American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 462 Magical Reform (Part Six)

After their conversation that evening, Rune and Raven grew closer, but the conflicts in the magical world intensified.

Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Constantine couldn't possibly visit every wizard's home and try to persuade everyone. Even in the DC Universe, magic is a rather rare talent, but given the massive population, the number of wizards is still considerable.

Therefore, they would only seek out relatively famous and prestigious mages to try and persuade them. If these three more moderate mages failed to do so, then Rune would naturally take over the rest of the matter.

Subsequently, some mages who had initially rejected runes would instantly become promoters of the new spellcasting system, using their connections to spread it to all mages.

This kind of promotion is not always gentle, especially when it comes to certain stubborn fools.

To most mages, this was oppression and destruction. The mages, led by Rune, were trying to force themselves to entrust their lives to the four otherworldly gods, Setorak and Vishanti.

The Forgotten Bar used to be just a place for entertainment. When magic users couldn't relieve their sorrows and wanted to confide in other mages, they would come here.

Currently, the owner of the Forgotten Bar is named Jim Luke. He was transported to the magical world of Maiar during a performance, where he inherited the title of Master of the Night and obtained a magical artifact called Nightblade.

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This sword can grant its wielder eternal youth, the ability to foresee danger, and can also be used as a lasso of truth. Moreover, if the user's willpower is strong enough, Nightblade can even cut through anything.

However, the atmosphere in the Forgotten Bar was incredibly heavy at this moment. Usually, the place was filled with conversations in various languages, and sometimes there would be small explosions and whispers. But now, only suppressed complaints remained.

"They call that progress?" a young witch muttered. "It's just making us pay an extra layer of taxes, and who knows who gets the profits in the end?"

This remark prompted a woman next to her to nod repeatedly, "Exactly, those bastards went way too far!"

"Constantine, you son of a bitch!" An alchemist with a full beard slammed his fist on the table, knocking over bottles and jars all over the floor.

A waiter nearby shouted, "Hey!"

But the alchemist showed no sign of backing down, continuing his loud tirade, "He's nothing but a rogue, a third-rate mage whose soul was devoured by the Demon King of Hell, what right does he have to swagger around here?"

The other mages also shouted, "Yes, yes, I think it's his spellcasting system—smoking, drinking, and deceiving demons—that should be the one regulated!"

However, in reality, Constantine was indeed one of the first sorcerers in this universe to be willing to study Kamar-Taj magic in depth.

Unfortunately, Constantine's original spellcasting system was far too costly, so even casting Cytorak's magic was considered easy.

The involvement of Doctor Fate and Zatanna made these ordinary mages feel betrayed. The former was a symbol of order in the magical world, and the latter came from a distinguished family. But now, both of these mages were on the side of the new spellcasting system.

Even more frightening was that the renowned mages, led by Kane, seemed like completely different people after being visited by that group. They began frantically promoting their new spellcasting system, as if—

It was as if they had been cursed.

However, not all mages opposed this new spellcasting system. Those with demonic or angelic blood were particularly interested in it.

Praying to demons for power is like taking out a high-interest loan; some of these mages may not even own their own souls anymore.

As for angels? Sorry, they're not much better. Their loyalty to God makes those birdmen too stingy when it comes to granting power. For the same price, some mages with diluted angelic blood might not even receive as much as demons.

Therefore, these mages steadfastly upheld the new order, and regardless of whether they believed the rumors of the upside-down people circulating from Rune, they were happy to see ordinary mages suffer.

However, Rune didn't care much about Constantine's group of mages. Their power came directly from God, and even the inverted man couldn't stop them from casting spells, so there was no need to force the Kamar-Taj spellcasting system onto them.

Lady Shangdu received the same treatment as Constantine. She was a rare mage born from Earth's native magic, and even the Inverted Man could not stop her from casting spells.

However, this did not prevent the group of mages from upholding the new spellcasting system that Rune wanted to promote.

"I see that there are indeed problems with your spellcasting. For example, alchemy is based on the principle of equivalent exchange. We also have to pay a heavy price when we cast spells, but your spellcasting does not have such problems at all."

The speaker was a graceful woman with horns on her head. Clearly, demonic blood flowed through her veins. Although her voice wasn't loud, it still penetrated everyone's ears thanks to the power of her magic.

She continued, "Therefore, I have reason to suspect that what Constantine and the others said is true, and perhaps your magic was stolen from someone else, so you didn't have to pay a price—"

"Abigail, stop spouting nonsense!" the alchemist shouted, trying to refute the demon warlock named Abigail, but he couldn't think of a way to do so.

He was an alchemist himself, and he understood the principle of equivalent exchange better than anyone else.

So he could only curse loudly, wantonly insulting everything about Abigail, which further fueled the conflict between the two.

Although the faction supporting reform is smaller, most of them are ruthless individuals who have made deals with the devil, and their strength is generally quite high. On the other hand, the faction opposing reform is larger, but their strength varies.

Not everyone is like Zatanna, who was born with countless magical books waiting to be read.

Many mages will seek out fellow mages after studying their own spellbooks to exchange ideas, but this only provides them with limited magical knowledge.

Therefore, some mages would travel far and wide, seeking inspiration while also exploring lost ruins, perhaps among which lay a few precious magic books.

Therefore, among the mages who support the reforms, there are also lower-level mages who are tired of relying on luck to acquire magical knowledge.

The scene quickly escalated from an argument into a physical fight, and almost turned into a magical duel, until the owner of the Forgotten Bar, the current Shadow Master, shouted, "Anyone who doesn't want to drink and just wants to fight, get out!" and the scene calmed down.

And this is merely a microcosm of the entire magical world—