Chapter 368: Truth, Lure
By the time Tony Stark reached the Dark Great Magician, he found Captain and Bruce Wayne had already been waiting by John Constantine's side for a long time.
Tony Stark gave the two of them a deep look. Clearly, they had also keenly perceived the flaw in this plan.
"Looks like there are quite a few smart people, Bruce! Everyone's here, so we can begin. What do you want to know?"
John Constantine casually extinguished the cigar in his hand, pulled out a pack of crumpled, cheap cigarettes from his trench coat pocket, took one out, held it between his fingers, lit it, and took a deep drag.
Bruce Wayne spoke first: "Shouldn't you say something about this plan full of flaws?"
"Full of flaws? Wasn't this plan proposed by you? I've been warning you to just honestly wait here for the end of this god war!" John Constantine exhaled a puff of smoke. Under the white smoke, his bloodshot eyes were filled with exhaustion.
"God war?!" Bruce Wayne keenly perceived the lingering implication in Constantine's words.
"I will explain this to you later. Things are quite troublesome, and I just figured it out myself. Now tell me, why do you think this plan has flaws? Is it because you think a nuclear bomb can't blow open this Enclosed Space!?"
John Constantine's gaze swept over the three people.
"The data is incorrect. I analyzed the diagram you drew. I used FRIDAY to compute it hundreds of times. According to the intensity drawn on your blueprint, a one-megaton nuclear bomb can indeed blast a gap in this Space!!"
Tony Stark's gaze was sharp. With a wave and release of his hand, streams of computation data and modeling were projected before him.
"But the Space simulated using the data you provided cannot Seal the Quantum Tunnel,"
Blue holographic projection simulated the internal structure of this Sacrifice Channel in front of the crowd. A few Golden Particles easily penetrated this Enclosed Space.
Tony Stark shook his head: "Your data has problems. The Structural Strength is weakened by at least dozens of times! If calculated according to this data, this nuclear bomb cannot possibly cause damage to this Space!"
"Mr. Constantine, don't you have anything to explain?"
Facing Tony Stark's questioning, John Constantine shook his head, the face under his full beard was full of world-weariness: "Explanation? There is no explanation. The blueprint I gave you was the Magic Array Diagram King Solomon used to Seal the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demon Gods back then. I slightly altered the Internal Structure to make it look more like this Space!"
"Why?" Tony Stark looked at Constantine, who had a completely indifferent expression. He gained a clearer understanding of this shameless, notorious Black Magic Master from the comic books.
At least this kind of shamelessness, boasting shamelessly after being exposed – there really aren't many people he knows who can do it. Perhaps, if Nick Fury, that Old Fox, were still alive, he might be able to compete with him in terms of thick skin! Tony Stark silently added in his heart.
"Among the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demon Gods that King Solomon Sealed back then, there are quite a few very formidable characters. You were actually able to find the Weakness in his Magic Array!" John Constantine gave Tony Stark a thumbs up.
Facing Constantine's compliment, Tony Stark remained unmoved, waiting for his explanation.
Click-click!
"Why did you do this? I need an explanation. If I'm not satisfied! I think you know the result!"
"Click-click!" As if to prove his determination, Tony Stark directly activated the Shoulder Cannon Launcher on his shoulder. Simultaneously, he raised both hands, the Energy Cannons in his palms in a Charging State. One hand aimed at Constantine, the other aimed at Bruce Wayne!
Facing Tony Stark's Palm Cannon, Bruce Wayne strongly suppressed the instinct to counterattack and turned his gaze towards John Constantine.
"Tony!" Captain let out a low shout, not understanding why Tony Stark aimed his muzzle at his own people.
"Captain, it was me who brought things to this point. You are right, regarding Matters from other Universes, we shouldn't interfere too much. In this current situation, I need to be responsible for Thor and the others! Since I brought them to this Universe, then I must also bring them back safely!"
Hearing Tony's words, Captain didn't say anything more. Instead, facing Bruce Wayne, he tightened his grip on the Shield in his hand.
As a veteran who experienced WWII, Captain America understood better than other Superheroes what Propriety was. Just like now, although he didn't agree with falling out with the Justice League and others, at the critical moment, he unhesitatingly chose to stand with his teammates.
Under the black Cloak, Bruce Wayne clenched two Batarangs.
"Oh oh, wait," In this tense atmosphere, John Constantine raised his hands high, calling a halt to the three people who seemed about to fight the next moment.
"I didn't intentionally conceal it. The reason I gave you that Sealing Magic Array Diagram of King Solomon is that I was protecting you!"
Looking at John Constantine, who had an expression like he was doing it for their own good, Tony Stark was almost provoked into laughter. He raised his Palm, and a searing white Energy Cannon shot past John Constantine's face, blasting into the Red Fog Zone not far away, gradually creating ripples.
"If you talk nonsense again, then the next shot I will Aim for your Head!"
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth. I don't know the structure of this Space either. It is completely beyond my Scope of Knowledge!" Facing Tony Stark's sharp gaze, seeing the look in his eyes that confirmed he wasn't joking, John Constantine shrank his Neck and spread his hands, indicating.
After seeing the Suspicion in Tony Stark's gaze, he stiffened his neck: "I know what you want to say. That blueprint for building the Altar was something I took out. But once the Sacrifice begins, the Matters are no longer under my control. They are under His control!"
Saying this, John Constantine pointed towards the Sky.
"Then why did you take out a fake blueprint to deceive us?"
"Of course, it was for your Protection! Wait, I'm telling the Truth!" Seeing Tony Stark Aiming his Palm at his Head, Constantine repeatedly waved his hands. "Is it your Hunter and Prey theory!?" Captain America reached out and pressed down Tony Stark's raised arm. He looked at Constantine:
"I don't understand your Dark Magic or what Space Intensity is, but your so-called Hunter and Prey theory is full of flaws. I know a few Native American friends. When they hunt, they often encounter dangerous Fierce Beasts, but they told me that for the Beast that falls into a Trap, all they need is Patience. Before those Prey exhaust their Stamina, they absolutely won't act easily! This is to prevent those Fierce Beasts from counterattacking before death!"
"I think the 'person' who designed this Trap would also absolutely not easily put themselves in danger. Then the so-called opportunity we are waiting for naturally doesn't exist!" Captain America looked seriously at John Constantine.
Constantine took another deep drag of his cigarette and said with a faint tone: "You also said just now that was dealing with Fierce Beasts. Do you think in His eyes, everything that falls into the Trap is a Fierce Beast?!"
"I also just figured it out not long ago. His Target from the start wasn't some Hellish Demon God, much less those so-called Aliens, much less Small Fry like us! These Hellish Demon Gods who fell into the Trap are nothing more than Decoys. He is luring and capturing the true Fierce Beasts!"
Looking at the three people's confused gazes, Constantine let out a bitter laugh: "I just said this is a god war! He is dealing with that unique God in this Universe, that God, Yahweh!"
As soon as the name Yahweh was spoken, whether it was Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, or Captain America, the veteran, they were instantly stunned.
They hadn't expected at all that the Matters would involve God. You must know that in the Western World, especially in the Federation, God can be said to permeate their daily lives.
Even people like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne who aren't religious have many people around them who are Catholics or Christians. With more contact, they also have some degree of reverence for God in their hearts.
But why would Constantine drag this Matter to God?
"Didn't you notice? The time for this Sacrifice Channel is wrong. It's too slow!" Looking at the three confused people, Constantine took a drag of the cigarette in his mouth until it was a butt. He threw the cigarette butt at his Foot, raised his leg in a cast, sharply poked down with his toe, grinding out the cigarette butt.
Then he took out another Cigarette from the crumpled pack, lit it, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled Smoke Rings. Along with the Smoke Rings, he also exhaled his Explanation.
"Generally speaking, in Dark Magic, even the most complex Sacrifice, the preparation process can take several months, years, or even more than ten years. Most of the Time is wasted on those Magic Materials. Those strange Magic Materials, like Mermaid's tears, Dwarf's beard, indeed require a lot of Time for preparation.
But once the preparation work is complete, after the Sacrifice proceeds, whether it's Summoning Demons or offering Sacrificial Offerings to those Evil Gods, as long as a Response is received, the Time it takes for those Evil Gods and Demons to receive the Sacrificial Offerings is often very short. But the Sacrifice Time this time is too long!"
"I suspect He is using this Space for Fishing. Whether it's us or those Hellish Demon Gods trapped in this Space, we are all Fishing Bait!" Saying this, Constantine looked at the three people and let out a bitter laugh: "Have you ever fished with Fake Bait? It's using shiny Fake Bait to Drag across the Water Surface, creating splashes and movement, to lure and capture those true carnivorous Fierce Fish!"
"But what does this have to do with God?" Bruce Wayne and the other two exchanged glances, somewhat not understanding Constantine's Logic. Even if that unknown Existences is really Fishing, they couldn't figure out how this could involve God.
"What do you think is the difference between Heaven and Hell?" Constantine waved his hand, somewhat cruelly explaining the Reality of this World to the crowd. "I just said this is a god war,"
god war!
The Crusades back then, the Flames of War spread across all of Europe. That God also, with this war, overpowered the former God King of the Olympian Pantheon, Odin, and the King of the Norse Gods, Odin, becoming the unique God in the eyes of most people in the Western World.
Possessing immensely powerful Divine Power – this is the understanding that countless Black Wizards and Magic Users in the Magic World have of that "Lord"!
But in the Magic History that Constantine understands, after that unique God dominated the Faith of the entire Western World, many of His former Confidant Angels fell to Hell, becoming Hellish Demon Gods.
There are many intriguing Things in this. This is also one of the Reasons why Constantine doesn't trust Gabriel.
"Heaven needs the Existences of Hell. That unique God high above needs the Existences of Hell to help Him consolidate His Faith. If there were no Suffering in Hell, why would Mortals yearn for Heaven?"
Constantine's face was full of sarcasm. Having mingled in the Magic World for so many years, no one knew better than him how blurred the Boundary between Heaven and Hell was.
Many Hellish Demon Gods, in his view, are just Enforcers and fat Fish raised by Heaven. The more evil Hell is, the more glorious and righteous the Heaven depicted becomes. It is precisely because of the Existences of Hell that Heaven can be high above.
"Our God wouldn't just watch with open eyes as His own raised Piranhas are scooped up by someone with a Fishing Net. If He allows others to easily extend a Fishing Net into His fish pond, then His Reputation as the unique God, built over thousands of years, would be completely ruined! Look, His people are here!"
The Blood Mist that obscured the crowd's vision dispersed at this moment. The crowd within the Blood-Colored Light Pillar also saw clearly the World outside the Light Beam at this moment. That was a chaotic The Void.
Just at this moment, thousands of Meteors broke through The Void and suddenly smashed into The Void. Each Meteor carved out huge Scratches in The Void.
One of the Meteors fell not far from the Blood-Colored Light Pillar. Only to see Fire and Light light up from within the falling Meteor.
That Light and Flames seemed to contain a being like an Elf. Through the Fire and Light, one could even see their Wings.
But as they stood up, more of The Void surged towards them, covering them, replacing them, turning them into Lava Giants Burning Blue Flames.
Another Vermilion Lightning lit up. An Angel of Light and Flames over a thousand meters tall fell into this The Void.
That Angel was rarely not enveloped by The Void. He had twelve pairs of pure white Wings. Between the Wings burned the most Burning Flames, yet He looked as pure as Light.
"Michael!"
In the Temporary Shelter, in the crowd's terrified gazes, a Marine suddenly grew twelve pairs of Pitch black Wings from his back. His entire body transformed into a Ram-headed Demon, letting out roars towards the Old Rival outside the Light Beam.
Outside the Blood-Colored Light Pillar, twelve pairs of pure white Wings slowly flapped behind Michael. He seemed to sense something. His cold gaze swept around. His gaze locked onto that Blood-Colored Light Pillar. He grabbed a White Crystal hanging in front of his Chest and said in a low, powerful voice: "I have intercepted this Dimension Space. Come over according to my Coordinates!"
Michael's powerful Mental Power passed through the White Crystal, transforming into a strange Energy Fluctuation that spread out, reaching a very distant Dimension named Heaven.
(end of chapter)