After Robert posed his question, Constantine was visibly embarrassed, unsure of how to respond.
How could he explain that upon sensing Mephisto's presence, he had fled immediately, not even daring to use a teleportation portal to spy? Wouldn't that tarnish his reputation?
"Hello?" Robert's voice carried a hint of confusion when Constantine fell silent, despite the magical link not being severed. "What's going on? Why aren't you speaking?"
"Cough, right now, we don't have much progress regarding Mephisto because his power is so immense that gathering information on him is quite challenging," Constantine explained awkwardly, hoping to convey that it wasn't out of cowardice but due to the overwhelming strength of their adversary.
"Why don't you use your tracking magic on him? Didn't you transfer the cost of that spell to me? Now that you are debt-free, can't you use that spell again?" Robert's disappointment was palpable, his faith in Constantine's reliability waning after these recent letdowns.
"You incurred debts?" Constantine suddenly realized something, his voice tinged with embarrassment. This was the first time someone had called him out so directly, and he still needed to deal with Robert. Despite his thick skin, Constantine felt a bit ashamed and quickly lit a cigarette to ease his nerves while explaining through the magical link.
"Actually, my debts are not just limited to that one instance. I've learned many spells, and indeed, I've accumulated quite a bit of debt. However, that's not why I'm not using the tracking spell on Mephisto. Tracking such a powerful entity is really not advisable."
"You yourself could sense the tracking magic, which allowed you to find me. Mephisto, being a terrifyingly powerful being, would definitely detect and counteract it. Not only would he discover us, but we'd also pay a steep price for nothing..."
Constantine omitted the fact that he hadn't actually seen Mephisto, thus couldn't use the tracking spell, and instead launched into a lengthy explanation.
Understanding Constantine's fears and the potential high cost of directly tracking Mephisto, Robert responded through the magical link, "Continue searching for Mephisto on your end. If you find anything, contact me immediately, and I'll come over..."
"That Superman..." Constantine's voice carried a mix of hesitation and hope, wanting Robert to reach out to Clark as Robert alone no longer seemed sufficient given Mephisto's formidable threat.
"I don't have direct contact with him. If the battle reaches a certain intensity, he'll notice," Robert interjected, his trust in Constantine as an NPC greatly diminished. He was even less likely to reveal his real connection with Clark.
"Okay..." Constantine, realizing the magical link had been severed, looked somewhat helplessly at Claire and others. "He doesn't intend to come over right now, but if that old bastard shows up, he asked us to contact him immediately, and he'll come to help..."
"Should we now search for that old...?" Claire's gaze flickered, aware of Mephisto's strength from Constantine's cautious attitude and feeling that tracking Mephisto would be difficult.
"No rush. Such a being appearing on Earth means something big is coming, possibly even bigger than the angels' ordeal!" Constantine slowly shook his head and said softly, "From the information we have, though we don't know how he struck a deal with the angels, it seems they were outplayed by him..."
"So, we must not rush, especially since we've already exposed ourselves once. We can take our time. He'll have to leave more traces if he wants to bring more of his power to Earth!"
"Alright..." Claire looked deeply at Constantine, who seemed very composed. She felt that something was off about his behavior regarding Mephisto, but as a newcomer, she hesitated to question him further and decided to follow his plan and wait for Mephisto to slip up.
"Cough, cough, Robert, it seems my injuries have healed..." Elsewhere, as Robert snapped back to reality, he saw Peter Parker looking at him awkwardly, stuttering, with Barry Allen and others looking somewhat peculiar, which made Robert pause.
"Oh, I was transmitting a message and didn't notice your injuries..." Robert paused briefly, then withdrew his hand, telling Peter Parker and the others seriously, "You need to train harder. It looks like bigger troubles are on the horizon!"
Robert was referring to Mephisto. He also felt that if a Hell Lord had already caused such a commotion, a Hell Lord even more powerful than a Hell Lord would likely cause even greater upheaval.
Moreover, if a Hell Lord had several high-level demons paving the way, a Hell Lord employing a few Hell Lords and demons for the same purpose seemed quite normal.
So, not only would Robert need to face formidable
enemies, but Clark, Kara, and even Peter Parker and others might soon be busy.
"Is it that serious?" Peter Parker and the others exchanged glances. They didn't doubt Robert's words, especially after he briefly mentioned Mephisto's situation, causing Kara to also become serious.
However, what Robert and Constantine didn't know was that Mephisto, whom they thought would hide and wait for an opportunity, had already started to make his move.
"How could this be? It shouldn't be, where is my destined knight? Where did my destined knight go?" In an amusement park, a gentlemanly Mephisto sighed, surrounded by performers and even motorcycle stunt shows, but his dreamed-of knight was nowhere to be seen.
"Where has my knight gone? Why does the foundational power of the hell dimension warn me every time I think about this? What does finding my knight have to do with the foundation of the hell dimension?"
Disenchanted, Mephisto stood to leave the amusement park, then noticed a clown performing...
Indeed, this was the real Clown, the one from Gotham. His game with Batman had been interrupted by Robert and Clark's involvement, prompting the Clown to temporarily leave Gotham. He wanted to expand his battlefield with Batman, especially since Batman had brought outsiders into their conflict, so naturally, he wanted to involve some outsiders as well.
However, today, when he arrived at the amusement park, the Clown saw a performer in a rigid circus act, completely failing to live up to his clown costume. Thus, the Clown decided to teach the performer about dedication, for he had once been very dedicated himself, and he did not tolerate clowns who did not take their jobs seriously...
"What a curious soul, even in hell, there are few souls as evil as his!" Mephisto hadn't expected to find such a village beyond the dark woods, not finding his destined knight but stumbling upon an intriguing character.
"And this fellow's obsessions are so deep! It would be a real shame not to help you fulfill them!"
With that thought, Mephisto vanished from the spot. The performing clown seemed to sense a supernatural power nearby, but without his mask, he couldn't clearly perceive it. Focused on his act due to his professionalism, he was unaware that the audience applauding below had no idea that the clown performing on stage was a ruthless murderer, hands stained with blood. They should also feel fortunate that this was not Gotham's amusement park, and Batman would not appear, so the Clown had no plans to use bombs to take the entire place hostage for a game with Batman...
At night, after the show, the Clown returned to the backstage, satisfied. Although it had been a long time since he had practiced his original trade, his skills hadn't dulled at all. Perhaps it was the makeup on his face that constantly reminded the Clown of where he came from and why he had reached this point in life.
"How about it? Have you learned nothing?" The Clown's seemingly kind smile terrified the red-nosed clown.
The red-nosed clown didn't understand where this madman had come from. He had been working just fine when the Clown suddenly took a dislike to him, not only beating and tying him up but also threatening him to learn how to be a true clown.
Madman! He was just doing a part-time job at the amusement park; why should he be so dedicated? Wasn't he just a clown? Why should he put so much effort into it? Wouldn't it be better to work a few more jobs with that time?
Of course, these were just the thoughts in the red-nosed clown's head, which he dared not voice. Now, not only had he been beaten and tied up, but the Clown was also holding a small dagger, assessing his expression.
This kind smile, if General Ikka had been there, would have been very familiar. He had been terrified countless times under such a smile...
"Ooo, ooo!" The red-nosed clown's mouth was gagged, but he quickly nodded, indicating he had learned nothing, fearing the Clown's dagger would misbehave.
"Pop!" The Clown shook his head, removed the gag from the red-nosed clown's mouth, and said gently, "Shh! Don't scream, everyone around has left. No one will come here. Next, tell me the ten differences between when you perform and when I perform, and how you should improve in the future. If you truly learn, I'll let you go..."
"..." The red-nosed clown was stunned. He had to submit homework too? Was the job of a circus clown this dangerous? If he had known it was this dangerous, he wouldn't have taken this part-time job!
"Ah! It seems you haven't learned after all!" The Clown was somewhat disappointed. In this restless society, indeed, few people could settle down and do their jobs well.
"Wait! I've thought of something. You're more
serious than me, you love this job more than me, you than me..." Faced with a life-or-death crisis, the red-nosed clown's brain became unexpectedly agile, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill in his chest. He looked incredulously at the Clown in front of him and asked, "Wasn't I... answering your question? Why are you killing me?"
"Because I think even if you had spoken, you couldn't have achieved it. You don't really love it; what you have is just a fear of death!" The Clown's dagger had already pierced the red-nosed clown's body. His expression serious, he stared into the red-nosed clown's eyes.
"You're crazy. I never loved this job. I was just looking for a part-time job..." Hearing the Clown's words, the red-nosed clown muttered weakly. He wanted to give the Clown a piece of his mind before dying, at least spit in his face, but ultimately, he didn't have time to do anything before he lost consciousness.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
"What a wonderful performance! Truly a natural-born villain!" Just then, applause and praise sounded as Mephisto emerged from the darkness, looking at the Clown and the deceased red-nosed clown with a smile.
"A demon?" The Clown furrowed his brow, familiar with the scent of demons, having once crafted a Shadow Demon Lord himself. Mephisto's faint sulfur smell, light as it was, was still recognizable to the Clown.
"You recognize me? Even though you're just a human with an evil soul..." Mephisto looked at the Clown in surprise, then laughed, "Maybe it's because you're so much like a demon. You have an even eviler soul than the last guy I met. I never expected such a person to exist on Earth! Truly a prodigy!"
"Prodigy? It's just the result of effort!" The Clown scoffed. There was no such thing as a prodigy, whether it was him or Batman, both were merely monsters catalyzed by the malformed city of Gotham!
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