15 Church of Blood

"Any new information?" inquired Kaldur, dressed like a cultist in a complete red cultist outfit with his hood concealing his head.

"Other than the fact that these people are deranged? Nope," replied Rocket.

"I heard one of them mention they're starting the ceremony in a few minutes. The nature of the ceremony is unknown," added Raiden.

The entire team had successfully infiltrated the church, each pretending to be a member. The cult's base of operations was a massive church located at the center of the country. It was adorned with the Church of Blood's logos, indicating the cult's lack of concern for secrecy.

The massive doors swung open as a group of church members entered, clearly of higher status. They were attired in red and black, but the man at the center stood out the most. His outfit matched the others, but it was predominantly white with black and gold accents, demonstrating his elevated position in the church.

"That's him. Get ready. Once we confirm visual on the item, we strike," instructed Robin.

The man proceeded to the podium, removed his hood, and revealed himself to the crowd.

"My brothers! My fellow peace-seekers! Welcome to the Day of Salvation! The day when our lord and savior, Trigon, emerges. He will free the world from its pain and usher in an age of darkness and blood!" proclaimed Brother Blood, to the cheers of the crowd.

"We are not here to wage war. We are here to bring peace to the world, through red and everlasting death. Murder is love, and I want to murder everyone," declared Brother Blood with chilling confidence.

"Yes! Yes!" screamed one of the members, while the rest continued shouting "Murder! Murder! Death! Death! Red! Red! Salvation!"

"This is ridiculous. They seek death, and they paid millions for this nonsense? It makes no sense," remarked Robin.

"Zatanna, did you feel it too?" asked Raiden.

"Yes, it was faint, but I felt it," replied Zatanna.

"Raiden, Zatanna, what is it that you sensed?" Kaldur inquired.

"Feint usage of magic….from his mouth" said Raiden

"Mind control! I don't want people in my head again!" Connor exclaimed angrily.

"Don't worry, it's not affecting us. We have Megan's protection," reassured Robin.

"It's not simple mind control either. This type of magic is special; he can't control anyone he desires. He needs them to truly believe in him first. The moment they start trusting him, his words become gospel. He may have kept half of his church's goals a secret up to now," explained Zatanna.

"Explains why he went after the rich. Most wealthy people are desperate enough to try and achieve immortality and such, so they believe in a lot of nonsense. Just look at Scientology," noted Rocket.

"Shh, enough, stay quiet. We don't want to draw more attention to us," cautioned Wally.

"Wally being reasonable was not on my list of weird things I'll see today."

After the crowd's rage and shouting subsided, Brother Blood raised his hand in the sky and announced, "Today, a friend visits us! She is a like-minded individual, a true believer in our cause, and she brings us the article we need for world salvation, 'The Tablet of Blood!' With my powers and magic, and the tablet's great powers, we shall open the gate to hell, the Underrealm of the Six Kingdoms of Trigon. Now come, join us, Sister Jinx," said Brother Blood, revealing his plans and his ally.

One of the church members removed her robe, revealing her true identity. She was a bald Eastern Indian woman, wearing revealing clothes as she walked towards the podium where Brother Blood waited. She said, "It is ready," waved her hand, and a dark portal opened.

"Wait until the item is revealed, then we all strike together," Kaldur communicated through their secret comms.

As everyone kept waiting for the item, Brother Blood said, "There are some among us who have no right to pray in our midst. We have sinners here. Look into your damned souls, and you will know who you are!"

"Our cover is blown!" Artemis exclaimed.

"Don't panic, he still doesn't know for sure," reassured Robin.

"You think I wouldn't recognize you in my OWN CHURCH!" Brother Blood declared as he used his powers to make the entire team's bodies float.

"This isn't telekinesis!" Megan screamed, unable to resist his attack.

"This is Blood Control! I recognize the blood of everyone here!"

(Should I Use my powers, the cooldown could be a problem, and the item wasn't revealed yet...) thought Raiden

"Good, kill them. Let's get rid of the hassle," Jinx suggested.

"No, I want them to witness salvation and be the first pray for our Lord!" Brother Blood declared, driven by his bloodthirst.

"Okay," Jinx replied, clearly annoyed at his words.

She then proceeded to reveal the item, and Brother Blood placed his hand on it as she said, "With this sacrifice, I open the gate, the Gate to Azarath."

Hearing Jinx's words, Brother Blood was shocked and yelled, "What! No! Open the gate to the Kingdoms of Trigon, you wench!" He tried to strike her, but she blocked him and sent him flying away with wind magic. Getting up, Brother Blood attempted to use his powers but was shocked that they didn't work.

"What have you done?" he demanded.

"Your powers rely on your cult following. The more people in it, the stronger you get. But have you forgotten? To use the Tablet of Blood, one must sacrifice their entire following, and for you, that is your cult, your people," Jinx explained with a laugh. Brother Blood looked around to see all of his followers lying dead on the ground.

"Throne of Heroes!"

"Oh my, you are a rather cute Master! I can help save you," said the voice in Raiden's head.

His entire body transformed into that of a witch, now wearing a hooded bluish-purple robe.

{Summoning Ceremony Initiated:

Servant Class: Caster

Servant Tier: C

Servant Name: Medea}

The team sprang into action, attempting to take down Jinx.

"Too late, it's open! Ahahaha! I will now join the land of witches, a Kingdom of Magic. I will gain access to the Library of Magic!"

As she said that, a massive gate emerged, sucking everyone in, and Raiden wasn't even able to unleash his Noble Phantasm.

…

Opening their eyes, the team observed as Jinx vanished from their view, and they surveyed the scene of utter destruction.

"Where the heck are we?" Raiden inquired.

"This looks like Ancient Greece," Robin remarked.

"A distorted and ruined version of Ancient Greece," Rocket added.

"Should I scout our surroundings?" Wally suggested.

"No, stick together. We're in an unknown territory," Kaldur advised.

*BOOM*

Upon hearing the explosion, the entire team exchanged looks.

"We should investigate that," Connor proposed.

"Stick together!" Kaldur ordered.

The entire team sprang into action and found Jinx engaged in a battle with someone.

"Raiden... Is this part of your power?" Robin questioned.

"No... She looks younger than my current self," Raiden replied.

The team observed as a young mage, approximately their age, confronted Jinx using dark magic. She bore an uncanny resemblance to Medea but appeared younger.

"Let's help her!" Raiden urged.

Taking flight, Raiden opened his robe, revealing multiple magical circles. "Machia Hecatic Graea."

A rain of light descended upon Jinx, piercing her body with some of it.

"Be careful, Raiden! You might kill her!" Kaldur cautioned.

Raiden then descended towards the injured Jinx. To his surprise, she dropped something in front of her as she said, "Open Labyrinth of the Minotaur!"

A bright light shone, and everyone felt weightless.

…

Opening his eyes in the dimly lit space, Raiden surveyed his surroundings and found himself inside a dark room with a single door. He made his way out only to discover another door.

"Is this an illusion? Should I use Rule Breaker?" Raiden pondered.

(No, that item she holds has created this place. Rule Breaker won't be of any use here. However, if you manage to locate the center, you can probably break the entire maze with Rule Breaker.) Medea's voice advised.

"A labyrinth, huh? Another dimension and now a labyrinth. Great," Raiden muttered.

Continuing his exploration, Raiden soon spotted someone—the same girl who had been fighting Jinx earlier.

"Hey, you!" Raiden called out.

Upon hearing his words, the girl started running, floating slightly and darting away. However, Raiden quickly caught up with her, showcasing the disparity in their abilities. Thanks to Medea's magic, Raiden was much faster.

"Just wait a second," Raiden placed his hand on her shoulder, but the girl turned and unleashed a burst of magic. Raiden used a defensive magic circle and reassured her, "Just wait! Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I saw what you did to that woman. You filled her with holes," the girl retorted.

"She was a villain, she killed hundreds of people to get here... she deserved worse," Raiden explained.

"I see... Who are you people?" she inquired.

"We're the team, part of the Justice League," Raiden replied.

"The Justice League?" the girl asked, confused.

"Hmm, I guess they don't exist in this dimension. They're a group of heroes that save the world from various dangers," Raiden clarified.

"Heroes... no, it's useless. No one can defeat him," the girl mumbled.

"My name is Raiden Kagawa. What about you?" Raiden asked.

"Raiden?" the girl questioned, puzzled by his name.

"Oh yeah, I look like a witch now. It's just part of my power. I can transform. I'm really a man inside!"

"Creepy," the girl commented.

She removed her hood to reveal her purple hair, purple eyes, and an emerald on her forehead.

"The name my mother gave me is Rachel, Rachel Roth," she replied.

"Rachel, huh? Cool name, to be honest," Raiden remarked.

"You should call me Raven. Only my mom called me Rachel," she suggested, clearly not liking that Raiden had called her Rachel.

"Edgy much?" Raiden teased.

"I don't know what that means, and I don't care. Whatever you people are doing here is dangerous, and eventually you will cause the destruction of the world," Raven warned.

"Yup, very edgy," Raiden quipped.