Chapter Summaries

Su Ming and his companions fought through Hell’s angels and headed for Black Stone Castle to reach Mazikeen, hoping to help her and find a lead on Diana. Su Ming drilled a tunnel into the castle, and the group neared a breakthrough into its interior.

• Albera joked after Su Ming split an angel in two while a swarm of angels closed in on the group.
• Su Ming decided against blowing up Hell’s Main Street and led the others toward Mazikeen, who was under attack near the castle.
• Donna carried Albera and teased her about her flirtation as the group approached the castle’s blocked gate.
• Su Ming ordered Donna and Bobo to guard the rear, then used Godslayer to drill a narrow tunnel through the castle’s black stone.
• Su Ming carried Albera through the dark tunnel, and they neared the far side as he warned her to prepare for battle.

Su Ming and Albera fought through the angel attack in Hell, where an unknown force amplified angels’ obedience and demons’ primal desires. After rescuing Mazikeen from the attacking angels, Su Ming prepared to shoot the remaining fliers as the battle continued.

• Albera’s desires surged under Hell’s chaotic influence, but Su Ming snapped her out of it and she used liquor to steady herself.
• Mazikeen was attacked by angels who demanded her obedience, while the Great Demon guarding her remained in a berserk state.
• Su Ming and Albera burst into the Throne Room, where Albera’s Hellfire burned the wings of many attacking angels.
• The surviving angels killed their fallen companions before they could transform, and Albera checked Mazikeen, who remained pinned to her throne.
• Su Ming dropped the unconscious Black Orchid beside the throne and drew God Metal Gauss to target the angels still flying.

Su Ming found that Diana had returned to the Main World, freed Mazikeen from her restraints, and fought his way back to Oblivion Bar with Donna's group. There, he found Tracy and the other witches beating Witchfire, who had previously killed most of Tracy's friends.

• Su Ming shot down the attacking angels in Lucifer's palace and learned from Mazikeen that Diana had entered the Gate of Thorns and returned to the Main World.
• Mazikeen asked Su Ming to sever her hands so she could break free of her oath, and he used Tenth Metal to cut them off.
• Mazikeen's hands regenerated, and she put on her armor and charged out to attack the angels.
• Su Ming and Donna's group fought their way back to Hell's Main Street and returned to Oblivion Bar.
• Bobo found Tracy and the other witches savagely beating Witchfire, and he approached her to check her condition.

After Witchfire was freed from Hecate’s control, Su Ming questioned her about what she had experienced and learned that Dawn and Black Orchid were also trapped inside Hecate. He tried to locate Diana through Batwoman, but she could not find her.

• Bobo confirmed that Witchfire was no longer a threat, while Tracy, Nightshade, Raven, and Donna mourned the girls who had died.
• Su Ming asked Witchfire what she had seen while Hecate controlled her, and she described being trapped on Hecate’s magical Moon.
• Witchfire revealed that Dawn and Black Orchid were also held unconscious inside Hecate, while their bodies and magical energy remained with Su Ming.
• Su Ming advised Witchfire to seek protection from the Justice League and contacted Batwoman to ask about Diana.
• Batwoman told Su Ming that she could not find Diana.

Su Ming suspected Luthor was behind the recent disruptions and went with his team to confront Circe, only to find her cave deserted. Bobo discovered evidence that Diana had returned to the cave and found another troubling clue.

• Batwoman told Su Ming that every method he had tried had failed to locate Diana, and Su Ming suspected she was being hidden by magic, technology, and psionic abilities.
• Su Ming warned that Luthor might assemble a large army of villains, then decided to treat him as a suspect in the recent magical events.
• Su Ming left with Bobo, Albera, and Donna to question Circe on Aiaia, while Bobo ordered Tracy to clean the damaged bar floor.
• Su Ming's team found Circe's cave empty, and Bobo searched it for clues.
• Bobo found Diana's footprints, which showed she had returned from Hell and sat in the cave, apparently agitated.
• Bobo showed the others a transparent evidence bag containing something he said did not look good.

Su Ming concluded that Circe had deceived Diana into going to Shangri-La, where Hecate was fighting Goddess Kushina. He found Diana controlled by the Witch's Mark and attacking Constantine and the rest of Justice League Dark.

• Bobo found a fresh strand of green hair in the cave, and Su Ming suspected Circe was working with Luthor against them.
• Su Ming reasoned that Circe had likely sent Diana to Hecate and had Donna check whether Diana went to Olympus.
• Donna confirmed Diana had not gone to Olympus, so Su Ming led the group through a portal to Shangri-La.
• At Shangri-La, Su Ming saw Hecate battling Goddess Kushina as the city burned.
• Su Ming spotted controlled Diana hunting Constantine, Zatanna, Swamp Thing, and Deadman, who fled from her attacks.

Su Ming weighed Hecate’s threat and summoned Barry to help restrain the corrupted Diana without giving Hecate a decisive advantage. The group prepared to use the tactic they had used against Wonder Man.

• Hecate told Rama Kushna she intended to destroy magic and replace it, while the goddesses fought in the sky.
• Su Ming wondered what Luthor hoped to gain and explained that rescuing Diana too soon would let Hecate overpower Rama Kushna.
• Su Ming called for Barry, who arrived after the Hall of Justice mainframe located him.
• Su Ming pointed out the corrupted Diana and told Barry they would use the same tactic they had used against Wonder Man.

Barry dragged Deathstroke into the Speed Force and learned how the Justice League planned to contain Diana after subduing her. Meanwhile, Constantine, Zatanna, and Swamp Thing hid from Diana after surviving The Upside-Down Man, and Constantine feared his stolen Demon Blood would soon leave him dead.

• Barry and Su Ming discussed Diana's Witch's Mark and planned to imprison her in the Justice League's stasis prison once she was subdued.
• Constantine, Zatanna, and Swamp Thing had fought The Upside-Down Man near the Miracle Tree, leaving Swamp Thing burned and Constantine without the Demon Blood that kept him alive.
• Deadman had brought the weakened trio to Shangri-La to help with the goddesses' dispute, where Diana began hunting them.
• Constantine told Zatanna that Hecate was twisting magic and that his terminal illness would soon kill him.
• Zatanna slapped Constantine and cursed at him, briefly making him feel alive again.

Su Ming tried to draw Diana into a sword-and-shield fight so Barry could take her Lasso of Truth, but Diana struck him with enough force to send him crashing through the castle. Injured and facing her unrestrained divine power, Su Ming rejected Barry’s suggestion to call Superman and prepared to keep fighting.

• Su Ming drew his sword and raised his shield to attract Diana and make her put away the lasso.
• Diana charged Su Ming and knocked him more than two hundred meters through the castle with one blow.
• Su Ming survived the impact as his Healing Factor and Strangle began repairing his injuries.
• Barry offered to call Superman, but Su Ming refused because Hecate might control him and continue her plan.

Su Ming adjusted his strategy against Diana, using Strangle and the Cloak of Levitation to draw her into the sky while he focused on evasion. Diana’s trapped consciousness watched helplessly as her body pursued him into the aerial trap.

• Su Ming recalled Diana’s strength and history, then decided to evade her attacks rather than block them.
• Su Ming ordered Strangle to take God Metal Gauss and his guns and provide suppressing fire.
• Su Ming told the Cloak of Levitation to carry the fight into the sky and lure Diana away from the familiar battlefield.
• Strangle obeyed Su Ming, and he and Diana rose into the sky as she continued attacking under another consciousness’s control.
• Diana realized Su Ming was luring her upward, but her body kept chasing him, and she closed her eyes in resignation.

Su Ming battled Diana in the turbulent troposphere, using the shifting air currents and his speed to exploit tiny openings in her attacks. As Hecate gained ground below, Su Ming finally knocked Diana away and swung her through the air with her lasso.

• Su Ming chose to fight Diana more than 12 kilometers above the ground, where invisible air currents could disrupt their movements.
• Su Ming baited Diana into attacking while he focused on evading, and she struggled with gusts of wind and Strangle's attacks.
• Diana unleashed powerful sorcerous lightning, forcing Su Ming to endure the blows as the battle on the ground turned in Hecate's favor.
• Su Ming used a minute disruption in Diana's movement to deflect her sword, strike her chin, and knock her flying.
• Su Ming and Strangle seized the lasso and swung Diana through the air in a wide circle.

Su Ming used the Lasso of Truth and the Cloak of Levitation to spin Diana into submission, then bound her while the sorcery imprint continued to ravage her body. Meanwhile, Zatanna and the others faced Constantine’s worsening cancer and the loss of his Demon Blood, with Albera silently considering a possible solution.

• Su Ming swung Diana around with the lasso, then used the Cloak of Levitation to spin her until dizziness made her close her eyes.
• Su Ming wrapped the Lasso of Truth around Diana, but the sorcery imprint unleashed magic and damaged her body as it tried to break free.
• Su Ming pinned Diana from behind and ordered the Cloak to plunge toward the ground while he spun them both to keep her disoriented.
• Albera judged that Swamp Thing was weak, Zatanna’s magic had failed, and Constantine was near death as the group gathered to help them.
• Bobo asked Zha Kang where his Demon Blood was, and Zha Kang said the Upside-Down Man had drained it.
• Zatanna received no answer from Swamp Thing or Deadman, Donna suggested freezing Constantine, and Albera remained silent while considering her options.

Su Ming returned injured from his fight with Diana and learned that Constantine was near death after losing the Demon Blood sustaining him. Albera sent Constantine to Hell, where he found the gathered demon lords and began bargaining for his life.

• Su Ming crashed to the ground with Diana, and Barry took her to the Hall of Justice for treatment and confinement.
• Donna told Su Ming that Hecate was overpowering Kushina and Constantine was dying.
• Su Ming ordered Albera to send Constantine to Hell, where demon blood could keep him alive.
• Albera teleported Constantine into Black Stone Castle, and he fell into the Throne Room among Hell's assembled demon lords.
• Constantine sat up at the demons' table, lit a cigarette, and invited them to claim his soul.

As Shangri-La burned and Hecate continued fighting, Su Ming considered how to counter her and decided to consult someone with deeper magical knowledge. He left the group and arrived at Kamar-Taj, where Ancient One was enjoying the snacks he had given her.

• Su Ming asked Swamp Thing what had happened and explained the Parliament of Trees, prompting Swamp Thing to head toward the Amazon River Basin to check on The Green.
• Su Ming concluded that neither the Cloak of Levitation nor Strangle could consume Hecate, leaving The Upside-Down Man as his main potential solution.
• Su Ming told the group to find somewhere to hide, gave Barry the modified phone, and cut open his arm with the Owl Dagger before disappearing.
• Ancient One enjoyed the snacks and stockings Gin had given her while Kamar-Taj's apprentices carried out reconstruction work.
• Su Ming entered Kamar-Taj and found Ancient One eating Spicy Strips, then considered warning her about their side effects.

Su Ming consulted Ancient One about the magical entities threatening another universe and how to contain its Dark Side. He left with a plan to exploit the Upside-Down Man’s curiosity by making him believe a powerful Elder God was backing Su Ming.

• Su Ming told Ancient One that Hecate intended to abolish magic and become a dictator, risking the world’s destruction within half a year.
• Su Ming explained that he wanted to enlist the Dark Side of magic but needed a way to restrain it if negotiations failed.
• Ancient One compared the rigid Vishanti with the more human Chthon and asked about the Dark Side entity’s personality and weaknesses.
• Su Ming described fighting the Dark Side entity, then forcing it back beyond the world’s magical barrier when its curiosity distracted it.
• Ancient One explained that Elder Gods had once preyed on the rules of worlds and suggested using the Upside-Down Man’s fear of such beings.
• Su Ming realized he could invent the threat of a supreme powerhouse to make the Upside-Down Man believe he had powerful backing.

Su Ming had Ancient One fuse the Eye of Ra into his helmet, then returned to the Source Wall battlefield on his way back to Earth. After Saint Walker vouched for him, he passed the Lantern Corps blockade, but Saint Walker warned him about the invisible ring on his hand.

• Su Ming gave Ancient One the Eye of Ra, and she fused it into his helmet after he paid a Manhattan gemstone to power it.
• Ancient One again urged Su Ming to take over as Sorcerer Supreme, then sent Mordo to summon Wong after he left.
• Su Ming injured himself to return beyond the multiverse and flew toward DC, finding the breach in the Source Wall turned into a battlefield.
• A Green Lantern and a Star Sapphire stopped Su Ming from passing, but Saint Walker vouched for him because his heart held hope.
• Saint Walker warned Su Ming to be careful of the invisible ring on his hand, and Su Ming continued toward Earth.

Su Ming returned to Shangri-La to find Hecate had transformed it into a desert realm of death and created a new god from the changed landscape. As Barry and Su Ming faced the crow-headed creature, they learned that Hecate had also raised a new force to replace The Green, while Superman was sent to confront it.

• Su Ming returned to Shangri-La and found its city buried beneath a desert filled with pyramids and obelisks.
• Barry told Su Ming that Hecate had reshaped the second Pillars of Magic into a new land of the dead after Kushina escaped.
• Barry reported that the Parliament of Flowers had attacked the Parliament of Trees and would replace The Green.
• Su Ming and Barry identified the crow-headed creature as a newly created god of death, while Su Ming considered using weapons against the flowers.
• Batwoman arranged for Superman to go to Swamp Thing's location, then ended the call and left Su Ming and Barry to face the god of death.

Su Ming devised a plan to weaken the Raven Reaper by dismantling the structures sustaining the Grand Cemetery and targeting the creature’s wings. The battle continued as Su Ming climbed onto the Reaper’s back and prepared Godslayer to cut its wings.

• Su Ming sent Barry to take Albera and Zatanna to safety, then ordered him to destroy the cemetery’s pyramids and obelisks.
• Barry began dismantling the structures and transporting their stones to Atlantis for an amusement park.
• The Raven Reaper turned its attacks on Donna and Bobo after the Mages escaped.
• Su Ming rode Cloak to the Reaper, used Strangle to anchor himself on its back, and extended Godslayer toward its wings.

Su Ming used the Godslayer, Strangle, and the Cloak of Levitation to tear away the Raven Reaper’s wings and ground it in the desert. With Barry finished clearing the area, Su Ming prepared to use the Speed Force to finish the weakened god.

• Su Ming reshaped the Godslayer into a flexible blade, looped it around the Raven Reaper’s wings, and ripped off two of them.
• The Raven Reaper spotted Su Ming, but the Cloak of Levitation and Strangle helped him hide among its feathers and sever another wing.
• Su Ming dodged the Reaper’s scythe and chopped off one of its nails before using sand and repeated attacks to bring it down.
• The grounded Reaper sank into the dunes because Barry had dismantled the nearby structures it could have used for support.
• Barry told Su Ming he had finished clearing the area, and Su Ming asked him for a burst of Speed Force so they could finish the Reaper.

Su Ming used Barry’s Speed Force to dismember Raven Reaper, then decided not to intervene in the conflict over The Green. He and Barry planned to return to the old Mount Olympus and ambush Hecate, where the final battle was set to take place.

• Su Ming borrowed Barry’s Speed Force and carved Raven Reaper into chunks, making Donna and Bobo sick with the gore.
• Su Ming called Batwoman and arranged for the Blackhawks to collect Raven Reaper’s remains for research.
• Su Ming told Barry they would leave the plants to Swamp Thing and Superman rather than help either side of The Green’s conflict.
• Su Ming explained that the Pillars of Magic were at the ruined old Mount Olympus, not New Olympus, and chose it as their next destination.
• Su Ming recalled how First Born had devastated Olympus before Diana sealed him beneath it, and concluded that the former Olympus was now the final battlefield.