I Ultimately Became Your Dragon, Lord Barbatos

Things were proceeding smoothly. The trap Emperor Joker had left behind for them was being cleared away bit by bit through the combined efforts of Chen Tao and Barbatos.

But the smoother things went, the more worried Chen Tao became.

The logic was simple. If he were Emperor Joker, and if he discovered that Barbatos was helping his Batman save the entire Earth-One and Parallax Hal's life, he would never simply stand by and do nothing.

There was a very good chance he would rush over, grab Batman, and try to die together with him, then calmly enjoy the beautiful experience of being rescued alongside Batman. Or he would have another move prepared: even if Batman saved these hostages, other hostages would still be plunged into danger, forcing Batman to question his moral code and standards of conduct—

Something like choosing between saving Harvey and saving Rachel.

(Note: This refers to the plot of Nolan's live-action Batman films.)

Chen Tao had begun guarding against Anti-Monitor and Emperor Joker suddenly jumping out from behind a portal to attack them the moment the Red's power had invaded half of Earth-One. He was especially worried that Barbatos might be injured while fully focused, but now there was nothing. Nothing at all.

A nonexistent wind swept through the scene. The only one working was Barbatos.

Chen Tao glanced at the industrious Barbatos beside him. Barbatos looked extremely amiable while working seriously, even hiding his vicious fangs. If Chen Tao had not known that Barbatos would inevitably try to attack and control him, he might really have found Barbatos' face rather amiable.

Sigh. But with wolves circling from every side, who could be trusted as a teammate?

Chen Tao glanced at William Hand, who was lying there as if dead. Just now, he had used