It was obvious that Kuro's sub-personality never liked John Constantine's sub-personality.
Especially after Raymond once casually said that John Constantine might be the smartest among them, which made Kuro upset for a long time.
He had always believed that he was the smartest one.
Even if his strength wasn't as good as the newer sub-personalities, he was still proud of his intelligence. So when Raymond said John was the smartest, how could he accept that?
Since then, he had tried hard to prove Raymond wrong and often showed off his abilities.
So when John Constantine got mocked, Kuro didn't mind adding fuel to the fire.
The Akainu sub-personality noticed that Kuro called him "Admiral" and guessed they might be from the same world.
But he didn't recognize Kuro.
After all, Kuro only operated in the East Blue.
To Akainu, any pirate with a bounty under 100 million was just a small fry. Aside from special cases like Nico Robin, most weren't worth his attention.
And someone like Kuro, who had never even entered the Grand Line, was even less important.
Kuro realized right then that he had said the wrong thing.
He knew all about Akainu's reputation and didn't dare admit he was a pirate in front of him.
He quickly shut up and stopped talking.
Akainu guessed a bit of the truth but didn't push further.
Meanwhile, John Constantine didn't get mad when both Akainu and Kuro mocked him. Instead, he smiled and said:
"Let me try, and we'll see what happens. Even if I fail, you two are still here to help, right?"
"Sure." Raymond agreed right away.
The other sub-personalities might not know how capable John Constantine really was, but Raymond did.
Even though John looked unreliable and was ranked as a bronze sub-personality by the system, he was never the type to brag.
If you listed all the powerful enemies John had dealt with, someone like the Shadow King wouldn't even make the top ten.
That's why Raymond believed John could handle him.
But just as Raymond agreed, John suddenly said, "Wait, don't say yes so fast. I'll help, but I have one condition."
"For the next month, I want one hour of free time each week. Deal?"
"Free time? What for?" Raymond asked.
"To smoke and drink, obviously. What else? I'm bored out of my mind stuck in here all the time," John complained.
"Alright, I'll do better. If you take him down, I'll give you two hours each week for the next month!" Raymond smiled.
"Really?" John was a bit surprised Raymond agreed so easily. He added, "Boss, you might want to think about it first…
Even though I can't force you to do anything, if you lie to me, don't expect me to help you again. So, are you sure you don't want to think it over?"
"No need, it's settled," Raymond said with a smile. "You don't have to overthink it. If I really wanted to lie to you, I wouldn't do it in front of everyone else. Otherwise, who would still trust me and be willing to help in the future? Don't worry…"
With John Constantine's intelligence, he of course understood what Raymond meant.
He only brought it up again to give Raymond an excuse to back out later, just in case he regretted it and felt annoyed with him.
But since Raymond had no objections, John was happy to accept.
And just like that, John Constantine took on the task.
The other sub-personalities all watched with interest, curious where John got the confidence to accept something that even the two silver sub-personalities weren't sure they could handle.
Especially Tao Pai Pai and Kuro, who were both waiting to see him mess up.
One thing worth mentioning was that after taking control, John didn't rush into the hospital. Instead, he wandered around outside looking mysterious.
He picked up small stones, broke a branch off a tree, and drew strange patterns on the ground.
Anyone watching might have thought he had just escaped from the hospital himself—his behavior was no different from the patients inside.
"Is this guy nuts?" Tao Pai Pai questioned in Raymond's mind.
"Maybe he really is a lunatic," Kuro sneered.
"I don't think so," the Exorcist sub-personality said with a different opinion. "He reminds me of a rival I once had, the Sickly Young Master. Before performing any exorcism, that guy also liked to mess with weird stuff. This John fellow seems kind of like him…"
"We'll find out soon enough. No need to guess," Raymond said with a chuckle.
While John was doing his thing, inside the hospital, David and the Shadow King had already begun facing off.
John also sensed the strange tension in the hospital and quickly picked up his pace. Before long, he had finished preparing and headed inside.
Only then did Raymond finally get a clear "view" of what was happening inside.
He hadn't expected David and the Shadow King to be in a standoff. After all, before he left, David still didn't even know the Shadow King existed.
Somehow, things had shifted to an even match.
"Could it be related to that adventurer Wayne sub-personality of David's?" Raymond guessed.
But what really caught his attention wasn't the standoff itself—
It was the sudden appearance of the Red Devil.
Assuming Apocalypse was still out of the picture, this guy was likely the oldest living mutant on Earth—definitely more than a thousand years old.
Wolverine already seemed ancient for a mutant, but compared to this one, he was just a kid.
Raymond had once wondered who exactly was part of this world's Hellfire Club. He hadn't asked, thinking he'd meet them soon anyway near the end of the year.
He didn't expect to meet one of them so early.
"Cain really hasn't given up, huh…" Raymond shook his head.
Seeing the Red Devil claiming to represent the Hellfire Club, Raymond immediately guessed he had been sent by the Juggernaut.
Back when the sub-personalities discussed Juggernaut's goals, they had already figured out most of his plan. They just didn't expect the Red Devil to be the one sent.
By the time John entered the hospital, the Red Devil was already feeling enough pressure from the Shadow King to consider backing off.
But since John's mission was to take out the Shadow King, he wasn't going to keep watching from the sidelines. He stepped out right away.
"Uh… I'm not too late, am I?"
"Raymond" strolled lazily out from the shadows.
The Red Devil, who had figured out Raymond's identity from what David and Dr. Beth called him, instantly teleported through red mist and appeared in front of "Raymond."
This was one of his powers—using a red-mist-filled subspace to teleport instantly.
With the level of his ability, he could basically teleport anywhere in the world with no delay.
"Didn't expect to meet you here so soon, Doctor. A pleasure—" the Red Devil said with a smile as he reached out his hand.