novelRona Chapter 4762 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (8)
Chapter 4762 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (8)
Chapter 4762 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (Part 8)
However, Scarlet Spider #2 remained at large, preventing Batman #3 (Arkham Batman) from being sacrificed. He was left hanging there, and Schiller had no choice but to capture #2 first.
Batman from Arkham also observed that the cellar had more than one door, and the two doors were some distance apart, meaning Schiller couldn't block the door to prevent others from rescuing him. Schiller didn't seem to intend to either; after hoisting Batman from Arkham, he left through the door on the right.
Not long after, Batman Arkham heard a sound coming from the door on his left. He knew that his teammates had come to rescue him. He expected it to be Black Widow or Scarlet Spider, but it turned out to be Rorschach.
“I was just about to tell you, that magician named Constantine was sacrificed,” Rorschach said through gritted teeth. “That damned guy performed a devilish ritual underground. He’s an enemy of Christ, and I will definitely kill him!”
Batman from Arkham was taken aback, then asked, "You've completed the sealing ritual?"
“Yes, the first sealing ritual was performed by Constantine, and the second one was done by me.” Rorschach didn’t know that Batman Arkham had also completed one. He said, “There should be three left now. I’ll rescue you, and then we’ll split up to find them…”
Arkham Batman was a little confused; why had he suddenly become normal? As Rorschach put him down, he suddenly remembered that Rorschach had just said this devil was an enemy of Christ. Thinking about it that way, it wasn't incomprehensible. People with such political stances are usually very conservative fanatics, constantly spouting things like "Christ is invincible," and they're quick to condemn heretics, let alone devils.
Compared to a devil, this president, who might be a lackey of the opposing party, isn't entirely intolerable. A key characteristic of this kind of fanaticism is that once he sets his mind on something, his drive to act is exceptionally strong. Living solely in one's own world also has its advantages.
Rorschach quickly lowered Arkham Batman. Strangely, after being lowered, Arkham Batman was able to walk, meaning the rope was essentially acting as a medkit. Does that mean they could resurrect indefinitely?
"Sorry, Dr. Manhattan, your balancing act was quite skillful," Arkham Batman thought to himself.
Unfortunately, just as they were about to leave through the left door, the right door opened, and the next second, Schiller stepped out. He was carrying someone on his shoulder—it was none other than Scarlet Spider #2.
Although there's only one place in the room to hang people, if both Number 2 and Number 3 come, Schiller can simply remove Number 3, sacrifice Number 2 first, and then sacrifice Number 3. In that case, the sacrificial ritual would be more than half complete.
Seeing the two preparing to flee, Schiller immediately abandoned Scarlet Spider and strode towards them. Almost simultaneously, the "Oh no!" theme music started playing, and this truly meant something terrible was about to happen.
"Go!" Arkham Batman shouted, then dashed towards the door. But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn't outrun Schiller in his current state. Schiller took only two steps and was right behind them.
Batman from Arkham used his cloak to stun again, but Schiller's knife instantly turned red, and his eyes glowed red—a sign of unleashing his ultimate attack. It had been proven before that unleashing an ultimate attack greatly shortened the duration of the control effect. Schiller froze for a moment, then struck again.
But Rorschach pulled out an insecticide from somewhere and sprayed it on Schiller's face, causing Schiller to freeze for another second.
Batman from Arkham didn't have many combat skills, so he could only activate the clue-finding skill as well. Unexpectedly, there was a clue among the pile of corpses, and now that pile of corpses was right behind Schiller.
Without hesitation, Batman from Arkham sent a harbinger flying, and a skull struck Schiller from behind at incredible speed. Schiller was stunned for a second and staggered.
After a brief period of intense control, Arkham Batman and Rorschach took off running. They quickly scrambled out of the cellar door, and even Arkham Batman couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; it had been incredibly close.
“We’ll split up!” said Batman Arkham. “I’ll go to the garden, you go to the castle.”
Before he could finish speaking, the black figure flashed behind him again, the gleaming blade about to strike.
Arkham Batman cursed, having run out of abilities. Just as he was about to tell Rorschach to run, a figure slammed into him. Amidst splattering blood, Rorschach was once again slashed to the ground.
"Number 2, Number 3..." Luo Xia muttered, "Can't...can't be together..."
Arkham Batman fled the scene at lightning speed. Reaching the garden gazebo, he gasped for breath. He admitted he'd misunderstood Rorschach. While Rorschach's political stance was confusing and his mental state somewhat unstable, he wasn't the selfish type who just wanted to shout slogans and reap the rewards. He genuinely believed his beliefs were right and wanted to put them into practice, even at the cost of his own life.
He knew what Rorschach meant by his last words. When Rorschach put him down earlier, Arkham Batman had already told him his number. Now that Number 2 was down, if Arkham Batman, Number 3, were also down, then Ghost could sacrifice two people in succession. Rorschach, however, was Number 5; even if he were downed, Ghost couldn't sacrifice him directly because Number 4 was missing.
In other words, as long as these five numbers are not knocked down in sequence, the ghost will be greatly hampered because it cannot offer sacrifices and can only watch helplessly as the person is rescued.
This is also a major reason why Rorschach took the hit for Arkham Batman. It's better to have 2 and 5 that don't connect than 2 and 3 that do.
As for Scarlet Spider, he probably didn't know that Schiller could teleport. He was likely caught off guard when he walked across the rooftop and was slashed twice by Schiller, knocking him down instantly.
Batman Arkham sighed inwardly. It was no use asking anyone else now; the only thing to do was find the remaining two seals as quickly as possible, seal the demon away, and at least make their sacrifice worthwhile.
Batman from Arkham knows the seal he completed is in the east tower, while Rorschach sees Constantine's seal in the garden, and his own on the second floor. If the seals are evenly distributed, then they should be on the upper floors of the castle.
Without hesitation, Batman from Arkham charged forward. Even though Schiller now possessed the abilities to scout and teleport, there were still distance limitations; he wasn't a map-wide see-through machine. It would take him some time to find him. If he could complete just one more mission, his chances of winning would be much greater.
He rushed up to the fourth floor and pushed open each room door, but found nothing resembling a magic circle. However, recalling the castle's shape, he realized there might be a secret room on the fourth floor, located to the right of the second room on the left.
He rushed inside and, sure enough, there was a bookshelf. Arkham Batman had no time to slowly unravel the mystery; he activated the clues and a book hidden in a drawer flew into his hands. He shoved the book back into the shelf, gave the shelf a hard push, and a hidden door appeared behind it.
Upon entering, he discovered that it appeared to be a study used for ceremonies. There were some unfinished writings on the desk nearby, and after a quick glance, he knew that this must be the secret room used by the eldest son of the Valais family.
Batman from Arkham can probably guess what the plot is about. Doctor Manhattan also played a word game in the plot, saying in the synopsis that the Valais family is cursed, and now there is a demon to be exorcised, which easily connects the curse and the demon.
But in reality, the Valais family curse may simply be a genetic disease. In this era, many people superstitiously regard certain inherited mental problems or hereditary diseases with outward manifestations as a blood curse on the family line.
The devil had absolutely nothing to do with the curse. The devil was summoned entirely by the eldest son of the Valais family, and this dark room is the evidence of that. This guy was conducting cult research here, figuring out how to summon a devil, and not only offered his own body to the devil, but also sacrificed his entire family.
After sacrificing the entire Valais family, he found that the offerings were still insufficient to satisfy his appetite. So, he summoned exorcists in the name of the Valais family curse, intending to sacrifice them as well.
This also explains why sealing the demon didn't weaken Schiller, but rather strengthened him. Since there was no longer an eldest son of the Valais family, the demon now resided in this body. Sealing it would harm the demon, and the weaker the demon became, the stronger Schiller grew.
Although Batman Arkham was thinking about the plot, his hands didn't stop moving, because there was indeed a magic circle in the room, and he immediately began to seal it.
Normally the sealing speed is not slow, but as soon as the tune started, the speed increased, and Arkham Batman's heart also started beating faster.
His abilities were actually off cooldown, but he truly had no chance of escape. Judging from the timing, Schiller likely didn't use a teleportation ability to get there, meaning he had one saved for pursuit. No matter how far Arkham Batman tried to maneuver, he couldn't bypass a teleportation ability that could pass through walls; he had no choice but to fight to the death to complete the seal.
The runes spun faster and faster, the blade closing in. With a whoosh, Arkham Batman was struck down by the blood-red blade. He lay there, almost as if he was used to it.
The seal was complete, but Arkham Batman was carried to the cellar. He had assumed Rorschach would be waiting on the surface, since he was Number 5 and couldn't be linked, allowing him to survive for a while. Even if he were sacrificed, he could still stay. But there was no one on the surface.
Had he been rescued? Arkham Batman frowned; this was not good news. Black Widow shouldn't have wasted time rescuing him, because there was only one seal left; once completed, they could escape.
When Batman Arkham was hoisted up, he saw the numbers on the wall again, and to his shock, numbers 1, 2, and 5 were all lit up.
This was the first time Arkham Batman heard Schiller speak in the entire game.
“When the sacrifice process begins a second time, some rules can be broken. Their souls are too tempting.”
His voice wasn't deliberately deep or hoarse; it sounded no different from the other Schillers, but precisely because of this, it sent chills down Arkham Batman's spine.
A second time entering the sacrifice process? Arkham Batman almost immediately realized this referred to being hung a second time. In other words, a person can only be hung once; a second time is certain death. Giving Doctor Manhattan praise is premature.
As expected, the exorcists cannot be resurrected indefinitely. Although there is no limit to the number of times they can be knocked down, once they are hung up, they are considered to have entered the ritual process. Even if they are rescued, this counts, and the next time they enter, they can be sacrificed directly regardless of the numerical order.
Batman from Arkham sighed deeply. He hadn't anticipated that, given how powerful the ghost was, he would only have two chances to be hung up. He wished he could have just one more.