A Close Call for Bob Lane
In an inconspicuous small town northeast of Metropolis, the homeless man Bob Lane was rummaging through a dumpster for food. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye. He looked up.
A fireball was plummeting from above, aimed directly at his location.
"Me-meteorite!"
Bob's eyes widened, his face etched with terror. Just when he thought his life was about to end, the "meteorite" erupted in a large stream of blue flame, arcing sharply in the air. It skimmed past his head at breakneck speed. The resulting shockwave swept through the street like a hurricane.
Car windows shattered, doors clattered loudly, dog barking rose and fell, and laundry hung out to dry was tossed into the air, landing God knows where.
Bob himself had a much more miserable experience, screaming as he was lifted into the air, spinning around in the gale. He flew for a good ten seconds before finally landing hard on the ground, his right leg fractured. He nearly passed out.
"What is the name of that unlucky man?"
"Bob Lane. Born in Metropolis, currently unemployed."
"Buy him a lifetime insurance policy and transfer one hundred thousand US dollars into his account."
"Yes, Young Master."
After transferring the money, Luke dismissed the matter of the homeless man and continued testing the flight performance of PhantomUnit 1. The results were excellent.
Ava's arrival not only endowed the armor with powerful analytical and data processing capabilities but also fine-tuned its internal structure, further boosting its performance.
With her assistance, Luke could focus entirely on battling the enemy without having to worry about other concerns.
"Ava, I want to test combat performance. Find me an opponent."
"Please wait."
A few seconds later, the gentle electronic synthetic voice returned.
"Target located. Strong energy fluctuations detected three hundred miles to the north."
PhantomUnit 1 immediately reversed direction, leaving a stunning trail of blue flame before vanishing into the northern night sky.
The Man They Call Constantine
As a well-known wealthy businessman in the area, Casper Taub was a devout Christian. He attended church every weekend, never missing a service for decades.
Yet, he never imagined that, as God's most loyal follower, his daughter would become a sacrifice for a demon.
Damn the cultists, the lunatics, the devils! Why are they still on Earth? They all belong in hell!
Casper cursed wildly, pleading with the church and the police for help. Receiving no response, he was forced to hire a capable exorcist through a friend.
Soon, the disheveled man with the gray trench coat, short hair, stubble, and a perpetual cigarette butt dangling from his lips appeared.
John Constantine!
At the mention of the name, Casper gnashed his teeth in hatred. That cursed exorcist is more loathsome than the devils in the abyss!
My request was to expel the evil spirit from my daughter and teach the cultists a lesson. But that bastard actually used my daughter as bait to lure the cultists into the church where he'd drawn a magic circle! Then he used the bodies of the dead cultists as sacrifices to summon a hellish creature, which led to a passionate slaughter!
If that were the only problem, it would be fine—cultists are no good, so their deaths don't matter. But that idiot couldn't control the demonic creature! The out-of-control demon caused massive destruction and set the entire church on fire!
This is the St. Philomena Church, valued at one hundred million dollars! How am I supposed to pay for that?!
Casper was close to despair, kneeling on the ground, praying to God to save his daughter and begging the Devil to kill the cursed exorcist.
A Hellfire Rescue
St. Philomena Church had devolved into a hellscape. Flames raged everywhere, staining the sky deep red.
Luke paused mid-air, scanning the surroundings. When he spotted the man in the trench coat being chased by a demonic creature amidst the flames, he frowned instantly.
"That outfit... could it be..."
An unpleasant memory surfaced, and his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He even felt the urge to turn and run.
That cursed John Constantine! Only an idiot would be his teammate!
"Ava, are there any other test subjects?"
"Please wait..." A few seconds later, "Apologies, no suitable targets."
"Fine. Constantine, consider yourself lucky today."
Luke took a deep breath. His armor erupted in a flash of blue light, diving down at extreme speed. A flying kick struck the demon heavily in the chest.
BOOM!
The three-meter-tall hellish creature was sent flying, smashing through two walls before lying motionless in a pile of rubble.
Luke turned to glance at the ash-covered Constantine and spoke in a cold, indifferent tone.
"Get the girl out of the church. This place is about to collapse."
Constantine had no time to ask questions. He rushed to the altar, hoisted the unconscious girl onto his back, and ran out. As he passed Luke, he said in his drawn-out Welsh accent,
"Oy! Mate! I'm John Constantine. I'm an exorcist. Cool armor, by the way."
Luke curled his lip in distaste. "Remember, you owe me one."
Constantine's expression froze. He stopped talking, tightened his grip on the girl on his back, and quickly ran out of the church.
Combat Test Complete
BOOM!
The pile of rubble exploded. The demonic creature, wreathed in fierce flames, with a single horn and a thick, lizard-like head, roared in anger at Luke. The immense sound seemed to possess a magical quality. The surrounding flames converged toward it, forming a gigantic fireball over three meters in diameter.
Visible ripples spread outward. The air was scorching hot, and the temperature skyrocketed.
Seeing this, the retreating Constantine yelled,
"Bloody hell! That's Hellfire! Don't let it touch you!"
Luke ignored him. He raised his hand and targeted the main beam. Two energy pulses hit the left and right support pillars, causing them to fracture. The already precarious roof crashed down, crushing the demon beneath the debris.
Losing its master's control, the gigantic fireball dissipated, turning into bubbling red liquid.
"This is Hellfire?"
Luke frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, he stepped around the viscous fluid, charged at the demon, grabbed its tail, and slammed it against the ground with a 180-degree aerial throw.
CRASH!
The demon slammed into the floor, causing massive cracks to spread.
Luke tried to smash it again, but the tail slipped from his grip and lashed out like a whip. Luke quickly ducked to avoid it. The demon roared in fury as it seized the opportunity to turn and pounce.
Its arms were enormously thick and powerful. Every swing generated a fierce gale.
Its only weakness was speed; the immense, powerful body lacked matching agility.
Luke retreated while observing its attack patterns. Once the data collection was complete, he suddenly charged forward. A straight punch, charged with blue electrical energy, struck the demon in the side of its abdomen.
PONG!
A visible shockwave rippled through the air. Blue electricity coursed through the demon's body. Amidst the teeth-grating sound of cracking bone, the hellish creature, weighing over a ton, was flung into the air. It flew backward at an exaggerated speed, smashed through a marble pillar, burst open the church's front door, tumbled for dozens of meters across the lawn, and finally stopped after breaking two fences.
The air was instantly silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Constantine's mouth hung open, his eyes wider than brass bells. Casper, observing the battle from a distance, was also stunned, staring blankly at the mysterious, ghostly figure at the church's main entrance.
My God! Is that thing a demon?
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!