72 Batman's Weak Will.

Once Bruce agreed to the pact with Maulketh, he instantly felt a small subtle feeling in the back of his mind. It was a reminder of what he swore and should he break it the results would not be pretty for him.

Not just because Maulketh would kill and eat his soul, but breaking a pact with a Dragon God would probably kill him before Maulketh got to him. But now that they were in Gotham, Maulketh began to think up some plans.

In his home reality, the religion he started was bringing him some Faith, but as he was not a true god back then he was only gaining a tiny trickle. And now that he was a true god, the amount of Faith that was flowing into him from the people was even smaller because of the Dimensional Barrier.

Gotham would be a perfect city to start a new religion toward himself. Most of the people here had Demonic taint in their souls which he could make use of that.

'In due time.'

Maulketh turned to Bruce.

"Alright, as promised to Superman I shall fix the issue of your city. And as promised to you, I shall see what you can learn for my assumement. Let us be off shall we."

Maulketh tapped his foot on the ground and warped them back to Wayne Manor. Once they arrived, Bruce removed his Mask as Maulketh already knew who he was. Maulketh observed Bruce's face more importantly his eyes.

"You know, the trauma of losing your parents would normally cause someone PTSD or other mental issues. That would have happened if you had not been born in Gothom dead center of the thickest part of the curse.

Anyone living in this manor might as well be living in a cursed location."

It was honestly quite funny. The sealed away Warlock was sealed several miles below Wayne Manor. Even deeper down than the Bat Cave which was why Batman had never found anything. He would soon head down there and eat him, but first, he would see what Bruce could learn.

"How bad is it?"

Maulketh smirked.

"For now, it is simply a cursed location causing those who inhabit it to be more paranoid, more headstrong, harder to reason with, and prone to violence. Sound familiar? But with each passing year the stronger the curse becomes not just here, but all of Gotham."

Trihexa placed her hand on a wall to the right and drew out some of the curses. The black smog flowed around her hand which she showed to Burce.

"See? Saturated."

Bruce was honestly horrified that his home was so cursed, but what about himself? According to Maulketh, his soul was barely human. Considering it was still early in the afternoon, Bruce would not need to head out as Batman until a few more hours.

Seeing how Bruce was deep in thought, Maulketh broke him out of it.

"I will begin to deal with the curse later tonight when the curse is at its worst. But in the meantime, I am going to see what your soul can do."

Seeing how he was going to do something borring, Trihexa decided to leave.

"Count me out."

With that said she teleported away to who knows where. Bruce was still not happy leaving these two running free as he could not trust either. That made Maulketh chuckle.

"Paranoia."

Bruce walked off.

"Come with me. We can do this in the Batcave."

Maulketh followed Bruce through the large manor. It was much smaller than his own castle as Runeas was always adding new areas to it. But for a rich person like Bruce Wayne, it made more than sense.

Eventually, as they were walking they ran into Alfred. When the Butler saw Bruce without his mask with someone new he was honestly surprised. Bruce did not trust many people with his secret identity and he had never seen Maulketh before so he was not Bruce's friend.

"Master Bruce, who is our guest?"

Bruce turned to Maulketh and answered.

"A Dragon God from another dimension."

Alfred raised an eyebrow as to him Maulketh just looked like a human. But he did not question it further.

"Carry on Master Bruce. I shall prepare a room."

Knowing Trihexa was going to stay as well for a while Bruce decided to prepare two rooms.

"Make that two Alfred. He is not the only one I shall be housing for this time. Gotham is sick Alfred, and so is everyone in it. Call Damian, and Tim to the Batcave please."

"At once Master Bruce."

Once Alfred walked away Bruce continued until they reached his secret elevator behind a grandfather clock in Bruce's office. When they descended into the Batcave Maulketh instantly took in the giant cave system. Not only was it reinforced into a bunker, but it was also filled to the brim with Bat-themed vehicles and even different trophies Bruce had taken from his foes.

But the many Bats that filled the Cave were honestly not normal. Each and everyone had a Soul even more tainted than Bruce. They could be useful so he did not bring it up.

"Alright, let's talk. Every living being has a soul. Normal human souls are just neutral, and other species have unique souls. But souls take on traits of their surroundings. The people of Gotham have lived under this demonic curse for centuries so they all have demonic taint at different levels.

But some who call this city home are far more tainted like yourself and those who call this mansion home. However, Alfred has the least bit of taint which just means he is a genuinely pure person."

That did make Bruce happy to hear about Alfred, the Butler was not just a butler. But the man who had raised him after his parents' deaths. Maulketh continued.

"Now, I don't know how it works in this reality, but all beings can use mana in mine. Some have no talent for it and can only use basic spells, but some with unique bodies and souls can use far more advanced techniques. I want to see what your soul can do. That is if you want to learn magic."

Bruce agreed as using magic would not make him less human.

"I do. What do I have to do?"

"Simple, you have to get a feeling for mana. Most of the time it is slow and borring, but there is no need."

Maulketh snapped his fingers and instantly the mana that was filling the cave from himself began to enter Bruce's body. Almost immediately Bruce felt pinpricks all over his body as mana began to flow into his body.

"That feeling is mana flowing through your body. Most beings can't make more mana, they need to slowly absorb it from around them. Except for us Dragons though as we make our own endlessly. Unlike you humans."

Bruce for some reason felt that Maulketh was mocking him. Maulketh was going to explain what to do with it, but Bruce surprised him instead. Once mana was flowing through Bruce's body, his soul and disciplined mind showed its benefits.

Bruce began to draw mana into his body in droves and with relative ease and began to use it. A wave of Darkness emerged from Bruce's body which was in his total control. With a wave of his hand, the darkness dissipated.

Maulketh clapped impressed.

"Talented. I have a question for you, Batman. Will you learn more magic or is this basic application of your skill all you are willing to learn? I know your type, too afraid to become anything not human. Honestly, the worst type of person as well.

You want to help this city, but you are doing a half measure. A failure in the making I will say."

Bruce frowned.

"I shall not kill and becoming something not human is the last thing I want to do. You would not understand as a Dragon."

Maulketh shook his head.

"I was once human. I ascended into a Dragon Human, then a Dragon, and then a Dragon God. I did it because Dragons are the strongest race, and I showed the rest of my new kin my right to be the Dragon King, now God. They were born dragons, while I became one and surpassed them all. So? What about you?

That Demonic taint is not going anywhere so why not make use of it to keep this city safe? Or are you too scared to do anything with it and will just ignore it?"

Bruce had to actually think about that. Hearing that Maulketh was human before he turned into a dragon made him think about himself. He did not know how to answer that. Before he could think of a response, the elevator opened up to reveal Damian and Tim.

Damian looked to be a 12-year-old boy while Tim was on the older side at 18 years old. When they saw Batman deep in thought they walked over. When the two entered the Cave Batman pointed at them.

"How about them? How tainted are they?"

Maulketh looked at Damian and Tim over before he answered. Tim over there has less a lot less than you have, but it is higher than the majority of the citizens. As for Damian, he is mostly unaffected. I would say it has to do with his grandfather.

The Lazarus Pit seems to have given him some unique traits."

Hearing that made Bruce honestly glad his children were not as cursed as he was. Damian walked toward Maulketh and looked up at him.

"You are very tall. How do you know my grandfather?"

Maulketh pointed at Damian's forehead.

"I read your mind."

Bruce groaned.

"Can you stop that?"

Maulketh chuckled.

"No. I like to read the life stories of those I meet. Your story Damian is quite an interesting one, son of the Demon's Head, son of Batman, and Thalia Ghul. And talented beyond measure. I would love to take you in as my personal disciple as you would make a great dragon."

Damian was curious now.

"A Dragon?"

Maulketh nodded as he pointed at himself.

"I am a Dragon God. I can turn others into Dragons easily, but the question is will your father allow that for you."

Bruce answered that with a resounding no.

"No. We shall stay human."

Damian frowned as he looked at his father. As someone raised by the League of Assassins, he still believed that the villains like the Joker should be killed. Yet his father allowed innocent people to keep dying.

"Father, don't make my decisions for me. I can think for myself."

"Damian, I will not have this discussion with you again."

Damian clenched his fists as he had only been with his father for a year. His entire life had been with the League. Seeing this made Maulketh pat Damain on the head.

"You know, I agree with you Damian. Killing some villains will save more lives than what Batman is doing. Like the Joker, that clown is planning something horrible. Even more horrible than what you allowed him to do to Jason. Or the time he set off Joker Venom in that elementary school. Or when he exploded the retirement home.

Or what about the time he killed your friend Gordon's wife? Or crippled Barbra Gordon. Or-"

"STOP!"

Bruce grit his teeth as hearing this all over again stirred up his anger. Joker deserved to die, but it was not his decision. Damian walked away as he already saw his father as weak-willed. Hearing it from a Dragon God made it more apparent.

Seeing Damian walk away made Tim follow after him.

"Come back."

Bruce turned to Maulketh who was smirking.

"Killing is not the answer-"

Maulketh instantly appeared in front of Bruce and grabbed him by his suit. He lifted him above his head until Bruce was looking into his sunglasses. The glasses vanished which allowed Bruce to look into his burning Draconic pupils.

"Listen to me, and listen to me well Bruce Wayne. Killing without gain or reason is pointless. Killing those who do minor petty crimes is overkill. The punishment fits the crime, but those who deserve it should always die. Some of your villains are redeemable, I get that. But the Joker is far from redeemable.

Now, get your head out of your ass and think for once. Or I will force you to feel all of the pain the Joker's victims felt as they died. All of it."

With that, Maulketh dropped Bruce who landed on his ass. Maulketh was no hero or saint, but he saw no gain in massacring or doing petty cruelty. Not unless it directly benefited him. Damian smirked as someone finally said what he had been saying all this time. As for Tim, he rushed over to Bruce to help him up.

Maulketh walked away as while Trihexa was away he was going after that Warlock. When he walked past Damian, he looked down at the kid. The kid had potential, and he was going to unearth it. Several people in this world had potential and he saw profits.

He warped away deep underground as the Warlock was going to be a good meal.

(I got some Villains I would not mind adding to Maulketh's faction. Killer Croc, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Ra's Al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, and Cheetah(Wink). A lot of them have things Maulketh can offer them.)