"Justice League. Yeah, saved the world. I heard they even put a shield around the Earth, quite a magnificent feat. But if dealing with demons and angels were that simple, the human race wouldn't repeat the same mistakes time and again."
Constantine muttered, cigarette in his mouth, as he spoke in a muddled tone. He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, laid out a map of the East Coast on the table, and placed both hands on the table's edge, frowning slightly as he studied the map.
Shiller nodded lightly, agreeing with Constantine's words. Even Marvel's Earth Magic Defense Network hasn't completely guarded against all Demon Gods. A seasoned dimension lord like Mephisto has practically coexisted with human civilization. As long as you can't kill all his followers on Earth, he can continue to exert influence. The Earth Magic Defense Network serves mainly as a warning, preventing him from going too far.
As for the DC Main Universe, it's mostly used to guard against mysterious entities within the Physical Universe. Not to mention Universe administrators or angels; even those demons from Hell can't be fully kept at bay.
While angels and demons wouldn't easily invade the Prime Universe, Constantine clearly doesn't think so. The universe he comes from was in such a dire state, angels and demons relentlessly invaded the world, creating numerous half-angels and half-demons, turning the world into their battleground. Distrusting these entities is entirely understandable.
"You don't want to stay at the Justice League base?" Shiller asked.
"It's not safe here," Constantine replied, "especially since there's a lack of protection in the realm of mysticism. I don't know how Batman can tolerate it, but it's clearly not suitable for my work needs."
"Batman actually can't tolerate it either," Shiller said, "He partially controls the magicians on Earth. But there's one person he can't control, and during the previous Multiverse drill, he was really set up big time."
Constantine sighed. He certainly knew who that person was. Since coming to the Battleworld, he's gotten a new perspective on how unreliable alternate versions of himself from other universes could be.
Shiller knew that logically, the Prime Universe should have formed the Justice League Dark by now. But alas, Constantine of the Prime Universe was really acting out of personal vendetta; he put DC in a bad spot simply to get back at Batman for making him work. Even if Batman wanted to recruit him, they still had to consider the feelings of others.
However, Constantine is the core figure of the Justice League Dark. While others possess decent magic ability, the key to Justice League Dark lies in the "darkness." Without Constantine's crafty methods, they simply couldn't maneuver amidst various mysterious entities with ease, and organizing them wouldn't lead to much improvement. Furthermore, since Batman acquired the Power of Seven Lanterns, he shifted his focus to researching the Emotional Spectrum, putting this matter on hold.
"What kind of place do you want?" Shiller asked.
"What kind of place can you manage?" Constantine glanced at him and countered, "You're not local either, right? Do we even have a choice?"
"I have a house in Gotham," Shiller said, "prepared by the Primary Universe Batman for me. It's a mansion by the Gotham River, with two floors and a basement."
"Alright," Constantine said, "Let's go over there first, and then I'll set up a ritual and see what's happening."
As the two were leaving the Justice League base, Arthur seemed a bit puzzled. But upon hearing they were headed to Gotham, Arthur only said, "After Batman left, the Robins are managing things over there. I've heard there are some conflicts among them. If you head over..."
"I have no interest in the Batman Family's soap opera," Shiller said bluntly, "Whatever conflicts they have is none of my business. Let's go, John."
The two drove all the way into Gotham City. The city was rather quiet, as calm and peaceful as ever. Constantine lightly twitched his nose and furrowed his brow slightly.
"What's wrong?" Shiller turned to look at him.
"Nothing." Constantine shook his head gently, "No matter how many times, I still can't adapt to the thick stench of sin here. You know, in the universe I'm from, Gotham could even be considered a rare paradise. After completing some tricky case, I'd go to the beach there for a holiday."
"Hard to imagine," Shiller remarked.
"Angels and demons don't like it there. The stench of sin is too pungent, mixed with difficult-to-swallow iron dust and broken glass shards—people usually call it madness—it's like a culinary wasteland to them. For exorcists like us, we can only find some peace there."
"Have you met the Batman of your universe?"
Constantine shook his head and said, "Unless he comes looking for me, I won't actively seek him out. Just like he's unfamiliar with the work of exorcists, I don't have the capacity to get involved in the issues he's tackling. I have enough trouble of my own."
Speaking, they arrived at the Gotham Riverside. This house was actually given to Arrogant by the Primary Universe Batman, but since they're both Shiller, the house's alarm system wasn't triggered, making it their stronghold in the Prime Universe.
Once inside, Constantine surveyed the house's setup and said, "This doesn't seem like a place you'd stay in."
"Yeah," Shiller said, casually picking up a sculpture by the door, "I'd only complain about this thing collecting dust."
Then he led Constantine to the basement door: "You go in and set up the ritual first, I'll head out to get some essentials. Do you need anything?"
"Cigarettes and whiskey, please."
When Shiller returned with the items, Constantine had already set up the ritual. He had placed many strange things on the floor, and the only thing Shiller could recognize was a Bible.
Shiller handed the whiskey to him. Constantine, out of nowhere, produced a cup, poured himself a finger of whiskey, tossed it back in one gulp, and inhaled sharply from the burn.
He grimaced, put the glass down, then walked towards the ritual, half-kneeling on the ground, pressing his hand on the Bible, and began reciting a prayer.
Gradually, a gentle white light filled the entire room, and a shadow like a gate appeared overhead, looking just like the legendary Stairway to Heaven.
Soon, a blazing aura spread, and in front of Shiller appeared many crimson flames, with faint sounds of singing coming through.
"Seraphim, I offer you my blessing. Could you tell me about the current situation in the Sanctuary?"
"The one standing by the throne has yet to return, one has been absent for a long time, and one comes and goes less frequently. Eden is still as peaceful as ever, but God has not tended to His garden in a long while."
"Thank you. Have any saints visited recently?"
"It has been a long time. The Holy Spring flows as it always has."
"I understand. Thank you. Praise to our eternal Master and Father, may His hymn resound throughout the cosmos."
Shiller didn't hear everything clearly, this was only part of the conversation. He could sense that some higher-level communication was happening between them. After the light dimmed, Constantine said, "I'm afraid this matter is indeed related to Heaven."
"How did you figure that out?" Shiller frowned. The entire exchange just now sounded like a celestial text to him.
"An Archangel is missing," Constantine explained, "and it's a recent absence. This matter probably has a lot to do with that."
It wasn't as if Constantine needed to say it. The absent one must be Bruce, who is hanging on the Origin Wall; how could he clock in at Heaven?
"What else?" Shiller asked. "Does Heaven have any visitors?"
Constantine shook his head and said, "No. There are certainly no reputable visitors. Even if it were a superhero, the Seraphim would have told me."
"I was just about to ask you, which Angel is the Seraphim?"
"The Seraphim," Constantine said as he extinguished the candle, "specifically which one depends on who's available. Generally, it's under Raphael's line, which connects more often. They are in charge of healing and are the most agreeable. We're in luck."
Shiller pondered. He still trusted Constantine's expertise. No matter how capable Constantine from other universes might be, it's the same old story: Constantine's mind is much stronger than his magic abilities. Most Constantines don't actually have strong physical prowess; even the Constantine from the Movie Universe is already considered very powerful.
With just a simple ritual, he can make a call to Heaven's headquarters, which isn't something just anyone can do. Moreover, the one answering the call was a Seraphim. Seraphim are the highest-ranking Angels, which is essentially a VIP line. Moreover, the attitude of this Angel towards this Constantine was quite nice, you could even call it gentle. Shiller believed other Constantines wouldn't have this privilege.
Perhaps this also had to do with the situation in his universe. Every piece on the battleground of Angels and demons is crucial, and this Constantine is rare in that he's not as messed up as other Constantines; his worst vice is just smoking. It's not without reason that Angels treat him well.
Since Constantine said there are no visitors to Heaven, then Anatoli hasn't gone to Heaven to find Lucifer. So what is he in such a hurry to do?
At this time, Constantine started to alter the ritual. He contacted a demon from Hell, and the one who answered seemed to be Azazel. The answer he got was that Hell has been calm recently too. Lucifer hasn't returned, and there are no other visitors.
"We can basically determine that the problem lies with Heaven." Constantine said as he rubbed the cigarette in his hand.
"What's the use of that? Can you find out which Archangel it is?"
"No. Unlike the demons in Hell, most Angels don't have unique numbers, so we can't use the elimination method to determine who's not there. However, we're not here to catch the behind-the-scenes manipulator, are we? Didn't you say, we only need to protect those who can solve the problem?"
"That's right." Shiller nodded.
"That makes it easier." Constantine pulled something out from his pocket, saying, "I call this necklace 'Snake Fury.' In fact, it's made from a fragment of Satan's cup, which most Angels would avoid."
Shiller took the necklace. The bottom of the necklace was a diamond-shaped pendant with a silver metal frame; within the metallic border was transparent glass, and at the very center lay a crystal emitting a faint glow.
"So, this is the cup Satan used to drink from?" Shiller asked with some confusion, "Why did he shatter his own cup, and how did the fragment end up with you?"
"Just lucky, I guess."