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Chapter 190: Monsters I

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It was an artistic beauty, an enthralling move of pure perfections, a spell that combines Divinity, Magic, and red Kryptonite.

Divinity because Ian was aware of the concept of Divine Empowerment, the concept of gods granting others their blessing, thus making them stronger.

He learned the concept from Athena, and he combined it with the properties of Red Kryptonite with Magic.

As he said before, Red Kryptonite has the properties of granting others powers, but they can either function as a curse or a blessing.

The result of the spell was a glowing three-dimensional construct floating before Ian, its intricacies seeming endless, the likes of which Zatanna has never seen before, not even in the books of Magic.

Such a spell took him a while to construct, but that wasn't the end of it as Ian started transferring The Force of Evolution into the construct, then Holy light, and Perfect Magic.

The spell then split into three parts, each traversing to their new host, Selina, Zatanna, and Raven. The three constructs saw no barrier in their clothes, going through them, and attaching themselves to their upper back.

"Tch." Harley was differently still annoyed in contrast to Layla who remained calm. She does have Darkness, granted to her by Ian with Red Kryptonite, and she also has Vampiric powers, absorbed from Cain.

So she wasn't sure if she can receive any more powers, but she trust Ian's judgment, leaving it to him.

The process soon ended as the trio clearly sensed the changes in them, the oddness of the mark, and their new profound understanding of their powers. It was an instinctive understanding granted to them by Ian.

"Now let's talk about the goal..." Ian stated as the trio regained their bearings.

"But first, let's talk about goals, your goals... We never talked about it, did we? It was always about my goal, so tell me, what is it that you want?"

His words were surprising, catching them by surprise, but also triggering a minute of silence, one of pure contemplation.

"What brought this up?" Selina asked, curious.

"Curiosity." Ian shrugged.

"I know," Harley jumped at the opportunity, lifting her hand high, but she didn't wait for permission before saying, "It's because I was brainwashed by you! Lovely, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Ian eyed her strangely, "I asked about your goal?"

"I answered?" Harley said in confusion, as if her words were obvious and understandable to all, "I wanna keep getting brainwashed by you. Simple, no?"

"Pffft hahaha," Zatanna let out a laugh of amusement, "You wouldn't be happening to be turning us into Harleys 2.0, would you?"

"Creating an Arkham Asylum of creatures capable of destroying worlds? Now that I think about it, aren't we a bit too dangerous and crazy?" Selina further added.

"I know, right? We're like a museum of beauty and fun! That's why if we continue to be brainwashed, we'll be an ever-changing museum, a never-ending fun!!" Harley gave her very normal input.

"I agree. I don't think even hell is as peculiar as our 'team'" Raven almost sounded sarcastic saying that.

"..." Ian eyed their banter, feeling a bit of a headache, and the problem is that he's responsible for creating his source of headache, "Be a bit serious, will ya?"

"I'm serious though?" Harley state with confusion. She felt like everything that she said made perfect sense.

"I don't doubt that, but you're a different breed altogether. The others still have a bit of sanity in them, so I expected a different answer." Ian explained, very used to her antics by now.

"My goal? Stealing stuff. I don't really know," Selina murmured, giving the subject a bit of thought, "At first, I only stole for the money, to make a living, but that changed. I've come to love it. The only thing I really want is to live happily, to support you and steal from you."

"Huh?" Ian raised his eyebrows at that. He was pretty sure he misheard the last part, so he listened carefully to Zatanna next.

"For me... It's very complicated. I just wanted to be a magician, like my father. I wanted to surpass him, so I started to learn from him. I've come to love the craft of being a showman, showing my magic to the world under the disguise of being 'fake' Magic."

Zatanna sought comfort in Ian who just took a seat next to her, leaning into him, "The world wasn't kind to me before I met you because I lost my father soon later... All due to me."

She remained silent for a while, getting comfort out of Ian's caresses before continuing.

"I made friends with Constantine and someone else. The Former led to the death of my father, an accident, but it's still my fault for not seeing through his methods long beforehand. 

That someone else also ended up betraying me, even trying to kill me, but in the end, he ended up dying by my hands just a bit ago. It was lovely, everything became lovely, and the world no longer sought to make my life hell."

"The cost of magic," Ian stated. Magic in this world has a cost aside from the magical energy required to cast. It's like every magician is cursed to go through many hardships the more they use magic.

"But I guess you negated that cost once you intruded into my life. It's been nothing but nice since then, so I just want to pursue magic with you, nothing more." 

That was a bit too cute for Ian as he didn't know what to say. He never really intended to do much, but somehow, the universe fell in love with him and granted him a relatively nice life.

The people he holds dear never really face much trouble. It's like he attracts all the bad to himself, and he faces it for them, and he doesn't mind... Murphy's laws might have just been triggered.

"This." Raven's answer was a tad bit odd as she opened a book and started reading.

"This?" Selina wondered, curious.

"Yeah," Raven nodded, "This." It was like common sense to her while her answer was a mystery to the others, most at least.

"Oh!? You're like me?" Harley jumped, asking with anticipation, "You also want things to be This!?"

"Hm? I guess. My This might be different than your This though." Raven shrugged.

"I see." Ian nodded as if he understood what she said. Her goal, she already attained. She killed her father. She got her revenge. She has a home, and people she could consider family. She wishes for nothing more.

So Ian teleported behind the person who has yet to speak, Layla. He gently hugged her from behind as he asked, "What about you?"

"I?" Layla questioned, seeming surprised.

"Yes, you." Ian pressed, really wanting to hear her answer despite pretty much knowing it already.

"My purpose?" Layla murmured. Such a question seemed very foreign to her, making her a bit bewildered, "Your purpose is my purpose."

"Hahaha." A wicked laugh left Ian's mouth as he hugged her tighter. Layla was quite special to him, very special.

"You know, I just realized that Layla might be weirder than me." Harley remarked, her mouth twitching as if an incomprehensible reality has just confronted her, "I have to work harder..."

"Sure..." Ian shook his head and finally got to the main subject, "Now let's talk about my purpose or a side goal I should say. 

It kinda involves all of your goals. You'll be stealing something. You'll be learning an interesting side of magic. You'll learn about true darkness."

If his previous words didn't get them interested, then these certainly did, "Ivy is still in a coma, but she'll be joining you soon. Layla, you'll move between Earth and the target if needed. The target is quite suited for your dark powers so... Our, or your target this time is the Dark Universe..."