American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

"F**k!" Falcone cursed as he watched the little wizard being inexplicably pulled into the river by a rope. If the boy were an ordinary person, he could have escaped, but he was a damn wizard! He strode to the riverbank, firing into the water as he shouted angrily, "What are you standing there for? Shoot!"

Meanwhile, Rune, with his last bit of strength, dialed the cell phone number that only had one digit in it.

"Watch out... the Court of Owls..."

A bullet pierced the river and struck him in the chest. He then went black and lost consciousness, and his phone was swept away by the river.

When Rune awoke again, he saw the familiar ceiling. The dark green hues that he used to loathe now seemed beautiful, and even the strange creatures swimming outside the glass seemed adorable. Even though he had encountered N-metal, which countered him, and even though the opponent had laid a trap, he had still survived.

Perhaps the Court of Owls was the institution Batman used to maintain basic stability in Gotham. They must have been hunting down sorcerers and other supernatural beings who stayed in Gotham for extended periods; otherwise, Gotham, a hub of dark magic, would have long been overrun by those dark sorcerers.

You know, even the swamps here can create a Solomon Grandi.

Following this line of thought, the demon from that day was a tool released by the owl, or even guided to its doorstep to test its power. It is estimated that the forces behind that demon, at least in Gotham, have been eliminated.

Zatanna was probably spared execution by the Court of Owls because of her close relationship with Bruce and the fact that she wouldn't stay in Gotham for long. But what about herself?

Rune narrowed his eyes. He'd lived in Gotham for a long time, which might have attracted the attention of the Court of Owls…

This speculation is reasonable. Falcone himself once hinted that he was a tool pushed to the forefront by the Court of Owls to maintain stability, which could also explain the chaos in Gotham City after the owls were eliminated in the comics.

After all, the Court of Owls needs Gotham to maintain its dark order, and Barbatos needs a Batman as a springboard to the light multiverse.

Just wait, Falcone, just wait, Court of Owls… Rune clenched his fists, and Barbatos… You’ll know the price of offending me!

Temporarily suppressing his hatred, Rune calmly completed his day's classes, but the Slytherins around him remained silent in fear. They could sense the oppressive atmosphere emanating from Rune; his eyes were so fierce they seemed ready to kill, and no one dared to provoke him. In fact, the Slytherins from the first to the third year were already secretly calling Rune "The Dark Lord." The news of him hanging the prefect with a few spells and then being put in solitary confinement for only a few days had spread far and wide.

That night, Rune studied very late. His roommates were already asleep, but Rune had no intention of going to sleep. The courses he attended during the week were basically useless to him; his strength had reached a bottleneck, and ordinary magic could no longer satisfy Rune's need to become stronger quickly. Therefore, he turned his attention to the forbidden book section.

He pulled out the Marauder's Map he'd borrowed from the Weasley brothers and easily infiltrated the restricted section.

Based on the warnings from teachers, the books in the forbidden section are extremely dangerous. Some possess a kind of self-awareness, like Voldemort's diary, while others are imbued with dark magic or even curses. This isn't because the authors intend to harm anyone, but because the words can no longer bear the weight of the corresponding magical knowledge. Therefore, the books begin to absorb magic, ultimately becoming dangerous and thus placed in the forbidden section.

"The Book of Yokai" is a similar example, but the magical knowledge it contains is not dangerous, so it is not among the banned books.

However, Rune was prepared. He picked up his wand, cast a silencing spell on himself, and began searching for books that suited his taste. Transfiguration and spell-related books were fine, but black magic was out of the question—too dangerous.

Rune scanned the bookshelves, and even though he was mentally prepared, the books in the restricted section still broadened his horizons. He even saw a book coughing, its rapid, wheezing sounds carrying an unusual noise, as if it were having asthma.

Soon, Rune found the three books he needed most: "On the Influence of Wizard's Will on Transfiguration", "Ancient Spells", and "The Mysteries of the Human Body - Flesh and Blood Transformation".

The latter has the most peculiar appearance; the pages of that book are like real skin, with tiny veins in addition to pores.

He opened the Marauder's Map, dodged Filch and his cat on night patrol, and returned to his dormitory. He eagerly opened the most magical book, but a piece of paper fell out.

Rune stared curiously at the fallen paper, which read: Ritual Magic: Magical Beast Bloodline Fusion. The name immediately caught his eye; ritual magic was typically characterized by long preparation times, complex requirements, and extremely high effectiveness.

Legend has it that the magic used by Gellert Grindelwald to burn down Paris was ritual magic, and Voldemort's resurrection was also a form of ritual magic.

Just as Rune was about to examine the magic described on the paper more closely, the system, which was usually almost invisible, suddenly popped up.

Fantastic Beast Bloodline Fusion: This magic, created by Salazar Slytherin, allows you to fuse the bloodline of a specific magical creature after a standard ritual. Upon completion, you will gain the weakening abilities of that magical creature, and its corresponding weaknesses will be removed.

Warning: Certain magical creature lineages will affect the caster's appearance; please choose carefully.

Warning: Divinity, speed, and other abilities are not inherited through bloodlines.

Looking at the two lines of bright red warning, Rune narrowed his eyes. Falcone, the Court of Owls, your "good luck" is about to arrive…

Smallville, Kansas.

Today was the day the circus was coming to perform, and Clark Kent happily held his mother's hand. He had begged his father for a long time before his father finally gave him fifteen dollars, which he could use to buy some fun things and delicious food in town, and he could also spend five dollars to see a great circus performance.

But his father refused to come, saying he still had farm work to do.

Clark Kent suppressed his guilt about abandoning his father and focused on playing with his mother. He even tried shooting targets twice, even though he only used a toy gun and only managed to shoot down a tomato, but he was still very excited.

He didn't use his superpowers; he took down the tomato using his own abilities!

After watching the circus performance with his mother, Clark went to the riverbank, took out the tomatoes he had picked earlier, and handed them to his mother.

"Mom, here you go!"

"Thank you, my son has finally grown up." Martha smiled as she took the tomato from him, took a bite, and Clark felt a surge of accomplishment.

"Mom, I promise you'll live in a big house and eat meat every day!" he said with a smile.

"Hmm..." Martha nodded. "I believe you."

Just then, something floated down from upstream. Clark glanced at it but didn't pay much attention, muttering, "This happens every time the circus comes. This time it's even worse. This garbage is just too much..."

Before he could finish speaking, Clark's eyes widened: "My God, that...that's not trash, that's a person!"