"Can we put it on hold for now?"
Zatanna hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.
"…You want to freeload off me???"
Chino's eyes widened instantly in disbelief.
This woman had some serious nerve—to try and freeload off a Demon King.
"It's not freeloading. We can write an IOU."
Zatanna's face flushed bright red. She was clearly embarrassed to be called out like that.
To be honest, she had been trying her luck, hoping to save Shazam without paying any price.
"Fine. Then sign this IOU."
Chino snorted coldly and waved his hand.
A contract filled with a strange aura appeared in mid-air.
Zatanna took it and read:
"Today, Zatanna owes Demon King Chino a healing fee. Interest begins accruing three minutes from now, doubling every second."
"You're robbing me!!!"
Zatanna couldn't help but scream. These terms were absurd beyond belief.
"Duh. You think I'm a fake Demon King? You're the one trying to freeload off me."
Chino rolled his eyes.
"I did not! You're slandering me! I'm Earth's most powerful female magician. Ask around in Hell—I'm known for being reliable!"
Zatanna furiously burned the IOU in her hand.
"Yeah, right."
Chino didn't hesitate to expose her.
"John Constantine from your world has already wrecked the magical community's credibility for centuries. No demon in any universe would dare take a magician's IOU."
Zatanna was at a loss for words.
Damn that Constantine! Scamming everyone in sight, and his bad reputation had spread to other worlds now.
Ugh. Freeloading? Pfft. Who wants to freeload…
Everyone silently committed the name John Constantine to memory.
"Will this work instead?"
Wonder Woman held out her Lasso of Truth to Chino.
"Not enough… Wait, let me try something."
Chino shook his head—then paused.
He took the lasso and walked straight to Venom.
"What are you doing?"
Venom immediately realized what he was up to.
"Just want to run an experiment."
Chino said casually.
"Alright."
Venom extended her arm.
Chino wrapped the Lasso of Truth around her wrist.
In the next second, his vision blurred and his throat tightened.
"Tell me—who do you love the most?"
"Venom."
Chino replied, feeling the divine power controlling him with no resistance.
"Who do you love second?"
"Pamela."
"Third?"
"Xi."
"So you're ranking them in order now? Is Gwen the fourth?"
Venom looked slightly annoyed.
"Yes."
"Whatever. What's your favorite food?"
"Pamela's nectar."
"What's your dream?"
"To find a group of rich women, live a carefree life, and have babies."
…
Wonder Woman twitched at the sight of her sacred lasso being used for flirtation.
Everyone else looked equally baffled.
This was the guy who defeated them all? A guy whose dream is to leech off rich women?
"Is this guy really a Demon King?"
Green Lantern whispered.
"The aura is legit. Maybe Demon Kings work differently in other universes?"
Zatanna replied uncertainly.
Doctor Fate gently touched the helmet in his hands and closed his eyes.
In the future… he couldn't see any sign of this so-called Demon King.
Blue skies, the formation of the Justice League… but what were they even doing?
Just as he tried to look deeper, a flash of red light burst in his vision. His eyes stung painfully, and a familiar voice echoed in his ears:
"Don't look too far. The more you see, the faster you die."
Zatanna noticed something was wrong and rushed over. Blood-tears were streaming from Doctor Fate's eyes.
"What did you see?"
"A future full of hope."
His vision was blurry, but he still smiled.
"Heal!"
Zatanna cast a reverse-spell to treat him.
As his eyes began to recover, she let out a sigh of relief.
That meant the other party had held back.
Once Venom had her fun, she finally released Chino.
Chino straightened up and walked toward Wonder Woman.
"Your artifact is powerful. It's worth the price."
"...Can you begin saving him now?"
Wonder Woman's emotions were complicated.
She was even beginning to regret offering the Lasso of Truth—maybe she should've traded the God-Killer Sword instead.
"No problem."
Chino approached the life-support unit.
He reached into Billy's chest barehanded and pulled out his soul.
Billy's soul took the form of Shazam but was stained in reddish-brown rust—
The Omega Effect had infected his soul like a virus. More than half was already consumed.
"This is going to take skill."
Chino's fingers danced in the air, sending runes one after another into Billy's body.
Stabilize.
Protect.
Strengthen.
Fortify.
Energy.
Life…
In truth, Chaos Magic would've worked best.
But due to the Source Wall in this universe, reality-warping was weakened.
Doctor Fate and Zatanna watched without blinking.
The Demon King was using Runic Magic—Odin's ancient sorcery.
The others didn't understand the runes but could see Billy's painful expression gradually easing.
"All done—just one final step."
Chino gripped Billy's soul and began siphoning the Omega Effect from it.
Once all of it had been extracted, he returned the soul to the body and injected a glowing serum.
Everyone watched in awe as Billy's body quickly regenerated. They finally relaxed and began to smile.
"Here, one for you too."
Before Wonder Woman could react, Chino injected her severed arm.
A tingling itch followed as crimson muscle fibers rapidly regrew.
"Thank you!"
Wonder Woman gratefully nodded at Chino.
"I never thought I'd hear you thank me. Say it again, will you?"
Chino pulled out a camera.
Wonder Woman didn't think much of it and repeated her thanks.
"Was I not on good terms with the version of you from this world?"
She asked curiously.
This Demon King—despite his greedy, deal-driven personality—was ultimately a good person.
He simply hid behind the concept of "transactions."
Only in front of Venom did he show his true self.
"Not really. But my people did burn off all your hair and almost made you my 'Not to Be Messed With.'"
Cough cough cough!
A few people who overheard that choked violently.
"Any woman would be furious if her hair was burned off… But what does 'Not to Be Messed With' mean?"
Wonder Woman instinctively touched her long hair and then looked puzzled.
"'Not to Be Messed With' means…"
Just as Chino was about to explain, Zatanna interrupted.
"Shut up, you lustful Demon King!"
Zatanna's cheeks were bright red. She still prided herself on being a pure maiden.
"Oh! So you do understand what it means."
Chino smirked.
"I do not! I was just guessing—wait, no, who told you that! Wonder Woman, come with me!"
Zatanna quickly dragged Wonder Woman into a corner.
Quote of the Chapter:
"Behind every crude joke lies a truth we're afraid to admit."
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