Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"Little girl, do you really think you can get any information out of me with just a few words? I told you, you're far inferior to those demons of hell, and even your figure can't compare to a succubus."

After they finished speaking, a ball of burning black flame appeared in their hands. Natasha could not feel any heat, but from the flame, she could see the shadow of fear lurking within it.

[Black Flame: A spell discovered by sorcerers who became the guardians of the graveyard after the Great Lord Wolnir fell into the abyss. It can ignite a massive black flame in the hand. Born from the abyss, this black flame cannot cast shadows, and no one truly understands it; it is only said to be the flame of humanity.]

The flames slowly spread over the two people, covering their arms.

Natasha twisted her shoulders frantically, trying desperately to pull her hand out of Constantine's grasp, but Constantine remained unmoved.

The sound of the door being broken down came from behind Natasha. The special forces team filed in, forming a circle around the dining table, their guns pointed at Constantine.

Coulson walked in through the door, saying as he went, "Mr. Constantine, release Natasha, and we can talk."

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, which lit itself, Constantine took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke toward Coulson. The smoke condensed and lingered, spraying Coulson's face with it.

"This girl is yours? I won't let her go, what can you do to me?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to blow this place up."

Coulson calmly presented his plan, as if Natasha were a pawn to be discarded.

After finishing the cigarette in one go and spitting out the butt, Constantine finally let go of Natasha's hand and said with a hint of regret, "Little girl, you're not doing so well in this organization."

Constantine put his feet up on the dining table, returning to his usual office posture. Coulson took Natasha's place and sat opposite Constantine.

The only difference was that black flames were still burning on the dining table, casting everyone's shadows on the wall and dividing the space into a boundary between light and darkness.

"Can we talk now, Constantine?"

"Speak, what do you want to know?"

"Your background, and where you learned all this." Coulson casually pulled out a tape recorder and placed it in front of him.

“I graduated from the Dragon Academy in Beheim, and my teacher was named Obek.”

## Chapter 52: The Deception from the King of Wandering Souls

Slowly, Constantine began to recount his past.

Constantine once studied magic at the Dragon Academy in Behem and was deeply loved by the headmaster, Orbeck. He could quickly master any magic. In this way, Constantine gradually learned all the spells passed down by Orbeck.

"Then I ran away while my teacher went to the Great Archives to find the sages to research more powerful magic."

Constantine said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I've learned all the magic, so I can graduate anytime."

"Then who is this witch you're talking about? You said you learned forbidden magic from a witch."

Coulson pondered Constantine's earlier words. He no longer believed a single word the man uttered, but since all the information about the Dragon Academy came from Constantine, he had no choice but to believe him.

"Who says I can only learn magic from one teacher? I'm a genius."

After leaving the Dragon Academy, Constantine became an apprentice of the witch Karula, learning forbidden magic from her.

At this point, Constantine's words revealed arrogance and confidence, as if he were the person he was talking about.

“I suppose so. Can you tell me about your luck?” Coulson asked, following the list of items listed by Frey.

"Why don't you go ask the girl from earlier? She was blessed just like me."

Constantine pointed at Natasha, raised an eyebrow, and steered the conversation toward Natasha.

“Natasha’s affairs are none of your concern. You are the one I care about now, Constantine.”

Coulson spoke, but in his mind, he once again thought of the time he had talked to Natasha about the Greedy One. Natasha had indeed been blessed by Ash, but the Greedy One had taken her away afterward.

Natasha thought she would return to normal after the blessing was taken away, but Constantine still saw through her.

"Like the girl behind you, I received a blessing from a great being, and the price is that I have to work for him after I die."

Constantine casually spoke of his fate after death, then picked up the black flames on the table with his hands, holding them in his palms. With each movement, the flames gradually diminished and eventually went out.

The black flames disappeared, and the room was restored to normal lighting. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, no longer having to face the shadow of the black flames.

Coulson, taking the implication of Constantine's words to heart, said, "So blessing is the price of death?"

"No, this is just the price of the deal. Maybe you've caught the eye of some powerful figure who just needs you to sell your body to him."

Constantine's words made Coulson feel a slight tension in his anus, and he quickly banished the fantasy of sticking out his buttocks from his mind.

Coulson did not allow Constantine to have such frivolous conversations, which made it difficult for him to include in his written reports later.

“Be serious, Constantine. In this situation, you have no chance of escaping. If you try anything I don’t understand, everyone around you will put a bullet in your body.”

Constantine nonchalantly slapped the table, reached out and pulled the muzzle of a special forces soldier's gun over, even sticking his head in front of the gun.

"Even if you open fire now, I won't be hurt in the slightest. Even if I put my head right under your gun, your bullets won't hit me. Don't underestimate the power of magic, you fool."

Fury's request was to find a superhuman and seek cooperation, but Coulson really didn't have a good solution when faced with Constantine's recklessness.

"I don't believe you don't have other needs. Tell me, and we can work together."

Constantine listened to Coulson's words, paused for a moment, and then said, "You're right, I have other needs too..."

Constantine then pulled out a piece of parchment with a drawing on it and carefully placed it on the table, saying, "The goal of the Dragon Academy is exploration, so I need what's on this piece of paper. If you can find it, we can cooperate."

Seeing Constantine's cautious demeanor, Coulson feared that the parchment might be cursed with some strange curse. He borrowed a pair of gloves from a nearby special forces member, put them on, and then opened the parchment.

The parchment depicts a gigantic creature covered in crystals, somewhat resembling a lizard with enormous limbs. This lizard, also encased in crystals, opens its mouth as if to spew out a blue substance.

“This is a crystal lizard, possessing some of the power of a dragon. If you can find it, I might consider cooperating with you.”

Constantine's words eased some of the tense atmosphere of the previous negotiations. His words broke through the barriers and gave Coulson outside hope for cooperation.

After organizing and photographing the contents of the paper and sending it to Fury as a backup, Coulson laughed and said, "You see, we can easily reach an agreement. We have hundreds of satellites in the sky. As soon as this thing appears, we're guaranteed to find it."

Constantine didn't really want to rely on S.H.I.E.L.D. to find the Crystal Lizard, since he hadn't released it yet in the Dark Souls world.

However, giving S.H.I.E.L.D. a target is better than letting them run around and disrupt the main body's plans.

The bad mood during the negotiations didn't bother Coulson, who already believed he had the upper hand. He quickly steered the conversation toward the intelligence he wanted to obtain.

"Then, Mr. Constantine, could you tell me how your blessing differs from Natasha's?"

Having barely managed to glean a few vague details from the Greedy Ones after losing two tactical squads, Coulson felt it necessary to seize this opportunity now that a real mage was before him.

Constantine pulled open his shirt, and Coulson saw a large scar-like mark on Constantine's left chest, near his heart.

It looked like a circle, with more connective tissue extending outwards from all sides, covering Constantine's left chest.

"This is the Dark Ring, from the King of the Ghosts of Londor. It can save me a lot of trouble while I'm alive."

Coulson memorized the circular scar and tentatively asked, "Trouble? Is there trouble for a mage?"

"It can prevent me from getting lung cancer from smoking, liver cancer from excessive drinking, make me immune to all diseases in the world, allow me to win the lottery every time, and keep me away from all the troubles of ordinary people."

When he got to the point of being proud of himself, Constantine finished the entire cigarette in one gulp without exhaling a single puff of smoke.

Constantine paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the blessing on that girl behind you, it's a very ordinary lucky blessing, at most it will prevent some accidental injuries."

The two squads were wiped out, but Natasha was unharmed. This was no accident. Coulson, still puzzled, said, "But the blessing on Natasha has been taken away by the greedy one."

Constantine was somewhat skeptical and reached out to beckon Natasha over, but before Natasha could arrive, he impatiently stood up, walked over, and grabbed Natasha's arm tightly.

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No witty remarks today. (I've found that thinking of witty remarks takes more time than writing them.)

## Chapter 53: The Beginning of the Crisis

If you ignored the surroundings, the man and woman were in an extremely ambiguous position. However, under Constantine's blue eyes, Natasha felt as if she had been seen through completely.

Not long after, Constantine released Natasha, who went limp like a noodle and collapsed to the ground.

Ignoring Natasha on the ground, Constantine picked up the wine jug on the table and took a sip.

“I was mistaken. What she possesses is an ancient blessing, cast through an ancient magical artifact. If I had that artifact, I could even make Mephisto hand over his hell palace so I could stay there for a day.”

Hearing that the Lord of Hell could give up his house, Coulson gained a new understanding of the value of the coins the Greedy Man had that night.

"What a rip-off! I just traded it for a hemostatic moss ball, which I even used to get rid of maggots."

Despite his bleeding heart, Coulson outwardly feigned understanding, using a smile and a simple, honest demeanor to mask his inner grief, and ordered that Natasha be temporarily placed in Constantine's bed.

"Mr. Constantine, if we encounter these fantastical creatures or events again, do you have any good suggestions?"

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone shamelessly courting death."

Looking at Coulson was like looking at a fish that had turned belly up; a strange light gleamed in Constantine's eyes.

Coulson took a small step back, spread his hands to indicate that he posed no threat, and then said in a friendly tone, "We can have a good working relationship, so please don't misunderstand us."

"Misunderstanding? Tell me what a misunderstanding is? Translate for me what a misunderstanding is."

They randomly barged into Constantine's residence, and a group of people pointed guns at Constantine's head. Any unexpected movement resulted in bullets being fired at Constantine, who is now asking if there was a misunderstanding.

Coulson hadn't expected such a response from Constantine; he had thought the arrogant wizard would mention some requirements regarding the cooperation.

But now it seems that Constantine's restraint in not spitting at him directly was already a sign of restraint. Even so, Coulson continued to use his friendly face to ask him any questions he wanted to know.

Constantine grew impatient and said, "Since you came here with a gun, there has been no misunderstanding between us. Now, unless you provide me with what I need, I know nothing else."

The situation changed once again. Faced with Constantine's tough stance, Coulson also changed his negotiation strategy.

Coulson threatened Constantine, saying, "Mr. Constantine, you'd better cooperate with us. Only then can you have a relatively stable life under the supervision of S.H.I.E.L.D."

For intelligence organizations, or for Fury, everything must be under oversight; not everything needs to be done according to regulations.

All the tests were for the sake of planning for the future; even if the worst-case scenario came to pass, they would only have a good reputation for discovering the threat.

Coulson's words thoroughly enraged Constantine, and flames seemed to burn in the magician's pupils.

"So you think all of this is normal? This is a favor to me? Even the Black Church of Rondo wouldn't dare speak to me like this!"

Sparks burst forth from Constantine's body, then landed on the surrounding furniture, instantly turning the entire room into a sea of ​​flames.

Constantine saw Coulson's constantly shifting negotiation tactics as a game, and this time, Constantine was truly enraged; flames slowly began to engulf everyone.

Just as Coulson was considering whether to back down and buy some time, Constantine suddenly withdrew all the flames for some unknown reason.

Constantine's gaze drifted to one side of the room, ignoring the gun barrels already stuck in his head, as if he could see what was happening outside.

At that moment, Coulson's intercom rang. He picked it up and Fury's voice came through urgently: "Coulson, evacuate New York quickly, or it will be too late."

Fury always seemed to have everything under control, and Coulson had never heard Fury issue orders so urgently before, which made him anxious as well.