Chapter 2413: Mental Assault (31)_1

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"Who do you think did this?" Gray mist asked in his mind, although he already knew what name Schiller was thinking of.

"Something is very wrong," Schiller said after a pause in his thoughts. "The dark universe belongs to Barbados, and every part of it is entwined with his dark energy. Even if he doesn't actively do anything, everything will inevitably fall into corruption due to the nature of the dark energy. If he wanted to tempt Batman into corruption, he would have much better ways."

Gray mist was silent for a moment and then said, "It's like when you're in your own home, there's no need to sneak under the bed."

"Exactly," Schiller said, his gaze somewhat vacant as he focused on the conversation in his mind. "In the Light Universe, metal is the tool that Barbados attempts to use Batman to open the channel, but that's because his power can't interfere on a large scale in the Light Universe, so he has to resort to that method."

"But in his home, the dark universe, if he wants the Batman here, he has plenty of methods. If he thought they were useful, he wouldn't let them die and would have already organized them, holding onto Bruce tightly."

"He is the god of the dark universe. If he really intended to use a zerg rush, no life in the dark universe could escape his temptation. Obviously, he knows that won't work, so he'd rather secretly transfer power into the Light Universe instead of glancing at the Batman of the dark universe."

"But someone has use for them," Gray mist said. "Not everyone rules over the dark universe."

"Everything has already happened before it occurs," Schiller said, uttering a phrase fraught with philosophical meaning, and added, "The difference between comics and reality is that the beginning we see in the comics may already be the result of what has happened in the world of the comics. More things that we don't know about have happened outside the frames of the comics."

"That's why you never want to blindly believe in comic plotlines. Behind those seemingly outrageous plots, there may hide a complex but reasonable truth," Gray mist continued.

Schiller rubbed his fingers together and said, "It must be so, and sometimes reality is even less logical than comics."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Continue with our plan, but we need to be quick. Our only advantage is that we can interfere with two universes at the same time. So no matter who in either universe thinks they have everything anticipated, they always miss something in the other universe."

Schiller stood up straight from his chair, looked around, and then said, "I've got some things to handle, consider me absent from this meeting. You all go ahead."

After finishing, he strode out of the room.

The others all widened their eyes and looked at each other. Stark muttered, "This doesn't seem like him. He usually sticks around and doesn't leave..."

"Something big must have happened," Strange said.

"Big? A super-duper mutant aggregate about to explode doesn't count as big for him. What else is big?"

Strange touched his cheek and speculated, "It's probably something to do with another universe. Everything there is terribly wrong, and this time it seems particularly bad."

The Luminous Alliance's meeting took place in the Dreamworld. After Schiller left the Dreamworld, he sat up from the bed. He was staying in the apartment he lived in when he first came to the Marvel World because it was close to the Elders Council Hospital.

After sitting up, Schiller tidied up his hair and picked up his phone to dial a number. Soon a childish voice came through the phone.

"Hello? Doctor Schiller, munch munch... Yes, I'm eating. Uh, not the sun, a red dwarf star. Just a little snack."

"Really? My goodness, what's happening sounds terrible. Looks like I need to handle it. Alright, alright, I'll stop by soon..."

Helen put down the phone in her hand while Doctor Strange, who was drawing an Array, turned to look at her.

Helen continued to stay with Dark Strange. Their companionship boiled down to a mutual appreciation between two Taoties.

When they first met, Helen suggested to Dark Strange that he needed to see what true devouring power was all about, so they embarked on a no-return journey—she provided the technology, and he provided the appetite—just like Iron Man and Doctor Strange once did.

To put it simply, Dark Strange was using his extensive knowledge to summon various bizarre gods, especially those that didn't affect the cosmic rules but were still mighty powerful.

Of course, when summoning, they would declare intending to do honest business, craving power or knowledge, but as soon as the gods arrived, Strange would signal with a clink of a glass, and a Doomsday creature would jump out and overwhelm them in one gulp, splitting the power between the two.

Helen didn't necessarily need to eat these gods, but these powerful energy beings were simply more delicious to her than the things in the material world. If stars and other energy-rich celestial bodies were the main dish, then these gods were like smooth milk tea. After all, there are always two stomachs for main dishes and desserts.

During this period, they camped in the time rift where Dark Strange was located, and indulged in a monstrous feast. Since they ate too much and didn't exercise, Helen had not only gotten larger in form but her face also regained some baby fat.

Strange was stuffed badly, and he had already used the accumulated energy to go to Hell to trade his girlfriend back from Mephisto. Evidently, having his appetite expanded, he didn't have much time for romance and spent most of his time consuming heartily in his Mage Tower.

Now they were setting up an Array again, aiming to take advantage of their infamous reputation as a well-known black market in the universe before the word spread too far, to trick a few more unlucky ones.

Helen ended the call and looked at Strange, "Sorry, I've got things to take care of and might need to leave for a while."

"What is it?"

"Going to a universe to deal with a tricky guy, helping Doctor Schiller with some trouble. Believe me, I'll be back soon."

"Can I come with you?" Strange said. "My bones are about to rust from staying here too long."

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"Aren't you going to spend some time with your girlfriend?"

"In the first few days after she got back, we had eight dates in three days. We think it's necessary to give each other some space."

"You can just say she finds you annoying. Anyway, I'll call Dr. Schiller later. There shouldn't be any problems, but be prepared—the situation in that universe might be pretty bad."

"Could it be worse than what I've been through before?"

"Ha," Helen snorted coldly before saying, "Trust me, it's a thousand times, no, a million times worse."

In a pitch-dark room, countless photos were pinned onto a felt board, all featuring the same face, handsome and imposing, with a pair of blue eyes burning with the flame of justice.

But next to the last photo that was pinned up, someone had scrawled one word in black ink—"Liar".

A hand clad in black gauntlets touched a belt embossed with a bat emblem. As he turned from the darkness, the eyes that were revealed were utterly exhausted.

The pair of blue eyes, the same as in the photos, no longer held the youthful resemblance of justice and passion. When they looked at each other now, all that was left was disappointment.

As the figure moved, a pair of pointed ears appeared under the lights. Batman stepped out the door, taking one last look at the person in the photo—it was Superman, but no longer Clark Kent.

Or should he say he ever really knew Clark? Was this evil, despicable, brutal person always like this, and everything he'd seen was just a disguise? Or was there really a day when this pure small-town youth gave up all his pursuits of justice and joyfully fell into the arms of darkness?

Regardless of which it was, he should have realized it sooner. Beyond disappointment, Batman's heart was filled with a deep sorrow. If he had noticed earlier, maybe he could have brought Clark Kent back.

Taking a deep breath, Batman let go of all his emotions. He walked out the door, then immediately felt the gaze of scrutiny upon him.

The heat of the gaze became tangible, and the lasers shooting from the eyes completely shattered the door. Batman walked out resolutely, only to be immediately blasted away by the lasers.

He landed on the ground, almost devoid of any strength to stand up. Eluding Superman's hunt in a city completely under his control was near impossible. He had survived until today purely because he was Batman.

"I believed in you... Clark, I believed in the world you promised me," Batman took a deep breath, no longer able to feel the pain.

"The beautiful world you depicted once rekindled my hope. But now I understand, it was all a lie... you deceived me, Clark."

By the end, there was no more judging from a standpoint of justice, only a deep, undissolvable bitterness of personal resentment.

"You betrayed me," Batman enunciated each word, "And I won't give you a second chance."

His trembling hands reached for his belt, and the moment he pressed the button, Batman raised his head and let out a pained roar.

"Roar—!!!"

The Batman that stood up again had turned into a monstrous creature clad in spiked armor, with blood-red eyes full of intense murderous intent.

Helen, who had just passed through the portal and landed on the rooftop, was stunned.

"Holy smokes! Who is this?!!!"

"Wait." Strange, who had followed her, suddenly spoke up, "He looks a bit... a bit like you??"

Strange looked at Helen, and Helen turned to look at him. They stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Helen gazed at the spikey Batman for a long time as though her brain couldn't comprehend the scene before her eyes. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, and finally with some hesitation she said, "He might not be like me... he... he... "

Helen closed her mouth again, pursing her lips as she watched the spikey Batman and Superman fighting, and said with a complex tone, "No wonder Dr. Schiller sent me here. Is this guy crazy?"

"What in the world happened?" Strange asked.

"You must know I can produce a type of Doomsday spores that infect others, right?"

Strange nodded.

"This guy injected himself with the Doomsday Virus, and an ultra—massive dose at that!" Helen gestured exaggeratedly.

"How much?"

"At least 5000 milliliters IV push!"

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