Shane Freak
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Chapter 624: Pathological Crisis (Ten)
🕑 Added 2023-10-03 08:06:07 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Countless eerie black patterns spread up from the base of the wall, their shadowy shapes forming various horrifying monsters.
Angela tightly gripped the gun in her hand, but it provided her with no sense of security. She understood that if these things truly existed, modern human science and technology weapons might prove ineffective against them.
Unbeknownst to her, her arm, which had not trembled since leaving the police academy, began to quiver slightly. Her palm grew sweaty, making it difficult to firmly grasp the handgun as she used her gaze to target every passing shadow.
Then, she turned her head and saw Constantine behind her, reaching into his coat to produce a highball glass. He uttered a few incantations, and the glass filled with clear water. Next, he retrieved a somewhat tattered piece of cloth from his pocket, dipped it into the water, and holding the cup, he said, "Give me your magazine."
Angela didn't reach for her handgun; instead, she retrieved a spare magazine from her waist and handed it to Constantine. After receiving it, Constantine raised an eyebrow and remarked, "I like working with someone as well-prepared as you."
Angela snorted coldly and once again reached for her waist. With a click, three handgun magazines appeared in her hand, all fully loaded. She said, "I've dealt with the likes of those vile criminals for just as long as you've dealt with demons. Sometimes, they're even more terrifying than devils."
With that, she noticed Constantine placing her handgun magazine into the highball glass, stirring it, and when he took it out, the magazine appeared completely dry, as if it had never touched water. Constantine handed the magazine back to her and said, "These are enchanted bullets, infused with holy damage. During the upcoming demon exorcism ritual, you must use your handgun to repel any demons that dare approach."
"Magic Circles are extremely vulnerable while still incomplete. The candle flames, the paper on the ground, and the fire in my hand cannot be extinguished. Should you detect any shadows approaching, use these bullets to vanquish them."
Angela remained expressionless, quickly swapping her magazine. With a bang, a black shadow slithering along the ground was hit by a bullet. Angela heard a miserable cry, and the spot struck by the bullet began emitting black smoke, fracturing like claws.
Suddenly, the policewoman calmed down. Her initial panic had stemmed from fear of the unknown, but now that she realized firearms could harm these creatures, what more was there to say?
Using enchanted bullets to fight demons was just as effective as using regular bullets on humans. Angela quickly showed this group of demons why she was known as one of the finest detectives on the East Coast.
Lifting her gun, aiming, firing, and raising it again, her actions were incredibly smooth. Even when several shadows attacked simultaneously, her bullets remained on target, and those shadows couldn't get anywhere near Constantine in the room.
"You need to conserve your ammunition," Constantine said while drawing a Magic Circle on the ground. "These are not their true forms; they are phantoms conjured by the leakage of their power from hell. They are just the prelude to their assault."
Angela fired while listening to Constantine's rapid explanation. "Demons who wish to invade the mortal realm often go through several steps. They first infiltrate the spirit world with their power and then move from the spirit world to the mortal realm. Once their power has fully permeated, their physical bodies will arrive here."
"What are the consequences?" Angela asked while continuing to shoot.
"At this stage, the bullets enchanted only lightly cannot penetrate their bodies. To deal with them, we either need heavy firepower or extremely powerful magical items."
"Can't we deal with them at this stage?" Angela inquired.
"No, we must wait for the moment they enter the mortal realm from the spirit world. That's when they are most vulnerable. Once we set up the trap, we can catch them all."
"Be vigilant; the invasion is about to begin!" Constantine stood up. The Magic Circle on the ground was nearly complete, but in Angela's view, the entire world darkened as all light sources extinguished.
The darkest moment had arrived.
Angela raised her gun, took a deep breath, and countless shadows rushed towards her. She performed a roll on the ground, firing two shots, then retreated a step, aiming at the shadow beneath her feet and firing again.
Counterattacking wasn't easy. Aside from the difficulty of aiming in this darkness, she had to avoid touching the candles in the Magic Circle on the ground. Even the slightest movement would cause the flames to flicker.
Soon, Angela's first magazine ran dry, and she reached for her second one. She glanced at the highball glass; there was only a little water left, enough for enchanting one more magazine.
Without much thought, Angela handed the magazine to Constantine. After enchanting it, Constantine handed it back to her. The policewoman took a deep breath and said, "Perhaps I shouldn't have involved more people. If this is the destiny of our sisters, I want to see just how terrifying hell can be."
With a bang, another shadow was repelled by the enchanted bullet. After her last bullet was fired, Angela discarded her handgun. In the midst of the haze and illusions, she saw her sister, Isabella, waving at her.
At that moment, with a whoosh, a bright fire lit up, illuminating the entire room. Constantine set fire to the cloth, and flames surged. All the shadows emitted mournful cries and fled madly from the fireless areas.
Constantine threw the burning cloth into the air, where it became a huge fireball. He controlled it with his hand, keeping it suspended, making the shadows too afraid to approach. He said, "As long as I keep this lit, no demon will dare manifest in its true form. But once it extinguishes, they will return, and we will all be in danger."
"So, I will extinguish it directly, and in the blink of an eye, the Demon will descend. Get ready... He's coming!"
As Constantine's words fell, all the fires went out. Angela saw an extremely hideous and malevolent black shadow charging towards her.
Instinctively, Angela raised her arm to block, but suddenly, a red light shone at her feet. A scream followed, and when she turned her head, she saw the malevolent figure bound within the Magic Circle. Immediately after, another scream rang out:
"Constantine! You!!!!"
In that moment, the room returned to brightness, and the light that had vanished completely moments ago reappeared, as if the previous darkness had been an illusion.
Constantine tossed the now-burnt cloth onto the ground and said, "... Surprise!"
"Is it over?" Angela asked, trembling. She had no strength left and staggered over to Isabella's bed. Constantine sat down beside her, gazing out of the window at the night sky. He said, "Perhaps it's over, but this kind of life never truly ends."
Angela turned her head to look at Constantine and asked, "Is this how you spend every day?"
Constantine reached into his coat pocket, retrieved a pack of cigarettes, lit one, took a drag, and then said, "More or less. Or sometimes even worse. But at least I'm still alive, right?"
Angela turned her head back and rested her elbows on her knees. She wiped her face with her hands and said, "Why is it like this? Why do we have no choice? Why must we endure such a terrible curse?"
"This world is just like that. Everyone has their own misfortunes. So, I try to turn this misfortune into an advantage to survive in this world. Look at it this way; with this ability, at least ordinary people can't threaten you."
"Really?" Angela turned her head to look at Constantine again, but her once steadfast eye contact had become somewhat fragile.
The recent ordeal had drained all the physical and mental strength from the resilient policewoman, inflicting significant mental torment. Now, her physical and psychological states had hit rock bottom.
"If you were a normal person, I would never recommend you to get involved with any Mysticism. No matter how talented or intelligent you are, I'd keep you far away from these things."
"But, for those born under a curse, if they don't learn these things, the end result is being passively beaten down. If you want to fight back, you have to use force against force."
Constantine took another drag from his cigarette and exhaled slowly, saying, "... Understanding this reason has come at a great cost to me."
"What cost?" Angela asked, curious.
Constantine looked around the hospital room, the light finally illuminating the deep-set eyes beneath his brow. He said, "Metropolis is indeed one of the top cities in the world. The conditions at the mental hospital here are much better than the one I stayed in."
"You've been in a mental hospital too?"
"Of course, it's a long story, one you might not want to hear. But it's one of the reasons I'm guilty of the deaths of those innocents." Constantine regained some of his strength, stood up from the bed, and loosened his tie, saying, "You might think I'm crazy, but I cherish the time I spent there. When I was tormented by guilt and self-blame, I was strapped to a chair, injected with useless sedatives, beaten, and thrown to the ground..."
"That must have been painful..." Angela said with a somber tone.
"But I live for this pain. Without it to remind me, I would still be alive, but I might have felt like a walking corpse by now." Constantine turned around, and Angela looked into his eyes, which seemed to radiate an irresistible charm, drawing her in unconsciously.
People always enjoy chasing after stories with a dark twist, and Constantine's life was filled with too many of these tales—madness, darkness, and sorrow, all with a morbid allure.
Constantine bent down, exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke, and Angela tugged at his wrist, taking the cigarette he had just smoked and bringing it to her own lips. After inhaling, she blew the cigarette smoke onto Constantine's face.
Constantine gently pulled her up and leaned in for a kiss.
But in the moment their lips touched, Angela snapped out of her entranced state. She pushed Constantine away and said, "No, wait, I... I need to stop their conspiracy..."
Angela turned away awkwardly, intending to leave the room. Unbeknownst to her, behind her, Constantine wore a smirk of triumph on his face.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 625: Morbid Crisis (Part 11)
