Demons Beyond Demons

Before flying back to the sea cliff where he was temporarily residing, Shane specifically went to the ocean hundreds of miles away to take a bath.

Only after the smell of blood was completely gone did he unhurriedly fly towards the sea cliff.

"Rachel!"

Shane opened the tightly shut escape pod door, only to find Rachel wasn't inside.

Slightly puzzled, he flew into the sky and looked around, then discovered that where the two sea cliffs met, a beach had appeared at some point.

This beach was extremely well-hidden; even climbing to the highest point of the steep cliff wouldn't make it easy to find.

He searched Google for TWKAN.

Rachel, however, was standing by the beach, holding a twig as thick as a finger, poking at dried fish hanging on a drying rack.

As if sensing his gaze, Rachel raised her head with a hint of caution. Upon seeing Shane slowly descending from the sky, she resumed her usual blank expression.

"When did you do all this?"

Shane asked, stepping onto the soft sand with a wry smile.

Rachel glanced at him, her tone so flat it lacked any inflection.

"There were too many fish left when you left, and I didn't know how many days you'd be gone. I happened to sense a cavity in a nearby cliff with magic, so I moved the rocks and dried some fish here to store."

Shane was even more confused.

"But you said you were tired of eating fish?"

"Then what else can I eat?!"

Rachel's emotions seemed to suddenly flare up, her voice rising significantly. However, due to Raven's emotional suppression and the effect of magic, even in her agitated state, her facial expressions weren't overly dramatic.

"Didn't Aquaman give you two-- Oh! My goodness."

Shane finally remembered. He unconsciously reached for his waist, and on the other side of the box holding the Yellow Lantern Ring, he pulled out the two large, oddly colored pearls, one black and one pink.

The two stared silently at the pearls, a hint of killing intent gradually appearing in Rachel's eyes.

Shane wiped a bead of nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself.

"They didn't get smashed..."

"Ahem, I'll find a way to exchange these two pearls for money in Gotham later. Tonight, we'll go to Metropolis for a big meal!"

Rachel let out a cold laugh, turned around, and continued poking at the dried fish.

Shane awkwardly tucked the pearls back into his waist, then walked behind Rachel and poked her back with his index finger.

"What?"

Rachel's tone returned to its usual monotone.

"Can you check what Batman is doing right now?"

"Oh, he returned to Gotham a few minutes before you. He was just searching for a long time in the Batcave where he previously treated us to steak. Now he's standing in the corner where I set up my communication magic."

"Aha!"

Shane clenched his fist and clapped his hands together, cheering as if he had vented his anger.

He had been cornered and analyzed by Batman on the Watchtower before. If not for his strong control over his expressions and emotions over the years, he would have almost broken down.

He could only say that what one learned from books was shallow. The impressions of Batman he had accumulated from comics and movies, no matter how imaginatively he pieced them together, couldn't compare to being personally scrutinized and analyzed by Batman himself.

Although it was because of "that person's" existence that Batman had obtained information Shane never expected anyone to know.

But that psychological profiling, like being forcibly stripped by a thug, left Shane with some lingering trauma.

Now, just thinking about Batman, who had been pondering how Shane knew about the Green Lantern Corps stationing personnel in the Solar System since they departed the Watchtower, rummaging around like a mouse in that Batcave, made him feel much better.

"Batman tore down the wall where I left my magic."

Rachel suddenly interjected.

"Oh? Was the magic destroyed?"

"Not exactly. My magic isn't so weak that it needs a physical medium to exist."

"Now I feel even better, Rachel. Thanks to your magic, I've gotten my revenge. Next time I scare him like this..."

"Batman connected a communication. He's warning the person on the other end to completely abandon Batcave #76, and that no one else should come to this Batcave afterward."

A drop of cold sweat actually trickled down Shane's temple, and his eyes widened.

"Which number?! Has Gotham's underground been dug into a mole's nest? People live on top of it, can the foundations even hold?"

Then he reacted.

"Completely abandoning a Batcave, that guy is truly rich and inhuman."

Seeing Shane's mood plummet from the heavens, Rachel was silent for a moment before proactively trying to comfort him.

"It's okay. The other day, when Nightwing brought me the steak, I cast a similar simple magic on him. But because it was rushed, it's difficult to maintain effectiveness beyond a certain distance—we can still monitor Gotham from here."

Shane's drooping lips gradually curved upwards.

But immediately after, Rachel's expression suddenly changed.

"He's still in the Batcave. He's on comms saying Nightwing shouldn't go near Gotham recently... Damn it, he smiled at me."

Seeing Rachel show a hint of fear, Shane suddenly started frantically patting himself down.

Even though he had taken it off and scrubbed it thoroughly while showering hundreds of miles away earlier.

But what if?

It's possible he hadn't thought of this possibility at the time, so he wasn't vigilant and missed something.

This battle suit he was wearing had a high chance of having been touched by "Bruce Wayne."

He stripped almost completely, turning the black Viltrum battle suit inside out to examine it, but found no extra components.

Shane frantically scratched his head, then had a flash of inspiration and took out the special material box containing the old yellow lantern ring.

After pondering for a few minutes, he still couldn't find any trace of a listening device.

As for the possibility of it being installed inside the yellow lantern ring, Shane thought it was unlikely.

Even if Batman had the technical capability, the ring was usually kept in a special material box that could even block the fear spectrum, and there was already a backup plan to treat the ring as a disposable item for the trip to the Divine Realm.

What would be the point of installing something like this in the yellow lantern ring?

Shane stood there, completely baffled, until Rachel's stomach rumbled.

The former jolted, and incredulously took out the two strangely colored pearls he had been carrying close to him, which were incredibly fortunate not to have been damaged in battle.

Rachel seemed to understand what Shane was trying to do, and grabbed his hand, shaking her head frantically while forcing a sad expression onto her face.

"Big meal~"

Shane closed his eyes, hardened his heart, and picked out the black pearl with his index finger and thumb, rubbing it gently.

The black pearl turned into black pearl powder.

Shane, feeling a bit down, seemed to hear Rachel's near-fainting sound.

"This... forget it, let's not look for it for now. We still have one left, let's go exchange it for money first."

From the pink pearl lying quietly in Shane's palm came Batman's deep, mocking voice.

"Your reaction is indeed quite good. In a sense, you're very much like me, just not as lucky."

Shane's expression visibly changed. He suddenly pinched the pink pearl, his arm already swinging over his head.

The pink pearl was still broadcasting from within.

"Gotham's pawn shops are all backed by Wayne Enterprises. Those two pearls are each worth about 140,000, but the one in your hand can be pawned for 300,000 with me."

"Are you sure you want to get rid of it?"

Shane suddenly felt Rachel's legs tightly wrapped around his.