"Of course, you can also call him—The Batman Who Laughs!"
The moment those words fell, the wooden coffin, tightly bound by countless chains radiating an ominous green light, began to shake violently.
The strange metal making up the chains let out an overwhelmed groan.
Fine cracks spread madly across their surfaces.
Finally.
"Bang—!!!"
A massive explosion echoed.
All the chains snapped simultaneously, shattering into countless metal fragments wreathed in green flames that shot out in every direction.
The heavy coffin lid was blown away by a tremendous force, spinning hundreds of meters into the air before disappearing into the pitch-black night.
A gaunt figure slowly sat up from the gaping coffin.
He wore a tattered, ruined Batsuit.
On his face was a grotesque, twisted metal visor with sharp metal spikes extending from it. The only visible feature on his entire face was a hideous smile stretching from ear to ear.
He didn't make a single sound, yet deep within the minds of everyone present, an incomparably maddening and chaotic laughter erupted simultaneously.
"Ahahahahahahahaha—!!!"
This laughter defied description. It sounded like the final, dying wails of countless universes, or the shrieks of billions of souls being torn apart as they plummeted into the deepest layers of hell.
An invisible mental shockwave centered on that figure instantly swept across the entire estate.
Bearing the brunt of it were Alex, Clear, and Terry—the survivors whose minds were already on the verge of collapse.
The terror and despair froze on their faces as the corners of their mouths began to curl upward uncontrollably, forming the exact same agonizing, crazed smile as the figure.
"Heh... hehe..."
"Haha... hahahaha..."
They laughed, yet tears of fear and despair streamed from the corners of their eyes.
Their bodies twitched uncontrollably as their minds were polluted, torn apart, and assimilated by that pure madness.
Tomie and Miko also felt an unprecedented, immense pressure.
Tomie's exquisitely beautiful face began to writhe uncontrollably. Beneath her skin, it was as if something had come alive, and fine fleshy sprouts even began to push their way out of her pores.
Even with Miko's [Eyes of Truth] tightly shut, two trails of bright red blood seeped from the corners of her eyes once again.
Only two beings were anomalies within this domain of madness.
Bart and Megan not only felt no discomfort, but they actually found this aura full of chaos and malice to be incredibly familiar and endearing.
The two little ones exchanged a glance, then cracked their mouths open and joined in with bizarre cackles.
...
Meanwhile.
Inside a secret underground base in North America.
Piercing alarms blared as a technician pointed at the off-the-charts readings on the screen, trembling incessantly.
"Commander... the energy index... the energy index is immeasurable!"
"Could... could this mean... an Old God has awakened early?"
...
Back at the estate, The Batman Who Laughs slowly stood up.
He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of dragging the entire world into madness.
He spread his arms, ready to embrace this New World that he was about to completely transform into a living hell.
Right at that moment.
A figure silently appeared behind him.
At some point, an Infinity Brick had appeared in Yang Yi's hand.
He raised the brick high and smashed it down onto the defenseless back of The Batman Who Laughs' head.
"Thwack!"
A heavy thud echoed across the scene.
The mental shockwave capable of polluting the entire universe came to an abrupt halt, and the crazed smile on The Batman Who Laughs' face froze.
He seemed somewhat in disbelief and tried to turn his head.
However, he wouldn't get the chance.
Before The Batman Who Laughs could react, Yang Yi closed the distance.
His arm muscles instantly bulged as he locked onto The Batman Who Laughs' gaunt neck from behind, dragging him to the ground in a rear naked choke.
"Grah—!!!"
The Batman Who Laughs let out a hoarse roar, his body struggling madly.
Unimaginably terrifying power erupted from him. The surrounding space began to twist and fracture from his struggles, taking on the texture of glass on the verge of shattering.
But he could not break free from Yang Yi's seemingly simple rear naked choke.
"Still thrashing around, huh."
The next second, countless faintly glowing, colorful blocks appeared out of thin air, centering on the two of them.
Like living building blocks, they pieced themselves together.
Ultimately, they completely encased both Yang Yi and The Batman Who Laughs, forming a massive, smooth, colorful cube that hovered silently in midair.
The moment the cube formed, all the eerie phenomena vanished.
Whether it was The Batman Who Laughs' maddening aura or the presence of Yang Yi, everything was isolated by the Infinity Blocks.
That terrifying monster capable of easily destroying the multiverse had been banished and sealed away alongside Yang Yi.
The entire world returned to silence once more.
"Master!"
Miko let out a tearful cry, unable to believe what had just happened before her eyes.
To seal that monster, Yang Yi had actually sacrificed himself in the process.
Tomie's face also turned deathly pale. For the first time, panic flickered in those eyes that always carried charm and malice.
A massive amount of malicious energy spilled uncontrollably from her body, as if wanting to tear everything in sight to shreds.
Bart and Megan were also stunned.
They stared blankly at the colorful cube floating in midair, unable to accept this sudden ending for a moment.
The man who was just slaughtering everything in his path like a savior was just... gone?
Then who was going to take them home?
Just as Miko was overwhelmed with grief and Tomie was on the verge of going completely berserk.
The smooth surface of the cube suddenly rippled, like a stone tossed into a calm lake.
Then, under everyone's shocked gazes.
Yang Yi's body slowly "grew" out from the smooth surface of the cube, eventually standing completely unharmed at its top.
"Master!"
"Yang Yi!"
Miko and Tomie cried out at the same time.
The despair and rage from a second ago completely dissolved into joy.
Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, Miko threw herself directly into Yang Yi's arms and burst into loud sobs.
Though Tomie didn't move, the light in her eyes returned, and the corners of her mouth—which usually wore a fake smile—now uncontrollably revealed a genuine one.
Yang Yi gently patted Miko's back to comfort her.
Then, he casually beckoned toward the Infinity Block cube.
The massive cube began to shrink at a visible rate.
Eventually, it turned into a palm-sized Rubik's Cube that constantly shifted colors, landing lightly in his hand.
He then tossed it into his backpack.