God Of The Omniverse-Chapter 347: Crisis In Gotham (Part 2)

The bunker was filled with the soft sound of monitors and hushed whispers.

Most of the students remained glued to their screens, watching in stunned silence even though the feed had long since cut to black. The final image of Arias—calm, unbothered—still lingered in their minds.

For some, it was chilling.

For others, it was exhilarating.

Billy, standing near the front, clenched his fists before punching the air with a victorious shout.

"Yes! I knew he'd stop them!"

His enthusiasm was met with scattered murmurs of agreement from a handful of other students, some nodding, others still processing what they had witnessed.

Barbara, standing beside him, didn't react.

Her expression was blank, but only because her mind was anything but.

Arias had saved her father.

The relief she felt was overwhelming, like a crushing weight had been lifted from her chest. She had been bracing herself for the worst, for the moment that shotgun would fire—yet it never came.

Because of Arias.

And that was the problem.

He had killed those men without hesitation. Not in self-defense. Not as a last resort. But because he had decided they were beyond redemption.

Barbara wiped a hand over her damp eyes, blinking away any remaining tears before silently handing the phone back to its rightful owner. The teen who had first pulled up the video barely noticed—he and his friends were still in awe, whispering excitedly among themselves.

Barbara looked away, pressing her lips together.

She didn't know what to feel.

Lois, standing near the wall, was easier to read—on the surface, at least.

Her arms were crossed tightly, one foot tapping against the ground, her expression a mix of irritation and frustration.

"I should be out there covering this," she muttered to no one in particular. "Not stuck down here like a mole."

Her thoughts kept circling back to the same thing—she was missing out.

She had seen and reported on some of the worst crimes in Metropolis, had walked through blood-soaked crime scenes, had interviewed serial killers without flinching. But this? This was history in the making. And she was trapped in a bunker, forced to watch from the sidelines like some casual observer.

Cheshire, standing beside her, smirked.

"The cameraman is still here," she said, her voice carrying sarcasm. "Why not interview the students or something? It doesn't make any real difference, right? It's not like people watch your work for the content."

Lois's head snapped toward her, eyes narrowing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, sounding offended.

Cheshire shrugged lazily, tilting her head as if the answer was obvious. "Who knows."

Lois scoffed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Cheshire's smirk widened. "What gave it away?"

Lois huffed, rolling her eyes before turning her focus back to the monitors, muttering something under her breath about smug sluts.

Meanwhile, Tala remained quiet, standing with her arms folded, gaze distant. Unlike the others, she wasn't caught up in the spectacle of it all. If anything, she looked... bored. Irritated by the company she was forced to keep.

Arias had won. The rest was just noise.

———

Elsewhere in Gotham – On the Streets

The Batmobile tore through the wreckage-strewn streets of Gotham.

Chaos had spread like wildfire. Convicts roamed freely, fires burned unchecked, and the sounds of gunfire and distant screams echoed through the concrete jungle.

Inside the Batmobile, Batman's grip tightened on the wheel. His jaw was set, his expression unreadable beneath the cowl.

Alfred's voice came through the comms, calm as always.

"Master Bruce, it's no longer necessary for you to go to the Gotham PD HQ. Arias Markovic has intervened."

Batman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Intervened?"

Alfred hesitated for a second before adding, "Yes. Unfortunately, he did so by brutally executing the attackers."

Batman's grip tightened further.

"Was he alone?" he asked.

"Yes," Alfred confirmed. "He came in just before the group of attackers were about to execute the commissioner."

Batman's mind immediately began working through the pieces.

Too convenient.

Arias had arrived just in time, alone, and made a statement. A brutal, decisive statement.

Batman furrowed his brows, his voice low as he muttered, "Sounds a bit too convenient."

Alfred caught onto the suspicion in his tone. "Do you think he has something to do with this?"

Batman's silence stretched for a second longer than usual.

Then, he exhaled sharply. "I don't know... maybe."

He didn't trust coincidences. Especially not ones involving Arias.

If Arias was involved, that meant he was operating on a level Batman couldn't yet see—and that was dangerous.

"If he is, then it's all the more reason I should get there and keep him in sight," Batman added. "Send out the drones and mark any escaped convicts for the rest of league in advance, they'll be here soon. It'll be bad if we let too many get away."

"Understood, sir."

The Batmobile's dashboard flickered, and a holographic map of Gotham appeared, red markers lighting up across the city as Alfred fed data to the League system.

Batman pressed down on the accelerator, weaving through the streets as Gotham burned around him.

———

The air inside the commissioner's office was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood. The once-orderly space was in complete ruin—desk overturned, bullet-riddled walls, shattered glass reflecting the dim overhead lights.

Arias moved through the wreckage with measured steps, his attention shifting from one lifeless body to the next.

They were nobodies.

Removing their masks confirmed as much. Not a single familiar face.

Not that he had expected one.

With mild disinterest, he crouched down beside the nearest corpse and pulled at the dead man's shirt, exposing his upper body. No tattoos. No markings. Nothing that could immediately link them to any known organizations, extremist factions, or underground networks.

He let go, the fabric falling back into place. He was already losing interest.

If whoever orchestrated this had gone through the trouble of executing such a large-scale attack, they weren't foolish enough to leave obvious breadcrumbs. And he didn't have the luxury of sifting through details at the moment.

His mind briefly flicked to Vandal Savage.

It made sense. Their last encounter had been less than amicable. If anyone had the resources, influence, and motivation to pull something like this, Savage would be at the top of the list. But Arias wasn't the type to jump to conclusions.

For now, he had more important things to do.

He rose to his feet and turned toward Commissioner Gordon.

The man was still by the overturned desk, using it as support. His breaths came unevenly, a pained grimace pulling at his features as he clutched his side, no doubt dealing with a cracked rib—or worse.

Despite this, he met Arias's gaze and struggled to push out a weak, "Thank you... argh..."

His voice was strained, but his gratitude was genuine.

Then, as his eyes flicked toward the bodies of the attackers, conflict settled on his face.

Even in his injured state, the weight of what had just happened pressed heavily on him. Gordon was a man of law. To him, even the worst criminals deserved to be dealt with through due process. Not through execution.

Especially not like this.

He wanted to say something. To tell Arias that this wasn't necessary—that even murderers should be given a chance to face justice.

But the words never came.

Because the man standing in front of him had just saved his life.

And in the grand scheme of things, that mattered more.

Instead, he moved a shaky hand to his coat pocket, reaching for something—

"Your daughter is safe."

Arias spoke out before he could even pull anything out.

Gordon froze for a moment, his tired eyes snapping up to Arias's unreadable expression. freёnovelkiss.com

"She's in the bunkers at Ark Academies with the rest of the student body and staff."

Relief. Immediate, undeniable relief. Gordon exhaled heavily, his fingers loosening against his pocket. He didn't care about his own safety, hadn't even considered it that much in the chaos. But Barbara? She was different.

If something had happened to her...

A weak, tired smile pulled at his lips. He nodded slowly, his voice more genuine this time. "Thank you."

Arias didn't return the expression.

Instead, he let out a soft sigh, shaking his head as if weighed down by guilt.

"No need to thank me." His voice was quieter, almost somber. "This whole thing is my fault."

Gordon frowned slightly.

Arias gestured vaguely toward the destruction around them, his gaze lingering on the bodies. "I'm the one who should be sorry—for the good men and women you've lost because of these people."

The commissioner looked away, the weight of his own grief settling in.

The department was in ruins. Countless officers slaughtered. Gotham's law enforcement had taken a monumental hit tonight, and it would take years to recover.

Yet, as painful as that realization was, he felt more sympathy for Arias in this moment than anything else.

Because to Gordon, it seemed as though Arias was blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault. That he saw himself as the reason behind this massacre when, in reality, he had stopped it.

A different kind of pain settled in Gordon's chest—not from his injuries, but from understanding.

With effort, he forced himself to move, pushing past the soreness to stand upright. He stepped toward Arias, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"In all my years as commissioner," he began, his voice rough but steady, "you have no idea how many times I've blamed myself for things out of my control. I still do."

He took a slow, painful breath.

"But someone once told me to focus instead on all the good I've done."

His fingers squeezed lightly.

"You've made this city a better place, Arias. Don't let—" he winced slightly, "—don't let a bunch of disturbed killers change that."

For the first time, Arias was slightly taken aback.

Of all the responses he had expected, this wasn't one of them.

He had played his part well, weaving together guilt and humility with perfect precision—but the sincerity in Gordon's words struck something unexpected.

It was rare to hear such genuine admiration from a man like him.

Arias held his gaze for a moment before finally offering a small smile. A slight nod followed.

"I'll remember that."

Then, without breaking stride, he turned toward the exit.

"For now, I should return to the Academy," he added casually. "I'm still technically not allowed to move around freely. I'm sure Batman and the Justice League will handle this soon."

With that, he walked out.

Gordon watched him leave, a newfound respect settled within him—one that hadn't been there before.

And Arias knew it.