Here your extra chapter…
My sexy minions.
—-
Ivan and Ivon were not idle during their conversation. The dimly lit room was filled with tension, as both seemed acutely aware of the unknown presence lurking within the shadows. Every creak of the floorboards, every whisper of the wind outside, heightened their senses.
In the midst of their exchange, Ivon's arm began to transform in a grotesque display of bio-mechanical fusion. Flesh twisted and contorted, merging seamlessly with metal as his forearm morphed into a sleek, lethal machine gun. Without warning, he opened fire, the rapid bursts of bullets tearing through the air. The muzzle flashes briefly illuminated the darkness, revealing glimpses of a decrepit, crumbling room. The sharp sound of bullets striking the walls reverberated through the space, and then, as suddenly as it began, the cacophony ceased, plunging the room back into oppressive silence.
Still tied securely to the chair, Ivan smirked, his voice laced with mockery. "Ha, I think you just killed a mouse. Impressive marksmanship."
Ivon didn't bother with a verbal response; instead, he let out a low, unsettling laugh that echoed in the silence. The sound was distorted, as if coming from somewhere deep within him. His movements were swift and fluid. As he spun around, his eyes scanned the shadows with a predator's focus. His free hand began to transform again, this time warping into the shape of a sleek, black grenade launcher. A moment later, a fiery projectile erupted from the barrel, cutting through the gloom and crashing into the far wall. The explosion sent chunks of debris flying, filling the air with dust and the acrid smell of burnt concrete.
Yet, still, there was no sign of Batman.
"Excellent," Ivan continued, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You didn't even spare the cockroaches next door. Though I must say, with your penchant for destruction, you might want to consider a career as a cockroach buster."
"Ha, that's funny. I like your sense of humor." Ivon's grin widened, but it was the smile of a predator toying with its prey. His footsteps echoed as he approached the smoking crater left by his grenade, eyes darting back and forth as he remained hyper-alert to any movement in the darkness.
He took a few more steps, but suddenly his instincts flared. Without hesitation, he whipped around and unleashed a torrent of bullets toward the ceiling. The barrage was relentless, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. Dust and debris cascaded down like rain, and within moments, the ceiling gave way. A heavy, antique chandelier, its once-bright bulbs long extinguished, plummeted to the ground, shattering into a thousand jagged pieces that scattered across the floor.
"Nice shot. You managed to break a lamp this time," Ivan continued his taunts, seemingly unbothered by the chaos around him. "If you could just untie me, I'd give you a standing ovation."
"Don't worry," Ivon replied with a strange, almost gleeful tone. "Let the bat make his move. He won't be able to dance around for much longer."
As he spoke, Ivon's eyes narrowed. He suddenly pivoted, his arm still in its weaponized form, and unleashed another barrage of bullets into a specific spot in the darkness. But this time, he didn't merely fire a few rounds; he emptied the magazine, his finger clamped down on the trigger as if determined to obliterate whatever was hidden in the shadows.
The continuous muzzle flashes turned the darkness into a strobe-lit nightmare, casting erratic shadows across the room. The roar of gunfire was punctuated by Ivon's maniacal laughter, his voice rising above the violent noise. "Ha! Gotcha! You're just another trickster, but you're not as clever as you think..."
Boom!
Before Ivon could finish his taunt, the wall behind him exploded into a cloud of dust and debris. The heavy, thunderous sound was accompanied by the mechanical growl of a beastly engine. The Batmobile, a pitch-black monstrosity of steel and power, tore through the wall with unstoppable force. It slammed into Ivon with the brutal efficiency of a sledgehammer crushing a fly, sending him hurtling through the air. He crashed through another wall, the impact leaving a gaping hole as he disappeared into the adjacent room, buried under a mound of rubble.
...
Despite the overwhelming force that had just struck him, Ivon's unnatural body began to stir beneath the debris. Groaning, he rolled onto his back, then quickly flipped himself upright with an almost feline grace. His eyes, now glowing with an eerie light, locked onto the Batmobile as it slowly rolled into the room, its tires grinding over the broken floor.
Charlie, sitting safely in his remote location, watched the scene unfold from Batman's perspective. Despite Ivon's seemingly random and chaotic gunfire, it had caused Charlie considerable difficulty in finding an opening. Ivon's level of vigilance was akin to that of a highly trained soldier, his reflexes sharp and unyielding, even as he faced down what should have been overwhelming odds.
Charlie couldn't help but recall his early days of training when he just launched the game; he learned about the heightened senses and rapid reflexes of seasoned individuals. But even in those tutorials, no one had prepared him for this—a heavily infected adversary who could match, and perhaps even surpass, the cunning of Batman.
The Batmobile's stealth mode had allowed Charlie to position it perfectly for this moment. All the while, Ivon had been so focused on tracking Batman that he never noticed the silent, lethal machine closing in on him. But now, as Ivon stood, his form still vaguely human yet grotesquely altered, it was clear that he was far from a normal adversary.
Gun barrels extended from the Batmobile, and with a series of rapid, loud pops, large-caliber bullets sprayed out in a deadly arc, aimed directly at Ivon. The force should have torn him to shreds, but as the smoke cleared, an afterimage revealed Ivon's twisted form dodging to the side with inhuman speed. His laughter, though strained, echoed through the room.
"I see? Your toys are useless against me," Ivon taunted, his voice unnervingly steady. "I can do this with my bare hands..."
But once again, his words were cut short.
The ceiling above them cracked ominously, and without warning, the roof was torn apart. The Bat Fighter, a sleek and deadly aircraft, hovered above the opening. Its Vulcan cannon roared to life, spewing long tongues of flame directly at Ivon's position. The force of the explosion sent him flying upward, his body silhouetted against the fiery backdrop.
...
From his vantage point, Charlie watched as Ivon's grotesque form was torn apart by the relentless assault. But even as pieces of his flesh were ripped away, the strange substance that coated his body seemed to reconstitute itself, barely holding his form together. Where a normal human would have been reduced to a pile of charred remains, Ivon continued to move, driven by a monstrous will to survive.
His skin, once vaguely human, had been entirely overtaken by the jelly-like substance. His limbs were twisted and elongated, more insectoid than human now. The single, glowing eye in the center of his face flickered as if it were struggling to remain active, while the eerie grin beneath it widened, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth.
With a final, desperate lunge, Ivon threw himself towards the Batmobile, his arm transforming once more into a massive, grotesque cannon. He fired a rocket point-blank at the vehicle, the resulting explosion rocking the entire building and forcing the Batmobile to skid sideways.
But this time, Charlie was ready.
As Ivon closed in, the Bat Fighter above released a secondary barrage, twin missiles streaking downward with pinpoint accuracy. They struck Ivon directly, detonating in a blinding flash of light and heat. When the smoke finally cleared, Ivon's remains were scattered across the floor, his grotesque form now nothing more than a twisted pile of charred, smoldering flesh.
For a moment, the room was silent, save for the faint whirring of the Batmobile's systems as it recalibrated. Charlie watched intently, waiting to see if Ivon would somehow rise again. But there was nothing—only the stillness of the ruined room and the lingering smell of burnt metal and flesh.
Charlie let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Isn't this the best type of combat technique," he muttered to himself, a slight grin forming on his lips. "That's why they call it the Bat Fighter."
---
If you're enjoying the story and want to see more chapters
- 50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
- 100 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
- Anything above 100 = 3 Extra Chapters
If you'd like to support my work even further and get early access to chapters, please check out my Patron at Patr_eon.com/OneSword (remove the underscore). Currently, I am thirty-plus chapters ahead on Patron.
Free Members can read up to 5 chapters in advance.
Thank you, and Sword out!