Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

The appearance of Jeanne caused Bayonetta great confusion. According to Solomon's description, both the Witch and Sage clans were down to their last members, continuing a feud that spanned hundreds of years. But Jeanne fought her in a similar manner, making Bayonetta question the accuracy of Solomon's account.

Solomon had now gone to Kamar-Taj to investigate the lipstick that had been buried with her in the coffin. No doubt, when he returned, he would bring more clues. Bayonetta intended to ask Solomon why another witch like her had appeared.

For now, she needed to visit Rodin for some repairs.

About 105 km from Vigrid, in the mountains, lay a rift with steep cliffs on either side, almost vertical, as if struck open by a massive hammer and then shaped by time. This place was perpetually shrouded in thick fog. There was no vegetation on the mountains, not even moss or bamboo. Perhaps due to the altitude, the leaden clouds were not far off, and lightning often struck the unshielded ravine.

On the closest peaks of the rift stood two giant stone statues, facing away from each other. The statues were similar in design, both wearing long robes with hoods, holding long swords, and with wings spread wide behind them, forming a platform.

The statue on the left was lighter in color, closer to marble white, with a sun symbol carved on the collar. It gazed upward to the left, its eyes sorrowful. The statue on the right was slightly darker, with a moon symbol on its neck. It looked down to the right, expressionless, but rust-colored streaks ran down its face, as if it had cried, and a giant spiral spear pierced through its chest, exiting from the back.

One didn't need to approach to feel the deep sorrow emanating from these statues, even without knowing their story.

Late at night, a golden light glowed on the platform formed by the left statue's wings. A circular golden portal appeared, and a little girl with black hair, wearing a pink nightgown, stepped out. She held a stuffed toy and wore square glasses, looking timid. Behind her was a figure in a white robe, with peacock feathers spread out behind him. Anyone who had seen the news would recognize him.

"Daddy, is Mommy here?" the little girl asked, looking up at the figure.

The Lumen Sage, Balder, looked down at the girl. "If you're a good girl, Mommy will come to take you home soon."

"Cereza is a good girl!" the little girl said joyfully, clutching her toy.

"Then can you wait here for Mommy by yourself?" Balder asked.

"Of course!" The little girl nodded vigorously.

Balder smiled and closed the portal. The golden disc shrank until it disappeared, leaving Cereza alone on the platform. The warm golden light had barely faded before a distant clap of thunder made the girl jump. Cold air swept through the desolate rift, stirring the mist into a restless swirl.

Cereza's fragile confidence quickly crumbled. She hugged her patched-up stuffed toy tightly.

"Cheshire, it's okay, right?" she asked nervously, her bright gray eyes welling up with tears. This toy had accompanied her through her short and lonely life, her only friend. But of course, the toy couldn't respond. The little girl stared blankly at the distant clouds, whispering, "Mommy, please come and get me..."

Rodin's temporary shop was set up in an abandoned longhouse in the countryside. Whenever someone needed him, Rodin could open his bar at the nearest location and wait for customers. But since Bayonetta was quite far away, it was already morning by the time she arrived.

Rodin, as expected, agreed to repair the "Elven Knight" and promised to make it sturdier. He even opened up his armory for Bayonetta to choose a new weapon. After settling the weapon issue, the witch mounted a motorcycle she had somehow acquired. Without even inserting a key, she used her magic to force the vehicle to start.

The witch's power shared some similarities with Solomon's, both containing elements of control. However, Solomon had never attempted what Bayonetta could do—magically controlling vehicles. In fact, Solomon had only two modes of transportation: portals for long-distance travel and a small bicycle for getting snacks.

It was just after dawn, and the thin fog still lingered over the small rural town. Bayonetta twisted the throttle, the engine roaring loudly. Without caring about the sleeping residents, she sped off down the town's road toward the distant green mountains.

Not long after leaving the town, Bayonetta heard sobbing. A little girl's voice was calling for her mother, and the face of Balder, with his half-mask, flashed before the witch's eyes. This wasn't the first time it had happened. On the train to Vigrid, Bayonetta had also seen fleeting visions.

She had no idea what these visions meant, but for a spellcaster, especially a witch, such sudden inspiration usually carried some significance—perhaps a sorcerer with a whole library at their disposal could explain it. Bayonetta made a mental note to ask Solomon when he returned.

Before Bayonetta could finish pondering the meaning of the visions, a golden portal suddenly opened on her path. She didn't have time to change direction and drove straight into it. The witch leapt off the motorcycle, avoiding any potential attack.

But no attack came. In fact, there was no one there except her.

"Looks like Rodin isn't the only one sending me on detours," Bayonetta remarked, standing before the now-ruined motorcycle that had flipped several times. She looked around. It was a narrow, stone platform with varying heights of railings on either side. Above her, the sky was filled with dark clouds. The air was damp and chilly.

"So, where am I now? Doesn't look like a party venue," Bayonetta mused, scanning her surroundings. Someone had gone to great lengths to bring her here, so they must have had a reason. She was looking forward to the upcoming "performance," eager to test her new weapon.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The little girl's voice echoed again, but this time it wasn't in Bayonetta's mind. It was real, nearby. The witch followed the sound up a slope to a wider platform.

A little girl was kneeling on the ground, clutching her Cheshire cat doll, tears streaming down her face like pearls. She heard the sound of high heels clicking on the stone, looked up through tear-filled eyes, and saw a black figure slowly approaching.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried, getting to her feet. Still clutching the doll, she wobbled toward Bayonetta on her nearly frozen legs.

Hearing the word "mommy" startled Bayonetta. Coming from such a cute little girl, it had a greater impact than even encountering an angel. Shocked, the witch stopped in her tracks.

"Must be a mistake," was Bayonetta's first thought. Her second: "Who left this child here?"

But before the girl could reach Bayonetta, a warm golden light descended between them, along with gently falling white feathers. The girl looked up in confusion, staring at the source of the light. "A monster?"

"You can see angels?" Bayonetta was even more puzzled. They weren't in Purgatorio. She and the girl were in the physical world, yet the girl could see into Purgatorio and even spot the descending angels.

This time, the enemies weren't as high-ranking as the previous angels. Aside from a few "ubiquitous" Affinities, there was only one lower-third-tier Ardor angel. The Ardor angel wore elaborate red armor adorned with golden patterns, and its head, like the Affinities, had a bird-like beak. Behind it were three massive golden feathers. In its right hand, it wielded a large sword made of golden blades, and in its left, it carried a round metal shield with a sharp golden edge.

Its appearance was certainly imposing, but it still frightened the little girl, who fell to the ground, crying. This upset Bayonetta.

Though she enjoyed tormenting her enemies and summoning torture devices and demons, she had a maternal side, always prepared with band-aids, like a caring housewife.

Facing the reckless charge of the Affinities, Bayonetta pulled out her new weapon from her hair—a katana radiating purple magic. In true old-school samurai film fashion, battles with samurai ended in an instant, with the fighters standing back-to-back, waiting for the thin blade to slice through flesh. Then, one would feel the pain and look down to see they had been wounded, teetering on the brink of death.

In an instant, Bayonetta accelerated to a speed too fast for the naked eye. She dashed forward, passing through a purple magic circle, like the clash of swords in an old samurai film. She appeared behind the Affinity angel in a blink.

When the witch stopped, the sharp sound of slicing air still lingered. Bayonetta's battles left no time for her enemies to realize they had been injured. The Affinity's head immediately fell off, exploding into golden light and vanishing.

The katana, named the Shuraba or the demon-blade, was one of Rodin's prized possessions. It lived up to his expectations, cutting through the Affinity angels as effortlessly as slicing cake.

The other Affinities didn't last long against the witch's blade, but the crimson Ardor angel stood unmoved as Bayonetta slaughtered the others, guarding the little girl.

Hearing the girl's cries, Bayonetta noticed that an Affinity had grabbed the girl's collar

, lifting her into the air. The witch leapt past the Ardor angel's defense and sliced off the Affinity's arm, catching the falling girl in her arms.

"Mommy!" the girl exclaimed in delight. As soon as Bayonetta held her, the girl stopped crying, as if the hardships of her wait had never happened.

"Stop crying, okay?" Bayonetta said, a little impatient. "The two things I hate the most are crybabies and cockroaches! And I'm not your mommy."

"Okay, Mommy," the girl replied. Tears welled up again, but she sniffled and stopped crying.

"You just hide over here, little one," Bayonetta said with a satisfied nod. She set the girl aside, then pulled out a phone from who-knows-where and dialed a number. "There are still angels here for me to fight. I'll find someone to look after you."

"Okay, Mommy!"

"Huh?!" Before Solomon could react, Bayonetta said, "Find where I am now. I know you can do it. Hurry and get here."

The Supreme Sorcerer extended his hand, and a portal appeared in the meditation room.

"Don't forget to bring snacks," he said with a hint of a smile. "You'll need them."

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