The Primary Universe Batman and Arkham Batman were both badly hit by the explosion. Bruce, who had just flown over with the Injustice Batman, was also injured. Of course, the worst was Night Owl. Mephisto's power exploded within him, to put it plainly: his meridians were completely shattered, and he's still unconscious.
Shiller started treating their wounds. The Primary Universe Batman's arm was seriously injured, so he probably wouldn't be able to write or do any strenuous exercise for the next few days. Arkham Batman's ribs were broken, and he would need to lie down for a couple of days too.
The Injustice Batman, having moved slower, was the least injured, but he was blown away and hit the ground, leaving him with plenty of scrapes and bruises. As for Bruce, who flew in on wings, his wings were the most severely injured; most of the feathers on both right wings had fallen off, and they were burnt, making him howl so loudly in the school hospital that the entire main castle could hear it.
Shiller was most impatient about applying medicine to Bruce. Touching his wings, he would flap them rapidly like a startled moth, six times a second, causing feathers to fly chaotically all over the ward.
After the Primary Universe Batman woke up, his gaze remained fixed on Night Owl. Although he wouldn't kill, Shiller could see a slight hint of hope in his eyes for Night Owl to remain asleep forever.
"Some things have clearly caught him off guard," Shiller thought. "Probably the power of the explosion."
Not to mention the injuries of the Primary Universe Batman, just seeing Arkham Batman with broken ribs was enough to imagine how shocking the explosion was. Even if Night Owl couldn't spontaneously combust, obtaining such power made Primary Universe Batman anxious.
Finishing his stare at Night Owl, he then stared at Shiller, likely wondering why Shiller allowed Night Owl to truly wield such powerful strength. But since the Primary Universe Batman didn't ask, Shiller wouldn't voluntarily tell him either.
This time, they were genuinely hurt significantly. Even the Injustice Batman lay in the school hospital for three days, while the others lay for a full week.
Whether it was because Night Owl gained extraordinary power or not, his healing speed was faster than the others, and after about a week, he was already bouncing back, even leaving the hospital sooner than the Primary Universe Batman and Arkham Batman.
After he left, the atmosphere in the ward grew even heavier. The Primary Universe Batman was clearly dissatisfied with this outcome, continuously contemplating his strategy.
Actually, before bringing Shiller into the picture, everything was going according to his plan. He had exerted enormous pressure on Night Owl through various tactics, pushing him to the brink of collapse, and soon, due to the coercive errors, a major disaster would erupt.
Yet, after involving Shiller, although they did delay Night Owl, they also empowered him so significantly that the outcome seemed reversed overnight. This was not what the Primary Universe Batman desired.
He should not have relied on Shiller. More precisely, he shouldn't have relied on this dangerous and crazy doctor. His actions were utterly unpredictable, yet driven intensely. The Primary Universe Batman kept wondering what Shiller aimed to do by giving Night Owl such incredible strength.
Could he really have been swayed by Night Owl's persistent evil, suddenly switching sides to aid him?
Upon closer consideration, it's not impossible. Shiller's behavioral logic can't be gauged through conventional means. He could assist either the Primary Universe Batman or Night Owl, even aiding both sides, and nobody could ascertain his real intentions.
Now's not the time to consider motives. The Primary Universe Batman knew he must quickly devise a solution; otherwise, empowered Night Owl would certainly make them pay dearly. Night Owl had no retreat, nor did he.
Shiller, who sat beside him, could clearly discern that the Primary Universe Batman's mind was somewhat overwhelmed, yet he said nothing, merely writing them a diagnosis and recovery certificate before letting them leave the school hospital.
The Primary Universe Batman had just left the school hospital and reached the eastern corridor bridge when he saw Night Owl.
Night Owl said nothing, merely pointing a finger towards the Primary Universe Batman. Instantly, the Primary Universe Batman felt himself caught by something and was violently tossed to the side, plummeting directly from the high corridor bridge.
This connection was to the second floor of the main castle, but the ground here was lower, roughly equivalent to the height of the third floor. And the third floor of a castle differed from regular residential buildings in that it was much taller. If he just fell down like this, the Primary Universe Batman would either die or be severely injured.
Fortunately, although the Primary Universe Batman was not particularly skilled at flying, he could fly nonetheless. He whipped out a magic wand to cast a spell on himself, suspending him steadily in mid-air. But just as he thought he could fly down smoothly, Night Owl cast another spell. The Primary Universe Batman hurriedly dodged, but his opponent persisted relentlessly, seemingly intent on knocking him out of the air.
Ideally, the heart of the Primary Universe Batman began sinking. The only usable magic power he now had was the one stored in his magic wand, yet because he had been experimenting with magic power compression techniques recently, his wand had little power left. Yet, the energy Night Owl wielded was almost endless; dragging things out, he'd get nothing good from this.
Thinking like this, the Primary Universe Batman decided to not dodge or avoid and took a hit from Night Owl, using the last of his wand's power to fly downward. When he was only a few meters from the ground, he abandoned control and crashed heavily to the ground.
Upon hitting the ground, all his organs trembled, and it seemed his arm might have some fractures. Yet the Primary Universe Batman still got up as quickly as possible.
"You cannot kill me here at the school," the Primary Universe Batman said.
"I wasn't planning to kill you; I only intend to give you a lesson," Night Owl landed gently and said with a smile, "The situation has turned upside down, Bruce."
"Don't call me that." There was not much anger in Primary Universe Batman's tone. He simply didn't want Night Owl to call him that because he didn't want to share the same name as that bastard.
Even though the vast majority of Batmen are called Bruce, only Bruce really considers himself Bruce; the other Batmen all see themselves as Batman.
The Night Owl seemed to misunderstand the meaning. His face darkened, and once again, an energy slammed the Primary Universe Batman away.
"I can't kill you here, but I can ensure you stay in the school hospital. You won't take anything from this universe."
The Primary Universe Batman got back on his feet, genuinely looking a bit battered this time. He had crashed into the courtyard fountain, and it seemed like his ribs were broken.
Fortunately, the class bell rang at this moment. Students began to leave class one after another, and a professor was walking this way. The Night Owl dared not do anything further, only casting a disdainful glance at the Primary Universe Batman before leaving.
The Primary Universe Batman stood in place, watching his back, contemplating how to deal with him.
The Primary Universe Batman visited the school hospital again but clearly stated he wouldn't stay inpatient. Shiller didn't make things difficult for him, just prescribed some medicine and let him go. Then, the Primary Universe Batman headed to the library.
He stayed there all afternoon, seemingly trying to find a way to counter the Night Owl's strength. The Primary Universe Batman read efficiently, quickly finishing all the necessary books, yet still made no progress.
Then the Primary Universe Batman went back to the dormitory to watch short videos, more precisely, to watch the detailed analyses of "Ilvermorny." This time, it wasn't just for understanding the plot but watching frame by frame.
Many analyses mentioned the name Mephisto. Although the first installment's plot hadn't fully unfolded, most critics believed that the powerful Black Magician Saphire was backed by Hell's Master Mephisto.
It's known that Shiller played Saphire, so the demon he summoned that day to fight Lucifer was likely Mephisto. In other words, they're not dealing with the Night Owl but Mephisto, who empowered the Night Owl.
But this information only increased the difficulty without being of any use. Ordinary people couldn't possibly know how to deal with Mephisto, and the online speculation was just a mess, none of it helpful.
The Primary Universe Batman had to seek out various professors to learn about Mephisto. Unfortunately, neither the professor nor the Grand Mage happened to have any Mephisto followers, and no one had engaged deeply with this old devil.
Still, even the information leaked indirectly was enough to make one despair. Mephisto was one of the universe's strongest, and even if you could defeat him, you couldn't eradicate him, for he was backed by an entire Hell Dimension.
The existence of these dimensions mostly concerns cosmic rules. Unless you reach the level of Universe administrators, you can't eliminate them, not even seal them. You block one door, and he can enter through another.
The Primary Universe Batman began to ponder: How could the Supreme Magician allow such a powerful and dangerous presence into the school?
It has been stated before, the Night Owl couldn't contract an outside Demon God; otherwise, it would be complete chaos. It means Mephisto is now within the school. Is the Supreme Magician crazy to let such a dangerous demon run loose in front of students?
The key question is, who exactly is this guy?
The Primary Universe Batman thought long and hard but found no answer, so he resumed watching short videos. Until he saw Shiller in some fan-shot video during the film's release period around Arkham Sanatorium, then the Primary Universe Batman suddenly realized.
This video showed someone active around Arkham Sanatorium who wasn't Shiller. Even with just a distant silhouette, the Primary Universe Batman was certain that was definitely not Shiller.
What he saw next, a film corroborated his suspicion, namely the mockumentary "Shock."
The Director Rodriguez appearing in this film was not Shiller; the one called Sophop was Shiller.
This long film provided enough material for the Primary Universe Batman to make an accurate judgment. He was very sure that the Director Rodriguez in this movie and the Shiller-lookalike seen at the school hospital were the same person — he was Mephisto.
"No wonder he dared to impersonate Shiller; this guy was a devil all along," the Primary Universe Batman thought, "but even if he's now inside the school, what can I do about him?"
Mephisto's appearance here clearly had the Supreme Magician's acquiescence, maybe even all the professors and mages'. This meant leveraging power against him was not an option.
The only other route was collaboration to have him abandon the Night Owl. But Batman didn't want to consort with devils, let alone when this guy clearly had no intent of genuine cooperation. All he wanted was a contract subject obedient to his commands, and the Primary Universe Batman wouldn't fall into that trap.
So how could one possibly defeat this cunning and powerful devil? The Primary Universe Batman was deep in thought.
Just as he exited the school hospital again, walking across the corridor bridge, ready to return to his dormitory, a loud explosion suddenly sounded from the plaza below.
"Boom!!!!!!"