Constantine swirled his wine glass and drained it in one gulp; maybe it was too hot as he kept sucking in cold air, yet raised his hand for another drink.
"Whew, Trish and the others want to hold a little ritual, unrelated to magic, just a comfort through faith," Constantine stuck out his tongue and continued, "They hold hands in a circle, praying to their god for strength in this magic-less time, hoping to overcome difficulties."
"Then the Witch Fire got controlled by Hecate," Su Ming added.
"Pretty much, maybe one of the girls is a follower of Hecate, so she responded to the prayer," Constantine showed a strange smile.
"..." Su Ming bowed his head in contemplation.
"Suddenly the Witch Fire started screaming, her body emitted a purple glow, yelling for everyone to leave, but soon her voice changed, it wasn't her original tone."
Zha Kang picked up the new drink, blowing over the cup, with the air around seeming dull and hot, sweat kept streaming down his forehead.
But he sat firmly in his chair.
"That wasn't the voice of the female singer," Su Ming confirmed to him.
"An old woman's voice, just one sentence could give you goosebumps, like my former landlady," Zha Kang nodded and continued his tale: "Then the Witch Fire burned, the powerful flame surged instantly, like the sight of Hell Lava churning."
"Some girls were followers of Heaven or Hell, they still had the power to leave, but most didn't run," Su Ming added.
"Such flame, such power, they were too young, had never seen anything like it, let alone confront the Magic Goddess," Constantine confirmed.
Su Ming also took off his helmet, raised a hand for a drink; seeing so many young ladies perish was indeed a pity: "So they all turned to charcoal."
"Yes, maybe that's the choice of destiny," Constantine spat, and smoke immediately rose from the charred ground: "If any of them took shelter behind me, maybe they'd survive, but nobody thought I was trustworthy."
Su Ming raised an eyebrow, touching his hot wine glass: "Is that why you stayed and didn't flee? Using Demon's Blood as a shield?"
Constantine relaxed as if he had let go, leaned back on the chair: "Who knows, maybe I just wanted to die, after all, we're all doomed."
"You're talking about the Origin Wall, not Hecate," Su Ming tapped the table.
"Yes, Batman's been pressing me to investigate something, and I got some new leads, the thing Cheetah and the others stole from the seabed is called 'Tear of Extinction,' a very powerful magic potion."
Constantine dipped his finger in the drink, drawing an abstract pattern on the ash-covered tabletop.
"I haven't heard of it," Su Ming placed his phone on the table too; this matter ought to have Bat listen closely, Zha Kang probably guessed Batman was eavesdropping, so he wasn't bothered to make another trip to the Hall of Justice.
"Do you know the 'Spring of Eternal Youth'?" Constantine asked again, scratching his beard, with fleas falling out: "Or the 'Water of Life'?"
Su Ming thought for a moment, he had heard of those things: "Spring of Eternal Youth is a legend from the Caribbean, a liquid that grants immortality after drinking it. As for the Water of Life, calling it 'Lazarus' Spring' is more accurate."
"Ah, only half correct, the Spring of Eternal Youth is actually a kind of magic potion, a specialty of Silver City, used by Angels to reward devout believers, it's a drug," Zha Kang shook his head with a smile.
"Drugs....." Su Ming mused.
"It's Spring of Eternal Youth, not Spring of Immortality," Constantine showed an expression of disdain, as if he had seen something dirty: "So a sip every year ensures ageless appearance, but doesn't extend lifespan, and once interrupted, the aging accelerates ten times faster than others."
"So Angels use this to control believers."
"Who knows, but it seems like it," Constantine burped, using his fingers to clean his ears.
The flames earlier were too hot, drying out and dislodging an earwax.
Su Ming also drank, warmed liquor had an odd taste actually, probably only a drunkard like Zha Kang could swallow it: "Why are you mentioning these two things?"
"Ah, because the Tear of Extinction, this magic elixir, is their dark side, a single drop, even a god will directly perish," Constantine seemed to snap back to reality.
Su Ming stroked his beard: "So Luthor has now acquired a god-killing poison, what's he going to do next? Apply it to a blowgun?"
Constantine chuckled, inadvertently inhaling some ashes, coughing incessantly.
"Cough, considering Luthor's style, I reckon he'd apply the poison on a Kryptonite Spear or Dagger... but more likely, it's Cheetah's claws, they're natural weapons, and Cheetah's speed is astonishing, even Barry would be caught by her."
Su Ming pondered, talking about gods, in the Justice League only Diana and Sea King were remotely related.
Diana was hidden in Hell, very safe, Luthor probably couldn't find her, given he had no mage on his side.
But Sea King, could indeed be in danger.
However, that's not Su Ming's concern, let Batman worry about it.
Su Ming was participating in a fruit-snatching contest, currently he had snatched two, while Hecate had grabbed one.
Just the fruit on Su Ming's side couldn't be utilized, while Hecate's increased her power solidly.
There were still two Engravers, so the next step must be to weaken Hecate's power before the frontal battle, at least grab another Engraver and hide them.
Yet in the vast crowd, finding two people would certainly be difficult.
All matters in the Magic Realm occurred behind the curtain, even Batman largely remained ignorant, couldn't be counted on.
The only reliable ones now were the Casters, especially Albella and Constantine, the Hell Sorcerer.
"How about it? Want to join us?" Su Ming extended an invitation to Zha Kang, leaving him in an empty bar would surely drive Bo Bo insane.
"No, I have some matters," Constantine stood up, rubbing his butt: "I booked the best lady in Whitechapel District tonight, already placed a $30 deposit."
Su Ming nodded understandingly, Zha Kang had broad interests, including streetwalkers.
"Be careful, in times like these, I feel you'd be safer playing with a Succubus in Hell."
"Ugh, don't mention Lilith, that's it, I'm off," Zha Kang waved his hand, slipping out the bar door like fleeing: "By the way, tell the Gorilla that Trish survived, Night Shadow took her into the Shadow Plane."
Su Ming glanced at Detective Gorilla across the way, who was essentially done inspecting all the bodies, showing a sad expression.
Actually this news could've been shared early, instead of waiting until the Gorilla examined dozens of scorched cadavers up close...