Chapter 936: In the Depths of Misty Rain (Part Eleven) (Patreon)

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"We cannot allow those sorcerers to run amok, and more importantly, we cannot let them freely investigate Gotham, regardless of whether the curse of extreme evil is true or not. This goes against the rules of the occult world, and we cannot simply barge in..."

"Rules?" Constantine snorted, his eyes reflecting a golden glint from the liquor. He said, "Back when you all betrayed me, you never once considered any rules."

Zatanna's fingertips twitched slightly as she said, "I also thought what they did back then was wrong, Constantine. You may be a scoundrel, but you're not a bad person. You've sacrificed a lot to do good. But, in the end, this world isn't all filled with good people..."

Zatanna looked at Constantine's weathered and weary profile. She remembered the time when she first met him, she was still very young, led by her father. Her father introduced her, saying that Constantine was a once-in-a-century genius in the world of the occult.

"Genius..." Zatanna murmured softly. "In this circle, the more of a genius you are, the more tragic your fate."

The atmosphere between the two fell silent. Constantine spoke again, "If your relatives found out you came to see me, they'd be furious."

"More than that, if they found out that I slept with you, they'd be livid," Zatanna shrugged. "But I don't care. Ever since I saw through their hypocritical facade, I stopped caring about what they say."

"So, how do you plan to stop those sorcerers from entering Gotham?" Constantine asked.

"Of course, I'll use magic. My specialty is reversal magic, but I'm not limited to that. Do you remember the misdirection spells in magic? I intend to create a fog that completely seals off Gotham's spirit world, preventing those sorcerers who like to take shortcuts from entering. They'll also be restrained when casting spells..."

"So, what do you need me to do?" Constantine asked again.

"Let's go. We'll find a place and set up your best magic circle. We need to cover Gotham in thick fog within a week to warn those occultists who want to invade that this place is off-limits."

Soon, the two arrived at an underground chamber. Constantine pointed to the ground and said, "This is Gotham's city center and also the location of the spirit world rift you mentioned. Usually, I'd summon demons here to save some effort."

"Alright, let's set up the magic circle here. I've brought the materials," Zatanna snapped her fingers and used her expertise in reversal magic. "Materials, appear!"

Seeing the pile of materials she conjured, Constantine furrowed his brow. "My God, you don't intend to seal off the entire Gotham area from the spirit world, do you? You... well, I know you're a rich heiress with plenty of precious magical items, but don't you think this is a bit overkill?"

"If you can't do it, you can say so. I can find other magicians to help. I don't have to rely on you, the scoundrel," Zatanna began arranging the materials. Constantine sighed in resignation but eventually gave in.

In his heart, he also felt a sense of unease. He had lived in Gotham for a long time and could certainly sense the city's abnormalities. This place was abandoned by demons. Even the most greedy demons of Hell didn't want to come here. Otherwise, why would Constantine, known as a once-in-a-century genius in the occult world, need to find a rift in the spirit world to summon demons?

Many demons, upon hearing about Gotham, would shake their heads. For Constantine, it was like living in a city with high living costs when he had low income and debts. Without spending extra money, no demon was willing to come. Once they heard it was Gotham and Constantine, they demanded more payment, and when they left, they acted like they had just eaten feces.

Those creatures living in Hell had sharp noses. They didn't want to come here, not because of the poor state of human society, but because of something special in their sight and smell that made them fearful.

In the occult world, this was a very bad omen. If it was indeed an extremely evil curse affecting the city, it would be a disaster regardless of who possessed it. Constantine couldn't just sit idly by. As Zatanna said, he might be a scoundrel, but he wasn't a bad person.

The rain fell harder, and the green wave continued to surge on the ground.

Standing on the rooftop and looking at the fog covering Gotham, Zatanna sighed, "It seems like our plan has completely failed. The arrival of the Green of All Things will forcefully open a passage in the spirit world, and those people can easily bypass our defenses and enter Gotham."

Constantine's brows furrowed deeply. He said, "I told you from the beginning that this purely defensive approach wouldn't work. We need to take the initiative and find the curse of extreme evil you mentioned."

Zatanna bit her lip and said, "Alright, I admit, I don't fully trust you. I'm afraid you might use it for evil purposes like those wicked sorcerers. But rather than letting them, or my annoying relatives, get their hands on it, I'd rather entrust it to you."

"Thanks for your trust!" Constantine replied sarcastically. "Equating me with those idiots shows your emotional intelligence, and thinking that I'd use that thing to destroy the world shows your IQ."

As the two bickered, Constantine failed to notice a small vine creeping out from the rooftop's door. It silently extended towards his feet and tightly coiled around his ankles.

With a loud thud, Constantine was dragged down to the ground as the vines pulled him along. He quickly turned and cast a spell, but more vines poured out from the rooftop door.

Zatanna remained unfazed and waved her wand. From her hat emerged a gigantic rabbit that hopped in front of Constantine. With a few bites, the rabbit severed the vines entwined around his feet.

However, more and more plants were converging towards the rooftop. Zatanna cursed and said, "How did you manage to offend the Green of All Things? It looks like it wants to kill you!"

"I have no idea!" Constantine got up from the ground and said, "It might be because I didn't help during the incident with the Red of All Things last time. I stood idly by!"

"Wait..." Zatanna furrowed her brow. "I think I hear the plants crying out. Yes, my spiritual sensitivity is quite keen. They seem to be in pain... My goodness, Constantine, you scoundrel! You wouldn't want to kill the Green of All Things, would you?!"

"You can't do this!" Zatanna raised her voice, saying, "It represents all the world's plants, it's the symbol of green in the universe, and also the deity of rebirth and germination. You can't..."

"Hurry up..." Constantine had reached the edge of the building, and he turned back to shout at Zatanna, "We can discuss these philosophical matters after we both survive!"

But all the nearby buildings were covered in dense vines. Constantine looked up, and the entire city had been submerged in green. The vines extended endlessly, like a tsunami, swallowing the city. Buildings, vehicles, and road signs were all wrapped in vines.

The crazed citizens who were originally chasing each other on the streets found themselves immobilized by the bursting vines. They could only scream helplessly as they were ensnared in place.

Just as Constantine was about to jump down, the sound of helicopter rotors filled the air. Constantine looked up and saw a Batman-themed helicopter landing right above him. Batman said to him, "Get on!"

Constantine didn't hesitate and jumped onto the Bat-copter, followed closely by Zatanna.

When Batman saw Zatanna, he visibly paused, but Zatanna didn't recognize Batman at all.

She just looked at Constantine and said, "You must give me an explanation. What have you done to the Green of All Things? Plants are an essential factor for human survival. If you destroy them, the world..."

"Wait, I can explain!" Constantine said. "If the Green of All Things is after me, it wouldn't use just plants to chase me. You know, these representatives of colors, they're on a different level. If it wanted to retaliate against me, it wouldn't resort to these means."

"Let me interrupt," Batman spoke up. "What is the Green of All Things? And who is this young lady..."

"Oh, I forgot," Zatanna suddenly realized and said, "Bruce, let me introduce her. This is Zatanna Zatara, from a very ancient magical family. Her father was a magician too, but unlike me, she's a well-known heiress in the world of the occult..."

Batman raised an eyebrow, looking at Zatanna. "Is your father a magician?"

Zatanna suddenly widened her eyes and said, "You know about my father? Wait a minute, your chin, it looks kind of familiar... My God, Bruce Wayne?!"

Zatanna took a deep breath and then froze in place. The atmosphere on the helicopter became somewhat awkward. Constantine, puzzled, asked, "Little Z, what's wrong with you? You don't have to be so surprised about Bruce Wayne's identity, do you?"

"Though it's a bit strange for a rich guy to dress like this, it's still okay compared to those eccentric folks in the world of the occult," Zatanna mumbled.

"I... um..." Zatanna suddenly seemed a bit tongue-tied. She turned her head away and stammered, "Well, okay, it was my fault for leaving without a word back then, but at the time, my father had disappeared, so I had to search the world for him..."

Constantine stared wide-eyed, his gaze shifting between Batman and Zatanna. Batman, however, stood up and walked to the back of the helicopter, saying, "It's okay. What are you planning to do this time?"

"Oh, right!" Zatanna suddenly snapped back to reality. "Bruce, you have to help us. Gotham is under the influence of a very dangerous curse, and a group of insane sorcerers is trying to obtain it!"

"A dangerous curse?" Surprisingly, Batman didn't correct Zatanna's use of his name. He just furrowed his brow deeply.

Zatanna approached him and tried to explain, "Yes, a curse. You don't understand because you're not into magic, but a curse is a type of long-lasting, malevolent magic that is released through a medium and has various negative effects."

"The reason Gotham has become like this is because there's a curse of extreme evil in this city. It causes everything to spiral towards the dark side, eventually plunging everyone into an abyss and hell."

"You should know how advantageous a weapon like this is. For those lunatics who want to destroy the world, once they get their hands on this curse, they can annihilate the entire world of the occult, as well as the human world, spirit world, and hell!"

Batman repeated the name "curse of extreme evil," and suddenly, his fingers stiffened. Constantine saw this reaction and immediately spoke up, "Have you heard of this curse, right?"

Before Batman could respond, Constantine continued, "If you have any clues about this curse, please tell us. I swear to you, I'll eliminate this curse!"

"Remember what I told you before?" Constantine looked into Batman's eyes and said, "Gotham can't be saved because of mystical reasons, but at the time, I didn't know the specific reason. This time, the information Zatanna brought us reveals that reason."

"Batman, you've been trying to save Gotham all along. But if we don't remove the mystical influence, you'll never succeed. If you can help us find and eliminate the curse of extreme evil, maybe your dream can come true."

Constantine spoke sincerely and, unusually, didn't insert a bunch of nonsense and lies into his true words.

But what puzzled him was Batman's eerie silence in the face of this critical question.

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