"Murder! Murder! There...there's a body!!!"
With a scream echoing throughout Nihilite Manor, the entire mansion was instantly stirred up.
However, standing by the window, Batman did not take his gaze away. He was silently calculating the time in his mind, and as predicted, he saw at the end of the road in front of the mansion's main hall, past the woods they had walked through earlier - a bright yellow bus quietly pulled up to the bus stop.
But the game was just beginning.
Upon entering Nihilite Manor, everyone realized that this game wasn't as simple as it seemed. Winning would mean surviving for a day and night and then boarding the bus. But what if they survived but couldn't get on the bus?
This wasn't impossible. Although on the first night they were in the wilderness with no fences or obstacles preventing them from boarding the bus, that didn't mean it would be like this every night.
Batman had already seen a gun-toting manservant running over. This wasn't the Victorian Era; the manor's owners were armed with modern weapons, and when danger arose on their territory, they had the full right to defend themselves with firearms.
Despite the distance, Batman had recognized it as a semi-automatic rifle. Its range was ample enough to cover the distance from Nihilite Manor's front hall to the bus stop.
Furthermore, the tallest building in Nihilite Manor was the bell tower. Standing atop the tower provided an excellent shooting position; any person running below would be nothing but a moving target.
Even if his physical abilities weren't restricted, Batman would need to devise a way to disarm them before running. However, under physically constrained conditions, a forceful breakthrough would be the worst choice.
The moment the chaos began, the manservants rushed to the warehouse to retrieve weapons. A team of maidservants went to close all the gates of the manor. It was as if the manor's owner knew a murder would take place.
This was like a long-overdue alarm bell, signaling danger.
The overnight guests of the manor, driven like ducks, were herded into the main hall. By the time Batman came down, he found Shiller already gathering with the crowd.
Next were Hancock, Mr. Proche, and Isabel, who was escorted by a maidservant.
"Lady Nihelet, Lady Nihelet has been stabbed to death!" cried the maidservant, "This morning, I went to bring her water and I found her face-down on the bed with an ice cone pierced into her back. There was blood all over. She's been murdered!"
"Don't panic!" Hancock interjected: "The butler has already called the police. Those on the night shift last night said they didn't see anyone coming in or out of the mansion. The killer must be still among us..."
"Until the police arrive, I'm afraid none of you can leave. The Nihelet Family will not let the murderer go unpunished!"
The entire hall immediately burst into a hubbub of discussion. Everyone was displeased, but when Hancock walked over to the gun-toting manservant, wresting the gun from him and firing a shot into the air-
"Bang!"
In an instant, screams filled the air. However, everyone quickly quieted down, crouching down with their heads covered, daring not to make a sound.
Hancock raised the corner of his mouth slightly, apparently very satisfied with the development of the situation. But soon, he frowned and turned to a manservant next to him, asking, "Where's Mr. Nihelet? Why hasn't he been invited over yet?"
"The butler's already gone to get him, but he hasn't returned yet..."
Hancock's brows furrowed even more, and suddenly a loud "bang" followed by a series of screams. A young manservant came tumbling down the stairs, crying out, "The butler's dead, the old butler's dead, his room is covered in blood!!!"
Shiller looked up; this was the same manservant who had brought him his suit and brooch earlier. At this moment, he rushed to Hancock's side, panic-stricken, "Sir, the butler...the butler..."
"Go find Mr. Nihelet!" Screamed Hancock.
As a group of manservants ascended the staircase, the sounds of doors being kicked open, of screams, reached everyone's ears. Everybody present felt a sense of foreboding. A few minutes later, the manservants only returned with Mr. Nihelet's body.
Hancock completely lost his poised demeanor. His frantic expression was like a soon-to-explode volcano, and his desperate attempts to control his emotions only intensified his panic. It was as though someone had put a lid on the volcano. Unable to escape, the boiling lava seeped out through the crust, causing his entire face to resemble cracked earth.
He immediately rushed forward, turning over Mr. Nihelet's body. His fatal injuries seemed to be a pounding wound on his forehead and a penetrating wound on his throat.
As for the puncture marks on the front of his chest, they seemed more like impulsive stabs made postmortem.
Hancock's face could be said to have become rigid.
Suddenly, like a madman, he got up, threw his arms wide, and yelled, "Where are the police?!! Why aren't the police here yet?! So many people have died here, these damn...!"
"The police won't come." A low voice came from the crowd.
Batman stood up from the crowd, looking at Hancock, "And you know why. The telephone lines in the manor were cut a long time ago, and the only road leading there was dug up. The police were never going to come in the first place."
Hancock's eyes widened, his gaze somewhat vacant as he stared at Batman. Meanwhile, Batman had already removed his social mask, returning to his usual serious expression.
It turns out that no one in this world could be more serious than Batman. The false mask and true essence are simply incomparable. Once Batman reveals his dark and serious side, Hancock is left with nothing but insincere bravado.
"You may accuse me of slander, but the tar residue from the thermal explosion on the road would stick to the tools you hid in the garden shed. Even several meters away, I could smell it."
Hancock opened his mouth in surprise. Before he could respond, Batman continued, "You killed Lady Nihilite. There are footprints of tar dust on the road leading to the basement where the ice cones are. Last night at ten, you went to the basement to get an ice cone, then went straight to Lady Nihilite's room pretending to have a discussion. You stabbed her with the ice cone when she turned her back."
"But I..."
"You might think I have no evidence or witnesses. But I am not the police. I do not need evidence."
--With that, Batman strode towards a visibly shaking Hancock and said with a surprisingly sharp voice, "Hold it there!! I have a gun!!!"
He pointed his pistol at Batman. Unperturbed, Batman continues advancing, leaving Hancock astonished. He'd never met a man so fearless. Then another voice echoed through the room.
"Calm down, brother. There are several dead bodies here." Beihan emerged from the crowd and knelt beside the body of Mr. Nihilite. "His death predates Lady Nihilite's, likely around nine o'clock last night."
"My God! The banquet hadn't completely ended at that time!" murmurs rippled through the crowd, "I remember Mr. Nihilite saying he wasn't feeling well and left early..."
Just then, Mr. Proche stood up and glanced at Batman, "I killed him."
The crowd immediately erupted into murmurs.
Mr. Proche looked dejected, his former rage and craziness absent. Heaving a sigh, he said, "I knew they would target my sister eventually. They needed a sacrifice."
Mr. Proche seemed to crumble all at once. He lunged towards Hancock with clenched fists, held back by the butler. Pushing past the restrain, he pointed at everyone present and bellowed, "You all are their sacrifices, you will all die! Just like the Prosi family once did, my family was murdered and sacrificed by them!"
"He did all of this to keep you imprisoned here while playing detective, to kill you one by one. He is a cultist and a killer!"
Horrified gasps echoed throughout the crowd. Hancock continued to curse, and Mr. Proche rallied back, expressing his rage and sadness. With an astonishing show of strength, he lunged at Hancock.
"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, causing everyone's ears to ring. Smoke rose from the barrel of Hancock's gun as Mr. Proche gradually fell in a pool of blood.
The sudden act of violence left everyone stunned. Hancock, panting heavily, was spewing a stream of obscenities.
Just as he raised his gun again, Batman kicked it out of his hand and pinned him to the ground.
In fact, Batman wanted to stop him the first time he raised his gun, but his body's weakened state had slowed his reactions a fraction of a second too late. The trigger had already been pulled.
Familiar with Batman, Shiller knew that the Dark Knight was extraordinarily angry.
Sure enough, Batman grabbed Hancock by the collar and landed two heavy punches on his face. Despite his weakened physical state, these two punches were enough to bloody Hancock and knock out several of his teeth.
Next, Batman broke Hancock's rib with a swift kick, and then snapped his ankle when Hancock rolled over and screamed in pain.
Beihan was left speechless.
At the time, he was still new to his role, and he was not yet the seasoned Dark Knight. He never thought that his counterpart in another cosmos would be so ferocious. Was the killing devil truly himself?
Batman got up without mercy and kicked Hancock aside. He picked up the fallen gun and ordered the butler, "Bring down the butler's body. I need to know the cause of his death."
The servants hesitated, too scared to set off. Finally, the black butler led a few others upstairs to bring down the butler's body.
The old butler's cause of death was peculiar; his heart was missing, and there were only a few tiny burn marks in his chest cavity.
The old butler died later than the others, and unfortunately, Batman did not find any useful clues.
This was peculiar as Batman is the greatest detective in the world, and there were two Batmans present. But whether it was at the scene of the butler's death or on the people who had contact with the butler, there were no consistent clues.
"Where's Henry?! Where's Henry?!" Hancock yelled with the last of his strength.
A shadow descended from the sky, "thump," it landed on the floor before Hancock.
When Hancock saw the pale face, he realised that it was Henry Nihilite.