Chapter 451: Dazzling Finale (Patreon)

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Batman had lost control.

Perhaps it was because, in a sense, he had just come to believe that he had actually killed someone. Or perhaps it was because of the question Schiller had posed to him, with an answer that contained something he wanted to avoid.

Or maybe it was the abrupt halt in controlling the Black Tide, causing a greater stimulation to his mind, rendering him unable to maintain control.

But regardless, Batman and the Black Tide outside the mayor's mansion had completely spiraled out of control.

Clark, lying on the ground, had closed his eyes. Schiller's question had also greatly affected him, throwing his thoughts into chaos. Perhaps there was also a hidden sense of evasion, unwilling to witness the scene of bodies flying around.

However, at that moment, just as the Black Tide was about to destroy the Manor, it was suddenly blocked from the outside by a curtain of light, freezing the Black Tide once again.

A figure appeared by the railing of the second-floor courtyard, dressed in a black suit. It was Schiller.

Oddly enough, he was holding a paintbrush in his hand, looking as if he had just finished painting. He tossed the paintbrush aside, clapped his hands, and said, "The testing of this room is almost complete, we..."

Before Schiller could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly leaped down the second-floor courtyard. Originally, he had been squeezed among the weeping people, but now, with agile movements, he rolled past JokerJack and arrived by Clark's side.

With a swift motion, the person cut the ropes binding Clark. He grabbed the Kryptonite from his chest and threw it away with a resounding clang. As the Kryptonite hit the ground, Schiller, standing on the second-floor courtyard, squinted his eyes.

"Merkel," Schiller said in a low tone. He looked at the person next to Clark, who was none other than his former butler, Merkel.

Superman, freed from his restraints, flew up into the air. However, Merkel coughed weakly, seemingly affected by the contact with the Kryptonite, and looked at Schiller, saying, "I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what's going on, but I felt the need to save him. He's a good person."

"Did you touch the bottle of wine I placed on the bookshelf?"

Although Schiller phrased it as a question, his tone was certain. Aside from Merkel being exposed to the Mad Wine and being pulled into a dream, there was no other possibility.

"It seems that when I wasn't at the Manor, you finally remembered your mission."

Schiller lowered his gaze, seemingly devoid of anger, while Merkel's expression gradually turned cold. In a somewhat icy tone, he asked, "When did you find out?"

"Are you referring to the fact that you're a Soviet spy? That might have been discovered earlier than you think."

Schiller sighed and said, "Every day, you handed food to the newsboy and took the newspaper from his hands. Didn't you realize that it was a way of passing information?"

"One of my colleagues' students, after the 'King of Children' in Gotham was taken out, took over his influence and consolidated all the newsboys, cigarette boys, and vendors in Gotham. There couldn't be better informants than this group of children."

"So, you discovered it when I first started working at your Manor?"

"Even earlier than that. When you got off the train at Gotham's train station, the cigarette boy had already noticed something was off about you..."

While they were chatting, Clark's body, flying in mid-air, began to tremble gradually. Schiller looked up and saw that Clark's body was starting to emit a radiant light...

Schiller frowned. Clearly, this situation was somewhat unexpected for him, but what shocked him even more was yet to come.

Clark spread his arms wide, his body radiating a brilliant light. Then, he soared into the sky.Whether it was the curtain of light Schiller had just set up or the seemingly never-ending blizzard that had been swirling around the Manor, they were all dispersed by Clark, who had taken flight.

The fierce cold wind and the almost impenetrable blizzard suddenly froze. In a moment, a rift opened in the gloomy sky, and a beam of incredibly radiant light shone down on Clark.

"Wait..." Schiller frowned, sensing that something was amiss. He immediately said, "Withdraw immediately, get them out!"

But it was too late. When Clark punched a hole in the curtain of light, the Black Tide controlled by Batman took advantage of the opening and shattered the curtain, causing the black waves to destroy the structure of the Manor.

The anticipated scene of devouring everything did not occur. Instead, a sun rose from the ground, transforming into a halo that protected everyone present. Clark descended from the light of the sun, his eyes gleaming with intense radiance.

At the same time, Batman emerged from the Black Tide, surrounded by endless black waves. The deepest darkness of the world erupted from his eyes.

The two forces stood still for a moment before moving at an imperceptible speed, colliding fiercely.

In the moment of collision between light and darkness, everything shattered.

Not only did it include the Manor, the furniture, and walls within it, but also the shadows of distant buildings, invisible walls further away, and an entire room in the Temple of Thought.

The perspective zoomed out to the top of a high tower, where the tail of a giant serpent coiled. Suddenly, a small dot of light blinked.

The head of the serpent stirred, opening its eyes with a bewildered expression, looking at its own tail.

Then, in an instant, the serpent's eyes were blinded.

The small dot of light erupted into a violent radiance, as if the sun had landed on the top of the high tower.

Before Jormungandr could react, it was blasted away like a popped balloon by a mushroom-shaped cloud.

The dream space was always incredibly silent, but this time, an indescribable roar erupted from the top of the tower. Not only did it send Jormungandr and the two rooms he had just set up flying out, but it also turned the more than twenty floors at the top of the high tower into dust.

As the halo accompanying the mushroom-shaped cloud dissipated, everything became calm, leaving only the high tower, now shortened, standing silently in a vast white space.

Bruce sat up abruptly from the bed. He blinked in confusion, closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he found himself in a slightly unfamiliar guest room. However, he could confirm that he was still inside the mayor's mansion.

He touched his forehead, feeling a bit groggy. His eyes were struggling to open, and his nose felt congested. But when he stood up from the bed, he suddenly noticed a strong smell of alcohol permeating the room.

He saw a small table next to his bed, with a glass on it, but no bottle of wine. There was no remaining liquid in the glass. Bruce frowned and walked over, picking up the glass, squinting his eyes...

If this was truly a dream, when did he enter it?

To determine this, he needed to know the current situation inside the Manor.

He opened the door and found himself in a guest room on the second floor. When he looked down the corridor, he noticed signs of a struggle. Bruce recalled that it was the place where they had clashed with the agents.

In other words, he should have been dragged into the dream after their fight with the agents, when they were taking a rest to recover their strength.

Bruce lowered his head again, looking at the glass in his hand, lost in thought. Just then, he heard a noise coming from the end of the corridor. He quickly closed the door.

If he had entered the dream after the fight with the agents, it meant that they had only managed to shake them off, not defeat them. They might be somewhere in the entire Manor now.When the door was knocked, Bruce confirmed that it couldn't be the agents because they never knocked.

Sure enough, standing outside the door was Clark, holding his head, with disheveled hair, squinting his eyes, appearing tired and confused.

"Oh, it's you. Just now, I heard some commotion next door, so I came to check. Somehow, I passed out in the next room and had a very strange dream..." Clark said.

Bruce furrowed his brow. He let Clark into the room, and soon, Lex also joined them. They exchanged a glance, seemingly understanding what was puzzling each other.

"Let's start from the beginning," Lex sat down and tapped the table. He said, "Without a doubt, we were pulled into a strange dream by Professor Schiller using some method."

"The first question is, what was the order in which we entered the dream?" Bruce said to Lex. "Do you remember what happened in our memories in the dream after defeating the agents?"

"A group of agents stormed into my room and knocked me out, then you saved me," Lex frowned. He continued, "Now it seems that it might not have been the agents who knocked me out."

"Logically speaking, you would have been the easiest one to deal with. They wouldn't even need any special means, just a hit with that umbrella of yours," Bruce replied.

"Hold on, what are you guys talking about?" Clark rubbed his forehead. "I know we seem to have had a very similar dream, but what's the relationship with that professor? What are we speculating now?"

Bruce and Lex completely ignored Clark. They quickly deduced the truth of the situation through their conversation.

For some reason, after the conflicts between Bruce, Clark, Selina, and the agents, Schiller separately approached Lex, Bruce, and Clark, and then used some method to drag them into the dream.

As for what that method was, Bruce and Lex's gaze focused on the water glass in Bruce's hand.

"This is not normal. I believe there is no normal drink in the world that would leave no trace on the cup after being consumed, unless it's not actually a drink but some kind of medication," Lex continued.

"No, it is alcohol, but it's a type of alcohol with special functions," Bruce said, clearly recalling how Schiller had taken down Constantine.

"So, the only question is..." Lex stared at the glass and asked, "Why would that professor do this?"

Bruce silently looked at the glass, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, he probably felt that we disturbed his sleep."

Lex and Clark's expressions stiffened. Suddenly, an invisible understanding formed between them. In that moment, they silently moved their chairs back a bit, seemingly wanting to keep their distance from Bruce.

Clark swallowed and then said, "I think they're correct..."

Lex smoothly continued, "People in Gotham are all mad."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 452: Dazzling Final Chapter (Part 2)