Aisha ordered a few thugs to stay at the door and followed Constantine with the rest as they entered the building together.
As they moved, a report came through the earpiece in her ear.
After a brief exchange, Aisha quickly stepped forward, caught up to Constantine, and smiled. "The building is under our control. The Black Hand is completely subdued. Their boss, Walloon, along with several of his men, has been captured."
"Got it."
Constantine pressed the elevator button. As soon as the doors opened, he stepped in first.
"Top floor," Aisha reminded him promptly.
Moments later, the group arrived at the top floor—Walloon's office.
The scene that greeted them was utter chaos. The walls were riddled with bullet holes, and the floor bore marks of intense combat.
Constantine took a moment to scan the entire floor.
On the office wall, a lifelike stone sculpture stood out—an oriental dragon coiled upon it, intricately carved.
In front of the massive stone dragon, a group of thugs in black suits stood armed with energy weapons, all aimed directly at Walloon and his men.
Walloon and his four subordinates—Zhou, Lasu, Afen, and Afu—were restrained, their wrists locked in thick restraints. Trembling, they dared not move.
"Good job."
It was rare for Constantine to offer praise, but this situation was hardly surprising to him.
Walloon was never a particularly formidable opponent. In the original story, Jackie Chan had tormented him every time he appeared.
It wasn't that he never had his moments—it was just that those moments were painfully unimpressive. By the end, he had been reduced to nothing more than a background extra, a mere "passerby driver."
Even the gang he built was laughably weak in the eyes of Constantine and Anton—a small-time operation that could be crushed with a flick of the wrist.
As for Walloon's subordinates, aside from Afu, who had some knowledge of aerial combat, the rest were nothing more than cannon fodder.
Even Afu, whose combat skills were somewhat comparable to Jackie Chan's, was still just a mortal. There was no way he could take on a squad of High Table enforcers armed with advanced weaponry.
No matter how skilled a martial artist is, they can't dodge bullets forever.
And the High Table's energy weapons—produced by Wayne Enterprises—were far deadlier than mere kitchen knives. They were more than enough to overpower Walloon and his crew.
Just then, Constantine's gaze shifted away from the captives.
"Holy Lord, our first meeting."
Ignoring Walloon and his men entirely, Constantine focused on the massive stone sculpture on the wall. A knowing smile played on his lips.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said casually. "My name is John Constantine."
A moment of silence. Then—
"Are you the human mage who fought against Mephisto?"
A shockwave of disbelief swept through the room.
Everyone—except for the captives still kneeling on the ground—watched in stunned silence as something unimaginable happened.
The stone dragon opened its eyes.
Its gaze burned crimson, filled with an inhuman indifference—pure contempt glowing within the eerie red light.
A bone-chilling aura flooded the entire floor.
A sharp, cold shiver ran down everyone's spine.
Huh!
The High Table enforcers, hands gripping their weapons, couldn't stop themselves from trembling.
"The stone carving… it's alive…" Aisha whispered, her pupils contracting.
She had never witnessed something so terrifying.
Her gaze darted to Constantine, realization dawning upon her. Her previous suspicions were true.
Sure enough, she had stepped into an entirely different world.
Demons?
Was everything in those movies actually real?
While Aisha was still reeling, trying to process her shattered worldview, Constantine continued his exchange with the Holy Lord.
"Not bad," Constantine said, nodding. "That was me."
The dragon's eyes gleamed ominously.
"Your soul… is very enticing to me."
The Holy Lord stared at Constantine, but the latter showed no trace of fear or panic. A low, hoarse voice echoed again.
"However, unlike Mephisto, I have no interest in collecting souls."
The Holy Lord's voice resonated through the room. "John Constantine, if you are willing to surrender to me, I can grant you endless wealth and power—second only to my own."
"Sorry."
Constantine shrugged. "Not a chance."
Constantine's goal—or rather, Anton's goal—was simple.
Eliminate the Black Hand gang, seize the Holy Lord's sculpture from Walloon, restrain the Holy Lord, prevent him from reclaiming the Twelve Talismans, and restore his own abilities.
By doing this, the Holy Lord would remain nothing more than a lifeless sculpture, his influence significantly diminished. Even if he could still speak, all he would be able to do was tempt others with words—he would no longer have the power to wreak havoc upon the world.
Moreover, Constantine planned to imprison the Holy Lord in a containment facility aboard a war fortress in space.
There, the demon would spend eternity confined in a small, empty prison—a fate even worse than being trapped in an alternate dimension akin to Hell.
At least in another dimension, the Holy Lord would still have his seven siblings to talk to.
Of course, the Holy Lord himself wasn't the biggest concern.
The real reason Constantine had chosen to act against him was to eliminate any potential risk—ensuring that a demon of the Holy Lord's caliber would never be unleashed upon the world, preventing a disaster that could spiral beyond control.
The real key was the Twelve Talismans.
Each Talisman represented a fragment of the Holy Lord's power, granting supernatural abilities that were immensely formidable.
Combining this with the Ghost Rider storyline, Constantine suspected that the recent attack on District 13 was orchestrated by none other than Mephisto's son—freed from Hell and accompanied by his demonic followers.
Mephisto's son was, of course, none other than Blackheart—the primary antagonist of Ghost Rider (2007).
Blackheart was a demon Mephisto had carefully cultivated, possessing extraordinary abilities. While his strength was inferior to Mephisto's, he also lacked his father's weaknesses.
In other words, unlike Mephisto, Blackheart could freely leave Hell and roam the world without suffering any loss of power.
That very advantage was what allowed Mephisto to send him into the mortal realm in the first place.
And Blackheart wasn't alone.
He had the ability to summon his own demonic lieutenants—Wallow, Gressil, and Abigor .
This made him one of Mephisto's most dangerous assets in the mortal world.
To solidify his alliance with the Holy Lord, Mephisto had undoubtedly invested a significant amount of resources—just as he had in the original storyline when Johnny Blaze refused to cooperate.
It wasn't surprising.
Simply put, Constantine wasn't entirely confident that District 13 could withstand Blackheart's attack.
Even with Jackie Chan and Truu present, the outcome was unlikely to change—District 13 was as good as lost.
Pure martial arts were no match for Blackheart's dark magic.
Truu, having only recently become the old man's apprentice, had barely begun his training. His magical prowess was still weaker than his sumo wrestling skills—making it even less likely that he could fend off demons.
As for Constantine? His combat abilities weren't exactly top-tier, and he had no desire to rush in just to get beaten to a pulp.
Fortunately, he wasn't solely relying on Ghost Rider.
After all, Anton—his true self—shared the exact same mindset.
….
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