Just as Dick froze, Batman suddenly stepped toward him. Dick instinctively took two steps back.
Batman stopped. He saw fear in Dick's eyes. Of course, if he were still just his Robin, Batman could understand it—because of the bastard things he had said, Dick thought he was going to hit him.
But Dick was a vampire now, and he could use magic, while Batman himself was already on the verge of dying from his injuries.
What was he afraid of?
"He's afraid of Batman." As though Schiller had anticipated Batman's doubts, he answered smoothly.
"Do you think they really don't understand?" There was a trace of curiosity in Schiller's tone. "Do you truly think they don't know about the concessions you've made for them? That they don't know that if you had been even half as unwilling to yield, they could never have lived as they do now? That all the confidence they have comes from your indulgence?"
"Stop deceiving yourself, Batman. They understand everything. They know that if you ever got serious, they wouldn't stand the slightest chance. And the only thing that makes you turn a blind eye like a dozing lion is your love for them."
"And in this situation, do you think Dick would dare gamble on you still loving him?"
Batman felt a piercing pain, as though his organs were about to burn away, while Schiller continued.
"Of course he wouldn't dare gamble, because he's become a monster, and his fangs have been pulled. He poses no threat to you anymore. You've seen his ugly yet helpless side, and you threatened him so harshly. How could he dare gamble?"
He doesn't even dare attack me... Batman thought. Dick Grayson was truly afraid. He could almost hear the sound of hope fading from Dick's heart, and