...

Chapter 81: Staff Of All Things VIII

...

Ian took his time, giving his mind plenty of time to clear up before eyeing the scammer weirdly, "I found an angel... Five books a case."

"..." Constantine remained speechless for a while before mumbling unsurely, "One book?"

"No. I'm constantly risking my life in every case. I mean, you're really not courteous in throwing me to the wolves every time, and it works every time. Do you realize how much easier I made your life be?"

"..." Constantine looked defeated, but still made one last attempt, "Two books?"

Ian rolled his eyes at the man's strange behavior before assuming, "Could it be that you don't have many books left? Makes sense, I guess. Alright, I'll humor you, and accept two books a case."

He then turned his attention to the girl who couldn't take her eyes off him, "Hi, mind being a dear and bring me my robes. Those please,"

"Ah, yea..." The girl hurriedly complied, her nervousness apparent to all. Constantine on the other hand just shook his head at her antics before introducing her, "She's Zed Martin, a gifted person I should say. She will be helping us in our cases from now on."

Ian smiled as he took the robe and put it on. He tied it tightly before standing up from the blanket, "Gifted?"

"A psychic of sorts, why don't you show him what you can do?"

The woman seemed to be in her mid-twenties, yet she was acting like a teenager who has a crush. She was still a grown-up though, so she regained her calm sooner than later, and guided her hands to touch his cheeks while glimpsing into his eyes, quite the intimate movement.

"..." Constantine looked at the scene strangely, his mouth opening and closing, but he still said nothing. He could almost swear she doesn't need to do that to use her gift.

"I can see something. I can not see you... All I can see is mist. Someone was speaking, a woman's voice. She wants you to stop... Stop... Stop dying."

Zed seemed to be in a trance. Words were coming out of her mouth without her even knowing it, almost as if she was controlled.

She slowly got her wits back, regaining clarity, "I... That's not usually how I see things. I don't know what happened," Zed turned her attention to Constantine, giving him a questioning look, "I also can't feel his emotions."

Ian narrowed his eyes, in a contemplative state. He certainly doesn't remember the girl before him despite knowing a lot about Constantine's famous experiences.

"I can sometimes see the future, and feel others' emotions through skin contact." Zed cleared whatever doubts he had and added, "I just don't know if what I saw and heard is a precognition because I don't usually hear stuff, I just see."

"Well, that's interesting. Anyway, we have an angel to help. Also, welcome to the team."

His attempt at changing the subject didn't go unnoticed, but Zed still smiled brightly and shook his hands, "Thank you."

The trio made their way to another room where they found the said angel, and they were soon joined by Raven who was awakened by the noise.

"What do you think?" Ian wondered.

"Well, she's certainly an angel. It's not an illusion, but I still need to do a little investigation."

That he did with the help of Zed while Raven to the side clearly expressed her stance on the subject, convincing the demonologist to hand her the feather.

Constantine of course wasn't so easy to convince. Only his investigation was able to convince him. What sealed the deal was Zed sensing the angel's emotions, and nodding to Constantine, "She's fearful, hopeful, and seem to be indignant, not sure... Nothing alarming though."

"I see," Constantine stroked his chin while eyeing the angel, making her nervous. However, he did find it in his heart somehow to be considerate as he instructed Zed to hand her the feather.

A sly smile instantly surfaced on the angel's face, Imogen. The moment she touched the feather, it flew back and merged into its rightful place.

Imogen's sudden change seemed to surprise everyone in the room, as they became vigilant, especially after her blaring laughter spread through the place, laughter of clear craftiness.

She didn't seem so weak and pitful anymore. She was regaining her power as her wings became complete, and only then did they show their true color. Instead of the fabulous white wings, they were now dark and sinister.

"Watch out! She's a foocking fallen angel!" Constantine warned with what looked like nervousness?

Imogen however chose to be wise. She started flying away, towards the window, intending to leave the place, and leaving the group with a venomous promise, "Oh, don't worry! I'll be back, and you'll regret your words."

Her powers were after all still recovering despite acquiring the feather, so she couldn't take the chance against a bunch of magicians, especially after seeing what Raven can do.

Imogen's flight however was short-lived. Her speed was incredibly fast, looking almost like a blur, so when she slammed into what felt like an invisible barrier, she naturally felt dizzy, almost losing consciousness.

Constantine quiet his act right there and then, "Ian! Be a meatshield! Zed retreat!" While giving orders, he couldn't help but notice Ian not looking surprised, instead, he was discreetly glancing at the seething Raven.

'I see. Was he teaching her a lesson? So he must've known, or at least had his suspicions... He's too dangerous... But also too useful.'

He noted as he looked at Ian who was seemingly jumping to his death, achieving some superhuman level of speed before kicking the still dizzy angel against the angel again.

Imogen's anger flared through the rough. All of her resentment, and hatred were released specifically at Ian. The rude Ant before her not only treated her disrespectfully but also dared to hit her.

The angel's wrath was released in all of its glory, and she flapped her wings, and with a hiss! flew towards Ian like a missile, sending both of them crashing into the wall behind him, debris scattering all around.

Zed noticed nothing. She had a look of worry on her face as she ran toward the crash incident, and the same was especially for Raven, but Constantine, he noticed something.

Constantine saw it, it was vague, but he saw it, and indeed, what he saw wasn't merely in his imagination. He canceled the spell he was preparing and ran towards Ian, finding him lying on the ground while groaning in pain.

But his eyes weren't on that, but on what was in Ian's hands, the spear-like staff. The interesting part about it was that the staff was inside Imogen's abdomen, basically destroying a large portion of her waist.

'He brought the staff from his pocket dimension at the last minute, and she basically dived right into it... She couldn't stop with such speed, and with how irrational she was... Was he planning on angering her from the start? Was it his plan all along? Moreover, the staff looks a bit different?'

All of Constantine's doubts were thrown out of the window as he sensed a burst of destructive magical energy, bursting right beside him, "What're y?! Sto..."

Alas, he was too late. Raven unleashed her most destructive move in what looked like a collection of anger and fear. The angel was still alive, a bit distraught, but still alive, so Raven took it upon herself to eliminate her.

The magical shockwave almost instantly hit the Angel, obliterating her from existence in an instant.

"Just wh..." Constantine was about to complain but Zed to the side stopped him and shook her head. The two merely watched as Raven who now looks a bit feeble ran to Ian with obvious concern and anxiety, her eyes on the brink of tearing up.

"It's alright, I'm fine," Ian muttered as he took a deep breath, trying to get on his feet.

"Stupid..." Raven softly murmured and didn't take a no for an answer, in fact, she didn't ask for permission but just used her telekinesis to lift him up and took him to his bed.

Constantine let out a sigh before walking out with Zed. The barrier was something he prepared before even entering the hotel room, just in case. It was not just a physical barrier, but also a sound isolator, lessening the trouble and annoyance they may face with all that noise.

His experience told him that an angel shouldn't be in such a state unless some special circumstances took place, and very few angels are so kind as to hand out basically their power to someone else.

From the very start, Constantine's goal was to let the angel show her true colors herself and let Ian be a meatshield while he prepares a spell that will activate another spell he constructed beforehand around the hotel room.

"Stop it hurts!"

"It hurts huh?! Then how about I make it hurt even more! Why didn't you tell me you'll get hurt in the act huh!?" Raven's fuming yells thundered throughout the hotel room, gentle fists raining on Ian's chest.

"I mean, it doesn't hurt that bad, but thank you for your concern." A gentle smile surfaced on his face as he reached out to stroke her hair, unfortunately, she dashed away with a pout.

"I don't care! I just... I just... Hate acting, yeah that's it!"

"Hehe, so silly..."

An act? Was it all an act? What happened that even Constantine didn't notice, and what is Ian's goal in all of this?

...

Chapter 82: Staff Of All Things IX

...

"Ughhh," Ian lied. He was severely hurt. His bones felt like they were shattering and crashing against each other at every second.

He had bruises on several regions of his body, especially his back. Slamming into the wall with such a force certainly did its toll on him.

The feeble crime lord did his best to raise his upper body until he became seated on the bed, albeit a bit stiffly.

"God, it's been a while since I experienced such pain... Good memories huh," The strange person he was, he found it natural to reminisce about all the months or even collective years he spent in hospitals due to his no so rare injuries.

"But it's worth it... like it has always been," Ian's control of his life force has become spectacular across the last few months to the point that he found himself having a clear sense and visualization of all that is within it.

So when he manipulated into one of his rings, a specific black Rose, he clearly sensed and even saw what's within... Imogen.

'Hmm? Still alive? I know there is no oxygen in the black Rose dimension, but she's an angel, so oxygen shouldn't be needed for her.'

The pocket dimension was certainly strange with several different sections, one with his collection, another containing a bizarre sea of fire, and lastly a vacant space where Imogen found herself, hardly able to move.

'Interesting, so the black Rose dimension is indeed hard to traverse as I intended. I was starting to think otherwise with how freely Trigon's fire spreads within.'

Ian left the angel a prisoner inside and started reflecting on the previous incident, 'Well, I'm quite weak, and if my deduction of myself is right, then I will remain just as weak. My power or I seem to refuse any external influence. The question is to what extent?

Also, the time required to bring out my staff from my dimension is less than a second though it took me way longer than that to bring Imogen inside, about twenty seconds, so it's not applicable in combat unless in similar circumstances.

Most importantly, I've acquired the angel. I just have to study her. Prepare a blueprint for what I want, and it should all go well. I just need to acquire a bit of blood, Constantine's blood.'

Ian's plans were well in motion, and he kept thinking and double-checking their success rate a while more.

Then he brought out his staff yet again and started caressing it with appreciation, quite the piece of work, and it indeed looks different than how it was at first.

It now has a very slight change. Thin translucent veins or lines diverging throughout the staff, not many but Ian noted that they're multiplying by the day, all due to him.

'The concept of give and take. If I provide anything my life force, I give... A side effect of giving is rejuvenation, being energetic, but that doesn't seem to be what I take... I have an idea of what I take,'

The effect of give and take was also affecting all of the black Roses though interestingly, it doesn't seem to affect Selina, or if it does, he saw no signs so far.

"For now..." For now, he focused on providing the staff with his life force. He's not only interested in seeing the end result of the give and take concept, but he's also using it to heal some of his wounds. After all, everyone knows that if you lose your life force, you'll start healing at an accelerated rate.

His power truly makes very little sense. He used to believe it was just a death immunity, but it became much more than that. He knows he isn't lucky because he faced so many unlucky incidents in the past which is why he learned to manipulate the odds to his side.

As he once remarked, luck is his bitch. That in itself is a clue to how broken his power is because it can even manipulate that, and perhaps even something more.

Ian noted something across the next few days, it took a while for him to heal. In contrast to the first time when he had skin contact with Ivy, this time was very slow. It took only several hours before but now it took a few days.

'Is it perhaps because Ivy is capable of sucking a lot out of me? She seems to have a talent in that regard. I also seem to release more life force when in similar special circumstances in contrast to now.'

Soon, however, Ian shrugged his shoulders as he put on his vest, adorned in his new favorite clothing, almost imitating what he remembers Lucifer wears in accordance with his knowledge.

He then walked out to the strangely assessing eyes of Raven, "I still don't get it. How did you recover so fast?"

"It's simple sweety, the world loves me. When I give it, it gives back."

"No, it's definitely just fast regeneration. I still firmly believe that despite your denials." Raven however believed none of that.

She expected some kind of rebuttal from him, in consonance with their usual bickering, yet he just smiled at her, "What?" She questioned, a bit weirded out.

Instead of directly answering, Ian just reached out and ruffled her hair, "Thank you for taking care of me for the past few days. I know I can be a bit of a dumbass sometimes."

"Huh?" Shock would be an understatement for Raven's feelings at the moment, "Are you okay? And what do you mean sometimes?"

She did indeed take care of him, simply by watching over him and bringing as much medicine as she could from a pharmacy, and by that, I mean she cleaned the pharmacy out in panic.

She's still a bit kind, and Ian could see that. She wouldn't have gone with his plan to capture Imogen discreetly if he didn't tell her she was evil beforehand. Even then, she waited for the fallen angel to act just to make sure.

Yet despite that obvious kindness in her, she still cleaned the pharmacy in its entirety, in an illegal way that is.

She realized too late that such a jumble of medicine wouldn't help without knowing what Ian needs exactly, so she came to him in shame, and requested his aid in aiding him... At least she returned most of the medicine.

"Hmm, yeah, I'm just joking. You were of no help at all. You're still a child after all." Ian quickly turned his face without any shame.

"Also, have you thought that perhaps if my actions seem dumb to you, but they end up working out miraculously, that there is more to them than meets the eye? Remember, as long as it works out, then the process doesn't matter... With a few exceptions of course."

Raven didn't find it in herself to rebut, knowing what that entails, an unending abyss of nonsense spelling out of Ian's mouth until she gives up. She still took his advice to heart though.

"Anyway, let's get to work We let them wait long enough. Also, pay attention to when it happens."

Despite Raven always stressing that she doesn't for him, and won't listen to his orders, she still found herself strangely obeying him. Perhaps she started seeing things differently and saw the benefits of Ian's team.

The team only took shape not long ago, but it was already functioning spectacularly. To a certain extent, it was operating in a give and take kind of way.

Certainly like his relationship with Constantine... Right? The latter spent the days while Ian was recovering fixing the repercussions of Imogen's actions.

Using a fallen angel's feather to heal people wasn't without consequence as many of the said people turned into ghouls, mindless zombies that he and Zed had to take care of. A bit of chaos and a lot of moving around did the job.

Ian joined them soon enough and resumed their harmonious working relationship. In fact, he made it even more harmonious to get what he wants quickly.

Constantine also was a gentleman enough to reciprocate the kind gestures as he tried to send Ian to his death in a manner that made one believe that he was speedrunning reaching a third digit number of near-death experiences... Until one day where... Constantine spilled blood?

...

Chapter 83: The Way Of Blood I

...

Until one day where... Constantine spilled blood? Indeed, he spilled blood, literally.

Before meeting Ian, getting wounded was a daily occurrence for Constantine, but that changed, and he was starting to get used to it, like it even.

Constantine never realized before just how useful meatshields can be until now, especially ones that can not die. He had his doubts about Ian's power at first, but he firmly believes it now.

How can he not? Does a piece of stones that was sent out into the sky due to a magical explosion before coming down and knocking down a possessed person right as the latter was about to blast Ian to Smithereens sound normal to anyone?

I mean, it's possible... But what about a possessed person passing out because she had diabetes just as the demon within her was about to cause her to self-detonate next to Ian?

Not enough!? What about when another possessed person though this time the demon was in control stalked the group and attacked Ian from behind.

What happened next? Well, you see. At that same point in time, a priest happened to be passing by with a bottle in his hand. He seemed to be in a hurry, so it wasn't too strange for him to stumbled his steps, causing the bottle to slip out of his hands.

However, while in the air, in its constant rotating motion, the bottle's cap dropped out. The water within also followed, spraying all around, coming in contact with the possessed's skin, and what do you know, that water was fucking holy water!

It was potent enough to instantly cancel the possession, and even hurt the demon to a certain extent! Nothing made sense anymore!

Ian's name was starting to spread in hell. Why? He was with Constantine. He was a menace to demons wandering the earth because Constantine has suddenly become much more successful with him around.

Just him being with Constantine was enough for them to hate him. That's how much of a hate magnet Constantine was though strangely none seem to know of the deal he made with several of the powerful demons.

Perhaps they have yet to realize they've been scammed. Well, except for Neron, he should know due to the circumstances of their deal.

Still, no one seems to know, but Ian knows that several of these demons should be keeping an eye on him from afar. After several deals with demons, he came to the conclusion that his soul has more to it than stated. The demons made sure to keep such information tightly sealed in their minds.

They must know by now, or at least some of them should understand they've been scammed, but most can do nothing about it because Ian scammed them more than the rest.

Even in hell, there are demons stupider than the others, so while Neron gave him a five years period before hunting him, some were held up to the contract for life, only able to watch but not act.

Most wouldn't even be able to do anything even when they find out they've been scammed. It's really not easy to deceive demons in such a way because the strong ones of them are able to detect if the victim's soul is already reserved.

The only reason he succeeded is because of his unnatural immunity to many things, not allowing even the demons of hell to see too deep into his soul. All they could see is the curtain.

That brings us to our current circumstances of Constantine chanting a spell to get rid of the remnants of his blood. It's something he made sure to always do due to how special it is.

However, without his knowledge, that blood was replaced with another similar blood. The same blood type of Constantine just to make sure.

There were a few variables in Ian's plan, but he had to take his chances, and he did his best to lower the risk. After all, he didn't just let Raven learn several specific spells in the past weeks for nothing.

Those specific spells allowed Raven to achieve that feat discreetly from Constantine's senses. The only problem was if Constantine can sense whether it was his blood or not and though Ian made precautions of that, he was still not sure.

Thankfully, it all went well. Still, Ian spent another week working with Constantine just to avoid suspicion, and also to make demons a bit more mad and more sure of something.

"Three books."

"Four books!"

"Six books and I'll give you knowledge about demons, specific knowledge... Please?" Constantine seemed desperate, but Ian still shook his head yet again.

"I have a family and a business to run, and things to take care of. What? Got used to me? Just find yourself a meatshield, I'm sure it's not that hard,"

The people in the room gave him an odd look, especially so for Constantine, "You've no idea." The man let out a sigh of disappointment, "Oh well, if you need help in the future, just let me know, and we can make a deal!"

'A scam you mean?' Ian smiled and shook the man's hand, "Perhaps I'll be seeing you soon."

Ian then turned around and went into a portal of Zatanna's making with Raven, not noticing a strange glint passing through Constantine's eyes as he watched him walk away.

"I'll also be leaving," Much to his dismay, Zed who had a frown on her face spoke, but added directly after, "But if a time comes where you need my help, just let me know."

"I understand," Strangely, Constantine didn't seem surprised, "You'll follow him?"

"I don't know... He doesn't seem to be intere... Nevermind," She shook her head before finishing, but Constantine continued on her behalf though he seemed to misunderstand, "He's not interested in your ability at all. Precognition shouldn't be valuable in his mind. I wonder why?"

"I..." Alas, Zed chose not to correct him, 'It was just a crush anyway, I'm sure it'll pass.'

Ian on the other hand walked out of the portal, finding himself facing Zatanna. Strangely, they smiled at each other and hugged as if they were friends. They were just that, Ian felt no shame in calling her whenever he didn't understand something about magic.

She also accommodated him, gladly at that... She was a bit lonely, her circumstances forced her to be that way, and to a certain extent, she still is.

She doesn't trust Ian just yet, after all, he is a crime lord though the way he ruled over Gotham gave not only her but also Constantine peace of mind. A tiny bit of peace of mind for the latter as whether that'll stop him from going easy on Ian is up to debate.

Her face however soon contorted into a scowl, "I do have to wonder though... Why is Constantine safe and sound? In fact, his life seems to be better than ever."

"Just what did he do?" Ian wondered with amusement though his next words worked to appease her, albeit a bit too much, "Well, you shouldn't worry about that. I'm actually afraid I've gone too far, poor him."

"How far?" Zatanna questioned unsurely before adding, "Nevermind, don't tell me, there is a line you shouldn't cross and I believe you know it."

"I know, it should actually be beneficial for us both... Eventually." A smirk surfaced on Ian's face as he saw right through the future, imagining what would Constantine go through, "Anyway, mind sending me back to Gotham?"

"She can't?" Zatanna wondered, pointing to Raven.

"She... It's complicated but she has her hand tied right now. She can't use much magic." Ian shrugged his shoulders, and Zatanna didn't prey any further.

"I'll send you right next to your base... Latrop!" Raven silently went into the portal while Ian remained, noticing Zatanna's signal for him to stay.

"So I heard you invited Xanadu to a special team, and I heard that you spoke of me, not the kindest words, were they?" Zatanna somewhat spoke with a bit of venom in her mouth. She believes herself to be one of the best magicians in the world, so considering Xanadu without giving her any chance at all kind of annoyed her.

"It's the truth though. You're just not suitable for my team. It has nothing to do with your magical capabilities, but more to your morals."

"Oh? Perhaps you were misjudging me because I can handle a lot. trust me, I witnessed a lot of things and as long as you don't breach certain limits, I can accommodate your actions."

Ian eyed her strangely, looking a bit thoughtful for a while, "Do you actually want to join, or are you just curious?"

"I do actually want to join, and I'm not just curious, but I see your potential," Zatanna especially stressed the last part.

"My power?"

Zatanna remained silent for a while, but that gave Ian the answer he wanted. She saw no reason to hide anything from him or deceive him. Constantine made sure to tell her of that said power and he especially emphasized Ian's danger which is not specifically for his power.

"I owe you one, so let's do it like this. When you require my help, let me know and I'll see how we work together. Until then, I simply can not trust you with some inside information."

They came to a peaceful consensus. Ian's death immunity is just that attractive of power, thus Ian is tempting as a teammate, especially in their field of work.

...

Chapter 84: The Way Of Blood II

...

The area was hot, incredibly hot, and it was getting hotter by the second as the two lovers' tongues tangled around in a fierce battle.

The woman's legs were tightly wrapped around the man's waist, seemingly not imagining a second without him. Her left arm was around his neck, tightly grasping the back of his head and trying to push his head deeper towards her no matter how impossible that was.

The man on the other hand had his left hand on her curvaceous butt, keeping her in his embrace while his other hand was a bit of a naughty one, finding itself diving beneath her clothes to squeeze and pinch her erect nipples.

She, in contrast to the man, was a panting mess, barely able to inhale amidst their entanglement. He was a wave of passion, too much for her to handle even after all of their previous training session.

Soon, however, the impossible became possible as they found a way to go deeper than ever, so deep that she became an orgasmic mess. The passion was too much, and Ian was such a brute in bed sometimes. This was one of them.

Thankfully, Ian now had five black Roses on his fingers, absorbing his life force constantly, and more than ever I must say. The black Rose dimension was in constant expansion at a frightening rate as Ian released all the pent-up energy and annoyance he had accumulated for the past month and a half with Constantine.

It was a losing war. Where soldiers groan in pain and gasp for breath, she was simply a moaning mess while he was groaning in satisfaction. A lot of the burden was taken off her by the rings, so in contrast to their usual sessions, this one was long.

"T... That..." Selina was panting, desperately gasping for breath. She almost forgot to breathe at all in the middle of the process. His thing constantly knocking the air out of her lungs with how deep it was, "That was too much... Finally, I can feel like I can satisfy you."

She seemed to be happier than ever. The satisfaction she received just from finally satisfying him was almost unrivaled. That has been something weighting on her mind for a while after all... To the point of despair, and that desperation has led her to make some bad decisions.

Ian let out a long breath of satisfaction. The training session was not only lovely but also beneficial as he had never released more life force than today. So while that was still happening, he brought out his staff and held it with his left hand while letting his life force dive into it.

His expression however soon turned stern, and even a bit frigid, "It was indeed amazing... I went a bit easy on you because I don't want you to pass out. Now, tell me, what did you do?"

Selina squirmed in his arms, fidgeting in nervousness as if she had done something wrong. She was afraid, too afraid to look at him, "I... Sorry."

Ian glared at her for a while before letting out a sigh. He wasn't really angry, he was just disappointed.

He thought she'd rely on him if she needed anything, but she took things into her own hands and ended up doing something stupid.

Ian pulled her closer to him and took a look at her upper back. He observed what looked like a very small clump of cancerous cells or dead flesh, almost like a virus amidst her spotless skin.

"I assume it doesn't hurt?"

She shook her head.

"Is it spreading?"

She nodded with a bit of anxiety, not afraid of dying, but afraid of leaving him, same things really.

Ian had a lot of random stuff in the black Rose dimension, among them were his phones and a few cameras in case they were needed. He brought out the camera and took a picture of the sick area.

"Does it look any different than before this? I want to know if my life force has any effect on it."

Selina's eyes brightened and looked closely at the picture. She took her time. Alas, anxiety flashed in her eyes again as she shook her head, "It looks the same? I think? I looked at it only yesterday."

"I told you the danger of red kryptonite, so why did you use it? And from where did you acquire it?"

"You also told me the benefits... I didn't want to be dead weight. I don't want to lag behind. Ivy can control plants in like few blocks all around. Rachel is a magician, and I? Nothing! I want to supp..."

She was getting understandably emotional, and a bit worked up, so Ian flicked her forehead, "I'm not contesting any of that. What am contesting is why you didn't come to me? You didn't think I had your best interest in mind?"

"Wha? N-no, I..." Selina didn't know what to say, so she chose to stay silent.

"At least that's not the worst that can happen when in contact with Red Kryptonite... I was even making plans for you, planning to make you stronger... Alas, you're too rash."

"You're angry with me?"

"Nah, I'm... Just don't do something like this again. Please don't make me disappointed, and at least tell me before you do anything as risky."

Selina let out a sigh of relief, seeing that he truly wasn't angry at her, and most importantly, he wasn't disappointed in her.

"For now." Ian brought his staff closer to her and continued to transfer his life force into it though this time with a different purpose. He can control it with his life force, and it felt like instinct, it felt natural.

He controlled his life force specifically to flow into the first vessels where the clusters of Red and Green Kryptonites energies reside. His control over the staff was precise, and it was getting better by the day.

A green brilliance flared from the first vessel in the shape of a sphere. Ian tried to focus the Green energy specifically on the infected area, alas, he didn't have enough control to do that.

"Don't move." Selina was curious but listened to him nonetheless. The Red Kryptonite can give people superpowers, but it's more likely for one to turn into some kind of abomination or even die. Worst, she could've turned into a completely different person, becoming a lunatic.

"Do you feel anything?"

"Mm, it feels comfortable?"

"Red Kryptonite is extremely dangerous because after all, it's energy. I don't think the medicine of our era can do anything to the infected area. The infection should be a gradual expansion of that energy. I'll see if it can be countered by Green Kryptonite."

Hope instantly surfaced on her face, and Ian noticed that as he gave her peace of mind, "Don't worry, I'll heal you one way or another. It's not a big deal... Wait."

A glint passed through Ian's eyes, one of brilliance as if a light bulb has been turned on.

"What?"

Instead of answering, Ian just dived in for a kiss, showing his current emotions, "I just figured out something. I may need a piece of the infected area in the morning to study it, alright?"

That didn't bother Selina, she was just happy that it all went better than expected, and she even unintentionally helped him though she had to wonder, "You want to study it yourself?"

Ian laid himself back on the bed before Selina took a spot on his chest with her legs and arms clutching to him like a koala, "Yeah, I didn't tell you, but I'm a very good biologist."

"You are?" Selina looked at him strangely as if in disbelief.

"Hmm? I mean, I used to spend a lot of time in hospitals and I take that time to read books or information on the internet. I naturally focused on biology more than anything because I wanted to study myself at the time, and find what was so special about me."

"And what did you find?" Selina asked with curiosity. Their usual harmonious relationship coming back in the blink of an eye. Ian just didn't take her actions that seriously... As long as they don't happen again.

"Nothing. My genetics are normal just like any human being. I actually worked extremely hard on biology, trying to dig deeper into my DNA, but I found nothing of significance."

"Mmm, I'm sorry. I just learned that I'm still just as unlucky as I was. I guess that just gets nullified when am with you."

"Yeah, I remember your poor days... It's okay if you want to take risks, in fact, be yourself, be wild and empty even the vaults of the Gods for all I care, but just remember to think... Think a lot before taking risks."

...

Chapter 85: The Way Of Blood III

...

Ian was right by his personal mansion, it was not a very big estate, but it was elegant, suiting his taste. The mansion was also right next to the newly built Cat's rest.

Money and influence can do wonders, especially in a world like the one he resides in. Having the two large buildings constructed in a matter of four months was a possibility.

It's even more of a wonder if one considers the gorgeousness of the Cat's rest and the mansion, befitting of the base of the Roses.

It's also important to note that not only did the Cat's rest become a monumental symbol in Gotham, vibrant with prosperity. It's not just one coffee, the one next to the mansion is the main one. It's a chain of coffees under the Roses.

Despite its prosperity, there was another brand chain that went way past it, not only in popularity but also in revenue, especially the latter. The said brand is called Ivy's Garden.

The garden contains a variety of plants, even rare ones that are hard to find. Next to his mansion was a large greenhouse, one Ian stepped into, finding Ivy within.

The greenhouse was exquisite, to say the least. There are about ten rows of various planting pots, including Raised planters, rail planters, planter pots and boxes, and even hanging planters.

Plenty of exquisite and wonderful plants were spread all around, neatly place and looking healthy.

"Happy?" Ian questioned, amused by her antics. How her fingers trailed around her plans. How every plant around her moved as if alive, dancing in indication of her happiness.

Her eyes lit up as she looked at him, and instead of answering, she just jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly, "You have a month and a half's time of life force to pay, and only then can I be happy."

The way she looked at him, and the way she trailed her fingers along his chest. It was as if she was treating him like a plant, a divine plant of sorts but still a plant, something that weirded Ian out quite a lot.

"Yeah yeah, with due time." They didn't really have much to say as they were used to talking on the phone while he was away.

Though she stayed stuck to him like glue, smelling him like someone who has been wandering a desert for ages before finding an oasis, and tasting its clear natural water.

"Agh, you're really..." Ian was defeated. He just allowed her to do what she wants while telling her why he was there.

"Anyway, I've commissioned a few people with creating all kinds of exquisite plants. I'll also be working on the project though I was never that interested in the field. I will see if I can achieve any results.

You'll be involved in the process as you know more than I do. You're a botanist after all. You also have experience in biochemistry, right?"

That instantly got Ivy's attention as she hastily nodded, "Why do you need others? I'm sure I can do it myself. It will just take time, and I just need the tools necessary to experiment."

"Exactly, it will take time. You see, sweet Ivy, business doesn't work that way. More products with better quality mean more customers, more income, more influence."

Ian started stroking her hair, almost reflexively. Perhaps caressing Raven's hair regularly and for so long made that a habit.

"Another good news... The expansion plans have started. We've already started establishing other of our brand chains in other cities, Cat's rest and Ivy's garden alike."

Ivy was stunned for a while. She didn't speak but just left a kiss mark on his cheek as she jumped in happiness like a little girl.

The more Ian observed her, the more he realized that. She behaves like an adorable youthful woman in the midst of nature, but how humans treat nature turns her into something else... He saw what she turns into, firsthand.

Someone threw a planter pot out of the window out of anger, according to the Roses' investigation. The pot had a plant in it, one made by Ivy's garden. The next day, he was found dead. Ivy hid nothing from him, she told Ian that a poisonous snake found itself in the disgusting human's home... It is what it is.

'Hmm, I trust her a bit... Until I won't anymore. Her obsession is too unnatural. As I thought, I'll have to fix her.'

His thoughts were kept to himself as he made himself to his next stop, the basement of the mansion, specifically his lab.

His first project after arriving home was for Raven to create a few wards and protection spells around the mansion, especially the underground level.

In fact, Raven focused mostly on dark arts and sealing arts, so she really didn't know much about that, but Ian did, it was his focus aside from the core elements of magic.

He rejects magic, thus he can not use magic, so he saw fit to study the concept of it and how it works. He studied the gears that make magic work how it does, all for the future.

Now he stood in a room right next to his lab. It was almost completely empty and dark with only an experiment table on it.

Ian lifted his left hand and focused on bringing two things from the black Rose dimension, one is the staff of all things, and the other is a living being.

His stance changed, going down a bit with the lance-line staff ready to pierce its target. He knew the exact moment she will appear, so his weapon was already on its way beforehand.

And before the dazed and lost Imogen can respond, the staff went right through her heart. Her angelic physic did little to stop the demonic weapon, and what came after made it even harder for her to respond as the staff started sucking her life force.

Granted, she is an angel, so she might have an unlimited life force or at least a large reservoir of life force, but the massive rate at which her life force was absorbed made her weak, finding her body to be harder to control.

She was still able to move though, and if not for the shock, she would've been able to respond and even defeat Ian, if she were to act smart that is.

However, the shock left her unresponsive, giving Ian enough time for the Kryptonian dagger to appear and his hand and swing at her kneck several times.

The angel's head fell to the ground as Ian pushed the staff deeper into her heart with his knife following after it, making sure her heart is destroyed... Angels can simply be killed by destroying their hearts among other methods.

"Hahh." Ian let out a breath, "Nothing went wrong. I guess Murphy's law has yet to take effect? Well, it's easier than I expected."

Still, Ian waited a while more to see if an angel's death can be detected though nothing happened, 'Is it perhaps because she's a fallen angel?'

He left those doubts behind him and focused on those two beautiful possessions of Imogen, her bo... Her gorgeous black wings.

Ian licked his lips, his eyes shining with brilliance. Just imagining his plans made him giddy, to a certain extent, creating plans and watching them unfold was more exciting to him than the results.

He threw the staff and the dagger back into his dimension but brought out the Kryptonian sword. He went ahead and moved the angelic body a bit before swinging down several times, slicing the wings out of the body.

"Phew, quite heavy huh?" It wasn't worth the trouble, so he brought a baggage cart and transported the wings to the lab. He then took the rest of the body to a freezer and put it there until later.

Thankfully, the underground part was only open to him and completely closed with walls of several inches of steel. Just getting inside requires several different codes, basically constructing a complicated intelligent electronic lock system.

Otherwise, if anyone saw him treating a body like nothing, and the anticipation in his eyes. He looks like a completely different person, a mad scientist.

"Now, back to the way of blood!"

In the lab, before Ian were several test tubes and a few other objects. If anyone with a brain comes to know about them, they'll go further and beyond to acquire them to the point of desperation.