Chapter 1004 The Battle for High Tower (Thirty-eight) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

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"You're well aware that the conditions for victory you've proposed may make arrogance a target for criticism. Are you dissatisfied with his performance?" In the central hall of Hell, beside the elevated courtyard of the High Tower, Marvel Schiller leaned against the railing, looking at Superego beside him, and asked.

Superego shook his head and said, "I'm not dissatisfied. I merely act as the administrator of all personality volitions, making decisions that are most beneficial for the individual's psyche."

"Do you think Arrogance is no longer fit to control the body's personality?" Marvel Schiller inquired again.

But Superego shook his head once more, saying, "He just needs a break for some time. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that his attempts to merge with the other half have been unsuccessful."

"I thought you were unaware of this matter. Turns out, he isn't trying to merge secretly?" Marvel Schiller raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Not at all. You might think that I would oppose it when they want to merge, considering that I split Arrogance into two in the first place."

"But actually, I split Arrogance because the High Tower wasn't stable at the time. Arrogance is, after all, a negative trait of personality. If he were to resurface in his entirety, it could lead to a mental breakdown."

"Now that the High Tower has been completely repaired, merging him back poses no danger."

"Then why initiate this competition?" Marvel frowned.

"Because his merging process is destined to be difficult." Superego sighed. "I hope he succeeds, but on one hand, the Joker virus is indeed unique, representing the will of Space, and it's not easy to control."

"On the other hand, he shouldn't be with Batman during the merging process. The activity of the Joker virus peaks when he's with Batman."

"So, I initiated this competition, directing all personalities' hostility toward Arrogance. Arrogance is almost unlikely to step forward, so the one bearing the pressure will be Batman."

"Arrogance knows this too, so he will definitely choose to leave. This way, he can temporarily separate Joker and Batman, making his merging process smoother." Superego explained.

Marvel Schiller chuckled and said, "You really understand that guy. He talks tough, but deep down, he cares about Batman."

"Arrogance is different from you. He isn't one of the driving forces of personality, lacking strong subjective initiative, embodying traits of laziness. But because of this, he's more susceptible to certain emotions, regardless of their interest value, unlike you, who are the opposite."

"I've always believed that emotions without interest as support are just rootless drifters." Marvel Schiller narrowed his eyes, looking at the empty High Tower, and said, "Even if they don't pay me money, they should still be my observation samples. Only when they can bring me a sense of achievement and fulfillment will I continue to love them."

"This indicates that your condition hasn't improved." Superego turned around, leaning on the railing, and said, "We all understand that our emotions are a performance. But if I were to find a personality that might be cured, perhaps it would be Arrogance."

"The more arrogant one is, the easier it is to break arrogance. When certain things are beyond his control, he can no longer perform. Perhaps, at that moment, he can feel a faint emotion, which might lead to a chance of recovery."

Marvel Schiller shook his head and said, "Are you counting on Batman to be the doctor? I'm not optimistic about him. He's not..."

Just as he said this, the ground of the High Tower suddenly began to shake. Marvel Schiller stumbled, touching his chest, which was sore from hitting the railing. He looked puzzled at the courtyard below and exclaimed, "What's happening? Why is the ground shaking?!"

Superego's expression also changed. Marvel Schiller could tell from his face that this wasn't part of his plan. His expression turned serious, and the two rushed into the elevator at the fastest speed, descending to the ground floor.

As soon as they reached the first floor, they saw a figure pushing open the door and stumbling in. It was Conspiracy Schiller!

At this moment, Conspiracy Schiller looked extremely disheveled, his black robe covered in soot from explosions, the hem of his robe torn into strips, and half of his hood torn off. After he rushed in, he half-knelt on the ground, gasping for breath.

Marvel Schiller looked at him in shock and asked, "What's going on?"

But at that moment, the High Tower shook again with a loud bang from outside, and Conspiracy Schiller was knocked to the ground.

After getting up, gasping for breath, he pointed outside the door and exclaimed, "Batman... Batman... he's gone mad!! Batman has gone mad!!"

Marvel Schiller and Superego looked towards the door as directed by him. At this moment, Conspiracy Schiller, with an almost dying strength, rushed to the nearby door and closed it.

After closing the door, he slid down against it, sitting on the ground, as if he had just survived a disaster. He took off his hood, then said, "Batman has gone mad... he really..."

At this point, Conspiracy Schiller swallowed, then continued, "... he's really too much like Batman. I mean, the Batman we've seen in comics, the full version, it's terrifying!"

"What exactly happened?" Marvel Schiller asked.

"He stormed into the palace, killed Belial, and devoured him!"

"He's stronger than even Demon with his Soul Evolution. He punched Etrigan into the ground, and even tied Lady Darth's serpentine hair into a knot, hanging her from the chandelier, where she still hangs."

After finishing, Conspiracy Schiller swallowed again and said, "Is this the Batman Arrogance usually faces? He used to call this world a 'little bat', right?!"

"He called this little bat?!! Did he even seriously read the comics?!!"

Marvel Schiller furrowed his brows, recalling his time filling in for DC, then said, "Batman isn't anything special, really just a weakened version from the comics, right?"

"Young... indeed young..." Conspiracy Schiller said between breaths. Then, he raised his voice, "A weakened version?!! Do you know what we've been through in the past three days?!!"

"Batman went berserk!!"

As Conspiracy Schiller recounted, Marvel Schiller understood a Batman completely different from his perception.

Initially, Batman was in bad shape, with fires everywhere and chaos, but in the following days, the development of events surprised all the Schillers because Batman truly resisted all attacks.

Within ten days, thousands of strategic decisions were all the best choices. Even when problems arose, he used even more decisiveness to minimize losses. Achieving this required a doubling of decision-making quantity and difficulty.

But Batman not only achieved it, he did so perfectly.

At first, the Schillers didn't realize the severity of the situation until Batman began to counterattack.

Surrounding and counter-surrounding were always the unchanging tones of the frontlines, but Batman won every encirclement and, with astonishing tactics, arranged countless counter-encirclements, capturing many prisoners.

The Schillers thought he would reinforce his defense and continue to defend, but they were wrong. Batman began to counterattack and not just on one front but on all sides.

Due to the sudden turn of events, in the first few days, Batman almost exclusively targeted other Demon Lords' armies. In the most terrifying instance, he pursued a rapid march over 100 kilometers, decimating three divisions sent by Conspiracy Schiller, leaving them in complete disarray.

Batman raised the difficulty for himself as if he were crazy. The result of simultaneous battles on all fronts was an exponential increase in the quantity and difficulty of decisions to be made, yet he still managed flawlessly.

The Schillers quickly realized, and immediately formed a united front for defense and counterattack, but it was still ineffective.

Their opponent was an infallible perfect strategic machine. Every decision he made seemed like an intuition, reaching the depths of their minds.

Batman could always choose the most advantageous situation for himself among several, and the one that yielded the greatest rewards among multiple possibilities.

This couldn't even be achieved through supercomputers or AI because battlefield situations change rapidly, and the personalities of opposing commanders vary. AI couldn't fathom human emotions, and even if small tactical maneuvers were precise, large strategies couldn't be so accurate.

Even more frightening was that Batman could use various strategies he devised to cross-cover, creating a large net that not only withstood the Schillers' attacks but also utilized these intersecting strategies to set traps for them. Many Schillers, who were not very skilled in strategy, fell into these traps.

"Three days..." Conspiracy Schiller raised three fingers. "From defense, to defensive counterattacks, to full-scale counterattacks, he only took three days!! I know you might think I'm talking nonsense, but he's Batman!"

Conspiracy Schiller's fingers trembled, then he said, "If, as you said, he's just a young Batman, then what kind of potion of arrogance did Schiller give him to make him descend from a deity overnight?!!"

Marvel Schiller was about to respond when Superego stared at the crack in the door and said, "Now is not the time to discuss this issue. Did you lead him here?"

"I had no choice!" Conspiracy Schiller stood up, looking very aggrieved, his tone full of grievances. He said, "This must be Arrogance Schiller's conspiracy! He's been telling us that this bat is utterly incompetent, can't even write a paper!!"

He walked to Marvel Schiller's side, opened his hands and said, "You must have heard it before, Greed and Arrogance often complain to us, why, after finally crossing over, they happen to encounter such a young version of Batman, not only boring but also lowering their academic standards..."

After finishing, Conspiracy Schiller turned around, pointing to the door and said, "You should be grateful that I ran fast. If I were a step slower, right now, it would be me hanging from the chandelier!!"

"Is it really as terrifying as you say?" Marvel Schiller raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat incredulous. He pushed aside Conspiracy Schiller in front of him, walked to the crack in the door, and glanced outside.

The next moment, Marvel Schiller turned back, rubbed his eyes, then turned back again, looked once more, and pressed a finger to his lips, widening his eyes, and growled lowly:

"Arrogance has conjured up something?!! Barbatos is coming?!!"

Superego shook his head, stepped forward, looked through the crack in the door, and then he saw a sky filled with shadows.

Raising his head, he saw a huge black bat covering the entire sky of Hell, staring coldly at him.

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

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