Chapter 279

At the deepest layer of Batman's consciousness, the battle raged on; the black tide summoned by the Laughing Fear had become his own stumbling block, as waterfowl could attack the monster's legs from beneath the sea.

The penguin formed by Cobblepot was not merely limited to pecking with its beak—when it flapped its wings, it churned the water into vortices that closed in on the Laughing Fear; each time these vortices struck, the monster's supporting legs were yanked in one direction, throwing off its balance.

And every time it stumbled, Alberto, hovering midair, would fold his wings and dive straight down, slamming hard into the monster's side—even if it didn't fall, the colossal creature would stagger for long moments.

The blizzard in the battlefield and Gordon's suppressive fire inflicted the greatest damage on the monster; bullets and snowflakes shaped like ice needles rained nonstop upon it, tearing open its flesh and forcing it to expend immense energy just to heal.

Green Lantern Hal primarily played a control role; during his attacks on the monster, he discovered he was powerless against its lower half—the Parallax portion—which seemed encased in a special defense that nullified Green Lantern energy; no matter how hard Hal struck, it remained unmoved.

Though the monster was grotesque, its physique was undeniably advantageous for fending off multiple attackers: its lower body was a multi-legged, centipede-like structure, with a long, massive tail, granting it exceptional stability—even if one leg was injured, it would not easily topple.

Its upper body was humanoid, with two excessively thick arms; each swing forced aerial units to dodge, for even a glancing blow would be devastating.

"The head—that's its weakness," Cobblepot's voice echoed among them; soon Victor's voice followed: "In dreams, we don't need to speak close by—just communicate through thought, like this."

"I agree its weakness is the head—every time we try to close in, it uses its arms to shield that area."

"My goal has always been a headshot!" Gordon crouched on the rooftop of a skyscraper. "But its head is too well protected—I can't find an opening!"

"I'll feint to draw its attention—you find your chance to strike its skull!" Alberto's voice came from above; as he spoke, wind howled and he spiraled rapidly around the monster, forcing the Laughing Fear to constantly turn its head, searching for him.

"Stepping on the Stars"

Cobblepot continued attacking the monster's lower limbs, preventing it from turning, forcing it into frantic defense; Victor seized his chance and condensed a massive ice crystal in midair, hurling it toward the monster's head.

The ice crystal appeared behind the Laughing Fear, forcing it to twist its upper body and raise its arms to shield the back of its skull.

But at that exact moment, Gordon was in position—a missile, absurdly large, shot from its launcher and in an instant reached the Laughing Fear's face, slamming into its tiny head.

With a "BOOM," the monster let out a furious scream; its body trembled violently—clearly, the attack had struck home.

And it wasn't just surface-level damage—it had helped immensely, for within the monster's body, another war raged.

As Schiller had predicted, Parallax, the Laughing Egg, and Batman could never coexist peacefully; the Laughing Egg, native to this consciousness realm, saw Batman as its primary foe. It had lured Parallax in hoping to ally with it against Batman, then escape unharmed.

But Parallax was a chaotic entity—impossible to reason with. In past hosts, it had always been alone; it refused to share territory. Even though the Laughing Egg had let it in, Parallax turned on it instantly, biting into the traitor, seeking to devour the Laughing Egg and claim Batman's consciousness for itself.

Batman would never allow two monsters to wreak havoc within his mind—neither the Laughing Egg nor Parallax was anything but a threat. He wanted no alliance with either; both were his enemies.

The Laughing Egg sought escape, Parallax sought to monopolize Batman's mind, and Batman sought to destroy them both—resulting in a three-way war within the body of the Laughing Fear.

Originally, the Laughing Egg held the upper hand; this malformed, grotesque embryo, though still unhatched, possessed terrifying power—Parallax and Batman could barely hold back its assaults.

But external attacks still turned the tide: a heavy blow struck the Laughing Fear's head—the part controlled by the Laughing Egg—inflicting severe damage.

This was part of Batman's plan: he knew that after the monster's birth, neither Joker would ignore it—they would inevitably try to attack it.

The monster consisted of three parts: the head controlled by the Laughing Egg, the upper body by Batman, and the lower body by Parallax.

Whenever attacks neared the head, Batman would make the monster raise its arms to block them—not to protect the Laughing Egg, but to signal to the outside: the head is the weakness.

Batman believed those outside would understand his hint—and they did. Using a brilliant feint and diversion, they dealt the Laughing Egg a crippling blow.

The head controlled the monster's coordination; damage to it weakened its control over the internal wills. Batman seized the moment to break free. The monster screamed, and yellow scales spread across its upper body as black and bat motifs faded away.

Soon, the Laughing Fear became a Parallax with the Laughing Egg's head—the bat elements vanished entirely from its body, and Batman appeared above Gotham.

He scanned the surroundings; though he'd never seen the man who looked like the green light in a traffic signal, he quickly identified the bizarre figures around him.

Batman did not rush to attack. He landed beside Gordon and asked: "Have you seen the two Jokers?"

"Jokers? What jokers?"

"Who brought you here?"

"Oh, Schiller. Why?"

"Where did he go?"

"He said he had something to attend to."

Batman narrowed his eyes—he guessed Schiller planned something big, but he hadn't anticipated how Schiller would reverse the current situation.

As he pondered this, he suddenly heard a sharp "click" within his own consciousness.

It sounded like a lock turning, or like freight cars coupling—but after the sound, Batman looked to the horizon, where clouds of mist churned like an ocean.

Gray mist surged forward, swallowing the entire city in an instant. Batman recognized it—the ability Schiller had used during the War of Living Hell.

But this mist caused no damage—it was as if it were mere natural fog, arriving silently and departing without a trace.

The gray mist rose and swirled between the city's buildings, as if the whole metropolis had floated into the high-altitude clouds. The Laughing Fear, now without Batman's control, paid no heed to the harmless mist.

But soon, the mist thickened, rising higher—until even the tallest building in the city vanished beneath it.

The Laughing Fear sensed something was wrong. It lunged forward, coiling its centipede-like body around Wayne Tower, then crouched atop its roof.

The gray mist beneath its feet, like a malignant growth, climbed upward—from pale gray to deep gray, then to utter black at the base.

No one knew where the mist came from, but all felt within it an indescribable mystery and danger.

The mist filled the entire consciousness realm, occupying every space—including the sky. Above, a mirage-like shadow flickered faintly.

Batman looked up—it appeared to be a tower reaching to heaven. He studied it from top to bottom and realized it was at least three hundred stories tall.

As the mist thickened, the tower's form solidified—until, in an instant, a towering Babel Tower stood firmly at the center of Gotham.

All attention turned to the colossal tower. As they watched, its peak continued to rise—bricks and tiles stacked, beams and pillars extended upward—and in mere moments, dozens of new floors appeared.

The Laughing Fear, upon seeing the tower, felt a surge of danger through Parallax's instinct. It shot toward the tower—but Batman's voice rang out: "Stop him."

Instantly, birds shrieked, blizzards howled, machine guns roared—but none matched the speed of a single black figure.

Batman's black cape fluttered through the gray mist; he flew without aid, faster even than Green Lantern.

He reached the Laughing Fear and swung his hand—the invisible force knocked the massive creature off its feet; clearly, no one could match Batman's willpower.

The others surged forward, surrounding the monster and forcing it back from the tower. As the battle intensified, the Babel Tower rose higher still, until it pressed against the barrier between deep and surface consciousness.

Undeterred by the barrier's resistance, the tower kept rising, piercing layer after layer of dreams—from deep consciousness to surface consciousness, then piercing through the soul, bursting beyond the flesh—like the terrifying black tide, it crossed the sky, pierced the atmosphere, breached the ordinary universe's barriers, stretching endlessly into the infinite mystery of the cosmos.

At that moment, Schiller's voice echoed through the consciousness realm: "Everyone, prepare…"