‘Accept Our Power’

Constantine’s words were like flipping a switch. The atmosphere throughout the Rock of Eternity immediately fell silent.

The two exchanged glances, their mutual understanding making them both comprehend what the other meant.

Zhang Ye took the Black Umbrella from his back, while Constantine pulled a brand-new deck of playing cards from his coat. They stood back to back, warily scanning their surroundings.

As they examined the ruined Rock of Eternity again, details they had missed before soon came into view. Since they had teleported in directly with magic rather than entering through the entrance, they had failed to take in the place’s full appearance.

The rune inscriptions that had once brimmed with magic on the shattered walls had weathered away, and every magical artifact had withered. All manner of twisted vines sprawled across the rock walls, drawing out the last nutrients here.

Including the corpses at the entrance and in the hall, everything lay strewn haphazardly across the ground. Other residual energies still smoldered among them, as if concealing some trace.

"This is damn strange."

Constantine muttered. He had never encountered anything like this. The demons were clearly nearby, yet he could not sense even the slightest trace of them. Though the chaotic magical residue here had something to do with it, he was Constantine—this would have been impossible in the past.

It would have been one thing if those demons had hidden themselves through possession, but there was nothing here that could be called a "fleshly body." Since the Parademon corpses were biological weapons, demons could not possess them at all.

Wait.

Constantine’s eye twitched as he slowly turned his head.

At the same time, Zhang Ye moved. He spun around sharply and stared directly at the pile of corpses.

"You noticed it too?" Constantine craned his neck.

"Yeah, by coincidence. I know a little about necromancy." Faint green flames slowly emerged in Zhang Ye’s pupils, especially conspicuous in the dim environment and eerily bizarre.

The source of necromancy was naturally the Shadow King. This had been apparent when the Shadow King manipulated fragments of the X-Men’s souls. After devouring the Shadow King, Zhang Ye had gained quite a few insights into magic involving souls.

"Originally, I thought those things were hiding in the artifacts here, but we overlooked the other human corpses here—or rather, the skeletons."

Zhang Ye’s expression was somewhat cold. This was not the first time he had seen someone desecrate the remains of heroes, but no matter how many times he saw it, he could never suppress his rage.

Sure enough, under Zhang Ye and Constantine’s gaze, a murky black mist abruptly rose from the pile of corpses. It carried an exceedingly strange aura. Unlike ordinary demons, something else was mixed into that black mist.

Perhaps the Seven Deadly Sins knew they had been discovered. They stopped hiding and slowly emerged, enveloping the objects they possessed as they gradually revealed their forms.

The skeletons made the sound of joints knocking together, the crisp friction of bone against bone. Then five humanoid skeletons slowly stood up.

After losing Shazam’s divine power, they had all returned to the appearance of ordinary people—their original appearances.

Judging by their height, Zhang Ye could clearly tell that those remains had belonged to underage children. Their bones were incomplete as well. All five skeletons were missing arms or legs, and one had even lost its skull.

After glancing at the other Parademon corpses on the ground, Zhang Ye understood without needing to think where those missing pieces had gone.

".Fresh flesh."

The black mist spread, turning into a fog that attempted to obscure their vision. Within it, seven twisted, grotesque figures churned and writhed without end.

They made sounds like rusty razors scraping across the ground, causing both Zhang Ye and Constantine to frown.

"All right. Just like I promised, I found them for you. Now it’s your turn to perform."

Constantine took two steps back and casually tucked the playing cards back into his pocket. He raised an eyebrow at Zhang Ye, then found a set of steps and sat down, like an audience member waiting for the show to begin.

"Seriously, Constantine? If you’re helping, help all the way."

Zhang Ye could not help saying.

But the only response he got was the sound of a lighter striking to life.

"Fine." Zhang Ye sighed helplessly.

Still, he had not intended to seek Constantine’s help in the first place. These things were his prey.

The Seven Deadly Sins continued to emit hoarse sounds. They seemed to have sensed the demonic power emanating from Zhang Ye, and it excited them immensely.

After lying dormant for who knew how many years, their power had nearly vanished completely. They had devoured an unknown number of souls on the fallen Earth before barely gathering enough strength to form bodies and work together to find a way out of that world.

Yet just as they were rejoicing, they were shocked to discover an irresistible force forcibly dragging them back. Worse still, all the power they had painstakingly amassed was exhausted during the crossing between dimensions.

The Seven Deadly Sins were now in no state to gather physical bodies, and even controlling these few corpses was an enormous struggle. Seeing Zhang Ye, a Black Wizard brimming with demonic power, how could they not be excited?

As demons of original sin, their power possessed terrifying suppressive force over lesser demons.

Because of that, Zhang Ye was astonished to find that his own magic seemed to be afraid of something, continuously shrinking back and hiding beneath his body.

".Accept us. We will grant you great power."

Terrifying demonic power suppressed Zhang Ye in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the gloomy black mist enveloped his entire body. The spectral green flames gave off a faint glow, revealing stark white bones walking through the black fog.

Outside the black mist, Constantine looked relaxed, but his heart had long risen into his throat. The hand tucked in his pocket trembled faintly, ready at any moment to fling out the cards inscribed with spells.

Zhang Ye’s expression was solemn. He could sense that amid the chaotic darkness, there was something besides those skeletons. It was an existence his necromancy could not detect, and the very thing that had been suppressing him all along.

".Black Wizard. We are your true destination."

The hoarse voice kept echoing in Zhang Ye’s ears, influencing his mind. Zhang Ye felt his thoughts becoming muddy, thick and sticky like a swamp.

Then, one by one, the heads of the Seven Deadly Sins circled around Zhang Ye, leering at the wizard whose heart they had already breached.

Dark power filled Zhang Ye’s pupils, and changes appeared across his body as well.

".Accept me."

Pride opened its huge mouth and was the first to pour into Zhang Ye’s right eye.

In an instant, darkness surged forth. Zhang Ye’s skin turned purple, and two horns grew from his head.

"We… will… give you—"

Seeing this, the other demons of original sin swarmed forward, rushing into Zhang Ye’s open soul.

".We will… I…"

But then, the Seven Deadly Sins clearly realized something was wrong.

".I… I… Stop! Stop!!"

The black mist suddenly churned. Unlike its previous languid rolling, the black fog now flowed at high speed, like a storm rapidly gathering within it.

In the sinister hall, black mist howled past. Waves of ghastly, weeping sounds filled the surroundings. The spectral flames trembled constantly, casting bizarre shadows that swayed across the walls and sent chills down the spine.

Heart-stopping roars and screams rang out without end, echoing through the deathly silent Rock of Eternity. A cold wind blew, and amid those rising and falling dreadful sounds, the deep passageway became like Purgatory.

Constantine stood up in horror, his expression uncertain as he stared into the black mist.

In his sight, a huge shadow was flailing within the black fog.

It was a bizarre creature with two enormous bat wings, two sharp horns on its head, and four arms. By the dim green firelight, he could also see the tentacles stretching and writhing endlessly.