The night in Gotham is always deep and dusky, and if you were to approach the Batcave, an additional layer of desolation would surely be added.
However, at this moment, the Batcave was in a state of extreme tension, as if preparing for a major enemy assault, with all the Robins poised for battle, staring intently at the figure in the center of the hall.
When Batman emerged from the laboratory, Dick was the first to notice from this side. With Batman present, a sense of confidence was restored. He shouted, "Great opportunity! Let's attack together!"
They did not believe that the flames ignited by the ultraviolet lights could completely kill the monster, so everyone leaped up and attacked the central figure with their deadliest moves.
Damian had been holding the ultraviolet lamp, but he was reluctant to play a supporting role; he believed that now the opponent's magic defenses were broken and they had dealt a heavy blow with the ultraviolet lamp, it was best to strike while the enemy was vulnerable. So, he simply threw the lamp aside and charged forward.
The moment the ultraviolet light disappeared, the flames were extinguished, and the black suit had been burned tatters, but since the skin was also scorched black, it was not much different to the eye. The only thing that had changed was that with the disappearance of the Moonlight Power, the previously pale pupils returned to their normal brown color.
At this time, Khonsu had picked up the Magic Wand, and with a forceful smash of the wand on the ground, the power of the moonlight was about to entomb the area once again.
Dick noticed something amiss; his body shrouded in Magic Power, he lunged forward forcefully. Khonsu was nothing but a skeleton frame; bereft of close combat skills, Dick managed to pin him down, and despite his bound mouth preventing speech, he rattled furiously in frustration.
The Robins' attack was swift, and Moonlight Shiller had already picked up the candelabra. Perhaps due to the absence of the Moonlight Power's protection, when he regained hold of the golden candelabra, the flame scorched an entire arm.
The direct contact with the Holy Artifact had more severe consequences than imagined; Barbara watched as the muscles of the hand holding the candelabra were burned away, nearly leaving nothing but bone, yet he did not let go.
A dangerous instinct urged Barbara to retreat, but she still charged forward, this time without a gun, only wielding a baton, striking viciously at the back of the neck.
Jason was not so courteous; he pulled out his handgun, loading the bullets with silver powder tailored against vampires. Damian used a Batman dart; Cassandra's previous weapon had been knocked away, so she fought unarmed, but her Bajiquan strikes were lethal.
The fastest was Cassandra; she nearly blinked into position beside Moonlight Shiller's neck.
Shiller dodged with a speed Cassandra couldn't see, then twisted her wrist in one swift motion—Bang!
Cassandra was thrown out, then two Batman darts that followed were knocked back by the candelabra. Jason's two bullets hit their mark, but the vampire's healing was so rapid that the wound barely had time to smoke before the bullets were pushed out, with hardly any blood lost.
Realizing bullets were ineffective, Jason decided to move in for close combat, but Damian, having missed his mark, glanced back at Cassandra and saw that instead of landing smoothly against the wall, she had crashed heavily onto the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"No, don't get close to him!" Damian shouted.
But it was too late, the volatile Jason didn't heed his warning, wielding a short stick and ferociously striking down.
Shiller didn't even attempt to dodge; with a horizontal move of the candelabra, Jason's full-force blow only made it three centimeters into the object. In the next second, wrist twisting, the candelabra flicked upward, and with a snap, the short stick flew out of Jason's grasp.
Jason hadn't even comprehended what happened when the sharp end of the candelabra pierced his right shoulder. Jason grimaced with gritted teeth, bringing his knee up sharply to hit Shiller in the ribs, finally freeing himself from the clasp of the weapon.
But as he stepped back, the candelabra swapped from stabbing to sweeping, slamming heavily onto his right cheekbone. As Jason was thrown off balance and tilted to the side, his raised hands prepared to plunge downward.
Clang!
A Batman dart deflected the candelabra, and the chilling breeze of the metallic glove followed suit. Shiller dodged, and Batman's roundhouse kick targeted his neck.
Shiller leaned back and delivered a side kick in response.
Batman, with his seasoned experience, judged this to be merely a feint; if he dodged to the right front, the opponent would immediately switch hands with the candelabra and strike. Even if he wasn't a vampire, if that blow landed on his leg, he would instantly lose most of his ability to move.
Thus, Batman advanced only a small step, for if he wasn't hit by the maximum force of the ankle, a slight brush against the shin wasn't a concern; he could take the hit. Then he'd press forward, seizing the window during the weapon switch to subdue his opponent.
Almost instinctively, Batman did just that, but when Shiller's rigid shinbone made contact with his body, he knew something was wrong.
Batman was sent flying sideways, crashing heavily on the ground, astonishing the entire Batman Family; they were frozen mid-movement, ready to strike again.
Batman weighed over 200 pounds, around 190 jins roughly, and his full Bat Armor must have weighed at least another twenty or thirty kilograms. And you're telling me he was kicked away?
This isn't an animated show; in the real world, there simply can't be that many aerial maneuvers in a fight. To make a person fly requires tremendous force, and even a regular sedan going over 100 mph that hits someone can only send them flying a few meters at most, and they're unlikely to get very high off the ground. Achieving that kind of parabolic flight would require either extreme speeding or a very heavy vehicle.
Theoretically, it's impossible for humans to kick someone into the air. What's colloquially referred to as 'sending flying' is really just skimming along the ground. Yet, just now, Batman, who weighs over 200 pounds, was sent soaring through the air and landed back on the ground with a thud.
As soon as Batman rolled over, he knew his thigh bone was broken, and severely at that. He simply couldn't stand up at the moment.
"Don't get close to him!" Batman raised his voice, "His strength is too great. Use ranged weapons!"
Immediately afterward, he pulled out a healing needle from his belt and jabbed it into his leg.
Dick, who was also stunned atop Khonsu, no longer bothered to restrain the bird and gestured toward Batman, enveloping Batman's lower body in vampire magic, which rapidly healed his injuries.
Under the dual effects of the healing needle and magic, Batman managed to stand up, albeit limping. He immediately used the remote control on his back armour to summon a machine gun from the Batcave.
The clack-clacking of Khonsu's beak quickened. Dick turned back, suspecting the skeletal bird might have something to say, so he rushed over and seized Khonsu's beak once more.
Instinctively, he felt that what Khonsu might say could be important, leading him to hurriedly untie the rope from Khonsu's mouth in a bit of a panic.
"Don't attack him!" Khonsu growled, "The more pain he feels, the stronger he becomes! Don't let him get injured!!!"
Batman's finger was already on the button but, hearing Khonsu's words, his suspicions were immediately confirmed.
Of course, this was also related to the hint previously given by Shiller. His counterpart from another universe had just arrived in this world and was immediately turned into a vampire. Why, really?
Batman could see no other reason, because from the process of his and Cassandra's fight, it was clear that his opponent was an extremely powerful martial arts master, and he also possessed the Moonlight Power that Cassandra did not. Such a person certainly didn't need vampire strength to gild the lily.
So only one possibility remained—he needed the drawbacks that come with vampire lineage.
It sounds somewhat ludicrous, but the negative effects of most human suicide methods are far too strong.
Slashing any part of the body with a knife, not to mention the diminishing sensation of pain, adrenaline might partially numb the pain, and the subsequent bleeding can be quite troublesome, sending a person into a continuous state of weakness. There are too few areas where one can be injured without it affecting mobility.
But the weaknesses that come with vampire blood do not have this problem. Vampires can burn from Holy Artifacts or sunlight, and this burning elicits immense pain, not just from the burns but also from the soul being scorched.
And it doesn't cause bleeding, won't impede movement, and doesn't leave any permanent unhealable aftereffects. One could say it's the smallest price for the greatest amount of pain.
If a person's means of gaining strength involves releasing the limits on their muscles, then pain stimulation is essential. In that case, becoming a vampire is indeed the best method.
As it turned out, Shiller succeeded.
Just now, when Batman was kicked, his own sensation was no different from being hit by a truck. After getting up, the first thing he did was to quickly find Cassandra, who had been sent flying. After giving her a healing needle, he shouted to Dick, "Use magic!"
Dick looked toward the source of the sound and remembered that Cassandra was also injured. Lifting his hand, a purple light enveloped Cassandra, and she gave Batman a nod before charging at Shiller once again.
Batman was a bit too slow to stop her, and Cassandra engaged Shiller in combat once more.
This time, she was smarter, using fast and dizzying boxing techniques to avoid prolonged engagement with Shiller, not giving him a chance to send her flying again.
Such tactics had some effect, as Cassandra was smaller and faster, and quickly breaking away after striking made it difficult for Shiller to catch her.
Inspired by Batman, Damian, Jason, and Barbara no longer charged in directly but used ranged methods to disrupt Shiller's movements.
At this time, Tim had reached the second floor, where he set up a sniper rifle loaded with anesthetic ammunition. However, because Cassandra and Shiller were constantly tangled in combat, their figures flashed in the sniper scope, preventing a clear shot, and he could only wait for a chance.
Cassandra, of Asian descent, had once received the most traditional martial arts training in Hong Kong. She executed a set of Bajiquan with both speed and ferocity, to which Shiller mostly dodged and occasionally parried, seemingly at a disadvantage. This excited the other members of the Batman Family, who cheered for Cassandra unceasingly.
But Batman saw the intricacies of the situation—Cassandra was in the most dangerous yet frustrating position in combat. The opponent could make countless mistakes, but she could afford only one.