Several Talons glanced at each other.
They had no idea who the woman in front of them was. Stephanie was not among their assassination targets.
But after a brief moment of thought, they came to a simple conclusion.
Since she was trying to stop them from completing their mission…
They could eliminate her along the way.
The Talon who appeared to be the leader looked at one of his companions.
The order was clear.
The Talon immediately rushed toward Stephanie, a Western sword in his hand.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes.
With a swift motion, she pulled out a silver three-section staff from behind her back.
After three days of relentless training, she had finally learned a little of the three-section staff techniques taught by Jin.
Tonight…
She intended to prove that she was not just a useless decoration.
Meanwhile, inside the Court of Owls' maze.
The Talons surrounding Jin and Barbara had already been reduced to less than half.
Through perfect coordination, the two had eliminated most of them.
Only five Talons remained.
They looked like candles in the wind.
"It's time to finish this."
Jin's eyes turned cold.
He raised his right foot and stomped heavily on the ground.
"BOOM!!"
An incredibly powerful force erupted.
The stone bricks beneath his feet shattered and rose into the air.
Even the five remaining Talons were lifted upward by the shockwave.
Their bodies froze in midair.
It looked as though time itself had stopped.
In truth, everything around them had fallen into a strange time-like stagnation.
Barbara stood frozen in shock.
Even the members of the Court of Owls, who were watching the scene remotely, seemed frozen in place.
Even the water inside the owl fountain had stopped flowing.
Only one person in the entire scene moved freely.
The source of all this—
Jin.
Jin calmly adjusted his slightly messy collar and straightened the cowboy hat on his head.
Then, Ebony and Ivory spun smoothly in his hands in a perfect 360-degree rotation.
"Slaughter Frenzy."
Both guns were aimed at the five Talons suspended in the air.
Jin pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
His figure became a phantom-like blur.
To the naked eye, only afterimages remained.
Bullets fired at an impossibly fast speed and in overwhelming volume.
Then Jin tossed both guns toward the center of the five Talons.
He leapt into the air.
Catching both pistols again midair, he began spinning rapidly, firing continuously.
The bullets rained down like a storm.
Jin landed lightly on the ground.
After standing up, he snapped his fingers.
"Snap."
"Boom!"
Time returned to normal.
The Talons hanging in the air exploded instantly.
Flesh and blood scattered everywhere.
With overwhelming strength, Jin had eliminated every Talon surrounding them.
Seeing the situation turn disastrous, the members of the Court of Owls watching the battle quickly retreated.
They immediately prepared to hold an emergency meeting.
"Ew! That's disgusting!"
Barbara shuddered, sticking out her tongue in disgust.
Although none of the blood had touched her, the sight alone was enough to make her uncomfortable.
"Is that you…?"
"And Batgirl as well?"
At that moment, Bruce's voice sounded from behind them.
His voice was hoarse.
It was clear he hadn't had water for quite some time.
Jin and Barbara turned around.
Sure enough, Bruce Wayne was leaning against the wall.
He looked at them with suspicion.
Earlier, Bruce had been subjected to a hallucinogenic attack by the Court of Owls.
In his hallucinations, his dead parents had appeared before him.
The psychological shock had been enormous.
Then he had been scratched by an owl, causing further hallucinations.
Because of that, Bruce still wasn't completely convinced the people in front of him were real.
Jin rolled his eyes.
"Do you want me to start listing embarrassing things from your childhood?"
"When you were seven years old—"
Bruce quickly raised his hand.
"That's enough."
"Stop right there."
There was a third person present.
Bruce still needed to maintain Batman's cold and dignified image.
So he immediately cut Jin off.
Jin chuckled and stepped forward, helping Bruce stand.
"Tell me what you found."
Bruce looked at Jin.
After staring at him for a moment, he sighed.
"Fine…"
Bruce knew Jin intended to wipe out the Court of Owls completely.
So he explained everything he had discovered.
Including the location of the Court's hidden base, which he had once investigated when he was a child.
After hearing the information, Jin nodded.
He escorted Bruce back to the surface.
Barbara stayed behind to guide Bruce out.
Meanwhile…
Jin went alone toward the Court of Owls' headquarters.
Some time later.
Inside a hidden secret chamber.
"Bang!!"
A man wearing a white suit and an owl mask slammed his fists onto the table.
His voice was filled with rage.
"Damn it!"
"When did such a monster appear in Gotham?!"
"Most of our main forces were there, and they still couldn't stop him!"
Jin's terrifying combat ability had completely shocked the entire Court of Owls.
"Calm down," another member said.
"We should focus on how to deal with that man now."
Several members nodded in agreement.
At that moment, one member suddenly stretched his leg out from under the table and placed it casually on top of the table.
The others immediately frowned.
They were all Gotham elites.
Such rude behavior was unacceptable.
But the man who had slammed the table earlier suddenly noticed something strange.
"Who are you?"
"I don't remember seeing you in the Court."
"Hm?"
The mysterious man chuckled softly.
Then he slowly removed his owl mask.
Revealing his face.
It was the very person they had just been discussing—
Jin.
Everyone's expressions instantly changed.
They jumped up from their seats.
Some backed away in panic.
One man even ran toward the wall behind him, reaching for the shotgun hanging there.
"Bang!"
A gunshot echoed.
The man collapsed instantly.
The members of the Court of Owls turned pale beneath their masks.
They huddled together like a group of frightened owlets facing a deadly eagle.
Jin slowly walked toward the door.
A smile appeared on his face as he looked at the terrified group.
"So…"
"What exactly do you want?"
One member asked tremblingly.
Jin raised an eyebrow.
He lifted Ebony and Ivory, aiming them directly at the group.
"Right now?"
"I'm just changing the roles…"
"Between the hunter and the prey."
"Slaughter Frenzy."