Chapter 288 Intuition
Little Batman felt his neck tighten, and the invisible pressure made him speechless, and even breathing was a little difficult. He could only stare at the very familiar young man with extreme fear - not only because of his facial features that were quite similar to his mortal enemy, but also because he had seen this face countless times on wanted posters.
Who could tell him why Mr. Nova, the leader of the People's Party, the lingering ghost of the Western District of the Empire, wanted by the Royal Court, the Vatican, and even the royal family, would appear in Percy Brody's student dormitory?!
——He knew that the relationship between these two cousins was not as irreconcilable as it seemed. Little Batman thought bitterly that maybe everything was a play performed by the Brody brothers, a trap set up to fool the nobles of the royal court.
"Brother, kill him." Percy ignored the fact that little Bartman's eyes widened instantly and urged with a dark face, "This guy will definitely go out and spread rumors. Why don't we make a quick decision..."
“Mmmmm—”
You're talking nonsense! Little Batman was so angry that he tried to glare at people. The nobles have always been very flexible. How could they kill people without negotiation or bargaining after capturing prisoners?
But he couldn't utter a word.
His brother, Jolini Bateman, was always secretive about what happened to the Silver Helmet Knight on the day his army was nearly annihilated. However, Tran Bateman could vaguely guess that there must be one or more powerful people around the ghost, and they must be at least a high-level lord.
Now it seems that the beleaguered slave boy who had been rescued by the Cardinal, and the young teaching assistant who had stood quietly behind the theology professor, are actually this mysterious and powerful person - just how long ago did this group of people start planning this?!
The professor glanced expressionlessly at his cousin, who was quite angry and humiliated because he had lost face in front of his brother.
"Are you sure?" he asked calmly, as if he was going to kill little Batman if the other party nodded.
Percy was silent, hesitation crossing his face.
Although he and young Bartman had been at odds for a long time, strictly speaking, there was no deep hatred. At most, they had fought a few fights—well, a lot of fights—with some wins and losses, and some sarcastic bickering between classmates. He looked down on the young master who used his family's influence to show off in school, and the other couldn't stand the fact that he was obviously of low status but still acted pretentiously.
But when Percy really had to kill a peer he had lived with day and night, he still found it difficult to do it for a moment.
"...No, little Bartman is still useful." Percy heard himself say calmly: "I'm sorry, brother, I just said that in anger."
Little Bateman felt his neck loosen, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck and coughing violently. But he quickly managed to calm his breathing, maintaining the elegance and composure of a noble, and straightened his back in front of everyone.
"Long time no see, Mr. Nova." Tran Batman imitated his father and brother in his memory, raised his chin slightly, and tried to maintain the dignity that a Batman should have. "If I remember correctly, the last time we met was at the open class at Baita University?"
"Long time no see." The ghost said slowly, his smoky gray eyes coldly reflecting all his panic trembling: "Is your brother okay?"
Hitting the mark. Little Bartman's fingertips nearly dug into his own palms. He forced his voice to stop trembling: "Thanks to you, my brother has become the new Knight Commander of the Kite Heart Guards."
This was definitely not an easy job. The awkwardness of their status made the royal court begin to doubt Batman's position, and the queen could not trust Batman's "loyalty", making the Batman family a difficult position to accept, and the damned Shrike took advantage of the opportunity to bite off several pieces of their flesh.
The pair of gray eyes that inexplicably frightened little Batman stared at him for a while, until he was sweating and almost shaking. Then the other party lowered his eyes thoughtfully: "It seems that he is really busy and has no time to discipline you."
Tran Batman's pupils suddenly shrank violently.
"What do you want to control?" Percy looked at his sworn enemy with a puzzled look. He remembered his brother's assertion that he had some "habits that are not suitable for nobles to be exposed", and the guy refused to reveal a single word.
- So what is it? Percy imitated his brother and narrowed his eyes. Every time he mentioned it, the other party acted as if his tail had been stepped on.
Unlike Shrike's unruly private life, his love of "pranks," and his erratic temper, little Batman actually had a good reputation in aristocratic circles where extravagance and debauchery were rampant, with kings and dukes leading the way in playing with prostitutes and pedophiles. Percy couldn't imagine what kind of hobbies this guy had, which almost made his stern older brother kill him.
Like men? Having affairs with prostitutes? ...Transvestite?
“…What’s that look in your eyes?!”
Little Batman finally couldn't stand it anymore and growled at his mortal enemy. The guy looked at a pervert as if he was looking at a pervert, and his face was full of wishes to stay away from his brother - he was not a psychopath like Kennett Shrike!
"Nothing." Then little Bateman heard the black-haired young man say nonchalantly, "It's just that Mr. Bateman has a special liking for the restricted section of the library, and has privately participated in some research that the Vatican would never allow."
Little Batman's face turned pale.
Percy was silent for a moment, then slowly frowned, his expression even showing a hint of disappointment: "...That's it?"
Forgive him. Anyone who has experienced two main gods preparing to hunt down their own blood relatives but being killed in return, and being forced to have a god as their "sister-in-law" would be as indifferent to everything as he is. If he suddenly found out that his mortal enemy was actually a pervert who liked to dress up as a dancer, he would probably be even more shocked.
"It's almost certain, and I suspect it's related to the 'Unbelievers.'" As a blasphemous heretic wanted by the Vatican, the professor said calmly, "Mr. Bateman, it seems you and I are on the same page."
More than half a year of intermittent correspondence had helped him screen out suitable candidates and provide funding. One of the important reasons why he went to the St. Bartolomeo Warlock College was to meet in person several scholars who were privately studying the Faithless.
Tran Bateman couldn't help swallowing.
The existence of non-believers was forbidden, and those who studied them in order to seek a different form of resonance were considered heretics by the Church, the Temple, and even all mainstream sorcerers. If discovered, with the instigation of those with ulterior motives, the family might not be able to protect him.
But at this moment, little Batman suddenly realized that the person in front of him was the heretic leader who was famous throughout the entire Ambrose continent.
The heretic leader was observing him with great interest. "Perhaps I could learn which scholars Mr. Baartman is funding, and how far their research has progressed?"
After a long pause, little Bateman said in a hoarse voice, "I have made a soul contract with my brother. I will not touch these things again."
"Really?" the other party asked calmly, and his smoky gray eyes unreservedly dug out the secret he was trying to hide.
"Professor Benjamin, Professor Niekro, Professor Julian..." As little Bateman's terrified eyes grew, the man casually uttered a few names. "As far as I know, soul contracts aren't absolutely unavoidable, and the nobles are masters at exploiting language loopholes."
“…”
"Several professors I know have praised you, saying you've provided many forbidden books free of charge." The black-haired young man stared at him, his lips twitching slightly in a stiff, unformed smile that looked unmistakably malicious. "Excuse me, is this information unique to the Batman family?"
Looking at the guy's shining gray eyes, little Batman felt dizzy and suddenly felt like he had entered a den of thieves.
…
Kennett Shrike had a gloomy face. He had thrown away his followers and had lost interest in teasing the crying and annoying freshman.
Ever since Percy Brody returned to school, his attitude had inexplicably changed. The subtle reverence he once held for him, born of his bloodline, had completely vanished, and he realized he might need to reassess this young Lord Prayer, whose intelligence and abilities didn't match. Furthermore, young Bartman had been acting strangely lately—something was going on behind his back, something he didn't know about, and it gave Shrike a persistent sense of foreboding.
Dusk had already fallen, and the autumn wind rustled through the mountain forests, a gentle mist drifting across the leaf-covered road. Suddenly, Shrike paused, as if he had heard something.
His eyes flickered, and his figure gradually transformed into mist, leaving his original path and stealing silently towards the source of the sound. After passing through several dense bushes, Shrike's pupils suddenly shrank violently - he saw Percy Brody, whom he had been muttering to himself, lying in a miserable state in the mud covered with fallen leaves. His exposed skin was covered with bloody welts. The welts were not deep, but they were densely packed all over his arms and calves, looking extremely terrifying.
"You make me feel like I'm just wasting my time."
A clear, pleasant voice, unlike anything he had ever heard before, suddenly rang out, but Shrike couldn't even tell where it came from. "A Lord's Prayer, yet you're as blind to the effects of spells as a blind man. No wonder you didn't even notice being followed by someone of a lower class than you."
Percy Brody panted heavily, trying for a long time before finally stumbling to his feet. Before he could even catch his breath, he was mocked, his mind racing. This gave the young man the courage to roar angrily into the void, "You, you don't really want to teach me!"
He even felt that this person was just teasing him and trying to take credit for it from his brother.
"Really?" The other party seemed to laugh softly. "If I really wanted to teach you, I would crush your bones one by one and heal them again and again, until you, in the fear of a life worse than death, learn what it means to—"
Kennett Shrike, who was peeking at the side, didn't even have time to react with shock before his vision went dark and he completely lost consciousness. In a trance, he seemed to see a face... that made his breath stop.
Azuka glanced expressionlessly at the familiar-looking figure on the ground, then turned to Percy, whose eyes were wide open, and pulled the corner of his mouth nastily. He added slowly, "The instinct and intuition of a warlock."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
