Chapter 388 - 388: Return from the Journey, Reborn Anew

This was simply a textbook example of police incompetence.

"Hey, I knew this was going to be a pain!" Constantine sighed. "Why is Karl always surrounded by gorgeous women, and why are they all top-tier? Does that guy really deserve to be called Arkham's stud or something?"

Princess Diana frowned slightly.

She had already heard Karl's name mentioned several times. Clearly, there was far more mystery surrounding this man than she had initially assumed. Otherwise, his name would not keep reaching her ears so frequently.

Meanwhile, Constantine had already begun working his magic.

As ancient, incomprehensible incantations left his lips, darkness gradually gathered around him. From within that darkness came faint, sinister growls and the scraping sound of claws against the ground.

"I know what your boss is capable of, so I'm not going to underestimate him. I've been saving my strength too!"

Constantine grinned wickedly.

"But you still have time to give up. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll still look quite as good jumping across Gotham's rooftops when this is over!"

The moment he finished speaking, a gigantic demonic hound with three heads emerged from the darkness.

Saliva dripped from its fangs.

As the droplets struck the concrete pavement, acrid smoke rose from the ground, clearly showing that the liquid was corrosive enough to eat through the hardened surface.

According to ancient Greek mythology, this beast was Cerberus, the guardian hound of the underworld.

It was commonly depicted with three heads, though Hesiod's Theogony described it as having fifty. Later depictions reduced that number to three. Its jaws dripped deadly saliva, its lower body ended in a dragon-like tail, and writhing serpents covered its head and back.

Constantine had clearly gone to considerable trouble in preparation for dealing with Karl.

He had actually summoned this demonic creature—the legendary watchdog of the gates of the underworld.

Any ordinary sorcerer or warrior confronted with a monster like this would instinctively feel a surge of terror.

However, when Princess Diana faced the three-headed hellhound, which was several times larger than she was, the corner of Wonder Woman's mouth curled upward.

It was not fear.

It was disdain.

"Huh?"

Diana began walking toward Cerberus without the slightest hesitation.

"The last time I saw you, you were still such a tiny, adorable puppy. I can't believe you've grown this big."

Rather than showing any sign of being intimidated, she continued approaching calmly.

Cerberus, however, reacted very differently.

The enormous demonic hound instinctively retreated several steps the moment it saw Diana. A pitiful whimper escaped its throats, almost as though it were begging for mercy.

Standing behind the beast, Constantine immediately noticed that something was wrong.

A creature summoned from the underworld should not be behaving like this.

There was no holy warrior or divine enemy standing before it.

Was there really any reason for it to look so utterly pathetic?

A few days earlier, the ancient artworks Wonder Woman had collected over many years had been stolen from an exhibition in Gotham City.

After inspecting the scene, Princess Diana concluded that the robbery had been carried out by a true professional. No ordinary thief could have swept the exhibition so thoroughly and left so little evidence behind.

That night, she changed back into the battle attire she had not worn in some time and began roaming Gotham's rooftops, intending to catch the mysterious female cat burglar responsible.

At the same time, Constantine had learned that the thief who had stolen the evidence involving Karl was a highly skilled and attractive woman.

He therefore ordered Gotham City to be watched closely. The moment a woman matching that description appeared, he was to be informed immediately so that he could deal with her personally.

Through an unfortunate series of coincidences, Constantine ended up encountering Wonder Woman while she was out searching for her thief.

The meeting was anything but pleasant.

Constantine took Diana for the female thief he had been searching for, while Diana took Constantine for one of Gotham's corrupt cops with connections to organized crime.

So instead of sitting down for a few drinks and finding somewhere to deepen their friendship, the two of them rolled up their sleeves and were already trading insults within three sentences.

Constantine, however, had prepared a special trump card.

With Karl's power continuing to grow, Constantine had gone through extraordinary means to summon the three-headed hound of the underworld—Cerberus.

The creature that could descend into the mortal world was merely an incarnation possessing a fraction of the true Cerberus's power.

Even so, Constantine had believed it was more than enough to deal with anyone he wanted taken down.

Strangely, the moment Cerberus saw Wonder Woman, the beast became visibly terrified and began backing away.

It was as though the woman standing before it was even more dangerous than a demon lord from the deepest pits of Hell.

Constantine was stunned by his summon's bizarre reaction.

He had paid an enormous price to obtain this trump card.

A musclebound powerhouse like Bane could probably be dealt with by a casual swipe of one of the creature's paws.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop slacking off, will you?"

Constantine cursed at it.

"I don't remember giving you all those offerings so you could stand around doing nothing! Get to work!"

But no matter how much Constantine threatened it or how many spells he cast to order it forward, Cerberus refused to take another step.

It even tucked its tail between its legs and tried to turn around and flee.

Constantine nearly exploded with rage.

Then the situation became even more absurd.

The wall behind the beast did not even tremble, yet the three-headed hellhound itself was reduced to ash.

It might only have been an incarnation manifested in the mortal world, but the result was enough to reveal just how terrifying Wonder Woman truly was.

Diana possessed not only overwhelming physical strength, but also such precise control over that strength that the surrounding environment remained virtually untouched.

"Now this is a first!"

Wonder Woman smiled brightly.

"Something straight out of ancient Greek mythology being used against one of its own!"

As one who carried Zeus's bloodline, Diana naturally had no reason to fear a creature like Cerberus.

If anything, the encounter only made her more excited.

"That can't be everything you've got, can it?"

With those words, she began walking slowly toward Constantine with graceful, measured steps.

Constantine stared at her.

Could Karl really possess some kind of ridiculous "Arkham stud" aura?

Even a powerhouse like this woman had somehow ended up connected to him.

And gorgeous women like her just seemed to appear around Karl as naturally as breathing.

"Hey! Wait! Don't come any closer! There might be some kind of misunderstanding here..."

Constantine began to panic.

Especially when he saw Princess Diana drawing closer and closer.

At this point, he felt as though a casual wave of her hand might reduce him to ashes just as easily as she had Cerberus.

Wonder Woman was completely unmoved.

She continued advancing slowly, a menacing smile spreading across her face.

"Is that so?"

She stared directly at him.

"I don't think there's been any misunderstanding at all."

(End of Chapter)

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