"Just because I didn't let him on the boat that time, he had to drag us all into hell with him? Isn't that overly petty?!" Marvel Schiller complained: "And, he even threw us right into the battlefield and disappeared."
"You should be relieved. He took away the most troublesome guy." Superego was also standing at the window, looking at the chaos below the tower, pushing up his glasses and said, "I warned you already. He has one of the most unstable mental states. But then again, we can't blame him."
"Originally, I didn't plan to split the trait of arrogance into two. However, I knew the dangers of this world and the potential costs of dealing with Batman. So, I let half of the arrogance test it out. As expected, he got infected by the Joker virus."
"We have already so many weird and wacky personalities at home, what's the harm of having one more Joker. To my surprise, the transformation process was way too fast. I thought it would be a comparatively prolonged process. But I didn't expect things to happen right after meeting Batman for the first time."
"The other fragment took over without being processed, its mental state is hardly stable..." Superego shook his head. But Marvel Schiller just scoffed, "Ever since the first time he retaliated against me for breaking his umbrella, I've known about it."
"Please, we are the same person, who retaliates against themselves? I knew from then, he was absolutely mentally abnormal!"
"Originally, the personality traits that surface and take over should be the most stable ones, best adapted to ordinary human society. Like you, there's no sign of mental illness, yet you're able to navigate human society with ease." Superego began.
"But in this hellish place of Gotham, overly ordinary personalities seem out of place. Only negative traits can cope here. Arrogance was the best choice, but unfortunately, half of it got infected with the Joker virus, leaving only the other half."
"Even in the beginning his traits were not very stable, and now they've been weakened..." Superego shook his head and said, "The reason I did not let him on the boat before was because his mental state was not stable enough. Once stimulated, he might completely lose control."
"But I did not expect that, even without a fight against All Things Green, he ended up going mad with a severe broccoli allergy."
"So he's now completely crazy?" Marvel Schiller asked. Superego shrugged, "He has always been crazy, but just this time he is extra crazy. Just because I didn't let him on the boat, he threw us all into Hell, and even purposefully dropped us in this spot, probably just wanting to see us being surrounded by demons."
"Rather than saying he went crazy, I'd say he's taken being petty to the extreme." Marvel Schiller scoffed again saying, "He shouldn't represent arrogance, but resentment."
After finishing, he looked out the window again. After a period of observation and confrontation, it seemed like both the demon armies were ready to make a move.
Several shadowy demons moved towards them. Marvel Schiller rubbed his chin, "Should we let those fight obsessed ones go? They seem to be quite frustrated recently."
"Let them stay put." Before Superego turned away, he glanced at the situation below, then motioned to Marvel Schiller, "On the contrary, it's you and those personalities skilled in calculation, finance, operations, and strategy that need to gather in the meeting room on the second floor."
Marvel Schiller was taken aback, then asked, "Why? You can't be thinking of us, the civil officers, to deal with those demons?"
Superego snorted, looking at him and saying, "You, a complete personality trait, are living safely in the world of Marvel, doing nothing else but skiving. Your work efficiency is even lower than the half-fragmented arrogance."
"If you don't use your brain more, you will degenerate into morons."
Watching Superego walk into the elevator, Marvel Schiller shook his head and said, "It's not Marvel that's too peaceful, it's the people of Gotham who are too dark."
After a moment, the large meeting room on the second floor was filled with Schillers, everyone whispering to each other.
"What's going on? Why were we all called here?"
"You still don't know? The Thought Palace is being besieged by demons. They say the petty arrogance threw us into hell..."
"I knew it. I always said, there's something wrong with that guy..."
"But why are we the ones called if we are being sieged by demons? We are civil officers, we use our brains. Shouldn't they find those guys who love to fight?"
"You're definitely not talking about that brat... Well, I shouldn't talk about myself that way, but he is a brat..."
"Don't expect me to fistfight with those demons. I represent the trait of manipulation, this matter should find violence or aggression…"
"Silence!" Superego knocked on the lectern and cleared his throat. "You should all know the current situation. We're surrounded by demons. Now we need someone to step forward to help."
"Stop making faces. Last time in Marvel World, those who are more prone to fight were the ones working. How long do you plan to stay on vacation?"
There was an immediate wave of discontent below, and Superego banged on the table and demanded, "Silence! Listen to me!"
"Now, everyone, look here..." Superego snapped his fingers, and a large screen appeared behind him, displaying some information. It seemed like they were fragments of Schiller's memories.
"This is what we have seen in comics, the distribution of forces in DC Hell and detailed information about the Demon Lords. Everyone, come and draw lots. The Demon Lord you draw will be your exam question this time... "
"Later on, I will throw you all out, and you will each look for the Demon Lord you have drawn. In the following period, you will need to assist your respective lords and win in the war."
Just as Superego's voice fell, a more intense discussion broke out. Superego surveyed the surroundings until it calmed down, then he continued, "You should have noticed that the Arrogant trait, which has been surfacing to the conscious level to work, has some mental issues. He might need a vacation."
"Therefore, the winner of this exam can replace him during his vacation and become one of the personalities that can surface to the conscious level on demand."
In an instant, there was an uproar in the room. Each personality was excited because being able to control the body for a long period meant that they could utilize their strengths and change the state of the world.
Even if they could not become one of the long-term controllers, being able to witness an entire event from beginning to end and seeing the fruits of their labor would be so much better than occasionally doing some uncompleted work or cleaning up others' messes.
After the initial uproar, a eerie silence fell over the room. Everyone took their seats again, some looking at their watches, some adjusting their ties, giving wary glances at those next to them. After all, they were now competitors.
"Next, I will announce the examination instructions..." Superego lowered his head to look at the file in his hand, then said:
"Since the examination location is in hell and the services target is demons, the rooms related to ethics and morality in the tower will not be open for the time being. Alliance and collusion are not prohibited, but please remember that there can only be one winner."
The personalities inside the tower were eager for the competition, and the demons outside the tower were also raring for a fight. A Demon with four arms and a dark red body, riding on another flying creature that resembled a raya from the sea. This flat creature had two wings and a sharp tail.
This was Duke Astro's special force, known as the Stingers. The Sting Knights ride on the backs of Sting Demons. Sting Demons roll up their wings to protect the riders while charging at high speeds to disrupt the enemy's formation.
The four-armed, dark red demon spoke, "Duke Astro has given the order, we must push the line past this tower by tonight. The land beneath our feet will be our new fief."
"All units! Prepare to attack!"
Following his shout, the demons below let out terrifying roars. But the Demon General squinted his eyes, looking puzzled at the line of black spots suddenly appearing on the horizon, "What is that? Is it Beelzebub's secret weapon?"
"Wait a minute, vanguard! Pause for a moment! Those seem... seem like people? Good heavens, they seem to be rushing out of the tower!"
"Report to the general!" A ghastly demon floated over, "You asked the scout troop to keep an eye on the tower just now. Moments ago, we discovered a large group of humans looking exactly the same rushing out of the tower. They're now scattering in all directions. Should we open fire?"
"No, don't rush, you said humans rushed out of the tower? Relay the message, catch them. Duke Astro has a great interest in this tower, if we can capture prisoners, the Duke will be very generous!"
With a wave from the Demon General, the scout troop immediately set off. In a short while, a Schiller dressed in a long formal robe was brought to the Demon General.
At first sight of Schiller, the Demon General was taken aback, then he asked, "Who are you? What is your relationship with the tower? Why did you run out of the tower?"
"Hello, General, I am Schiller Rodriguez. May I know if you are one of the Four Generals under Duke Astro?"
"You've heard of me?" The Demon General squinted his eyes, controlled his mount to land, then approached Schiller.
Demons tend to be much larger than humans. This Demon General's race was not particularly large among the demons, but he still stood at over three meters tall. With his four thick arms, he looked extremely powerful.
But Schiller didn't appear frightened. He chuckled, placing his hand over his chest in a salutation, "Hello, General, your fame is well known throughout Hell... "
"I know, the great Duke Astro has many queries about the tower that suddenly appeared here, and I can answer those queries." Schiller looked into the eyes of the Demon General and said:
"Trust me, compared to devouring my soul here, bringing me to Duke Astro will bring you greater benefits."