CH 43

Fully armed Mason eventually didn't wait for the brat behind the background to destroy his shop. It felt like you had prepared a table full of dishes with all your heart, but were informed at the last minute that none of the guests were coming.

Two words to describe it: disappointing.

One word to describe it: damn!

Mason glanced at the clock, feeling the pressure lift from his heart.

It was almost midnight.

Today's opening of the small shop was obviously a failure, so it was better to close early and continue to improve his alchemy skills in the magic suitcase.

As he stood up from behind the counter and was about to pull down the rolling shutter door, Mason suddenly saw a spark of light in the alley across the street.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a man in a khaki windbreaker walking slowly along the dark alley with his hands in his pockets.

Oh, isn't that the Black Magic Master, Constantine?

Mason didn't know what he was thinking, and a welcoming smile appeared on his face. He waved to Constantine and motioned for him to come into his small shop to chat.

"It seems that your alchemy has improved, young man."

As casually as last time, Constantine swept around Mason's small shop, his gaze lingering on the alchemical creations in the display case for a few seconds before sneering in a very annoying tone:

"I can tell you're hardworking, but your skills are a bit outdated. Are you really going to use these inferior scraps to exchange for materials? Listen to me, kid, you may not be cut out for this line of work. Mysterious alchemy is not as simple as playing with mud."

"You seem to be in a bad mood, even your words are full of resentment."

Mason thought Constantine was talking nonsense. He picked up a glass of water and poured it for Constantine, looking at his scruffy and haggard face and asking:

"Is it because things haven't been going well for you lately, my friend?"

"Don't mention it."

The magician leaned on Mason's counter, exhaling smoke rings as he complained:

"Tana and I have completely fallen out. She kicked me out of the Mystic Mansion. As you can see, I'm homeless now...sigh, I'm down and out."

"What happened?"

Mason asked curiously:

"Did Miss Zatanna find out about your research on soul artifacts?"

"No, it's not that."

Constantine shrugged and said in a low voice:

"A wicked succubus from the ninth circle of hell sneaked up on me in the bathroom and attacked me shamelessly. I had to fight her in that narrow space for three hundred rounds to defend myself. At the critical moment when I was about to succeed in physically exorcising her, guess what happened? Tana in bed woke up!

I was kicked out that night, almost losing my pants. Of course, I don't think that was the main reason...I think it was that bastard who likes to mess around with bats and spoke ill of me to Zatanna."

Constantine stood on the ground of Gotham, cursing the one master in Gotham City who couldn't be offended.

He cursed:

"Isn't it just digging up some unwanted antiques in Gotham? That bastard Batboy even accused me of using mass-destructive black magic in the city, causing Zatanna to call me a scumbag who takes lives lightly.

I'm really innocent.

Even if I did something bad, that's not the point!

I'm being blamed for something I didn't do.

It's really annoying. For the sake of the ninth circle of hell, don't let me find those bastards!"

Listening to Constantine pouring out his grievances, Mason immediately showed a look of solidarity, but his heart was a little uneasy.

Constantine didn't know that the seemingly loyal young man in front of him was the culprit who caused him to be kicked out by Zatanna...no! Wait! Constantine was kicked out because of his own fault!With such a beautiful girlfriend who also had a deep knowledge of magic, why would he still fool around with a demon from hell? This scumbag deserved to be homeless.

What did this have to do with him?

Setting aside the facts, even if he was 99% at fault, did Constantine not have that 1% of a problem?

This guy really needed to reflect on his own behavior.

"Okay, let's not talk about these unhappy things."

Mason quickly changed the subject, patting Constantine's shoulder and pointing to his small shop.

"You don't have to be homeless, friend. Although it may not be spacious, my shop is very welcoming for you to stay. If you can't stand this place, my friend Charles just took over the most luxurious bar in Gotham. I can reserve a private room there for you permanently."

No need to thank me, it's what friends should do.

Come on!

First, help me take a look at this."

The young man pulled down the roll-up door and announced the failed opening day of Cooper's shop. He then rolled up his left sleeve under the light and showed Constantine his arm.

Holding water and self-pitying, Constantine glanced over and saw the dark tattoo on Mason's arm that had changed dramatically under the light. He couldn't hold back and sprayed out the water.

"What have you been doing these past few days?"

The experienced black magic master's eyes widened in shock.

"I've only been gone for less than a week! How did this curse grow to this level? Did you complete a sacrilegious offering to that evil god with 999 pure souls as sacrifices in these past few days?"

"You!"

"You're only one step away from becoming the 'son of the devil'!"

"It's not that fast, I still have two levels to go."

Mason sighed inwardly.

He looked at the dark tattoo on his arm, which looked quite eerie and twisted under the light, like flames that seemed to be rotating if stared at for too long.

Constantine, who had always been indifferent, couldn't be careless in this situation.

He took the cigarette from his mouth as a medium for casting spells and recited a spell to make the ash fly and hover over the tattoo on Mason's arm.

First, he formed a magic barrier, then he took out a teardrop-shaped gem pendant from his pocket and carefully approached the tattoo.

The closer the pendant got, the brighter the holy light emitted from the crystal became. When it touched Mason's skin, the small crystal even outshone the light bulb above his head.

"Bang!"

In Constantine's painful exclamation, the valuable artifact shattered to pieces, causing sweat to appear on his forehead.

"This is not a problem I can solve, Mason."

A rare serious expression appeared on Constantine's face.

He seemed to feel a certain chill and after taking two steps back, he stared at the dark tattoo on Mason's arm and said:

"Besides coming to Gotham to teach that Batkid who seduced my girlfriend a lesson, I actually brought you some good news. I found a spell in Little Zha's family library. But obviously, I'm too late. The curse has entwined with your soul and coexisted with you. If I forcibly dispel it, it means your soul will also suffer severe damage."

"But there must be a way, right?"

Mason said:

"I don't need it to be completely dispelled, I can even accept long-term coexistence, but I must protect my soul from being eroded before the curse takes effect. If you lower your requirements, you must have a way, right?"

"Well..."

Constantine pouted unwillingly."It seems like he really has a way, but it's definitely going to cost him.

We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.

This is not a matter of waiting for a good offer anymore. The scum can tell that he's really backing down without even asking for compensation.

Zha Kang doesn't want to play anymore.

"Bang!"

Mason took out the remaining soul artifact, the magic book, from his luggage and slammed it on the counter in front of Zha Kang. The young man put his hand on the magic book and said to the dark wizard:

"Help me! I can give you this right now. You really want it, Constantine, I can feel it."

"I do want it."

Zha Kang glanced at the magic book on the counter and said with pursed lips:

"But this situation has already gone beyond my abilities, Mason. Learning soul separation can indeed save me a lot of trouble, but if I continue to get involved, I may not even live for three days. You are not one of us, so you cannot understand where my fear comes from."

The dark wizard lit another cigarette.

He stared at Mason with a pitying look and said:

"I also have many curses on me, representing the mess of my past life. I have many creditors 'above' and 'below', but they probably don't cause as much trouble as what you have on you. So sorry, friend. Your offer is tempting, but I can't help you."

"Bang!"

Mason didn't plead, but instead took out Grindelwald's Complete Works of Dark Magic and slammed it next to Voldemort's soul artifact research. Zha Kang's eyes immediately flickered.

The young man glanced at him.

He opened the suitcase next to him, took out the Elder Wand, which was broken into three sections, and placed it next to the two magic books.

Even though the Deathly Hallows had been shattered, the aura of disdain as the strongest weapon in the wizarding world still made Zha Kang's heart skip a beat.

Mason's eyes were deep as he reached into the suitcase again.

This time, he took out a small blood-red crystal...

"That's enough! Don't tempt me anymore!"

Constantine covered his eyes and shouted:

"Do you believe that I can just steal it from you right here and now? I am an unscrupulous black wizard!"

"Batman is patrolling seven blocks away right now. The location of my store is not chosen at random, friend."

Mason waved the bat phone in his hand, and the emergency dial had already popped up.

He pushed the various items on the counter forward and said:

"Of course you can steal them. I can't resist a master wizard, but I can guarantee that the Bat Kid you hate has a hundred ways to beat you up and send you to Arkham Asylum. But all of these things can be yours. Just help me. Didn't you say you brought me useful information?"

"I repeat, I cannot break that curse!"

Zha Kang raised his hands, took a hard drag on his cigarette, and exhaled a thick smoke ring. He walked up and took Voldemort's soul artifact research book without hesitation, his eyes flickering with an undisguised greed. The dark wizard licked his lips like a big bad wolf seeing a little white rabbit.

He said to Mason:"As the curse grows on you, it also means that the energy poured into you by that extradimensional evil god is increasing.

The 'attention' of those supernatural creatures is a symbolic thing that is difficult to explain in one or two sentences. You can understand it as a deeper connection between you and it.

This means that you can use the tattoo on your arm to actively extract some 'power' from that evil god."

Zha Kang's words flashed through Mason's mind like lightning.

He immediately remembered Old K's strange "Blinking Swordsmanship". After confirming that Old K was a witcher, Mason had been curious about where that "blinking" ability came from.

As far as he knew, only those with ancient bloodlines could have such an incredibly strong passive ability as space blinking, unless they had passed the grass trial to become a witcher, which could give them superhuman physique and magical power.

Now, Zha Kang has revealed the mystery to Mason.

Old K's passive blinking did not come from the witcher's inheritance!

It was the "blessing" of the evil god worshiped by the Star Association. Even the ability similar to "Force Drag" displayed by Mr. Hunter before was also from this.

"So, this is the real 'employee benefit'."

Mason blinked and whispered, touching the strange tattoo on his arm, saying to Zha Kang:

"How can I feel the hidden power?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Zha Kang flipped through Voldemort's spellbook and glanced at Mason, saying in a low voice:

"I'm just telling you that you can do it, not encouraging you to do it. For the sake of this reward, let me remind you, Mason, young man!

When your curse has grown rapidly, calling on the power of the evil god again may make you 'fall' faster.

You may think that you are firm in your will, but I can tell you responsibly that I have seen the terrible fate of everyone who actively deals with dark forces.

You should listen to the teachings of the Bat Boy and stay away from those tempting darkness."

"But aren't you doing the same thing?"

Mason said:

"I see you're living quite freely."

"Well, look at this little angel in front of me. You actually think your friend John will have a good ending in his life. Oh, this is the warmest thing I've heard this year."

Zha Kang covered his heart and said strangely:

"It's a luxury for me to go to hell intact after I die. You still take me as an example. Ignorance is fearless. Okay, since you want it, I'll give it to you.

Dear John never stops others from seeking death actively. This is the professional ethics of a black wizard.

But.

This 'handling fee' needs to be paid in advance. Take this as a reward."

Constantine waved his hand and put the elder wand, which had broken into three pieces, into his arms.

Mason saw it very clearly. He actually wanted to take the fragment of the magic stone when he reached out, but for some reason, this guy voluntarily gave up this real treasure.

"Don't be restrained, John, take it all."

The young man generously pushed everything in front of Zha Kang and said:

"Anyway, I may not have the chance to keep them. It's also a good choice to give them to your good friend. Take them all, take them all."

"So generous?"

Zha Kang looked at Mason suspiciously.

After confirming that Mason was not joking, he also grinned and put all the things into his seemingly never-full windbreaker pocket.

It's not Zha Kang's style to not take advantage of a good deal.After seeing Zha Kang take away everything he had brought out, Mason's face also showed a gentle and satisfied smile.

He took it!

Everyone saw it!

John Constantine accepted these priceless treasures!

Although he did not explicitly state that these treasures represented K Team's invitation to join, since Zha Kang took these obviously excessive rewards, he should be prepared to pay more psychologically.

In this way, Mason no longer had to feel guilty about inviting Zha Kang to an exciting and fun journey in another world.

Mr. Hunter reminded himself to strengthen K Team's strength as much as possible in the next two months to face future exploration tasks. Although Zha Kang had a bad personality, he was strong and had no bottom line, making him an excellent explorer in another world.

Coupled with the verbally agreed Catwoman and the loyal but not very capable Kite Man, the backbone of K Team was established, right?

"I'm confirming again, we're friends, right, John?"

Mason suddenly asked while looking at Zha Kang, who had a face of joy like a fox who stole a chicken.

The Black Magic Master reached out his "sincere" hand and shook Mason's hand, with an expression like he had met a long-lost, half-brother who had a different father and mother, and was moved.

This drama queen even brought a crying tone and said:

"Of course, Mason, don't insult our relationship with the word 'friend.' In my heart, you are already like a brother to me. Come on, get ready.

Let John help you cast a spell to gain power."