The sea breeze in Plymouth carried an indescribable salty damp scent. The sky above was covered by heavy clouds. The old ships docked in Devon Port were rusted, the sunset scattered diamonds along the wave crests. Through holes in the old sail, one could see, the sea spray splashed up like pale fingers, etching traces on the ancient rocks.
An old black car parked by the side of the road. A few figures rushed into the watchtower before sunset. A thick smell of blood wafted from inside the gates. Jim, who broke the door, grabbed his weapon and carefully moved forward, step by step.
Red Robin, looking down at the blood on the ground, looked up at the entrance to the stairway and said, "They're underground."
As soon as he finished speaking, Bennett transformed into a bat and rushed down, closely followed by the others. As soon as they burst into the underground, they saw Kaz's shriveled body lying in the center of a mysterious magical array.
All his blood had been drained, forming streams of blood guided by the magic, flowing along the runes of the Array in a certain direction.
Constantine looked up to find that at the end of the Array were countless blood-red fragments and sticky substance. It looked like a broken egg.
"They're using Kaz's blood to incubate something..." Constantine's boots made a squelching noise as he stepped on the blood. He walked towards Kaz's body, but Red Robin stepped forward and stopped him.
"I have forensic experience, step back and let me check."
Constantine glanced at him, then stopped his footsteps. Red Robin stepped forward, turning Kaz's body over, staring at the gaping hole in his chest.
"First they took out his heart, then drained all the blood from his body, even squeezing out the power in the bones and muscles. What on earth does that vampire Mary want to do?"
Bennett was just staring blankly at the traces of the egg at the end of the room. Just as Constantine was about to ask if he had discovered something, Bennett said, "Do you guys know the difference between the Esoteric Party and the Demon Party within the Blood Clan?"
Bennett took a deep breath. In his narrative, the secrets of the Blood Clan over thousands of years were gradually revealed.
"Adam and Eve's son, Cain, was banished from Eden for killing his own brother. He swore to take revenge on Adam and Eve, so he took their descendants, the human race, as food and sucked their blood, depriving them of their lives."
"Cain had thirteen descendants, the Thirteen Clans of the Blood Clan. The bloodlines from Cain gave them tremendous power, but they were not entirely united, and some clans even hated each other."
"In the year we call 'Year of Blood,' a war broke out among the Thirteen Clans. They split into two factions, the Esoteric Alliance and Demon Feast Alliance, later known as the Esoteric Party and the Demon Party or Esoteric Sect and Demon Sect."
"The Esoteric Party adheres to the doctrine and considers themselves guilty due to Cain's crime of killing his brother. They go out quietly at night seeking redemption and salvation, while the Demon Party believes that humans have taken the position that Cain should hold. They should follow Cain's orders and revenge on humans. The dispute between the two factions has never ceased."
"Over the years, their main conflict has been whether they should remain loyal to their ancestor Cain. The members of the Demon Party have been massacring humans and turning countless bloodthirsty monsters, not just to satisfy their appetite. They have been collecting life force."
Constantine turned his head and stared at the broken egg as he asked, "...for what?"
"To resurrect Cain."
"Is Cain dead?" Red Robin asked.
"No, Cain is immortal. When God punished Cain, he declared him to leave Eden, but people must not kill him. But the Church that follows God's will has always viewed Cain as a sinner, driving and sealing him."
The last time should be two hundred years ago. Saint William from York Cathedral and a group of knights severely wounded Cain, and he fell into a deep sleep and disappeared."
Bennett sighed and looked at Constantine and said, "Remember our speculation about the purpose of the blood moon human sacrifice ritual? Maybe we were all wrong. It wasn't the promotion ceremony for Blood Queen Mary or any other Blood Clan. They were collecting life force to resurrect Cain."
Constantine walked a few steps forward to the fragments of the egg and kneeled down to check the splattered sticky substance around him, saying, "Don't tell me they have already succeeded."
"I'm afraid so." Red Robin's voice came from around Kaz's body. He stood up and looked at Constantine and said, "I modified the demon summoning Array. My call didn't connect to the 'Tainted Litsa', but another demon."
"Who?" Constantine frowned.
"Lilith."
All the people present took a sharp breath. Constantine rushed at him, put his hand on Red Robin's shoulder and looked into his pupils.
Suddenly, he turned pale, stumbled back a few steps, shaking his head vigorously as he said, "Get out, Lilith, I don't owe you!"
Deadman Boston stepped forward and said, "Do you know what a dangerous move you made? You sought answers from the mother of nightmares and the dark night, she will demand a price."
"We'll talk about the cost later." Red Robin approached the broken egg and said, "Lilith told me that it was her nephew's masterpiece. She and Adam in Eden are of the same origin. God created Adam and her out of clay, they are siblings, and Cain is Adam's son and also Lilith's nephew."
"We're in trouble." Constantine looked up at the runes carved on the ceiling and said, "I'm afraid the second Bloodline War is coming. Let's go, back to the Forgotten Bar. We need to gather people from the magical world, then notify the Church..."
Just as Constantine was moving towards the gate, the Master of the Dark Night, Jim, stopped abruptly. He called out to Constantine and raised his Night blade, saying to everyone, "What happened, Andrea? What's wrong?"
"Master, hurry back! The bar is in chaos now. The cabbage you brought back knocked down two, but it can't handle more crazy mages!"
"What on earth is going on? How dare they cause trouble in the Forgotten Bar?!"
"It's chaos! The devils from Hell collectively broke their contracts, they took back all the power they had lent to the magicians... The magical world is doomed!"
All present were stunned, but it was the Deadman who reacted first. He waved his hand and said, "No problem, the power of all of us here now is not derived from demons, let's get back to the bar and stop the chaos first."
Jim, the Master of the Dark Night, opened the door to Maya, and a few people took a shortcut from the magical world back to the Forgotten Bar. As soon as they stepped into the bar, they saw magicians lying on the ground wailing and cabbages jumping around the counter, swinging their leaves to beat people.
Seeing the chaotic situation in the bar, Jim was anxious. He completely forgot about Shiller's instructions earlier. He wanted to go behind the counter to retrieve the box to catch the cabbage, but as soon as he approached the counter, he was punched across the room by a vicious hook.
He let out a terrible scream, then got up dizzily, clutching his nose, took a deep breath, and pointed to the cabbage and said, "Quick, pack it up! If this continues, the magical world will be really finished!"
In the end, it was Bennett who turned into a bat, dodged the cabbage's attack, and knocked the cabbage back into the box. The barmaid, Andrea, closed the box lid.
"Thank God for it!" Andrea crawled out from behind the counter and said, "A bunch of mages were crazily looking for the Master of the Dark Night. When I said you were not there, they were about to attack, but it protected me."
"What on earth is going on?" Jim stared at Andrea and asked, Andrea sighed, grabbed a magician knocked out with a whiskey bottle from behind the counter, and pressed him down on the counter, saying, "You better ask him."
Constantine walked up, grabbed the magician's collar, and splashed the ice water from the cup on his face. Soon, this bald middle-aged mage slowly came around.
"Oh my God, Constantine!!!" He cried instinctively.
But before Constantine could ask him anything, the middle-aged mage grabbed Constantine's arm and wailed at him, "Constantine... Grand Mage Constantine! You need to figure out a way! Those damn demons have destroyed the contracts, taken back their power, and most mages can't cast magic anymore!"
"The mages were driven out because they couldn't keep the Mage Tower running, and when other creditors came to collect, the lucky ones ran away, the less lucky ones were torn to pieces. With the magical territories of magical families lacking the protection of magic arrays, all kinds of monsters and ghosts have come knocking, blood is flowing everywhere, there are corpses everywhere..."
The middle-aged mage kept mumbling and sobbed, "They're mad, they're all mad..."
Constantine pushed him away, slapped him on the face and kicked him in the stomach, saying, "So, this is your reason for breaking into neutral territory? Absolute idiot, you got what you deserved!"
The middle-aged mage lying on the ground didn't even have the strength to get up, he could only wail on the ground. Constantine took a deep breath, suppressed the rage in his heart, and said, "Don't count on these cowards. Without the grace of the demons, they are not even as good as three-year-olds."
He paced rather irritably in front of the bar, saying, "I should have seen this coming, how could the devils be so kind as to lend their power to so many people with such low barriers?"
"They have been waiting for this day, for these fools who have become accustomed to their magical power to lose it and kneel at their feet, begging for their torture, just for the tiniest bits of leftovers!"
"Shame of the human race!" Cursed Constantine.
"Calm down, John," said the Deadman, who was noticeably emotionless, walked up to Constantine and put his hand on Constantine's shoulder to calm him down.
Red Robin's thought process was as clear as ever, he said, "We need to first figure out why the demons collectively broke their contracts, preserve the remaining vitality of the magical world against possible shocks, and then investigate the secrets behind all this."
"You won't get that chance,"
A cold female voice sounded at the door, a lightning bolt streaked across the outside of the Forgotten Bar, a woman with giant bat wings slowly walked in.
"Mary!" Bennett called out her name.
Mary gently raised her head, she has beautiful auburn curls, in the style commonly known as a wealthy woman of the middle ages, dressed in a rococo-style, looking just like Madame Pompadour who has stepped out from a painting.
She tilted her head to look around, and after seeing the humiliated mages lying on the floor, she sneered and said, "Unlucky times, humans, it seems that even the devils can't stand your stupidity."
"What's the deal?" Jim coldly stared at her and asked, "If you don't make yourself clear, don't think about walking out of the bar alive!"
"What do you mean? The return of our great ancestor or the correct choice of the devils?" Mary showed no fear, and even more of the Blood Clan swarmed into the bar.
She took two steps forward, hands crossed in front of her, maintaining an elegant and noble posture, showing a carefree calm demeanor sharply contrasting with the tense atmosphere across her.
"Before you threaten me, would you like to see --- who this is?"
Mary flashed a smile, waved lightly with her pale fingertips, two strong members of the Blood Clan threw a figure on the ground.
Constantine opened wide his eyes and exclaimed her name.
"Zatanna?!!!"