Chapter 377: A Familiar Emergency Landing  

"Can you help her?" Skye hurriedly shoved a tablet in front of Solomon's face, as if trying to force its contents directly into his eyes. "She's a good person—I've seen her profile. She sends birthday greetings to all her friends, even online ones she's never met. She runs youth programs at her church and rescues dogs…" 

"To be honest, I don't like churches or dogs," Solomon sighed. Skye's rapid-fire thinking was hard to keep up with, and it required some effort to follow her train of thought. 

"But didn't you just calm her down? With those weird lights of yours? And you put her to sleep with magic!" The hacker thought she'd caught him red-handed and smirked triumphantly. "You secretly like people like her, don't you?" 

"Yes, I have a soft spot for weak and ignorant humans because I am human myself. I know the value of that identity." 

"Then all you need to do next is wave your wand," Skye said with a smile. "And once you've captured that demon, maybe you could let her know it wasn't her fault. She needs that kind of comfort. To her, you might even be an angel sent by God." 

Solomon responded with a disdainful laugh. 

While Solomon and Skye were patrolling the Airbus, the science team—Fitz and Simmons—was hard at work inspecting the particle accelerator. Using a drone, they had reconstructed the accelerator's pre-explosion state to pinpoint the exact cause of the incident. The explosion had occurred at the coupling assembly, confirming the report Hannah Hutchins had received: there was indeed an issue with the coupling. 

This news wasn't particularly encouraging for Skye. 

In a corridor, Skye found a spot to sit down and let out a long sigh. She'd taken Solomon through areas his team couldn't access, but they'd found nothing. "Are you sure there's actually a demon on this plane?" she complained, her aching legs protesting every step. "Maybe whatever-it-is stayed on the ground. You know, it's Agent Ward's sandwich-making time right now." 

"I know you agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't big on hell, demons, or things like that, but Kamar-Taj never misses. The great Agamotto's crystal revealed what happened in Batesville. That means something from a lower plane has crossed over." 

"Fitz, you need to see this," Simmons said, enlarging a section of the holographic projection at their workstation. The projection revealed crimson peaks, deserts, and a starry planet covered with glowing points of light. Simmons remembered Solomon's earlier explanation: particles in the accelerator had been accelerated far beyond design limits by an anomalous gravitational pull, opening a micro black hole. This, combined with celestial alignments, had drawn something from another world. 

Perhaps the mages were right. 

"They were right. It looks like the explosion tore open a rift leading to…" 

"Hell!" A stranger's voice interrupted Simmons from behind. She turned around and saw a man in work clothes standing there. Before she could react, the man swung a wrench at her head. Simmons dove aside just in time, the wrench shattering the expensive holographic display. Glass shards scattered across the floor. 

Wide-eyed, Simmons scrambled backward, her breathing panicked and her heart racing. When she finally managed to sit up again, the man was gone. 

Agent Coulson and two mystic apprentices burst in. Their reactions were markedly different: Coulson rushed to check on Simmons, while the apprentices raised their guard, their magic ready to strike. 

"Simmons, are you okay?" Coulson asked anxiously. 

"Sir, it's real! It's real!" Simmons stammered, her throat dry and feeling like sandpaper, her voice trembling. She forced herself to swallow and get the words out in one breath. "Hannah doesn't have telekinesis! There's someone else on this plane!" 

Solomon and Skye entered the lab as well. Solomon nodded at the apprentices, approving of their immediate response to the situation and their decision to alert him when faced with an unresolved problem. 

After a quick report from Coulson and the apprentices, Solomon dispelled the glowing magic in his hands. 

"What did he look like?" 

"I don't know! He just vanished!" Simmons exclaimed, her eyes wide. "I didn't see anything clearly—he's like a ghost!" 

"That's actually good news. It means our enemy is less dangerous than a demon…" Solomon began to say, but before he could finish, the entire floor shook violently. Even Solomon had to steady himself against the holographic table, while Skye clung to his arm the moment Simmons mentioned the word "ghost." 

The lights above flickered and went out. Emergency power kicked in, bathing the lab in red light. 

"The plane's lost power," Coulson assessed. "We're going down." 

"Spirits are always troublesome; they can bypass physical barriers entirely," Solomon said, his voice carrying clearly to everyone. "Everyone! Hold on to something secure. Prepare spells to mitigate the impact and guard against attacks. I'll cast a spell to halve the plane's weight. This scene feels oddly familiar—this isn't the first time this plane has gone through this." 

"You'd better follow me," Coulson pointed toward a row of foldable seats in the cargo bay. "There are seatbelts there." 

Melinda May felt this was the best news she'd heard all day. Halving the plane's weight meant a smoother landing during the emergency descent. With the vertical takeoff and landing system offline, and most emergency power diverted to Hannah Hutchins' cell, even the flight system had limited energy. 

With Agent Grant Ward's help, May had already identified a potential landing site. 

Suddenly, the plane lifted slightly—at least half its mass had seemingly disappeared. Abandoning her original dive strategy, May opted for a steadier landing approach. 

"The plane's density is unchanged, so only the buoyancy has increased," Simmons mused, even amidst the chaos, analyzing Solomon's spell. "Your magic altered the plane's buoyancy—it's like something weightless yet massive is holding the plane…" 

"Simmons, now's not the time for that," Coulson interrupted. 

"Sorry, sir, I'm just curious." 

"Once we've landed, all mages disembark immediately and form a perimeter around the plane," Solomon instructed. "I'll drive that entity off the plane." 

"He'll go after Hannah Hutchins. She's his target," Coulson reminded him. "But the cell has electromagnetic shielding. He'll try to force us out!" 

"How considerate of you, Agent Coulson. Your reminder is incredibly timely," Solomon said, his tone unclear whether it was praise or sarcasm. "If it really is a ghost, stepping into that cell will get him destroyed by the apprentices before he can even lift a hand."

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