Chapter 937: Deep in the Mist and Rain (Part 10)

Constantine and Brand were both stunned where they stood. Brand looked left and right and said, "Did I just have a hallucination? It sounded like someone was calling your name, Constantine?"

Constantine swallowed hard. Watching the vines gradually closing in on him, he took a step back and said, "Look, does this look like a hallucination to you? Do you dream of plants jumping up to beat you to a pulp?!"

Having said that, he turned and ran. Every tree, hedge, and plant in the streets and alleys chased after him, as if driven mad by the desire to attack him.

"Dr. Brand! Save me! Save your patient! Use your fire magic! I'll pay double... oh, no! Triple the medical fees!"

Constantine shouted.

Brand flashed into existence amidst the flames, arriving at Constantine's side. He said to him, "I don't need you to pay extra medical fees, but if I save you, you must guarantee that you will kick your drug addiction!"

"Then you might as well just let the plants eat me!"

Constantine shouted as he ran. The next second, a vine lashed across his arm. He let out an "Ow!" of pain, and shortly after, his foot was tripped by another plant.

The plants' offensive was so fierce that he had no time to cast spells. When he reached the crossroads, Constantine looked up and shouted, "Green of the All! There must be a misunderstanding between us. Whatever you've encountered, it certainly wasn't my doing!"

But the crazed plants showed no sign of stopping. Constantine had no choice but to hop in place twice, look left and right, choose the widest path, and run down it.

"Green of the All! I have always been a plant protectionist! I have never harmed any plants—of course, mealtime doesn't count! But I rarely eat vegetables; you know, my favorite is meat pies!"

"Alright! Alright! Tobacco is a plant too, but I'm not the world's heaviest smoker, how could you... I really haven't plotted against you! Wait a minute... have I?"

Constantine slowed his pace and thought for a moment. He said, "I shouldn't have... right? Although I was indeed nearby when that council or whatever caused a mess last time, that wasn't my fault either!"

"And the one in charge of the vines... what was his name again? He was plotted against by the Red of All Life, what does that have to do with me?! Even if I was nearby, is it a crime to not save someone from certain death?!"

The plants' attacks became even more frenzied. Constantine had to use his Ash Clones repeatedly to distract the plants. As he ran, he mentally reviewed his list of creditors.

When you have offended almost every faction in the occult world, it is hard to determine why someone has come to cause trouble for you today. And when you are being harassed every single day, what the trouble actually is no longer matters.

Constantine dashed into a small alley. He glanced back and found that the plants had not followed. The vines snaked past the alley entrance. Constantine had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a "rustling" sound from behind him.

He turned his head to see a massive birch tree rising from the ground. Constantine swallowed hard and said, "Green of the All, let's talk this over, I think we can negotiate..."

Just before the living tree could go berserk, a flaming hoop—the kind often seen in circuses—appeared before Constantine. Constantine clutched his talisman, gritted his teeth, and said, "You finally came!"

With that, he jumped into the flaming hoop. The next second, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Cat Getan City. Before him stood a woman in a cape, wearing a top hat and holding a magic wand; she looked like a magician.

"Oh, god, Zatanna, you saved me!" Constantine exhaled slowly and said, "I knew it, you're a good girl..."

Zatanna, standing before Constantine, rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and said, "You said I went behind your back to strike a deal with the Green of the All, but now, why is the Green of the All chasing you? Could it be that you went behind my back to strike a deal with him and then reneged, just like you always do?!"

"Of course not!" Constantine raised his voice and said, "How could I possibly sabotage our agreed-upon plan and turn to the Green of the All instead? We both know such entities are fundamentally unreliable!"

"Thank you for remembering our plan, which is now a complete mess because of you!" Zatanna waved her wand irritably and said, "And all of this is thanks to your reckless behavior!"

"I just hoped our plan could be a bit more perfect. You've been away from Cat Getan for too long; you don't know how many powerful figures have appeared in this city now..."

Zatanna hummed softly and walked to the edge of the building to look down. Thick mist rose from the streets, swallowing most of the buildings, but the rooftops of the skyscrapers felt like another world above the clouds.

Her gaze pierced through the mist. In the streets below, neon lights blurred into hazy colors. When the bar signs lit up, Cat Getan was in the midst of sunset.

The bar was bustling. Constantine, sitting at the bar, downed the liquor in his glass. The bartender wiped a glass and said with a smile, "That weirdo in the tights isn't coming to find you anymore?"

Constantine squinted and shook his head, sounding a bit drunk as he said, "He hasn't come to find me for a long time. Perhaps he has already found the answer he wanted and no longer harbors any desperate hope of praying to gods or Buddhas..."

"If you ask me, he really is a weirdo."

"But he is also a beauty." Constantine ordered another drink. As the bartender turned to mix it, he said, "In the long night, just drinking is truly too boring..."

The bartender smiled and handed him the drink, saying, "Then you've really come to the right place. The Golden Cup Bar has hired a very impressive magician to perform. You should be able to see her in a moment; she's a beauty, too..."

"A magician?" Constantine curled his lip and said, "I don't have a good impression of them. They're just con artists with a good reputation..."

Turning his head, Constantine saw a woman in a cape and top hat appear amidst the cheers of the crowd. She patrolled the bar seating area, showing everyone her empty top hat.

The next second, she tapped the hat lightly with her wand. With a "whoosh," several bats flew out, and the entire room erupted.

The female magician then produced a deck of cards, fanned them elegantly, circled the room to show them to everyone, and then tossed them into the air. With a light tap of her wand, the cards exploded into fireworks. Cheers rang throughout the bar.

Constantine coughed violently, set his glass down in a panic, and said to the bartender, "I'm leaving first. No matter who asks later, you must say you've never seen Constantine..."

Having said that, he tightened his trench coat and tried to leave along the edge of the bar through the back door, but before he could reach it, he was blocked at the entrance to the utility room.

The female magician from earlier leaned against the wall, holding her top hat in one hand and her wand in the other, and gave Constantine a cold sneer.

"Uh, Zatanna, what a coincidence, you're here too? Your magic show was great, I've never seen such a brilliant performance. That, I have something to do, I'll be going now..."

Constantine tried to walk away. Zatanna didn't stop him, but she twirled her wand and said, "It doesn't matter, you can certainly leave here, but perhaps by tomorrow, the news that you were hitting on me at the bar and trying to run a tab will spread throughout the entire occult world..."

Constantine stopped helplessly, turned to look at Zatanna, and said, "What are you doing in Cat Getan? It's dangerous here, and aren't you touring the world with your magic show? How did you get back so soon?"

"Of course, because there's serious business." Zatanna put her top hat on, tilted her head at Constantine, and said, "Let's find a place to talk in detail. This is a big deal."

Soon, the two were sitting at the bar again. Constantine picked up his glass and asked, "What kind of business could make the genius magician Zatanna Zatara so anxious? You even came to a scumbag like me. Didn't you say you would never see me again?"

"John, I'm not joking with you. Don't you have a premonition? Haven't you noticed that in recent years, many people in the occult world have set their sights on Cat Getan? If I remember correctly, a Ghost Mother came here before, and members of many occult families are eyeing this place covetously..."

Constantine recalled the Ghost Mother he had dealt with before—the one who had collaborated with the former Cat Getan kid king, Cooper—Mrs. Sanchez.

"I do seem to recall Mrs. Sanchez saying that Cat Getan is special, that it holds special significance for the entire occult world."

Zatanna sighed and said, "You should know that I come from a very famous magic family and have blood relations with many big figures in the occult world. I won't hide it from you: there has always been a rumor in the occult world about Cat Getan. They say there is a curse here that is the most terrifying in the world..."

"I don't know the scientific name for this curse, but in the circle, they all call it the 'Curse of Ultimate Evil'."

"'Curse of Ultimate Evil'?" Constantine narrowed his eyes and said, "Whoever gave it that name has a lot of nerve. What kind of curse could be called the Curse of Ultimate Evil?"

Zatanna nodded and said, "At first, when I heard this name, I also thought they were exaggerating. Curses are just a small part of the occult world to begin with; no matter how powerful, how bad could it really be?"

"But later, some elders I knew told me that the so-called Curse of Ultimate Evil refers to the fact that it is a universal curse..."

"The specific manifestations of this curse are not like common curses that prevent one from casting spells, cause the body to rot, or lead to immediate death. The Curse of Ultimate Evil can act upon a certain group, making everything they experience develop in a bad direction, inescapable and irredeemable."

Constantine fell silent. Zatanna looked at his expression and said, "You feel it, don't you?"

"Cat Getan is indeed a city that cannot be saved. In the days I've spent here, I've realized that this place is the universe's trash can and sewer; all evil, chaos, and madness eventually flow here."

"As for the curse..." Constantine looked at the liquor in his glass and said, "The people here don't care, they aren't afraid, and if you were to try to exorcise the curse for them, they would even think you're crazy."

"But the problem is, we cannot let this curse spread out!" Zatanna emphasized, "Haven't you realized it yet? That group of people wants to find the source of this curse and then use it to destroy the world!"

She placed her wine glass on the table with a "clang," attracting Constantine's gaze. Zatanna tilted her head to look into his eyes and said, "I have received reliable information that many people have joined forces and intend to come here to investigate."

"Among them are frustrated black magicians, traitors who have defected from magical families, and fringe figures like Mrs. Sanchez who have made no progress because their heritage was cut off..."

Constantine's fingers tightened on the wine glass, then he picked it up and brought it to his lips, saying, "Is the information reliable?"

Zatanna nodded and said, "You haven't been active in the occult world lately, but if you resume contact with your old friends, you will know that this matter has already spread."

"You should know that most of the independent magicians with a reputation in the occult world are self-taught geniuses like you. And like you, most of them are twisted and not quite right in the head."

"They want to obtain this Curse of Ultimate Evil to make themselves the rulers of the occult world, the emperors of magic. We must stop them!"

Constantine put down his wine glass, snorted coldly, and said, "It's you and those families who are afraid they will use the Curse of Ultimate Evil on you, right?"

"Zatanna, you are always like this, appearing righteous and awe-inspiring, but I have said before that magic is never something that can be used to save the world."

"You and those self-proclaimed noble magical families actually only want to protect yourselves and maintain your noble bloodlines and transcendent status..."

Zatanna turned her head to the side and said, "So, are you willing to help me or not?"

Constantine finished the liquor in his glass again. He placed the glass heavily on the countertop and then said, "Tell me your plan."