"Mr. Patrick!"
Held in Peter's arms, Zatanna's lips trembled as she spoke, her face instantly turning crimson.
Peter's other free hand was gripping the ears of Burkes, the rabbit.
With a "thud," Peter landed safely on the ground, carrying the rabbit and Zatanna.
"I told you not to use magic indiscriminately here."
After a free-fall that nearly scared him witless, Burkes grumbled at Zatanna, "If it weren't for Mr. Patrick, you almost got me splattered into a meat patty!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, my mind just got heated and I did it!"
Zatanna apologized to the rabbit guiltily.
Peter put her down. "It seems you can't control your magic very well yet, Little Za. Remember not to 'disappear everything' when you get angry next time."
He was truly afraid of such a mischievous child with magic, who might just utter a spell in anger and make him utterly ecstatic or utterly miserable.
"No, of course not."
Hearing Peter's teasing, Zatanna explained, blushing, "My emotions are usually very stable."
As she spoke, she cast her gaze around the surroundings.
In front of them, an dark red door stood across their path.
"There's another door here. Perhaps we can search room by room."
Zatanna offered her suggestion.
Burkes shook his head and said to Zatanna, "I have to warn you, Zatanna, if you find the Black Gate, whatever you do, never open it."
"Black Gate?"
Zatanna asked the other party in confusion, "What is the Black Gate?"
"The Realm of the Dead, it's the last exit from this World."
Zatanna continued to ask, "Is it hell inside?"
"More or less. Anyway, I know that no one who enters the Black Gate can ever come out, but sometimes, it's said you can also find your answers there."
The rabbit twitched its ears and replied to Zatanna.
"There's no other way anyway."
Zatanna looked around; there was only one room here now, so they had to try.
Even if they encountered the Goblin kitchen again, with Peter present, she believed the Goblin couldn't threaten her safety.
Gathering her courage, Zatanna pushed open the door with a "creak" and entered the room.
What suddenly met her eyes were mountains of books.
Innumerable bookshelves lined up, overflowing with books, and even on the floor, thick stacks of books and papers were piled up.
Looking at everything before her, Zatanna swallowed.
"Is this a World of books? My father is a complete bookworm; this place would suit him very well."
She was just complaining when a strong gust of wind suddenly howled.
Accompanied by a rumbling sound, a mountain-like figure suddenly appeared before them.
"Guess the riddle wrong, and you shall not advance a single step!"
The monster emitted a thunderous voice.
Startled, Zatanna and the rabbit quickly stepped back.
The monster had the body of a lion and the face of a human, with wings on its back, and its breathing sounded like thunder.
Although the monster was huge and terrifying in appearance, it was not made of flesh and blood, but of folded paper.
It looked like a monster made of paper.
"It's Sphinx!"
Burkes looked at the paper monster before him and said in shock, "Sphinx gives riddles; it's their duty!"
"Riddle?"
Zatanna stopped her urge to flee and looked at Sphinx.
"He gives riddles?"
Sphinx rumbled, "If you guess correctly, you shall receive a boon."
"Boon? Does that mean a reward?"
Zatanna immediately became interested. "If we guess correctly, can you let us leave here? And can you tell me where my father is?"
"First, guess the riddle!"
Sphinx spoke the riddle to the three of them— "My spine is stiff, my body is pale, but I always have stories to tell."
"Beware, guessing wrong is a great taboo!"
After hearing the riddle, Zatanna looked at Peter for help.
She wasn't very good at guessing riddles.
Burkes thought for a moment but couldn't come up with an answer either.
"I got it!"
Zatanna had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of an answer. "I guess the answer is a talkative zombie."
"Zombies have stiff spines and pale bodies, that fits."
Before Zatanna could finish speaking, Sphinx rumbled, "Those who guess wrong shall be severely punished!"
With that, it swung its palm towards Zatanna.
In the nick of time, Peter moved to Zatanna's side and quickly pulled her away.
With a "boom," a pit was smashed into the ground where Zatanna had been standing, and wood splinters flew everywhere.
Although it was a monster made of paper, both its strength and speed were extraordinary.
Before Sphinx could attack again, Peter extended his hand towards it.
"Wait! I know the answer."
Hearing Peter say he knew the answer, Sphinx stopped its movements, lowered its head, and looked at him. "Either guess correctly, or be punished!"
Peter glanced at the books placed on the ground and said, "My spine is stiff, my body is pale, but I always have stories to tell is a book. The answer is a book!"
"You guessed correctly!"
Sphinx emitted a booming sound.
"That's amazing, Mr. Patrick."
Zatanna exclaimed excitedly.
Peter silently glanced at her.
Is this really the famous great sorceress who will establish the Justice League in the future?
She can even guess a child's riddle wrong?!
He somewhat suspected that the Master of this Secret House was also a child, otherwise, why would such a riddle-giving monster appear?
Unaware that Peter was complaining about her, Zatanna excitedly asked Sphinx, "Since we guessed correctly, can you take us out of here?"
"Yes."
Sphinx rumbled, taking heavy steps to lead the way for them.
Its huge body leaped out of the doorway and flew towards the upper floor. Peter, carrying Zatanna and the rabbit, followed closely behind it.
Soon, Sphinx led the three to an open area and said to them, "There are several doors ahead. You only need to choose one to leave. I wish you a correct choice."
After speaking, Sphinx flapped its wings and left the place.
Looking at the several doors of various shapes and styles in front of her, Zatanna scratched her head in distress. "Every room is scarier than the last. Honestly, I don't really want to go in anymore."
Peter was looking at the doors in front of him, just about to speak, when he heard the howling of wind and snow.
Immediately after, a bone-chilling coldness swept over them.
"We meet again, Zatanna, and Peter Patrick."
The Witch Queen's familiar voice rang out behind the two.
Peter turned his head and saw the Witch Queen in a white trench coat.
Seeing the Witch Queen appear, Zatanna instantly froze.
"I originally thought it would take you some time to find this place, but I didn't expect your speed to be quite fast."
The Witch Queen smiled as she spoke to them.
"You!"
Zatanna looked at the other party angrily, "What exactly do you want?!"
"My purpose, haven't you always been very clear about it? Just tell me the secret magic in this house, and we can go our separate ways. I will let you leave, and I can even help you find your father."
Hearing the other party say she could help her find her father, Zatanna's eyes lit up.
But she quickly shook her head and said, "No, I don't want to find him now, because he deceived me. He made me believe my mother was dead all this time."
"Uh…"
Hearing Zatanna say that, the Witch Queen choked.
"Hey, I say, did you forget about me?"
Peter coughed, stepped forward unhappily, and asked the Witch Queen.
"No, of course I wouldn't forget you, Mr. Patrick."
The Witch Queen turned her gaze to Peter. "You are powerful and mysterious, but… you don't understand magic, you don't understand the mysteries of magic, and you don't know my status in the magic World."
"Is that so?"
Peter looked at the confident Witch Queen and said to her, "I'm not interested in your status in the magic World, but you got the key to this place, didn't you? Why can't you still uncover the secret of the Secret House?"
When Peter asked this, the Witch Queen's expression became somewhat unpleasant.
"The key only let me enter here. Even though I got the key, this damned Secret House still refuses to share its secret with me!"
At this point, she changed her tone, looking at Zatanna with hateful eyes, "You must know its secret. Tell me! Zatanna."
Peter interrupted her before she could finish speaking.
"Do you know why you can't know the secret? Because you look too scary right now; it might be frightened by you."
Before his words finished, Peter instantly activated his Super Speed and moved towards the other party.
With a "bang," the Witch Queen's body was heavily knocked flying, smashing onto the floor with a deafening sound.
Taking advantage of the moment the other party fell, Peter moved forward again, ready to completely deal with her.
But the moment he took a step, he felt the space around him solidify.
An invisible magical force acted upon his body.
At the same time, Zatanna and Burkes, who were present, were also instantly controlled by this magical force.
The somewhat bewildered rabbit hadn't even reacted before it was instantly turned into a doll with a "poof."
As the intense spatial pressure swept through, the intricate magic circles on the ground also appeared.
The Witch Queen, who had risen from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at Peter coldly: "I am the Witch Queen, the ruler of the entire Spirit Book Hell. Do you think my magic can be compared to a half-baked sorceress like Zatanna?!"
"I have already set up a magic circle here."
With that, she pointed her wand at Peter, who was fixed in space, "I'm going to turn you into a puppet! As my eternal collection!"
Accompanied by the buzzing of energy, the Witch Queen's body instantly erupted with endless, dazzling magic energy.
Facing the Witch Queen's transformation magic, Peter immediately activated his Celestial Power.
In an instant, the Celestial Power, like a protective shield, immediately covered his body.
Looking at the seemingly World-destroying magic energy before him, he could only place his hope in this Celestial Power that had once defeated Lucifer.