Godhood Unlocked: I Chose Sci-Magic Dual Cultivation

Although Carter seemed arrogant, whenever he believed it necessary, he never hesitated to lend a hand.

Especially when supernatural forces were involved.

Amanda had done her homework before coming here, so Carter's decision was well within her expectations.

But as an ambitious woman, Amanda tried to dig for something more valuable.

So she tested the waters. "I heard that you and Doctor Fate are very close partners..."

"Ms. Waller!" Carter sharply cut her off.

"The Doctor has nothing to do with what we're discussing!"

Amanda still seemed unwilling to give up. "I just think that if the two of you acted together, we might be more certain of success."

"This is only an investigation, isn't it? Then I alone am enough."

After saying that, Hawkman ignored Amanda's unpleasant expression and walked straight out of the hall.

The butler entered just then.

"Ms. Waller, is there anything you require?"

"No."

Amanda knew Hawkman was showing her the door. Rather than linger shamelessly, she simply left.

After she departed the Manor, Hawkman entered his underground base.

It was filled with high-tech equipment made using Nth Metal.

Thanks to the material's exceptionally superior properties, Hawkman's technological capabilities were nearly on par with Umbrella's Kryptonian technology.

But his excessive reliance on Nth Metal had also caused his tech tree to develop severe imbalances.

In artificial intelligence, Hawkman's underground base was not particularly advanced—at least, nowhere near Cortana's level.

During this period, Dane often borrowed Jor-El's memory core for research.

Cortana had now evolved to the level of a lower-tier strong AI.

This meant that every network firewall on Earth was like paper before Cortana. She was a Kryptonian in the digital world, without any weaknesses.

Ever since Dane discovered Amanda's attempt to use the Justice Society to investigate the South America incident, he had ordered Cortana to track her phone.

While Amanda and Hawkman were talking, Cortana had even used the Wi-Fi to infiltrate Hawkman Manor's internal network.

So now, every move Hawkman made in his underground base was practically being watched by Dane.

Dane did not want him heading there so quickly.

Because he himself had only later discovered that the place where Enchantress and her brother had been sealed contained an unstable entrance to another dimension.

Enchantress and her brother had originally come to this world through that entrance as well.

So he had reason to suspect that the other dimension contained more evil gods like Enchantress.

Enchantress might have slaughtered indiscriminately, but she was barely on the side of order.

After consuming enough sacrifices, she could at least do something proper. She could even call herself a "god."

But if someone who knew nothing messed around and released more strange horrors, they probably would not be nearly so easy to deal with.

Preventing creatures from other dimensions from invading Earth's dimension was precisely the duty of Shazam. Naturally, Dane did not want Hawkman interfering carelessly.

But he had no intention of meeting Hawkman either. Dane knew that Hawkman valued procedural justice more than most superheroes.

Then he would simply use procedural justice as the reason to stop him.

So when Hawkman's aircraft—supposedly built entirely from Nth Metal, down to the screws—had just entered South American airspace, it was warned by local government fighter pilots.

"Unknown aircraft, you have entered our national airspace. Identify yourself immediately!"

Hawkman cursed inwardly. Who would have thought that a South American forest would have fucking air traffic control?

Carter Hall did not want to expose his true identity, nor did he wish to antagonize the authorities.

So his aircraft circled above South America for a while before finally turning back.

But he had not been completely wasting his time. What Nth Metal could accomplish was beyond most people's imagination.

Hawkman also had his own private satellites, and he used them to compare the local energy spikes from the past few days.

He quickly identified several locations connected to the incident. Dane, who was watching through the network, saw clearly that they were the sites of their battle.

But that was all Hawkman could determine.

Though Hawkman was associated with mysterious forces, he himself was actually on the technological side and had not delved deeply into magic.

"Perhaps I should ask Kent for help?"

That was also why he had left so readily.

On one hand, he did not want to antagonize the authorities. On the other, even if he stayed, he would not uncover anything more.

One day, I'm definitely going to make this aircraft invisible! Carter thought bitterly.

As for why a region inhabited only by tribal people had fighter jets and pilots, naturally, Umbrella had sponsored them.

Weapons were always the best show of sincerity for opening another country's doors when that country could not produce them itself.

When Dane asked the local government to do him a small favor, the military readily agreed.

Dane had tasted the benefits of wielding official power. He wondered whether he should take control of a real country himself.

Then, if America tried to make trouble for him using official power in the future, he could strike back with the same weapon.

Look at Aquaman. Hardly any official forces ever bothered him.

Because behind him stood a real national power—a superpower whose technological level far surpassed that of the surface nations.

To avoid diplomatic incidents, organizations like A.R.G.U.S. would do their best to avoid Aquaman.

The more Dane thought about it, the more necessary it seemed. And he had thought of a country that was actually perfect for him.

Kandahar.

A small African nation with Eternal Metal, currently under the harsh military control of the International Gang.

Both A.R.G.U.S. and the Justice Society turned a blind eye to matters involving politics.

Huh? You say the Justice League cannot interfere in politics either?

What does that have to do with me, Dane Davis? I'm just a businessman!

Meanwhile, Batman had finally found a lead on Constantine in London.

But he quickly learned that Constantine had not stopped hiding from him. Rather, something had held him up.

That night, on a route Constantine was bound to take, Batman blocked his path from a dark corner.

"When can we stop playing this game?"

"After all this time chasing you, you should know I mean you no harm."

Constantine showed no unusual reaction to Batman's words. He merely smoked in silence.

Batman sensed his low mood, and a flicker of surprise appeared beneath his mask.

From what Batman had learned of Constantine these past few days, he did not seem like someone so quiet and reserved.

"You've run into trouble, haven't you?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're so smart, so why don't you help me think of a solution?"

This was not the first conversation between Constantine and Batman.

But both men were intelligent and enjoyed probing one another, so Batman's efforts to recruit him into the Justice League had made little progress.

Yet Batman was a paranoid man who liked to keep everything under his control. Even if he ultimately could not recruit the other man into the JLA, he had to make sure Constantine was completely harmless.

Unfortunately, Constantine was a man steeped in every vice imaginable.

After learning of his glorious exploits, there was no way Batman could rest easy.

What kind of person had to be for even Hell's demons to consider him scum?

The Cursed Girl

London Hospital.

"I don't know how much you understand about magic, but something strange has happened recently."

"Go ahead. I'm listening." Batman tilted his head as if listening intently.

Constantine sighed and exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

"Something opened a passage between my consciousness and subconsciousness, materializing the demons in my heart."

"This morning, I stepped on and killed a whole lot of little versions of myself that were demons."

"In the end, there were too many to kill, so I had no choice but to swallow them back into my stomach."

Batman understood every word he said, but when put together, they were not easy to comprehend.

Especially since Bruce Wayne did not actually know much about magic.

He could only look at Constantine and ask in a deeply skeptical tone:

"You didn't get high this morning, did you?"

Constantine said helplessly:

"I knew you didn't understand magic. Why didn't that Justice League of yours send someone who does?"

"At least then they might be able to help with this."

Batman remained expressionless. "As unbelievable as it is, I agree with you on that point."

He surveyed the hospital. "Who are we here to see?"

Constantine led the way as he spoke. "Tracy. The daughter of a friend of mine."

"You actually have friends?"

"Yeah. A troublesome bond from childhood. Can't shake it off even if I wanted to."

Because of Batman's special identity, the two had deliberately come in the dead of night.

At this hour, apart from a few staff on duty, no one saw them.

When they arrived outside a hospital room, they found an anxious couple waiting there.

"Where have you been, John?"

"Finding some backup."

Constantine's childhood friend, Chas, looked suspiciously at Batman.

"You mean this weirdo in a black costume?"

Batman's expression did not change, nor did his voice. "I. Am. Batman!"

Chas's expression became even stranger. "He even has a title?"

His wife Renee said anxiously from the side:

"We're wasting time. Why aren't we trusting the doctors?"

She glared at Constantine resentfully, and her words were far from pleasant.

"We're asking a scumbag and a freak in some bizarre outfit for help? I don't understand!"

Chas could only try to persuade her gently. "We've seen too many doctors, and none of them could cure Tracy. Only John can help."

He looked at Constantine hopefully. "Please, brother."

Faced with his childhood friend's plea, Constantine could only nod helplessly.

Batman observed everything without saying much.

He followed Constantine into the ward and finally saw a little girl of around eight lying on the hospital bed.