Bab 96: Father?
"Mm," Zane nodded.
"Under the barrier of that old woman, I can only descend to the mortal realm in a projected form, and my strength is basically similar to yours now. Although I'm confident I could defeat you, I cannot retain you. So why should I make an enemy of a future deity? I'm still waiting for you to ascend to divinity so we can crush that old, messy-haired God's dog head together," Satan patiently explained.
Satan valued Zane's future, which allowed him to communicate with him so calmly. If it were someone else challenging his authority, the irritable Uncle Satan would have dragged their soul into hell and thrown it into the flames long ago.
Zane's talents and future were worth giving him some face.
"Oh, I see."
After hearing this, Zane also nodded in understanding. It seemed that there was indeed a gap between myth and reality. At least Satan didn't seem as mindless and cruel as in the legends.
"Um, gentlemen, I'm about to die. Can we talk about my situation?" Constantine, pierced through the heart by a sword, knelt weakly on the ground, his tone filled with grievance.
Constantine was also surprised by how things had developed. How did Zane and Satan end up chatting like old friends?
Only then did Zane and Satan notice Constantine. Zane also remembered his initial purpose. The contrast between the strange Uncle Satan and the image in his mind was so great that after a moment of surprise, they almost forgot about Constantine.
"Lucifer, can you give me some face? How about I vouch for John Constantine?" Facing Zane's audacity, the amiability on Satan's face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a trademark smirk.
"Kid, I value you, but that doesn't mean you can push your luck."
"I, Zane , vouch for him!" Zane said slowly, staring fearlessly into Satan's eyes, even conveying a hint of desire and excitement.
"Ah, that's a pity!" Satan shook his head with a sigh.
He really didn't want to make an enemy of Zane, but John Constantine's soul was important to him. Constantine's soul was special, second only to those with the potential to become gods. Satan was planning to groom him into his own high-ranking officer in hell, to help manage the endless political affairs there.
Moreover, Satan was now feeling angry. As the lord of hell, his dignity did not allow Zane's repeated provocations!
In the next moment, an endless gust of wind mixed with black flames blew in all directions from Satan's center.
"Zane, have you made your decision?"
"Bring it on! Even if your true form descends, you won't take away my people!"
Zane's face was full of eagerness. He couldn't wait to test Satan's strength.
However, just as Zane and Satan were about to clash, a circular portal formed by orange sparks suddenly appeared in the void between them, and a distant beam of holy light rushed towards them.
Zane and Satan both stopped their actions simultaneously, knowing that someone was intervening, and they both guessed who it was...
(AN: Don't worry, I didn't deviate from the plot. The path to divinity was set from the beginning and is closely related to the later development. And don't you feel there's no dissonance between the path to divinity and the worldview of Marvel?)
Five minutes earlier, in Kamar-Taj, the Himalayas, known as the sacred place of sorcerers, the Ancient One was supervising her disciples' training when suddenly she seemed to sense something and turned her gaze westward. That was where Lucifer was descending, and at the same time, Gabriel in the New York church also noticed Lucifer's arrival.
"Hope you won't cause trouble, Lucifer."
The Ancient One silently returned to the hall of Kamar-Taj, using magic to remotely observe Satan's situation. She and Satan had been dealing with each other for thousands of years, and they had silently reached an implicit agreement: Lucifer could project himself into the mortal world, but he couldn't endanger it.
As for the archangel Gabriel, she didn't seize the opportunity like the Ancient One did. Instead, she transformed directly into a beam of holy light and headed straight for Satan. As an angel, she couldn't tolerate even a hint of darkness.
And so, the current scene unfolded. Upon seeing the Ancient One's arrival, Zane sighed irritably, realizing that today's confrontation was definitely not going to happen.
The beam of holy light, slightly lagging behind the Ancient One, landed on the ground, revealing the figure of Gabriel.
Zane looked at the Ancient One and then at Gabriel, realizing that they were almost identical, except for the color of their pupils, and Gabriel had hair (in the movie, the same actor played both characters).
After seeing the Ancient One arrive and Satan stop his actions, Zane's eyes kept shifting between the Ancient One and Gabriel, and he also guessed Zane's confusion.
"Gabriel is the petty creation of God based on the appearance of the Ancient One. When God was driven out of the mortal realm by the Ancient One, he created Gabriel to satisfy his vanity and to annoy our Dear Sorcerer Supreme," Satan explained. Both Zane and Satan then curiously looked at the Ancient One, wondering how she would react to Gabriel, who looked exactly like her but was a lackey of God. However, to their disappointment, the Ancient One remained as calm and expressionless as ever.
"Lucifer, you have violated our agreement and acted in the mortal realm," the Ancient One said lightly, as if nothing could shake her emotions.
"Ancient One, your days are numbered. I sense your power waning. Even if you steal Dormammu's power to extend your life, what does it matter? Your soul has reached its limit. When you die, the mortal realm will all be mine," Satan said with a smirk, his gaze burning hotly on the Ancient One.
Before the Ancient One could respond, Gabriel, already brainwashed by God, couldn't wait any longer and swiftly flew towards Satan.
"Satan, in the name of the Father, I shall strike you down!"
However, an embarrassing scene occurred in the next moment. Midway through her flight, Gabriel suddenly fell to the ground, experiencing an abrupt halt.
At this moment, Gabriel began to question her life, as her divine power had been withdrawn by God. In other words, she was now just an ordinary person with wings.
God was someone who learned from his mistakes. When creating Lucifer, he gave him a complete soul and perfect qualifications for self-improvement in power. In other words, Lucifer was an expanded version of God, created according to his own likeness. Lucifer had what God had, without any difference.
As a result, Lucifer, who had his own thoughts, felt disgusted by his creator's hypocrisy and promptly defected.
Later, God also created angels, but they were all neutered versions—lacking complete souls, lacking complete emotions, and their power sources all came from God himself. There was simply no possibility of defection. Even if something happened, God could immediately withdraw the divine power within the angels to avoid any losses.
Now, Gabriel was just like this. Acting recklessly, she faced Satan, who was on par with God, although Satan was currently a projection, so was she. Therefore, the outcome of the battle had been determined from the beginning. She, Gabriel, was doomed. So God immediately withdrew her divine power.
"It seems someone doesn't want to be your backup anymore," Satan said, looking down at the disgraced Gabriel still lying on the ground, his face bearing a mocking smile.
"Father?"
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