Inside the Batcave.
The cold light from hundreds of screens flickered, and the mechanical whirring echoed between the rock walls. The sudden appearance of lightning in the underground base truly startled Bruce Wayne.
The burning script of the holy flame was reflected in Bruce's violently shaking pupils. However, after his body briefly entered a state of shock, tensing up in alertness for a few seconds, he calmed down.
The armor on his body was immediately removed by Bruce's self-deactivation, scattering across the floor. He straightened his collar, rolled up his sleeves, and walked toward another sealed chamber.
As the identity verification unlocked, the sealed chamber slowly opened—inside, it still contained a strand of dazzling golden Speed Force. Batman, who never gave up easily, unsealed his backup Speed Force.
He didn't have super speed, but he did possess peak human physical quality. However, even though he immediately used his body to shield the Speed Force and ran toward one of his instruments located in the Batcave,
"Boom! RUMBLE!"
This act clearly failed to prevent a certain kind of special gaze.
It was as if some entity had completely fixed its attention on him. Lightning appeared again out of thin air. At this moment, the entire Batcave's defense system was running at full power.
Energy shields formed visible blue ripples in the air. Even the air was slightly distorted by static electricity. Yet, the lightning still broke through all the protective measures Bruce had activated, striking directly into his arms. All protective measures were torn like paper. The shockwave flung Bruce to the ground.
His back slammed heavily against the control panel.
"Bang~"
The container, of course, shattered into powder again. The stored Speed Force still completely escaped, dissipating into fragmented golden light spots in the air.
"Ugh~"
Struck by the white lightning, even Bruce himself felt a soul-piercing pain, far surpassing any physical injury, causing him, who usually had extreme tolerance for pain, to grunt involuntarily. He flexed his fingers, which were numb from the electric shock, and looked down at the ground with a hoarse, yet firm and determined voice.
"This only increases my curiosity."
Bruce's eyes reflected the familiar script.
[SECOND WARNING]
The writing, still retaining the holy flame, burned on the ground. The edges glowed with an eerie, sacred white light, making it extremely conspicuous. Bruce didn't even show any surprise this time.
He merely stood up and checked his body, which was in pain but unharmed. A third, a fourth, drone air transport, and mechanical tunneling vehicles transporting it underground.
The backup to the backup Speed Force, the backup to the backup to the backup Speed Force... five or six strands of Speed Force were successively attempted to be transported by Bruce in different ways to his machine that could view the past with the help of the Speed Force.
However,
Without exception,
The lightning always appeared immediately, destroying the Speed Force even when it was no longer in his line of sight or even his physical vicinity. And when Bruce returned to the Batcave,
All he saw was a floor full of shattered containers.
Even though Bruce didn't take any further action this time, he still saw white lightning appear out of thin air, carrying unparalleled power and shock. Instantly, the entire Batcave was illuminated as bright as day, followed by a deafening boom echoing in the cave, as if it would collapse the entire cavern.
Three machines that could use the Speed Force were instantly reduced to scrap metal under the lightning's attack. Thick smoke billowed out, and the pungent smell of burning permeated the air.
[THIS IS THE FINAL WARNING!!]
On the ground, the holy flame was burning.
The white flame emitted a warm but not harsh radiance.
As if possessing the power to purify everything.
Initially,
The flames were scattered across the floor of the Batcave like twinkling stars in the night sky. But soon, these points of light began to converge and expand, gradually forming a continuous sea of fire.
The presence in the darkness seemed to be enraged.
"Hmph."
Staring at the scene without expression,
Bruce took out a monitoring device—sure enough, his Speed Force storage bases hidden in five other different locations, as well as six machines capable of utilizing the Speed Force, were all destroyed at the same time.
Concurrently,
As Bruce watched while looking up,
The burning flames did not burn down the entire Batcave. Instead, they quickly regrouped. English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, and even Hindi.
Line after line of holy flame script ascended out of thin air on the spacious floor. The languages used were all different, covering almost all known language types on Earth.
However,
They all conveyed the same message.
[THIS REALLY IS THE ULTIMATE WARNING!]
Clearly,
Bruce's actions might have caused the being in the darkness to have the misconception that Bruce couldn't read English, making this high-level eavesdropper somewhat insecure about Their own English proficiency.
"Heh."
Bruce let out a cold laugh.
He placed the portable briefcase he was holding onto the table and took out a crystal ball shimmering with magical luster, placing it directly into a strangely shaped, eccentric machine.
[Verification passed, calculation core found]
A mechanical female voice echoed in the empty cave.
"Begin simulation."
Bruce had clearly switched strategies.
Relying on his wealth of knowledge and extraordinary intelligence, he prepared to use his miraculous collection and special computer to simulate one day in the life of Superman Clark during that specific period. His fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard, inputting various complex commands. His face, reflected in the blue screen light, was focused and serious.
"Bang~"
The sudden power cut and explosion of the computer was within Bruce's prediction.
Immediately following this,
"Whoosh~"
A sound of wings flapping suddenly reached Bruce's ears.
The sound was particularly abrupt and loud in the silent Batcave. He turned his head without surprise, seeing a figure slowly emerge from the darkness.
This was actually the purpose of Bruce's persistent efforts.
"Bruce Wayne, did you forget how to read? Do you have no end? If you have a mental illness, I suggest you confine yourself to your beloved Arkham."
The figure emerging from the darkness had slightly darker skin and was the visibly more robust Black Angel. The Angel wore a black robe that billowed as if it were a black flame.
It contrasted with the jet-black wings behind Him. The Angel's wings were spread out. Although black, they emitted a divine light, giving off a terrifying sense of oppression that made one afraid to look directly.
"Amenadiel, the Firstborn of God. It seems I found the right direction." Bruce spoke as if he had already done his homework, completely unshaken by the Angel's sudden arrival.
He clearly had anticipated this would happen and even called out the other party's name in a low voice.
"You think you're very clever, don't you? Bruce Wayne, do you think you can be smarter than us?" The Angel Amenadiel poked his own temple hard.
His voice was full of anger and helplessness. "Bruce Wayne, you shouldn't try to pry into things you shouldn't know. It's not good for you or for this world."
Amenadiel walked a few steps forward, positioning Himself in the center of the Batcave. His every step left a burning footprint, and His golden eyes were filled with solemn emotion.
Bruce subtly glanced at the wings behind the Angel.
"I can't sit idly by a latent threat. If there's something I should know, I must find out." Bruce looked directly at the most advanced life form in the world before him.
Completely fearless.
"This is who you are, isn't it? Severe persecution complex, thinking the world can't function or will be destroyed without you? If you were really that smart, you would realize why I'm stopping you."
"Continue your investigation, and you will become an aid in the destruction of this world!"
The Angel Amenadiel's tone carried a stern warning. His wings suddenly spread open. A gust of wind immediately swept through the cave, extinguishing the holy flames remaining on the ground and the damaged machines.
"If it's that important, why don't you kill me to stop me?" Bruce was not frightened. He kept his hands behind his back, secretly pressing a hidden activation button.
At the same time,
The instrument placed in a certain mysterious area slowly lit up.
[Data scan in progress, archiving to established file - Angel.]
[New information being recorded...]
[The path of this scan recording was not detected. Generating assessment information: An Angel will lose God-like omniscience once They leave Heaven.] This mysterious instrument was operating at a frenzy.
Bruce in the Batcave behaved as if nothing had happened.
"Don't ask the obvious."
The Angel Amenadiel stared at the man before Him. "If you weren't somewhat important to us, believe me, your provocation would definitely cost you a heavy price."
His voice was full of helplessness. "Do you think you can control everything? You are merely a mortal. Some powers are forces that you cannot comprehend or control."
"Just as some information is truly not meant for you to know—you think this is just about Superman and his child? Any observation you make of that day will tear at the fabric of our reality." The Angel Amenadiel knew He had to inform Bruce of the severity, otherwise, words alone could not convince this man.
"So, what exactly happened that day, and what does it have to do with Ian Kent's background?" Bruce frowned. He already realized that the matter was more complicated than he had imagined.
"What is it that frightens an Angel so much?"
He was clearly analyzing Amenadiel.
"Damn Bat!"
Amenadiel gritted His teeth, but there was nothing He could do.
"I cannot tell you anything. Do not try to get the answer from Superman either. No one in this world can answer that question for you."
"You only need to remember... if you don't want something to happen that neither of us wants to see, then curb your curiosity." The Angel Amenadiel finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Bruce called out to the Angel. The series of actions he had taken had destroyed many pieces of equipment, including precious trump cards, and it wasn't just to verify the conjectures in his heart.
"How about a trade? You answer one question for me, and I give up searching for the truth of this matter." Bruce's voice was unusually low, carrying a highly rare emotional fluctuation.
The Angel Amenadiel did not turn back.
"I know what you are going to ask, and you know what I will answer—Bruce, Heaven cannot accommodate the King of Gotham. You already know where he will go."
His pace toward the door did not slow down.
"Hmm."
Batman's expression showed no emotional fluctuation. In fact, this was certainly not the worst possible answer. After all, he read another piece of information from the Angel's words—he had asked about two people, but the Angel only gave him one answer.
"Remember, truly do not investigate this further."
The Angel Amenadiel stopped in front of the door. He knew that once Bruce Wayne decided on something, it was difficult to change, so He truly hoped the other party deeply understood the gravity of the matter.
After all,
If Bruce continued, the consequences would be unimaginable. After a brief pause for thought, the Angel Amenadiel finally decided to reveal some information that He could reveal to Batman.
"Bruce, some truths even our Lord chooses to forget." He spoke in a voice that only He and Bruce could hear, turning to look deeply at Bruce one last time.
Immediately after,
"Whoosh~"
There was that sound again.
Accompanied by the sound of wings flapping.
In the blink of an eye,
The door hadn't opened.
But the Angel Amenadiel's figure had already vanished from the mortal realm.
The Batcave returned to silence, with only the whirring of the terminals echoing. Bruce turned to look at the equipment, which had regained power. His fingertips hovered over the keyboard for a long time.
Finally,
He pressed the delete key for the [IAN KENT] file.
One computer after another was shut down.
The Batcave was utterly silent.
The smell of ozone and burnt metal still permeated the air. The debris of equipment shattered by lightning lay scattered on the floor. The shards of glass from the container that had held the Speed Force made a crisp sound beneath Bruce's boots.
"Alfred."
He called softly.
The voice created a faint echo in the empty cave.
"I'm here, Master Bruce."
The old butler's voice immediately came through the communicator.
"Damian's plane..." Bruce said, his gaze still fixed on the black screen. He didn't know what he was contemplating internally. "When will it arrive?"
He was merely asking the question in a normal tone.
"It's already arranged. It will arrive in Gotham in thirty minutes." Alfred replied from the other end. There were passersby in the background, making it sound like he was walking on the street.
Bruce was silent for two seconds.
"I need some free time to think, so I will drive the vehicle to pick him up." He made his arrangement, and after a moment of hesitation, he gave his instructions.
"During this time, I need you to proceed with arranging the withdrawal of the surveillance and recording personnel at the schools of the three Kent sons." Bruce's eyes swept across the ravaged Batcave.
"You're lowering your attention on the Kent family?"
Alfred's voice sounded somewhat surprised.
"No."
Bruce started to change his clothes.
"The opposite, in fact."
He sprayed some cologne on himself, now dressed in a suit.
"I need to intensify my focus on their family, but from now on, the participants and record keepers... will be limited to myself alone." Bruce stated solemnly.
This was a decision made after careful consideration.
The information revealed by the Angel Amenadiel was too shocking.
To be on the safe side,
He decided to put more pressure on his own brain
***
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