American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

351. I’m Laying Down the Law.

The voice belonged, naturally, to Alex, who was facing Darkseid in another universe.

"Stop rushing me. I just crossed timelines to get back here! You should know that the energy of that Time Stone fragment is limited, and it's already a miracle it got all of us back." Constantine silently lit a cigarette.

'Is that the sound of a lighter?'

Through Miss Minutes's control over the Timepad, Alex could briefly communicate across universes, though it wasn't easy. This small act was dangerous, as Darkseid might notice at any moment. But luckily, Alex was well-hidden, and the Timepad's tech was on a multiversal scale. Even Darkseid hadn't detected anything.

"Puff—ah!"

Constantine nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you heard right."

Alex: ???

'Constantine, listen to me—I—!'

Before he could finish, Alex's voice was abruptly cut off, followed by a painful cry and the deafening sound of an explosion.

"…I'm listening."

Constantine grinned.

Although it was somewhat amusing to hear Alex getting beaten up, Constantine didn't stop his own work. He knew what his task was and understood this was the critical moment.

Alex trusted him, which was why he handed such an important mission to him.

By the original plan, Alex was supposed to handle this mission himself, as he was more familiar with the Wasteland Universe, while Constantine had experience dealing with Darkseid.

But neither of them was the type to rely on others, so for the success of both universes' plans, Alex and Constantine had entrusted each other with their most crucial tasks.

At this moment, the fates of two universes, which would otherwise never have crossed, were entirely in the hands of Alex and Constantine.

"Constantine, what are you doing?" Logan noticed Constantine acting oddly and couldn't help but ask.

In response, Constantine just smiled and shrugged.

"Sorry, mate, I've got an appointment to keep. Gotta go."

"What? What kind of appoi—"

Before Logan could finish, and before anyone else could react, Constantine shuffled a deck of cards in his hands and, in an instant, disappeared in a flash of golden light.

After Constantine's departure, a brief silence fell over the time sled. Everyone, including Mister Fantastic who was adjusting the machine's course, stood there in a daze.

"What does he mean by that? Where did he go?" Susan couldn't help but ask.

"You're asking me?" Logan was equally bewildered. In truth, he knew very little about Constantine or these heroes from other worlds; after all, he was just a retired farmer.

"We need to know where he went! That Brit took the Ultimate Eraser!"

Suddenly realizing something, Mister Fantastic shouted.

"No, not only that! All the weapons of mass destruction we've stored are in his hands! Hurry, Logan, tell me where he went!"

"I really don't know!"

Logan's face showed his worry, and after a moment of thought, he added, "Wait, the Baxter Building! Go to the Baxter Building!"

Meanwhile…

'Constantine! Ugh, not again!'

"All right, all right, almost there. I know it's getting heated on your end, but you're facing Darkseid—maybe don't lose focus so easily?"

Outside the ruins of the Baxter Building, Pulsar and Gladiator's bodies had been carefully handled. Under the relentless onslaught of Doom's pre-prepared army of Doombots, even Gladiator struggled to keep up.

Furthermore, with the black magic bullets Doom had provided Madame Masque, along with Shazam's comparable strength, after hours of fierce fighting, Gladiator finally fell under the lightning summoned by Billy's shout of "Shazam."

Now, Star-Lord was facing off with Madame Masque, and it looked as if they were one word away from an all-out battle.

For Madame Masque, she had already followed Doom's orders to kill Gladiator and other alien invaders.

Even though Doom hadn't shared his next move and she couldn't reach him, she chose to stick to her usual approach, controlling the scene until Doctor Doom could issue new orders.

On the other side, Star-Lord wasn't about to let that happen. Peter Quill certainly hadn't expected Doom to send Madame Masque to support him, but there was no way he'd give up control of the Baxter Building.

Especially since she was a known supervillain, one of the masterminds behind the hero massacre. As a legacy of the Fantastic Four, the Baxter Building was not something he'd hand over.

The most critical point was that Wolverine Logan had already entered the timestream. Until Logan completed his mission and retrieved the Ultimate Eraser, Star-Lord wouldn't let anyone near the ruins of the Baxter Building.

Even with countless Doombots pointing their weapons at him, he wouldn't budge.

While Madame Masque and Star-Lord continued to argue, no one noticed a faint glimmer of golden light slip into the ruins.

"Listen, Crow, I'd suggest you avoid getting hit by Darkseid as much as possible. His attacks are devastatingly powerful, and even with magic defenses, you'll end up with internal injuries."

Materializing into his physical form, Constantine continued his advice as he stepped out from the shadows.

'Thanks for the tip, huh?'

Alex's voice came through again, though this time it sounded a bit rough and fierce.

'Cut the crap. My demon powers aren't as strong as Trigon's, so I'll be lucky to hold him off for another three minutes.'

Constantine knew Alex was ready to put his life on the line.

"That's enough."

Seeing Constantine suddenly disappear and reappear, Barbara was a bit puzzled. She rarely interacted with the magical master, and Batman had always told them to keep their distance from Constantine, so she didn't know him well.

"Constantine, where did you go? This world is dangerous, you know that. We must stick together to get through this—you can't just vanish without a word."

Ignoring Barbara's words, Constantine began surveying his surroundings as soon as he appeared. His gaze landed on a weakened Raven and didn't move.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Are you listening?"

Barbara watched as Constantine walked straight toward the weakened Raven, paying her no mind, and couldn't help but speak up.

"I hear you, my love, but sorry, I have two universes to save, so it'd be best if you kept quiet and didn't interrupt me."

Moving swiftly to stand before Raven, Constantine's magic was already prepared.

He hadn't been wasting time earlier; in fact, he didn't even need Alex's reminder. From the moment he returned to this timeline, he had been silently chanting a spell to prepare his magic.

"Constantine…"

After resting for a while, Raven's body had recovered somewhat, but her mental state was still worn down from the string of battles she had endured without any time to recover.

"Hi."

Greeting her with a calm smile, Constantine slipped a finely crafted dagger from his sleeve.

The cursed Astova Dagger!

Raven's eyes widened as she recognized what Constantine was holding.

"What are you planning to do?!"

But they were already too close. By the time she reacted, it was too late.

Constantine struck swiftly, plunging the blade into the blood-red crystal on Raven's forehead. No one present had expected Constantine to suddenly attack Raven. After all, in their minds, Constantine was a member of the Justice League, a hero.

"What did you just do?!"

Without a second thought, Barbara threw a Batarang his way. She didn't understand what was happening, but she couldn't just stand by while Constantine attacked Raven.

The Batarang barely came within a meter of Constantine before an invisible force deflected it in mid-air.

At the same time, the crystal on Raven's forehead shattered instantly. A black mist poured out, accompanied by a terrifying, ancient voice.

"It's been a while, daughter."

Hearing the nightmarish voice, Raven was overwhelmed with pain. Gripping her head, she let out a series of anguished cries.

"No… no! Aaargh…"

"I told you, I would return someday."

Trigon's voice echoed in everyone's ears, so powerful that even those on the surface, like Star-Lord and the others, heard it and felt a chill. Meanwhile, hidden nearby, Constantine, having completed his task, showed no excess emotion.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Constantine reached out, and within a golden magic circle, the Ultimate Eraser appeared in his hand like a lighter.

'Now for the crucial part.'

He raised his hand, feeling the strange energy emanating from the Ultimate Eraser. Even though he'd prepared meticulously, Constantine couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

According to Alex, the Ultimate Eraser's power depended on the strength of the wielder's will. If the user's will was strong enough, they could theoretically erase any timeline at will.

This was Constantine's first time holding such a terrifying artifact, and he wasn't sure if he had the willpower to alter a timeline.

He'd never even considered erasing a timeline before.

'Is it ready yet?'

Alex's voice returned, and Constantine finally broke into a smile.

"All set. It all comes down to this."

The only thing Constantine planned to erase was the cosmic barrier between the two timelines!

At the same time, Alex let out a sigh of relief.

'Great, give me three seconds. I'm going to rile up Darkseid!'

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
352. "Equivalent Exchange"!!!
353. Inter-Universal Migration.
354. The Great God Descends!!
355. The Open Plot - Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf.
356. The War on the Brink.