"Drip!"
A bead of sweat formed at the girl's temple, slid down her cheek, and fell to the ground.
Strong. Far too strong! That overwhelming power and killing intent...
Gripping Golden Eagle's hilt tightly, Angoulême raised her guard to its highest level.
If this unknown powerhouse attacked her, she knew she would have only one chance to escape. Even more frighteningly, she could not find any trace of the other party within the fifty-yard range of her Eagle Eye.
They could unleash such terrifying pressure from more than fifty yards away!?
"Let that girl go! What you're doing is unbecoming of decent citizens. You have... failed this city!"
A deep, authoritative male voice came from high atop a nearby building, rumbling like distant thunder. The proclamation was exactly the same as the one from the famous poem, Prideful Bat and Miss Prejudice.
His appearance instantly drew the attention of the three thugs and Angoulême.
Then a woman's voice came from the other direction.
"You don't need to be afraid, young lady. With great power comes great responsibility! That's why we're here!"
Her voice was cold, yet carried a hint of gentleness. The woman stood directly behind the three thugs, blocking the alley's exit.
The bizarre atmosphere reminded Whoreson Junior's men of the urban legend that had recently resurfaced, and panic immediately broke out among them.
"You goddamn bastard, stop playing tricks and get down here! Don't you know we work for Whoreson Junior? He's one of Novigrad's Big Four!"
"You dare mess with us when Mr. Whoreson has our backs? If you've got the guts, tell us your name!"
The man standing above snapped his fingers, lit an oil lamp, and hung it beside him so that all four people below could clearly see what he looked like.
"Since you've asked so sincerely, we'll be generous enough to tell you.
"To prevent the destruction of the world, to protect the Eternal Fire, to uphold the justice of love and truth, mysterious and captivating knights of darkness.
"Batman!
"Catwoman!
"We are the guardians who roam Novigrad. The Fire, the Eternal Fire watches over us!
"That's right, meow!"
At the very end, Catwoman, standing behind the thugs, even let out an adorable little meow.
She also lit an oil lamp and hung it at the mouth of the alley, allowing the three thugs and Angoulême to clearly behold that pair of weapons of mass distraction.
Angoulême's face turned green as her gaze swept over Catwoman's indecently tight outfit, then rose to Batman's imposing physique, which was every bit as powerful as Victor's.
The genuine article had somehow run headlong into a counterfeit, except the counterfeit had clearly come prepared. No matter how she looked at them, they didn't seem like cheap knockoffs at all. They looked more like the official version!
Compared with the leather outfits Victor had created through Miraculous Alchemy, the crude workmanship of their costumes was obvious to the naked eye. But as imitators, the effort they had put into their makeup and props was absolutely beyond reproach.
Just look!
They had even recreated Catwoman.
Back then, Angoulême had only acted as Catwoman once, after Victor forced her into it, and the identity had never appeared again afterward.
Yet they had managed to copy even that.
They had to be true fans!
And those two people... no!
Those two powerful humanoid creatures did not even exist within Angoulême's Eagle Eye vision.
That meant that, in their eyes, she was merely a neutral object, no different from a stone. Their killing intent was not directed at her.
Realizing this allowed her to relax slightly.
So they really had come here to carry out justice!?
"B-Batman!? Impossible! Batman disappeared ages ago!" The thin, pale-faced man among the three thugs sounded frightened.
The burly man with the huge belly standing beside him instead cursed at the man above.
"You fake bastard, don't think you can fool me! I've seen the real Batman! His cowl and suit were all one piece, not separate like yours!"
Angoulême completely agreed with him.
Sure enough, you could fool some people, but not everyone. There were still people capable of telling the genuine article from a fake.
This guy had probably been one of the criminals Victor had beaten up two years ago.
At the time, since he still had not reconciled with Corion, Victor had insisted on following his no-killing rule. But when dealing with these thugs, he had at least broken their arms and legs.
Apparently, some villains really were beyond rehabilitation.
The three criminals were not idiots either. With a mutual shout and perfect understanding, all three spun around and charged at the woman wearing the indecent outfit.
After all, no matter how they looked at it, Catwoman, who was blocking their escape route, seemed much easier to deal with than Batman.
Only Angoulême knew they were about to have a very bad time!
Her uncle, the White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia, had repeatedly warned her, "I hope I never have to fight one."
"Bang!"
"Ugh, aaagh!"
"Pfft!"
Sure enough, amid their screams, the three men working for Mr. Whoreson were each sent flying by a single kick from Catwoman. Every one of them spat blood as they rolled right back to where they had started.
"You damned Catwoman! What the hell are you doing!? Who told you to hit them that hard? What if you kicked them to death!?"
Batman's authoritative voice thundered with anger. He then leaped down and hurried over to the three thugs to examine their vital signs.
"Uh, my deepest apologies, sir."
Catwoman bowed deeply, her lethal assets practically defying gravity.
"I did try to hold back somewhat."
"Shut up! Who gave you permission to call me sir? Call me Batman!"
"My deepest apologies, Lord Batman. I was careful about how much force I used. They shouldn't have been kicked to death."
Catwoman humbly apologized again.
"Hmm. Serious injuries, but nothing fatal. Then we can begin the punishment!"
Batman clapped his hands in satisfaction, his voice once again becoming deep and gentle.
What followed, however, was so vicious that even Angoulême found it eye-opening.
With incredible care, he smashed every single bone in the three thugs' bodies from their wrists down through their fingers, as well as everything below their ankles, reducing the bones to fragments and ensuring they would never properly heal and would never be able to commit evil again.
Even more violently, at the end he punched each of them in the back of the head.
Based on the knowledge Victor had shared with her, it was questionable whether any of those three would ever be able to speak again for the rest of their lives.
But they wouldn't die!
Batman's no-killing rule had been upheld!
"Th... thank you... Who exactly are you?"
Angoulême could not resist asking.
She knew keeping her mouth shut would be the safest choice right now, but she was simply far too curious.
Judging from the woman's astonishing speed and destructive power, the girl was almost certain she was a bruxa, while the man was a vampire at least as formidable as an ekimmara.
Yet what they were doing had absolutely nothing to do with drinking blood.
Instead, they invoked the holy name of the Eternal Fire while imitating the way she and Victor used violence to punish violence.
Hearing the rescued girl's question, the Dark Knight expertly patted his chest and let out a hearty yet gentle laugh.
"Hahaha! The Eternal Fire watches over us, young lady! Who we are beneath these masks is unimportant. What matters is what we do!"
Angoulême sucked in a sharp breath.
This terrifyingly accurate imitation was on another level. This Batman was unquestionably a fanatical superfan. He had even conducted detailed research into Victor's lines!
"Here! Keep this leaflet with you. Always stay vigilant and make sure you walk the right path!"
After offering that gentle reminder and handing the leaflet to Angoulême, Batman swept his cape dramatically aside.
"Come, Catwoman. The night is still young!"
"Yes, Lord Batman! Our justice has only just begun!"
Angoulême stared blankly as Batman and Catwoman departed.
She felt as though an enormous complaint had lodged itself in her throat, leaving her desperate to spit it out yet completely unable to find the words.
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