Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 413 Choice
Gotham City is an island-like city located in the Bay Area of ​​New Jersey on the East Coast. The city is divided into three districts, Upper, Middle and Lower, by two rivers.

Land connections to other cities rely on bridges spanning rivers and old-fashioned steam tunnels, which are also favorite haunts of the Batman and numerous supervillains.

If an ordinary person has a strong adventurous spirit, all they need to do each night, carrying a flashlight, step into those old-fashioned steam tunnels, and they can randomly encounter one to dozens of notorious supervillains in the darkness beneath Gotham.

In contrast to the somewhat impoverished lives of Gotham City's residents, Gotham City's geographical location is actually quite advantageous.

With an inland river estuary on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, it also has its own port—Gotham Port.

As Ron walked through those towering, bizarre Gothic buildings, he couldn't help but feel that beneath the surface of their glitz and glamour lay a complete filth.

Even though Ron is just an ordinary surveyor at Gotham Harbor, after paying various bills and deducting the daily expenses of his family of three, he only has enough left for a few packs of cigarettes each month, and he still needs to be careful of the criminals who roam around the city.

Even penniless homeless people are seen as targets for extortion and exploitation by various criminals in Gotham City.

The weather was particularly strange this morning. Ron even thought he was hallucinating. The sun was rising on the horizon, but the moon was not setting. Instead, it was getting clearer and clearer.

However, Ron wasn't particularly curious; he just wanted to get to his job safely. The pressures of life had long since dulled any desire for exploration within him.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly made his way into the harbor, enduring a barrage of ill-intentioned glances.

Even during the day, Gotham City's densely packed skyline, shrouded in industrial smog, appears ghostly, naturally imbuing everyone living in the city with immense psychological pressure.

"Good morning, Ron,"

Good morning, Kuz!

Ron's colleagues, who had also arrived at the port, greeted him and then, much like people in the Great Empire discussing the weather, began their usual Gotham City conversation.

"Damn it, those vigilantes in Gotham City who always like to wear weird costumes, I don't know if they're incompetent or just here to cause trouble,"

As his colleague Kuz walked toward the water level monitoring room with Ron, Kuz couldn't help but complain, "The number of criminals in Gotham City hasn't decreased; in fact, it's increased. I leave home every morning trembling with fear, afraid that my meager allowance for the month will be swindled away by those disgusting scum."

Ron shook his head. "Those criminals haven't offended the real big shots in the city. What use are those weirdos with cross-dressing fetishes?"

"If you and I had the power of those strange guys, we might do even better."

Kuz opened the door to the monitoring room, turning back to laugh, "That's a confident idea, but I think so too."

"Of course, for example, we can deliberately provoke those big shots, just like some regions don't care about those damn child trafficking issues,"

"If we let those powerful figures experience the feeling of potentially losing their loved ones at any time, then they will have zero tolerance for such things and will definitely try to prevent such things from happening through strict legislation and increased crackdown."

“Your idea is strange, but I have to agree with you,” Kuz nodded and then laughed. “However, those vigilantes are busy with big things like saving the world these days, so they don’t have time to deal with such trivial matters.”

Ron laughed and said, "You mean the Guardians of Humanity, the group of 'superheroes' led by Batman who publicly declared their intention to resist that monster and protect humanity?"

"Sometimes I find it strange that, even though the world is ruled by various national governments, saving the world relies on superheroes,"

"No other country has expressed any clear intention to resist, so what are Batman and his group up to?"

"Do they really have the confidence to fight that monster? In the end, Gotham City might still suffer the consequences of their words and actions."

Kuz shrugged. "How would I know what they're thinking? Anyway, we ordinary people only have the right to be represented. Even if we want to oppose those guys, we don't have the means. Not everyone can summon that cross-dresser by shining a Bat-Light from the rooftop."

“Forget it, we ordinary people are lucky enough to live each day well,” Ron said, sitting down and looking up at the measurement data on the screen.

“Everything is normal, but the sea level in the port has dropped significantly compared to the previous week,” Ron said, pulling a bacon sandwich from his pocket as he prepared to enjoy his breakfast.

But then Ron immediately raised his head, revealing a look of horror.

Data displayed on screens, transmitted by sensors installed on the waters near the coast and in ports, shows that the water level on the other side of Gotham City is dropping at a rate that is almost visible to the naked eye.

This extraordinary sign, to a seasoned observer like Ron, could only mean one thing.

"Kuz, I think something terrible has happened!" Ron turned to his colleague, his face pale, and said, "Sound the alarm, notify the supervisor, the nearshore area may be facing a super tsunami unlike anything seen in decades!"

“How is this possible?” Kuz responded in disbelief, but the next moment, a red warning message suddenly appeared on the entire screen, showing that the sea level was rising rapidly.

After a whole night of brewing in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the ordinary waves that were initially a few meters high have now become giant waves hundreds of meters high.

This surging tide, connecting heaven and earth, rolled all the way from the Atlantic Ocean, sweeping across almost the entire sea as it rushed toward the New Jersey Bay.

The seawater, numbering in the hundreds of millions of tons, carries an unstoppable force; even a body made entirely of steel cannot withstand such a destructive natural disaster.

As this towering wall of seawater, connecting heaven and earth, approached within tens of kilometers of Gotham City's coastline, residents living around Gotham's waters and rivers began to see noticeable changes.

Even many elderly people strolling in Gotham's Central Park were surprised to find that the water levels in the lakes connected to the river were rising significantly.

Meanwhile, the steel giants and yachts moored at the port and the sea began to sway noticeably on the sea.

Countless people active near the sea were surprised to hear a series of strange rumbling sounds coming from afar.

The sound was like the hooves of millions of wild horses trampling the earth on a vast grassland, growing louder and louder until the giant screen on the distant sea came into everyone's view.

"Is this the price we have to pay?"

Batman stood atop the Gotham City skyline, surrounded by Raven, Robin, Elgin, Green Arrow, and almost all his companions, gazing into the distance. Last night, after Zatanna lost contact with Constantine, these superheroes protecting humanity had been urgently assembled, preparing to rescue their comrade, hold off the red dragon while Superman and his allies were away, and find an opportunity to destroy the entire Tower of Babel.

But before these superheroes could even make a move, they were already met with a counterattack.

Perhaps the word "counterattack" is not quite appropriate.

“This is the mindset you must be prepared for when facing him,” the tall, handsome young man said softly, standing next to Batman. “That red dragon is never a passive guy; whether as an enemy or an ally, he likes to take the initiative.”

"Can you withstand such a natural disaster?" Batman turned to look at the young man, Niccolo, the resurrected Seraph.

Niccolo nodded, then shook his head.

"This isn't just about the red dragon controlling the storms and tides; it's the overall trend of the world. But even so, my current power is still enough to prevent the main areas of Gotham City from being destroyed by the flood,"

“But if I resist such a natural disaster, it will temporarily deplete most of my strength. At that time, I will not be able to defeat them head-on, and I will need you to hold off that red dragon,”

Niccolo's eyes flickered, and he countered, "Do you think you have enough power to stop that red dragon? And it's not just him; there are seven others with similar strength. They're like shadowy hyenas lurking in the sky, waiting for me to make a mistake."

"Defeat and kill that red dragon, or temporarily save this city?" Niccolo asked Batman. "I'm giving you that choice!"

Everyone fell silent. No matter which option was chosen, it seemed that the destruction of Gotham City was already a foregone conclusion.

Batman took a deep breath and then made up his mind.

His face, hidden beneath the bat mask, showed a pained expression before he slowly said, "Then use your power in the most appropriate way. Anyway, it's too late!"

The people behind him all sighed at the same time. Even they had no chance of saving lives in the face of such a natural disaster.

Their only option was to preserve their own lives, defeat the red dragon, and sacrifice the entire city of Gotham for the peace of the world.

As the nearly kilometer-long tsunami approached Gotham City, the salty sea breeze and deafening apocalyptic sounds became a nightmare from which no one could escape.

A wall of water, connecting heaven and earth, swept in from the sea, destroying everything in its path with indescribable visual distortion.

On the sea, steel cruise ships and boats engulfed by waves made a teeth-grinding sound as they were instantly twisted, crushed, and deformed by the giant waves.

Countless people were gripped by this feeling of fear and abandoned any thought of escape, collapsing to the ground in despair and awaiting death.

Even the tallest building in Gotham City looks like a small fence in front of this wave.

Many people leaned on strangers, embracing each other, praying that they would go to heaven after death.

Many people screamed hysterically, roaring at the injustice of the world, venting their final collapse before death.

Along the entire coastline of Gotham City, hundreds of thousands of people are making their choices on the edge of life and death.

Above the towering waves, beneath the vast sky, a colossal red dragon, enveloped in flames stretching for tens of miles, burst through the air.

Towering waves crashed on the sea, and raging flames filled the sky.

With his current body, the kinetic energy generated by flying at the speed of sound alone is enough to destroy almost everything in the world.

Even the towering waves were lowered beneath Kalon's body, making it look as if the waves were carrying the red dragon forward.

"When God saw that mankind had committed many wicked sins on earth, he declared that he would use a flood to destroy all living things on earth, and all of them died!"

"Before the world is destroyed, the surging tide will engulf everything and never recede, while the few remaining pieces of land on the water will be covered by flames and stones falling from the sky, and the beautiful world will be destroyed!"

Countless people gazed at the red dragon carrying destruction atop the distant giant waves, kneeling on the ground in prayer, loudly chanting scriptures that foretold the end of the world.

Many people even worshipped the red dragon, hoping to receive divine favor.

Anger, panic, twisted fanaticism and faith, disgust and murderous intent—countless complex emotions transformed into a power that even the authority of the Seven Deadly Sins craved, enveloping the entire city of Gotham.

Before destruction, these most primal emotions are quite pure.

But Caron did not focus his attention on these ordinary people.

He had already given these people a chance. Even the most supreme God is helpless against those who do not save themselves. Those who have no thought of self-salvation do not deserve his little remaining pity.

Moreover, this filthy city was a target that Caron had long planned to destroy entirely; it was the spearhead of resistance against the old forces, and also a chicken destined to die.

Those innocent people are like the fruits of destruction that must be borne by the actions of the entire civilization; simple good and evil can no longer define Charon's current state of mind.

He simply rode the boundless sea tide, his indifferent gaze fixed on the majestic celestial messenger Niigero standing proudly in the distance.

“I knew you were waiting for me. I’m here. It seems you’re prepared to die!” Kalon said coldly, baring his fangs.

The boundless waves seemed to be paused, or like a majestic mountain range that briefly stretched across the sky before crashing down, unleashing a destructive force.

The city collapsed instantly, countless skyscrapers were swept away by the flood, and amidst the final screams of death and despair, Niccolo slowly rose into the air.

(End of this chapter)