Chapter 94
The Messiah lay prostrate on the knees of the Virgin Mary statue, slightly tilting his head to look up at the statue of Jehovah. His calm expression was mixed with some unclear emotions, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
The Virgin Mary, a pure white stone sculpture, gazes lovingly at the child lying on her knees. The glaring sunlight makes it impossible to look directly at Jehovah high up in the church. One can only see his majestic appearance with his arms outstretched, looking down at everything.
Messiah couldn't describe how he felt right now.
There were a large number of believers surrounding the church, but they all tacitly did not go forward to disturb the Messiah, and walked into the church quietly to pray.
Old John, who came to confess, looked at the Messiah who was gazing at the statue of Jehovah outside the church, with a look of longing on his face. The Son of God must be missing his father, the saint who taught him to save the world.
Wonder Woman landed from the air and saw at a glance the vacuum circle formed outside the crowded church, and the Messiah at the center of the circle.
Looking at the Messiah lying on the knees of the Virgin Mary statue with a somewhat dejected look on his face, Wonder Woman couldn't help but pause for a moment.
There was a brief commotion outside the previously peaceful church.
Seeing Wonder Woman suddenly appear, most of the believers showed fear on their faces.
"Amazon Queen!"
"Why is she here?"
"Didn't you receive the news? The Son of God has awakened the minds of the Amazon Queen and the Sea King. The war between Paradise Island and Atlantis is over."
"This news came several days ago. Now the coastal cities, Amazons, and Atlanteans have also become our allies."
"Allies who destroyed cities and murdered humanity? They are monsters, demons who killed my entire family!"
An uncontrollable high-pitched voice rang out. The owner of the voice was a woman in a black dress with white flowers. She was one of the believers who came to Gotham specifically from the seaside city rebuilt by the Messiah.
The woman in the black dress looked at Wonder Woman resentfully, her tone filled with deep hatred: "Why can she still appear here openly? Why is she still alive?!"
As she spoke, the woman in the black dress became excited. With red eyes, she rushed towards Wonder Woman, but was stopped by her companions before she got close.
But they could stop her movements, but they couldn't stop her screaming with hatred.
"Amazon Queen, why don't you pay with your life!"
Wonder Woman's hands hanging at her sides were clenched almost white, and her hands, which had been steadied by years of hard training in martial arts, began to tremble.
She lowered her eyes to avoid looking at the faces filled with fear and hatred, grasped the Lasso of Truth hanging at her waist to steady herself, and walked towards the Messiah calmly.
Messiah's trance was interrupted by the sharp shout. He pursed his lips imperceptibly, stood up from the knees of the Virgin Mary statue, raised his head, and his eyes briefly met with Wonder Woman.
Heroine...
Messiah's eyes were filled with a ripple. He looked at Wonder Woman's downcast eyes as if she was hurt, and glanced at the fear on the faces of the believers surrounding him, and let out a slight sigh.
"Alright." Messiah's gentle voice echoed into the crowd. "That's enough."
The believers who were originally discussing Wonder Woman in low voices suddenly fell silent. They looked at the Messiah who had finally stood up with fanatical eyes, and automatically made way for him when the Messiah approached.
The Messiah had a calm and peaceful expression. Faint golden light dissipated into the air as he moved forward, and also penetrated into the bodies of the people around him with his breathing.
The soothing and calming effect of the energy took effect, and the believers' emotions gradually stabilized. The fear and hatred in their hearts were swept away, and replaced by a long-lost tranquility.
Suddenly, someone knelt on the ground with a plop, put his hands on his forehead, closed his eyes devoutly and prayed to the Messiah who was passing by him.
Once there is the first person, there will be a second and a third.
Soon, all the believers surrounding the church closed their eyes and began to pray. Only Messiah and Wonder Woman remained standing in the crowd.
Wonder Woman's gaze lingered for a moment on the devout expression on the face of the believer kneeling in prayer, and soon met the peaceful gaze of the Messiah.
"Let's go outside and talk, heroine."
Messiah curled his eyes, and Wonder Woman nodded in agreement with Messiah's proposal. The two of them silently left the church, leaving the space for the crowd who were praying devoutly.
"I……"
After getting away from the crowd, Wonder Woman finally spoke hesitantly, but she got stuck after just saying the beginning.
Messiah's gaze lingered briefly on Wonder Woman's hand, which was subconsciously holding the Lasso of Truth, and then he looked away as if the glance just now was just an unintentional act.
"Are you asking about Batman, Lady?" Messiah took the initiative to take over the topic and said gently, "I've noticed it."
Wonder Woman looked at the Messiah in surprise, and when her eyes met the Messiah's face, which was so gentle that it seemed like he was wearing a mask, an inappropriate thought suddenly popped up in her mind.
Compared to the dazed look he had just had while gazing at the statue of Jehovah, the Messiah now appeared to be full of life and meaning in every move, and he looked no different from the statues of Jehovah and the Virgin Mary hanging high above the church.
If the Messiah's appearance when he was distracted gave people a glimpse of his true self, then the Messiah now was like a statue trapped in the body of the Son of God.
Always gentle and compassionate, always tolerant of everything, and never selfless.
Wonder Woman frowned unconsciously, but Messiah seemed not to notice her hesitant expression and continued speaking.
"I will stop him before he makes the next move." Messiah raised his eyes slightly and gave Wonder Woman a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry about his machinations, Wonder Woman. I haven't taken action because my top priority right now is to rebuild the city and comfort the victims."
Wonder Woman hesitated for a moment, then grasped the Lasso of Truth hanging around her waist with her right hand, as if she had drawn some courage from it, and finally spoke.
"You're much more perceptive than I am." Wonder Woman forced a smile, her voice filled with a hint of sadness that she tried hard to conceal. "I never noticed anything was wrong with B, even after Mother... died with Mera."
"If I had realized earlier that he was infected with the Joker virus and helped him get rid of it, perhaps everything would have been different."
There was a hint of dejection between Wonder Woman's eyebrows. The demigod who always maintained a firm and fearless appearance rarely showed vulnerability, but the huge changes and shocks in reality almost destroyed her heart.
Now, even to speak up, she had to draw courage from the Lasso of Truth. Wonder Woman smiled self-deprecatingly, but the bloody image in her mind made it impossible for her to remove her hand from the Lasso of Truth.
What if I remove my hand and she loses her mind again? Will she lead her Amazon sisters into war again, creating bloodshed and death once again?
Wonder Woman's gaze rested on Messiah, who looked back at her gently, as if not noticing the decadence and cowardice she revealed.
"It's not your fault, lady." Messiah shook his head. He actually didn't want to mention the existence of bats... no, the Laughing Bat.
but.
Messiah looked at the dejection on Wonder Woman's face, lowered his eyes and looked away, and said softly: "This is not your fault, nor is it Batman's fault. Neither of you is wrong."
"I arrived too late and failed to save the world before it was too late."
"It was my mistake."
Wonder Woman looked up in shock, she hadn't expected the Messiah to think it was all his fault, that he had saved them all and awakened her sanity.
They are the ones who bring disaster. If it were not for the Messiah, these cities that have begun to be rebuilt would still be in disaster.
However, Messiah once again interrupted Wonder Woman before she could speak.
He believed from the bottom of his heart that it was his fault, and the comfort from others would only make him feel more painful. Messiah thought that the heroine did not know the whole story, so she thought it was not his fault.
Messiah looked into Wonder Woman's eyes and whispered, "If there's nothing else, I should be heading back, Wonder Woman."
“They are still waiting for me to confess for them and free them from the pain in their hearts.”
Wonder Woman said quickly and anxiously, "Messiah, kid, I don't know why you want to blame everything on yourself, but you are not wrong. You are the most innocent among us."
Her hand unconsciously left the Lasso of Truth and grabbed Messiah's arm tightly, preventing Messiah from leaving.
Wonder Woman's eagerness made her forget her inner cowardice. She cared more about saving others than the fear that she might fall. She had to make Messiah stop blaming himself. How could this be his fault?
It was obvious that the adults who were supposed to take responsibility for everything made mistakes, which led to a child being forced to save the world and take all the responsibility on himself.
Messiah looked at her with a sorrowful look that Wonder Woman couldn't understand and whispered, "No, you don't understand, Wonder Woman."
"If you knew the whole truth, you would think it was my fault."
Messiah suppressed the sadness in his heart, curled his eyes at Wonder Woman, and smiled as he pointed at the hand Wonder Woman placed on his shoulder: "Look, Wonder Woman."
Wonder Woman subconsciously looked in the direction of Messiah's finger.
"You don't need the Lasso of Truth to be yourself." Messiah looked at Wonder Woman, who had unconsciously loosened her grip, gently, his eyes filled with tenderness. "Believe in yourself, and believe in me, Wonder Woman."
"You won't make the same mistake again."
Wonder Woman stared at her hands in a daze, then at the empty Lasso of Truth, and was speechless for a moment.
Messiah gentlemanly gave space to Wonder Woman and turned to leave.
The moment he turned around, the gentle smile that had always been on Messiah's face disappeared, replaced by confusion and loneliness.
"Well, well."
In the regime's base, Batman... no, the Bat Who Laughs looked at the projection on the screen and grinned.
Having a soft heart was the Messiah's greatest weakness.
Sharp laughter echoed in the lead-filled room, and the Laughing Bat laughed unscrupulously, delighted by the plan he had come up with.
“HAHAHAHA——”
【Author’s words】
With hatred, I hate working overtime [cracked]
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