Multiverse: Deathstroke

Chapter 88: Ch.87 House of Mystery

Constantine calmly raised his hands, took the cigarette from his mouth, and flicked the ashes. The London evening breeze carried the gray embers away into the distance.

"I haven't bothered anyone. If the Justice League beats me up on the street, that's a bad look, right?"

"You know why we're looking for you." Su Ming tightened his arm, the armor making it impossible for Constantine to turn his head.

"Oh? What is it? I have no idea." Constantine's expression remained calm as he put the cigarette back in his mouth. "Did Trigon come out again? Yes, I summoned him. Although he's a demon lord, you've got to allow a guy to visit his daughter, right?"

"No, that's not it." Barbatos' dark powers were like a tide engulfing the world. If a magician said they hadn't sensed it, they were lying.

"Then it must be about the Witch? Sure, she went out of control, killed a lot of people, and even injured Superman and Wonder Woman, but that's over now, right? I was there, but I had nothing to do with it, honestly."

"Still not it."

Su Ming turned his head. This guy looked like he hadn't showered in ages, like he had just crawled out of a garbage heap. He smelled like spoiled food.

"Then, are you talking about the raining corpses? I told you, you should find Madame Xanadu. Even though I provided the magical ritual and tools due to our friendship, I didn't use a single spell. It was all her doing. I can take you to catch her, free of charge."

"No."

"Hmm? The zombie outbreak in the London Mirror Dimension?"

"No."

"Then, the vampire rebellion?"

"No."

"The loss of the Spear of Longinus?"

Barry covered his head as he listened to one supernatural term after another coming out of Constantine's mouth, each one weirder than the last. It didn't surprise him at all. Though Constantine insisted these things weren't related to him, it was obvious they were.

The Justice League's biggest weakness was that none of its members had any resistance to magic. Diana was a bit better off, thanks to the magical artifacts she possessed, but Superman's vulnerability to magic was almost absolute. He'd been taken down by it more than once in history and had never bothered to address this glaring flaw.

These magic-related mysterious events were usually handled by various magical teams like the Shadowpact, the semi-official S.H.A.D.E., the Shazam Family, the Enchantress' Justice League Dark, and, of course, Constantine's own ragtag bunch.

"Stop! Who do you think I am?"

Constantine blew out a puff of smoke and licked his dry lips: "Who else in the Justice League has such a dark voice? Batman? If you're going to beat me up, can you avoid the face? I'm pretty tight with Wonder Woman."

Mistaken identity? Su Ming didn't think so. This guy was definitely up to some tricks.

He released his arm, patted his armored arm, which was now covered with bits of Constantine's skin. This guy must not have washed his neck in ages: "I'm not Batman, and we're not here for those trivial matters."

Constantine adjusted his tie, cleared his throat, and turned around. Upon seeing Su Ming, he stiffened slightly, then turned to Barry with a strange look.

"So it's Deathstroke. I'm curious, why are you with him?" He seemed to understand halfway through his sentence and smacked his forehead. "The Justice League needs a magical ritual to brainwash him, turning him into a superhero or something?"

Barry stared at his shoes, silent. Brainwashing someone was too evil; no magician could be trusted.

"Say one more word of nonsense, and I'll slice your head off." Su Ming moved next to Constantine and drew out a part of the Sword of Ares, causing Constantine to put on a fearful expression. "Don't even think about running. My entire armor is laced with Nth Metal. As a magician, you know what that means—you have no chance."

Seeing Constantine reach for his lighter, Su Ming knew he was planning to use an illusion to escape and immediately quashed the idea.

Constantine's face turned bitter as he forced an awkward smile: "Why would I run? You said you have a job. I'll take it."

Su Ming looked him in the eyes: "Barbatos. Dark Dragon."

"No way, I can't help with that. Farewell." Constantine threw out three quick refusals, turned, and tried to walk back through the door.

But he was no match for Barry's speed. Su Ming tilted his head, and Barry, understanding instantly, whisked them both through the glowing door along with Constantine.

In an instant, they found themselves in a desolate place, standing before a dilapidated wooden mansion. The paint had completely peeled off, leaving only the bare wood exposed.

Years of corrosion and weathering had turned the wood into rot, and it was a miracle the house hadn't collapsed.

The wind howled across the wasteland, causing the house's doors, windows, and even walls to creak. All around them were patches of half-yellowed, withered grass, as if some energy had drained their life. In the distance, black clouds swirled at the horizon.

"Sigh, why put yourselves through this? Just so you know, I didn't invite you here." Constantine showed a sly grin.

Su Ming wasn't fazed. He merely hooked his arm around Constantine's neck and glanced at him casually: "When you left the door open after coming out, I knew you were planning this. It's a magical portal, constantly consuming energy. You left it for us to use, so I chose to play along. Now, if you try anything else, Barry will give you a good knock on the head. You won't be able to run, even using the House of Mystery, because we're all here, trapped in the same cage."

"... Fine, you win. Alright, I admit I need some help. How about a trade?" Constantine's smugness faded. He knew Deathstroke's reputation well, even as a magician. This legendary master tactician had seen through his plan. His little tricks clearly weren't enough.

If he could pinpoint which phone booth they were in and open a portal, he certainly knew who was calling. His plan was to trap them in the Limbo and then bargain. This strange space was incomprehensible to non-magic users, and he could just use illusions to hide and negotiate.

But this Deathstroke wasn't the one from this world. His information far exceeded Constantine's expectations, and he had directly exposed his plan. This made Constantine worry that Deathstroke was already prepared, and when he was prepared, he was one of the most terrifying people on Earth.

In reality, it wasn't that Deathstroke was smarter than Batman, but that Su Ming knew exactly what kind of person Constantine was. He had been wary since before they met.

"Let's go. This is the House of Mystery, right? Situated on the threshold of all time and space, a transit station to the Limbo." Su Ming dragged Constantine towards the decrepit building, glancing at the grotesque faces carved into the door, speaking with certainty.

"Oh, you know your stuff." Constantine's stubbled face showed a look of appreciation, as if he were trying to show off a bit. He turned to Barry, who was completely lost, and explained: "Limbo is the spatial rift between Heaven and Hell. When people die, if their merits aren't enough to get into Heaven and their sins aren't enough to drag them to Hell, their souls live in the Limbo."

"So, there are ghosts here?" Barry's face scrunched up. As a scientist, he hated things that defied scientific explanation.

Constantine, cigarette still in hand, spat out a yellowish wad of phlegm to the side: "Yep. See those black clouds on the horizon? Those are all ghosts."

"Ugh..." Barry felt his scalp itch. It seemed like the black clouds were moving towards them.

Su Ming mercilessly interrupted Constantine's lie: "Don't listen to him. Those are just clouds. The Limbo is gloomy, but otherwise no different from the outside world."

"Damn it, can't you let me have a little fun? It's rare I get to mess with the Justice League."

Constantine rolled his eyes, but his hands moved quickly, pulling out a key and opening the door to the mansion, gesturing for them to enter.