Everyone turned their heads toward the door. The door slowly opened a crack, and a small head peeked in. In the candlelight by the door, Charles' eyes lit up when he saw his features clearly.
It was a very delicate-looking little boy with short black hair, looking a bit like he was of mixed race. They immediately recognized this should be Little Constantine in his childhood, but he wasn't as dull and decadent as he was in adulthood; instead, he had a somewhat melancholic scholarly air. This kind of temperament is especially attractive when seen in a child; in a more literary sense, there is a natural "story feeling" about him.
As soon as he poked his head inside, he realized the atmosphere in the church seemed somewhat off. But he seemed more afraid of the things outside, so he squeezed in through the little gap, wanting to say something.
Before he could speak again, an axe swung directly at the old Father — Jack attacked.
"Stop! You damn Killer devil!" Shiller quickly drew his gun and fired at Jack. "Bang!"
Upon hearing the gunfire, Little Constantine was clearly stunned. Instinctively, he ran to hide behind the seats. Seeing this, Charles immediately wanted to rush over to protect him, but another gunshot "Bang" hit the ground near him.
Erik was just about to make a move when Charles pulled him back, signaling with his eyes in the direction of Little Constantine.
The killer or police firing shots was within the limits of human understanding; Little Constantine was scared, mostly afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. But if a bullet could curve, or simply fall from mid-air, then he'd be scared of them.
A shot hit Jack's shoulder, eliciting a painful scream, but it seemed to enrage him, and he swung another axe at the old Father. This time the axe hit, and the old Father's shoulder took a blow, causing him to cry out in pain, and stagger out.
By this time, Arkham Batman was already blocking the entrance, righteously shouting, "Demon, you won't fool me, you won't escape today!"
Arkham Batman was shouting at Jack behind him, but the old Father running to his front gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, revealing his true self — a demon with red skin and horns on his head.
A glint flashed in Arkham Batman's eyes, and he immediately took out a bottle of Holy Water from his belt.
"Splash!" The Holy Water was thrown onto the demon. Instantly, it let out a scream, its skin began to dissolve, and smoke started to rise from its body.
Little Constantine peeked out from behind the seat, shocked. Then he heard Arkham Batman say in a deep voice, "You can't escape, demon. I already know what you've done. Release this human you've controlled, or this church will be your grave today!"
"Ahhhhhh!!!!" The demon continued to let out screams because it was truly too painful. It was puzzled; it was a native Slander Demon, resistant to various Holy Artifacts, or else how could it stay in a church?
Logically, the Holy Water should only hurt its surface skin, and it would heal in a while. But this Holy Water, how come the pain shoots right into its bones?
And this stuff splashed into its eyes, giving such pain that it couldn't open them. As it retreated, it took a direct axe hit on its back. This blow caused the wound to immediately turn black, followed closely by a piercing itching eruption from the wound.
The demon wanted to reach out and touch the wound on its back, but its head was hit again. Shiller, holding a candlestick, struck its skull fiercely, causing it to stagger, then from top to bottom directly inserted the candlestick into its neck.
Blood gushed from its neck; it glared at everyone with hatred before dissolving into a puddle of blood, trying to seep into the ground. Erik extended a hand, turning the floor into metal. The puddle of water slid around aimlessly on its surface; wherever it went turned into metal, ultimately being fixed to the ground by Shiller with a cross temporarily fashioned from a chair back.
Jack grabbed the axe and ran out; Shiller immediately grabbed his gun and shouted, "Don't run! Halt!!"
Shiller chased after him. Arkham Batman walked over to Little Constantine hiding behind the chair. The latter didn't seem very afraid, just puzzled, his dark eyes swirling with curiosity.
"Don't be afraid." Arkham Batman patted him on the head and said, "Did you get separated from your dad? Where is he? I'll take you back, okay?"
Little Constantine didn't answer but after watching him for a moment, he said: "Are you an exorcist?"
Arkham Batman nodded, "Yes, what's the matter? Have you seen other exorcists?"
Little Constantine suddenly looked a bit saddened and said, "No, I've only seen frauds claiming they're exorcists. That demon was clearly still in the house, but he said the demon was gone. Lira was in a lot of pain when she died."
"You saw?"
Little Constantine nodded and said, "But at that time, I was still young, I only saw a shadow. I told them, but no one believed me."
Then he grabbed Arkham Batman's wrist and said, "Demons are real, right? You all saw it; you even defeated it, so you must believe they exist..."
"Demons are real." Arkham Batman told him, "Moreover, they seduce others into doing evil to deceive their souls. This is the same case; I followed the legend of the Killer devil here and indeed found this evil demon."
"You stopped it." Little Constantine's voice became excited, "You splashed something on it, and it hurt a lot, that's great, they can be hurt too."
"Of course, they can be hurt. If you're strong enough, you can even completely kill them or imprison them so they cannot do evil again."
"Oh my God, this is great." Little Constantine seemed to finally let down his guard. He said, "Actually, I lied to you. I did come to watch the game with my dad, but we had a fight halfway through. Because when the event ended, I saw a demon in the audience. I told him, but he told me not to speak nonsense. I ran out in a huff."
"I don't know what happened. I should have been on the street, but suddenly I found myself in a cemetery. I saw a monster gnawing on a corpse. It spotted me and kept chasing me, and then I ran into the church. Luckily, you were there. Otherwise, who would have thought that the Father was a demon too?"
Arkham Batman seemed to suddenly understand why this scene was Constantine's nightmare. He placed his hand on Little Constantine's shoulder and then said, "Anyone could be a demon: priests, police officers, beggars, salespeople—they all could be. Do you think when you point out they are demons, they would agree with you?"
Little Constantine shook his head.
"Yes, they carefully disguise themselves to not be discovered. When you point them out, of course, they will refute you. They will say you are just a kid who doesn't understand. If you grow up, they'll say you're crazy. As long as they can make you a madman, no one will believe anything you say—that's their goal."
"So remember, until you have the power to expose them face-to-face, don't speak of this. You have to quietly accumulate strength until one day, you can make everyone believe you and send those demons all back to Hell."
Little Constantine nodded heavily.
Arkham Batman led Little Constantine towards the door.
"Wait!" Charles suddenly spoke up.
Arkham Batman glanced back at him, then reached out and took out that bottle of Holy Water. Erik hurriedly pulled Charles aside.
"Why are you pulling me?" Charles asked after the two walked away, "That Holy Water doesn't work on humans..."
"It does." Erik paused before saying, "It's especially effective on humans."
"Why?"
"The main ingredient is concentrated sulfuric acid."
Another wave of darkness spread over. Constantine said in an exceptionally light tone, "If I had met you when I was a kid, things would have been better."
"What did that demon do to you?" Arkham Batman asked.
"Actually, not much. He just scared me until I was about to break down, and then he'd turn back into human form. When my father came to get me, I cried and told him, 'The Father is a demon.' You know what a conservative Catholic would do upon hearing that, right?"
The "clink" of the lighter opening was very clear, but Constantine's voice became somewhat vague: "I don't remember how many times they did it, but the first time is always unforgettable. Later on, I did learn what you said, to keep quiet until I have the power to expose them. But I also saw the disappointed faces of many children. I could have spoken the truth, but I didn't. Maybe everything now is my retribution."
"Perhaps many people have advised you to recognize that the real culprits are the evil demons, and you are just a victim. But maybe those words are less comforting than a single cigarette, so I'm telling you, you can have a smoke—even if you are in the terminal stage of lung cancer and about to die, even if I spend millions of US Dollars every year maintaining my respiratory system and now have to inhale your secondhand smoke, you can still have one—this is Batman's advice."
Constantine's deep laughter echoed in the quiet space, followed by a violent cough.
On the other side, Shiller curiously asked Jack, "Why did the wound start turning black after you chopped him with an axe?"
"My axe was coated with Holy Water." Jack said somewhat mysteriously.
"Holy Water? I've been meaning to ask, where did you get Holy Water? Did Constantine give it to you? How come he didn't give me any?"
"Of course not, we made it ourselves. Everyone knew there would be a magic raid, so of course, we prepared in advance."
"You know how to make Holy Water? Do you remember the prayer?"
"Prayer? What prayer? I just poured some water, mixed in a bit of blood after cutting my hand. Most creatures can't withstand this stuff, don't you know?"
Shiller was momentarily speechless. But it's true, that old Joker virus could turn Batman into the laughing bat, and it could turn people into nothing in seconds—what kind of virus could compare to this corrosive power?
"That Holy Water Batman had couldn't have been real, right?"
"That would be strange. You were far away at the time, so you didn't know. When he splashed that Holy Water, the whole room reeked of acid. It was just bullying demons for not having worked in a chemical plant."
"Alright, alright, so we're playing this way." Shiller thought, "One uses concentrated sulfuric acid, the other uses the Joker virus. If Constantine hadn't met you two back then, Satan would have had to light a candle for God."