Standing by, Constantine sighed as he watched the two exchange a meaningful look. "Alright, alright, since both of you are Justice Messengers, it appears I have no choice but to follow suit."
"Truth be told, if it weren't for the Curse of Evil you mentioned, which could potentially destroy the world, I would not be willing to put myself in danger here. But since we are already here, let us see what Shiller is truly afraid of."
Zatanna waved her hand, and countless Memory Orbs began to swirl around her. Following this, a white light spread out, engulfing the three of them in a storm. Zatanna raised her voice, "Prepare yourselves, we're about to time-travel!"
After a burst of intense white light, Batman found himself in a state of weightlessness, with the scenery in front of him receding rapidly.
Zatanna led the way while Batman and Constantine, on either side, trailed behind. Together, they journeyed through countless luminous orbs, much like a spaceship traversing the starry skies.
One Memory Orb after another retreated from Batman's view, and in the brief intersection of his line of sight, he saw many fading images of Shiller's past—stories he had never known before.
There was Shiller reading a book, Shiller in the examination room, Shiller driving, Shiller sleeping...
Time flew like a white horse, and memories shone like fleeting rays of light. During this spiritual journey, memories transformed into the most scenic views, reminiscent of the scenes flashing by a train's window. They held a subdued beauty that stirred emotions, much like looking at faded old photographs.
Just as Batman was absorbed in observing the memories within each orb, Zatanna suddenly shouted from ahead, "Prepare for landing!"
With bated breath, Batman braced himself. The next moment, a surge of intense weightlessness rushed at him. A flash of white light later, when he landed, it was not the sound of footsteps touching the ground that he heard first, but Zatanna's scream.
"Aaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
Batman turned his head immediately. Before he could see Zatanna, he first saw Shiller in a straitjacket and face mask.
Before he could even speak, he heard Constantine's scream from behind. "Zatanna!!! Did you jump to the wrong spot?!!"
"No, I didn't! I jumped according to the direction of the compass! The directions indicated by the Mind Magic couldn't have been incorrect!" shouted Zatanna, who was busy avoiding the attacks from the straitjacket's straps.
"Then why are we back here?!" Constantine transformed into his Ash Avatar and appeared in another direction. However, the next second, he was whipped against a nearby wall by the straitjacket's straps.
Upon closer inspection, Batman realized that they were back in the Memory Space where he had previously obtained the straitjacket. Furthermore, they were back in the same examination room, having just fallen out from the same door.
Without further thought, the three started a desperate run. At their peak, they could barely grapple with Shiller. Now, severely depleted in both physical strength and energy, a direct confrontation was clearly futile.
Eventually, they dashed into a tool room downstairs. Panting heavily, Zatanna said, "How is this possible? The compass was clearly pointing this way. I couldn't have jumped wrongly..."
Finishing her words, she took out a compass radiating a magical brilliance. In a low voice, she said, "This was left behind by the Grand Magician Merlin. It couldn't possibly be wrong..."
Hearing the metallic "clack clack" sound once more, Zatanna gritted her teeth, conjured a storm with a wave of her hand, and they were back to time-traveling.
Zatanna took out another compass, staring fixedly at the needle, saying, "I won't mistake it again..."
"Prepare for landing!" Zatanna shouted again. The next second, the same dizziness, the same white light, the same thud of heavy objects hitting the ground, the same scream...
Batman felt that the confused expression he saw on Shiller's face when they landed again was not an illusion—they were back in the examination room.
This time, Zatanna was not surprised. He said with certainty, "This shows that the place we're searching for may just be here!"
"Let's lose him first, and I'll use the compass to guide us!" Zatanna shouted, and the three of them started running again. This time, perhaps Shiller was provoked. His desire to chase was stronger. They circled around this building a few times before managing to lose him.
Constantine was already so tired he could barely get up. He looked at Zatanna and said, "You should have used this strategy earlier, so we wouldn't be so haggard..."
"No one can predict the future." Zatanna sighed, "Fortunately, we now have a good understanding of this place's layout."
He held the compass, light shining from his hand. Its needle spun wildly, then settled in a certain direction. Seeing this, Zatanna once again pushed the door open and ran out, stopping at a junction and said, "This way!"
She turned the corner and ran, with the other two following closely behind her. After circling once more, Zatanna stopped in the middle of the corridor. "That's not right. It has to be here. Why isn't there a room?"
"Upstairs or downstairs." Batman said. Just as Zatanna was about to ask, he added, "It should be downstairs. Remember? The exit we found earlier..."
A look of realization appeared on Zatanna's face. "The thing Shiller is most resistant to...Yes! The exit to this world may lead to two roads. One leads to the buffering area, and the other probably leads to the answer room we're looking for!"
"Go!" Zatanna started running once more. She dashed down the stairs rapidly to the first floor, but ran into the patrolling Shiller. The three of them had no choice but to quicken their pace.
Shiller's speed was increasing, the laces of his shoes almost touching Zatanna's hair. Exerting all her remaining strength, she bolted into the cafeteria.
In an instant, a white storm engulfed the three of them. The process of traversing took less than a second. Once again, they landed in front of a door.
Zatanna could barely move, but she still supported herself against the doorframe and stood up. Panting heavily, she said, "Well, I'll admit he's ruthless..."
"Now, let's see what exactly terrifies such a formidable professor."
The remaining two were also barely able to keep going, including Batman. He had been in the best physical condition, but having taken the brunt of the attack, his arms and waist were injured, and his clothes were stained with blood.
He was also curious about the answer because when Zatanna explained the principle behind this teleporting strategy, Batman thought of a question.
Would the answers to what Shiller believes he fears the most, what others believe he fears the most, and what he actually fears most... be the same?
Clearly, the door in front of them would reveal the answer to the first question, that is, what Shiller believes he fears the most.
This was still a topic that greatly interested Batman. Because if this answer existed, then Shiller wasn't as invincible as his words suggested.
This might not be enough to defeat him, but it could surely be used to mock him.
The next second, Zatanna pushed open the door, and the three of them walked into this luminous room.
The first thing they saw was a meadow, blooming flowers, a forest in the distance. But none of that was as noticeable as the enormous thing right in front of them.
It was a giant, incredibly majestic, towering, sky-obscuring...broccoli.