บท 1424: Chapter 961: The Road to Ruin for Constantine (I)_1
Constantine, who was lying on the edge of the cliff, was in a daze. But at this moment, Zatanna quickly rushed up.
Earlier, when Batman tried to jump off, she had attempted to stop him but missed by a split second.
Zatanna ran to the edge of the cliff and pulled the stupefied Constantine back. As she was dragging him away, she suddenly noticed a faint glow emitting from him.
Zatanna asked with surprise, "What's happening? Why are you glowing? Oh God, your wounds are healing!"
With the faint glow spreading all over Constantine's body, his soul-deep wounds that were scattered across his body started to fade.
Cuts that looked like lacerations, burns or patched-up wounds were all healing rapidly.
However, Constantine seemed to have gone mad. His entire body trembled as he yelled, "No! No! You can't leave me! You can't go... you can't go... you're a part of my soul!!"
"Lobo... Tansang... Astra! Astra!" Constantine gripped his own arm, shuddering like someone having a seizure, screaming in agony. Zatanna had no idea what was wrong with him, she could only try to hold him down and ask, "Who is Astra? What on earth are you yelling about?"
"A little girl... I killed her, she was dragged into Hell... just like today, I didn't... I didn't hold onto her..." Constantine's speech was a bit unclear, he added, "There was also Lobo... a wanderer. He had his heart torn out by a demon because of me, leaving this scar...".
Constantine covered his chest with his hand, but when he removed it, he found nothing there, and he let out another scream.
Zatanna couldn't understand why Constantine was acting out so suddenly, she tried to calm him down, "Don't do this, John! John! Look at me, relax, this is a good thing..."
"The disappearance of these scars means that the devils will not bother you anymore. The sins you have committed, the traces left by magic, will all disappear after they are gone. You can return to a peaceful life. Weren't you the one who always advised me that way?!"
"No..." Constantine trembled, "You don't understand... you don't understand... They are the reason I live, these wounds are the meaning of my existence..."
Zatanna vehemently shook her head, "You've gone mad, I know it hurts to think about their fall, but it's okay, we can still find a way to save them, it's not like you haven't been to Hell before."
"As long as we pay a sufficient price, the devils would be willing to release them. But right now, you need to calm down and think about where to start in order to bring them back... Constantine!" Zatanna grabbed Constantine's shoulders and looked into his eyes.
"Antilanguage Magic is a natural ability I was born with. I don't have to pay a price for it, so I simply don't understand dealing with devils. Only you can do that. So now, only you can save Bruce and Shiller! Can you calm down a bit?!!"
By the time Zatanna finished, she was nearly yelling, but Constantine didn't move. He used his hand to prop himself up on the ground, lowered his head, and said:
"I've killed many of my friends and innocents, each of them left a scar on my soul, causing me endless pain..."
"But it's this pain that lets me go on living, lets me realize I'm paying a price for my dirtiness, wickedness and ungratefulness..."
"The physical pain frees me from the guilt within my heart. Whenever I feel guilty, pain is my antidote. Every time I feel as though life is worse than death, I feel as though I can somehow make it up to the victims..."
"So, I can't be healed... Stop it! Stop it!" Constantine got up like a man possessed, as if he were seeing some kind of illusion. He swung his arms around, yelling, "Get back! Get back! Don't come near me!"
Zatanna had no choice but to tightly hold onto him, but after the disappearance of his scars, Constantine's soul power became even stronger, and Zatanna couldn't hold him back.
With Constantine shakily standing on the edge of the cliff, almost about to fall over, Zatanna was at a loss. She pointed at Constantine and said, "Freeze!"
A beam of light flew towards Constantine's body, instantly immobilizing him. But within a few seconds, Constantine started to struggle hard to break free. Zatanna cursed and cast another spell.
She grabbed Constantine's soul and glanced at the Hell below the cliff. She hesitated, but summoning a Fire Ring Portal, she left the place with Constantine.
Throughout the journey, Constantine struggled and cursed non-stop. Every so often, Zatanna had to recast the binding spell. When they finally returned to the Batcave through the Spirit Realm, Zatanna was so exhausted, she could hardly breathe.
After a brief rest to watch Constantine who was about to break free from his bonds again, Zatanna grabbed his soul and forcefully pushed it back into his body, then woke from her own spiritual form.
But as soon as she woke up, Constantine shot up from the couch like a dying fish, starting to scream again. Zatanna had to pin him down again and ask, "What are you yelling about?!!"
Zatanna held onto Constantine's shoulders, and his struggling caused his shirt to become disheveled. Looking down his collar, Zatanna gasped, "Oh my God! The scars on your body have disappeared too!"
Constantine became somewhat dazed. Zatanna cupped his face, carefully examining him and then said, puzzled, "Something's off, not only are the scars gone, you even look a bit younger?"
"I remember you telling me before how old you were? Was it 35 or 36? But you looked around 45...." Zatanna stretched out her hand and gently touched Constantine's eyelids. Then she said, "You really look younger now. You look like you're just 30."
Zatanna contemplated for a moment, then said, "All your debts have been paid off, including the lifespan you once sacrificed, so the scars on your soul, the scars on your body, all have disappeared, and your age has been restored."
Zatanna stretched out her hand, a spark of light shining at her fingertip, then gently touched the center of her eyebrows. Her eyes glittered with a crystal-clear lustre, and when she looked at Constantine again, she said in shock, "Jesus! John, you're unbelievably healthy now, your soul activity is stronger than any magician I've ever seen..."
Upon hearing the word magician, it seemed as if a switch had been flipped in Constantine. He suddenly jumped up from the ground, making Zatanna stagger, then he reached trembling hands into his trench coat pocket, pulling out two crumpled talismans.
He concentrated, flicking the talismans again and again, but there was no reaction. Suddenly, he turned his head and stared intently at Zatanna, saying, "Casting materials... give me some casting materials!! I know you have them!!!!"
"You want to use magic?" Zatanna climbed up from the ground, then snatched the two talismans from Constantine's hand, saying, "You used to always teach me not to abuse magic, not to trust magic too much. How come when it comes to you, you forget all that?!"
"John, haven't you figured out your situation yet?" Zatanna, with her hands on Constantine's shoulders, said, "You don't have any debts anymore! You are now a normal person!"
"That is to say, you won't be bothered by any devils or angels anymore, you can live a peaceful life!"
Zatanna stared into Constantine's eyes, a hint of sadness showing in her brows, saying, "Though I'm not as pessimistic about magic as you are, I also know that it's a river that one can never escape once they step foot into it."
"When we were young, we all wetted our pants out of ignorance, all the magicians in this world are the same. Once they've used magic once, they can never avoid being haunted by the curse of the Incubus."
"Stepping one foot into this circle, one would eventually fall into the vicious cycle of paying debts with debts, until the soul falls into Hell."
"But now... But now!" Zatanna said somewhat excitedly, "You've escaped this cycle! Constantine! You are the luckiest magician in the world, you have the chance to start all over!!"
"As long as you stay away from magic, you won't repeat this mistake! You are free!"
Constantine's eyes were somewhat vacant, but he shook his head slowly, then lowered his gaze to Zatanna, saying, "Give me the casting materials..."
"No, I won't give them to you." Zatanna took two steps back, saying, "That would be harming you. Even though I myself like using magic, I would never teach others to use it, that would be dragging an innocent person into trouble, and that includes you."
"As for Bruce and Shiller..." Zatanna took a deep breath, then said, "I will find a way to contact the people in our family, let them contact the devils in Hell, and see if they are willing to make an offer."
"Both their souls have special characteristics, no devil would be willing to let go, once they're at a standstill, there's a possibility for negotiation. As for you, John, you should go home."
"Don't leave! Little Zha! Don't leave!" Constantine stood in his spot, watching Zatanna's back, begging, "Stay here, keep me company..."
Hearing Constantine's trembling voice, Zatanna clenched her fists, but her steps eventually stopped. She walked back, looking at Constantine and saying, "You're a normal person now, John, you've been given a new life, you should be happy about this."
Constantine shook his head and said, "You don't understand, Little Zha, it's not that I couldn't pay off my debts. You should know, there are too many unclaimed items in the cosmos, if I make an effort to collect them, I might not be able to satisfy everyone."
"But I was unwilling to do that, I just borrowed more and more, my goal was not the power they lent me, but the consequences of not paying my debts."
"The devils will go to any length to retrieve their debts, including tormenting my body, lashing my soul, allowing me to experience relentless punishment in nightmares, but that's exactly what I needed..."
Constantine showed a sorrowful expression, saying, "I'm not the person you imagined, who can murder friends without feeling guilty."
"Only the pain in reality could keep me away from this guilt..." Constantine took a deep breath, leaned against the wall, slowly sat down, his hands covering his face, speaking in a voice filled with intense pain:
"But Shiller... my good friend, he saw through this when he was with me."
"So, he used the most straightforward method, eliminated all these pains, making it impossible for me to escape, those were my old debts..."
"He saw all this coming!" Constantine's knuckles turned a little white, he gritted his teeth and said: "He knew that as long as he jumped, Batman would definitely jump too!"
"The one who once wanted to save me, and the one who really saved me, both plummeting into Hell together, that would be the new debt that will be harder to pay off than all of the old debts combined..."
"The old debts can't be escaped, the new ones are difficult to repay..."
"Am I saved?" Constantine leaned his head back, looking at Zatanna, speaking in a tone full of despair:
"No, I will never be saved."
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