"Can I owe it to you first?"
Zatanna hesitated, then tentatively spoke.
"...You want to freeload off me???",
Richard's eyes instantly widened, his face filled with disbelief.
This woman has such thick skin, trying to freeload off a Demon Lord like him.
"What freeloading? We can write an IOU."
Zatanna's face flushed instantly; being exposed so directly, she felt somewhat awkward.
To be honest, she did harbor a bit of hope at first, wanting to see if Shazam could be saved without any cost.
"You can, if you sign this IOU."
Richard snorted coldly, and with a wave of his hand, a contract emanating a strange aura appeared out of thin air.
Zatanna took it and read.
"Today, Zatanna owes Demon Lord Richard one treatment fee. Interest begins in three minutes, with the interest rate doubling every second.
You're robbing me!!!"
Zatanna couldn't help but shriek; these terms were utterly absurd.
"Nonsense, did you think I, a Demon Lord, was fake? Who told you to try and freeload off me?"
Richard rolled his eyes.
"No, you're slandering me! I'm the strongest female magic user on Earth! Go ask around in Hell, I'm known for my credibility."
Zatanna directly burned the IOU in her hand.
"Don't even start."
Richard mercilessly exposed her.
"John Constantine from your World has already run your magic community's credit into the ground for hundreds of years to come. No demon will give you an IOU."
Zatanna was speechless.
That damned Constantine, scamming everywhere! His messes and bad reputation had actually spread to other Worlds!
Damn it, wanting to freeload—bah, who wants to freeload?
The others also silently committed the name John Constantine to memory.
"Do you think this will do?"
Wonder Woman placed the Lasso of Truth in front of Richard.
"Not enough... Wait, let me try."
Richard shook his head; this thing was useless to him... No, wait.
He picked up the Lasso of Truth and walked straight to Venom.
"What do you want to do?"
Venom knew his intentions at a glance.
"Just let me do an experiment with you."
Richard said.
"Alright."
Venom extended a hand. As soon as Richard tied the Lasso of Truth around her wrist, his vision blurred, and his neck tightened.
"Tell me, who do you like the most?"
"Venom."
Richard felt the divine power controlling him offer no resistance.
"And the second person you like the most?"
"Pamela."
"Third?"
"Luke."
"Are you just listing them in order? Is Gwen fourth?"
Venom was a bit speechless.
"Yes."
"Never mind. Tell me your favorite food."
"Pamela's nectar."
"What is your dream?"
"To find a group of rich women, live off them, and have children."
...
Wonder Woman watched her Lasso of Truth become the Demon Lord's flirting tool, her mouth twitching.
The others also watched with strange expressions.
They were defeated by this guy whose dream was to live off others?
"Is this guy really a Demon Lord?"
Green Lantern murmured.
"His aura is genuine. Perhaps Demon Lords from other Worlds are like this?"
Zatanna was somewhat unsure.
Doctor Fate gently stroked the helmet in his hand, closing his eyes.
In the future, he couldn't see the Demon Lord's shadow.
But blue skies and white clouds, the formation of the Justice League... What were they doing?
Doctor Fate wanted to look more closely when suddenly a red light appeared, his eyes stung, and a familiar voice came to his ears.
"Don't look around carelessly in the future. The more you see, the faster you die."
Zatanna noticed Doctor Fate's abnormality, his eyes weeping blood.
"What did you see?"
"A future full of hope."
Doctor Fate's vision was somewhat blurry, but he still said with a smile.
"Heal!"
Zatanna began to use her reverse magic for healing, and seeing his eyes start to improve, she breathed a sigh of relief.
This meant the other party had shown mercy.
When Venom had had enough, she released Richard.
Richard then came seriously before Wonder Woman.
"Your artifact is very powerful and has sufficient value."
"...Can you start saving him now?"
Wonder Woman's mood was very complex, even regretting taking out the Lasso of Truth. Perhaps she should use the Godkiller Sword to get it back.
"No problem."
Richard came to the life support device.
He reached his bare hand through Billy's chest and pulled out his soul.
Billy's soul was in Shazam's form, the originally translucent soul covered in reddish-brown, rust-like substance.
The Omega Effect was like a virus corroding his soul, and more than half of it had already been corroded.
"This is a delicate job."
Richard's fingers moved constantly in the air, and one magic rune after another entered Billy's body.
Stability, protection, strength, resilience, energy, life...
Actually, Chaos magic was the most useful, but unfortunately, this World had the protection of the Source Wall, which somewhat weakened the ability to modify reality.
Doctor Fate and Zatanna watched without blinking.
This Demon Lord also knew Rune magic, which was Odin's magic.
Although the others didn't understand, they could see Billy's pained expression gradually ease.
"Alright, just one last step."
Richard grabbed Billy's soul, and the Omega Effect on his body began to be drawn out.
Once it was all transferred.
Richard put the soul back and took out a needle of medicine, injecting it into Billy's body.
Everyone watched Billy's body rapidly recover, sighing in relief and smiling.
"Here's one for you too."
Before Wonder Woman could react, her severed arm also got a jab. The wound area became unbearably itchy, and blood-red granulation tissue continuously grew.
"Thank you!"
Wonder Woman nodded gratefully to Richard.
"I never thought I'd hear your thanks one day. Can you say it again?"
Richard pulled out a camera.
Wonder Woman didn't think much of it and thanked him again.
"Are the me and you from that World on very bad terms?"
Wonder Woman realized that although the Demon Lord in front of her immediately talked about transactions and seemed very greedy, he was essentially a good person, just accustomed to using transactions to disguise himself.
Only in front of that Venom did he show his true self.
"Actually, it's not too bad. It's just that my people burned off your hair and almost turned you into my 'Can't Afford to Offend'."
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..."
As soon as Richard finished speaking, the few people eavesdropping nearby started coughing violently.
"Any woman would be angry about her hair. What does 'Can't Afford to Offend' mean?"
Wonder Woman touched her long hair, somewhat understanding, then asked curiously.
"'Can't Afford to Offend' is..."
Richard was about to explain when he was interrupted by Zatanna.
"Shut up, you lustful Demon Lord!"
Zatanna's face was beet red; she was a pure maiden now.
"Oh! You understood."
Richard's lips curled.
"No, I didn't. I just... No, who's talking about this with you? Wonder Woman, come with me."
Zatanna pulled Wonder Woman to a corner.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"