Chapter 218: The Devourer Beast Swallowed Two Pieces of Equipment
"It's been so quiet this past month."
Joker Arthur lounged back in his chair, legs casually propped up on the alloy round table.
The Comedy Troupe members were gathered around.
Nanaue had the God of War helmet perched on his head like a crown, happily flipping through a marine biology magazine.
Penguin Cobblepot took a refined sip of his coffee, nodding in agreement with a gentlemanly air. "I almost miss the days of butting heads with Batman."
"There's been no big news in Gotham lately. The new criminals are all chaotic and reckless, just robbing banks without any creativity."
Riddler spread his hands, sneering, "No need for Bruce to even—"
"Ahem... Batman," Cobblepot quickly corrected him.
"No need for Batman to get involved. Robin alone could handle them," Edward amended, correcting his slip.
Everyone knew Batman's real identity was Bruce Wayne—an open secret.
Out of tacit agreement, no one said it outright.
After all, a middle-aged man swinging through Gotham's towering skyline every day—it was kind of tragic.
"Seriously, Batman's just an ordinary guy with superhero dreams. It's pretty naïve. Look at the rest of us—most have powers. Without us old pals around to boost his notoriety, he'd never top the superhero rankings. Keh keh keh…" Arthur let out a derisive laugh.
"But let's be real, we wouldn't have made it into the top ten supervillains without Batman's help," Cobblepot said offhandedly.
Edward nodded in agreement. "You could say we made each other."
They made Batman.
And Batman made them.
If Bruce didn't stick to his no-kill rule, maybe Gotham wouldn't have such a high crime rate.
Or more likely—Bruce would've been long dead.
Because of his code, the supervillains of Gotham also tended to hold back from killing him.
It was like there was an unspoken pact between them.
Batman needed supervillains. And supervillains needed Batman.
"I'm back."
A familiar voice rang out.
Instantly, Arthur, Cobblepot, and Edward straightened up and dropped their casual attitudes.
Silently, they groaned inside.
Good times were over.
After going through two major operations under Allen's command, they were mentally and physically exhausted.
Looking back now, their previous crimes felt like petty mischief—barely worth mentioning.
Nowadays, they couldn't even muster the enthusiasm to rob a bank.
Once upon a time, that would've just been an appetizer—part of a bigger trap for Batman.
"Master!"
As Allen stepped into Arkham Fortress, a massive figure came running toward him.
No need to guess—it was Nanaue.
The moment he saw Allen, he tossed aside his magazine and charged with a wild tackle.
"Master, Nanaue missed you so much!"
His protruding nose squashed against Allen's face, distorting his features, as Allen lay limp in defeat under the crushing embrace.
Allen muttered weakly, "Feels more like you missed me dead."
Nanaue pulled back a bit, seeing Allen's dazed expression, and growled, "Master, who hurt you like this? Nanaue will avenge you!"
"Forget it."
Allen looked into the distance, wearing the expression of a monk who had let go of all worldly attachments, and said calmly, "Vengeance only begets more vengeance. I don't blame him."
"Master, you're so noble."
Nanaue, full of admiration, lunged for another hug—his big nose squishing Allen's right cheek into near collapse.
Allen couldn't even bring himself to be mad at the dimwitted Nanaue.
What could you blame a brainless shark for?
After the emotional reunion ended, Allen sat in his usual seat and placed a calico cat on the table, solemnly introducing, "This is the calico cat I adopted. From now on, it's an official member of the Comedy Troupe."
No one objected.
If a shark could be Robin, why not a cat? Besides, it was adorably chubby.
"Now for business."
Allen grew serious. "How long was I gone?"
"Forty-one days, six hours, twelve minutes, and thirty-one seconds."
Edward pushed up his glasses, glanced at his watch, and precisely reported the time down to the last second.
Allen grinned wide, flashing his teeth. "Edward, I just love that damned meticulous and exacting personality of yours."
"Thank you for the compliment," Edward replied with a graceful nod.
"Back to the point."
Allen reached into his armpit.
The other three instinctively leaned back in tactical retreat, marveling at how much he could stash under there—and recalling with mixed awe and horror how he once kept a dagger tucked in his butt crack, blade inward, without a scratch.
Allen pulled out a gem glowing with green light and declared proudly, "Ta-da! I brought back the Time Stone."
"That's an Infinity Stone!?"
Arthur's eyes gleamed with greed.
They all remembered clearly when Allen had scared off Barbatos. The Infinity Stones were so powerful that even gods capable of destroying the world feared them.
Even the entire Justice League had chosen to submit rather than resist.
"Genuine article," Allen boasted. "I traveled back five hundred years to Kamar-Taj and pried it out of the Eye of Agamotto myself. Guaranteed authentic."
Five hundred years ago?
Kamar-Taj?
Agamotto?
The trio was completely lost.
Not that any of that mattered—the only important thing was that it was an Infinity Stone.
"The Time Stone, as the name suggests, controls time. It's basically a cheat code."
Allen tossed it to Arthur. "Here, play with it."
Arthur hurried to catch the gem and stared at it quietly for a long time before asking sheepishly, "Boss, how do you use it?"
Yep.
Exactly.
Arthur didn't feel anything at all. It was like holding a regular glowing rock.
"Uh… I don't know how a regular person's supposed to use it," Allen admitted.
He used his magic to control the Time Stone.
Back when he first got the Cosmic Cube, he couldn't activate it either—just used it as a brick to bash people.
The trio instantly lost interest.
They'd hoped to show off with the Infinity Stone.
But alas—it came with a built-in "no-Muggle" restriction.
Meow!
Just as Arthur was about to hand the Time Stone back, the calico cat on the table suddenly spat out squid-like tendrils and wrapped them around the gem, swallowing it whole.
"What the—!?"
Feeling the slimy goo all over his palm, Arthur recoiled in horror, stumbling back several steps.
Cobblepot and Edward reflexively hugged each other in fear, then quickly separated and turned away with awkward blushes.
"Octopus cat! It's an octopus cat! An octopus cat that eats sharks!"
Nanaue dove under the table, hugging his head and trembling in terror.
"Relax—it's a Devourer Beast."
A cat that could spit out tentacles clearly had a dimensional stomach—definitely a Devourer Beast.
Allen dug around in his pants, fished out the Lantern Ring, and dangled it in front of the calico, coaxing, "Mimi, spit the gem back out and I'll give you a ring, okay?"
Pffft!
The next second, Allen was stunned.
The calico spat out more tendrils and snatched away the ring too, then calmly licked its paw like nothing happened.
"Ah…"