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Chapter 361: Let Stephen Go
Tony looked at Raven and said in a gentle tone, "You should go back first. If you continue to stay on Earth, more and more people might come after you."
Raven lowered her head, her petite body shrouded in a black robe.
The scene seemed to freeze in that moment. Tony, tall and clad in a black robe, sat in his seat, watching with a rarely seen gentle gaze. Raven, completely enveloped in her own black robe, looked up slightly at the long-renowned Sorcerer Supreme.
"You'll help me, won't you?" Raven asked with a hint of hope.
"I will help *you all*," Tony corrected her. "This is what I owe you, and I will repay it no matter what."
Raven lowered her head again in thought, then slowly looked up, a smile gracing her lips. Her true form was revealed as four crimson eyes, radiating a malevolent aura, appeared on her face.
The Sin, so dense it was almost tangible, made Constantine and Zatanna's expressions change on the spot. Constantine was fine; having dealt with all sorts of demons, he could still hold his ground.
But deep Fear appeared in Zatanna's eyes, and she couldn't help but take a step back. In that single step, she seemed to see countless Lost Souls wailing in agony.
That black Sin transformed into innumerable twisted, suffering faces, whispering something to her and filling her heart with immense dread.
But Zatanna quickly composed herself. As the scion of a powerful magical family, her experience was still limited, but her mental fortitude was excellent.
Those four eyes, which seemed to carry an immense Sin from birth, were not exactly comfortable to look at. But under Tony's gaze, they were like four beautiful red jewels, shining with a brilliant color in the dim light.
After watching for a long moment, Tony finally spoke in admiration, "Not bad. Very beautiful eyes."
This was a sincere compliment. The flawlessly vibrant red, as if dyed in fresh blood, was perfectly clear and translucent.
Raven paused. This seemed to be the first time anyone had ever called her eyes beautiful. In the past, she had always desperately hidden them, hiding her identity as a Demon.
She suddenly felt a bit at a loss. After a moment of hesitation, she took one last look at Tony, as if to commit him to memory, then turned and left.
The instant the door closed, Raven's figure had already vanished, along with the astonishing demonic aura.
Tony remained seated, staring into space, silent for a long time.
Making a promise is simple. The hard part is fulfilling it.
Three Infinity Stones shone against each other within his sleeve. Their immense Power was already causing his body discomfort. Tony frowned slightly, concealing the stones once more and using a Spell to temporarily seal them, reducing the connection between them.
It was this difficult just to hold three Infinity Stones. If he were to gather all six, the burden would be even more terrifying. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, it would be truly impossible.
It seemed that no matter what, he had to make a trip to Asgard.
"Next, it's time to settle the score between us, Constantine." Tony resumed tapping his index finger on the desk, fixing his gaze on Constantine with a strange smile.
"I admit I was wrong. I shouldn't have associated with that bastard Mephisto," Constantine immediately threw his hands up in surrender, his eyelids drooping, looking somewhat dejected.
"Is that all? What else? After you secretly learned a large number of Arcane Arts at my Kamar-Taj, you immediately snuck away. How should we settle that score? If I hadn't held back Mordo and the others, they would have torn you bastard limb from limb by now."
Tony's expression shifted, making Constantine's heart pound with fear. Zatanna's scalp tingled as she turned to Constantine and demanded, "Just how much more have you been hiding from me?"
"He's hidden a lot from you, Zatanna," Tony said, emphasizing the word "educate." "If I were you, I would 'educate' him properly on not lying and selling out his teammates."
Zatanna and Constantine got along quite well, and Tony, out of a mischievous impulse, had no qualms about giving their relationship a hard kick.
Constantine gave a bitter smile. "Alright, I'm willing to hand over the Grand Summoning Art. That's my ace-in-the-hole Spell."
Only then did Tony nod in satisfaction, threatening, "You know the consequences of deceiving me. My patience is limited."
Constantine was cursing up a storm internally, but on his face, he maintained a look of bitter helplessness.
The Grand Summoning Art was one of Constantine's powerful Summoning Spells, full of uncertainty. Even Constantine himself had never used it completely.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't. The current Constantine, even if he gave it his all, couldn't fully deploy this Spell. His mastery of Magic was not yet sufficient.
As for this Spell, Tony had coveted it for a long time. If he could get his hands on it, it would serve as a life-gambling trump card in the most critical moments.
"How on earth did you know about this Spell? I've never told anyone," Constantine asked, his face crestfallen.
"I'm the Sorcerer Supreme. You can't hide anything from me," Tony sneered.
Constantine thought "son of a bitch" in his heart, but he kept a look of dismay and heartache. He instinctively wanted to run, but seeing the dangerous, cold glint in Tony's eyes, he dismissed the improper thought.
Tony then turned to Zatanna and instructed, "If you're willing, I can give you a chance to enter Kamar-Taj. But without my permission, you cannot teach Kamar-Taj's Magic to others."
Zatanna nodded repeatedly, completely forgetting about her little lover, Con. Overjoyed, she asked, "Then when can I go to Kamar-Taj?"
"I'll give you two months. As long as you can find Kamar-Taj within two months, it won't be a problem," Tony said.
Two months was practically a guaranteed pass.
Zatanna was very smart. She prepared to leave at once, opening the door and running off happily.
In the small room, only Tony and Constantine were left. Seeing Zatanna run off, Constantine felt increasingly helpless.
Zatanna hadn't just left for Kamar-Taj; she had left to give the two of them some space.
It looked like he really couldn't keep the Grand Summoning Art...
Bracing himself, Constantine relayed the detailed magic circle and Spell to Tony, who committed each detail to memory. It was a tedious process, especially for Magic of this level. Even though Tony was a Demigod, it took him a full five minutes to memorize all the details.
Its complexity was simply dazzling. And that was just the level of drawing and chanting; to truly cast it perfectly, the difficulty was astronomical.
A long while later, Constantine left with his head hanging low. The moment he stepped out of the house, his expression changed, and he bolted at full speed.
"Finally dealt with that guy... And all it cost was a single Spell," Constantine thought smugly, heaving a sigh of relief. When he thought about all the Magic he had learned at Kamar-Taj, he couldn't help but feel he had come out ahead.
Tony paid no attention to Constantine's muttering, nor did he care to. One should never overestimate Con's integrity, or they would pay a heavy price. You never knew when that scoundrel might have a change of heart and lend you a hand.
The overwhelming likelihood was that he wouldn't.
"Perfect. First, I'll go find someone. I'll just let Stephen go..." Tony slowly rose to his feet, squinting at the world outside the window.
The old fan overhead continued to creak slowly, like a doddering old man. A faint breeze appeared, then vanished just as quickly, leaving no trace.
Tony's figure disappeared without a sound. Everything became quiet again, with only the old electric fan still spinning stubbornly.
(end of chapter)
Tony looked at Raven and said in a gentle tone, "You should go back first. If you continue to stay on Earth, more and more people might come after you."
Raven lowered her head, her petite body shrouded in a black robe.
The scene seemed to freeze in that moment. Tony, tall and clad in a black robe, sat in his seat, watching with a rarely seen gentle gaze. Raven, completely enveloped in her own black robe, looked up slightly at the long-renowned Sorcerer Supreme.
"You'll help me, won't you?" Raven asked with a hint of hope.
"I will help *you all*," Tony corrected her. "This is what I owe you, and I will repay it no matter what."
Raven lowered her head again in thought, then slowly looked up, a smile gracing her lips. Her true form was revealed as four crimson eyes, radiating a malevolent aura, appeared on her face.
The Sin, so dense it was almost tangible, made Constantine and Zatanna's expressions change on the spot. Constantine was fine; having dealt with all sorts of demons, he could still hold his ground.
But deep Fear appeared in Zatanna's eyes, and she couldn't help but take a step back. In that single step, she seemed to see countless Lost Souls wailing in agony.
That black Sin transformed into innumerable twisted, suffering faces, whispering something to her and filling her heart with immense dread.
But Zatanna quickly composed herself. As the scion of a powerful magical family, her experience was still limited, but her mental fortitude was excellent.
Those four eyes, which seemed to carry an immense Sin from birth, were not exactly comfortable to look at. But under Tony's gaze, they were like four beautiful red jewels, shining with a brilliant color in the dim light.
After watching for a long moment, Tony finally spoke in admiration, "Not bad. Very beautiful eyes."
This was a sincere compliment. The flawlessly vibrant red, as if dyed in fresh blood, was perfectly clear and translucent.
Raven paused. This seemed to be the first time anyone had ever called her eyes beautiful. In the past, she had always desperately hidden them, hiding her identity as a Demon.
She suddenly felt a bit at a loss. After a moment of hesitation, she took one last look at Tony, as if to commit him to memory, then turned and left.
The instant the door closed, Raven's figure had already vanished, along with the astonishing demonic aura.
Tony remained seated, staring into space, silent for a long time.
Making a promise is simple. The hard part is fulfilling it.
Three Infinity Stones shone against each other within his sleeve. Their immense Power was already causing his body discomfort. Tony frowned slightly, concealing the stones once more and using a Spell to temporarily seal them, reducing the connection between them.
It was this difficult just to hold three Infinity Stones. If he were to gather all six, the burden would be even more terrifying. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, it would be truly impossible.
It seemed that no matter what, he had to make a trip to Asgard.
"Next, it's time to settle the score between us, Constantine." Tony resumed tapping his index finger on the desk, fixing his gaze on Constantine with a strange smile.
"I admit I was wrong. I shouldn't have associated with that bastard Mephisto," Constantine immediately threw his hands up in surrender, his eyelids drooping, looking somewhat dejected.
"Is that all? What else? After you secretly learned a large number of Arcane Arts at my Kamar-Taj, you immediately snuck away. How should we settle that score? If I hadn't held back Mordo and the others, they would have torn you bastard limb from limb by now."
Tony's expression shifted, making Constantine's heart pound with fear. Zatanna's scalp tingled as she turned to Constantine and demanded, "Just how much more have you been hiding from me?"
"He's hidden a lot from you, Zatanna," Tony said, emphasizing the word "educate." "If I were you, I would 'educate' him properly on not lying and selling out his teammates."
Zatanna and Constantine got along quite well, and Tony, out of a mischievous impulse, had no qualms about giving their relationship a hard kick.
Constantine gave a bitter smile. "Alright, I'm willing to hand over the Grand Summoning Art. That's my ace-in-the-hole Spell."
Only then did Tony nod in satisfaction, threatening, "You know the consequences of deceiving me. My patience is limited."
Constantine was cursing up a storm internally, but on his face, he maintained a look of bitter helplessness.
The Grand Summoning Art was one of Constantine's powerful Summoning Spells, full of uncertainty. Even Constantine himself had never used it completely.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't. The current Constantine, even if he gave it his all, couldn't fully deploy this Spell. His mastery of Magic was not yet sufficient.
As for this Spell, Tony had coveted it for a long time. If he could get his hands on it, it would serve as a life-gambling trump card in the most critical moments.
"How on earth did you know about this Spell? I've never told anyone," Constantine asked, his face crestfallen.
"I'm the Sorcerer Supreme. You can't hide anything from me," Tony sneered.
Constantine thought "son of a bitch" in his heart, but he kept a look of dismay and heartache. He instinctively wanted to run, but seeing the dangerous, cold glint in Tony's eyes, he dismissed the improper thought.
Tony then turned to Zatanna and instructed, "If you're willing, I can give you a chance to enter Kamar-Taj. But without my permission, you cannot teach Kamar-Taj's Magic to others."
Zatanna nodded repeatedly, completely forgetting about her little lover, Con. Overjoyed, she asked, "Then when can I go to Kamar-Taj?"
"I'll give you two months. As long as you can find Kamar-Taj within two months, it won't be a problem," Tony said.
Two months was practically a guaranteed pass.
Zatanna was very smart. She prepared to leave at once, opening the door and running off happily.
In the small room, only Tony and Constantine were left. Seeing Zatanna run off, Constantine felt increasingly helpless.
Zatanna hadn't just left for Kamar-Taj; she had left to give the two of them some space.
It looked like he really couldn't keep the Grand Summoning Art...
Bracing himself, Constantine relayed the detailed magic circle and Spell to Tony, who committed each detail to memory. It was a tedious process, especially for Magic of this level. Even though Tony was a Demigod, it took him a full five minutes to memorize all the details.
Its complexity was simply dazzling. And that was just the level of drawing and chanting; to truly cast it perfectly, the difficulty was astronomical.
A long while later, Constantine left with his head hanging low. The moment he stepped out of the house, his expression changed, and he bolted at full speed.
"Finally dealt with that guy... And all it cost was a single Spell," Constantine thought smugly, heaving a sigh of relief. When he thought about all the Magic he had learned at Kamar-Taj, he couldn't help but feel he had come out ahead.
Tony paid no attention to Constantine's muttering, nor did he care to. One should never overestimate Con's integrity, or they would pay a heavy price. You never knew when that scoundrel might have a change of heart and lend you a hand.
The overwhelming likelihood was that he wouldn't.
"Perfect. First, I'll go find someone. I'll just let Stephen go..." Tony slowly rose to his feet, squinting at the world outside the window.
The old fan overhead continued to creak slowly, like a doddering old man. A faint breeze appeared, then vanished just as quickly, leaving no trace.
Tony's figure disappeared without a sound. Everything became quiet again, with only the old electric fan still spinning stubbornly.
(end of chapter)
