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This crisis was actually quite easy to resolve.

As long as all potential risks were fully controlled, the situation would naturally stabilize.

Regardless, the enemy had already made their move.

Anton's original goal—the Justice Value—was already secured.

At present, the Holy Lord was under his control. Once the situation in District 13 was stabilized, this incident would come to an end.

As for Mephisto, who still roamed free—that was an unsolvable problem, at least for now.

Even the Ancient One couldn't truly destroy him, let alone Anton, who was still growing in power.

At best, they could eliminate Mephisto's physical avatar in the mortal world—but that was largely meaningless. There was no need to waste effort on a futile battle.

Instead, leaving the matter to Ghost Rider—Johnny Blaze—was the more practical approach.

District 13

Ten minutes had passed since the enemy invasion began.

As Anton and Constantine had anticipated, the attackers were Blackheart and his three demonic lieutenants.

The officers of District 13 fought valiantly to resist, but they were steadily losing ground. Their only advantage was the base's advanced technology, which had helped delay Blackheart's advance.

Although Sheriff Blake didn't fully understand the true nature of their enemies, he had already deduced their objective—the Twelve Talismans stored in the facility's secure vault.

Determined, he rushed to the location of the Talismans.

He gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to flee with them. Instead, he made a firm decision—he would use the Talismans to fight.

Though this increased the risk of the Talismans falling into enemy hands, abandoning his fellow officers—his comrades—was not an option.

As a sheriff, Blake knew he could never make that choice.

"Sheriff, it's too dangerous!"

Seeing Blake enter the battlefield, his officers were shocked. Yet, rather than retreat, their faces showed a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Fall back! Leave this to me!" Blake ordered, waving them away.

He pulled out the Dragon Talisman, one of the twelve, gripping it tightly as he locked eyes with Blackheart and his demons. His expression was tense.

Ever since the rise of Batman, it was as if an invisible fuse had been lit—one that had triggered the emergence of countless supernatural beings.

Heroes weren't the only ones appearing in this new world. Terrifying supervillains had begun to surface as well.

Now, just four enemies had completely overwhelmed the defenses of District 13. The police were being pushed back relentlessly, unable to mount a real counterattack.

If it weren't for the district's cutting-edge technology, they wouldn't have lasted this long.

Determined, Blake focused on the Dragon Talisman.

Whoosh!

A powerful, molten-red energy beam erupted from the talisman, streaking toward Blackheart and his demons.

"What the hell is that?!"

The surrounding officers stood frozen in shock.

They recognized the talisman as the one Blake had recovered from outside the district—but no one had known how to use it.

Previously, even the most sophisticated analysis tools had failed to detect anything extraordinary about the Twelve Talismans.

Yet now, before their eyes, one of them was unleashing devastating energy attacks…

"Magic?" someone murmured in disbelief. "Is this… really magic?"

"Oh?"

Blackheart and his lieutenants remained unfazed, their pale faces showing no trace of concern. However, a flicker of excitement flashed through their cold, indifferent eyes.

The Twelve Talismans.

Just as Blake had suspected, these artifacts were precisely what they had come for.

Now, he had brought one directly to them.

To Blackheart, this was perfect.

As for whether Blake posed a real threat with the talisman? He and his demons weren't concerned in the slightest.

The Talismans were indeed powerful—but their strength depended entirely on the user.

They had originated from the Holy Lord himself, and the one who could wield their power most effectively was naturally the Holy Lord.

Among humans, there were only a rare few who could truly unlock their full potential.

Sheriff Blake was not one of them.

The only creatures truly attuned to the Talismans—aside from the Holy Lord himself—were the animals associated with each of the twelve.

In other words, Sheriff Black was not one of them.

Boom!

The metal floor beneath Blackheart and his demons melted into a pool of molten iron under the lava-like energy rays.

Yet, they remained completely unharmed.

Under the horrified gazes of everyone present, the four demons effortlessly evaded Black's attack and then charged straight toward him.

Boom!

Blackheart merely extended a hand, and with a flick of invisible force, Sheriff Black was sent flying.

Whoosh!

As he tumbled through the air, his grip failed, and the Dragon Talisman slipped from his grasp.

A sudden gust of wind caught it midair—the work of the Wind Demon, who swiftly secured the talisman in his palm.

"Give me the Talisman," Blackheart ordered.

Without hesitation, the Wind Demon handed it over.

"The power of the Talisman..."

A cold breath escaped Blackheart's lips as thin layers of frost spread from his palm. The Dragon Talisman shimmered for a moment before fusing into his body.

"So this... is the power of the Holy Lord?"

A twisted smile crept across his face.

His already pale complexion, combined with that inhuman, frozen grin, made Blackheart look even more terrifying.

Under everyone's gaze, his eyes turned a brilliant, blood-red hue.

He turned to Sheriff Black, his expression devoid of warmth.

"Hand over the rest of the Talismans," he commanded. "And I'll grant you a painless death."

"Impossible."

Black refused without hesitation.

"Then die."

Blackheart's eyes flared as he unleashed a powerful lava-like energy beam straight at the fallen Sheriff.

This was the power of the Dragon Talisman.

But just before it could strike—

Two figures dashed onto the battlefield from behind.

Jackie Chan and Truu had arrived in the nick of time.

Jackie immediately assessed the situation. Without thinking, he grabbed a broken piece of debris from the ground—a shattered brick—and hurled it at Blackheart with all his might.

"Huh?"

Sensing the incoming projectile, Blackheart turned his head slightly, effortlessly dodging it.

However, the small distraction caused his energy beam to veer off course.

Chii-chii-chii-chii!

The walls of the base were instantly pierced, ripped apart as if they were nothing more than fragile sheets of paper. Shattered stone and debris crumbled from the impact.

Blackheart turned his gaze toward the newcomers.

"Two more humans?"

His eyes narrowed as he focused on Truu, lingering on him a few seconds longer than Jackie.

"A human... magician?"

From Truu, he sensed something unusual—something supernatural.

Truu, visibly shaken, turned to Jackie with a pale face.

"Jackie Chan… they're demons!"

"What?!"

Jackie's heart sank. He recalled Constantine's warning.

"We have to hold them off until Mr. Constantine's reinforcements arrive!"

Truu nodded.

"We need the Talismans."

Jackie's eyes snapped to Sheriff Black, who had just struggled to his feet.

"Sergeant Black, give us the Talismans!" Jackie shouted. "We'll handle them!"

Without hesitation, Black gathered the remaining Talismans and tossed them to Jackie and Truu.

….

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