56: The Final Showdown part 1

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(Davian's P.O.V)

One small squeeze and I could break his wrist easily. But...no, if he thinks he can use me, then I can use him. I let go of his hand, turning back to my...to the shrouds.

"Are you sure turning your back on a man like him is wise?"

Chase asked and I had to admit his concern was warranted.

"It's not. But he is also useful. Very Useful. I am going to need him for a very special project."

I replied through our link.

"I feel like I know his type. Keep your guard up."

Chase cautioned.

I spread out my hands, looking at the sky.

"Come to me!"

The Shrouds begun flying in a tighter formation around us. Constantine stumbled to his feet.

"Trust me Lad, you don't want to do this! You cannot control them. Some things are not meant to be controlled!"

Constantine desperately warned.

How hypocritical. I wasn't a massive DC fan but Constantine was infamous for his risky and dangerous gambits that usually ended up bad for almost everyone involved. Almost because somehow, he always seemed to be the one to survive.

His greatest tool was not his magic. It was his mind. I wasn't afraid to admit I was wary of him. One, because he was grayer than gray. An utilitarian when it served his goals. And two, he was shrewd as fuck.

"Maybe you're right. But maybe you're not."

I told him, strengthening my connection to the Shrouds.

"Regardless, you're not the boss of me. No one is."

"I've seen stronger men than you succumb to the allure of power. You have no clue what unholy powers you're dealing with."

Constantine responded.

I chuckled.

"You're preaching to me about meddling with unholy powers? You of all people?"

My hands fell as I turned and pointed at the snake taking up the entire street.

"That serpent is the perfect example of your hypocrisy."

He blinked.

"What kind of creature is it?" I prodded with a raise of my eyebrows.

"I know it's not normal, even taking into consideration that Phantasmal creatures exist. It's too powerful. I also know that it wasn't meant to deal with Superman, so what are you planning, Constantine? What 'unholy powers' are you meddling with?"

Chase chuckled from within my inner world.

The exorcist and I stared at each other, the mood between us filled with a tension you could cut with a knife.

"I propose a compromise. You keep your secrets and I promise not to take revenge for stabbing me in the back."

I offered.

"Almost stabbing you in the back. You're still here mate."

He counter argued.

My face sent carefully blank as I made my displeasure known.

"Funny."

Constantine frowned.

I snapped a finger and the crowd of Shrouds scattered into different parts of the city. Their number being over a 1000. There were even more Shrouds in the city, only they were too far away from the range of Reikaku.

Only one Shroud remained before us, waiting for my orders like a dutiful soldier.

"Where are you sending them?"

Constantine enquired, staring up at the sky.

"I'm not telling you to trust me Constantine. I'm only saying that you don't jump to conclusions." I said concentrating on the task.

"And if you must know... I sent them out to save people."

"Save people? That's impossible."

He shook his head.

"They cannot interact with physical objects."

I smiled.

"True. But to me, they are much more than simple spirits. They are like an extension of myself. Extra limbs that I can move like puppets."

I pulled my hand back, clutching something in my palm, The line of death. The black string was attached to the Shroud's chest. It hummed as Reiryoku begun pouring into the Shroud through it. That energy would then be channeled to the rest of the Shrouds under my control, giving them enough substance to touch material objects.

"I can't believe that worked!"

Chase exclaimed as a whole new world opened itself to me. From that single string, I could perceive the rest of the Shrouds entirely. I could see from their eyes.

To them the world was cast in black and white. Black only applied to zones of death. There were these black vortexes of what I could only call, death energy, all around the city. Everything else was white or gray.

My own eyes were closed as I parsed all the information I was gleaning from each individual Shroud. Constantine had gone suspiciously quiet. He was no doubt watching and planning. Maybe to make sure the next scheme he came up with would work.

I controlled the Shrouds to move towards the death vortexes that only they could see. The deeper the color of the death energy miasma, the closer the victim was at death's door. It was almost poetic then, that the agents responsible for transporting souls to hell were also the ones saving them.

Then the shroud would phase through the debris and rubble to get to anyone trapped and in need of help. Interacting with huge pieces of concrete to move them was easy, though the drain on my reserves was faster than before.

Large groups coordinated with each other almost entirely autonomously. They reacted to situations according to what I wanted. It was almost unnervingly easy to control them.

The first victims the Shroud reached was a pair of twins huddling in the corner and crying over a collapsed man. He was bleeding from a cut on the head. The twins shivered as the invisible form of the Shroud appeared in the confined space. Somehow they could detect that the man was about to die.

Not today.

I placed a hand on the green shield around Superman.

Healing energy passed through my arm into the man. The cut healed right before the two kids' eyes.

"Angie, look! Look!"

The boy tugged at his sister, pointing at the quickly closing wound. The man blinked his eyes open.

The girl gasped, and both kids hugged the fully healed man while the family of three all cried.

The huge piece of concrete blocking their way was moved away, and the first rays of the sun broke through the hole. The man held his children closer to his chest.

"Thank you, whoever you are."

He said, speaking into the open air.

The Shroud left for others who needed the help.

And like that, I worked through the city very quickly, saving anyone I could. The Shrouds provided a better view of Gotham. They were unobstructed and could fly.

"Bloody hell, you're actually doing it."

Constantine exclaimed, somehow sensing what I was doing.

"Still want to stop me?"

I asked.

Before he could answer, the ground trembled.

"An earthquake?"

I wondered.

"No, it's something worse. Trigon has begun. Shit! I've wasted too much time!"

Constantine growled, a circle lighting up under him before teleporting away.

"I still don't like that you let him get off so easily."

Chase told me.

"In Constantine's own words, he's a bastard. A man who sold his soul to three demon rulers because he had terminal cancer. To avoid a war between the three of them, they healed him and he showed them the middle finger as a way to say thanks. We need a Bastard like him. Don't worry he'll get what's coming to him. I'm more worried about what that rumble was."

A second later I had my answer.

The destabilization caused the ground to shake, debris shifted as cracks appeared on the ground.

I first saw one of them through the Shrouds. They were huge, gray and right in the middle of their huge muscular chests, was the only other fourth color that Shrouds could detect. A burning red soul.

"What in the hell?"

I wondered as ManBats possessed by Trigon's dark spirits flew out of holes on the ground. They crested above the black dome, flying down before starting to grab people and plunge through the holes once more.

I had no idea what Constantine told the rest but the huge Serpent begun slithering towards the Black Dome.

"I suppose it's time for the final act."

Chase said and I couldn't have agreed more.

'Shunpo!'

I had never tried Shunpo before while carrying something else. In this case the bubble shield around Superman. I noticed a decrease in speed but my increased control saw me, pour Reiryoku through my souls to give myself a platform to jump off.

Catwoman and the rest were startled by my sudden appearance.

"Point that arrow away from me. It's not gonna work."

I told Green Lantern as the Sheath flew into my hands from Superman's chest.

"I'm going on ahead."

I said before any of them could reply.

"Someone please wake up the Kryptonian. I think we're going to need him."

Another Shunpo and I pulled on ahead by a few hundred meters, clearing the distance between us and the first of the ManBats.

"I think you should keep the Shrouds focused on saving people. Trying to use them to fight these creatures will only lead to overdrafting your energy."

Chase advised.

"I agree. Which means..."

I started, Chesha Neko in its Long Sword form slashing out and taking the head off a ManBat. The woman clutched in its claws cried out as the creature fell towards the ground.

"I'll just have to take care of all of them myself and then move on to Trigon. We have delayed this thing for too long."

'Shunpo!'