74. Gotham: Everyone Tastes Death
82.
Fifteen seconds ago.
In the dark places of the maze, the court members who were invited to observe the ceremony whispered to each other: "What is this going on?" "Has he gone crazy in just a moment?"
The crowd was confused and bewildered, but more of them were curious - they had paid for the heroic tragic ending, but the actors on stage were crazy second-rate characters.
Amidst the small commotion, the host pressed his hands down to signal them to calm down, his owl mask showing no expression.
"Please don't worry," the voice said with a smile, "we still have important items that have not yet appeared."
Drama connoisseurs fell silent as they reassessed the performance's deserved rating.
But Aria did not give them time to score. The specially invited actor took out a pickaxe that was extremely inconsistent with the overall stage art style and tore the curtain in the next moment.
The upgraded pickaxe slashed at the wall, and the white stone wall collapsed backwards with a loud bang - the cramped space instantly expanded several times. In the air mixed with debris and dust, the farmer showed a simple smile.
She stood amidst the rubble of the collapsed wall, pickaxe in hand, like a construction team leader, hammering down a single blow that equaled half a day's work for the other workers. In the blink of an eye, she destroyed half of Owl's hard work. She turned to Damian and asked, "Is that impressive?"
The sound turned into an echo in the maze, as if someone was really joining in the response.
Damian: ...
His emotions had already been used up when the farmer smashed down a wall. Now, apart from silently raising her danger level again in his heart, Damian had nothing else to say - he even doubted whether Aria would be able to dig him out like a mole digging a burrow if they didn't find a way to crack the maze.
Robin clenched his fists at the thought of having to hide in a hole in the ground covered in dust and not being able to wipe out the Court of Owls - this must not happen!
Damian quickly began brainstorming - the powder collected from the broken wall matched the substance his father extracted from the claws on the analyzer. This was most likely the underground palace where the court stored the claws - no wonder it had not been discovered for so many years. It was difficult for ordinary people to imagine that there was a maze full of doubts further down the deep and complex Gotham sewers, where a group of shady guys had made their nest.
Damian was thinking hard, but the farmer's pickaxe didn't wait for anyone. After knocking down a wall, she turned her arm, walked to the other wall, took a deep breath, and then swung the pickaxe again!
Clang—with a pickaxe blow, the other wall collapsed. The wall, made of unknown material, turned into a piece of broken oats under the farmer's tools, falling down like a collapse, revealing the scenery behind the wall.
The pale, cold owl statue hung its head in solemnity, its large, ferocious eyes fixed on them. It was built to be enormous, almost as tall as two or three adults. On the ground, a chaotic, diverse array of red characters filled the viewer's field of vision, making even a glance at it seem like it was irritating.
“…”
Damian felt that this couldn't be called brute force maze solving anymore; the Court of Owls had given her a blind box to open. If there was still room for maneuver before the wall was torn down, then the farmer was now like entering a game with an extremely rich reward system, unable to stop.
…They had only met a handful of times, but Damian felt as if he had completely mastered the farmer's patterns of behavior.
But knowing that didn't mean he had to watch Aria step into that particularly suspicious circle composed of a series of chaotic words—who knew what mysterious things the Court of Owls was doing. If it was a deliberate psychological suggestion, many religions would use this method to enhance people's sense of awe, so it was naturally nothing to be afraid of.
He had to be careful with things like the Dark Arts. According to his father's database, Superman's damage when out of control was three to five times greater than when he was sober. He didn't want to fight a Minotaur with a dangerous pickaxe in a maze for three hundred rounds—of course, he would definitely be the winner in the end. But it would be a shame if those punches didn't land on the Court of Owls.
"Hey! Be careful!"
The owl statue was so noticeable that even though Damian had been deliberately ignoring it, his gaze still met its for a second when he reminded him. Its pupils spun inwards in circles with an unsettling regularity.
He suppressed his fear and shouted to Aria, "This might be their trap!"
But if it were him, he wouldn't set up the magic trap so conspicuously, as if he was sure that Aria would be attracted to it.
It's just a fountain. Who would find it so appealing? A stroll through the gardens of Wayne Manor reveals fountains embodying both history and art. At most, it's been outshined by the Court... When he returns, he'll immediately have Alfred build a bigger one, themed around the complete destruction of the Court of Owls' conspiracy. It'll feature his father, him, and a group of owl carcasses trampled underfoot—that's what you call a memorable one!
etc!
Damian quickly gathered his thoughts and pinched himself to make sure the pain was still there. It was easy to lose the sense of order in a maze, and over time it became difficult to distinguish whether the thoughts in one's mind were one's own or delusions caused by some hallucinogenic drug that might be in the air.
In order to distinguish between reality and virtuality, Damian Wayne inevitably has to seek anchors from his companions.
However... his temporary ally took advantage of his momentary distraction to enter the circle of overlapping red letters and stood by the fountain that looked stupid at first glance. He even took out a fishing rod from somewhere and tried to fish in the fountain pool that was so clear that he could see the bottom at a glance. Before, Damian was not sure whether the water of this strange fountain had been added, but now it seemed that something had been added.
Given Aria's rather strange behavior, Damian had reason to suspect that she had even drunk a large handful.
We were just temporary teammates before, but now we probably have to enter a level one alert state.
Damian put his hand on his weapon and approached cautiously, ready to use some force to help Aria sweep away the hallucination and return to herself, but he saw her take a half-step back and actually catch something from the fountain pool with a fishing rod.
"What..." He had witnessed the powerful effect of magic in the Assassin's League, and also faced the destruction and madness it brought.
But even the Lazarus Pool, the most cherished of the League, had to follow certain rules—even the transfiguration techniques in some children's books had to strictly follow Gamp's basic laws of transformation and couldn't be created from nothing. The scene before him was still too horrifying for him.
Damian cautiously stayed outside the circle and picked up a stone from the ground and shook it. "What do you see?"
"Can't you see?" the farmer held up the ridiculous trash can, his eyes shining like a wolf that had found food in the wilderness. "It has hand-carved patterns and its shell shines with the luster of platinum. All garbage can find dignity in its embrace..."
"Decoration trash can!"
"A decoration?" After confirming that the other person saw the same thing as him, Damian chose the latter, wondering if he had gone mad or if the world had gone mad. "So, it's just a trash can with no other purpose besides display?"
"You can also use it to decorate your home," Aria said, complaining about the decorative trash can. "Once I find the trash catalog, I can give this trash a home."
Okay, Damian said to himself, he understood what was going on now, this was a mass hysteria between the two of them. His symptoms were milder, but the farmer... the farmer was beyond help.
Being more patient with victims of dementia, Damian took a deep breath to suppress his irritation. He imitated what his father would do in such a situation: "You know the most urgent thing is to find... right?" Since there was a high possibility that someone was eavesdropping, he deliberately made his goal vague.
"Of course!" Aria put her hands on her hips. Her smile always looked like she was holding a bunch of sunflowers. "I know what's most important, and I believe you will remind me too!"
Damian knew there was going to be a twist after this. After his father had dug out those bizarre parenting books and read them again, his conversations with him would sometimes be rather stiff, following the pattern of detailed praise, suggestions, and expectations. While the results were minimal, there were some benefits. For example, Damian Wayne could now guess where Aria's next words would lead. "But?"
"But I want to cast one more time."
That's a fountain. Which player who has never caught a trash can can resist the urge to cast a rod when passing by a fountain - at least she can't.
Damian's image as a reliable adult completely collapsed. Facing the super excited Aria, Damian felt like he was negotiating with a minotaur monster: "No."
"We have to get out early, otherwise Batman will find us missing." The positioning transmitter can only track the place where they fell, and there is no signal in the maze. From Batman's perspective, it is very likely that Robin and the farmer got into big trouble and then disappeared quietly.
As much as he hated to admit it, he had made promises to his father—promises to prioritize his own physical and mental safety during any mission; promises to listen to him; and promises to do his ridiculously simple homework.
If the plan fails and his father finds out that he's skipping classes and secretly using the identity of Robin, then these three promises will be overturned one after another like dominoes.
"We have Robin here."
"Cough." Damian coughed. At least the hallucination was quite logical and still within the controllable range.
He also wanted to see what else the two of them could come up with from their imaginations—there was nothing more bizarre than a trash can, right? "Just once, and then we'll leave."
After agreeing with Robin, the farmer switched positions and cast his float again. However, he had little hope of catching anything new—aside from the trash can, the fountain was mostly filled with trash, wood, or stones. Aria even thought that if she were ever trapped in the fountain, she could fish out ninety-nine stones to form a ladder and escape.
But there has been no chance of realization.
As soon as she thought about it, the float swayed, and the farmer pulled the rod on time, and a secret note jumped into her hand.
Ah, seeing this made her no longer sleepy. Aria quickly opened the secret note, and the crooked words that seemed crooked to outsiders became readable under the magnifying glass.
It turned out to be an IOU.
[Today, I borrowed a pearl necklace from Martha Wayne to preserve the invisible memories and lost vows.
This necklace must be returned at the right time, or it will become an echo deep underground.
Borrower: Sewer
Date: September 10:48 PM]
…
Aria lowered her eyelashes.
The farmer is willing to complete this task.
However, the sewer is so big, it would be better if I could find some help...
Aria cast a fiery gaze at Robin, and just when Damian thought she had lost her mind again, she walked towards him with empty hands.
After reading the secret note, it was saved in the farmer's game file, but repeating it was completely fine. She believed that Robin would not refuse with his good qualities of being tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
The note disappeared in the farmer's hands, further confirming Damian's speculation about the fountain's hallucinogenic components.
He stepped back and held up a few fingers, assessing Aria's current mental state. "What's this?"
"Of course it's four--er!"
!
Before he could finish his words, the farmer fell to the ground.
The red graffiti on the ground, which the two had classified as psychological suggestion, emitted an eerie and bright luster. An invisible force tripped Aria fiercely, and then an even tighter invisible net compressed her, squeezing her bones and making them creak.
As the drama neared its climax, the court members who had been watching from the shadows could no longer contain themselves. Using tools, they descended from the secret passageway beneath the dense, black sky. Like ancient Roman nobles heading to the Colosseum to watch slave duels, they waved their flags and shouted for the blood and sweat that was about to splatter across the arena: "Let us see their bones!"
They shouted, "Let the undead monster also taste the feeling of bleeding to death!"
"Hold my hand!" Damian gritted his teeth, holding his sword at his side and reaching for her with his other hand. The woman on the ground shook her head, motioning for him to look up, and with difficulty, gave a number: "Three, thirty-five."
Four or five sharp claws fell on the head of the owl sculpture in the almost daylight, like dust falling on fresh snow.
"What forty-five?!" Robin drew his sword and blocked her way. The current situation did not allow him to drag Aria out of the magic circle, but at least he could prevent those attacks from falling on her and at least delay a little time.
Damian was forced to look up at them from a great height, but he was never above his words. Facing the court members surrounding the room from above, the boy booed as loudly as he could: "Owls? I think you're vultures—"
He even laughed a few times, mockingly saying, "After all, you only know how to eat other people's leftovers. You don't even have the courage to eat a bite of fresh food yourself."
The crowd was whispering, and the leader of the court waved his hand. Three or four obviously more elite claws jumped down from the statue and rushed towards him with blade wind!
Sparks flew from the clash of blades, and Damian felt like he was back in the League of Assassins. He had just completed sword training under a master, and to demonstrate his skills, his mother had called in four or five of the master's disciples to fight him.
What did he say then? Oh, I remember now. His first words were: "Mom, this isn't fair."
But Talia said, "Do not wait for the mercy of the sword."
All men shall taste death.* All men shall taste death, unless your sword is sharper than death, unless you have dipped in the pool of Lazarus, which deceives death.
And he will show no mercy to his enemies.
…
It was one of the rare times when Aria felt completely comfortable playing a game, but this was an exception.
From the moment she fell, all kinds of debuffs were applied to her like they were free: dizziness, bad luck, burns, darkness, etc. I don’t know where the court got such powerful things from. If she was unlucky, it could really cost her life - if this place was not in the sewer.
The icon of the little black licorice candy shook wildly following these negative labels, as if it was very worried about Aria getting hurt. Soon, a digital countdown was added to the icon.
Aria certainly remembered what this meant:
Krobus's Blessing: When the player is in the 'Specific Location: Sewers', attack power and health are increased by 5%, eliminating negative effects.
You like Krobus, and Krobus likes you.
Krobus was the first good friend she made in Stardew Valley in her first class, and a good friend she would never forget even if she went through hundreds of maps.
The vibrant red of the countdown was completely different from the red that hurt her. It was as warm as a fireplace in winter... forty-five, thirty-four... twenty.
In tune with her heartbeat.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Amid the exclamations of the court members, Aria broke free from the strange magic circle - it seemed like just a few blinks of an eye to these people.
But the next moment, she appeared in front of the wall where they were standing. The pickaxe clanged four times, and the spectators invited by the court fell from the wall like scattered popcorn and landed in the Colosseum.
Landing in front of her and Damian.
————————
* In "Batman and Robin", the father and son made three rules, but Damien violated the copyright
*From the Koran or something, anyway, it's a sentence that will be engraved on the tombstone over there
*There is a chance to fish out a decorative trash can in the fountain
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