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Chapter 106: For God's sake!! IX
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A torrent of life force was unleashed upon it, causing it to light up in rays of myriad colors, orange being the most noticeable.
"I've never used this before, but... Please survive, that'll make things so much easier for both of us..."
And thus it was unleashed, the staff flew away from his hands, sparkling with a collection of Orange, Golden, and blue energies.
Time stood still, allowing the staff to pass by it, flying on its own accord, or perhaps adhering to Ian's instructions. Not even the God killer was able to react.
Ian would later note to himself how charitable the conscious divine weapon was, allowing the spear to go right through it, absolutely shredding everything on its way.
Just that brief collision with the God killer created a blast of dozens of meters around.
The damage would've been greater, oh so much greater if Ian didn't control the staff perfectly. All it had to do was to destroy the God killer cocoon, and it stopped right behind Deathstroke.
Surprisingly, he wasn't too injured, he just had a very big hole in the majority of his chest, reaching even his neck.
The staff had gone through the cocoon like a knife slicing through butter, leaving a lasting effect of turning the divine weapon into a malformed liquid, seemingly unsure of what to do.
It does have consciousness after all, and perhaps that consciousness was responsible for the next scene, the scene of a Golden letter manifesting itself before the God killer, then flying to Ian who easily caught it, his staff returning to his side with it.
Ian didn't seem surprised. He just opened the letter and started reading through it while slowly drifting towards Deathstroke.
"Ah, of course, of course, charity again. Yup... Hmm, I see. I'm glad there are many gods. That way, the phrase God is generous can take effect, leading to plenty of charity."
It was about this point he landed before the kneeling Deathstroke. He was still, unmoving, and not even flinching... He looked dead. Blood was flowing out of his ches... Strike that, he had no chest anymore.
A puddle of blood was already formed beneath him, quickly spreading through the ground, what remains of his remain was crumbling... He looked pitiful.
The first thing Ian did was move the sleepy Ivy to his back, blue energy flowing from the staff, facilitating the process
Ian crouched to Deathstroke's level, getting a bit too close to someone like Deathstroke. One can never know if he's pretending or not. One can also never know if such a fatal injury is able to stop him.
Still, Ian reduced the distance between them, defenselessly whispering something in his ears.
He then stood up again, "Come here." He spoke, seemingly to no one, but the God killer instantly formed into golden swords and landed in Ian's hands, "Not bad..."
Everything seemed to be perfectly planned, Deathstroke acting more as a messenger, delivering the letter and the divine weapon.
"Well, Hephaestus, have it your war... For now." Ian murmured before taking better hold of Ivy, flying with her back home, leaving Deathstroke possibly alive again.
With the league of shadow's methods, they'll surely be able to save him, yet Ian didn't seem to care. In fact, he planned before to let Mike kill him, but since he was here, and Deathstroke is still alive, he made changes in his plan...
"Finally back?"
"Yup." Ian faintly responded. On his way home, he decided to contact Zatanna after noticing several missing calls from her. It does seem that she knows something about where he was though, perhaps the girls told her?
"You went too far." Her tone was serious but also amused at the same time.
"Hm? Which action are we talking about?" Ian was a tad bit confused. He goes too far a lot of times, so it's understandable.
"..." Zatanna let out a sigh, "Constantine is in hell."
"Oh... Well shit."
"What did you do exactly? Numerous demons started targeting him suddenly in our world, making his life like hell. Not long ago, he went to hell on his own accord though he didn't tell me anything."
She seemed more curious than concerned. In fact, she didn't seem worried at all.
"Huh, I see... I didn't really go too far, I just used his assistance without his permission." Ian contemplated his words for a while before responding casually like the innocent person he is.
"Hahahaha, yeah sure, I totally believe you." Her sarcasm was obvious.
"Nah, it's actually true. He just took it upon himself to share my burden." Ian shrugged unconcerned, getting a laugh out of Zatanna.
It's easier to kill God than to permanently get rid of Constantine. That may be an exaggeration, but that's how confident they were in Constantine's cockroach skills.
"He didn't ask for help, so I'll leave it at that for now. However, be careful, Constantine is a bit vengeful. Also, I might need your help soon. The chances are extremely low, nearly zero, but it's possible."
"That's confusing," Ian noted.
"Is it? You should know me very well, I'm the best, so how can I not succeed in what I desire?" She hung up right away.
"Sure... I totally believe you."
Ian observed the changes in the city along the way, and he didn't seem much. The city was slowly getting more prosperous though.
A lot of people still have apprehension about Gotham, but things are slowly turning around, especially with Ian investing in numerous projects, mostly on the legal side of things.
He landed directly in front of his mansion, walking past the guards casually though they didn't seem to notice him. He only canceled whatever spell he was using when inside.
"Mm? Boss!?" A surprised voice sounded the moment he entered followed by someone throwing himself at him, wanting to hug him only to remain hovering in the air.
"You live here now?" Ian eyed her, singling to her not to disrupt Ivy's nap. Harley was adorned in red pajamas, looking to be in her own house.
"Yup! And what is this? Sooo cool, and you look so cool! Also wanna wear clothes like that! Also also, why do you have hair longer than me!?"
Harley tried moving around in the air, but she was barely successful, "Fly me around pleaaase!?"
I swear, God could appear before her and evaporate reality with a snap, and she would still say the same thing.
"Calm down, and call Layla and Ralf here now." He instructed before letting her free, then he went on to put Ivy in bed.
Ian went back to his room and changed back to his crime lord uniform. His steps led him to the guest room where he took a seat.
After calling them, Harley sat by his side bombarding him with questions until she noticed he was in no mood to respond, so she strangely stayed silent.
The moment Layla and Ralf arrived, Ian spoke calmly, "So Selina vanished, and the Roses can not find any traces of her?"
Ralf seemed nervous, scratching his head, unsure of what to do. Layla on the other hand was more decisive as she performed a full bow, "I failed you."
That's it, that's all she said as she remain in her subservient pose, seemingly awaiting him to set her destiny in stone.
"I'm not blaming you. I'm not blaming any of you." Ian shook his head before gazing at Ralf, "Give me the report."
And Ralf hastily complied, giving him written words of what happened, "So she did come back with the Hope diamond, but she vanished soon after with it without saying anything... Very interesting."
Ian threw the report to the side, "Layla, you're doing well, so continue. It's easy for anyone to hold the helm when the sea is calm, but it's nothing but that when in chaos... We turned the chaotic Gotham into a calm sea, and that's what'll continue to do unless chaos is needed."
He signaled for her to stand strong and continued, "I won't be available much from now on. I won't be involved in the Roses too deeply. My footsteps should take me all around the world, so I have to leave everything to you two."
The serious atmosphere made them gulp their words. All they could do is to nod and show their determination.
"Perfect. You can go, and call Mike here." Ian further stated before zoning out, his finger slightly tapping the table beside him in contemplation.
'That was kinda badass,' Harley mused in her mind, scanning him carefully from top to bottom, 'He still doesn't seem like a God though, so why does Layla think so?'
Harley has never been more rational since her transformation than now. Her psychiatrist mind working full time to figure him out, something she's been doing since joining the Roses, just not to this degree.
"What is God anyway?" Harley questioned out loud, accidentally getting Ian's attention.
"God huh? Someone or something of many of which there is a lot. A thing relative to human understanding because they can not gauge what a God feels... Or if it can feel in the first place."
Harley was a bit confused, but still asked the most important question, "Can you? Do you understand God?"
"Me?" Ian shook his head with a laugh, "I can not understand myself, so how can I truly understand God? I'm sure we'll meet soon enough, it's just a shame it can not be now."
"I'm still very confused. I feel like you're giving me nonanswers? You're just being unresponsive." Harley frowned, and Ian eyed her in surprise, but he still didn't point out her odd behavior.
"Just think of God as anything but God. Think of it as a thing, and imagine a sea of things."
Ian shook his head, somewhat amused by his own words, 'Why do I know this when I have never paid much thought to what God is? Where does this occasional odd knowledge come from?'
A sigh escaped his mouth, "More questions than answers. Such is the way of nature."