Hearing the commotion coming from the Owl Council chamber, Eric looked up.
Having witnessed Mr. Sarcasm's defeat firsthand, the council members were now too terrified by the power displayed by the so-called "Patriot" to maintain their facade of calm and rationality. They left their seats in a panic, scrambling to escape.
Bang! With a ripple in the air, Eric activated his super speed, instantly moving into the Owl Council hall.
He grabbed the neck of the bewildered chairman.
"It looks like the victory of this hide-and-seek game belongs to me."
Eric chuckled, twisting his neck slightly. His eyes under the owl mask emitted a sinister red glow.
"Who... what are you?"
The chairman, his face turning red from the pressure on his neck, squeezed out the words with all his strength.
He had previously witnessed the visually stunning battle between Eric and Mr. Sarcasm, which had shattered his usual composure.
"What a strange question."
Eric tightened his grip on the chairman's neck. "You claim to be the shadows of this city, creators of everything here, yet you couldn't even uncover my identity? Or are you just a bunch of pretentious rats lurking in the sewers?"
"Please... forgive me!"
The chairman, who had always considered himself a god, finally showed his fear. "I... I will give you everything you want, fulfill any wish you have."
"Sorry, but I'm tired of this game. If it were Gotham's owls, I might still have fun with them, but your time is up."
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes emitted a beam of red heat vision.
The wide beam struck the chairman's eyes, the high temperature instantly melting his eye sockets.
Eric released his grip, and the chairman's body fell heavily to the ground.
Seeing the chairman's tragic fate, the fleeing council members screamed in even greater terror.
A finely dressed woman was running while screaming. The next second, she felt a sharp pain in her back and was thrown against a wall near a bench, collapsing into a heap.
A council girl who once used the most vicious methods to torture and kill her enemies had her chest pierced by the heat vision, tripped over her own feet, and fell headfirst in front of an owl statue.
Lying quietly there, gasping for breath, her burning face pressed against the floor, tears of fear and unwillingness streamed down like the hot, heavy blood of those she had killed.
The lights above the council also flickered and went out.
A man in a black, elegant suit was struck by a severed, electrified power cable, feeling a dull thud in his consciousness. He convulsed madly before collapsing forward.
When Clark entered the Owl Council, he saw the scene littered with bodies, flickering lights, pools of blood on the floor, and sparking wires.
"Eric..."
Clark looked in shock at the expressionless Eric. "You killed them?"
"A bunch of rats. Dead is dead."
Eric removed the owl mask he was wearing, tossed it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.
"You need not mourn them. Mourn those they killed."
"But... but!"
Clark was filled with shock and incomprehension. "Even if they were villains, they should have been handed over to the law for punishment."
"They are the law, Clark. Even the law cannot judge them."
Eric's eyes grew colder. "The law also protects these self-proclaimed ruling-class rats. If you want to play by their rules, be prepared to be crushed. So... put away your useless sense of justice and compassion."
"Perhaps some of them were innocent, not all terrorists. You can't generalize them all."
Clark's tone was still one of misunderstanding. "You shouldn't have done this, Eric."
"Innocent? Maybe, maybe not. But... who cares?"
Eric's eyes sparkled with a calm indifference. "There are those who believe in survival of the fittest, so let's fight them in that way, not with laws and rules."
"I think..."
Clark was silent for a moment, then looked up and met Eric's eyes. "Eric, we are not gods. We don't have the right to judge. I never elevate myself to the status of a judge because of my power. I fear my power might harm those around me. I fear my power will make this world afraid... Eric, I don't want you to become that kind of person."
"That's where we differ."
Eric turned and walked forward. "But you are wrong about one thing. I don't think of myself as a god because I have the same weaknesses as everyone else in this world."
He walked to a wall and threw a powerful punch.
The wall shattered under the immense force, revealing a hidden space.
Eric stepped over the rubble and entered the Owl Council's secret lair.
Inside the hidden space, shelves held various documents.
Glass cabinets housed numerous skulls, each labeled with a code and name, likely trophies of the Owl Council.
In the center of the room was a metal box with complex locks, filled with various precious metals, rare materials, and gold owl statues.
All of the Owl Council's wealth was likely stored here.
"What... is this?!"
Clark entered the hidden space and saw the skulls in the glass cabinets, his face showing shock.
"Looks like some kind of trophies."
Eric replied nonchalantly.
"..."
Clark walked to the glass cabinets, his emotions complex as he gazed at the skulls.
His eyes caught sight of an ancient-looking book.
The book had mysterious patterns engraved on the cover but no title, lying quietly at the bottom of a shelf.
Driven by curiosity, Clark walked to the shelf and picked up the mysterious book.
He gently opened the heavy first page.
Suddenly, his consciousness blurred.
The space twisted, then plunged into darkness. When his vision returned, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
Amidst the ruins, he wore a blue-black suit and cape, slowly descending from the sky.
In front of him floated Eric, dressed in a dark uniform, holding a trident.
The trident was impaled in the head of a menacing, dark-skinned, red-eyed bald man.
Several people in strange costumes stood on the ground, including a person dressed as a bat and a woman in a red and gold robe and crown.
They looked at the trident in Eric's hand with shock, disbelief, and fear in their eyes.
"Darkseid is dead!"
Floating in the air, Eric spoke slowly.
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