Chapter 63 Chapter 63 "First-degree murder." The prosecutor...
"--No!"
A high-pitched scream echoed. But neither the assassin nor Batman spoke. They remained silent, looking at Two-Face; or rather, at the struggling Harvey Dent still within him. On the intact side of his face lay a single, clear eye, struggling to stay open in the torrential rain, rolling back and forth in its socket. His panicked gaze shifted between the assassin and Batman.
"Please, don't," Harvey stammered. "Don't kill me! Kill him! You can kill the other personality inside me and make it disappear! But I—"
In the rain, the assassin and Batman stared at him in silence. It was as if, through this double-faced face, half intact and half charred, they could still see the struggling soul trapped within this criminal's body, the "Knight of Light" who had once joined forces with Batman and Commissioner Gordon to protect Gotham...
What a wonderful time that was.
At that time they were full of hope for the future.
"...Mr. Dent," Elio said. "So you're still there."
But in the face of Harvey's pleading eyes, Batman didn't say anything. The next moment, Two-Face rolled his eyes, and the evil look returned to the burnt half of his face.
"Yes, that weakling is still there," he sneered. "Kill him! He only gets in the way of my business anyway."
Batman wasn't surprised. He was used to the constant switching between Harvey and Two-Face, and had learned to ignore either of them. But he still stood there, each time, silently watching his once-close comrade, or now his mortal enemy.
No one knew who he was looking at. Or perhaps, he was watching with sorrow the two who were now inseparable: a righteous man ascending to heaven, a villain descending into hell, with Gotham being the battlefield they had chosen for their unfortunate deaths.
Two-Face cursed and mocked, claiming he wasn't in the least bit afraid of a young man's threats. Harvey repented and begged, hoping for a chance to break free from his mental illness and Two-Face, to start over. But no matter what he said, the assassin just looked at him quietly, unwavering, but also without any intention of taking action.
Elio didn't speak again until he was tired of scolding and talking.
"Gotham Children's Asylum," he said. "Mr. Dent, do you remember this place?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Two-Face's eyes, "What the hell are you doing?" And after a brief moment of contemplation, the part of Harvey that belonged to him quickly recalled where that place was, and...
"That happened shortly after you took office," Elio said, glancing up at Batman. "Batman discovered and punished those who kidnapped children and instigated crime. Commissioner Gordon collected evidence and arrested them. And you, Mr. Dent, prosecuted them. You found a way to get them punished by law. You found a way to thoroughly investigate Gotham's orphanages and give the children a safe childhood. Even though crime will resurface in a few years, that can't erase the contributions you've made."
"You have made great contributions to this city."
Harvey's eye stared at him silently, while cold raindrops rolled down from it.
"You once held up an umbrella of light for this city," Elio looked at him. "'Gotham Children's Asylum'. You erased the names of the people who were there and changed it to this name. There was no need to commemorate the bastard you threw in jail, you said. You said the people of Gotham would protect themselves. But when they changed the name like that, guess what, they commemorated your protection."
"The protection of the prosecutor who once brought hope to everyone, the Bright Knight of Gotham."
"Even after you became who you are now, it has remained the same. The people of Gotham who have found refuge, justice, and aid from you still remember you, Harvey Dent," Elio told him. "That's how I got my name, too. 'Shelt.' My name was once Ellio Shelt, in the name of refuge."
"I don't remember these things." Two-Face said dryly.
"What you did for this city, Mr. Dent, was to shelter me, an orphan, all these years later," Elio continued. "But it was also what you did, Two-Face, that made me lose my parents and my family, and I'm not the only one."
"What do you want to say?" Harvey asked softly.
This time, the assassin didn't answer immediately. He fell silent, and Batman remained silent. The rain poured down, sluicing down Two-Face's neck. He finally felt a chill. Harvey shivered.
"…I thought about how I should treat you," Elio whispered. "At first, I was furious. I thought only paying with your life would appease my rage and atone for the sins you'd committed over the years. It took me a while to implement my plan, first destroying your business, then luring you out of Arkham; it all went smoothly, but I gradually calmed down."
"I remembered the good things you did."
Batman's gaze slowly turned to the assassin.
"At first, I didn't think I needed to think about this," Elio said. "I have no obligation to sympathize with your difficulties, nor do I have the responsibility to distinguish between good and evil. All I have to do is make you pay back. After all, that's my job."
But he hesitated. Long before he could realize it, he hesitated. Batman realized this before Elio did. As the Dark Knight said, he had so many opportunities to kill Two-Face before Batman arrived, but he never did.
Can the good things a person has done and the evil things he has committed be weighed on the two ends of a scale?
Perhaps the gods would judge. Perhaps the devil would judge. But Elio was neither god nor devil.
He is just an ordinary human being.
"So I don't know what to do," Elio said calmly. "As you can see, I'm just an ordinary person. But I think you should know what to do. Isn't it, Attorney Dent? This is the job you used to be best at and proud of. Think about it, remove all those things related to mental illness, and don't consider the criminal's property. Will he be able to buy his freedom with money -"
The assassin paused meaningfully.
"I think you'll like this case."
Two-Face was startled. He could clearly sense that Harvey was actually trying to "review" the case. The old legal provisions and criminal records were still as clear as stars, flashing before the eyes of this once brilliant prosecutor.
"I... violated the RICO Act..." Harvey chanted. "I illegally possessed weapons and drugs... I committed acts of terrorism, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and more..."
At first, his voice was soft. But as he listed the bloody charges one by one, the former prosecutor's speech gradually became faster, more sophisticated, and more...
It was like going back to the old days when he was standing in court.
There's only one criminal here. One prosecutor.
"First-degree murder," the prosecutor announced.
"You're crazy, Dent!" Two-Face cursed. "What good do you think you'll get from doing this? Even if you—even if you want to sue me, who else would dare to take the case? Do you still think you're that awesome prosecutor?!"
"You're still that upright prosecutor, Mr. Dent! Nothing can stop you from enforcing the law and justice!" Elio raised his voice. "You're still there! Tell me, what kind of sentencing would you recommend for a gang leader who smuggles drugs, disregards human life, and seriously endangers Gotham's social interests and subverts its social order?"
Harvey's lips, pale in the rain, had just moved when Two-Face's sophistry burst out angrily.
"How dare you! Harvey Dent!" Two-Face yelled, "You're mentally ill, didn't you know that?! You're a fucking schizophrenic!"
"Fight him, Mr. Dent," Elio said evenly. "You can defeat him."
"You only have the right to recommend sentencing," Two-Face sneered, "You can't sentence me, prosecutor."
"Can't you?" Elio snapped back. "It's not uncommon for prosecutors to become judges. Can't you make the right decision, Mr. Dent?"
Two-Face glared at him in disbelief, but Harvey glanced down at the blade dripping with rain and smiled softly.
"You're right," he said with a long-lost briskness. "It's truly rare for a prosecutor to switch to criminal duties. Now that I'm both a criminal and a prosecutor, why can't I also be a judge?"
Two-Face objected, "Okay, you're actually holding court on your own! Where's the lawyer? Without a lawyer, this trial is unconstitutional!"
"The defendant is a willing, intelligent, and capable person," Harvey countered calmly. "Besides, it's not uncommon for prosecutors to switch lawyers."
Amidst the Gotham rainstorm, beyond the blasted evidence, a one-man trial commenced. Batman and the assassin witnessed it all, witnessed the criminal's roars, protests, struggles, and contempt of court, and witnessed Gotham's former Knight of Light slowly rise from the shell that had plagued, bound, and burdened him for so long—a light filled with hope and justice that illuminated every corner of his soul. The judge, prosecutor, and criminal tearfully pronounced their own verdict: "Death penalty."
Two-Face finally screamed, "No!"
The roar of engines echoed from the nearby airport. The rain had stopped, and daylight had broken. A sudden gust of wind blew away Batman's cape, sending the assassin's black hair flying in disorder. They watched as Harvey, with his face twisted and crazed, resolutely charged toward the blade already at his neck. The heavy bodies of judge, prosecutor, and criminal collapsed heavily into the mud.
They didn't have time to act. Or perhaps, they respected Harvey's last wish.
He died as Harvey Dent.
A fierce wind swept away the swaying raindrops from the treetops and blades of grass. Amidst the dancing waterdrops and the howling wind, a single soul escaped its heavy bonds and ascended to heaven; neither the assassin nor Batman knew. Only a single leaf, a survivor of the explosion, was torn from the soil by the wind, half charred black, half emerald green, swirling upward.
Batman's eyes followed it silently, looking upwards.
The assassin wiped his hidden blade on his sleeve and squatted down. He closed Harvey's eyes.
"Rest in peace," he whispered.
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The author has this to say: *The RICO Act, also known as the "RICO Act," was originally used to combat traditional criminal gangs like the Mafia. It was later expanded to include white-collar crime, allowing prosecutors to pursue organized crime ringleaders and impose severe sentences (up to 20 years or life in prison). The primary basis for the death penalty here is first-degree murder.
The following are the author's musings (it doesn't matter if you don't read it!):
I've been thinking about this plot for a long time, mainly about how to handle Two-Face. Unlike the last book, when Alott killed the Joker, I had no hesitation, and neither did Alott. After all, I think the Joker is 100% bad. If you're a Joker fan, please don't tell me that (...); and so far, the assassination targets I've assigned Oreo have been mostly big bad guys, the kind that don't require holding back, so Oreo hasn't hesitated much either (even though he knows killing is bad (good kids, don't learn that!)), and Two-Face...
Oh! (Sigh) Gotham’s Bright Knight!!! [Breaking down][Breaking down][Breaking down]
I considered killing him outright. After all, as Oreo said, "I have no obligation to sympathize with your difficulties," and a court of law isn't obligated to listen to the tragic events that led a criminal to commit a crime. If everyone started shouting, "Batman, you didn't protect me," and started retaliating against society, Gotham would be in serious danger... though that's certainly the case in many cases.
I've also considered using magic to erase his memory and his villainous persona, allowing him to return to being "Harvey Dent" and live a clean life. But that would be unfair to the victims he's hurt, killed, and destroyed. And according to DC comics tropes, he'd undoubtedly remember everything and go on a killing spree, which would then cause harm to the ordinary people around him (and it would feel like making dumplings).
I even considered giving him a gun with one bullet, using pirate tactics, and then exiling him to a deserted island. Whether he survives or not is up to fate. You two can just go your own way and stop treating everyone like they're from Gotham.jpg
But after thinking about it, I realized that this is Oreo's dilemma! Oreo himself feels that he should be killed, but he also feels that he was once a good person! (Slamming the table)
So after much deliberation, it finally came down to this: If Harvey Dent had a soul, if this comic book character toyed with by the screenwriters had self-awareness, if this knight of light who once symbolized hope could control his own destiny...
You can consider teaming up with Deadpool to massacre the editorial office.
Honestly, I had a girlfriend, a great job, and even my dreams and work were in sync. What I was doing was very meaningful and fulfilling. I couldn't imagine how cheerful I would be if I lived this kind of life, but DC turned me into this! DC, look at what the hell you're doing [crack][crack][crack]
Enough of the jokes. I hope he dies as Harvey Dent, the prosecutor and the Knight of Light, rather than Two-Face. At least he triumphs over himself before dying. Feel free to discuss the plot with me, but please don't scold me... I'm very, very fragile... [Poor][Poor][Poor]
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