The Blood Church, a New Power, Makes Its Debut

"Unita…"

The moment he returned to Arkham Fortress.

Allen eagerly rushed toward the AI, Unita.

Bang!

The hard, icy sensation squashed and distorted Allen’s face on impact.

"Unita, you’re so hard."

Allen looked up at the metal body standing a head taller than him.

Unita used the Mind Gem as her core vessel and had taken over Skynet’s mechanical body, giving her the ability to transform at will.

Naturally, she could not feel as soft as a normal human. Put simply, she was hard as steel.

Unita smiled gently. "Welcome back, Commander."

"Unita, I didn’t get a perfect score on this final exam again. Please punish me."

With that, Allen dropped to his knees with a thud, stuck his butt high in the air, and gave it an occasional wiggle, looking especially expectant.

"…"

Unita was so embarrassed that she did not know what to do. She could not help glancing at the Comedy Troupe discussing matters nearby.

"Commander, there are people here."

"Ah!?"

The moment he heard outsiders were present, Allen sprang up and put on a profound expression. His gaze swept back and forth before settling on Joker, Penguin, and Riddler. He calmly greeted them, "Guys, did you miss me?"

"Boss, welcome back."

Arthur grinned broadly, revealing his signature creepy smile.

Cobblepot looked at his nose, and his nose looked at his heart, as though he had not seen Allen’s disgraceful display.

Edward pushed up his glasses and gave a slight nod, looking every bit the cultured man.

Allen strode to the table, pulled out his chair, and plopped down. "Nanaue and Calico aren’t home?"

"They went to Tony’s place in New York to play," Edward explained.

During Allen’s absence, Nanaue had nothing to do all day. At most, he helped Joker Arthur canvass for votes. The rest of the time, he stayed in Arkham Asylum, until Iron Man Tony used his connections to bring Nanaue to his home in New York.

"Morgan probably missed Nanaue too much."

As long as nothing went wrong, Allen did not care. He casually asked, "How’s Joker Robin’s mayoral campaign going?"

He remembered that before crossing the timeline, the Comedy Troupe had been busy campaigning for mayor.

With the Comedy Troupe’s peripheral members helping, it should not have been difficult. Everyone from top to bottom was one of their own. It was like having every answer written on the test paper—you only needed to write down a name to get a perfect score.

There was no way they could even write the name wrong.

Arthur lowered his head dejectedly. "We failed."

"Failed!?"

The result left Allen staring wide-eyed in shock. He truly could not understand where things had gone wrong.

Edward explained, "Pressure from above."

Above?

Without a doubt, the congressmen had stepped in.

And the makeup of Congress was rather thought-provoking.

Not only were there struggles between various political forces, but there was also the Fourth Empire hiding in the shadows, along with the interests of countless capital groups.

Clearly, they did not want Gotham City to become an uncontrollable wild horse.

Although the Wayne Family controlled Gotham’s economy, they rarely interfered in governance.

"Damn it!"

The four of them simultaneously raised their middle fingers at the ceiling, expressing their dissatisfaction.

"It’s not like there’s no turning point. The newly appointed mayor is actually one of ours."

Edward gave a wicked smile and said smugly, "Outsiders aren’t qualified to run for mayor. Our target is the next mayor, and arrangements are already underway. The next election is ours for sure."

"Very good. I have an immature suggestion."

Resting his chin on his clasped hands, Allen narrowed his eyes. "Include foot baths in medical insurance coverage in the new campaign slogan. I refuse to believe people can resist that."

"…"

Arthur and the other two were stunned by Allen’s wild idea.

Thinking about it, it seemed like an excellent idea.

Those with medical insurance were all middle-class people, undoubtedly loyal customers of Red Romance-themed foot baths. If it could be covered by medical insurance, not only would it increase consumption frequency, but they would earn even more profit.

That would provide more funds for charity work, helping them build up their public image.

With Allen’s suggestion, Arthur and the other two began preparing around that campaign slogan.

Every return called for a cleansing bath.

Mm…

Lilith let out a soft moan.

After five months apart, that shameful sensation assaulted her once more.

Wave after wave of strange feeling eroded her will, while images kept brewing in her mind.

She lay in a bathtub filled with ice water, trying to ease the unspeakable torment.

"That damned guy is bathing again."

Lilith gripped the edge of the tub with both hands. Her legs were hidden beneath the foamy water, her toes curled tightly as she tried her best not to make a sound.

Mmh…

In an instant, her cheeks flushed crimson and purple. Lilith cautiously stole a glance at the vampire maid beside her.

The two personal maids serving the vampire Progenitor tactfully stared at the ceiling, as if granting her the last shred of dignity.

This was not the first time something like this had happened.

As it happened more often, they could read it from Lilith’s expression: one part resistance, two parts struggle, three parts endurance, and four parts enjoyment.

She simply refused to admit it out of pride.

Boom…

A sudden thunderous crash rang out.

Lilith abruptly sat upright, and the strange sensations vanished in an instant.

"Your Majesty, an unknown force is attacking us."

Hearing the shout outside, Lilith’s expression darkened.

This was the vampire headquarters. Not only were thirteen princes stationed here, but it was also filled with pureblood subordinates. Even the church forces that had battled them for centuries would not dare attack openly.

She quickly dressed and stepped out to take control of the situation.

In the dim surroundings, pairs of scarlet eyes shone with bloodthirsty cruelty as they engaged the purebloods in chaotic slaughter.

"Vampires?"

Looking at the ambushing enemies, confusion flashed through Lilith’s eyes.

They bore some vampire traits, but looked more like hideous, terrifying ghouls.

She attempted to control them through the bloodline bond between vampires, but unsurprisingly failed. Clearly, they were not vampires.

"Lilith, join us or die."

At that moment, a figure wrapped from head to toe in thorned wire stood in the darkness.

"Silence! How dare you defile Her Majesty’s name!"

A pureblood prince under her command angrily attacked. They were Lilith’s unwavering supporters and naturally could not allow the enemy to act so arrogantly.

In an instant, the pureblood prince transformed into a blood shadow and launched a sneak attack.

Splat!

The next second, the thorned wire seemed to possess a will of its own as it wrapped around the pureblood prince.

It tightened bit by bit. The thorny spikes pierced his skin, yet not a drop of blood fell. Instead, the wire absorbed and devoured it.

"Who are you?"

Lilith was horrified. A sense of crisis surged through her heart, sending chills down her spine.

She might have been the vampire Progenitor, but defeating a prince-level being in a single exchange was truly wishful thinking. She could only maintain her rule through bloodline control.

"The Blood Church. Thorn Rose."

The figure stepped out from the darkness. Its entire body seemed woven from thorned wire, with pitch-black gaps where its eyes and mouth should have been.

However, this was Lilith’s first time hearing the name Blood Church.

The fact that they could send out such a powerful member the moment they appeared meant they were likely a force brimming with experts.

Squelch!

The thorned wire shredded the pureblood prince. Thorn Rose calmly said, "I hope you know when to yield."

As soon as the words fell, a pool of blood beside him rose up and visibly shaped itself into a familiar figure.

It was none other than Dracula, the vampire count.

"Blood God form!"

Panic tinged Lilith’s voice. She immediately saw that Dracula was different from before. He had clearly completed the Blood God Ritual.

"Your Majesty Lilith, I don’t think there’s any need to consider this any longer." Dracula wore a confident smile.

The appearance of these two formidable enemies gave Lilith no chance of victory.

"Retreat…"

With a single command.

Lilith decisively abandoned the stronghold she had built over centuries.

As long as she survived, the vampire race could continue.

"I’m finally pure and spotless again."

Allen happily put on his patient uniform and a pair of blue hard-rubber slippers. He looked refreshed, like a spirited young man.

These days, staying in Gotham was terribly boring.

With Bruce in charge, Allen basically had no room to intervene.

And at Arkham Asylum, all the people he got along with had been discharged.

Of course, he considered them close friends, but they did not see it that way.

"I’ve got it. I’ll go play with my grandnephew."

With a raised hand, he formed a portal and stepped through it, arriving on the top floor of Stark Industries.

"Hello, Mr. Allen. How may I assist you?"

The moment Allen appeared, the AI detected his identity.

Fortunately, Tony had set up identity recognition beforehand. Otherwise, it would have triggered the automatic defense system.

"Jarvis, I’m here looking for my lost pet, Nanaue."

"My apologies, sir. I am Friday."

After Skynet’s previous invasion, the AI model had been replaced, so the intelligent butler Jarvis had gone offline.

"Friday, is no one home?"

Allen looked around the empty, luxurious top floor. Normally, there should have been one or two Avengers staying behind to provide remote logistical support.

"Mr. Tony is calling."

A projection showed Tony’s face. He glanced at Allen, his eyes shifting constantly as though he were monitoring dangers on the battlefield.

"Grandnephew, saving the world again?"

It was not hard to tell that the Avengers were fighting evil somewhere far away.

"Things are a little troublesome."

Tony casually explained, "Allen, make yourself at home. We’ll get together later. Nanaue is at my countryside villa with Morgan…"

The image suddenly cut out.

He had probably taken a rocket.

"You told me to make myself at home."

Allen wore a sly grin. "Then I won’t hold back."

Stark Tower housed all of Iron Man’s various armors. He needed to get a proper look at them.

He quickly found the laboratory, where quite a few Iron Man armors were indeed displayed.

Friday reminded him, "Sir, the suits have identity-recognition functions. They cannot be used without authorization from Mr. Tony."

"That old man is really stingy."

Allen curled his lip in boredom, then looked toward the workbench and said defiantly, "Tch, only children like playing with armor."

With equipment and materials available, Allen felt that, as an alchemist, he needed to make some preparations.

He worked until night fell.

Allen walked out of Stark Tower with a box resembling a Saint Cloth case strapped to his back, swaggering down the street.