"Ahhhh.....Uh! Hm!"
Just as Constantine was about to scream out, Batman pulled him aside and covered his mouth.
Shiller, who was standing by the door, turned his head. The restraint sleeves that bound his hands had long straps for securing his hands. Although Shiller's hands were fixed, the straps could move freely, whipping towards Constantine like a flexible lash.
After the initial shock, Constantine hesitated no more, firstly rolling aside, crossing over the sickbed in front of him, and then forcefully pushing down the cabinet next to him.
The cabinet didn't hit Shiller. However, as it fell, the files inside were scattered, blocking Shiller's view. In these few short seconds, Constantine pulled Batman along and rushed out of the room.
"The passage is in that room, we have to go through it to leave here." Batman followed behind Constantine and said, "That's the escape route, where else do you want to go?"
"Escape route?!" Constantine raised his voice: "Didn't you see? That's where I just came from!... No, he's catching up again. Let's go downstairs first!"
With that said, Constantine grabbed the handle of the stair handrail, curbing the inertia from running and quickly rushing down the stairs.
The safety indicator light in the stairwell added a touch of brightness to the small space. It was then that Batman saw that a large part of Constantine's right body side had been soaked in bright red blood.
Perhaps because this was a memory space, Batman didn't smell the blood. But he heard Constantine's slightly heavy breathing. It was clear his condition was not good.
Batman's face turned graver, but he still quickened his pace, running down the corridor, observing the surroundings. He then discovered that among this floor, almost none of the rooms was lit, except for a utility room at the end of the corridor.
Just as Constantine was about to rush into the utility room, Batman stopped him. He first carefully listened, then peeked into the room through the door's window. Not finding anyone or any traps, the two of them rushed in.
Batman immediately found the switch, turning off the light in an instant. They both held their breaths, listening to the sound of footsteps growing louder and then fading away. After the sound disappeared, Constantine let out a breath but also swayed a bit, leaning against the wall due to fatigue.
Batman, once again looking through the window in the door towards the corridor, didn't see Shiller's figure. He then turned the light back on and found a large gash on Constantine's body. It extended from the Suprasternal notch, across his chest, reaching to the side of his waist, with a lot of blood lost.
"You may be wondering why you can get injured in soul status, but let me tell you, this isn't as simple as playing a game." Constantine drew a cigarette from his trench coat's pocket. After taking a puff, he regained his spirit and said, "You can also get injured and bleed here, or even worse."
"So, what exactly happened to you?" Batman asked.
Exhaling another cloud of smoke, Constantine raised his head slightly, looking at the thin cigarette. Under the light, the smoke constantly changed shape before dissipating in the air.
The light emitted by the incandescent bulb reminded him of the light sphere that sucked him in while traveling through the tunnel.
When Constantine landed, he wasn't as lucky as Batman. He didn't land on a soft bed, but on a somewhat cold ground. The instant he landed, he covered his waist and let out a cry of agony.
"Good heavens, I'm not of the age to do these things anymore." Constantine sat up from the ground, one hand massaging his aching shoulder blade, while the other hand pounded on his neck. Apparently, he had twisted it when landing.
Looking at the disappearing speck of light above his head, Constantine realized the fall wasn't unjustified. The light point was at least two meters from the ground.
He thought, well, that's Shiller. He holds an equal amount of hatred towards anyone at any given time, never missing a chance to make a fool of others, even unconsciously.
Constantine got up from the ground, revealing a cold smile. He came here not to fool Shiller's umbrella. Even though this umbrella had the power to break the curse, he wasn't interested. However, even though the umbrella wasn't his aim, he was here to steal something.
At that time, Shiller, with the curse-breaking effect of the umbrella, knocked out the Spirit of Curse that was residing in Constantine and then absorbed it into the umbrella handle.
But Constantine knew very well, the Spirit of Curse is a type of "Spirit." It needs the human soul in order for it to generate energy and cannot stay in objects forever. This is why in many horror films involving cursed items, the cursed items always stick to the owner and are reluctant to leave.
Constantine didn't know that Shiller could go to another world, make a deal with Mephisto, get a bunch of Hydra's souls, feed them to the Spirit of Curse, and let it be full and not hungry for half a year.
Constantine assumed that Shiller was feeding his soul energy to the Spirit of Curse.
In the mystic world, "souls" and "spirits" aren't considered evil. They're more akin to wild beasts in nature. Feeding is their instinct. However, the soul strength of ordinary people can't sustain the possession of more powerful spirits. As a result, they grow weaker and eventually die.
But Constantine knew about Shiller's exceptional abilities. He believed that Shiller's soul energy was sufficient to satiate the Spirit of Curse. This was why he had previously let Shiller possess such a powerful spirit body.
When the Spirit of Curse had attached itself to Constantine, it didn't torment him out of hatred. It was simply famished and found no other food, as Constantine's soul was too flawed for its taste.
Constantine found himself plagued because the Spirit of Curse was fused with him. The spirit was identical to his soul, and as such, he could not expel it because he couldn't find it within his soul. This resulted in mutual torment.
However, after Shiller used the umbrella to solve this dilemma, Constantine conceived another plan. He desired the powerful Spirit of Curse but knew he couldn't keep it if he brought it back — he couldn't feed it.
So, he thought of a solution. Since Shiller had taken this entity, he must realize its power. Perhaps Shiller was willing to expend his soul energy to sustain it for the sake of that power.
Once the Spirit of Curse had its fill, it wouldn't torture its host for a while. If Constantine could seize the Spirit of Curse during this interval, he could obtain a powerful spiritual body without the downsides.
In the mystic world, many would capture souls or spirits to serve as pets or helpers. However, most captured souls or spirits are weak and good only for reconnaissance. The Spirit of Curse is different.
Constantine knew how unique his soul was. Even if he was no longer a normal human, he could use the soul identical to his to deceive the demons desiring his soul.
In simple terms, he wanted to use the Spirit of Curse as bait. It could serve as his scapegoat when he incurred too many debts. There were plenty of advantages, and the cost wasn't high. Why wouldn't Constantine try his luck?
Of course, he knew that hastily delving into Shiller's soul was dangerous. But he had one more piece of information than the other two. He suspected that Shiller was bogged down by All Things Green.
As a once-in-a-century genius in the mystic world, Constantine could channel high-level powers. After all, everyone loves Constantine, whether in Heaven or Hell.
In this respect, even Zatanna fell short of him. Zatanna was merely of noble birth with extensive connections and information in the mortal world. However, Constantine was a true expert in the Spirit Realm.
He knew the status of All Things Green. Hence, when his comrades pursued him, he felt something was amiss. If All Things Green truly wanted to deal with him, why use the old-fashioned methods of vines and plants?
Combining this with the fact that All Things Green descended upon Gotham University, Constantine deduced that All Things Green had set its eyes on the students of Gotham University. Shiller, protective by nature, directly confronted All Things Green, resulting in a conflict.
Zatanna didn't know much about Shiller, and Batman wasn't familiar with the mystic world. Constantine, who understood both parties, knew his opportunity had come the moment he learned of this situation.
All Things Green wasn't easily dealt with. If Shiller intended to confront it head-on, he would likely need the other personalities within his mental tower.
Constantine knew that human souls have bandwidth limits. It isn't possible to focus intensely on one target while equally engaging with another.
Therefore, venturing into Shiller's soul at this time should be the safest.
When he conceived this plan, the logic seemed sound. Constantine felt that even if he didn't find the Spirit of Curse in Shiller's soul or bring it back successfully, he could certainly escape.
After all, if Shiller was busy contending with All Things Green, he wouldn't have the time to chase Constantine across the entire Spirit Realm. When the time comes, he could just hide in Hell for a few days.
The plan was good, but it ran into numerous minor issues during execution.
Constantine, just landed and hands on his hips, surveyed the surroundings. He found himself in what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse — a large, high-roofed, dim space that exuded a deserted eeriness.
Constantine planned to head towards a thin slit of light from a doorway. But as soon as he took two steps, he tripped and fell with a thud.
As Constantine got up from the ground, he massaged his arm. The pain from his fall hadn't yet subsided. He cried out involuntarily when he hit the ground.
Having just risen from the ground, Constantine turned to look at the cause of his stumble.
But the next second, he froze. Because in the weak light, he saw that he had been tripped up by a corpse.