The Court of Owls (Part 5)

The Talon immediately deduced that a hidden room lay behind this wall. As a member who had emerged victorious from the Court's rigorous training, he was a master of traps and mechanisms. Ordinary people might not have sensed the secret room's presence, but after a brief search, he effortlessly located the switch.

He opened the door and stepped into an elevator.

And then, the elevator came to an abrupt stop, trapping him inside.

The Talon realized instantly that someone had manipulated the system from behind. He had been careless.

Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Alfred calmly polished the gun in his lap, quietly pleased.

Elsewhere…

Dick, held by Avery's hand, watched wide-eyed as the scene unfolded before him.

Several Talons, looking like frightened, headless chickens, glared at each other, some even breaking into fights among themselves. But thanks to their rapid healing, even attempts to cut throats were futile. Those who went down quickly revived, springing back up to continue the brawl.

Watching this bizarre display, Dick felt a mix of emotions. He couldn't help but think of a cat his circus had once kept. When the cat caught mice, it wouldn't simply eat them but would toy with them until they lost all hope, only to devour them in the end.

He felt an inexplicable sense that Avery, in his calculated amusement, was rather catlike—both in his approach to prey and his usual demeanor.

"Are you frightened by this sort of scene?"

Avery, oblivious to Dick's wandering thoughts, observed the spectacle with a faint smile and suddenly turned to ask him.

Dick thought for a moment. "Not scared, exactly, but… this feels a bit wrong." He didn't sympathize with the miserable appearance of these assassins—they were clearly bad people and they also come here to to deal with them. But he couldn't deny the scene's gruesome nature.

"It's fine if you aren't afraid. If you were, you might need to reconsider your goals. As for what happens next…" Avery knelt before Dick and spoke softly, "Would you close your eyes for a moment? It'll be over soon."

After a moment's hesitation, Dick nodded decisively.

Instantly, he felt himself drift off into a gentle, dreamless sleep, cradled in the arms of an automaton that appeared from behind Avery.

With Dick settled, Avery turned his gaze to the Talons still grappling with each other.

Seizing one of them by the collar, he demanded, "Who are you people?"

As Avery spoke, his voice carried an ethereal quality, laced with a subtle enchantment that compelled truth. It was a mesmerizing magic, capable of disarming defenses and coaxing out the truth.

The Talon before him, the same female assassin who had earlier attacked Avery with her blade, now seemed utterly drained of any will to attack. She opened her mouth, murmuring incoherently, but no words emerged.

Avery clicked his tongue in mild irritation. "Mute, are we?"

Seeing she was of no further use, he tossed her aside with a flick of his hand and seized the leader of the Talons instead.

Though some distance away, the Talon appeared to be pulled by an invisible force, dragged to Avery's feet, his knees scraping across the ground.

"What mission did the Court of Owls assign to you?"

Avery looked down at him with icy disdain, his voice sharp.

The Talon, his face hidden beneath an owl mask, seemed spellbound, his voice hazy as he replied, clearly under Avery's control.

"As ordered, we are to eliminate Batman and… Bruce Wayne, and bring Richard Grayson back to the Court."

"Are there more of you at Wayne Manor?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Eight."

"What is the Court's motive in targeting Bruce Wayne?"

"To wrest control of the city back from the Wayne family."

Avery continued questioning the Talon, his expression impassive until his eyes gleamed with sudden curiosity. "What is your relationship with Richard Grayson?"

The Talon, William Cobb, answered truthfully, "I am his great-grandfather."

So, that was it. Avery had sensed some unusual connection between them, likely rooted in blood.

Avery's lips curled in a faint smile, and he abruptly released his control over William Cobb. Leaning forward slightly, he met Cobb's bewildered, panicked gaze through his mask and said, "So, you're Dick's long-dead great-grandfather, are you…"

William Cobb, momentarily dazed, quickly grasped that the mysterious figure before him was behind everything he had just experienced. Moreover… this man likely wasn't Batman. Their fighting styles were far too distinct. If Batman were capable of wielding magic, he'd have surely left some sign of it in all his years in Gotham's dark alleys.

"... You cannot win. A Talon does not die," Cobb declared.

As the Court's elite assassin, the Talons could survive any fall, electrocution, or even dismemberment. And if death did come, they could be revived through a mixture of amber serum.

Avery raised an eyebrow, watching Cobb with faint amusement.

"Is that so?"

Cobb felt a sinking dread as Avery responded, aware that this man held strange and dangerous abilities. Though he had spoken boldly, he couldn't shake his unease.

And before he could devise an escape, his heart seized painfully. In an instant, his body began to shrivel, drying out at a terrifying speed, as if drained of every drop of moisture.

Horrified, he looked up at Avery.

Calmly, Avery adjusted his cuffs. "Since you weren't part of Dick's life before, you won't be now, either. So…"

He paused, a chilling smile tugging at his lips.

"…you may as well stay dead this time."

William Cobb could no longer respond; his body, completely desiccated, crumbled to ash. There would be no resurrection.

Avery continued in the same manner, eliminating the remaining Talons one by one. But when he reached the mute assassin from earlier, he paused, his gaze fixed on some unseen spectacle, as though he found it amusing.

Watching her retreat in terror, he gently took the sleeping Dick from the automaton's arms, and with a quiet movement, vanished from the scene.

Not long after, another group arrived at the scene.

Sensing the residual magic lingering in the air and observing the compass in his hand whirling frantically, the leader's face darkened. "He has reappeared."