I Trust the Joker's Malice as I Trust Myself

Barbatos began recruiting his army.

Before truly deciding to do so, Barbatos had never made up his mind whether to invest so much. After all, the last time he had planned to deal with Batman Dragon, he had nearly suffered a loss—if he had not decisively betrayed his allies and drained their blood at the critical moment, he might really have lost something in that game.

But in the end, everything was merely icing on the cake for Barbatos. He needed time. He needed to lie low. For that, he could wait, betray others, and even suffer damage to his dignity, letting people see him as a petty, ridiculous clown. But so what?

Barbatos had once been a dog.

That was not an insult but a fact. Barbatos had never denied it, either. Otherwise, with his divine power now, he would at least have been capable of keeping his origins from becoming common knowledge.

A lowly birth was not shameful. Scraping and groveling was Barbatos's protective coloring.

Barbatos had always been waiting.

He was not waiting for a momentary victory or defeat, but for the greater tide—the grand momentum he had endured unimaginable mortal ages to advance.

(Note: "the greater tide" refers to the Dark Nights: Metal event.)

From the Final Crisis era (Note: choosing the Prime Universe Bat as his portal) to the New 52 era (Note: gradually guiding the Dark Nights: Metal event through the Prime Universe's Court of Owls, allowing the Wine God Factor to enter Batman's body), that mighty tide had already surged forward with overwhelming force, unstoppable.

To Barbatos, his deals with Batman Dragon, Black Death Emperor, and the others were, at most, game pieces on a board where victory came with a prize.

But Barbatos himself was the one capable of flipping over the