Chapter 69: Echoes of the Demon
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"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
- Rhett Butler, (Gone with the Wind)
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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>
"Seriously, how long is this tunnel? I have passed through three mini-sized Lazarus pits already. Did he store every Lazarus pit he ever found in his life in here?" I wondered aloud as I calmly walked through the dark tunnel, descending deeper into the monastery's massive underground chamber.Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.comn it, I should have brought my bat tool. Not only it would have been extremely useful, but using its plasma blade function and pretending like it is a red lightsaber in the dark would have been pretty cool. I am sure that if done well, even Ra's Al Ghul would feel literal chills after seeing me emerge from the dark with a red lightsaber, provided that he hasn't seen the movie yet. Well, next time I guess.'
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang* A sharp metallic sound suddenly began to echo from the darkness, like a metal banging against another metal, painting the eerie atmosphere even more ominous.
"So, it seems that you were waiting for me. Surprised that I came alone without Ubu?" I asked as I saw the silhouette of Ra's Al Ghul calmly standing in the dark with a pair of strange curved swords in his hands.
"No, I knew Ubu wouldn't be able to defeat you. If he was that good, I would have made him my successor, not you. He was only good enough to slightly delay you and serve as a small test to prepare you for what is to come now, but he even failed to do that, I assume. I guess he was more useless than I thought he was." He said without much change in his otherwise impassive expression while looking at my seemingly unhurt self.
"Well, yeah, guess what? I am not that easy to beat up, not even by my potential father-in-law." I joked back as I subtly glanced at our surroundings.
It was dark but with my enhanced sight, I could easily see through the darkness. The entire... underground chamber was an artificial cave with creepy symbols and figures painted all over the walls. The Demon's Head himself was standing in front of the biggest Lazarus pit I had seen till now, one that was almost half the size of an Olympic-sized pool. It was goddamn big. Even the ceiling was shaped weirdly like a big dome just above the center of the pit.
"You like bathing in fresh green chemicals, don't you?" I joked.
*CLINK* A loud shrill noise echoed all over the cave as Ra's Al Ghul struck his swords against each other at a particular angle, immediately lighting up the torch fixed beside him with the sparks generated from the sharp blades hitting each other.
"No, but I will soon. After all, the next bath in there is going to be life-changing... for both of us. And as for my daughters, I never really cared about them. They don't understand the greater good, they don't understand my true purpose and the responsibility that someone in my position has to bear. So, you courting them changes nothing for me. However, that also changes nothing for you because Bruce Wayne won't be leaving this place today, at least not alive." Ra's Al Ghul smiled menacingly.
"You have too many aspirations Ra's Al Ghul, just be careful not to choke on them. Anyway, now can we finally start, if you are done with all your theatrics that is? I am getting bored of having these heartfelt conversations with everyone every time I fight today."
Ra's Al Ghul wasn't a noob in swordfighting. He knew what I was doing but for some strange reason, he didn't bother to keep his eyes fixed on me. Instead, he appeared bored and overly confident, like he knew what was going to happen.
However, that didn't discourage me. So, when I had gathered enough momentum, I finally began attacking, striking him from multiple directions all around him. I was also using my own 'transparent world' ability to locate his weakest points and only attacking them along with his vital organs. But somehow, he was able to stop each and every one of them with calm movements of his swords, like he wasn't even trying. His eyes even though weren't actively following me, still always seemed to find me at the last possible moment whenever I was about to land the attack.
"This is hopeless Bruce, you can't hit me. Just accept that fact. You see, the Lazarus pit doesn't only just increase one's lifespan and bring them from the dead but when paired with certain other compounds can also have interesting magical effects. One such compound is something called Electrum. It is extremely rare but I found a group of people who deal with it. Quite coincidentally, they are from Gotham as well.
Anyways, you see when the water from the Lazarus pit is combined with Electrum in a specific proportion, it can give one almost godly magical abilities. A superhuman physique is just one of them, The other of course is the ability to predict the future. My mind is working at such an unimaginable speed that I see everything happening without it even happening yet. The moment you lift the blade, I know where you are gonna strike it. I know your technique even before you initiate it. Right now, I am God himself. Even death cannot touch me." Ra's Al Ghul exclaimed confidently as he blocked another attack of my sword.
'These types of shitty situations are when I realize how messed up the DC multiverse is. A planet-bursting alien can be driven mad by a guy in a Joker costume and a centuries-old assassin can suddenly develop future predicting powers just so that the playing field can level up.' I thought as I stopped my useless attacks and backed a few steps away from the smiling old man.
"All that strength in my muscles, yet I can't even figure out a way to get close to you and punch your head in without your swords tearing me up. Two immortal swords and I can't even land a single blow to permanently end you. Looks like I am at a real disadvantage," I laughed bitterly as I tore up a bit of my shirt and slowly bandaged it around the wound on my thigh while Ra's just observed me silently with a small frown.
'In fact, every Batman and Bruce Wayne around the multiverse is almost always at a disadvantage. But the thing is, they know how to turn that into their advantage, they are always prepared for almost anything and they ALWAYS find a way out..., just like I am about to.' I thought with a confident smirk as I unsummoned one of the All-blades while inserting my hand into one of my pockets and felt the thing that I needed at that moment.
"You talked about death to not even be able to touch you, right? It seems you have grown quite confident after cheating death for so many centuries. I think you have forgotten the fear of true death. But, don't worry, I'll help you remember it. So..., let's have a fucking fight to the death."
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(A/N: All the names of the forms of his breathing style will be mentioned only once, so if you see the name of an attack, then it's only mentioned because he hasn't used it before. Also, the reason why Ra's Al Ghul doesn't normally use Electrum with his Lazarus pit cocktail and possess powers all the time will be explained in the next chapter.)
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/God_Doom