Chapter 948: Schiller's Greatest Fear (Part II) (Patreon)

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Batman had originally intended to speak to Zatanna when she was feeling low, urging her to give up. After all, Batman had already achieved his purpose for coming here, and he had doubts about the success of Zatanna's plan.

However, to his surprise, Zatanna suddenly pushed him away and exclaimed with determination, "Since that's the case, I must find out what secrets are buried within this mysterious Professor Schiller. What weaknesses does he have? Curse of Extreme Evil falling into his hands could lead to something terrifying, and I must stop it."

Observing the resolute expression on Zatanna's face, Batman, who had just been embraced by her, found himself hesitant to speak.

Unexpectedly, Constantine cleared his throat and spoke, "Little Zat, you've also noticed it, haven't you? Professor Schiller is no ordinary person. Maybe it's better if we..."

Constantine too seemed inclined to leave. Although they hadn't obtained the Curse Spirit this time, they had acquired leverage over Batman, accomplishing their primary objective. Moreover, Constantine didn't believe in the success of Zatanna's plan.

However, Zatanna glared at him and retorted, "Do you think I'm like you? I won't make retreating my goal."

With that said, she approached the glowing orbs once again, lowering her head to look at the wooden blocks in her hand. She muttered to herself, "These blocks... let me think... No, deceiving a child is wrong no matter what, but maybe an exchange could work?"

Afterward, she pulled over another memory orb, smaller than the others. She activated it, and Zatanna created a scene of a children's room.

Then, she murmured, "These blocks must have been important to young Schiller. If I offer him these in exchange for the Umbrella, maybe he'll agree."

With that, young Schiller appeared in the memory space. At this moment, a female teacher identical to Zatanna entered, holding a wooden block. She crouched down, gazing into young Schiller's eyes, and said, "Schiller, would you like this block?"

Young Schiller looked into Zatanna's eyes and nodded. Zatanna gave him a gentle smile, patting his head, and said, "How about you trade this block for the Umbrella, Schiller?"

Young Schiller turned his head to look at the large Umbrella he held behind his back, then back to Zatanna, shaking his head.

"Why won't you trade with me?" Zatanna's tone remained gentle as she squinted her eyes, smiling. "Today, it's not raining, so you can safely play with your blocks indoors without needing the Umbrella. Come on, give me the Umbrella..."

Young Schiller took a step back, shaking his head again, but his gaze remained fixed on the wooden block in Zatanna's hand. Zatanna felt this might be her best chance, so she extended her hand once more.

Unexpectedly, young Schiller swiftly snatched the wooden block from her hand and ran to a corner of the room.

Zatanna's eyes widened in anger. She took two steps forward, saying, "Why did you snatch it? That's not right; children should be polite!"

However, young Schiller, still hiding in the corner, held both the wooden block and the Umbrella, steadfastly staring at her. Zatanna considered moving closer, but she was afraid of agitating Schiller.

Unable to do anything else, she had to reset the scene once more. This time, she didn't extend her hand so far, firmly gripping the wooden block to prevent Schiller from taking it. They continued to stare at each other for three hours, although it was only 20 minutes in their physical world.

Finally, the screen went dark. Zatanna chose to give up and stood there looking somewhat dazed. "I just can't understand how such a young child can have such incredible focus. He stared at my actions for a full three hours, and the moment my finger slipped, or I lost concentration, he'd snatch the block..."

Batman spoke up, "Many children with autism often have higher levels of focus than their peers. In areas where they may lack, they excel in others."

Zatanna appeared utterly drained, not just from the repeated scene resets that had consumed her strength but also from the mental torment anyone facing Schiller would experience.

Batman observed Zatanna's expression, realizing her emotions were stretched taut like a bowstring, ready to snap at any moment. It was not the right time to provoke her.

As if to confirm his thoughts, he heard Zatanna muttering to herself, "I must deal with this curse; it's my responsibility, my destiny..."

Constantine, lying on the ground recovering his strength, spoke louder, "Damn destiny! Why can't you see that those elders who told you these things didn't really want you to save the world? They only wanted to use you to save themselves!"

"Constantine!" Zatanna nearly screamed, her voice cracking. She glared fiercely at him and continued, "Do you think I would become like you? I'm not like you; I'll use my talents to protect the world, not follow that path like you!"

Constantine didn't argue with her; he simply pulled out a cigarette, took a drag, and said, "Maybe your heart truly desires to protect the world, but the ones who taught you the methods and skills to achieve that goal were never interested in saving the world..."

"Are you talking about my father?" Zatanna's voice broke as she confronted Constantine with anger. "No matter what, everything I and my father did was about protecting others, unlike you!"

Constantine didn't offer a rebuttal; he just lay there, exhaling a puff of smoke, and said, "Searching for justice and protecting others in the magical realm, have you gotten something wrong? We're just a bunch of cursed wretches; don't think too highly of yourself."

Batman noticed the twisted expression on Zatanna's face and, from her conversation with Constantine, deduced that Zatanna, born into a prestigious family, had likely been indoctrinated from a young age with the idea of using her immense talents to save and protect the world.

Perhaps the individuals who instilled this purpose in him had motives that were not innocent, or perhaps their intentions were innocent, but did not align with reality.

Constantine had emphasized countless times that magical talents were akin to curses, constantly pushing people towards the Abyss. Zatanna seemed to believe she could be the exception, but Constantine remained pessimistic.

"You should save some strength, Little Zat," he advised. "Save some strength to protect yourself instead of driving yourself crazy pursuing what you call 'justice' on this road."

For a moment, Zatanna's expression showed a hint of vulnerability, but it quickly vanished. This magician, always wearing a slightly mischievous smile on her face, seemed perpetually focused and full of vitality, as if she were performing on a stage.

But first, she had heard the news of the Curse of Extreme Evil and rushed to Gotham without delay. Then, she expended significant energy and effort to create a fog blockade around the Gotham Spirit Realm. Lastly, her attempts to find weaknesses in the memory space didn't go smoothly...

This series of setbacks had left Zatanna feeling increasingly anxious. It seemed like there was a voice within her, urging her and telling her that if she didn't deal with this on her own, there would be dire consequences. As long as she didn't give her all, as long as she made the slightest mistake, the world would face destruction, and humanity would perish.

Batman understood this kind of emotion all too well.

Batman wasn't particularly skilled at comforting others, so he chose to redirect Zatanna's attention using his own approach. He spoke up, "Continuing to stay here won't yield any additional progress. I believe it's the most rational choice to return to the real world."

He looked at Zatanna and Constantine, saying, "Both of your conditions are not good; we need to rest. Let's go back."

Constantine nodded and got up from the ground, ready to leave. However, Zatanna, who remained silent in place, took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, "If you two want to leave, I can send you back first, but I must stay here."

"Even if I can't obtain the Curse Medium right now, I need to figure out how to restrain him. Otherwise, when the disaster truly comes, it will be too late."

"Little Zat, listen to me. Continuing like this won't do you any good; it will only harm you," Constantine said, looking into Zatanna's eyes. "I know you still have some cards up your sleeve, but they aren't worth it."

"There's nothing I won't do. I've said it before, I'm giving my all every moment," Zatanna replied, refusing to back down. "If you want to leave, I can send you back right now, but I must find the weaknesses in these memory spaces."

Zatanna's stubbornness was giving Constantine a headache. He glanced at Batman, hoping that Batman would come over and persuade her. To his surprise, Batman walked over and said, "Do you feel you still have the strength? If so, proceed with your plan."

"Are you both crazy?" Constantine exclaimed in utter confusion. "Even if you stay here for a few more hours, what will change? You'll just repeat the same failures."

Unexpectedly, Zatanna spoke up, "No, since things have come to this point, I think we can use some more radical methods."

"You mean you have other methods?" Batman asked, looking at her.

Zatanna sighed softly, saying, "I'm not really willing to do this. It goes beyond the scope of memory manipulation."

"Now, what you see us doing is creating fabricated memory spaces and implanting false memories into the individuals within them. In reality, it doesn't have much impact on their true memories."

"Because we're only altering the surface level of consciousness, without touching the deeper parts."

"But in truth, what the magic of the mind can achieve goes far beyond this. We can travel deeper along the path of memories to uncover more secrets."

Zatanna sighed again and said, "If we can't make him surrender the Curse Medium through deception, at least we can obtain a method to restrain him, to stop him when he tries to do something."

Seeing the expression on Zatanna's face and hearing her words, Batman had a peculiar feeling. He saw a reflection of his past self in Zatanna—doubtful, paranoid, prone to delusions, desiring everything to go according to his plan, needing to have everyone's weaknesses in his grasp, and feeling anxious when things couldn't be perfect.

Now, Batman finally understood why Schiller and the madman who always laughed had consistently emphasized that "those who dress up as bats are the ones who are mentally ill."

Because people like this truly seemed like they were mentally ill to observers.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 949: Schiller's Greatest Fear (Part 2)