"It appears that Lady Sanchez is not only a principal, but also practices witchcraft."
Shiller bent down to examine the things on the desk. Underneath the desk was a drawer with a brass lock that bore a strange rune. Instead of trying to unlock it physically, Shiller looked up at the mummified corpse.
The corpse seemed to have been instantly charred by high temperatures, and the fats seeping from the body had hardened on the floor, preventing it from falling over.
Traces of clothing could still be seen on the body, now charred and stuck to the skin. It seemed that there were some keys on the corpse's waist.
Instead of grabbing the keys, Shiller crouched down, extending his hand towards the side of the chest. A wisp of gray mist spread from his arm into the drawer. Just as Shiller was getting a sense of what was inside the drawer, a yell from Gordon broke through from the hallway.
Batman rushed to the door; he found Gordon clutching his neck and retreating in pain. He turned and dived out the window, toppling from the seventh floor.
As Batman rushed to the window, a plume of gray mist beat him to it. In the split second before Gordon hit the ground, the gray mist caught him and gently placed him back on the ground. Batman jumped down from the seventh floor using his grapple, and saw two purplish handprints on Gordon's neck.
Gasping for air, Gordon said to Batman after regaining his senses, "Indeed... it was just as you said..."
"What did you see?"
"A ghost, a ghost lunging at me, squeezing my neck..."
"It seems there are indeed strange occurrences at this school. We should go find Dick."
Struggling to his feet, Gordon asked, "What about the keymaster who led us here earlier? I can't see him. Perhaps we should ask him..."
"No need to count on him anymore."
This time, Shiller led the way with Batman supporting Gordon from behind. As they continued, Batman checked the screen on his wrist, "Go around this building, take a right, Dick should be underground..."
Shiller wasn't surprised, but Gordon looked at Batman quizzically, "You put a tracking device on your foster son?"
"That's how I can find him now."
As they approached their destination, Batman's wrist communicator suddenly buzzed. Jason's voice cried out from it, "Batman! Hurry! It's dangerous! Oh my god, she's... she's..."
The communication was abruptly cut off. Batman manipulated the device on his wrist, frowning, "…how did they end up together?"
Hearing the child's desperate plea and scream from the communicator, Shiller lifted his umbrella, turned to Batman and said, "Coordinates."
"Direction 1.21, 351 meters underground..."
The distance was not far in a straight line, but having to go around the whole building made it a painstaking task. As soon as Batman finished speaking, Shiller transformed into a wisp of gray mist and passed through the wall at high speed. By the time Batman and Gordon were still running, Shiller had already reached the ground above their destination.
He teleported underground, and the moment he appeared, he felt a dark shadow rapidly falling onto him.
Without hesitation, Shiller hoisted his umbrella upward. With a 'bang', a figure was sent flying back, smashed into the wall, and everyone was stunned.
From a view looking down from the room's ceiling, Shiller stood in the middle of the room, maintaining the pose of hitting someone with his umbrella. Near the left wall, a blonde man holding a black book was frozen in place, staring at Shiller's movements. Behind Shiller, several fallen children were staring with their mouths wide open. In front of Shiller, a monster with four arms, horns on its head, and black patterns all over its body had been sent flying and pinned to the wall.
After the monster was directly hit into the wall, an eerie silence settled over the room. The blond man looked at the children and asked, "Is he the backup you mentioned?"
Jason, who was on the ground, swallowed hard, but Little Sly behind him shouted, "Professor Shearer!"
The blond man was again taken aback. He looked at Shiller and said, "You're a professor too? What subject do you teach? Combat?"
"Rather than that,…" Shiller put his umbrella away, propped it on the ground, turned to look at the blonde man. He was tall, dressed in a light brown suit with a dark tie. His handsome face was scruffy, giving him a decadent look.
"Nice to meet you, Constantine."
The man was again taken aback, "You know me?"
"Of course, your band's song 'I Once Kissed the Dream God' wasn't bad. One of my old classmates is the drummer for 'Sex Pistols' Band. He gave me a group photo from the Roxy Club, and you were in it."
The blonde man's mouth opened in surprise, then he pursed his lips. He did not anticipate such a response. Shiller's praise hit right on target, and he shook his head, chuckling, "Oh, really? Actually, my favourite song from that album is 'Kneel before Death'. It's more in line with the punk style, don't you think?"
"But I prefer psychedelic rock and romanticism. I have to say, the spoken words at the end of 'I Once Kissed the Dream God' are quite good. It resembles a journey through dreams. I know this part of the design has been criticized a lot, but I quite like it…"
"I knew someone would understand me!" Constantine spread his hands, "Those stuffy music critics don't get what psychedelic rock is. They don't even understand punk. Just because I slept with the bassist of our band, they said my album had no merit whatsoever. This is simply..."
"Could both of you please!" Jason screamed, pointing at the monster opposite and said, "Is this really the time for a music chat?!! There's a demon standing right in front of you!! A real, live demon!!!"
Caught up in their heated discussion, they had ignored the demon. However, it was recovering now, slowly getting up and crouching, preparing to leap at its enemies again.
At that moment, a 'bang' sounded and the door was burst open. The monster standing in front of it was again sent flying.
Seeing the flying monster, Shiller straightened his tie, picked up his umbrella, and posed as if hitting a baseball. "Bang!" The monster was sent back into the wall, this time embedded in it.
Batman, who had just pushed open the door, was a bit confused by the scene in the room. However, the blonde Constantine whistled and said, "Nice home run!"