A beast-man killer suddenly charged forward, throwing a powerful punch toward Bruce and Selina.
Facing this attack, both instantly bent their knees and dodged away from the beast-man's fist.
BOOM!
The beast-man's fist struck the ground, shattering it into countless pieces as though it had been hit by a metal sledgehammer.
Bruce and Selina couldn't help but gasp at the display of power.
The previous beast-men hadn't been this formidable. Though strong, they had only been able to leave fist-shaped impressions in stone.
This one had completely shattered the ground—and remarkably, it wasn't wearing a gas mask.
"Be careful. This one is different from anything we've encountered before," Bruce warned.
They both raised their daggers, channeling the full power of their battle suits against the beast-man killer.
The two had absolute confidence in their weapons—gifts from Marcus that, like Alfred's pistol, could exert tremendous power.
Using the fighting techniques Marcus had taught them, they moved nimbly around the beast-man. With the powerful enhancement of their battle suits, all the creature's attacks became futile.
They began their counterattack with their daggers, though their fighting styles differed significantly.
Bruce gripped his dagger firmly, stabbing and slashing at the beast-man with fierce, direct attacks.
Selina, by contrast, employed a highly mobile approach, striking quickly and unleashing powerful blows in brief bursts.
They coordinated perfectly. Bruce's dagger, fueled by tremendous force, pierced straight through the beast-man's arm.
Selina's blade slashed across another part of the creature's arm, opening bloody wounds.
Though the injuries looked severe, for the beast-man killer, such wounds were nothing compared to what it had endured during its creation.
The toxins circulating in its body spread with the flow of blood, triggering special changes in its internal organs.
All its organs appeared to be strengthening, causing the beast-man's body to transform during the battle.
The arm that Bruce had pierced and Selina had slashed began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The beast-man's entire body slowly increased in size.
"I think... I know where their poison gas is coming from!" Bruce exclaimed as he observed these changes.
He had initially assumed the beast-man simply wasn't wearing a gas mask. Now he realized the truth—the poison gas was inside their bodies, erupting during battle to continuously strengthen them.
"That's still not a problem for us!" Selina said with a confident smile, swinging her dagger again toward the beast-man.
Her agile movements made her better suited for these quick strikes and kills.
"Be careful!!!" Bruce suddenly shouted, several kunai flying from his hands.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The kunai were all deflected by an owl-masked figure wielding a dagger with incredible precision.
Behind this Talon stood several more equally powerful beast-man killers.
Facing these new threats, Selina abandoned her assault on the first beast-man and retreated to Bruce's side. Together, they remained alert to the enemies surrounding them.
"That one must be directing these beast-men," Bruce observed. "If we capture him, we'll discover who's behind all this."
Despite his words, their immediate priority was escaping this encirclement.
They weren't facing just one beast-man anymore. One wrong move and they would become prey to the creatures and the owl-masked man.
"We'll save the teacher's special weapons for later," Bruce said in a low voice. "Now's a good time to see just how much the battle suits can enhance our abilities."
As he spoke, his hand moved to his waist, and several more kunai flew from his fingers.
---
From a distant rooftop, Marcus watched with satisfaction.
His students showed a deeper understanding of combat strategy, not acting recklessly despite their enhanced capabilities.
This was promising—they could use their powers reasonably now, not blinded by arrogance from the battle suits' strength.
Beyond Bruce and Selina, Marcus also observed the Talon standing among the beast-men killers.
The last time he'd encountered a Talon had been years ago, when Bruce was still developing his skills and Selina was merely a nimble homeless teenager.
Now both had undergone remarkable transformations, becoming qualified fighters.
"It's fascinating to see these three together," Marcus thought.
Each represented something different in Gotham's ecosystem of power.
The Talon served as the Court of Owls' enforcer—their butcher's knife cutting through the darkness, eliminating problems for the Court's members.
Selina, with her agility and vigilance, resembled a black cat in the night.
And Bruce, though lacking his future costume, moved like a powerful black panther.
---
Facing Bruce and Selina, the Talon didn't act hastily.
He intended to kill them both, certainly, but first needed to confirm their capabilities.
The vigilante activities of Bruce and Selina had demonstrated their considerable strength. The Talon needed to assess them properly before acting.
The beast-men surrounded them and rushed forward. Back-to-back, Bruce and Selina defended against the attacking creatures.
"Remember—if you feel yourself weakening, use the special weapon," Bruce reminded.
"You don't need to tell me. I know what to do!" Selina replied.
They unleashed their full strength, their daggers drawing white arcs through the air as they fought to break through the encirclement.
"Butterfly Shadow Blade!"
Both executed the same technique simultaneously, their daggers fluttering in their hands like butterfly wings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~