The selection of characters for Battleworld actually follows a certain pattern; generally, it is the main characters of the major storylines in that cosmos who receive an invitation, which is why Batman and Dick participated in the preliminary team formation.
Constantine didn't appear much in this series. In the early stages, because Doctor Destiny killed Zatanna, he declared he wouldn't deal with this mess anymore. Later on, the bunch at Mysterious House were all taken down together, and Constantine didn't really shine, so it made sense that he wasn't considered a protagonist and didn't receive an invitation.
Constantine wasn't too concerned about it. He asked, "So, did other universes' versions of me also join this game?"
"Yes, they should be gathered together right now studying the Array," Shiller replied.
Constantine sighed and said, "You still don't understand me well enough. A gathering of Constantines might study men, women, Black people, white people, even sharks and lizards, but they'd never be caught dead studying some damn Array."
"That's beyond my control," Shiller said as he set down his utensils. "You are quite interested though, aren't you?"
At that moment, Constantine thought of another question. He looked at Shiller and said, "Do you know the Constantine from your universe?"
Shiller nodded.
Constantine also set down his utensils, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "What's your relationship with him like?"
"Actually, it's not bad," Shiller said, sitting up straight with a smile. "Our first meeting wasn't very pleasant, as his curiosity veered in an inappropriate direction, but any misunderstanding was quickly resolved, and we reached an agreement."
"He didn't... I mean, was there anything inappropriate?"
"You can't expect a beggar to have the manners of a king, so I never consider a person's natural instincts to be impolite."
The response was somewhat ambiguous, and Constantine couldn't quite grasp its meaning, but understanding how another universe's Constantine interacted with Shiller was important to him. He wanted to know where Shiller's boundaries lay.
"So, how is it going between you?" Constantine decided to probe further; he had to dive into the darkness before he could ascertain the king's position.
"Our collaboration has been quite enjoyable."
"I mean on a personal level."
"That's not bad either. Occasionally, we'd have a drink together and discuss formations and such," Shiller said.
"Is that it?"
"Of course not," Shiller replied as he stood up from his seat and walked over to the kitchen, beginning to deal with some food scraps. "I occasionally invite him over for a meal like this. Since I'm in charge of the ingredients, he would bring a bottle of wine. The atmosphere is usually quite good."
Constantine's brain was racing. This meant that the Constantine of Shiller's universe was partnering up with Shiller to trick demons, which wasn't surprising. After all, Shiller wasn't a magician, and to stew these crafty goats required some collaboration from an industry insider.
This time was no different, and Constantine was pretty sure that Shiller had used him to play a trick on the demons, so he felt quite at peace with himself while eating this meal. It was just unfortunate that this variety of lamb feet wasn't quite to his taste.
```
What Constantine could do, I could certainly manage as well, Constantine thought. If Shiller really liked goat that much, it wouldn't be impossible for him to fetch a couple from Hell. Even though he was being hunted by all the Demon Kings of Hell, there were still some naive little demons who were quite easy to deceive. Lamb should be even more tender.
Constantine swallowed hard, but it wasn't lamb he was thinking about. After sitting for a while, he finally said, "Maybe next time I can bring my own ingredients to the feast."
"Stored inside your ribs?"
The unexpected counter-question startled Constantine, who instinctively touched his own heart, then shook his head and said, "No, what I mean is that black goats are a bit gamey. Perhaps you might prefer to try Highland gray goats?"
"Is that so? I've never had that before," Shiller replied, sitting back at the table but not in the main seat; instead, he sat opposite Constantine, looking interested as he said, "How are they different from black goats?"
"Although they both take the form of goats, in reality, black goats are the orthodox demons, while the gray goats are mythological creatures evolved in Northern European mythology, and can't be considered pure demons..."
When it came to his area of expertise, Constantine spoke with ease. He mentioned, "Goats are a major category of demons, but not all demons take the form of goats. Snakes, crows, and black cats are often avatars of demons as well, and of course, there are demonic forms like giant octopi, whose tentacle texture seems quite appetizing."
Meanwhile, Zatanna, who was gnawing on ground goat meat inside the bottle, shook her head. Constantine was going to suffer for this; blinded by lust.
Before long, Constantine said he had to leave. He opened a door for Shiller that led directly from the Mysterious House to Arkham Knight's base. If he wanted to leave, he could go at any time. Of course, if he preferred to stay, he could also take a tour of the Mysterious House, which Zatanna would be happy to show him.
As soon as Constantine left, Zatanna's soul was released by Shiller from the bottle, she let out a full burp, then said, "Usually I'm on John's side, but this time he really went too far. He's duped me so many times, duping him back once isn't too much, right?"
"Of course, miss. And I must correct your wording, I have never intended to dupe him; everything he did was out of his own volition, wasn't it?"
"You really are a devil," Zatanna said, drifting away.
About ten minutes later, a brawny man with a goatee and gray goat hooves appeared in the living room of the Mysterious House, throwing a bloodied Constantine to the ground.
"You were quite right, human; this bastard really dared to return to Hell and even approached our tribe's vicinity. I've been waiting for him for quite some time," he said.
Constantine turned his head and again saw those polished leather shoes. Shiller squatted down and said, "One of the demons contending for your soul, I've stewed. Guess where the other one went?"
Constantine slowly closed his eyes, he clenched his fists, the curse almost slipped out, but he swallowed it back down.
"What the hell do you want?!" he exclaimed.
"Do you think I'm like Batman, taking this opportunity to interrogate you for undisclosed information? Things don't turn out that way, John..."
Constantine felt Shiller's hand on his head, grabbing his hair. Then his head was lifted by the grip and ruthlessly smashed back down to the ground.
Bang! Bang!
Alas, Constantine, battered, dizzy, caught a blurred glimpse of Shiller standing up, addressing the demon beside him, "How many demons know you've caught Constantine?"
"It could be none, or it could be all of them," the other replied artistically.
```
"How much do you want?" Shiller asked again.
"I want his eyes, those are the essence."
"I'll give you his eyes, don't tell any of your kind."
"You can't give them to me, he owns himself, if he doesn't agree, I can't forcefully... under someone else's contract."
"I'm precisely asking you, how to make him mine, I know there is a way."
The Demon gasped in fright.
It stamped its goat hooves, hesitated on the spot for a while, muttered a few words in dialect, and scratched the horns on its head.
"I can tell you, there indeed is such a thing, but after all, it's something your Human race created to use against your own kind, so cruel it even makes Devils unbearable..."
"Oh? How is it done?"
"First, you must open his chest while he is still alive, use a tool made of a special material to carve a Rune on his heart, carving the rune will cause immense pain, but the subject must be conscious throughout the entire process..."
"Does the rune look like this?"
Shiller drew a pattern in the palm of his hand with his finger.
After examining it, the Demon nodded, then Shiller took out the Swordfish Brooch and said, "Is this the special material you mentioned?"
"Platinum? It indeed is."
At that moment, the Demon finally realized, it looked at Shiller and exclaimed, "You really intend to perform this ritual?! But don't blame me for not warning you, opening a man's chest and carving on his heart is a delicate task, not something just anyone can do, and if you kill him, the higher-ups will surely find out, I can't fight them, and our trade will be void then."
"Don't worry, I happen to have experience in this field."
Constantine was placed on the dining table.
Shiller gently wiped his surgical knife, which although reflected the warm light of the chandelier, the edge was so cold it made one shiver.
"I know you haven't reached the end of your rope, John, isn't your Ash Avatar still usable once more?"
The sound of Shiller's voice, though soft, always felt like a hammer striking down on Constantine's head. Grinding his teeth, he said, "What the hell did that cosmic bastard tell you? Did he even inform you about my life-saving trick?! You two must have..."
He hadn't finished speaking when Shiller cut his eyelid with a knife, causing Constantine to let out a miserable scream and nearly tumble from the table.
But he was quickly subdued and his hands were spread to the sides and tied to the table.
"Not planning to use it yet?" Shiller said, "I'm a man who honours my word, I usually pay upfront, so say goodbye to your eye."
The surgical knife slowly approached Constantine's eye, he kept cursing until at the last moment, the figure on the table vanished with a whoosh and reappeared disheveled in a corner of the room, clutching his bleeding eyelid.
With a bang, a shadowy ghoul's claw overturned the table, and numerous magic spikes emerged throughout the room, after a moment of pause, all flew toward Shiller.
To Constantine's shock, Shiller did not dodge, he spread his arms wide.
Dozens of sharp shadow spikes pierced straight into Shiller's body, he fell backwards, Constantine stood there, stunned.
The Demon with the grey goat hooves reappeared, about to say something when a spike pierced through its forehead, the Demon's apparition slowly dissipated.
Constantine rushed toward Shiller, yet he failed to see the flickering soul on the dying man, and as his eyes widened in disbelief, Shiller moved.
The energy-made magic spikes dissipated, and Shiller slowly stood up, his body riddled with dozens of wounds that seemed to have no effect on him.
In the next second, Constantine was flung away.
His body still glowing with magic light and fully focused on Shiller's movements, this time, he couldn't discern any of Shiller's actions, and the magic defense broke upon contact.
The moment he hit the ground, Shiller's hand was once again clasping his neck, his spine snapped instantly but was healed by magic, then his collarbone, ribs, skull...
Constantine was like a punching bag, constantly damaged by Shiller's attacks but rapidly healed by magic.
When he was choked again, he finally realized something, and yelled towards Zatanna, "The Healing Rune! The Healing Rune on the wall!!!"
Zatanna, who had been stunned by the series of events, snapped back to reality. Fortunately, she had already made a deal with the Demon to restore some Soul Power. She approached the wall, channeled her energy into the Healing Rune, and a beam of light hit Shiller and Constantine.
Shiller's wounds gradually healed.
His fingers stiffened slowly and then released, Constantine fell to the ground, and a composed Shiller sighed softly, straightening his tie and glancing down at his damaged suit.
"Now you owe me," said Shiller.
Constantine was overwhelmed by his shamelessness.
"So, will you compensate me for my suit?"
Constantine's bank balance flashed through his mind as he agilely climbed up from the ground and said, "Anything but that."