What was happening in Maryland was unknown to Su Ming and the others. Albera's teleportation circle had first taken them to Hell.
The three of them were now standing on a street in Hell. If they were not mistaken, this had once been Lucifer's territory, now ruled by his consort, Mazikeen.
The street was bustling with activity, at least to a demon's standards. It was filled with chaos and fire, and the air was thick with the stench of sulfur.
Demons stared at the three humans who had suddenly appeared, looking surprised at first, but the quicker ones already started drooling.
Albera took a drag from her cigarette, cursing in demonic tongue. Many demons reluctantly backed away, though more simply skulked in the shadows, still eyeing the group's souls.
"My teleportation magic doesn't have direct flights; this is a layover in Hell."
"Ha, if it were a bus, this would be the terminal," Su Ming remarked as he observed the nurous demons and their various wares.
Although souls were the most valuable currency in Hell, most of the goods for sale here were actually human organs.
Like so human hearts, for example.
They were said to be not only crunchy but also quite good as spellcasting material.
"So what now? Do we fight our way out, or...?" Diana rested her hand on her sword, clearly uncomfortable with how these demons were looking at her.
"No need." Albera walked over to a stall, picking up so unknown fruit and taking a bite. "Even though Lucifer is no longer a Monarch, his reputation endures. I'm his contractor; no one here dares touch a soul he laid claim to, hehe..."
In the distance, in the wilderness beyond the street, stood two enormous gates—one black and one golden.
"The gates to the Dreaming. If I'm not mistaken, they should be the Gates of Horn and Ivory," Su Ming said, removing his helt and taking a bite of the fruit. Purple juice filled his mouth.
The stall owner, a lesser demon, could only watch angrily without daring to speak out.
The fruit had a strange taste, sothing like an oversized fish ball.
"You sure know a lot for a rcenary," Albera said, shoving the rest of the fruit into her mouth and licking her fingers one by one. "Both gates lead to the Dreaming, though not many people can see both at the sa ti."
Su Ming nodded, frowning as he swallowed the fruit. It gave a strange sense of satisfaction; it was only the size of a small orange, yet it filled him up.
The problem was the screaming voice in his soul that wanted more.
Su Ming forced the desire down and continued Albera's explanation.
"When you believe that dreams are real, you see the Ivory Gate. When you think they're false, you see the Horned Gate."
Albera signaled for them to co closer. They had rested enough, eaten so fruit, and now it was ti to leave.
"So, if you can see both gates at once, you're either a god, a demon, or just insane, ha."
"Good joke. Makes feel a bit like Batman, hehe." Su Ming let out a short breath through his nose. "Can we go now, Miss Colorado Beauty Pageant?"
"Don't call that!"
Albera's hackles rose like a cat's.
As soone wielding dark powers, participating in beauty pageants as a child and saying her wish was "world peace" was the most embarrassing thing ever.
Worse yet, she had said that for fourteen years straight, and people bought it every ti, collectively weaving a giant lie.
It was so hypocritical, she hated rembering her hypocritical past.
"Alright, I'll treat you to a big al to apologize when we get back. Right now, we need to leave here as soon as possible," Su Ming said, shrugging. If he didn't get Albera to focus, she would keep dragging things out.
He knew she didn't want to think about those mories, which is why he had intentionally used that na.
Albera sighed, looking at the lively street around her. "Since you know so much about the magical world, why don't you decide our next move?"
Su Ming needed control, of course.
"Right now, what we need most is information, so we're going to the Oblivion Bar."
The Oblivion Bar was a hidden spot located in a pocket dinsion, a place where mages liked to relax with a drink.
Almost every city had an alleyway with a portal leading there.
Albera rarely went there; the drinks were too expensive, and they didn't offer free snacks. Plus, the forr master of the night hadn't been too welcoming of her.
Last ti, when faced with the threat of Barbatos, the leader of the Shadowpact, the Nightmaster—who owned the Oblivion Bar—had rescued the heroes, which led the Dark Knights to their door.
The Nightmaster had opened the portal for the Justice League to escape, staying behind to hold the line, ultimately dying behind the bar counter.
Afterward, Detective Chimp Bobo inherited the Nightmaster's magical sword, the Sword of Night, along with the bar.
Choosing a place filled with mages was indeed a good option for gathering information.
Diana could have thought of this, but after a series of familiar deaths, she was too desperate for answers, making her sowhat blind.
Their employer had paid a deposit and had his own ideas, so Albera was happy to conserve her energy. Ideally, this would all be over before she finished her pack of cigarettes.
She led the two of them through twists and turns in the demon market, casually finding a door. After so magical verification, she pushed it open.
Warm orange light, soothing music, and floating glasses cleaning themselves greeted them.
Except for that last part, everything reminded Su Ming of his Peace Hotel.
The bloodstains of the Nightmaster had long been wiped away, and the bar was almost empty, as if it really had been forgotten. Only Bobo sat at the bar drinking, and the other round tables were empty except for candles.
Also present was Tracy, a punk girl recently hired as the new bartender. Since the glasses cleaned themselves, she was leisurely flipping through a book on black magic.
Her powers ca from Heaven, and for now, everything seed fine. She was just reading about black magic out of curiosity.
And she was reading it here because it was the only place where her father wouldn't suddenly burst in and burn everything to ashes.
The Oblivion Bar was like that: the owner died, and the bartender took over.
If Bobo were to die soday, Tracy would beco the new owner of the Oblivion Bar, passing it on.
But getting Bobo killed would be hard. Though he dressed like Sherlock Hols, he was a chimpanzee known as the Batman of the animal world. His mind worked incredibly fast.
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