Morin looked at the taxi with license plate 5Q49931.
Through sight and sound, he could clearly hear the young man in the beret inside muttering to the rearview mirror.
"I'm Kramer. Chas Kramer, you jerk..."
If it weren't for Morin, no one else would have heard that.
The young man was clearly imitating someone's tone and posture-the kind you copy when you think it looks cool.
"Chas!"
A voice came from above.
A man leaned out of a nearby window.
"What is it?"
"Back the car up!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
The man pulled his head back inside.
"...Fine." Chas looked behind him and slowly backed the car up.
Less than a meter.
"I'm Chas Kramer, backing the car up a bit..."
Morin sighed.
This scene.
That face.
It already confirmed where they were.
Morin had seen that face before.
In the A.I. Artificial Intelligence world, that man had been Neo.
Here-
If nothing went wrong-
He was John Constantine.
John "Ultimate Bastard, Chain-Smoker, Exorcist, Blacklisted in Heaven and Hell, Bane of Teammates, No Bottom Line" Constantine.
Also known as-
Hellblazer.
And now came the real problem.
If Morin's memory wasn't wrong...
Hellblazer belonged to the DC Universe.
Since when did he become Marvel?
Didn't Morin receive a distress signal from a Sorcerer Supreme before coming here?
So-
Which Sorcerer Supreme wandered into the DC Universe?
Or...
Did Morin mess up the cross-universe teleport and aim in the wrong direction?
Questions flooded his mind.
Most were quickly dismissed.
The teleportation array couldn't be wrong.
Even if it was his first time using it, Morin had absolute confidence in his arrays.
"I'll pretend to be an exorcist for now and see what's going on."
Morin glanced at Tony, slumped in the passenger seat, still inside the study space.
"Perfect. You can get some real combat practice too."
...
"Phew..."
Constantine shook his hand, preparing to leave.
Then he noticed the drawing on the wall.
A red, mirror-like surface shattered like blood vessels.
A spearhead at the center.
"It looks like someone beat us to it."
Just as Constantine reached for the drawing, a voice spoke.
"Who are you?"
Constantine turned.
He froze for a moment.
But his hands didn't stop.
He took the drawing down, folded it, and tucked it into his coat.
"I'm Morin. Just call me Morin."
Morin smiled.
"This is Tony Stark."
"We're monster hunters. We sensed a sinful aura and came over, but it looks like you already handled it."
"First come, first served?" Constantine nodded.
"Naturally," Morin replied. "But we just arrived in this city. We have some questions."
"The aura here feels... strange."
"It's been like this for a long time."
Constantine frowned as he walked outside, eyeing their clothes.
"Half-angels and half-breed demons everywhere. Of course it won't be clean."
"But this time was different."
"That low-level soldier almost crossed the boundary into this world."
"I felt like he nearly succeeded."
Because Morin and Tony looked unusual, Constantine was willing to talk more.
"The boundaries between Heaven, Hell, and Earth are thin."
"If something weird happens because of a ritual or constitution, that's normal."
"I see." Morin nodded. "Thanks."
"Looking forward to meeting again."
He handed over a card.
"This is my number. If you run into demon trouble again, call it."
Constantine frowned at the card.
"You've noticed it too," Morin continued. "Something feels off."
"I have a bad feeling. A storm is coming, but I can't see it."
"Some vague guidance brought me here."
"And I happened to meet you."
"If Hell-or something else-tries to stir trouble, hunters should help each other."
"...Besides devils," Constantine asked quietly, "what else is there?"
His eyes flickered.
Morin's words matched his own instincts.
"Besides devils, there are angels."
Morin shrugged.
"Who knows?"
"I don't trust anything that isn't human."
"At least I know you're not a Christian," Constantine said.
"I'm Constantine. John Constantine."
"Clearly, neither are you."
Morin smiled.
"See you around. We'll investigate elsewhere first."
He led Tony away.
"Strange people..."
Constantine stared after them.
With spiritual sight, he could see their magic.
They weren't frauds.
And what they said-
Was unsettling.
As for Christianity-
He wasn't one.
He prayed.
He fought demons.
He wanted into Heaven.
But not because he loved it.
He just didn't want Hell.
That difference mattered.
"Who were those two?" A portly priest approached.
"Exorcists. Hunters."
"The real kind."
Constantine lit a cigarette.
"I've never seen them. From another city?"
"I need help, Father."
"You?" The priest froze, then clutched his necklace and began muttering prayers.
"That ritual's wrong," Constantine cut in. "It won't work."
"I need you to watch the radio. Newspapers. Anything."
"Use your sin-detection."
"Something's happening."
"That's all."
"...Fine."
The priest stared as Constantine walked away.
He didn't argue.
After all-
Constantine was the only one here who could actually fight.
...
"What does this mean?" Tony asked. "I thought we were going straight into a big fight."
"We are," Morin replied. "Bigger than you imagine."
"But I need to verify something first."
"So for now, we hide our strength."
"You're here to learn magic, right?"
"Here's the plan."
"My identity: tracker. I detect auras, no combat ability."
"I assist."
"You're the muscle."
"You handle the monsters head-on."
"...Roleplay is fine," Tony said. "But I still need a weapon."
"If we're dealing with angels or devils-"
"Of course there's a weapon."
Morin pulled out a wooden stick and handed it over.
"Thirteen and two-thirds inches."
"Phoenix feather."
"Wutong wood."
"Specially treated-extremely hard."
"Latest transformation system."
"Fixes slow transformation issues."
"Gold bands on both ends use the newest magical alloy."
"Excellent focus. Excellent amplification."
"Only one hundred Galleons!"
The Tale of Bringing Sorcerer Supreme Tony Stark to the DC Universe to Pitch Harry Potter Wands.
"...What is this?"
Tony stared blankly.
"And what's a Galleon?"
"A currency?"
"It's a standard wizard tool from a world I've been to."
"Like sling rings-both assist magic."
Morin sighed.
"I just finished this batch when something came up."
"They haven't sold yet."
"I'm just rehearsing ad copy."
"...How do I use it?" Tony asked.
He ignored everything else.
This was experience.
When dealing with Morin, sometimes even he couldn't keep up.
Not because Morin was incomprehensible-
But because Tony lacked context.
"It's simple."
Morin explained.
Most of the time was spent on special functions.
Auto-lighting.
Size changes.
Becoming bigger, thicker, harder.
Multiple enchantment modes.
Automatic attribute countering.
Manual override.
And the classic-
Self-destruction.
"Hold on," Tony said. "Self-destruction?"
"Explosion is art."
"I'm just inheriting a will."
"Let me guess," Tony waved the wand. "Another world's will?"
"Wrong. Many worlds."
Morin replied calmly.
"Human fear comes from insufficient firepower."
"Explosions are humanity's favorite solution."
Tony paused.
The wand felt right.
Too right.
As if it had been made for him.
The moment he held it, it felt... synchronized.
"Alright."
Morin nodded.
"I'm now your assistant hunter."
"Let's go."
"Your first real magical combat."
Tony didn't hesitate.
Normal people would practice first.
Tony believed-
Sometimes you learn to run before you walk.
People who say that are either idiots-
Or they're strong enough.
Tony wasn't an idiot.
...
"Two more hunters?"
In the building they left, a blond man in a suit frowned.
A coin flipped between his fingers.
Faster.
Faster.
He caught it.
"I've never heard of them."
"Their magic reaction isn't strong."
"They shouldn't matter."
Balthazar headed downstairs.
"Deal with Constantine first."
"I can't let him interfere."
"It's almost time."
"Once it succeeds..."
"I'll be the greatest contributor."
...
"So what's the deal with angels and devils?" Tony asked in the car.
"Do they exist in our universe?"
"They do," Morin said after thinking. "But not like this."
"In your universe, souls belong to Death."
"That's natural law."
"Heaven and Hell are just powerful dimensions."
"In this universe..."
"The god of Death hasn't shown up."
"Otherwise, this would've started a god-level war."
"So..."
"They're illegal," Tony said.
"...Yes." Morin nodded.
"I think I know why we were called."
"Why?"
"You said it."
"They're illegal."
"Angels. Demons."
"Different species."
"So why do they get to decide where human souls go?"
Tony stared at him.
"Now I believe you're about to do something huge."
"Relax."
"Not planet-destroying."
"...You've destroyed a planet?"
"One without life."
"To trap a being that threatened the universe."
"Not your universe."
"So don't panic."
"In short-"
"I'm qualified."
"You focus on magic practice."
Morin looked ahead.
Anticipation rose.
As a human, he felt no affection for Heaven or Hell.
Relatively speaking, Heaven was better.
But this time-
Something was different.
Not because of him.
Not because of Tony.
Something else.
His intuition told him so.
Who cared?
It was time.
Time to do something big.