Half an hour later, Soren pulled up in front of Constantine's rundown exorcism shack with Angela in tow.
"Why the hell did you bring me to this asshole?" Angela's face darkened.
"Just trust me, lady." Soren shrugged.
Inside, the place was thick with cigarette smoke.
Constantine sat at his cluttered table, puffing away while tinkering with a new weapon in his hands.
The second he saw Soren walk in, he lifted the glowing Holy Blaster with a proud grin. "Perfect timing, kid. Just picked up a fresh case. Stick around and I'll show you what this baby can do."
Watching Soren's brutal, no-nonsense demon-killing style last time had blown the old exorcist's mind and completely rewired how he thought about the job.
Then he noticed Angela standing behind Soren and frowned. "What's the troublesome woman doing here?"
Soren patted Angela's shoulder before she could snap, then pulled Constantine aside.
"Her sister's death is tied to Mammon's descent plan. You need to take this one."
"You're the one with all the fancy tricks," Constantine snorted, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Why don't you handle it yourself? You already pinned Papa Midnight to the floor like a damn rug."
Soren sighed theatrically. "I don't have your neat little tricks for opening doorways straight to Hell. Plus…"
He leaned in with a sly smile. "You don't want to actually end up down there when you die, right? Fix this and maybe God'll stamp your ticket to Heaven."
Soren's style was pure demonic-power smash.
Constantine relied on his freakish talent, wrecked body, and decades of occult research. All he needed was a basin of water, his feet in it, and a black cat to stare at, and his soul could slip straight into Hell.
If Soren tried the same thing, he'd probably just end up in a staring contest with the cat until the damn thing meowed, "What the fuck, dude?"
The chain-smoking drunk might be annoying, but he was still the best man for the job.
Constantine's eyes narrowed at the mention of Mammon—and the possibility of earning his way into Heaven.
"Really?"
He couldn't stop picturing all the demons he'd screwed over waiting for him downstairs.
"Of course. Think about it— Mammon is Satan's own son," Soren coaxed. "His descent means Hell just broke the ancient contract. If they invade Earth, the body count's gonna be biblical."
"Stop something that big, and God would have to let you in. Right?"
Constantine's face flickered through a dozen emotions before he finally ground out, "Fine. I'll take the woman's case."
He crushed his cigarette butt. "But in exchange, you're helping me with the nasty job I just picked up."
Soren grinned. "Deal. That's what brothers do."
"Sit on the couch over there, lady," Constantine told Angela, voice gruff. "Think back on every strange thing your sister did before she died."
Angela looked like she had questions about the "other job," but since the exorcist had finally agreed to investigate Isabel's death, she swallowed her pride and sat down.
Once she was out of earshot, Constantine pulled a sealed Vatican folder from his drawer and tossed it on the table.
"Couple days ago the Vatican got an emergency report from a pair of paranormal investigators named the Warrens."
"They were looking into a single-parent family that was supposedly haunted. At first they thought it was just a regular angry ghost. Turns out the spirit was nothing but a puppet."
"The real monster pulling the strings is a powerful demon disguised as a nun."
"The Warrens realized they were way out of their depth and begged the Vatican for backup. The Church dumped the mess on me."
Soren's eyes sharpened.
The Warrens?
As in The Conjuring Warrens?
Then the so-called demonic nun had to be Valak—one of the seventy-two demons of Hell.
Centuries ago, a noble obsessed with black magic had performed a ritual in his castle to rip open a gate to Hell. The Vatican caught wind of it, sent in crusaders, and sealed the rift.
To keep it closed, they turned the castle into a convent and ordered the nuns to pray around the clock.
Then World War II hit. Bombs triggered an earthquake, the seal broke, and Valak slaughtered every nun in the place before possessing a human and escaping.
"Color me surprised," Soren teased. "Didn't think you'd ever willingly work for the Church."
"I'm not like you, kid—I actually want to go to Heaven," Constantine grumbled. "Cleaning up their messes and doing the dirty work is how I buy my ticket through the pearly gates."
He lit another cigarette. "This thing's nasty. It wiped out an entire convent years ago and has been wearing human skin ever since. If we don't stop it soon, God knows where it'll pop up next."
Truth was, Constantine knew he couldn't handle it alone. His body was already falling apart. That was why he'd poured everything into building the Holy Blaster.
Soren showing up today had been the perfect excuse to drag him in.
Let the kid tank the demon while I stay back and perform the exorcism. Send the bastard straight back to Hell.
If the guy wasn't such a smartass who knew way too much about him, they'd make the perfect team.
Soren, however, had completely different plans.
He glanced at the new system notification floating in his head.
[Ding!]
[Side Quest Triggered: The Blasphemous Nun]
[Quest Description: Marquis of the Abyss, the demon Valak disguised as a holy nun, torments innocent minds and prepares for its final descent.]
[Objective: Completely kill the demon Valak]
[Reward: 3,000 points, Bloodline Awakening +3%]
[Special Drop: Hell Demon Essence (Mental) ×1]