When they first heard the shout, both the Justice League and the magicians were a bit bewildered. Although the Sanguine Demon had been blasted, he wasn't dead yet. In turn-based manner, now it should be the dialogue segment: ask about his intentions, scold his purpose, reason with him, and then negotiate, making him retreat temporarily.
The Sanguine Demon might also be following this pattern of action. After being blasted away, he roared up to the sky and shouted at the Justice League crowd: "You damn bastards! You... wait a minute! That red-cloaked bastard! What are you doing?!"
During these few seconds of his shouting, Strange had already collected all the energy shards that were blown out. When the Sanguine Demon looked down, good heavens, this avatar's energy was mostly gone. His daughter wasn't even in sight yet; this was a loss to his grandmother's house.
He also didn't expect that the Justice League people wouldn't exchange insults with him but instead ran directly to pick up the energy shards. It wasn't like this before. Previously, after the Justice League and the Teen Titans temporarily defeated him, he could still pick up those scattered energy shards while spouting harsh words. How come they were picked up beforehand this time?
"You..." the Sanguine Demon held back for a long time, only to choke out one sentence, "You despicable shameless human! Give me back my power!"
"Who said it's your power? Is your name written on it?" Strange rolled his eyes and said, "I advise you to be sensible. I've already got the power. You'd better sign the contract and lend me some more power; maybe I'll return it in the future. If you don't sign, these will be a permanent loss."
The magicians on the side were stunned. Seriously, dude, is this how you sign contracts? Blasting the ship to let it sink without considering sunk costs, is it?
"Contract? What nonsense?" The Sanguine Demon clearly didn't understand. He also didn't bother to waste more words with Strange and roared at the Justice League: "Hand over Raven! She is my daughter!"
"Even if you are her father, you can't..."
Wonder Woman was halfway through her reasoning when she saw two sneaky figures again approaching the Sanguine Demon. The fully charged Green Lantern walked while signaling to Wonder Woman with his eyes. Wonder Woman couldn't help but cover her forehead.
Wonder Woman changed her tone: "I completely understand your desire to see your daughter, but we must discuss the dialectical relationship between your goals and methods..."
While Wonder Woman was attracting the Sanguine Demon's attention, Green Lantern turned into a green light and merged into the magical defense network, quickly flying toward the demon's shadow. As he reached below, he unexpectedly jumped out again.
Boom!!!
Another intense explosion, leaving only a ripple on the magical defense network. But the Sanguine Demon was again heavily impacted, and his entire shadow shattered into a ground full of light spots. Strange, who went along with Green Lantern, was making big gains. Another figure emerged—Constantine, who was also there to absorb scattered energy shards with a lantern.
The other magicians cursed: "You brat want to eat alone again?!"
Magicians gathered by Constantine were mostly skilled in their crafts. Some were grabbing sacks, some were wielding magic artifacts, and they rushed to the center of the field like hungry tigers.
Wonder Woman was a bit hesitant. She wasn't lacking in energy; demigods could naturally gather cosmic magic energy for their use without external help. But she thought Batman should be quite lacking in energy. If she could snatch some, it would be a nice gesture.
But on second thought, these magicians were having a hard time, looking starved for years, nearly fighting for a tiny piece of energy shard. Wonder Woman felt she shouldn't be competing with beggars for food at this time; it'd be quite immoral.
By the time the Primary Universe Batman in Hell Bat Armor arrived, the "food" on the ground was basically all picked up. Wonder Woman, slightly embarrassed, said: "Um, I wanted to go up and grab some, but I feel that as a representative of the Justice League, I shouldn't get into a fight with them, that's not very decent..."
The Primary Universe Batman nodded without saying a word. The energy brought by this avatar was considerable, but he had more of the Power of Seven Lanterns in his hands, so he didn't mind the loss here. Giving it to the human magicians was also a way to enhance Earth's overall strength.
Zatanna didn't fight for the energy either. She only said worriedly: "Magic is a very dangerous thing. Originally, the lack of energy meant that magicians couldn't create big issues. But now they have energy. Even if they don't intend to cause trouble, some magic experiments can be dangerous. Batman, you need to think of a way."
"No worries. The Earth Magic Defense Network functions to monitor energy fluctuations. Once the fluctuation breaks the threshold, the magical defense network will automatically start absorbing the energy. Moreover, I'm planning to establish a magical organization as the Justice League's reserve unit, exclusively dealing with magical affairs on Earth, just like the neighboring Sanctum."
"This idea is indeed good, but there's no way to ensure all the mages will listen to you. Some of them are used to being lone wolves and won't be willing to join any organization..."
Zatanna looked at him. Primary Universe Batman did not continue speaking. When the group of mages who had picked up the energy returned with joy, Primary Universe Batman said, "Congratulations, everyone. You should have gained quite a lot today. However, this was just an appetizer; there may be more Demons invading Earth in the future. I think we need to form an organization to address such dangers."
Some smart individuals caught the implication of Primary Universe Batman's words: today's Sanguine Demon was merely a clone, and the energy released was not much. However, having killed its clone today, the main body will not take this lying down. It may even send other clones over, or the main body itself might come.
At that time, Batman, who holds the Magical Defense Network, will certainly organize mages to defend and counterattack. If they can win, they will explode like today with a lot of energy. So even if they don't make contracts with Devils, they have a stable energy source; isn't that the best of both worlds?
Quite a few mages immediately expressed their desire to join, but some didn't take it seriously, considering this a windfall that doesn't come easily, wanting to take it back to store quickly.
But to collect the energy, they all ran outside the Magical Defense Network. Leaving was easy, but wanting to return was difficult.
Mages holding energy were glowing all over, flying toward the colorful Magical Defense Network, but as soon as they touched the edge, they were bounced off. The mages were puzzled, trying several times, but couldn't get in.
"Sorry, ladies and gentlemen." Primary Universe Batman said behind them, "For Earth's safety, we currently do not allow any dangerous energy to pass through the Magical Defense Network. If you want to go home, you should put down the foreign energy you're holding."
Even the most foolish person could understand what he meant now: either join the official organization and accept administration, or don't even think about taking back a cent. The mages glared at Batman, but looking at his blood-red armor and the Superman and Wonder Woman beside him, they hesitated a few times, not daring to speak.
Although they had obtained some energy, relying on this energy to just tackle the Justice League was wishful thinking. Moreover, with the Magical Defense Network in Batman's hands, he could cut off all their energy sources with a move. There's no benefit to tearing faces with him.
This group had to submissively accept Batman's proposal, joining the Justice League's shadow department—"Department of Magic" with mages like Constantine and Zatanna.
What many people may not know is that the Justice League indeed has departments, and not only superheroes in the Justice League. Just as normal staff are in Justice Hall for daily logistical and clerical work. Many narratives involve villains invading Justice Hall, where cleaners and ordinary staff can also be seen.
For more convenient management, the Big Three long ago divided into different departments: the Action Department is responsible for combat, the Equipment Department for battle gear, the Administration Department for logistical support, the Defense Department for training young members, among others.
And superheroes like Batman basically belong to the Action Department, at most Batman would also manage the Equipment Department. The rest are mostly support staff and ordinary people. For instance, Barbara occasionally takes charge of administrative work, while the Robins participate in Defense Department work.
And now the Department of Magic to be established will be a department of the Justice League, rather than an independent organization outside the Justice League. All their actions fall under the leadership of the Justice League. Moreover, all mages are equal members, with no other command system.
Primary Universe Batman obviously made this decision after careful consideration. Batman actually dislikes centralized power because it might lead to terrifying ambitions, or if the primary command system loses control, become leaderless, which in reason, is not a good method for ruling superpower users.
However, in leading mages, he has to do this. Because most mages are too dispersed, most are like Constantine, disappearing throughout the year. If you say to establish an independent organization, they will definitely not heed any call, ultimately rendering the organization a facade.
Only by establishing an organization highly centralized under the Justice League can it possibly rein them in, at least during an incident, people can be found, thereby enabling the organization to function. This is the rationale of "wanting to open a window then first raise the ceiling."
Primary Universe Batman turned to look at the mages, most of whom wore reluctant expressions. Even those who initially intended to join the organization had expressionless and unhappy faces.
Primary Universe Batman could also understand. Most mages have gotten used to a scattered, free lifestyle nationwide, like a group of freelancers suddenly being ordered to work nine-to-five office hours; nobody would be pleased.
But Primary Universe Batman understood the importance of "hit a stick and give a sweet jujube." He turned to the mages and said, "Since that's the case, let's return to headquarters first and visit the place you'll work in the future. I have some research work I need to entrust to you. Let's go."