"Adrian, your soul will join them. You will become another thread woven into Ragman's cloak until every one of your sins has been repaid."
Constantine flicked his spent cigarette to the floor, crushed it beneath his shoe, and looked at Adrian with cold certainty.
"Now you're truly a mass murderer. You wiped out an entire planet. At this point, I'd say you'll remain trapped in there until stars themselves burn out."
His tone made it clear that he believed Adrian had already lost.
In Constantine's eyes, there was no possibility of escape from Ragman's mystical prison.
After finishing his self-satisfied speech, he glanced toward the silent figure beside him.
"Rory, how much longer is this going to take? My speech is almost finished, and I was hoping to hear him scream before disappearing."
Before Ragman could answer, the bandages covering Adrian's eyes suddenly began to glow.
A crimson radiance gathered beneath the wrappings.
The surrounding air grew heavy.
Constantine's expression froze.
Ragman looked over as well.
Both men stared at Adrian in confusion.
Then the bandages exploded apart.
Scarlet beams erupted from Adrian's eyes.
The Heat Vision instantly melted the cloth covering his face.
His blood-red eyes were revealed.
Adrian slowly rose to his feet and fixed Constantine with a gaze so cold that it sent a chill through the room.
"You..."
Constantine stared in disbelief.
He had never expected Adrian to break free under these circumstances.
Before he could react further, Adrian's eyes flashed again.
A beam of Heat Vision shot directly toward him.
Caught completely off guard, Constantine had no chance to dodge.
Fortunately, Ragman reacted first.
Part of his cloak shot outward, wrapped around Constantine's waist, and yanked him away from the attack.
The crimson beam narrowly missed him.
"Oh, God!"
Constantine crashed onto the floor.
Pain shot through his back as his spine slammed against the hard surface.
The impact nearly knocked him unconscious.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright and stared at Adrian in utter disbelief.
At that moment, Adrian was preparing another attack.
His intention was obvious.
He planned to eliminate both men where they stood.
Yet before he could continue, the enchanted bandages wrapped around his eyes once more.
The cloth tightened.
Its supernatural power restricted him again.
This was not something physical strength alone could overcome.
The mystical restraints temporarily neutralized his overwhelming power.
"Oh, God, this bastard!"
Constantine shouted in alarm.
Sweat rolled down Ragman's forehead.
Maintaining control of the bindings was clearly becoming difficult.
"He's too strong," Ragman said through clenched teeth.
"I... I can't hold him much longer."
"You can do it, Rory."
Constantine rubbed his aching back and tried to encourage him.
"You can control him."
"He's a murderer. A villain."
"He belongs inside that cloak."
His confidence in Ragman's abilities remained firm.
"No."
A voice interrupted them.
A cold voice.
Adrian's voice.
"He can't."
The next second, the impossible happened.
Bang!
The enchanted bandages exploded apart.
Pieces of torn cloth flew across the room.
A section of Ragman's mystical cloak was ripped apart by sheer force.
Constantine and Ragman stared in stunned disbelief.
Adrian stood before them.
Fragments of bandages drifted through the air behind him.
The cloak's power had weakened.
The moment its hold loosened, Adrian had unleashed his full strength and shattered it.
His gaze shifted toward Ragman.
Sweat covered the vigilante's face.
Perhaps his wavering determination had weakened the cloak's control.
Whatever the reason, Adrian was free.
Far above Gotham, the Spectre followed Adrian's trail.
Then suddenly, the connection vanished.
"He's gone."
The Spectre's voice echoed through the air.
Nearby, Wonder Woman and Shazam looked toward him immediately.
"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman asked.
"I lost Homelander's presence."
The Spectre's expression darkened.
"His aura disappeared somewhere in Gotham. I can't sense him anymore."
"I can't locate him."
Wonder Woman immediately turned toward Shazam.
"Contact Justice Society headquarters."
"See if they can trace Adrian through the communications network."
Shazam nodded.
A moment later, he connected to the Justice Society's systems.
"Nothing yet."
Barth Allen's voice came through the channel.
"The tracker hasn't activated. Without activation, we can't determine his location."
Then Barth suddenly paused.
"Wait."
His fingers flew across a keyboard.
A new signal had appeared.
"Adrian just activated the link."
Barth quickly analyzed the coordinates.
"He's in the Gotham area, near Naihe Island. I'm sending the exact location now."
"I've got it."
The instant Shazam received the coordinates, he accelerated.
Lightning erupted around him.
Without waiting for Wonder Woman or Clark, he shot toward Gotham.
His concern for Adrian overrode everything else.
Boom!
A streak of lightning crossed the night sky.
Moments later, Shazam arrived at the building.
Bang!
He smashed through a wall and entered the room.
The first thing he saw was Adrian standing unharmed.
Relief washed over him.
Meanwhile, Constantine's heart sank.
Adrian's escape had already ruined the plan.
Now Shazam's arrival ensured complete failure.
Desperate, Constantine attempted to flee.
He barely took a step.
Shazam grabbed him and hurled him across the room.
Thud!
His back slammed into another wall.
"Cough! Cough!"
Constantine collapsed to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Pain surged through his body.
Looking upward through the damaged ceiling, he couldn't stop himself from cursing.
"Damn it."
Several figures were descending from the sky.
The Spectre.
Wonder Woman.
Clark.
The situation had become hopeless.
At the same time, Ragman attempted to escape.
Shazam instantly activated his speed.
In a blur, he appeared in front of him.
Grabbing Ragman by the collar, he lifted him off the ground.
The Spectre glanced toward Adrian before turning his attention to Ragman.
His voice echoed like distant thunder.
"Give him to me."
Before Shazam could respond, the Spectre simply took Ragman from his grasp.
"Hey!"
Shazam frowned.
"I caught him!"
The Spectre ignored the complaint entirely.
Holding Ragman in one hand, he spoke with divine authority.
"You nearly shattered the peace and order of this world."
"You will be punished."
"Every soul hiding within your cloak will be punished as well."
"Those who escaped judgment will face it at last."
As he spoke, brilliant light erupted from his palm.
The radiance carried overwhelming divine power.
Half of Ragman's cloak dissolved instantly.
A chorus of agonized screams echoed from within.
The trapped souls had nowhere left to hide.
The holy light consumed them like sunlight melting snow.
Piece by piece, the cloak disappeared.
Eventually, Ragman's true appearance was revealed.
Without the cloak, his muscular frame stood exposed.
Terror filled his face.
He had never imagined the Spectre would strip away his greatest weapon so effortlessly.
"And you, soul thief."
The Spectre's voice shook the room.
"You will suffer a punishment unlike any before."
Ragman trembled violently.
"What... what are you going to do?"
The divine presence surrounding him felt suffocating.
Fear consumed him.
"No!"
He turned toward Constantine.
"John, save me!"
Half-kneeling on the floor, Constantine clenched his fists.
His face twisted with grief.
"I'm sorry, mate."
His voice was barely audible.
"There's nothing I can do."
Unable to watch what followed, he closed his eyes.
Then the screams began.
"AAAAAAAH!"
The sound was horrifying.
It seemed to tear directly into the soul.
Constantine pressed a fist against the floor.
His teeth ground together.
His body trembled.
Another magician.
Another death.
Another person destroyed because of him.
As Ragman's screams continued, strange visions flooded Constantine's mind.
He saw the countless souls trapped within the cloak.
Souls burdened by suffering.
Souls connected to his own sins.
A homeless man emerged from the darkness.
The spirit stared at him with resentment.
Constantine remembered.
When he was eight years old, he discovered a child's skeleton in the wilderness.
Inside its chest rested a dark red stone.
He became obsessed with it.
The stone seemed to influence his emotions, making him increasingly irritable and aggressive.
After a fierce argument with his sister, he threw the stone onto a nearby roof.
It pierced the metal covering of a small shelter.
The homeless man living inside never emerged.
For years, Constantine believed the stone had killed him.
Now the spirit stood before him, accusing him silently.
Then another figure appeared.
His father.
Thomas Constantine.
Disappointment filled the man's eyes.
At fourteen, Constantine had become obsessed with the occult.
His father burned his books in frustration.
In response, Constantine searched through the ashes and discovered a curse.
A spell designed to punish his father.
The ritual worked.
Thomas aged rapidly.
His body deteriorated.
When Constantine realized what he had done, panic consumed him.
He tried everything to reverse the curse.
Nothing worked.
In the end, he saved his father's life only temporarily.
Thomas died after enduring unimaginable suffering.
The memory cut deeply.
Then came Astra.
The wound that never healed.
The young girl whose soul had been dragged into Hell.
Constantine remembered reaching for her.
Remembered holding her hand.
Remembered failing.
When the ritual collapsed, all he had left was Astra's severed hand.
Warm.
Lifeless.
Lost forever.
"Ugh!"
Constantine clutched his head.
The memories were unbearable.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
In frustration and anguish, he slammed his head against the floor.
Then suddenly, everything stopped.
The visions vanished.
The screams ceased.
Constantine slowly raised his head.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Ragman was gone.
Only torn fragments of his cloak drifted through the air.
The Spectre had reduced him to ashes.
Before Constantine could process what had happened, Adrian appeared before him.
In an instant, a hand closed around his throat.
Constantine was lifted into the air.
"Tell me."
Adrian's voice was sharp and deadly.
"Where is Rachel?"
"Heh."
Despite the situation, Constantine forced out a strained laugh.
"Sorry, mate."
"They kept me in the dark."
He gestured weakly toward the remains of the cloak.
"Believe it or not, Ragman was the mastermind."
"And your friend just turned him into dust."
His expression became innocent.
Far too innocent.
Adrian wasn't fooled for a second.
Moments ago, Constantine had appeared devastated by Ragman's death.
Now he was shifting all responsibility onto his dead companion without hesitation.
It was exactly the sort of shameless behavior Adrian expected from him.
Constantine, unaware of Adrian's thoughts, cleared his throat.
"Come on, Adrian."
"We're friends."
"We were friends back when you were still in high school."
His voice became more persuasive.
"Remember?"
"I helped save Rachel while you were gone."
"I may not agree with the way you're ruling the world, but if you think I'm the mastermind behind this, then you're becoming exactly the kind of short-sighted ruler everyone fears."
Adrian ignored every word.
His grip tightened around Constantine's neck.
Crimson energy began gathering behind his eyes once again.