Gotham Singularity (22) The Joker
This scene felt like a dream. Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly remembered that she had dreamt of a similar scene a long time ago.
Stepping over the blood that had spread across the ground, the cold moonlight fell on the clown's deep green hair. This time, Fujimaru Ritsuka could see his face clearly: pale skin and glaring lipstick on his lips.
But what was most striking were his crazed green eyes, gleaming in the moonlight. He laughed as he approached Ritsuka, "Hey, let Uncle Joker see what new recruits have arrived at Arkham!"
“I thought I’d be greeted by Little Bat, and I prepared quite a few little surprises for him. But I didn’t expect it to be—” The Joker stared at her, revealing a malicious expression, “…very un-Gothamian.”
"That gives me a new idea."
Amidst the chilling laughter, Fujimaru Ritsuka remained expressionless, scrutinizing the clown and beginning her analysis. When dealing with lunatics caught up in their rage, it's best not to engage; the more you react, the more they'll push their luck.
The clown licked his lips, ignoring Fujimaru Ritsuka's silence, and continued, "What should I do? How should I treat you to get the little bat's maximum attention?"
"Just kill them?"
"Laughing gas? Or... should we let the little bat play the voting game again?"
But soon, just as Ritsuka had learned from the experiences of several lunatics at Chaldea, seeing her calm and unwavering expression, the clown stopped talking, losing interest and remaining where he was.
"Sigh, you're not nearly as funny as the little bat."
"Being considered interesting by you is the real misfortune, isn't it?" Fujimaru Ritsuka retorted.
“Hahahaha, maybe… but then,” the Joker’s tone shifted, a mocking chill in his voice, “you’d be worthless.”
Before she could finish speaking, Fujimaru Ritsuka reacted quickly, immediately raising her hand bearing the Command Seal. But before she could utter the word "Gand," she saw a flash of silver light behind the clown.
Just as she was about to change her target, Holmes's notes about the Joker's misdeeds suddenly came to mind.
She hesitated.
The next second, an arrow pierced the clown's chest, its tip tearing flesh. The clown staggered, his face still bearing the lingering murderous intent.
"Ha, ha, how interesting." The Joker, completely caught off guard, spat out a mouthful of blood and turned his head menacingly. "Gotham...when did it get so many weirdos...you're not welcome here!"
The way he was panting didn't look like a seriously wounded patient who had been shot in the chest.
Not far away, the sound of leather shoes rubbing against the hard ground grew clearer.
Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered her eyes, then raised them again, lowering her hand and looking behind the clown. At the same time, a notification from Chaldea reached her ears: "Holy Grail reaction detected!"
A person slowly emerged from the dark prison. In the moonlight, she loosened her grip on the bowstring, wearing a long black dress, like a nun serving a god.
A pale blue wildflower was tucked across her lapel; its color was as gentle and resilient as her eyes.
“He won’t survive,” the compassionate woman said. Her voice was soft, as light as mist that might dissipate at any moment. “You don’t need to feel guilty; he deserves it.”
“I didn’t stop the arrow, and in that respect, I’m equally guilty,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said without hesitation. “I care more about your health, madam. Is it worth it?”
The arrow was imbued with magic and poison, something no ordinary person could have created. The woman before her made her feel both weak and powerful, and an almost instinctive thought jumped out of her mind.
Mary's soul ultimately could not withstand the power of the Holy Grail; while being devoured by the Grail, she could also use its power.
Just as the bartender had said, she was an excessively gentle child. Mary smiled gently, the bowstring slipping from her hand and turning into specks of light.
She slowly walked over, her gaze suddenly turning icy as she glanced at the clown struggling for survival on the ground.
"Splash."
The dagger slashed the clown's neck.
Blood gushed out and splattered everywhere, but most of the blood that was about to hit Ritsuka was blocked by Mary.
No one had time to stop it. As the arrow flew, two hidden weapons were thrown forward, only to collide with a pipe and fall to the ground.
Batman watched the Joker die. "...You're stopping me, Holmes." He suppressed his anger and almost imperceptible disappointment. "You also think this is justice?"
"Holmes!" Jason Todd, the one who threw the other projectile, exclaimed incredulously, "The Joker was supposed to be part of my plan! He can only die by my hand!"
"Ha ha." Holmes watched the two anxious men, a smile playing on his lips. It was as if he wasn't the one who had just stopped them from saving the Joker.
Seeing that Batman's expression was somewhat chilling, Xu Fu, who was following Batman, quietly moved to Ritsuka's side.
"Gentlemen," Holmes said, "'When the law fails to deliver justice to the parties involved—does private revenge become justified, even noble, from that moment on?'"
Should Batman stop such acts of revenge? Does Jason have the right to stop someone who also harbors hatred from seeking revenge?
Holmes did not provide an answer; the speaker may have meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.
Jason was the first to recover. At least for him, the Joker's death was definitely a cause for celebration.
Before he could even begin to mock Batman, who was in an even worse mood, the Joker's gushing blood from his neck interrupted his words, drawing everyone's attention to himself for the last time.
Jason lowered his eyes, a mix of emotions swirling within him. This inexplicable feeling didn't linger for long before being suppressed. What surfaced next was his concern for Ritsuka's facing death.
Batman: "..."
When the Joker finally died simply, he found himself feeling a sense of relief. Relief that this uncontrollable madman would no longer harm Gotham.
After everything is over, perhaps he can have Wayne Group's lawyers defend her, he thought, looking at Mary who had put down the dagger not far away.
Mary gave the dead clown's body one last look of disgust and muttered, "The second to last."
"...What?" Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked and asked.
Mary then turned around, her eyes crinkling into a gentle smile. "Don't be afraid. You saved my child. I won't hurt you."
“I’m not afraid of this scene, nor am I afraid of you,” Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, took out a candy that Mary recognized from her pocket, and said earnestly, “I believe their mother is a gentle person.”
"..." Mary paused for a moment, then her smile turned bitter. "Yes, they are all good children."
Fujimaru Ritsuka's overly calm reaction triggered Batman's mental health radar, prompting Batman to ask Holmes, "Have you been paying attention to her mental state?"
Holmes looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka, who, who was usually so talkative no matter what the situation, had fallen into an unusual silence.
How could he not care? But even as the most famous consulting detective, he was still helpless in the face of this.
Not just him, but all sorts of geniuses, vengeful demons... who doesn't worry about her? Some even had their singularities created just to give her a break.
What did the doubts, sacrifices, and deaths in the Lostbelts bring to this child who was forced by fate to be labeled a savior?
After a long silence, Holmes, with his hands in his pockets and stroking the cold note inside, slowly said, "Only this question, I don't know."
Jason noticed something and casually asked, "I remember you and Ritsuka should have set off together, but why did you arrive later than us?"
Holmes paused for a moment, then easily changed the subject. But he couldn't help but recall the little incident from earlier.
Just as he was following Fujimaru Ritsuka to the main gate of Arkham, he was stopped by Moriarty's methods.
He knew perfectly well that he shouldn't believe anything that guy said, but he had to admit that Moriarty was very good at manipulating people's desires.
He couldn't refuse that topic, and what he needed to do was incredibly simple—remain silent. And now, he didn't really need to speak; everything was in place.
Today, the Holy Grail will surely be recovered.
So it's not the process, but the conclusion? Holmes wondered. Mary's voice interrupted their conversation, and Jason gave Holmes a deep look, as if trying to see right through him.
But like punching cotton, Holmes's calm and composed expression left him speechless. He could only focus his attention on Mary.
“Little girl, just as you guessed,” Mary said. “I ransacked the entire prison with her… but I hope you won’t make any rash moves now.”
Despite the woman's completely unconvincing tone, Fujimaru Ritsuka's intuition made her stop what she was doing and pull Xu Fu back a step away from Atalanta.
“You are abusing the power of the Holy Grail, and this power comes at a price.” Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned, her voice tinged with worry. “If you stop now, you might still be able to…!”
They're clearly enemies, yet they still care about her life or death? Ugh, I really don't know what to say about this.
Mary paused, gazing at the girl's orange hair, and said almost gently, "Little girl, did you come for the Holy Grail?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded frankly.
“You’ll know the answer soon enough,” Mary smiled, “but before that.” She looked at Batman, who was shrouded in the shadow of the building.
"I have a topic that Mr. Batman is more concerned about: there is still one living person left in this prison."
Batman: "...?!"
Why hadn't he received any information? Who helped her modify the surveillance and compromise Arkham's defenses? Almost instantly, Batman thought of the fox-eyed bartender.
Batman's lips curled down, revealing a sinister aura that could intimidate most criminals. The air seemed to freeze for a moment, filled with Batman's suppressed rage.
Just then, Jason whistled merrily, as if deliberately contradicting Batman, and laughed, saying, "Great, Gotham can have some peace and quiet for a while now."
"Red Hood!" Batman gripped his batarang tightly, his entire body like a pistol with the safety off, barely suppressing his icy rage.
Jason gave a smug smile, his defiant gaze fixed on Batman. "Am I wrong, ma'am?" He turned toward the woman in the black dress, slightly raising his chin. "Perhaps I might have the honor of knowing the survivor's name?"
The woman's arms were crossed and hanging naturally, with a slight smile on her lips, like a picture of the Virgin Mary hanging on the wall, sacred and distant.
"A two-faced man, he once helped my student in a lawsuit."
Of all the sinners, he was the most suitable to be taken hostage.
Atalanta walked out of the prison gate, brandishing the remote control in his hand, and confronted the woman and the others. "I planted explosives on him. We have the control. Let us go, or let him die."
A faint static crackled through the headset. Batman adjusted the headset and heard Tim say in a dry voice that some of the surveillance equipment had been restored to normal operation. He saw Two-Face tied to iron bars with explosives piled up around his waist.
Did they already know they would be discovered and wouldn't be able to leave smoothly while protecting a weak, ordinary person, so they prepared hostages in advance to make them hesitant to act?
Fujimaru Ritsuka frowned; this was a bit of a problem. Even though the man was a criminal, Batman couldn't just ignore a life.
But we finally found the Holy Grail, and we'll be able to correct the singularity soon. If we delay any longer, who knows what kind of unpredictable changes might occur...!
She considered countermeasures in her mind. Even if she used assassins to rescue the hostages, she might still be discovered by Atalanta, the famous female hunter from Greek mythology.
What other methods are there to rescue the hostages without letting them leave?
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Author's Note: * I was actually thinking about giving the Joker more screen time, letting him mess everything up before justice prevails... But just like Voldemort's ordinary death due to the Killing Curse, perhaps such an ordinary death is the most suitable way to die.
* I'll try my best to add an extra chapter if needed [shy emoji], maybe before the National Day holiday ends.
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