Inside Arkham Knight's Base, Arkham Knight was preparing his equipment on a table, while Necromancer Doctor Strange stood by his side and lowered his voice, "Are you sure you want to go? I feel like this blond guy is totally unreliable."
"What does it matter? Wherever we go to kill vampires, isn't it still killing? Didn't we want to make them realize the threat of us and lure them over? Destroying a key military base should be enough, right?"
"Of course I know that, but I just feel this guy has bad intentions," Doctor Strange shook his head, "There must be some danger there we don't know about. You better think it through, in case you die in the instance, all your current points will be halved, and the items will drop, never to be recovered."
"With that little courage, you shouldn't be playing these violent games," Arkham Knight said disdainfully, "Roll back to your cosmos and play house."
Arkham Knight walked away, leaving Doctor Strange stamping his foot in place in frustration. Although he practiced Necromancy, he wasn't mad, and precisely because he was a Magician, he knew how crazy Mages like Constantine could be.
On the other side, Moonlight Shiller was sitting in a daze, while Dick and Khonsu seemed to be getting along quite well.
"You say you're the Moon God; can you control the moon? Can you make it rise during the day?"
"Haven't you studied astronomy? The moon orbits the Earth; how could I possibly hold onto it all the time?"
Dick was rendered speechless but still said, "But aren't you the God of the moon? Can't you control it?"
"You're human, why can't you control your own flight?"
Dick began to realize that the mystic world he had just encountered didn't seem to be quite what he had imagined, and magic didn't seem as amazing as he thought.
"How did you become his Guardian God?" Dick asked casually, totally unaware that he was touching on a sore point.
Khonsu sighed heavily but did not respond.
"Why did he tie your mouth up before?"
Khonsu couldn't even bring himself to sigh anymore.
Dick also sensed that the atmosphere was off, so he changed the subject, "Do you know how to cast spells? I mean not just throwing energy, but doing something like summoning meteors in movies..."
"I am the Moon God."
"So what?"
"If I could control meteors, how did those craters on the moon's surface come to be?"
Dick was left without words.
He believed magic shouldn't be like this, but Khonsu's words were a bit too sensible, and he couldn't refute them.
"Since there's a Moon God, is there a Sun God too?"
"Yes."
"Are you and him close?"
"Are the moon and the sun close?"
Dick didn't know how to respond again; one during the day and one at night, they were never supposed to meet, of course, they weren't close.
"Can you handle vampires?" Dick asked again.
Although Khonsu did not respond this time, he directed his gaze to Moonlight Shiller, and Dick understood his implication; there was no need for him to deal with vampires, and should necessity arise, he still had to protect some vampires.
Dick looked back and saw Shiller and Constantine's figures outside the factory window, apparently talking about something, but it didn't seem very pleasant, mainly because Constantine was not too happy.
After arriving at the base, Constantine, under the pretext of needing to understand the situation from Batman's side, called Shiller out.
But everyone should know it was just an excuse, Constantine didn't care about the Batman Family's issues, and he wasn't very interested in the Justice League either. He wouldn't be sad even if they all died; there was no one in it who got along with him.
But Shiller, as if oblivious to the insinuation, was in the midst of detailing the fight between the Robins and Moonlight precisly and wittily, without losing subtlety and charm.
But Constantine wasn't there to listen to this; he fiercely took a drag from his cigarette, tossed the butt on the ground, and stepped on it to snuff it out. He looked down but looked up at Shiller from beneath his brows and said.
"Let's cut to the chase."
"I haven't hidden any details."
Constantine turned his head away and said, "Are you really with Batman? Taking orders from him, serving as his lapdog, just like those brainless people in the Justice League?"
"If it means completely eliminating such terrible monsters, then following the orders of the most wise and experienced member of the team is the best choice. What sets us apart from them is unity, and I assume you think so too, don't you?"
His words were watertight, just as Dick said, even Superman would have to applaud.
However, when Shiller said these words, the emphasis on his tone was always somewhat strange, not on words like "unity." He emphasized the word "command" very heavily.
But that couldn't be considered evidence, too illusory, always giving one the impression that they were overthinking.
Constantine was experienced enough to discern the subtle meaning behind it, and it was precisely for this reason that he was annoyed at the other's playing with him.
"I can't unite with someone like Batman," Constantine's tone gradually grew colder as he said, "He places too much value on the Justice League bunch of fools. They hold him back, but I won't let him hold me back. Have you made up your mind to follow him?"
Shiller showed a look of disagreement, as if looking at an ignorant child, and said, "The members of the Justice League may indeed have their flaws, but you can't deny they are a powerful force. If it were you, you might not do better than Batman, who has indeed made good use of them to accomplish a lot."
"You said it, that's using them."
"Not entirely, Batman has genuine friendships with them. Whether it's Superman or Wonder Woman, at least they understand part of Batman. They can give him understanding and comfort, and for that, he's willing to pay a greater price. It's not incomprehensible that it's the world's most precious thing. Even if it's bought at a premium, it's never a loss."
"But his indecision when facing them will eventually lead to an even worse situation, and they will never foot the bill..."
"Without them, you would have to pay the full price, not just a tip, so such criticism is unreasonable. Everyone should be grateful that they bear the brunt, even if the tip you carry leaves you exhausted. The fact that they can't pay more isn't a reason for your resentment."
Constantine wasn't discouraged. He continued, "What about you, then? Are you prepared to pay his tips?"
"It's not about paying for someone else. Satisfying your own wishes is also a need. Seeing the loss as the price for your own satisfaction always feels better, don't you think?"
Constantine felt as if there was a fire pent up in his chest. Shiller seemed to be talking in circles, but every sentence brushed the edge of his Psychic_Battlefield, as if deliberately saying, "I could understand you more deeply, but I won't."
"Very well, then." Constantine feigned nonchalance as he raised his hand and said, "Since there are so many willing to face life and death for him, perhaps there's no need for me to follow behind, paying his tips. I can go back to my Mysterious House, no vampire will come chasing there."
"Let's hope you're right." Shiller smiled and said, "I also hope things go that smoothly, that we can eliminate them before they truly discover the secrets of the mystic world."
Constantine looked at him incredulously, but Shiller suddenly changed the subject, saying, "By the way, I have a necklace I want you to see."
Shiller took the necklace that had originally been on Dick's neck out of his pocket, opened his palm to show it to Constantine, and said, "I hear you're English. The prayer on this is commonly used by English churches. Can you tell which church it comes from?"
Constantine glanced at the necklace; the Cross pendant was indeed nothing special, but there was a sentence on the back of the Cross that indeed was a prayer often used by the English.
"Maybe Westminster Abbey," Constantine said somewhat perfunctorily. "In the 1990s, they mass-produced these Holy Artifacts—crude craftmanship, low Enchantment level. Not good enough against real Demons, but quite sufficient against those winged rats. Where did you get it?"
"Batman gave it to me." Shiller completely concealed the twists and turns of the process and said, "Ordinary people understand ordinary people better. He's very worried about me getting bitten, so this thing can indeed prevent vampire bites, right?"
Constantine's eyes suddenly flicked as if he thought of something. Malice had just risen, but he hid it quickly. He sank into thought too quickly to see the smile in the depths of Shiller's eyes.
"I can't be sure either." Constantine suddenly changed his claim and extended his hand, saying, "The power on a Holy Artifact can be consumed. Let me see it."
Shiller handed over the necklace, and Constantine tenderly touched the prayer on the back. It seemed a red light flashed for an instant. He returned the necklace to Shiller, then said, "No problem, wear it around your neck. If a vampire tries to bite, it'll scald their teeth."
Shiller nodded, but put the necklace back in his pocket. Constantine said, "You're not going to wear it? When facing vampires, the neck is what ordinary people should protect most."
"I'm not in the habit of wearing necklaces." Shiller adjusted his tie with his hand and said, "The only metal I can stand touching my skin is a scalpel."
Constantine's heart skipped a beat as he said, "You're a doctor?"
As they both walked towards the factory gates, Shiller nodded and said, "Yes, a surgeon."
"Good at saving lives and aiding the injured."
"Not that good, not a very top-notch surgeon. Plus, it's been a long time since I've performed surgery, a bit rusty. Hopefully, there won't be any need for me to step in during this operation."
"I hope so too."
Shiller surreptitiously observed Constantine's expression. The previous state of agitation had completely disappeared, meaning he was once again assured about something.
Shiller laughed to himself.
Just as they reached the corner of the factory, a burst of blood mist suddenly rose in the distance, and both of them halted in their tracks at the sound of bat wings flapping.
A purple figure emerged, dressed in a black and purple tight suit with a golden inverted triangle bearing a 'Z' on the chest, a young man with short black hair and red glowing eyes.
Because this was not a popular superhero, Shiller didn't recognize him, but Constantine accurately called out his code name.
"Magic Twins? What are you doing here instead of with the Justice League?"
"Of course, it's to eliminate you."
"He's been turned! Be careful!!" Constantine shouted.
The next second, a lethal gust of blood wind struck towards Shiller's face.