When Su Ming returned to the mezzanine, the others were gathered around Batman Owl's corpse, examining something.
"Ahem, it's done. Stop staring at the dead body. We have only one enemy left."
He cleared his throat and gave a few coughs behind the crowd.
Oliver tossed the intact body of Batman Owl onto the ground, stood up, and patted the dust off his cloak: "Wait, how did he do it?"
Su Ming exhaled, watching the floating dust in the air drift away, replaced by more particles filling the void.
"An old trick—the spell of time loop. If you die, your personal time rewinds, a magic specifically for negotiations... But I went to find Death and made a deal using the Sleep Demon's mask and some clues. No one can cheat death forever; you might escape for a while, but you won't escape forever."
Mackenzie playfully touched her chin, her pale fingers biting into it: "Just like the way you dealt with me, using Lucifer to threaten me and using Sleep Demon to threaten Death. You're really fearless."
"Watch your language, demon." Su Ming shook his head with a smile and ordered Strangulation to swallow Batman Owl whole: "Death is much more reasonable than you. I just mentioned someone was using magic to reverse time to keep dodging her warm embrace, delaying my precious time in finding the Sleep Demon, and she happily fixed the loophole."
"Is everything destined to die?"
Mackenzie sighed, shook her head slowly, and licked the blood off her fingers:
"When Batman Owl met me in the Realm of Death, he certainly wasn't as calm as you. Haha, calling me the Supreme Mage is no joke."
Su Ming shrugged and caught what's left by Strangulation.
There were some of Batman Owl's personal gear, some small magical artifacts, and some casting materials.
However, those dark knights without a Bat Belt really don't have anything on them to reverse the battle situation.
Su Ming casually fed some of the magic-fluctuating items to his Magic Floating Cloak. He wasn't sure what they were for, but they didn't seem powerful.
All made of Bat Gold in owl shapes, they looked like modern products, not worth much.
Magical artifacts are like antiques—the older, the more valuable. If a powerful warlock or god once used them, they have a pedigree and style.
These aren't; they look like they rolled off a production line.
Batman Owl's time magic is indeed skillful, but before the Supreme Mage, it's not enough. If he were in the DC World and could use the Time Gem, Su Ming would handle those messing with timelines himself.
Diana didn't care how Deathstroke killed the enemy; she was just relieved that now only the Laughing Bat remained as their enemy. Victory was in sight.
"So let's quickly find the Laughing Bat and kill him, then join up with Superman and the other heroes," she said.
Mackenzie shot her a glance from the corner of her eye: "No, once business is done, he's coming with me. You guys never stop with your chaos."
Su Ming pushed her away from Diana, her feet left two grooves on the ground: "Don't make decisions for me, demon. When to do what—I know well. Remember that Lucifer was once an angel, and angels don't mind either gender. Be careful, I might introduce him to a handsome guy so he'll never care about you again."
Mackenzie steadied her stance, biting her lip hard, shrugged her shoulders, and asked: "Are you talking about yourself?"
Su Ming pointed over his shoulder at Green Arrow: "No, him! He's now the most sinful person in the Multiverse. Humanity's filth is like the thick phlegm spit by God. Don't tell me sins aren't attractive to devils; you know Lucifer is the King of Sin, he's bound to fall for our Green Arrow Hero."
Oliver: "...Bro, that's a bit disgusting. Never mind setting me up with a guy; what's with calling it God's phlegm?!"
"How about God's sore pus?" Su Ming touched his chin, choosing a more refined metaphor.
Oliver sighed, running his hands through his hair like he was washing it: "Can we not use mucus-like metaphors?"
"Alright, alright, I won't." Su Ming redirected his attention to Mackenzie, speaking seriously: "Anyway, Raphael's already bent, Gabriel too, and Michael as well. They all fell for Earth's men... do you think Lucifer Morning Star, once the first angel, could maintain composure?"
Mackenzie held back her mirth, her pain and anger nearly causing her to burst out laughing.
Lucifer's composure?
If he had any composure or conviction, would he have fallen from grace? It's almost a given; if Lucifer saw the Green Arrow Hero, he'd certainly be captivated.
The sins of humanity were so thick you could see the black smoke. All the Lords of Hell combined didn't have so much sin.
That sweetness was like a jar of honey—not only bees but all flies would gather around it.
Unless she killed him before Lucifer saw him...
Mackenzie discreetly fingered the skull on her treasure sword, but Deathstroke's voice chimed in timely.
"You're thinking of killing him, right? I could tell you in advance, he carries Judas' Silver Coin, engraved with Holy Blood. Would you dare ignore God to try?"
Actually, God's current situation couldn't be too great—so many maddened angels probably signify something, but Mackenzie didn't have access to the intelligence Su Ming had.
All she knew was those days, just hearing the phrase 'My Lord commands you to obey' made her ears feel callused, and the Lords of Hell were treating it like an eternal war.
Taking advantage of intelligence gaps was an old trick of Su Ming's, but he guessed Mackenzie wouldn't dare to gamble.
Mackenzie stared at him, her expression shifting uncertainly. After a moment, she closed her eyes with a gasp, shivering slightly, a warm flush spreading across her face.
She opened her moist eyes to look at Deathstroke: "Fine, I'll step back. You said Gotham Nightmare just died. I'll return to Hell for your news, but don't push your luck."
Su Ming lowered his helmet, tidying his hair: "Though men like pushing limits, as I said, I know what I should do. You go back to Hell; I have my own plans on this side."
Mackenzie planted her treasure sword into the ground, and a pool of lava appeared before her: "Then I'll wait for you."
"Oh, by the way, take these back. Earth specialties." Su Ming pulled out the torture device blueprints Barry had found from his pouch, stuffing them into the Queen of Pain's hands: "Study them at leisure—quite interesting."
Mai Zi gave him a deep look, said nothing, and sank into the lava pool.
The entire ground returned to normal, revealing the cement flooring. If not for the lingering scent of sulfur in the air, it would all have seemed like a dream.
"I thought you'd use a magic array to forcibly send the Demon King back to hell like Constantine," Diana said, relieved, smiling at the spot where Mai Zi disappeared.
"No need. We have the Three Holy Artifacts of Sin. Except for Satan and Izuna, the other Demon Kings are a minor concern. Right now, Oliver is the most alluring bait for demons, but this bait carries poison that can erase demon power—Mackenzie won't let Lucifer take risks."
Repeated use of teleportation gates had also left him in poor condition. The turbulence across planes felt like being disassembled and reassembled in a meat grinder.
He pulled a chair towards himself and sat down, taking out a bottle of wine to drink and rest.
"Is she doing this for Lucifer?" Diana seemed puzzled: "I thought maybe she liked you and just wanted to sleep with you."
"She despises me, but remember, she's a demon? Still, cross-species interaction isn't for me. My anti-hero level isn't that high; maybe Batman wouldn't mind giving it a try."
Diana rolled her eyes at him, but then couldn't help but smile herself.
Su Ming casually cracked a cold joke and took out several bottles of wine to share with Green Arrow and the others. Arthur had been eyeing the bottles for quite a while, and his gaze made Su Ming a bit soft-hearted.
But before they could clink glasses, Barry, accompanied by electric light, suddenly appeared before them, seemingly with urgent news to deliver.