Hearing Xiaoyu's question, Dad's face twisted into a grimace.
The old man gazed at the storm raging above—the sky dark with swirling clouds, lightning crashing down like divine punishment. He took a deep breath.
This… this is magic?
If he hadn't sensed the unmistakable presence of magical energy filling the air, he wouldn't have believed it.
The Qi magic I learned is completely different from this…
But there was no time to dwell on that thought.
"Enough chit-chat."
Sheriff Black's face was tense. "Since this is the signal from Shazam and Constantine, we need to move. Now. We can't waste this opportunity."
"Agreed."
Coulson nodded, turning to Hill, who immediately relayed orders through her communicator.
"All agents, follow orders—move in now!"
"Understood!"
The response was immediate.
Then—
BOOM!
A barrage of shells erupted from below, streaking through the sky like fiery meteors before crashing into the castle walls.
RUMBLE!
Flames and debris exploded into the air.
Chunks of stone, mixed with the bodies of Hydra soldiers, were sent tumbling down the mountainside. Their fates were unknown—and at this moment, no one cared.
The only thing that mattered was the battle.
Lightning illuminated the battlefield as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pressed forward, seizing the opening created by the explosions.
Seeing their chance, the fighters from the 13th District surged forward, pouring into the breach.
Jackie Chan and the others followed, Xiaoyu held tightly in their grasp.
Meanwhile—
With a burst of hellfire, Johnny Blaze transformed.
The Ghost Rider emerged, his skeletal form clad in charred leather, blue flames licking across his body, his presence radiating an eerie, otherworldly menace.
Under the guidance of old Qi magic, Johnny's mind—once clouded by the Spirit of Vengeance—remained steady. He was fully in control.
Revving beneath him, his motorcycle morphed, its wheels igniting with supernatural flames.
With a flick of his wrist, Johnny lashed out.
WHOOSH!
The chain of hellfire snapped forward, glowing crimson as it tore through Hydra's ranks like a searing whip.
"I can feel it."
Johnny's hollow, flame-filled eyes flickered ominously. "There's powerful magical energy inside the castle."
"I sense it too," Dad confirmed, his expression grave. "The Sword Dragon is here. And he's not alone—his reformed warriors are with him."
"Then that means he and his forces are already fighting Constantine and Shazam," Johnny said.
His mind was set.
"Constantine and Shazam are buying us time. Dad, you need to find the Sword Dragon and stop him from summoning more demons. We'll back you up as soon as we can."
"Understood."
Dad nodded and turned to his apprentice.
"Jade, come with me."
"Wait! I'm going too!" Xiaoyu shouted, trying to follow.
"No, Xiaoyu! You're staying with me!"
Jackie Chan caught her by the arm, pulling her back.
Meanwhile, deeper in the fortress, four sinister figures emerged from the shadows.
Gan, Wen, Cui, and Shan.
Their eyes burned with malice as they stared at the man responsible for their imprisonment.
Constantine.
"Time to work a little harder."
Shan, now transformed into a dark assassin, grinned wickedly. His fists crackled with eerie blue energy, the demonic power surging from his elbows down to his knuckles. His strength had been enhanced beyond human limits.
"This time, I'm locking you up for good—let's see how you like prison food!"
With a sudden burst of speed—
WHOOSH!
Shan lunged straight at Constantine.
But Constantine remained unfazed. Without even looking at the incoming attacker, he casually turned to Shazam.
"He's yours."
Shazam simply shrugged. Raising his hand, he unleashed a bolt of lightning—
BOOM!
The impact sent Shan hurtling backward.
Just then—
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Three more figures rushed forward.
Gan, Wen, and Cui—three dark assassins, transformed from Zhou, Afen, and Rasu—closed in on Constantine, their movements swift and lethal.
This time, Constantine actually reacted.
With a glance at Shazam, he stepped back. "They're yours too."
Shazam raised an eyebrow, ignoring the oncoming enemies. "And what exactly are you doing?"
"Me?" Constantine smirked, stepping further back. "I'm off to deal with the Sword Dragon and the demon he summoned. You know I'm not much of a fighter."
The moment his words fell—
BOOM!
The three dark assassins lunged—only for Constantine to suddenly whip out a golden, rune-inscribed shotgun.
With a flick of his wrist—
BLAM!
The weapon roared, firing enchanted buckshot.
BLAM!
The steel ball-like pellets slammed into Gan, Wen, and Cui, blasting them backward. They crashed into the far wall with enough force to carve deep craters into the stone, nearly breaking through.
Meanwhile, Shan, who had just recovered from Shazam's lightning strike, glanced at his fallen comrades and stood frozen for a moment.
"...Not much of a fighter?"
He narrowed his eyes at Constantine, who was already retreating down the hallway.
"You're not much of a fighter, but you're damn good at shooting, aren't you?"
That thought barely passed through Shan's mind when—
DA-DA-DA-DA!
Constantine fired a few more rounds as cover, then disappeared from sight.
Shan clenched his fists, contemplating whether to chase after him, but his attention quickly shifted back to the real threat standing before him.
Shazam.
The thunder-wielding hero watched him with an amused smirk, arms crossed, completely unbothered.
Shan's expression darkened. "Shazam…"
He knew exactly who he was up against.
Hydra had provided them with extensive intelligence on the Justice League, including its members, strengths, and weaknesses. And with Shazam's recent rise to prominence, he was a major topic of discussion—not just among fans, but among their enemies as well.
They had studied him.
They had prepared for him.
And now, it was time to put that preparation to the test.
Shan exchanged glances with the other three dark assassins, who had already recovered from Constantine's shotgun blast.
A brief, wordless conversation passed between them.
"What do we do?"
"The plan."
"Screw it, we fight!"
"Under the magic's protection, we're invincible!"
Their confidence didn't waver.
They weren't just normal soldiers anymore.
The Sword Dragon had given them power.
And now, they were ready to use it.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The four assassins attacked in unison, their weapons slicing through the air as they lunged at Shazam.
A spinning shuriken, a flaming warhammer, a water-enshrouded three-section staff, and a lightning-charged fist—each aimed to strike him down.
The shuriken whirled at dizzying speed, releasing a thick cloud of smoke, blinding Shazam and making it impossible to anticipate the next strike.
The warhammer, wreathed in hellfire, radiated an unbearable heat. The flames crackled with a sinister glow, carrying the power to sear flesh and even scorch the soul itself.
The three-section staff shimmered with a rippling, toxic aura, the water around it shifting in unnatural waves, exuding an eerie light.
And finally, the fist crackling with raw electricity—an attack so self-explanatory it needed no further warning.
Shazam, seemingly unfazed, calmly closed his eyes and lifted his hand slightly.
"He gave up?"
"Be careful. Superheroes never give up that easily."
And just as predicted—
BOOM!
A massive lightning storm erupted, engulfing the entire corridor and shaking the castle to its very foundation.
Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!
The violent arcs of electricity crackled through the air, surging over the dark assassins' weapons and bodies. The very moment Shan attempted to land a punch, he was swallowed by the storm.
The thunderous roar of energy sent shockwaves through the castle, causing walls to tremble and debris to rain down from the ceiling.
"What the hell is happening?!"
"Is this Shazam's power again?!"
"This is insane!"
Jackie Chan and the others stood frozen in awe, their gazes darting between the electrified corridor and the quivering stonework above them. A single thought loomed in their minds—
If this keeps up, the whole castle might collapse!
And yet—
Among them, only Xiaoyu had a different reaction.
Eyes wide with admiration, she barely noticed the impending destruction. Instead, she clasped her hands together, practically sparkling with excitement.
"Shazam is so cool!"
She beamed with pride. He was exactly the kind of hero she looked up to—someone worthy of standing beside Batman and the rest of the Justice League.
BOOM! BOOM!
The lightning storm faded, leaving behind only the scent of ozone and scorched stone.
Gan, Wen, Cui, and Shan—the four dark assassins—were completely obliterated. Their bodies dissipated into black smoke, twisting and writhing as they drifted back toward their master, the Sword Dragon.
Shazam exhaled, lowering his hands, only to feel a presence lurking in the shadows.
His eyes narrowed.
The air around him thickened as dark figures emerged from the depths of the corridor.
"The Sombra Corps."
More ninjas, clad in the void itself, surrounded him. They moved like phantoms, appearing and vanishing from the darkness, their numbers endless.
"Great. More trouble."
WHOOSH!
Before he could react, they leapt at him from every direction.
Z-Z-Z-ZAP!
Shazam unleashed another burst of lightning, scattering the first wave of ninjas. But for every one he struck down, more clawed their way out of the shadows, endlessly replenished.
Constantine strode down the dimly lit corridor, his expression grim. Thanks to his shared consciousness with Shazam, he was fully aware of the situation outside.
Damn it. I need to hurry.
He could feel it.
The oppressive, suffocating presence of demonic energy.
The very air ahead was heavy with malevolence. This was the heart of the castle.
The summoning site.
The Sword Dragon and his demon were waiting.
Constantine's grip on his weapon tightened.
Then—
A flicker of movement.
He slowed his pace.
A mass of dark shapes emerged ahead of him, blocking his path.
And standing at their center—
A lone figure with gray-streaked hair, his cold gaze locked onto Constantine.
The Sword Dragon.
Surrounded by the Sombra Corps, he exuded an aura of utter confidence.
Constantine sighed, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for the inevitable.
"No chance of talking this out, huh?"
The Sword Dragon remained expressionless.
"I don't waste words on the dead."
Then, with a flick of his wrist—
"Kill him."
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The Sombra Corps surged forward, a tidal wave of darkness, closing in on Constantine from all sides.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A barrage of darts rained down. Constantine dodged and weaved, holding his golden spray. With each eruption of fire from the muzzle, the shotgun blasted the invading Sombra ninjas out of his way.
Quickly, Jackie Chan and the others made their way through the castle, arriving at this chaotic scene. They spotted the Sword Dragon and the Sombra Corps, as well as Constantine, who was being besieged by the ninjas.
"It's you!"
Upon seeing his father, the Sword Dragon was instantly furious.
"Sword Dragon, your end is near!"
The old man stood firm, undeterred. He pulled out a dried lizard from his pouch, while Truu, standing beside him, retrieved a dried puffer fish and began chanting an incantation.
"Monsters and demons, begone!"
"Monsters and demons, begone!"
A surge of devilish energy exploded from the old man, forcing the Sombra Corps to retreat, giving Constantine the chance to free his hands.
"Leave it to me now!"
Xiaoyu took a charm from her schoolbag. The explosive power of the dragon charm surged, sending a violent burst of energy straight at the Sword Dragon.
"Huh?"
The Sword Dragon dodged the blast, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"A spell?"
This power was exactly what he had been dreaming of.
"Hahahaha!" The Sword Dragon laughed triumphantly. "Thank you for bringing me this spell. Leave now, and I will treat you well."
With a violent wave of his hand, the dark killers—Gan, Wen, Cui, and Shan—appeared once again in front of Constantine.
But Constantine was unshaken. These four had been blessed with the magic of the Sword Dragon, making them incredibly difficult to kill. Even if they were struck with lethal force, they would simply revert to their demon form. As long as their magic energy remained full, the Sword Dragon could always restore them to their previous state.
"Jackie Chan!"
As the four appeared, they locked eyes with the enemy and immediately sprang into action without the Sword Dragon's command. They charged toward Jackie Chan and the others.
"Humph!"
At that moment, the Ghost Rider Johnny exploded with his hellish power. Blue flames surged outward, engulfing the entire area. However, the flames deliberately avoided Jackie Chan and the others, instead focusing on the Sword Dragon and his dark assassins.
The four of them immediately felt the heat of hellfire sear their skin.
"Damn it!"
"It's too hot!"
They were momentarily stunned.
"Humph!"
The Sword Dragon grunted, and his devilish energy pulsed with force, extinguishing Johnny's hellfire with a powerful surge of his own dark power.
"Now that you're so concerned about others, perhaps you should focus on yourself."
What he didn't notice was Constantine, who had quietly approached from behind. Without hesitation, Constantine pulled the trigger, and the golden spray slammed into the Sword Dragon with a deafening noise.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out as a transparent barrier appeared before the Sword Dragon, absorbing the impact of the spray.
"A magic barrier?"
Constantine raised an eyebrow in surprise at the Sword Dragon's unexpected ability.
"John Constantine, you'll regret this. But go ahead, find the demon inside. I'll deal with you soon enough."
The old man nodded, acknowledging Constantine's next move as he rushed toward the Sword Dragon's rear.
But the Sword Dragon didn't hurry to stop him. Instead, he turned to the old man with a malicious grin.
"Today, we settle this, old man!"
Suddenly, a playful voice echoed through the corridor.
"Oh?"
Whoosh!
A figure shot through the air, landing gracefully at the end of the hall. The man was dressed in a suit reminiscent of a superhero, but with unique touches—his cloak, gold-rimmed cuffs, and a lightning logo emblazoned on his chest marked his distinct identity.
"Shazam!!"
Xiaoyu's eyes widened in awe. She stared, admiring him.
"Hello, Xiaoyu."
Shazam turned his head and gave her a warm smile before glancing at the Sword Dragon.
"You can't ignore me. After all, I'm the one who started the signal in the first place."
…
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