Chapter 2927: When Night Falls (IX)

Dick turned his head away, trembling, and gritted his teeth in defense, "This is just a self-preservation measure. If I completely disappeared during the day, it would be too obvious..."

"Yes, I understand. What about the afternoon tea?"

Dick couldn't answer, and Batman continued to look at him, saying, "You could choose not to eat, and it wouldn't seem odd, because there was someone else who didn't touch anything."

"That doctor..." Dick said through clenched teeth.

"What should you call him?"

"Doctor Schiller." For the first time, Dick met Batman's gaze and then said, "Without him, my plan would have gone smoothly..."

Batman just looked at him, saying nothing.

In the end, Dick couldn't bear the eye contact. He took a deep breath without letting go of the arm of Batman he was holding, but turned his eyes away and said, "I must admit my mind was somewhat affected. It's not an excuse to evade the issue, but it is indeed true."

"After my fangs were pulled out, I felt a bit dizzy. I initially thought it was an after-effect of the pain, but it doesn't seem to be the case. I felt as if some connections had been severed, and I'm not sure what it was."

"You can't divert the subject by offering clues, Dick. Often times, I'm a detective, but more often, I'm a father."

Dick seemed surprised that Batman would say such a thing. He glanced at Batman but quickly averted his gaze and said, "Are you blaming me for deceiving you?"

"Shouldn't it be blamed?"

Checkmate. Although Batman didn't know where Schiller derived his understanding of Dick, at least based on his knowledge of Dick, a sober Dick had a normal sense of justice and absolutely could not speak words of denial.

"So you're just upset that I deceived you?"

Something was wrong. Batman suddenly realized that Dick was avoiding the question instead of first clarifying the principle... Too wrong.

"I told you not to feel any guilt," came Schiller's somewhat flippant voice from the headset, "You're not the only one wanting to manipulate something."

Batman felt a surge of anger, but Schiller's reminder was like a bucket of cold water dousing his rage, "If all this was a pretense by Dick, then he really can't be blamed for taking some extraordinary measures."

"Answer my question first."

"Which question?"

"Does it make any difference?"

"I... deceived you," Dick chose to admit.

But Batman shook his head and said, "No, you clearly didn't respect me enough."

"Before you left for Brude Haven, you found me and told me what you thought. Then you laid out your plans for the future, sought my opinion, and ultimately chose to leave."

"What did you do today? Standing proudly in the sunlight, eating foods that vampires cannot touch, even more proud thinking how prepared you were, mocking me for using this method to test for a mole..."

Batman's hand still rested on Dick's neck as he said, "If you had the basic respect for me, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

Batman couldn't say that the words he repeated next didn't come from his heart.

"You chose to provoke me in this way, yet you are surprised that I want to kill you. Do you still delude yourself into thinking you have the right to be pardoned? No, you don't, Mr. Grayson. I told you, you're on your last leg."

"You must be very reluctant to accept why the punishment has escalated from 'just walk away' to what it is today, but it's all your fault."

"You chose to be my enemy but failed to see your place. You even thought you were my son and believed I would treat you with the tolerance reserved for children—too naive."

"Since you've chosen to betray me yet haven't acted swiftly, even giving me time to prepare various tests, indulging in the joy of deceiving me—too foolish."

"Even when I lay hands on you, you still think you can leverage your special place in my heart to make me suffer and let you go instead of using the new power you've gained to deliver a fatal blow—too cowardly."

"Dick, the biggest difference is, the you who left Brude Haven made me proud, but the you now only brings me disappointment."

"So I need you to prove your loyalty to me, for this is the only way you can regain your position, strong and free, weak but loyal. You can only choose the latter now."

Dick's eyes widened as he looked at him and said, "You said as long as I don't think it's worth it, you can..."

"You haven't paid a higher price for your folly, or else the best-case scenario would be soaking in some solution in the Batcave, becoming the raw material for my research on a vampire virus antidote."

"Are you threatening me again?!"

"You don't seem as frightened anymore. Do you feel you have a chance now? Or have you finally understood that you can't manipulate me?"

The moment Dick's eyes re-emitted red light, Batman firmly gripped his neck. The cross necklace worn by Dick was pressed in Batman's palm until it cut open the skin on the side of Dick's neck.

Flames rekindled and Dick let out a painful scream. His defense against the Holy Artifact seemed to be limited to his skin surface; once it touched deeper, he would still get hurt.

Schiller's assessment was correct; the Holy Artifact from England was especially effective. Perhaps the neck was also a vampire's lifeline. The injury Batman inflicted this time was even more devastating than the blow Schiller had delivered to Dick's back. Dick's entire neck was ablaze.

He struggled painfully while Schiller spoke through the headset, "Although I think you should teach him a lesson, disfiguring him isn't a good idea. Take him to the Batcave."

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Batman didn't let go, so the cross remained pressed on the wound as he dragged Dick into the Batcave and then threw him into the cell.

"You don't have to feel angry," Doctor Schiller advised. "In my observation, the vampire virus seems to partially warp a person's mind. Even though I pulled out his two fangs, it only made his hostility less obvious. In fact, he has become much more vicious."

"How can it be completely eradicated?" Batman wasn't asking Doctor Schiller; he was asking himself. Since the disappearance incident, he had been investigating everything related to vampires, but so far, he still had no clue.

"You can't solve this all," Dick's weak voice came through, his tone mocking, "You still think about having another tea party..."

"He lacks respect for you," Doctor Schiller said. "Even if the virus influences him, it might also be due to your lack of authority usually. If it were me, I wouldn't let him become what he is today..."

"Because I'm not a madman. I won't let my child live in fear all the time."

"Obviously, you can't let him loose now."

"You said you could help me control him, but you failed."

"Far from it," Schiller replied, his tone still unruffled, "You see, hasn't his true nature been exposed?"

Batman's movements paused as Doctor Schiller continued, "He plays your son, aiming to soften your heart; you can play his father, but under the virus's influence, he likely won't soften."

"Then why did he fall into your trap?"

"This is the key to defeating him. His love for you is etched into his instincts. Hence, his habitual actions always surface, allowing me to use the necklace to set the trap and pull out his fangs."

"What you need to do is the same as I. You use love, which the virus can't affect, to first engrave fear into him, then you'll truly tame him."

"I can't do that," Batman finally gave his answer. "Fear is the most difficult scar to erase from the human heart. After everything's over, he would suffer for a lifetime because of it."

"What about the corresponding ample love?"

"No," Batman said, "It can never compensate for each other, it's the sick relationship only you madmen would enjoy."

"What a pity," Doctor Schiller lamented. "So you're giving up?"

"No, just that I no longer need your guidance," Batman stated, his tone unsettlingly calm, "Actually, I understand how to manipulate Dick better than you. The reason I wanted to use your hand was just to avoid it."

"You're sure you won't go too far?"

"I'm much more cautious than you think," Batman said, seemingly reverting to that Batman—calm tone, always talking in circles, responding to every question yet not really answering.

"Well then, I await the good news."

Doctor Schiller hung up the phone, knowing his goal had been achieved. He'd never intended to get involved in the relationship between this father and son; his only wish was for Batman to realize that the biggest danger of the vampire virus was its ability to twist the human mind.

But this wasn't meant to make Batman suffer or struggle; it was to ignite his greatest potential, and even let him temporarily set aside some of his moral constraints.

To say Batman is a human supremacist wouldn't be wrong, but his definition of human isn't so extreme. Those with superpowers are human, those resurrected from the dead are human, even those with different bloodlines can be human.

In Batman's eyes, the coding of the flesh isn't that important. So, there could exist a scenario where vampires can also be human, as long as they repent sincerely and identify themselves as human; then Batman might consider them human.

This scenario is most likely to happen within the Batman Family. If his children sincerely repented, Batman would lock them up for fear of them harming others, but he still wouldn't consider them monsters at heart. Naturally, he wouldn't really judge them or treat them with methods used against criminals.

However, Batman couldn't accept a betrayal of the spirit, especially from his children. Direct warping of moral principles was the downfall Batman could tolerate least. To deceive with evil methods without repenting was to commit a grave offense.

Batman's love was not plentiful. Nearly all of it was given to his children. If someone tried to exploit this to combat him, they would inevitably invoke Batman's thunderous wrath.

As long as Batman could overcome the barrier in his heart and employ the methods used against criminals, then these little birds of the Batman Family really wouldn't stand a chance.

But others couldn't make Batman see this; he had to discover it himself. His love for the children too easily confused him. Doctor Schiller's manipulation involving Dick was just to make Batman face reality.

As it turned out, Doctor Schiller's plan was flawless. That very evening, Dick reemerged at the dining table.

Logically, Dick's attention should have been on the one who had pulled his two teeth out, but in reality, throughout the entire dinner, all of Dick's attention was irresistibly drawn to Batman, constantly touching the cross on his neck.

Although the specifics were unknown, obviously, Batman had succeeded. Dick's manipulative tricks were nothing compared to his.

"What did you do?" After dinner, Doctor Schiller asked, looking at Dick's content figure.

"I made him an offer he couldn't refuse," Batman replied.

"I'd like to hear the details."

"During the surgery, he can be in the lab."

"That's it?" Schiller looked at Batman.

"And I'll tell everyone that necklace is the most important Holy Artifact and is now his exclusive possession."

"None of you have any right to call me a pervert," Doctor Schiller raised his glass, commenting thus.

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