Beatrix stood by the window, watching from across the street as Batman's cape fluttered on the rooftop. For a moment, it all felt unreal.
At this point, there were no more doubts.
Somehow, every hero character he controlled in the game could manifest in the real world.
These famous superheroes could act as his agents, his clones—doing what he couldn't.
For now, only Batman was available, but new heroes would be unlockable later—Spider-Man, Iron Man, Superman, Doctor Strange, Green Lantern, and more.
And then, Beatrix had another realization.
It was best not to let these heroes wander too close to where he lived.
In both Marvel and DC comics, there were always recurring situations—
Like Spider-Man constantly appearing near his school, causing everyone to suspect the hero was one of the students or teachers.
Or Superman, whose flight paths were so easily tracked by the media that people jokingly mapped out his daily commute—and discovered he was always flying near the Daily Planet.
Having grown up on these stories, Beatrix understood the risk.
So, he kept Batman operating at a distance from his home.
He worried that some superfan might track the heroes' patterns, draw a radius around frequent sightings, and… discover where he lived.
As long as he stayed hidden, operating from the shadows, the heroes he summoned would become his fists—his foundation for building a life in this strange new world.
Maybe he'd become the mastermind behind a shadowy superhero organization…
The thought made him smile.
He sat back at the computer, had Batman turn away, and disappear into the night.
---
Yesterday, the game had felt like pure freedom.
Today, it felt too free.
There were no instructions. No main quest. No objective.
Even the mission from yesterday—the Klein Corporation operation—hadn't actually been a formal "mission."
There was no quest description, no rewards listed.
Just a bat symbol on the rooftop, hinting that something was happening.
But Beatrix thought—what if he had ignored it?
What if he'd just had Batman wander through the city instead?
It felt like he was playing a Batman simulator.
No scripts. No linear path. He could go anywhere, do anything.
The story?
Completely driven by him.
---
Just as he was wondering what he should be doing next, a small exclamation mark suddenly popped up on the screen—
Like a GPS beacon.
A new route had been updated, not far from Batman's current location.
---
Meanwhile, in a different part of the city…
Today was absolutely Jinte's worst day.
Her alarm didn't go off.
She overslept.
She had to ride her tiny electric bike like a comet just to make it to work.
She skipped breakfast—and still arrived five minutes late.
Then she ran into her manager in the elevator.
He didn't say much—just yelled.
She'd forgotten important documents from last night.
At the morning meeting, the manager practically demanded her household registration book.
After work, she had plans to unwind with her two best friends.
But her bad luck continued—
She tripped while walking, chipped a tooth drinking cold water, and even took a wrong turn down a sketchy street.
That's where she ran into trouble.
A group of shady-looking men blocked her path, making crude comments.
She ignored them and tried to walk faster—but one of them suddenly grabbed her.
"Don't be ungrateful."
"Let go," Jinte snapped, trying to hit his hand away.
But the man, spiked hair and masked face, punched her hard in the face.
The impact left her seeing stars.
"What? You've got a face to act all high and mighty?" he sneered.
---
Passersby stopped, surprised by the scene.
But no one stepped forward.
Someone pulled out their phone to call the police—but one of the thugs smashed it to pieces on the pavement.
"Oh? You wanna call someone?" sneered a blond thug, slapping the phone's owner across the face.
Jinte lay on the ground, her cheek swelling, head ringing like a swarm of flies buzzing inside her skull.
She tried to sit up—
But was slammed back down.
The smell of alcohol filled the air.
The men circled her like vultures.
The ringleader shouted something, but she couldn't hear it through the tinnitus.
All she could do was curl up, protect her body, and pray that this was all just a nightmare.
She imagined waking up, safe in her warm bed, realizing none of this had happened.
---
The spiked-hair thug raised his fist again—
But then—
The lights went out.
Not just the streetlights.
All lights.
Buildings, signs, billboards—everything went dark, like a hand had pulled the world into shadow.
Everyone froze in confusion.
"What the hell?!" the thug muttered.
Then—
Click. Thud.
A round object arced through the air and landed near the group.
PSSHH!
A faint pop—
Smoke filled the street.
And then, from the sky, a figure with black wings descended like a demon.
---
The thug couldn't see clearly.
Just a shadow, then—
CRACK!!!
His nose exploded in pain.
He screamed.
Sobriety hit instantly.
"Boss!" someone cried.
They lunged through the smoke, but a sudden force grabbed one thug's arm—
SNAP.
The pain nearly made him black out.
The smoke and darkness blinded everyone.
All they could hear were the screams of their friends—
A symphony of panic.
The leader finally recovered, clutching his bleeding nose—
Only to look up and freeze.
He wasn't afraid of pain.
He wasn't afraid of death.
He had nothing to lose—he'd lived through beatings and brawls.
But this…
This was fear.
Through the smoke, he saw a terrifying figure—
A monster with massive black wings, fangs, claws—
A nightmare given form.
It charged at him—
He couldn't move.
He couldn't even scream.
WHAM!!!
A fist smashed his face—
Blood and teeth flew.
Another punch broke his ribs.
The pain nearly made him black out.
Then—
A final blow that crushed his will.
He flew across the street, landing on the opposite sidewalk.
His body shattered.
Blood gushed into his throat.
He nearly drowned in it.
---
The smoke cleared.
The lights returned.
Jinte gasped, sitting up.
She looked around—
The street was empty.
The thugs were gone.
Only their leader lay across the road—bloody, unmoving.
Everyone had fled.
Except her.
She blinked.
Still dazed.
Trying to make sense of what she had just witnessed.
"What… just happened?"