With a whoosh, a figure in a red cloak landed. Looking at the empty basement, his expression darkened. He sighed and muttered to himself.
"Too late. He got away again. Is that guy some kind of bloodhound? His nose is way too sharp."
As he spoke, he noticed a clearly scorched black-gray mark on the floor. He immediately stepped forward and reached out to touch the black ash.
With a bang, the small mark exploded violently. When the smoke cleared, a demon with a humanoid upper body and the lower half of a many-legged insect clung to the ceiling, grinning viciously at the mage in the room.
The instant light flared from the mage's hands, the demon stopped smiling. This guy neither drew a spell circle nor chanted an incantation. Twelve golden halos lit up behind his back as he manipulated red ribbons with both hands and came right at it with two BAM BAM punches.
After putting in a little effort to deal with the demon, the man devoured the power within it as quickly as possible. He let out a long breath, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Just as he stabilized the surging energy within his body, a pleasant phone ringtone rang out. He took the phone from his pocket, held it to his ear, and said, "Hello? I'm busy right now, I..."
"What? Bruce Wayne? So what..."
Then Nick's roar came through the receiver.
"Stephen, I don't give a damn whether Bruce Wayne lives or dies, but he can't die in our hospital, understand?!!"
"Then why did those doctors admit him?!" Strange roared back just as loudly. "And why did they send Bruce to a hospital in another city?!"
Nick sighed deeply over the phone and said in a low voice, "Listen, Stephen. With