What a Bizarre Mental World

The moment Mr. Irony's mental tendrils entered Eric's consciousness, he immediately sensed an extraordinary energy.

His irony magic involved reciting magical incantations backward, turning ordinary words into something capable of affecting reality and casting spells.

For example, the spell for "unlocking" could be spoken as "lock open," twisting reality and making the incantation take effect.

The reason these magical incantations had to be spoken backward was because mortals always had to pay a price for using magic.

Irony added a layer of disguise, a layer of misdirection, allowing him to cast spells without being noticed by magic's original masters.

Those original masters were the abyss, the dark world, the unspeakable darkness.

They were beings that even Mr. Irony feared and dared not look upon directly.

But after entering Eric's mental world, he immediately sensed a similar yet even darker and more terrifying presence.

His mental power far surpassed that of ordinary people. His mental world was so vast that its boundaries could not be found, filled with things even he could not comprehend.

And the dampness formed by strange, horrifying invisible things continuously devoured the mental power he sent in to investigate.

In the boundless black void of space drifted cold clouds glowing with blue fluorescence.

A black Gotham City appeared amid the chaos, only to be swallowed by endless darkness. A black bat-like monster with enormous wings emerged from the darkness, then vanished in a flash. He faintly heard the name "Barbatos."

An indescribable octopus. A nightmare-like mermaid statue.

Even deeper within, he vaguely sensed traces of those creators of magic.

The terrifying darkness and those creators of magic seemed to stir because of his probing.

Had those beings discovered him?!

Mr. Irony, who was exploring the mental world, shuddered in alarm. Fear instantly filled his heart.

Even as a renowned figure in the magical world, he had never encountered such a bizarre and complex mental world.

He swore that compared to this guy's mind, even Constantine's mental world—the one he least wished to explore—was as pure as an angel's.

He had previously thought the young man who shattered his elemental barrier was a monster, but he had changed his mind.

This guy was a hundred times more terrifying!

Mr. Irony instantly abandoned the idea of controlling the other man's thoughts. The only thing he wanted now was to escape from his mental world as quickly as possible.

Although Mr. Irony had explored much within Eric's mind, only an instant had passed in the outside world.

Seeing the other man's wand pointed at him while his body remained frozen, Eric naturally would not miss such a good opportunity. He broke free of the ropes restraining him, reached out, and clamped a hand around the man's throat.

Although a lightning-like presence surrounding the other man's body formed a solid defense, and that lightning was continuously weakening Eric's strength.

As long as he held the man's neck, even if he could not snap it, he could still stop him from speaking.

"Urgh—"

Drenched in sweat and mentally exhausted, Mr. Irony finally broke free from Eric's mental world after expending a tremendous amount of mental power.

The moment he returned to reality, he felt a sharp pain in his throat.

He tried to chant an ironic incantation, but Eric's grip around his throat prevented him from making a sound.

At the same time, scarlet lasers shot from Eric's eyes and slammed into his face.

The protective barrier formed from lightning and light beams immediately dimmed considerably.

"Urgh—"

Mr. Irony, caught in a crisis, used all his strength to maintain the magic borrowed from the forbidden, preventing it from going out of control.

But the power of Eric's Heat Vision continued to rise.

Boom!

His freed right hand lashed out with a vicious punch, striking Mr. Irony squarely in the chest.

The blue lightning and beams of light constantly coursing over his body dimmed once more.

Boom!

The instant the final barrier shattered, Mr. Irony was blasted backward, and his Adam's apple was crushed at the same time.

The deadly Heat Vision that had been striking his face was forcibly redirected to his arm with magic at the last possible moment.

As blood sprayed out, Mr. Irony's left hand was severed by the Heat Vision.

"Urgh—"

Enduring the piercing pain, blood spilling from his mouth, he struggled to utter the words needed to cast a spell and heal the wounds on his arm and throat.

Mr. Irony was now in such a wretched state that even speaking was difficult, and he was already considering how to escape.

He had no real connection with this mysterious Owl Council and had no desire to work for them.

It was only because a grimoire on dark magic that he had been tracking was in the Owl Council's possession that he had no choice but to cooperate with them in exchange for it.

He had thought it would be a simple task, never expecting to encounter such a troublesome opponent.

He possessed strength and speed beyond anything Superman could imagine, and his mental power was so strong and strange that it surpassed Mr. Irony's imagination.

Enduring the pain in his severed arm and throat, Mr. Irony used an artifact to summon a portal.

At the same time, in a chilly apartment building, a black-haired girl was putting on her father's magician's attire and practicing the transformation magic she had only recently begun learning.

Suddenly!

A portal abruptly opened in the room.

The next second, Mr. Irony stumbled out of the portal, covered in blood and clutching the stump of his severed arm.

The shocked girl immediately rushed over to support her father.

"Dad?!"

"Don't speak, Zatanna!"

Mr. Irony's back had been pierced by Eric's Heat Vision, and he could no longer hold on. Enduring the pain, he waved his wand and closed the portal.

Zatanna stared through the portal in shock and disbelief, seeing a person wearing an owl mask on the other side.

A flash of crimson passed through his eyes, and his entire body radiated a heart-pounding aura.

That owl-masked person was the one who had hurt her father?!

Zatanna gritted her teeth.

Bastard!

I'll make you pay for this!

Inside the Owl Council's labyrinth, Eric watched Mr. Irony escape through a portal and withdrew his Heat Vision.

He took a deep breath, clearing his slightly dizzy head.

He walked through the rubble and looked at Clark, who was half-kneeling on the ground and gasping desperately for breath.

That strange magical lightning not only had a paralyzing effect, but also continuously drained the strength from his body, leaving Clark unable to recover even now.

"Clark, you always manage to surprise me."

Eric stared into his eyes. "I remember you promised me that you would return to the farm."

Clark caught his breath and stood up. "Yes, I lied. Didn't Father tell me that it was okay to lie when necessary? Besides, things developed exactly as I feared. You ran into trouble."

"I thought my appearance was necessary, just like when you suddenly appeared behind Coach Watt last time, wasn't it?"

Clark let out a breath in the direction Mr. Irony had disappeared, his expression complicated. "I've never seen anything like that. Was that magic?"

"You'll see much more in the future, but for now, you need to go home."

As soon as Eric finished speaking, a loud commotion erupted from the Owl Council not far away, followed by hurried footsteps.

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