American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 345 Logan + Constantine = ?

Lucifer grew tired of being the King of Hell and believed it was a punishment imposed on him by God, not his true choice. So he decided to open a tavern on Earth.

"What do you think?"

"No one should live their whole life according to someone else's wishes; you should definitely make your own choices." Rune remained noncommittal about this. "But why a tavern?"

Constantine, who was still performing a sizzling pole dance nearby, said directly, "Is that even a question? Of course it's because of me! The place where Lucifer and I first met was in the tavern."

"—" Lucifer blinked. "Not entirely. The bar became a place for me to interact with humans, and I'm curious why he turned against me for the sake of these humans, so—."

"Hey, can you put me down now?" Constantine, still jumping around, glared at Rune. "Quick, tell me what you want?"

"Buy cigarettes."

Rune came to see Constantine specifically to buy cigarettes. That's right, in the United States, you need to show valid identification to buy cigarettes, and the minimum age to buy tobacco products is 21, which Rune certainly doesn't meet. But he didn't want the Kents to help him buy them; who knows how they would misunderstand him.

Constantine promised Rune that he would go buy it after he finished his appointment with Lucifer, and Rune nodded in agreement. He knew that what was about to happen was not something he should watch, so he turned and left, and went to an Italian restaurant in England for a meal.

The Venetian foie gras was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the pickled sardines were firm and had a sweet and sour flavor that whetted the appetite, and the stewed oxtail was incredibly tender. Combined with a variety of different pasta dishes, Rune was quite satisfied with the meal. The only downside was the black pudding he ordered. While it was indeed quite dark, it was salty and the texture wasn't at all like the smooth, creamy texture of crème brûlée. Although it wasn't bad, it didn't meet Rune's expectations.

Black pudding is a typical British dish, but the British definition of pudding is clearly more—well, weird.

Lucifer and Constantine didn't come out of the room until evening.

Noticing Rune's gaze, Constantine pulled his collar up. "Kid, don't look. This isn't something you should be seeing."

The former Satan waved goodbye to Rune and then left.

"You still know how to be shy?" After waving goodbye to Lucifer, Rune looked at Constantine in surprise. "I thought you would deliberately pull down your collar and show me what you two did."

2

After a moment of silence, Constantine actually did it. He truly lived up to his reputation as the number one scoundrel in DC. Rune felt like he was going to get a sty.

After some playful banter, Constantine took Rune to buy a large quantity of cigars. This detective from hell wasn't there for nothing; he could take a cut from the total price of the cigarettes Rune wanted. Previously, when Rune bought Silka cigarettes, Constantine had simply taken some, but now that Rune was buying cigars, he was going to ask for the money directly.

"Cigars are a good thing; they're sometimes given mystical significance in the magical world, but why are you buying so many?" Constantine asked as he counted the banknotes in his hand.

Today, that bastard really hooked a sucker. This rune alone is enough to cover Constantine's food expenses for three months.

"Of course someone wants to smoke." Rune gave him a look as if he were an idiot, ignoring Constantine's actions of secretly using magic to "take" a few cigars while counting money. Now, the numbers on his bank card were just numbers; he could hardly spend them. It was better to secretly bribe this bastard.

Although Constantine is always acting like a jerk and will be forced to betray his teammates, aside from his personality, Constantine's role on the magical side is very similar to Batman in the Justice League. They are both characters who uphold the principle of "preparation is better than strength," are good at using their opponents' weaknesses to devise plans, and both have extensive networks and are very well-informed.

These factors combined make these two guys easy targets for turning the tide, but compared to Wayne, bribing Constantine is far easier. The former is a notorious spendthrift in the DC Universe; he's the one who bribes others, not the other way around. However, Constantine is often penniless. Before meeting Rune, his money came mainly from fraud, magic, and support from "friends." Things didn't improve much after meeting Rune; he frequently bought Rune's companion toys, so much so that the money he earned as a distributor ended up in Rune's pocket. Constantine even justified this by saying he should save where he could and spend where he could, and that he couldn't let his brother suffer!

And although Constantine and Rune seem to have a pretty good relationship now, Rune knows that this guy doesn't trust him yet. For one thing, he hasn't introduced any of his friends or relatives to Rune yet, which speaks volumes.

Unaware that he was being targeted, Constantine nonchalantly replied, "I bet the guy smoking the cigar is trying to act like he's in a position of power, right? Rich people, mob bosses, politicians—those bastards love that."

"You're wrong, Constantine. That cigar-smoking guy is a—"

"Don't tell me! Let me guess." Constantine finally finished counting the money, then kissed the banknotes with satisfaction. After carefully putting them away, he finally had the leisure to play a guessing game with Rune. "That guy smoking the cigar must be a mage. Slow-burning tobacco can definitely be used as a curse medium. I've used it before—"

Rune continued to shake his head.

Now Constantine was puzzled. He scratched his head and tentatively asked, "Is he an immortal?"

Now it was Rune's turn to be surprised, and seeing the other's expression, Constantine immediately knew he had guessed correctly. He laughed triumphantly a few times: "Don't be surprised. If you had lived for hundreds of years, you would naturally need something that could burn long enough to pass the time."

"Cigars are nothing more than an anxiety fueled by money—either a fear that others won't know how important you are, or a fear that you'll forget how much of a failure you've been. Immortals are like that; they have plenty of time to waste, and they unexpectedly place great importance on their past failures."

"Yes, you're absolutely right." Rune nodded, looking at Constantine thoughtfully.

Although Constantine likes to sabotage his teammates, Wolverine isn't afraid of being sabotaged himself. Moreover, both of them disdain the system and authority. Rune thinks they can definitely get along. At least with Constantine, Wolverine won't have to worry about too much peace around him—that bastard Constantine has gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

Seeing Rune's expression, the Hellstalker became wary. He had shown the same expression when he tricked people before. Just as Constantine was about to make a quick getaway, Rune interrupted him.

"Interested in teaming up with a lonely, fiercely independent guy?"

Oh? If that's what you mean, then I'm not sleepy anymore!

Upon hearing the words "fierce" and "unbearably lonely," Constantine immediately woke up. He looked at Rune with a knowing expression and said, "I didn't know you did this kind of thing?"

Rune shrugged. "I've only just started, but I personally think you two are quite compatible, and he should be able to help you solve a lot of problems."