The forms of Venom Bat and Grey Mist Shiller were simply too reminiscent of some transcendent cosmic devils.
The gigantic black bat, accompanied by a terrifying dark power, emanated an overwhelming tide of darkness even through a screen. Just a single glance was enough to suffocate people and instill fear as if their necks were being strangled.
As for Shiller, the massive sun rising amidst the gray mist, looking like a gaping black hole that devoured everything, was ominous and bizarre. The odd patterns in the mist further added a solemn, religious ritual-like dignity, making it difficult not to conjure certain associations.
The infinite potential exhibited by the unique symbiotic species made the transformations of these two individuals appear far from whimsical.
The Court of Owls was not wrong in their judgment either. The symbiotic species itself was born from a cosmic sorcerer, and the two currently dueling were among the best of their kind.
Allow Shiller to formally introduce a special online enthusiast to the Court of Owls —
The Oldest in the seventh cosmos, the Cosmic Satan, the Lord of the Abyss, Black-cloaked Emperor, master of the All-black Death Sword, the beheader of the Celestials, adoptive father of Gorr the God Butcher, Thor's godly buddy, Thanos' headachemaker, the ultimate nightmare of the three Cosmic Empires — Nal, the God of Symbiotic Body.
Despite that Nal's lore sounded a bit weak, the demon who forged the All-black Death Sword, indeed held a high-ranking position among the cosmic sorcerers in the Marvel Universe, with a solid track record. His unique descendants may not count as independent cosmic devils, but they are certainly his direct lineage.
Many renowned villains of this age have not fully surfaced, let alone those demons who transcend the Earthly plane. However, the battle between these two was as if they leapfrogged numerous power rank levels, transforming street brawl into a cosmic event.
Could the Court of Owls do anything but skip a beat?
Hence, the topic of the meeting shifted from debating whether to intervene in Gotham to whether to evacuate it.
After all, they were clueless about this change, let alone why Batman — whom they kept under stringent surveillance — morphed so dramatically all of a sudden. They had no idea what the outcome of this fight could be. Would all of Gotham be destroyed? The entire Earth?
Yet, they were sure about one thing. Until they fully grasped why both Batman and the Professor abruptly went from regular surface dwellers to cosmos-level demons, they better not make any drastic moves.
What troubled them more was how abruptly these two transformed. With absolutely no forewarning, the Court of Owls hadn't noticed the city being invaded by any mysterious powers.
If these demons worked in coordination, having already infected many in Gotham, who knew how many more of these people were in the city?
What if their talons struck and exploded one by one, and Gotham suddenly swarmed with cosmic devils, what would the Owls be able to do?
If every Gothamite possessed such combat capabilities, the Owls wouldn't even get the chance to go home and cry while clutching Barbados' leg.
Actually, the reason why Shiller brought Venom to the DC Universe was because he saw in a comic that Venom could replenish the deteriorating skeletal and nervous systems of his host Eddie Brock with his healing factor. He thought that Venom might be able to treat Mr. Freeze's wife in the same way. But before he could make it happen, Venom, acting up on his own, attached itself to Batman.
Batman was not something anything could simply lodge on to. You're from Marvel, an outsider, and you're planning to make a living in our Gotham?
Whilst thinking, Shiller noticed that the offensive from the opponent had weakened. The gray mist circled another building and Shiller, shrinking his figure, stood at the edge of the highest rooftop, looking down.
The black bat made of symbiote substance was flying irregularly, as though it was fighting against itself, under the influence of some invisible force.
In the mind of the black bat, another battle was intensifying.
Wave after wave of darkness flooded over Bruce's consciousness, making it teeter like a lone boat on a stormy sea.
Even Bruce himself never anticipated the terrifying nature of his dark side.
His ally in this fight was the miserable consciousness of Venom, who until now still couldn't figure out how he had managed to kick the hornet's nest, once again.
After barely resisting another wave of darkness, Bruce said to Venom, "Don't you call yourself an alien?!!! Why then is your willpower so fragile?!!!"
It was enough to piss off Venom. Was his willpower weak? Why on earth did humans always have tempestuous minds?!
Surviving at your limits, huh?
Poor Venom felt rather aggrieved. When he first hit the scene, his host was Deadpool.
Deadpool's brain was like scrambled eggs, capable of regenerating anything except his brain.
Being in Deadpool's head felt like swimming in a cesspit—it wasn't particularly dangerous as much as it was nauseating—especially nauseating.