In the Forgotten Bar of London, the aftermath of the turmoil was far from over. Previously, Bruce had approached Cain, used the magic array trap to knock him out, and obtained his blood. But it wasn't just the small tube that he used on Thomas. Bruce had managed to drain half the blood from Cain's body.
Even though Cain had turned into the Joker, he was a vampire, and vampires need enough blood to sustain their power. Once the power of the blood in their bodies is insufficient, they will fall into slumber, much like Bennett before.
In other words, Bruce had resealed Cain, but this led to the resurgence of the Blood Queen Mary, who had been suppressed by Cain before. She seized the power of the few remaining elders of the Demon Party and, along with the remaining vampires who had not attacked Gotham, began to prey on the population of London.
The Master of the Dark Night, Jim, and his allies could only scramble to rescue ordinary people from the vampires' fangs and talons.
Fortunately, the mistaken decision of the Thirteen Clans resulted in them squandering a lot of their vitality on Gotham. Many Bloodline Elders met their ends there. The Blood Moon, led by the Blood Queen, although still present in some part, posed no threat to the Master of the Dark Night and his allies.
The only great loss was the Master of the Dark Night Jim's base, the Forgotten Bar, which was nearly leveled in the final battle between the two sides.
In the end, Bennett sacrificed half of his own blood to reseal his wife, and they both fell into slumber. However, what awaited them was not peace and calmness, but a desolate landscape.
The mystic world was severely wounded, and the Forgotten Bar was reduced to ruins. Westminster Abbey declared martial law, and London began to implement curfew again. All that one could see was the desolation.
Everyone hid away to lick their wounds, losing all hope for the development of the mystic world. Even the justice-observing Master of the Dark Night, Jim, disbanded the team he assembled earlier, choosing instead to quietly repair the bar even if it was by himself.
From this battle, Jim saw through the truth of the magic realm, and he was particularly disappointed by the choices made by the Great Mage Alliance.
The mages must have understood that they were betraying the interests of the whole human race, allowing the devils to tempt young children recklessly. For their own enjoyment, they kneeled to the devils without hesitation. If so, what's the need for the magic realm to exist?
One day, Jim sat at the not-yet-fully-repaired bar, wiping the glass cup and lost in thought. He couldn't help but sigh, showing a hint of sorrow on his face.
With a creak, the door of the bar was pushed open. Jim frowned and looked up at the figure at the door, saying instinctively, "Sorry, the bar's not fixed up yet, we're not taking customers right now. Oh, Professor Shearer, what brings you here?"
Jim watched as Shearer entered, only to discover another person following behind him. Constantine walked familiarly to the bar and sat down, tapping the counter with his finger and said, "Give me a martini, this is a victory worth celebrating."
"Victory?" Jim sneered, "I don't think either of our sides can call this a victory."
Constantine raised his hand, "I told you before, the mages are all fools. They're not worth pitying, and nothing mournful will happen even if they're wiped out."
"But you know better than I do, John," Jim lowered his head and picked up a cocktail glass, continuing, "Humans always have to face the threat of the mystic world. The creatures from beyond Earth are constantly trying to tempt people to fall. Our souls have a special meaning to them."
"I admit that the mages rarely do any good, even less so when they're conscious. The members of the Great Mage Alliance are a bunch of fools. But if there isn't an orderly magic realm standing in front of ordinary people to resist the omnipresent temptation, then a seemingly peaceful family might give birth to a monster overnight."
"What do you think of the future of the magic realm?" Shearer asked.
Jim looked at him a bit strange, but when his gaze fell on Shearer's face, he felt a chill. Constantine took the glass from Jim's hand, saying, "That's not the Professor Shearer you know. But I think you should talk about your view."
That pair of desolate gray eyes seemed to put a lot of pressure on Jim, who carefully pondered before saying, "I believe the magic realm can't just disappear, but I also feel that the current magic realm doesn't need any saving."
"I won't hide it from you guys, I'm worried about this. How easy is it to rebuild a new magic realm, and even if it gets rebuilt, how can we ensure there won't be another Great Mage Alliance?"
Jim lowered his head, unable to hide his worried expression. He said, "If my reconstruction effort breeds another group of human traitors, then if a similar disaster happens again, I won't be able to escape blame."
"So you're hesitating whether to act or not?"
Jim nodded, "But I'm not the type to do nothing for fear of making mistakes. I want to try my best, but so far, I haven't come up with a good plan."
Then he looked up at Constantine and Shearer, tentatively asking, "The two of you coming here now, you're not here to watch me repair tables, are you?"