Nick Fury stood on the rooftop of the Empire State Building, looking at the New York Sky where a red glow burst and a red beam shot straight up into the heavens. Holding his walkie-talkie, he warned: "All units be advised, that so-called Bat God Guardian has arrived. Activate monitoring equipment and prepare to initiate the resistance plan at any moment..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a black shadow suddenly rose from the rooftop of the Highland Building.
In an instant, a massive black storm swallowed the sky over the Brooklyn Area. The black curtain spread out in rings from the center, bringing a wave of boundless fear.
Nick dropped his walkie-talkie, mouth agape. After a while, he cursed vigorously and demanded, "Get me the New York Temple! What the hell is this Bat Guardian's deal? Is he planning to destroy the Earth? Don't the mages care at all?!!"
Near the Highland Building, all the armed personnel stared dumbfounded at the rooftop, where a huge black sphere exploded and then contracted back together, gradually solidifying into a black monster hundreds of meters long.
When the terrifying black Bat appeared in the New York Sky, Steve looked up and muttered to himself: "Their so-called Bat God has really arrived…"
Apart from Shiller watching from his mansion rooftop, everyone else believed this to be the Bat God mentioned by the vampires.
Of course, someone else who knew the truth was the Vampire Morlun who had arrived, although he currently had no energy to explain.
The black Venom Bat that Peter had transformed into signified the second stage of Bruce's transformation, the same terrifying Bat Monster that fought against Shiller in the Living Hell above.
In terms of size, form, or aura, it exceeded the comprehension of ordinary humans.
The Morlun family had traversed various multiverses, encountering many monsters. They had seen many large creatures, and a Venom Bat's physique or shocking appearance would not surprise them.
However, Vampire Morlun could also sense things that normal humans couldn't. To him, this Venom Bat's form was far more terrifying than what was visible. The boundless black wave enveloping him and the aura of fear it radiated were shocking.
Even Morlun, who had traveled countless multiverses, had never seen such palpable fear. The first wave of the black tide knocked him back to the edge of the roof.
But soon, Morlun wanted to strike first.
The Morlun family had the gift of absorbing others' life forces for their use. Accustomed to this mode of combat, Morlun activated his natural power the moment he sensed danger.
Morlun stretched out one hand, intending to absorb the power of this Venom Bat, just like he did with Spider-Man's power.
This time, however, as Morlun activated his power, what surged in with the energy was an endless darkness and fear.
In almost an instant, the black energy broke through Morlun's Mind Barrier. Chill, black air seeped from the vampire's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.
This energy corrupted his consciousness and infected his blood. Morlun shrieked horrifically as his skin and muscles began to shrivel. He fell to his knees, his body undergoing a terrifying transformation.
His skin became dry and black like a real bat, hairy, with his forehead receding and his mouth and nose protruding. He grew bat fangs and ears, sharp wings sprouted from his back and his hands and feet turned into bat claws.
Morlun, contaminated by the dark energy, had turned into a half-human, half-bat monster. However, this change was far from over.
As beings capable of traveling through different multiverses, the Morlun family had a unique mental network. They could use this innate network to communicate across space and time.
However, once this mental network's defense was breached, an infection would spread swiftly. A surge of dark energy suddenly flooded the terminal of the family member who had descended here.
The other members of the Morlun family sensed this terminal change, with echoes reaching them from the depths of the cosmos: "What's wrong with you? Respond to us, are you in danger?"
In response to them was endless fear. Horrifying mutations occurred in every corner of the cosmos among all the Morlun family members who sent out signals.
The Morlun who descended on Earth, after completing his mutation, let his consciousness and fear totally consume him. He laughed madly and shouted amidst his laughs: "I am the Bat! I am the Bat! I am the embodiment of fear! I am the disciple of fear! Death never changes, only fear is eternal! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Shiller, observing from the nearby rooftop, of course, had no idea that the darkness that sprang from the depths of Batman's soul had infected most of the Morlun family, turning them into new disciples of fear.
His only thought was – Morlun, you're pretty weak.
What happened to being a Multiverse Hunter? What happened to being a Cosmic Vampire?