Shiller tilted his head to dodge, and the blood light grazed his cheek, leaving a trace of blood on his cheekbone.
When he looked back again, the youth known as the Magic Twins had already appeared in front of Shiller; he swung his fist to strike, but Constantine simply raised his hand, and a flash of magic sent him flying.
"Zan, stop it!" Constantine shouted at him, "Think of your sister, don't let him control you!"
When the youth flew up again, he revealed a mocking smile, saying, "You will never understand. All this is for the grand cause of the King of Vampires. She'll understand soon enough!"
A purple light abruptly appeared behind Constantine and soon enveloped him completely. Constantine seemed to be grabbed by a giant purple hand, from which agonized groans escaped his throat.
The youth known as Zan quickly flashed behind Shiller, wrapping his forearm around Shiller's neck, his teeth nearing the side of his neck.
"Listen, kid, now is not a good time to turn me," Shiller said calmly, "Don't you want to know what Batman has prepared for you?"
The youth paused briefly, but then smiled wickedly again and said, "Batman? He will soon be history, and our great king will make him realize who the true King of Bats is!"
"Batman has discovered your secrets," Shiller stated unhurriedly. "Blood is key to your power, and some people's blood is special. Don't you want to know how far he has gotten?"
"By turning you, you'll tell me obediently anyway."
"If that were the case, why would Batman tell me this secret?" Shiller laughed, seemingly confident.
The youth hesitated, feeling somewhat doubtful. Having once been a member of the Justice League, he knew Batman well. If Batman could not ensure that a person would never reveal a secret, he wouldn't disclose any secrets to them. This man knowing Batman's secrets could mean he had some special life-saving measures.
He tightened his arm around Shiller's neck, his other hand controlling Shiller's arms behind his back. Though restrained, Shiller still spoke in a persuasively gentle tone.
"In my pocket, there's a token that Batman gave me; perhaps that's what you're looking for. Do you want to check it out?"
Zan was skeptical but still asked, "Which pocket is it in?"
"It's in the pocket of my suit jacket, you can easily feel it if you reach in."
"Are you sure it's not something dangerous?"
"Of course it's dangerous for you, but if you don't take it out, you probably can't explain yourself to your superior."
Zan understood this better than Shiller; his superior was very strict, and if he returned empty-handed, he would face severe punishment. But he was indeed also afraid of what Batman might have prepared.
Zan released the hand grasping Shiller's arm, reaching into the front of Shiller's suit to feel for the item in the pocket.
Constantine, firmly pinned to the ground by vampire magic, sighed inwardly; the guy was still too young. Luckily, he had been prepared.
Zan felt something and took it out. It turned out to be a small cross pendant, but oddly, the cross caused him no harm at all. It lacked not only the power of blessing but even the intrinsically vampire-repressing force of the cross itself.
Lying on the ground, Constantine revealed a sly smile. When Shiller had passed the cross to him earlier, he had used magic to dispel all the Holy Light from it and had also endowed it with the power of shadows, rendering it completely harmless to vampires.
Before coming to find the Arkham Knight, Constantine had done some other things.
As mentioned before, Constantine could very accurately determine which type of magic came from which demon.
The magic system now used by vampires was composed of Blood Magic from Bloody Mary and Shadow Magic from Dracula; purple generally indicated Shadow Magic, red indicated Blood Magic, beam-shaped manifestations were Shadow Magic, and fog-shaped manifestations were Blood Magic.
The vast majority of vampires couldn't master both types of magic at the same time; their bloodline talents only supported the use of one type. Usually, the type a vampire transformed with is the type he used.
After arriving on the East Coast of the United States, Constantine discovered a group of vampires using Blood Magic and traced the magical residue to a hidden underground base.
He found the base was a stronghold of the Doomsday Army, with many former members drained by Blood Magic, but many others had been turned into vampires, making it a vampire garrison.
Yet, there he discovered traces of another person, one who used Shadow Magic and did not fit in with the turned vampires. Constantine did some research and suspected this might be his old friend, a vampire with a still-intact mind—Andrew Bennett.
Andrew, though a vampire, did not want to conquer the world, nor did he share the new vampires' bloodthirsty and violent nature; he mostly kept to himself and was one of the few people who often interacted with Constantine and had not met a gruesome end.
Following the trail of Andrew's magic, he discovered that the other party might be headed to the headquarters of the Justice League.
This wasn't surprising, although Andrew was a vampire, his relationship with the superheroes of the Justice League was quite good, even much better than Constantine's with them. Given the gravity of the situation, he surely wanted to seek help from the Justice League immediately.
Constantine, hurrying along, finally managed to stop Andrew before he reached the Justice Hall, knocked him out, and took him back to his own base on the East Coast.
Andrew was a significant figure, potentially knowing why the vampire disaster had suddenly erupted, and Constantine plainly didn't trust the Justice League, so he intercepted Andrew beforehand.
Upon waking and seeing Constantine, Andrew was not only displeased but also extremely angry. He had expected to wake up in the Justice League, so he could immediately inform the superheroes about the vampire situation, but Constantine's interference might have delayed crucial actions.
Constantine shared his views with Andrew, emphasizing that even within the Justice League, it was not safe as there might be a mole. Reaching out to them could be falling right into a trap.
Andrew was somewhat convinced by his argument, but he felt that at least Superman should be informed, because as a vampire, he knew too well the deadly impact this human-shaped sun had on shadow creatures.
Constantine said he would pass the message, but he actually had no intention of doing so. Superman indeed couldn't be a vampire, but he wasn't quick-witted, and in such matters, he never could see the bigger picture. If influenced by a mole, everyone could be endangered.
He managed to placate Andrew but didn't let him leave because he knew the Doomsday Army would soon notice someone was missing and they would definitely try to track down Andrew to prevent him from reporting to the Justice League.
Meanwhile, they would also send someone to notify the mole inside the Justice League to be on guard, and to seize control of Andrew the moment he arrived, ensuring the information never reached Wonder Woman or Superman.
Constantine deliberately left his traces where Andrew disappeared, so that the chasing Doomsday Army knew he was the one who had taken Andrew.
In this way, they would have to confront him if they wanted to silence him, knowing well that a few members of the Doomsday Army were insufficient against him; hence, the converted superheroes from inside the Justice League would certainly be the ones to come.
In this scenario, once the vampire superheroes showed up, they would fall right into Constantine's trap and be captured, putting him in a position to prove that the Justice League had been infiltrated.
Batman needed the strength of the Justice League, and so he needed proofs to make the members more vigilant and concerned. The partly informed Andrew and the converted superheroes, held by Constantine, provided just that, which meant Batman would have to negotiate with him.
Capturing the converted superheroes was not so simple, though; confronting them head-on wasn't impossible, but Constantine still chose the method he excelled at: sacrificing a friend to gain perfect proof.
Constantine thought if Shiller hadn't told him about the Holy Artifact Batman had left for emergency use, things might have been really troublesome.
Because it wasn't the formidable few he imagined, but an unknown youngster, the older brother from the Magic Twins, whom Constantine had met a few times. He was too naïve, likely to panic under a sneak attack, potentially ruining Constantine's plans.
Fortunately, not only did Shiller inform him about the Holy Artifact provided by Batman, but he had also handed the Cross pendant over to him.
Although Blood Magic and Shadow Magic were often found with vampires, they weren't exclusive to vampires. Constantine controlled Shadow Magic, and as a human, he wasn't repelled by the Cross, enabling him to easily use Shadow Magic to dispel Holy Light.
When the youngster found that the Holy Artifact could not harm him, he gained the upper hand, and once he was drawn into combat, Constantine had enough time to prepare his Array to capture him alive.
Zan examined the Cross, sneering disdainfully, "Just this? You're not planning to ambush me with it, are you?"
"Of course not, because the one to ambush you isn't it."
What Constantine hadn't expected was that Shiller's tone bore no hint of nervousness. Then, four gunfire shots rang out from the factory's main entrance.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Arkham Knight, holding dual guns and walking while shooting, fired four bullets precisely into Zan's body, and one just hit Zan's neck perfectly.
Blood splattered, and dense black smoke steamed out from the holes made by the Silver Bullets. The young man in a purple bodysuit screamed piercingly from the pain and could not help but release his arms, allowing Shiller to escape.
A faint friction sound was heard as the Arkham Knight's dual guns combined into a sniper rifle. In the scope, Zan's head flashed by, and just as the trigger was pulled, another purple magic caught Zan by the waist and hoisted him up.
Dick jumped out from the nearest window. The young man caught in his Shadow Magic was still struggling desperately, but the four shots he had taken were severely wounding him. The Silver Bullets embedded in his body acted like stakes, hindering any drastic movements, and Dick immediately tossed him into the factory using his magic.
Lying on the ground, Constantine cursed silently. As he looked up, he saw a pair of sleek leather shoes appear in front of him.
A pendant hung on pale fingers dropped between his eyes, reflecting the cold yet gentle moonlight, the prayer on the back of the Cross clearly visible.
"Should I have a peaceful sleep, the Lord keep me safe; should I die in my dreams, I'll go with the Lord."