Ayesha commanded a few enforcers to guard the entrance and followed Constantine into the building with the rest.
As they proceeded, she received updates through her earpiece.
After a brief conversation, Ayesha quickly caught up to Constantine, smiling,
"We have secured the building. The Black Hand is completely under our control now. Their leader, Valon, and several of his lieutenants have been captured."
"Understood."
Constantine pressed the elevator button the doors opened, and he stepped inside first.
"Top floor," Ayesha reminded just in time.
Soon, the group reached the top floor, where Valon office was located.
As they stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted by a scene of chaos—bullet holes riddled the walls, and the floor was marked with craters and signs of a struggle.
Constantine gaze swept across the entire floor.
On the office wall, there was a lifelike stone sculpture.
The sculpture depicted a massive Eastern dragon.
In front of the dragon sculpture, a group of men in black suits, armed with energy weapons, aimed at Valon and others.
Valon, along with his four lieutenants—Zhou, Rasu, Ah Fen, and Ah Fu—were all shackled with thick iron chains, trembling and daring not to move.
"Well done," Constantine offered rare praise.
He wasn't surprised by the scene.
Valon himself wasn't particularly formidable in the original storyline, he was consistently defeated by Jackie Chan, not because he lacked presence but because he was incredibly ineffectual, eventually reduced to a "background driver" in the final episode.
Even the Black Hand gang he founded was, in the eyes of Constantine or Anton, just a minor faction that could be subdued with a flick of the wrist.
As for Valon lieutenants, apart from Ah Fu, who occasionally proved useful with his "Crow Riding an Airplane" technique, the others were mere small fry, hardly worth mentioning.
Even if occasionally effective, Ah Fu, capable of matching Jackie Chan in combat, was still merely mortal and stood no chance against so many of the High Table armed enforcers.
No matter how skilled, one cannot defeat a knife.
And the weapons the High Table enforcers carried were much more formidable than any knife—energy weapons from Wayne Enterprises, more than sufficient to subdue Valon and his crew.
"Saint Lord, a pleasure to meet you," Constantine said after absorbing the scene, with no intention of interacting with Valon or his men.
Instead, he turned his attention to the wall sculpture and smiled.
John Constantine introduced himself with composure. "I'm John Constantine."
"Are you the human mage who has crossed paths with Mephisto?" A voice echoed, chillingly devoid of warmth.
In the next instant, an event that stunned everyone, except for the few kneeling on the ground, occurred.
The coiled dragon sculpture opened its eyes. The pupils glowed a sinister red, emitting a light filled with indifference and contempt.
A cold aura swept through the entire floor, sending shivers down everyone spine.
The enforcers from the High Table, hands gripping their weapons, couldn't help but tremble.
"The sculpture... it alive," Ayesha muttered, her pupils shrinking in shock. She had never witnessed such a horrifying scene before.
Turning her gaze towards Constantine, she realized that her earlier speculation had been correct—they had indeed touched upon a completely new world.
Demons? Were the events depicted in the movies actually real?
While Ayesha was grappling with the implications of her newfound reality, the exchange between Constantine and the Saint Lord continued.
"Yes," Constantine nodded, confirming his identity. "That would be me."
"Your soul is very intriguing to me..." The Saint Lord gaze was fixed on Constantine, who showed no signs of fear or panic.
His voice, deep and raspy, resonated once more. "However, I am not like Mephisto I have no interest in collecting souls."
The Saint Lord spoke slowly, "John Constantine, if you submit to me, I can grant you endless wealth and power second only to mine."
"Sorry," Constantine shrugged dismissively. "You've already lost your chance."
Constantine, or rather Anton, objective was straightforward: to deal with the Black Hand gang, seize the sculpture that the Saint Lord had been transformed into from Valon, confine the Saint Lord, prevent him from obtaining the twelve talismans, and reclaim his own power.
This would ensure that the Saint Lord remained nothing more than a sculpture, significantly reducing his threat level.
Even if the sculpture could speak, it would at most be able to tempt others with words, unable to wreak havoc upon the world.
Moreover, Constantine planned to exile the Saint Lord to a prison located in a war fortress in space, where the Saint Lord would spend his long residual life in a bleak and cramped cell—a fate worse than being confined in a dimension named after Hell, where at least he could converse with his seven siblings.
But the Saint Lord wasn't actually the main concern.
Constantine intervention with the Saint Lord was a measure to mitigate risks—to prevent the worst-case scenario where a demon of the Saint Lord caliber, if freed, could wreak irreversible havoc on humanity.
The twelve talismans, which embody the Saint Lord power, are the real key. These talismans correspond to twelve extraordinary abilities, representing a formidable force.
Combining the original Ghost Rider plot, if Constantine assumptions were correct, the assault on District 13 was very likely orchestrated by Mephisto son, released from Hell, along with his summoned demonic minions.
Mephisto son, naturally, is the antagonist in the first Ghost Rider movie, Blackheart.
Blackheart, Mephisto carefully nurtured son, possesses exceptional abilities.
Although not as powerful as Mephisto, he lacks Mephisto vulnerabilities. This means that stepping out of Hell into the human world does not weaken Blackheart in any way.
Additionally, his relative weakness compared to Mephisto gave Mephisto the opportunity to send Blackheart to Earth.
Furthermore, Blackheart can summon his own minions in the human world: water demons, earth demons, and wind demons.
This is arguably one of the strongest cards Mephisto can play on Earth.
To facilitate cooperation with the Saint Lord, Mephisto has invested heavily.
Of course, in the original storyline, Mephisto made the same investment despite Johnny non-cooperation.
It not surprising at all.
Overall, Constantine did not have much confidence that District 13 could withstand Blackheart attack.
Even with Jackie Chan and Tru present, it was unlikely to alter the outcome of District 13 being overrun. Simple martial arts clearly cannot match Blackheart hellish magic.
Given Tru recent apprenticeship with Old Daddy and his magical abilities not yet as useful as his sumo skills, he certainly couldn't hold off Blackheart.
Constantine combat abilities were not up to the mark, and there was no point in charging headlong into a beating.
Fortunately, Constantine wasn't solely relying on the Ghost Rider. As his original self, Anton shared the same thoughts and plans as Constantine, or rather, they were in sync.