"Hehehe... Oh dear, isn't that the Dawn Deceit Lantern?" A person dressed in tight leather, with a broad grin on his face, immediately noticed 'half a body' on the ground.
He was the Laughing Bat, and those boys were once his Robins, transformed by Barbatos into Robin Hounds filled with bloodthirsty desire.
The Laughing Bat still had feelings for them; he decided to put name tags and leashes on them, keeping them well-fed, and whenever there were remnants to scavenge, he'd unleash them for a feast.
The Laughing Maniac turned around, spreading his arms as if feeling a sense of bliss, hugging himself tightly while dancing madly.
But suddenly, he stopped, reached out a hand to grab his chin, tilting his head, and walked towards the leg that had been gnawed on and left pitted.
"Oh no, Deceit Lantern, how are you? Answer me!"
He picked up the half, cradling it in his chest, and suddenly started crying.
Like a little girl lifting her doll, he raised the remains, pulling them away from his cheek, speaking to the exposed cross-section:
"No, Deceit Lantern, you can't die! Who killed you? Tell me, don't people in movies always reveal their killer before they die?!"
However, it seemed like he used too much force. This half-body, already fragmented, finally came apart.
The Laughing Bat seemed to understand something, trembling slightly: "Is it? So it's this Earth that killed you, hehehehehehe... hehehe... hahaha!!!"
The others who emerged from the passage glanced at each other. A person fully clad in Bat Robot armor spoke quietly to a nearby giant monster: "The Deceit Lantern is clearly still alive, badly injured, but in his eyes, it seems to be dead?"
The giant monster scratched an arm, standing five meters tall, resembling a wall amid the ruins, gray spores falling from above: "Doesn't matter if trash lives or dies."
At this moment, another person wearing Bat Armor woven with chains, face pallid, leaned on a Trident as they exited the wormhole, their face bloated from soaking, draped with seaweed and oysters, like a corpse from a sunken ship: "The Dawn Deceit Lantern is useless; his heart is filled with fear, and for a Lantern Hero, that's the end."
"Looks like the Red Death Demon and Iron Arm are dead too. I'm curious who managed to kill them all in an instant." The Killing Machine began calculating with keen interest, but due to lack of information, he had no answers.
Su Ming, constantly moved by Barry, ensured no critical information leaked, rendering even the Killing Machine unable to deduce who the culprit was.
"I'm more curious about the Laughing Maniac's plan; he doesn't seem to mind the casualties." The new Drowned suddenly plunged the Trident into the road, leaning on it.
"His thoughts are illogical, impossible to calculate." The Killing Machine responded; they were all different versions of Bruce from other worlds, sharing commonalities but not with the Laughing Bat, who resembled his former rival, the Joker.
The three fell silent, watching the Laughing Maniac embrace an ambiguous object, laughing and shouting like a lunatic, and the Nightmare Bats reached a new consensus.
"Oh right, I have something else to do. I'll see you later." The Laughing Bat rummaged through his pockets, finally finding a wilted and very ruined small paper flower.
He casually tossed the flower onto the pile of debris, pretending to wipe tears in an exaggerated manner, as in a stage performance.
"You know we love you. Goodbye." With that, he tugged at the Robins' leashes, glancing around, but clearly, the surroundings didn't satisfy him, so he was the first to return to the wormhole: "Let's go; those guys ran fast."
"If the little pests return, I'll host them well." The Tyrant followed him, entering the teleportation passage.
The Laughing Bat, as if not hearing, quickly returned to the wormhole, where it was a Doomsday scene of lightning and thunder.
This is Gotham, where Barbatos' formidable power used this place as the base to influence the entire cosmos. Under this power and the Owl Court's prolonged preparation, a mountain rose in Gotham City Center, dividing Gotham City in half.
Everyone suddenly knew its name, Challenger Mountain, like it had been poured into their minds from a nightmare.
The mountaintop was wide and flat, large enough for over a dozen football fields, where the stolen Cosmic Tuning Fork was placed, gathering the dark power of the universe as an anchor point, with Barbatos' gigantic body winding around the Tuning Fork like a serpent.
In the darkness, only the occasional purple lightning tore through the sky illuminating his silhouette.
Through the teleportation gate, you could see the halved Dawn Deceit Lantern lying beside, gasping for breath. Barbatos' dark energy kept him alive, but his pale face revealed severe injury and unease.
"Where's my leg? Laughing Maniac, Master can heal me."
He reached out a trembling hand, asking the Laughing Bat for his other half, eyes filled with urgency.
"Hmm?" The Laughing Bat tilted his head, smiling even brighter: "Hehehe, a ring went dark."
"It's just because I'm injured, no strength. Once the Master pieces me together, I can still fight." The Dawn Deceit Lantern felt a chill in his heart, realizing he'd been deemed useless.
"Strange, an illusion?" The Laughing Bat held his chin, looking around as if searching for something: "I just buried the Dawn Deceit Lantern, how am I hearing his voice again? Huh? Am I sick! Hahaha!"
"No! Look at me! What are you planning? I fought for all of us!" The Dawn Deceit Lantern immediately crawled toward him, trying to grab the Laughing Maniac's clothes.
But the Laughing Bat retreated several steps, spinning as if dancing, then really bursting into a tap dance.
"Well, maybe it's just sleep deprivation getting worse here, hehe." He released the chain, sticking out his tongue to lick his teeth: "Rest in peace."
A few Mad Robins immediately let out sharp laughter, pouncing on the Dawn Deceit Lantern with limbs flailing, attacking him.
They were creations of darkness; any dark deeds were justified.
"No!!! The ring! Ring... guh....."
In just seconds, the Dawn Deceit Lantern went silent.
At that moment, the Deceitful Lantern Ring detached from its chewed-off finger, flying into the sky.
"Lantern Hero has died, seeking successor."
The Laughing Maniac merely turned his head to look at the Killing Machine, maintaining his grin: "What are you waiting for? The little bird flew away!"
Among the Dark Knights, the Laughing Maniac was Barbatos' favorite, for he was the darkest and most insane, so he was usually in charge.
The Killing Machine immediately raised its arm, as the once mechanical arm instantly transformed, clanking into a giant cannon muzzle.
A black energy beam cut through the sky, accurately hitting the dull green ring.
"Error..... Ring..... damaged..."
Watching the ring shatter into pieces, falling down the mountain, the Laughing Bat happily trotted back to the two, draping an arm over the Killing Machine and the Drowned, leading them into laughter.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha..."