unfamiliar to him,