"So, you plan on killing Andrew?"
"It's only the beginning." Strange gently laid down his meticulously folded napkin. Shiller's gaze fell on the edge of the neatly folded napkin, revealing a slight smile.
"Whoever responds to the demon's summons, dies," Strange said bluntly. "No matter how the successors of this world perceive me, or how they describe me as a tyrant in history books, that's not my concern."
"Yet evidently, the reality is more troublesome than you think." Shiller also set down his folded napkin and said, "It's not a matter of who's left, but how many are left."
"Perhaps none at all." Strange's face darkened as he said, "When I went to kill Andrew, he obviously had already received the news. Few people know my intentions. Hence, they are no longer trustworthy."
"Besides, they will target you sooner or later." Without any fear, Strange looked into Shiller's grey, scattered eyes, "They know you're not simple, so they may not take action against you, but you're not alone in this world."
Shiller knew Strange was referring to the Shiller he knew, or at least to Professor Shiller who had brought him to this world. Shiller did not directly assure him not to worry. Instead, he said: "Many times, brutal slaughter cannot solve all problems."
"Does leaving them alive benefit us in any way?" Strange said irritably, "If you don't exterminate all the traitors, their numbers will only increase."
Shiller shook his head and said, "It's all about the method."
"Death brings the strongest deterrence."
"Those connected with the demon are always fearless, as physical death is not the end for them." Shiller adjusted the angle of the flowers with his fingers and said, "Senseless slaughter will only increase your own consumption. If you lack dramatic inspiration, don't waste your strength on slaughter."
Strange became a bit puzzled. The Shiller in front of him was unlike any Shiller he knew. While they had met in the Tower of Thought, that encounter did not help Strange understand him better.
"Regardless, if any of Shiller's friends get hurt, it will be the consequence of your inaction while using this body." Strange emphasized, "They will definitely take action. They also want to make us afraid through killing."
"They have already taken action." Shiller left the dining table and walked towards the restaurant door. Merkel hurriedly came in along the corridor, handing Shiller a piece of paper.
Suddenly, Strange turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant. Soft sounds were coming from the garden as the shadows of the trees swayed. Several figures were approaching.
Strange immediately became alert, but Shiller walked to the garden door and opened it for the guests.
Leading the group was Deathstroke, followed by Constantine and Zatanna.
"We've made it in time, right?" Deathstroke sighed deeply. He wiped the dirt from his shoes on the doormat, making the same polite talk with Shiller like any weary traveller who'd come from afar.
Zatanna walked into the restaurant as confused as Strange. Addressing Shiller, she asked, "What on earth is going on here? Why did this strange guy create a highway explosion, kidnap us, then bring us here?"
"Thank you." Shiller handed the paper he'd received to Deathstroke and said, "I am confident that apart from me, nobody alive has seen this list. Your family will be very safe."
"Burn it." Deathstroke waved his hand and said, "I'm always a labourer. How many times have I worked for you?"
Shiller gave the paper in his hand to Zatanna, made a gesture to ignite it, and though Zatanna didn't fully understand the situation, she set the paper on fire.
Shiller's gaze landed on Constantine. Constantine only exchanged a glance with him, then fell silent.
Shiller began, "I know you have many questions. We still have some time before the banquet begins, we can take our time."
"John's bookstore was rented from Harley's house. I think you should remember. After it was destroyed and you renovated it, Harley came to check the house."
Constantine nodded.
"She wasn't there to check the renovation standards." Shiller held a bottle of red wine in both hands, examining the words on the bottle, and then said, "You already knew about her special ability, didn't you?"
"She had some kind of incredible dark energy. I've never seen dark matter like it, so I can't pass judgement." Zatanna frowned.
"She was trying to read some sorcery books from your store, but she knew you were there. You would never let her access that dangerous knowledge. So, she didn't want you to know and planned to steal a few."
Zatanna's frown deepened as she listened to Shiller say, "But she found strange magical markings on the second level of your bookshelf."
"John is currently incapable of using magic, and you're not good at identifying hidden markings, but Harley has a special investigative talent. She immediately realized you guys had been targeted."
Zatanna frowned. She was carefully recalling whether she had seen any suspicious characters recently, but after all, she was not a detective like Batman. Lately, she was busy fighting fiercely with Constantine and hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings.
"Someone wants to kidnap you to threaten me, thereby affecting the completion of Earth's Magical Defense Network."
"But I had this excellent mercenary engineer make an explosion before they could lay a hand on you. The magic realm will believe you've been reduced to ashes by old enemies. A simple trick of feigned death to escape attention."
Shiller turned to look towards the corridor behind the restaurant door, where Merkel was coming with a tray of food. The exquisite dishes were placed on the table.
Gazing at the steak on the table, Zatanna moved her nose a bit and said, "Are you really hosting a banquet? ... smells delicious, what kind of meat is this?"
"Reindeer meat," as Shiller scrutinized the patterns on the meat, he said, "Extraordinarily strong when it was alive."
Then, he met Strange's gaze and said, "Although beasts fear satiation less than starvation, humans use this to lure them, and hence, livestock was born."