"But it doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on barging in. Even if I did, I wouldn't know where he's locked that poor devil up. I'll pretend I've been stopped and lie down on the floor. This way, Batman, when he comes back, will take me to where he usually keeps people captive…"
"As expected, he did just that. After successfully delivering the package, I turned the me inside Wayne Manor into a clone and the real me came back here. If it weren't for you, I would probably be drinking my celebratory wine by now..."
"We could do that right now. Toast to your wonderful plan that fooled Batman."
"Aren't you his teacher? Why do you seem to take pleasure in his misfortune?"
"You don't understand, the greatest entertainment in our city is to watch Batman."
"So why did you come here?" Constantine asked.
"Of course, because I know you are a total fraud, not a word from your mouth is true."
"When someone asks you, you give them a reasonably true answer. If the questioner is not smart, they will be fooled by you. If they're a bit smarter, you will reveal the truth behind the truth, which is also a lie."
"If people keep asking, you will expose the truth behind the truth behind the truth, but that's also a lie. In these multi-layered truths, they are all true, but none of them are."
"You want to say, you only tell the truth and never lie. This is also true. However, the truth you tell always has something withheld. Every sentence you say is part of the truth, but not the whole truth. It's like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube."
Constantine's hand clutching his cigarette stiffened a bit. He stared ahead while Shiller took a drag on his cigarette, also not turning his head, and said,
"I know this, so I've been watching you. This is why I am here. I want to see how many times you can squeeze this bit of toothpaste."
"So you're saying, you will be like an unwelcome spirit following me around everywhere for some time in the future? I mean..."
Constantine made a dissatisfied face and said, "Since we're all on the same side, why can't we be a little more understanding of each other? Seriously, who did you make a contract with? Maybe we know each other."
"Wait..." Constantine stroked his chin and made a thinking expression. He said, "I've noticed before that your dreams are overly realistic. Could it be that you've made a pact with the dream god?"
"Then you're really lucky. Morpheus isn't like those simple-minded, robust demons from Hell. He's a man of taste and also very handsome..."
"Do you know, Constantine, when you hide your true intentions among various fancy words and then change the topic, you become too stiff and easily expose yourself."
Constantine coughed a couple of times. Just as he was about to ask a question, Shiller suddenly moved. He picked up his umbrella, turned his head to Constantine, and said, "The guy you just tricked is here. I'll leave first, take care."
"Wait, don't..."
With a "swish swish", Constantine faced Batman who had thrown a Batman dart and slowly raised his hands. He said, "Your dear professor told me to do it. This has nothing to do with me, I swear..."
What came into his vision was yet another fist as big as a sandbag.
Ten minutes later, Constantine was leaning against a corner again. He tugged at his own tie. Batman asked him, "The story you told about the witch and the candy, is it true?"
"Cough, of course. I have no reason to lie about this. That's how Lauren trained..."
"The children who ate the candy basically gave their souls to her. So now, Sanchez has turned into a monster. What about those children..."
"It's useless. Lauren has long sold the souls of all the children to the demon. It's a matter of time before a demon devours their souls."
Seeing Constantine's nonchalance, Batman couldn't help but punch him again. Constantine cocked his head, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He seemed unbothered, still smoking, and said, "Even if you beat me to death, it won't change anything."
"During the era when witches were active, they sacrificed thousands of children in this way. Although these children were deceived, they voluntarily signed the contract. As a result, the manner of their premature deaths was just illness or accident, and their parents wouldn't connect these incidents with the occult."
"If it weren't for Lauren's grandmother, the most powerful Ghost Mom in history, who violated the taboo, thus exposing herself, people wouldn't even know there were such people in the world."
"I know, you want to save those children, and so do I, but it's too late now. Lauren hasn't just started cooperating with Cooper. She's been operating here for too long, and countless kids have eaten the candy..."
"Which demon did she sell the souls of the children to?"
Constantine shook his head and said, "Hell isn't just Satan as you might think. There are a lot of demons there, with various categories and jurisdictions. Lauren would sell the souls to whichever demon corresponds to the power she wants to use. Over the years, no one knows how many powers she's used..."
"Of course, even with this method, she also has to pay a price. What demons like most are the souls of the children personally conceived by Ghost Moms. Therefore, every few years, Lauren has to get pregnant herself, and then at the moment before the child is born, she presents it to the demon."
"In the circle of the occult, this is already considered a very good method of practice. Although pregnancy and childbirth are physically damaging to a woman, at least she doesn't have to suffer from the torture of the demons..."
Batman gazed at Constantine, finding it ridiculous that continuous pregnancies and sacrificing her own children to demons could be considered good practice methods. Just how painful could the other methods be?
"Does it seem incredible to you? But that's us. People think we're the holy spirits that control the magical path. In reality, we are just prisoners held in the palm of the devil's hand..."
Constantine took the last drag of his cigarette into his lungs and then exhaled the smoke with his raspy voice, echoing in the dim and gloomy basement.
"So, don't try to resurrect someone with magic...Batman."