Constantine

The basement door was shoved open, and everyone, led by Kara, rushed in all at once.

"Zhang Ye! You—uh."

The sound of the mirror shattering had been ear-piercing. Any normal person would have shuddered upon hearing it, let alone the mentally frayed superheroes outside. Zhang Ye had not been joking around—he had genuinely been attempting to summon a demon of original sin.

So after hearing the commotion, they had all rushed in without a word, terrified that something might have happened to Zhang Ye during the summoning. Kara trusted Zhang Ye, but this was still an unknown universe. It was impossible for her to truly feel at ease.

However, the moment they saw the scene inside the basement, they all stopped short.

The floor was covered in gelatinous sulfurous sludge. The burning candles had melted under the raging flames and fused together. Chilling mist churned within the supplies, while countless mirror shards lay scattered across the ground, glinting with eerie light.

And amid it all, Zhang Ye floated in midair, black magical energy continuously flowing over his body. If someone unfamiliar with him had walked in, they might have genuinely believed the summoning ritual had succeeded. Zhang Ye truly did look like a cultist possessed by a demon at that moment.

"…What are you…?"

Kara opened her mouth, her finger hovering uncertainly as she had no idea where to point. She could only look around and sigh.

"…Did it work?"

"Cough, cough."

Zhang Ye landed awkwardly on the floor. Looking at the mess around him, he replied helplessly.

"Apparently, summoning demons isn’t so easy. I’m guessing it’s because there was no sacrifice. Maybe when I have time, I can ask some experienced local witches."

"Next time, you’d better not pick such a critical moment to mess with our nerves. I haven’t slept properly in three days." Seeing that nothing had gone wrong, Kate rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

Barbara, meanwhile, looked at Zhang Ye and offered a sincere suggestion. "Demonic summoning rituals are sacred to a certain extent. Not a single step can go wrong. Constantine has a lot of experience in that area."

"You know Constantine too?" Zhang Ye asked in surprise.

Although Constantine was one of the Justice League’s members, he had always acted alone. The main reason he had joined the Justice League was that his wife, Zatanna, was part of it.

Most of the time, Constantine never appeared when the League was in action. Perhaps only when the other heroes had exhausted every option would Constantine show up with his lighter to clean up after them.

"I heard Batman discuss matters concerning the magical world, and I’ve read records within the League about witches connected to magic. Although I’ve only met him a few times, Constantine can be considered a master of magic in this world," Barbara explained.

"Unfortunately, I can’t contact him right now." Zhang Ye spread his hands.

He had wanted to look for Constantine earlier, but either that man had used magic to protect himself, or he simply had not been sleeping. In any case, Zhang Ye had searched for a long time without sensing the slightest dream connected to Constantine.

"Superman and Raven are also looking for Constantine, but it isn’t easy. If a witch wants to hide, no one can find him. Even Superman could only barely keep up with Constantine with Raven’s help."

"Raven…" Zhang Ye nodded thoughtfully.

Raven, Rachel Roth, was the biological daughter of Trigon, a high-dimensional demon. She was a Teen Titans superhero and also Trigon’s sole designated conduit for invading the real dimension.

Trigon had many ways to invade different dimensions. The primary method was to leave behind descendants in other dimensions, then use those descendants after they were corrupted into darkness by demonic power to open a passage between dimensions, allowing His true body to descend and conquer the entire dimension.

Zhang Ye had originally thought of her as just a little girl constantly being lectured by her father. But now, he suddenly remembered that Raven seemed to have some connection to the Seven Deadly Sins he had set his sights on.

The origins of the Seven Deadly Sins differed across various universes of the Multiverse, but one thing was certain: although they were original sins, their power was a tier below Trigon’s. In some universes, the Seven Deadly Sins, like Raven, were Trigon’s descendants.

Zhang Ye remembered that in the comic’s future dimension, Dark Raven had once led the Seven Deadly Sins in beating up Golden Superman.

It seemed he could find the Seven Deadly Sins through Raven. That was far better than relying on blind luck everywhere.

"Has Lois replied yet?" Zhang Ye asked curiously.

Barbara activated the communicator on her Bat-watch and looked at the blank list of new messages before speaking.

"Not yet. But Lois has already contacted Superman. I’m guessing we’ll have news before long."

Thousands of miles away, in the former capital of Britain.

On this land that had already been occupied by Parademons, the sharp sound of a bottle shattering suddenly rang out from a tavern in the city.

"Bollocks!"

Constantine stood at the bar, staring at the dwindling supply of whiskey in the cabinet, his face full of irritation.

"Where’s my Scotch? The liquor here is utterly tasteless. Damn it, if I can find this pub’s owner, I’m going to have a proper chat with him about the future prospects of the establishment. Hic. Or her."

He casually opened a bottle of whiskey that looked decent and tipped back a huge swallow. But he was clearly dissatisfied with it. After barely two sips, he threw the bottle away.

A crisp crash rang out!

The bottle shattered directly outside the bar counter, splashing liquor and glass fragments everywhere. They landed at the feet of a demon sprawled across the bar, snoring loudly in his sleep.

"Oi! Etrigan, did you drink my last bottle of whiskey!?" Constantine swayed as he leaned against the bar. Only then did he finally turn his attention to the demon.

Etrigan was clearly accustomed to Constantine’s crazed behavior. He could not be bothered with the man, saying nothing as he merely shifted into a more comfortable position and went back to sleep.

"Ignoring me on purpose, are you? Ha ha, very funny. In that case, I’ll enjoy this bottle all by myself."

Loosening his tie, Constantine paid no attention to Etrigan’s reaction. His gaze was quickly drawn to the whiskey hidden beneath the liquor cabinet.

Just then, the tavern door slowly opened.

The wooden door scraped against the floor with an unbearably harsh screech, shattering the tavern’s silence and ruining Constantine’s self-amused mood.

After draining an entire bottle of whiskey in one go, Constantine groggily looked toward the tavern entrance.

Through his blurred vision, he could only make out two figures, one tall and one short.