Chapter 96: End of the Night

Shinoa was seen on the livestream as the Talons got up and attacked immediately after being hit.

This was caused by a serum made from Dionesium, an element I know can be found in Lazarus Pits.

There is also an Electrum and all of this together gives the Talons regeneration and slightly enhanced strength...

I hit someone in a nanobot suit in the hospital and he couldn't get up quickly.

At that moment, I infiltrated the secret sanctuary of the Court of Owls where Sebastian Clark was protected by the strongest Talons.

"You're hiding like a mouse."

I said, "jumping" out of the shadows beside a huge Talon.

This was Felix Harmon, who was known as the Gotham Butcher.

He managed to kill about a hundred and fifty people in his time, and even the Court of Owls didn't deal with him right away.

They sent him immediately to a tomb for the unworthy and then to the sanctuary with the other Talons.

Additionally, there was Mary Turner and Calvin Rose who seemed like he didn't want to be here.

"Hm, the little guy is chatty?"

Felix smirked.

"Do not deprive him of his ability to think and speak rationally. We need to find out who exactly decided to attack the Court of Owls."

Sebastian spoke with an Owl mask in his hands.

"Old man, I don't think the Court of Owls exists anymore... I kind of destroyed almost all of them. It's easier than you think."

I shrugged, and Calvin quickly jumped towards Felix and stabbed him with a dagger right under his jaw, but Harmon reacted quickly and pushed him away while sharply pulling the weapon out of himself.

Calvin didn't give up and attacked again with a good blow to the head, and he made Felix stagger.

"Ah-ha, the traitor must be punished."

Felix grinned and grabbed Calvin by the shoulder.

"What are you doing? I told you that this was your last mission... This action of yours has ended your life."

Sebastian hissed threateningly.

"Alright, little guy, I can understand you. I don't like those owls either."

I activated my lightsaber and ended up on the other side of Felix at a speed that no one present here could react to.

He looked puzzled and took a step back, but his hand remained in place resting on Calvin's shoulder.

"Ah, the little guy can sting pretty hard... but that's not enough."

He tried to act seriously now and swung his healthy hand at me with all his might while furrowing his brow in puzzlement.

I caught his fist by simply extending my hand forward.

"Weaklings... Hey, have you seen any female Talons before? Has your mind been completely washed?"

I glanced at Mary who surprisingly hesitated.

"William, enough looking, take care of him. "

Sebastian was visibly alarmed and pulled out a small syringe from a drawer while holding a pistol in his other hand.

After these words, the same Talon who attacked Batman in the hospital and ran came into action.

He managed to sneak up behind me while hoping to catch me off guard.

"Behind you!"

Calvin shouted who was currently dealing with Felix while Mary still stood in place and gripping the dagger in her hand.

"I see."

I caught the dagger flying towards my back and turned to face William.

"You came out into the light for nothing as the predator is interested in bigger prey."

A sinister red smile appeared on my mask, and in the next moment, William tried to dodge my strike... and he succeeded, but he lost his hand in the process.

"Alright, on your knees."

I commanded as he leaped towards Calvin to finish him off so they could try to kill me together with Felix.

After my words, he froze and fell to his knees unable to resist.

"It's been a while since I've done this."

I calmly approached William and beheaded him. This lightsaber burned wounds very well and there wasn't much blood.

Meanwhile, Mary lunged at Felix from behind.

"What are you doing, bastards?! Do you know what the Court of Owls will do to you? You'll be begging for merc..."

Mary threw a small knife at the old man, hitting him right in the heart.

"Well, that's why you should treat your people properly."

I said, and beheaded him too just in case...

"Could you... help?"

Calvin shouted.

Felix was furious, and they were powerless against him even with Mary.

I calmly approached him and struck his body... which resulted in a hole in his body but it didn't stop him.

My next blow broke his remaining arm, and a "weak" punch to the chin cost him his head.

A bloody way to go...

"You're quite strong..."

Calvin swallowed and glanced at the beheaded Sebastian.

"Is... is that all?"

"Well..."

The bodies just disappeared while the two Talons looked at me blankly. I destroyed them with alchemy.

"You could say so. Now, tell me why I shouldn't kill the last Talons?"

"Um, because we have come to our senses?"

Calvin tried to joke.

"Listen, Mary and I didn't kill anyone and were released only for this Night of the Owls."

I realized he'd better tell me the truth.

"Yeah... we didn't get the chance."

Mary spoke up.

"I was in recovery for a long time after becoming a Talon... I was injured because of a bomb dropped on Japan in the forties. Until recently, I was in a dormant state."

"I already tried to escape from them once. To become a Talon, you must go through trials and navigate through a labyrinth, and I was the first to fully complete it. But... on my first mission, I couldn't do what I was supposed to. There was a mother with a child, and I simply couldn't bring myself to hurt them, and I fled, but I didn't stay on the run for long."

Calvin grimaced wryly and ran his hand through his hair.

"And now I'm here... You can't imagine how relieved I am if the Court of Owls is truly finished."

"You weren't lying."

"I stated the obvious."

Then leave, and I suggest forgetting everything related to the Court of Owls. If you need work in your field or any other, call this number."

I created an Alchemy-generated card with a phone number on it. It couldn't be traced back to anyone, and Cortana manages it.

"And yes..."

Mary staggered for a moment, causing Calvin to tense up.

"Now your face isn't disfigured by the explosion, and you're welcome."

Afterwards, I will redirect the Court of Owls' tremendous wealth to multiple charity foundations in Gotham, Metropolis, and other cities across the world.

However, it was time to check on Batman as I could see from the cameras inside that he wasn't in the best condition.

"Administrator-kun!"

Shinoa exclaimed as I appeared next to one of the Talons and struck him in the neck and I simply destroyed his body with Alchemy.

 "How are you?"

I turned to look at Barbara.

She was trying to catch her breath about ten meters away which is why she hadn't seen what I had done to the Talons' bodies.

"Well, I see... Let's go inside, there's another enemy there."

Shinoa nodded and quickly ran up to the redhead to follow me.

The Wayne Manor looked like it had been destroyed by barbarians because everything was broken and there was a recent explosion in one area.

I didn't pay attention to that and went downstairs to the Batcave where Batman might be in trouble.

Bane recently pumped himself up with so much Venom that he grew five times bigger than normal. He then quickly beat Batman with that much power.

Just a few seconds ago, he slammed them down onto his knee...

"Ha, do you feel it? The all-consuming pain and despair? I grew up in such an environment and succeeded..."

Bane was talking while standing over the defeated Bruce.

"Hm, where are your partners?"

"Shinoa..."

Alright, I can handle it. He looks like a huge piece of ready-to-explode meat..."

Shinoa said, and she really stopped holding back as she had recently.

The floor cracked under her feet due to her speed, and she was immediately next to Bane.

He fell hard to the rocky ground after she hit him in the right spot.

That single blow created a small shockwave, and the Bane... died. He unsuccessfully hit his head on a rock and fractured his skull.

"Di—Dick..."

Batman struggled to rise.

He had just recently fought Bane who almost broke his back.

He was planning for this to happen in his new suit and he made a stronger part of the armor that took most of the hit, but his back still took a hit.

He walked past us to the dying Robin and lifted him while quickly heading upstairs.

Apparently, he wanted to take him to the intact part of the mansion, but along the way, he encountered... the old man.

More precisely, Alfred was pierced by some shrapnel after the explosion.

"No-no..."

 Batman fell to his knees in front of him, still holding the teenager in his arms.

"Um, should we leave?"

Shinoa quietly asked.

"..."

Barbara remained silent with her fists clenched while staring at the two bodies in front of Batman and at the bloodied hero himself.

"And you, can you help..."

Shinoa quietly reached out, and Batman clearly heard.

"Why... why did you come here?"

"Of course, we came to help. You were one of many people in the city who were attacked by the Court of Owls. We came here after taking care of other people."

I spoke up.

"Can you help?"

Batman asked directly while turning his bloodied face towards me.

"Perhaps."

I sighed.

"You're partly to blame for what happened. You should have killed Bane already the last time you encountered him."

"Killing... was not the solution. If you start taking lives, you'll eventually lose track of who's guilty and who's not, and..."

"Who told you that nonsense?"

I raised my voice slightly and stood opposite Batman who was still on his knees.

"You have your will and you have your reason. Why do you need to kill absolutely everyone? That is a behavior that is exclusive to individuals who are insane or who wish to cause death and destruction for amusement. Like the Joker, Bane, and the Riddler... none of them deserve a second chance. However, I hope Gotham will quickly recover from this... because I've destroyed the Court of Owls completely. They won't mess with the city anymore."

I waved my hand, and Robin and Alfred's bodies began to levitate. Their wounds visibly closed, and all gadgets simply fell out of them.

"Don't get used to the idea that I'll miraculously appear and fix your mistakes, Bruce Wayne. I'm just helping the city so that another madman who kills everyone in his path doesn't appear."

I said and turned my back to him to leave.

"Th... thank you."

I heard it was very difficult for him to say it behind me, but I didn't turn around.

I'm not his babysitter, and I helped only because he could go crazy and turn into a killer like it happened in the comics.

The Batman Who Laughs and others who started killing... as if Batman doesn't understand that killing should be reserved for those who deserve it.

It's as if "Gray Morality" is not in his vocabulary, and if he makes a mistake, he'll immediately become a psychopathic killer.

Once we left Wayne Manor, I teleported the three of us to the city center, specifically onto the roof of the hospital.

"Oh, what... What is this? We were in one place, now we're here... is this teleportation?"

Barbara exclaimed.

At that moment, Barbara's costume began to slide off her.

"Your heroic moments have come to an end."

My suit opened up to reveal my face while allowing me to look at Barbara.

"If it weren't for the suit, you'd be dead at least seven times over."

"But... I believed it would protect me."

"Yes, you relied on the suit not on yourself. If the suit isn't there at one moment, then what? If you want to truly be useful to the city, stop rushing forward without preparation or at least some kind of plan."

"I understand... It feels like I'm being scolded by my dad."

Barbara murmured.

"Dad!"

Barbara suddenly remembered him.

"Yeah, we're on the roof of the hospital, and he'll be very upset that he couldn't find you in time."

I smiled.

"It was your choice, and you said everything would be fine.

"Hey, I'm not a kid. What's with the moral lessons? I enjoyed kicking bad guys' butts; I felt really useful at that moment."

"Barbara, you did help, but your actions showed you're not ready yet. How about this? Once you finish university, we'll talk about this again?"

I approached her and asked while looking her in the eyes.

"I... y-yes..."

Barbara averted her gaze.

"You're not planning on doing this without armor, are you?"

I asked.

"N-no, of course not..."

Barbara lied.

"Shinoa, watch over your friend."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll go finish what I started."

I waved them off.

There are still a couple of people from the Court of Owls sitting at home now.

I've done too many good deeds today, and it's time to sprinkle the blade with more blood.

What a long night it turned out to be...

...

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