Chapter Summaries

Salomon ignored Dormammu’s offers of power while studying for his exams, and Nick Fury investigated a hidden force inside S.H.I.E.L.D. while stalling Alexander Pierce’s plan to approach Salomon. The chapter left Agent Hill visiting Stark Industries, where she encountered someone unexpected.

• Salomon studied in the Dark Dimension and dismissed Dormammu’s offer, using a protective spell to keep it from interrupting him.
• Nick Fury uncovered clues connecting a hidden force to Project Insight and suspected Alexander Pierce, so he prepared Agent Coulson as a contingency.
• Pierce proposed approaching Salomon for help, but Fury warned him about Salomon’s volatility and pretended he would speak to him after exams.
• Agent Hill visited Stark Industries to meet Miss Potts and encountered someone unexpected.

Agent Hill considered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s limits in confronting Killian as Stark refused outside help amid post-invasion anxiety. Salomon woke at Athena’s art salon, where she pushed him to meet the artists and mentioned that Hecate was on Earth.

• Agent Hill noted that S.H.I.E.L.D. could not openly investigate Killian’s Extremis project because it had military funding.
• Reports described rising crime and a homeless man who blamed the Avengers for saving a world he felt was already hopeless.
• Stark focused on improving his Iron Armor and refused help because he feared what defeat would mean.
• Athena woke Salomon at Vanessa’s exhibition celebration and told him to greet the artists and show them his work.
• Salomon complained about the banquet and praised Athena’s appearance in armor, but she led him over to the artists.
• Athena told Salomon that Hecate was on Earth and suggested he ask her for a potion to escape a future banquet.

Salomon visited Stark Tower to give Pepper Potts a sculpture and check on the crisis, but an explosion destroyed her office and left Pepper, Killian, Maya Hansen, and Killian’s bodyguard missing. Salomon confirmed Pepper was alive and left Maria Hill to investigate while urging her to tell Stark that Pepper had disappeared.

• Salomon brought a sculpture for Pepper Potts to Stark Tower and discussed Stark’s refusal of S.H.I.E.L.D. protection with Maria Hill.
• Maya Hansen entered Pepper’s office, and an explosion blasted open the door and shattered the reception room’s glass wall.
• Salomon shielded Hill from the glass and cleared the smoke while Hill searched the wrecked office and found Pepper, Killian, Maya, and Killian’s bodyguard missing.
• Hill suspected Maya had triggered an Extremis explosion, and Salomon assured her that Pepper was alive.
• Salomon left the investigation to Hill and told her to notify Stark that Pepper was missing.

Salomon left Stark Tower and returned to the orphanage, where he stopped Lorna from sneaking out and agreed to give her money for a friend’s operation. He then asked whether she wanted to stabilize her powers, promising to pursue the method and protect the children.

• Salomon left Stark Tower after Agent Maria Hill made clear she did not want him to stay.
• Salomon caught Lorna trying to sneak out, made her dress warmly, and warned her against drugs and reckless gun use.
• Lorna persuaded Salomon to give her money for herself and a pregnant friend’s operation, and he let her go out.
• Salomon asked Lorna whether she wanted to meet family from a parallel world, but she said he was her only family.
• Salomon offered to investigate how to stabilize Lorna’s powers, and she agreed after he promised to protect her and the other children.

Salomon confronted Nick Fury over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s surveillance of the orphanage and learned Fury had ordered it as protection against a hidden faction. He refused to help with Fury’s larger problems and left him cursed to wear bunny ears and suffer bad luck.

• Salomon interrogated a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent watching the orphanage, learned he reported to Agent Victoria Hand, and altered his memory before sending him away.
• Salomon kicked down the door to Nick Fury’s office and demanded an explanation for the surveillance camera.
• Fury said he had ordered surveillance to protect the children and Ability Enhancers from a hidden faction within S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Salomon told Fury to handle his own affairs, placed a curse on him, and warned him not to send agents to the orphanage again.
• Salomon revealed he knew there were no Skrulls on Earth, then made Fury wear bunny ears under a curse that made tasks harder and imposed a -5 penalty on saving throws.

After Salomon was attacked by Marduk’s forces near the orphanage, he killed the creatures threatening the children and reported Mephisto’s betrayal to the Sorcerer Supreme. The Sorcerer Supreme revealed that Athena was already protecting the children and that Kamar-Taj had gained leverage over Marduk.

• Salomon reassured Lorna after she told him she had been robbed, then warned her to shoot anyone who threatened her.
• A Werewolf attacked Salomon near the orphanage and claimed that Three-Headed Satan knew of his conspiracy with the Lord of Lies.
• Salomon killed the Werewolf, then rushed to the orphanage and killed another Dark Magic Creature trying to get inside.
• Salomon and Kamar-Taj’s Arcanists fought off more than ten Dark Magic Creatures, and the Arcanists removed the bodies before the NYPD arrived.
• Salomon told the Sorcerer Supreme that Mephisto had betrayed them, but the Sorcerer Supreme said Kamar-Taj had already obtained Marduk’s weakness and Athena was protecting the children.

Salomon learned that Father Morlu had foreseen his recent attack in a prophetic dream and warned that a greater danger was coming. Morlu urged him to seek the Lord’s power, but Salomon remained skeptical as the priest departed.

• The Venerable One told Salomon that Lorna was safely home and advised him to rest after his violent mission.
• Bayonetta comforted the exhausted Salomon, while Jeanne argued that the household should have been included in the operation.
• Salomon learned that Father Morlu had arrived with a warning about his approaching disaster and agreed to receive him.
• Father Morlu said he had dreamed of Salomon fighting a three-headed poison dragon before the attack occurred, and Salomon recognized the vision as resembling Saint George’s legend.
• Morlu urged Salomon to study the monastery’s teachings and rely on the Lord’s power, but Salomon questioned why an omnipotent God would care about human worship.

Salomon discussed the Lower Planes’ growing conflict and his possible role in the coming Blood War, while the Sorcerer Supreme tried to open the Ark of the Covenant to secure his resurrection. The chapter ended with her using Gungnir as a crowbar against the sealed Ark.

• Salomon questioned Father Morlu’s prophecy that he would face Marduk alone, and Bayonetta insisted the Witches would stand with him.
• Salomon and Bayonetta discussed Mephisto’s schemes, the risk of a renewed war between demons and devils, and the uncertain loyalty of Salomon’s demonic allies.
• Bayonetta urged Salomon to accept the responsibilities of a ruler, while Salomon wondered whether Baal and the other demon gods would honor their contracts.
• The Sorcerer Supreme studied the Ark of the Covenant and tried to break its seal so she could use Aaron’s Budding Staff to resurrect Salomon if necessary.
• After her attempts with the Sacred Sword and Sacred Spear failed, the Sorcerer Supreme returned from Asgard and tried to pry open the Ark with Gungnir.

Johnny Blaze struggled to suppress the Spirit of Vengeance while Father Morlu revealed that Hell might offer a way to settle the matter. Meanwhile, the Venerable One worked to open the Ark of the Covenant and pressed Balthazar to prepare Dave for advising Salomon.

• Johnny Blaze woke with the Spirit of Vengeance tormenting him and reached for Father Morlu's whisky to escape the pain.
• Father Morlu stopped Johnny from drinking and explained that the Church had hired him to hunt Dark Magic Creatures, while hinting that Johnny could confront Hell if he could not control the Spirit of Vengeance.
• Johnny asked Morlu to open the bottle, and Morlu began to explain what the mage had told him about the Spirit of Vengeance and Mephisto.
• Balthazar secretly drank whisky while the Venerable One repeatedly struck Gungnir with Mjolnir to open the Ark of the Covenant.
• The Venerable One told Balthazar that Dave was not qualified to advise Salomon and ordered him to accelerate Dave's education.

Nick Fury rejected the World Security Council’s demand to confront Asgard and discussed the Mandarin, Extremis, and the military’s political motives with Alexander Pierce. Salomon refused Stark’s request to help rescue the kidnapped president, leaving Stark to handle the crisis himself while Salomon rushed to help Bayonetta with dinner.

• Nick Fury dismissed the World Security Council’s proposal to sanction Asgard, warning that it could provoke a devastating retaliation.
• Nick Fury told Alexander Pierce that S.H.I.E.L.D. could find no origin for the Mandarin but had leads on the Extremis Virus, and criticized the military for its role in the crisis.
• Nick Fury questioned why the president’s security relied on the Patriot Armor and raised concerns about the president’s safety.
• Salomon told Stark that Pepper Potts was safe but refused to use magic to rescue the president, urging Stark to solve the problem himself.
• Salomon ended the call and hurried to help Bayonetta before their dinner burned.

Salomon studied the Kabbalah parchments while Marduk’s attacks kept the orphanage on alert, and Athena told him the war with the Hell Lords had begun. She gave him information about Marduk’s offspring, identifying it as his weakness, and prepared to guide Salomon’s fight against him.

• Salomon studied Hebrew and occult texts to understand the Kabbalah parchment and the Holy Marks on his hand.
• Jane Foster caught Salomon studying during class and struck his desk with a physics textbook.
• Salomon asked Athena about the orphanage, and she said she had protected it while the children remained unaware of the attacks.
• Athena warned Salomon not to lower his guard against Marduk and said she would arrange his war against the Hell Lord.
• Athena gave Salomon information about Marduk’s offspring and explained that Mephisto had revealed the weakness to provoke Marduk.

Salomon realized Mephisto had maneuvered him into a conflict with Marduk while the President’s kidnapping threw New York into chaos. He recruited Maya Hansen as a virologist for his new organization and prepared to show her the ancient organization whose legacy he had inherited.

• Salomon recognized that Mephisto could profit whether Salomon or Marduk won, and struggled to find a way out of the devil’s scheme.
• President Ellis’s kidnapping overwhelmed New York as protests, looting, and clashes consumed police resources, leaving Commissioner George Stacy with little capacity to investigate other crimes.
• Salomon met Maya Hansen on a rooftop, explained that he had revived her, and offered her a paid role using her virology expertise.
• Salomon told Maya he planned to create magically enhanced assassins to gather intelligence and kill threats to humanity, with her overseeing their illnesses, immunity, and health.
• Salomon revealed that Maya was the only human member of his new organization and opened a portal to show her the ancient organization whose legacy he had inherited.

Maya Hansen explored the ruins of the underground City of Immortals while recording her discoveries in a diary. Salomon brought her a television and discussed the turmoil outside, leaving her curious about his strange outfit.

• Maya Hansen catalogued ancient technology, weapons, and other objects in the ruins, and wondered who had built the city and what had destroyed it.
• Salomon delivered supplies to Maya Hansen and set up a television, whose signal came and went.
• Salomon explained that the assassination of the US President and the aftermath of the Alien Invasion had intensified public panic and unrest.
• Maya asked about Stark, and Salomon said he was doing better than ever and reminded her she needed a new identity.
• Maya asked Salomon why he was wearing the Holy Shroud and whether it was his wizard outfit.

Salomon established Maya Hansen in a laboratory inside the City of Immortals, then returned home and was summoned by Nick Fury to lift his curse. Fury asked to be freed, and Salomon made that relief conditional on Fury agreeing to several things.

• Salomon moved laboratory equipment and supplies into the City of Immortals, assigned Maya Hansen to explore it, and left constructs to guard her.
• Maya Hansen tried to provoke Salomon with her body, but he told her he needed her intelligence rather than her appearance.
• Salomon left Maya Hansen and returned home, where Bayonetta scolded him for arriving dusty and cooking poorly.
• Nick Fury summoned Salomon to Triskelion Headquarters and pleaded for him to end the curse that kept making his days go wrong.
• Salomon told Nick Fury he would lift the curse only if Fury agreed to a few things.

Nick Fury bargained with Salomon to lift his curse in exchange for information about Maya Hansen and the Extremis Virus. Salomon then continued his research with Maya, who requested an extensive list of laboratory equipment and supplies.

• Nick Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. had deleted footage showing Salomon with Maya Hansen and asked Salomon to lift the curse and share information about the Extremis Virus.
• Salomon lifted Nick Fury’s curse, but cursed him again when Fury warned him not to curse the S.H.I.E.L.D. director.
• Maya Hansen dissected a Dark Magic Creature while teasing Salomon and discussing her research into creating a stable Extremis Virus.
• Salomon explained that he wanted magically capable humans to replace Arcanists in secular work while they fought threats from the Outer Dimensions.
• Maya Hansen gave Salomon a list of laboratory equipment, virus samples, and white mice she wanted him to bring, and Salomon joked that he would rob a bank to pay for them.

Salomon taught little Lorna basic spellcasting, explaining that she might have magical potential but would need guidance and study. He then brought her to help steal money from an AIM-linked bank, where he prepared a homemade flying broomstick for their escape.

• Salomon corrected little Lorna’s hand gestures and explained the differences between learned magic and Bayonetta’s inherited abilities.
• Salomon told little Lorna she might be able to wield magic after her sister’s powers stabilized, provided she studied hard.
• Salomon suggested robbing a bank, and little Lorna eagerly agreed.
• Salomon and little Lorna waited above the bank for an armored truck carrying money from AIM’s assets.
• Salomon revealed a homemade Nimbus 2000 broomstick and planned to use it to fly straight out of the vault.

Salomon and little Lorna were reprimanded by Athena for robbing a bank, though they had escaped with hundreds of millions of dollars and caused a viral online sensation. Salomon gave Maya Hansen the money and a defensive ring for her laboratory, then prepared to reunite her with the hidden Wizarding Council.

• Athena scolded Salomon and little Lorna for their bank robbery, and Salomon accepted the reprimand while Lorna privately celebrated their adventure.
• Salomon and little Lorna gathered the cash, knocked out a bank clerk, and escaped through a portal on a flying broom.
• Athena pointed out that their masked broom flight had gone viral online, while Salomon dismissed the attention as a passing internet fad.
• Salomon gave Maya Hansen several silver lockboxes, control of the stolen cash for laboratory supplies, and a defensive ring.
• Salomon told Maya Hansen that he had chosen her future colleagues from the scattered Wizarding Council and was about to introduce them.

Salomon confronted Mariana Stern and the Sola Red Forest Druid Order, whose members had lost their Druidic inheritance, and recruited them under Camelot’s banner. He brought them to the City of Immortals and told them they could travel between it and their manor, but first had to sign a contract.

• Salomon arrived at the Sola Red Forest Druid Order’s manor and found that its young members had lost their traditional Druidic arts.
• Mariana Stern questioned Salomon’s identity and intentions, so he used magic to seize control of the manor and displayed the Sacred Sword.
• Salomon offered to help restore the order’s inheritance if its members returned beneath Camelot and King Arthur’s banner.
• Mariana asked for time to discuss the offer, while Salomon warned that he had little time and would reclaim Camelot’s power if they refused.
• Salomon brought Mariana, Gerard, Karim, and the other members to the City of Immortals and said they could travel there from their manor through a teleportation circle.
• Salomon told the order members that they had to sign a contract before proceeding.

Salomon offered the Sola Red Forest Druid Order strict employment and non-disclosure contracts in exchange for training, knowledge, and help restoring its inheritance. After Mariana Stern accepted, Salomon recruited Dave to supervise the druids and assist with his research into human mutation, leaving Dave uneasy about the prospect of human experiments.

• Salomon explained that his contract with the druids required secrecy and restricted their speech, while promising to help restore their magical inheritance and provide generous training.
• Mariana Stern questioned why the contract did not require the druids to fight for Salomon, and he said they were too weak and would instead assist with his research.
• Salomon teleported Gerard away and dropped him from the City of Immortals' ceiling, stopping him just before he hit the ground to demonstrate the consequences of challenging him.
• Mariana accepted the contract, and Salomon told the druids to choose rooms, follow working hours, avoid dangerous areas, and expect another conduct agreement.
• Salomon told Dave to lead the druid order and help develop immunity by inducing diseases in test subjects; Dave objected that the research was aimed at human experimentation.

Salomon investigated Marduk’s children and approached Anna Hellstrom, revealing her demonic heritage and offering to train her against the being possessing her father. Anna resisted him, but he demonstrated that she could not yet control her powers.

• Salomon watched Damon from a car in Portland and told Dave that Marduk’s children might be possessed by a devil.
• Salomon said he would watch Damon’s sister next, then drove with Dave through a portal toward San Francisco.
• Salomon approached Anna Hellstrom outside a hotel and called her Satana, explaining that he wanted to train her to fight her father’s possessor.
• Anna tried to leave and then attacked Salomon with magic, but he trapped her in place and dispelled her spell.
• Salomon told Anna he knew her hatred and could help her use her powers.