A sudden commotion came from outside the doors of Westminster Abbey. Red Robin quickly turned his head and peered through the gap in the door to see an elderly clergyman stumbling in, a Bible clutched in his hand.
"Oh God, oh God! I seek your protection, please end my life, I will return to your side in pure form..."
But when the old priest opened the door and saw Red Robin standing at the podium, he suddenly widened his eyes, his face not angry, but instead delighted.
"Are you a gift from God to me? Quick, boy, come to me, take this cross and pierce my heart, kill me now!"
Red Robin dashed over and propped up the old priest, but he still staggered and fell. Red Robin could only place him on a nearby chair. As soon as he lifted the priest's clothes, an overpowering smell of blood filled the air.
"The vampires are invading London, and their first stop would surely be the cathedral..." The old priest gasped for breath and tightly clung to the Bible in his hand: "I was bitten by a scout, I can't make it, but I won't become those bloodthirsty monsters!"
"I have served God all my life, seeking only to atone for my sins before the Lord. I can't become impure at my final moment... child, take this cross and drive it into my heart, it's the only way to stop me from becoming a monster!"
The old priest clutched Red Robin's wrist tightly with his lean palm, looking into Red Robin's eyes with his cloudy and old ones and said, "I can see it, I can see that you have done countless good deeds. You're a righteous man of God, you will help me meet a good end today!"
Red Robin gripped the cross, his face showed no hesitation, only an unfamiliar coldness. He gently pushed the priest's shoulder, helping him relax and took a deep breath, then said, "Is there any way to turn this around?"
"No, my boy, the venom is in the teeth of these flying rats, even if holy water could neutralize it, I'm too old, wouldn't survive the violent clash of the energies. If a young fighter were in my place, you could save him this way."
"I see. I can help you, but I want you to promise me one condition."
"I'm a dying man, there's nothing I can give you..."
"You still have your corpse, I need to use it to leave a message, then go and do what I must."
The old priest stared into Red Robin's eyes, his slightly tender face was split into two areas of light and darkness under the faint light trickling in through the gap of the Abbey doors.
"I agree, child, remember, even if your hands are soaked with blood, always remember the glory of the Lord in your heart, and you won't fall, never...AAAAAAHHHHH!"
The cross sank into the old priest's heart, simultaneous with his aging heart's final beat, the festering wound on his neck ceased to worsen.
Red Robin clenched his eyes shut, he pulled out the cross and exhaled deeply, as if trying to distract himself, he asked Lilith in his mind: "Do you know what I saw on the podium?"
Before Lilith could answer, he explained to himself: "In the eyes of some people, art does not lie within the beauty of existence, but in the irreplaceable loss and scars caused by the destruction of beauty."
"For them, the purpose of life is not the process of existence, but how the world understands the moment when existence ends."
"They view all things in the world from a different angle, therefore, the sacrificial will be sacrificed, the immortal will be consumed, the precious will be discarded...the flying will fall."
"Regrettably, I am one of these people."
Red Robin reached out and embraced the old priest's body, then carried it step by step towards the podium.
"I'm nothing like the other Robins, they admire the greatness of Batman, but I admire his pain, I admire the darkness caused by his eternal and unhealable scars."
"They look up at Batman, but I look down at him, look down at this scarred soul who hovers in the darkness with no redemption, and then fantasize that only I can release him."
"Eventually, I will either save him, or kill him, but only I can do it, no matter which opportunity comes first, I won't let it pass."
Red Robin gently laid the old priest's body before the podium, then kneeled on the ground, placing his hands on the priest's chest.
"When I saw what was put on the podium, I knew I had met a kindred spirit. He and I are equally morbid, admiring the same kind of beauty, only he has the ability to put all this into practice."
"He hopes that I will do the same, and so, he paints all but one corner of a picture."
"No one can resist completing a masterpiece with a master. I can't resist this temptation, so I'll help him complete his art, and mine."
"Until the Sacrificer is sacrificed, the Immortal is consumed, the precious is discarded, and the flying beast has fallen."
"Enough." Lilith's voice echoed in Red Robin's mind, slightly hysterical: "I don't want to hear your crazy talk, don't you dare try to tempt me into helping..."
The voice abruptly stopped as Lilith realized what she had said, and then she growled even more angrily.