Chapter 45: Ch.44 The Bat

Chapter 45: Ch.44 The Bat

"Talia, my daughter."

Ra's al Ghul watched Talia, who was absentmindedly stirring her tea. Her eyes were clearly unfocused, and although her hands kept moving, her mind was somewhere far away.

"Hm? What is it, Father?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, puzzled. The cold wind from afar was carrying away the last bit of steam from the teacup. If it went on any longer, the tea would freeze.

The fire in the hall blazed brightly, casting their shadows on the wall like dark, monstrous figures.

"What are you thinking about?" Ra's al Ghul turned his head and continued looking at the distant mountains. This place had six months of daylight and six months of night. Nanda Parbat was currently in the depths of the long night.

"Nothing... I was just a bit lost in thought. It's been so cold lately."

Talia found an excuse. There was no way she could say she was thinking about Gotham.

Ra's al Ghul snorted softly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He knew what his daughter was thinking about; even the distant mountains knew. Her little thoughts were like a black dot on the snowy mountain. No matter how small, they were still clearly visible to Ra's al Ghul.

"I've told you before, Gotham must be destroyed. Its very existence is a stain on this world."

Talia lowered her head, adding a bit more hot water to the cup before setting the kettle back on the fire. "Yes, Father."

Ra's al Ghul sat quietly on his cushion, enjoying the aroma of the matcha. He was pleased with Talia's obedience. The reason she could enjoy the immortality of the Lazarus Pit was because he loved hearing the word 'Father,' filled with patriarchal authority.

Her mother had died long ago, so she had only her father. She could only have her father. Even though he had the Lazarus Pit at the time, he had never resurrected that woman, even though she was his wife.

"When Bane brings me what I need, we'll begin our operation. Gotham has swallowed our League members, and I will make it pay in blood."

Although he spoke such words, Ra's al Ghul's expression was calm, as if he were merely wiping a speck of mud from the snow rather than planning to annihilate a city of eight million people.

Even if Gotham were empty, he would still erase that city, which represented filth and ugliness. Only then could he feel at peace.

It had been so many years, and he had drifted further and further from peace. His calm expression was only an imitation of his former self; his heart had always been turbulent waves.

"Yes, Father."

Talia bit her lip and replied softly. She knew that when Ra's al Ghul was in this mad state, no one could stop him. And right now, Batwoman was missing. Even with the League's intelligence network, no one knew where she had gone.

Talia had tried to keep this information from him, knowing that if Batwoman wasn't in Gotham, her father would inevitably target the city. It was always the same. Even knowing it was a trap, Ra's al Ghul would plunge headlong into it.

The League had suffered many losses because of this.

But the situation had deteriorated too quickly. One of the assassins who had been hiding in Gotham had gone missing two days ago. Early this morning, another assassin discovered her body dumped by the roadside, left to be drenched in the rain.

"Of course... not, Father. It's ready. Please, have some."

Talia kneeled up, placed the tea bowl on a wooden tray, and slowly pushed it towards Ra's al Ghul.

Ra's al Ghul nodded in satisfaction, his face showing a rare, gentle smile as he picked up the bowl and took a sip.

"Very good. This Kyoto matcha is quite authentic. Your tea-making skills have improved."

"Thank you for your praise, Father." Talia bowed. She had been raised like this from childhood. Obeying her father was as natural as breathing.

She had been fighting against this instinct all her life, but it seemed there was no hope for her anymore.

"Hahahaha!" Ra's al Ghul threw his head back and laughed. His powerful aura radiated out without restraint, causing the flames to flicker more violently. His laughter echoed among the distant mountains.

It was a laugh of pride, relief, and madness.

"No one can stop me now! Destroy Gotham, and then destroy the world!" He patted Talia's head and lifted her up. "We will build a new world on the corpses of the Amazons and the ruins of this planet! A world that belongs to me!"

But just as he was envisioning his beautiful future, a raspy voice suddenly came from the dark corner of the room, shattering his dream:

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Who's there?!"

Ra's al Ghul immediately drew the sword from his waist, a double-edged blade of Eastern design, his weapon of choice. He was known as one of the greatest swordsmen on Earth, a master of blades and swords.

He had never imagined that anyone would dare sneak into the League of Assassins' headquarters and get this close to him.

The intruder did not answer his question, only took a few steps forward, allowing the flickering firelight to illuminate her form. A black cloak, black suit, black mask. She had wavy black hair cascading over her shoulders, with two pointed ears on her head.

She wore black lipstick, and a golden medallion adorned her neck, engraved with a bat symbol. It was both a piece of jewelry and a voice modulator. Her blue eyes stared at Ra's al Ghul through the mask, expressionless.

Ra's al Ghul frowned, pushed Talia aside, gripped his sword with both hands, and raised his guard.

"How could you possibly find this place?"

Batwoman threw two B

atarangs, hitting the fire pit directly. The projectiles released a strange gray smoke, instantly extinguishing the roaring flames without leaving a trace of smoke, plunging the hall into darkness.

Only her voice, altered by the modulator, echoed from another direction in the darkness.

"Because... I'm Batwoman!"