"I-I... I did it! Probably." When Zatanna jumped out of the portal, she was clearly much more lively. Pressing a hand to her chest, she let out several deep breaths and said, "To be safe, I erased his memories of me. Otherwise, he might realize I cast a suggestion spell on him to make him work hard."
Zatanna looked up at Bruce and asked uneasily, "Do you think that was kind of evil of me?"
"I think you did very well."
The bartender Andrea had already begun applauding her, but Zatanna was still startled by Bruce's blunt praise. She remembered that Bruce had rarely complimented anyone before.
"To be honest, I came to ask you for a favor." Sitting at the bar, Bruce looked into Zatanna's eyes and said, "You may not have watched television lately, so you probably don't know that I sponsored a variety show."
"Oh, Andrea mentioned it."
Bruce furrowed his brow, looking somewhat troubled. "A few years ago, when I got that gemstone, I felt that something was off about it. But at the time, I only thought it was beautiful, collectible, and would please Selene, so I shattered it on my own and scattered the pieces all over the world. I planned to collect them later and surprise Selene."
"But I never expected Master Andrew to come see me and tell me that this thing was very dangerous. It was apparently called the Spirit of Wrath. In any case, every shattered black diamond contained immense power, and that would very likely attract the attention of mages who had lost their power."
"You know how the magical world works. Young and middle-aged mages have always called the shots. Most people become Archmages when they are young, including the mages in the Archmage Alliance."
"Unlike elderly mages