After speaking, Greed looked at Mephisto and said, "You're outputting the Power of Dreams, so why didn't you have someone watch over it? Now things from the Dream Dimension have run out?"
"Do you even hear what you're saying? I'm not running a charity. Why should I help Incubus output the Power of Dreams?" Mephisto looked at Loki and said, "Wasn't it you guys who said if I didn't help the superheroes gain an advantage, you wouldn't renew my membership? That's why I went to trick Incubus."
"Now Batman wants to get the last Infinity Gem, so I obviously have to find a way to mess things up for him. The best way is to fill this dimension with various monsters from the Dream Dimension. Releasing the monsters is my objective; whether the Dream Dimension merges with reality has nothing to do with me."
For a moment, everyone was speechless. They just remembered that Mephisto did this to help them.
"Don't worry about whose monsters they are. Just tell me if they're strong," Mephisto said. "In my view, having them look exactly like Shiller is a good thing, as it provides both physical and psychological intimidation. After all, before..."
He suddenly stopped here and then felt the Death Stare from Greed. Mephisto coughed twice and said, "Before, when I went out with Shiller's face, the superheroes would run at the sight of me; but when I used my own face, even when I claimed to be history's most evil Demon, no one was afraid. Shiller, you really should reflect on your reputation..."
Greed rolled his eyes at him and then said, "Anyway, those Phantoms inside must not be allowed to run out. You have to call for more people to watch the entrance carefully."
"But if we deploy troops here on a large scale, Batman will know we've found out the location of the gemstone."
"Only allowed in, not out. They can enter, just not exit. Before they go in, Batman doesn't know what's inside. Even if he suspects a trap, he'll still try, since they're currently at an advantage and can afford the risk."
Stark nodded and then sent a message back to the command center to start organizing. Meanwhile, on the other side, the Dark Multiverse Batman team watched as Stark brought in the mechanical army, along with part of Doctor Destruction and the Fantastic Four.
"Damn, that Owlman really can't be trusted!" Batwoman couldn't help but curse. "This guy is really cunning; they must have followed us here. We should have used an invisible spaceship."
Mechanical Batman said, "The spaceship from the Dark Dimension, its technology isn't as advanced as in this universe, and its invisibility tech isn't good either. No matter how we come, we'll be spotted."
Batwoman sighed slightly and said, "Now it's a bit troublesome. Should we try to sneak in, or call for the main force's support?"
"Let's think of a way first," Mechanical Batman said. "I can try to hack into some of the devices on the other side to create some chaos, and then we can sneak in."
"But JARVIS controls the machines on the other side, can you do it?"
"Then send Lightning Batman over," Mechanical Batman suggested again. "Let him scout the route first; if he can get close to the entrance, he can transport us one by one."
"No, actually, I can take you across," Doomsday Batman, formerly the Tyrant, said. "I can temporarily revert to Doomsday form, swallow you, and we can pass through the entrance together."
"You can revert to your original form? Didn't you say you couldn't before?" Batwoman looked at him in surprise.
"I learned a couple of tricks from Helen," Doomsday Batman said. "Previously, I couldn't revert because the concentration of Destruction Day Spores infecting me wasn't sufficient, leaving me stuck between two forms. Helen gave me some spores that have a unique mimicking ability. Now I can switch forms."
After speaking, Doomsday Batman changed from his previous half-human, half-Doomsday form back to his original Batman form, looking flawless. Batwoman marveled in awe.
Doomsday Batman flexed his arms and said, "You clear the path for me, and we should be able to charge straight through. Maybe we can take the opportunity to eliminate a few of them."
Everyone nodded. They knew that at this stage, flashy moves didn't matter; a showdown was inevitable. Better to take advantage of their peak state and have a proper fight with the opponent, weakening their combat strength.
Lightning Batman went ahead for a recon trip, returned, and shook his head, "The Mutants are all gathered on the side, not looking like they're blocking us. But it might be a ploy."
"Don't overthink; just give it a try," God of War Batman said.
A group of them exited the spaceship, and Doomsday Batman roared, reverting to Doomsday form. His body was larger than Helen's mini version, yet smaller than Helen's full-power version. Still, he was an impressive beast, swallowing a large number of mechanical weapons set at the dimension entrance in one gulp.
But clearly, Stark wasn't the one to be taken lightly, as more mechanical weapons came rushing in after detecting intruders. Apart from Doomsday Batman, God of War Batman also fought valiantly. Wearing the War God Helmet, he wielded Divine Power, sweeping away large swathes effortlessly.
Some tough nuts, like the Anti-Wonder Woman Armor, were either tanked by the massive body of Doomsday Batman or drawn away by God of War Batman and Mechanical Batman, returning after a detour. Lightning Batman was responsible for scouting ahead and reporting traps in advance.
Although there were many mechanical armies obstructing their path, their progress was still swift. However, what puzzled the group was: they were already approaching the entrance, so why hadn't the Mutants come over?
"I get it," Batwoman said. "They probably know we're at our peak state, and fighting us would be detrimental. They're already in a bad situation, and if we take out a few more of them, they'd suffer even more. So maybe they're planning to block us from coming out."
The group found the reasoning logical. After all, Batman had told them this was an enclosed dimension with only one entrance. Blocking their exit would be easier than stopping their entry.
These outsiders, unfamiliar with the local powerhouses, wouldn't easily be handed the gemstone. A fight was inevitable. Once Chaos Lord and Order Lord weakened them, snatching the gemstone directly from their hands would be much more economical than stopping their entry.
"Let's just charge in," Batwoman said. "Get the gemstone first, then talk."
The group quickly rushed to the dimensional entrance, their figures disappearing into the shattered rift. Stark watched from the monitor as they left, crossing himself mentally over what awaited the other side.
The reason the Dark Quadrant is called the Dark Quadrant is that it's a pitch-black universe, devoid of stars, and naturally without light or heat. The only light source comes from the comings and goings of spaceships, among which one flight's spotlight particularly stands out, illuminating a vast expanse of Universe Space.
"Move aside! Move aside!" A furry green head popped out of the car window and shouted, "Emergency military affairs! Can you afford to take responsibility for the delay?!"
After saying this, he floored the gas pedal and rushed directly forward. The Green Lantern piloting the spaceship didn't have time to curse out before he suddenly realized what he had just seen.
"Wait a minute, was that the Joker? Quick! Quick, notify Batman!"
When the Primary Universe Batman received the message that "a Joker is driving a gigantic truck recklessly around the Dark Quadrant," this very Joker was already standing in front of him.
"Bad news, really bad news!" the Joker said.
"Didn't manage to rescue Superman?"
"It's ten thousand times worse than that."
The Primary Universe Batman turned away without speaking because he knew the Joker loved to exaggerate. If he ignored him and let him calm down for a bit, he would naturally reveal the truth.
"Shiller..."
Jack hadn't even finished saying these two words when the Primary Universe Batman suddenly turned around. Jack looked at him and said, "The things beneath Shiller's tower have come out!"
The Primary Universe Batman was stunned; at first, he didn't react to what the things under the tower were. When he finally realized what Jack was referring to, he simultaneously realized that Jack might not have been exaggerating; this news was indeed ten thousand times worse.
If Superman wasn't rescued, he would still be revived in Battleworld. If all the morbid manifestations got out, would this universe still be worth keeping?
"What's going on?" the Primary Universe Batman asked. "Did Shiller stop you? Couldn't you talk to him rationally?"
But then he remembered, it's the morbid nature they're dealing with—it can't listen to reason. Yet he also felt something was off. This is the universe where Greed resides; why would Greed let these dangerous elements escape?
When the Primary Universe Batman heard Jack explain what happened in the Dream Dimension in the briefest way possible, he knew the situation was indeed serious. Otherwise, how could the Joker have learned to be so concise?
"You mean now a bunch of Nightmare Phantoms that look exactly like Shiller's morbid nature have escaped from the Dream Dimension and no one knows where they've gone?"
"No, no, no, not exactly the same," Jack seemed to remember and said.
The Primary Universe Batman had just let out a sigh of relief when he heard Jack say, "They're stronger than the morbid nature; they have superpowers."
The heart suspended in suspense now felt utterly discouraged. The Primary Universe Batman was filled with mixed emotions, wondering if it's Night Owl's fault; he wasn't around for long, and now all these trivial problems have erupted.
Now the problem is, if these Nightmare Phantoms cause major chaos in the Real Universe and truly anger Greed, they would all be in serious trouble.
The Primary Universe Batman knew very well that compared to the diligent agents who were always on call on his side, Greed was always lazy, except for possibly meddling a bit with the Infinity Gem saga, the rest of the time he was just spectating. To some extent, the unfavorable situation on the other side also has Shiller's laziness as a factor.
If Greed now planned to pick up the pace and started causing trouble, the already laid-out victory might not end up in anyone's hands. Moreover, he's a vengeful person from morning till night; anyone encountering him in Battleworld later would have a tough time.
"Do you know where those Nightmare Phantoms went?"
"Batman and the agents went to investigate," Jack said. "But they think their manpower is insufficient; maybe you should send more people. These people attack indiscriminately, so they will cause trouble soon; it shouldn't be hard to find them."
The Primary Universe Batman turned back and shouted, "Bruce! Bruce! Time to work! Take the Justice League of your universe and track these Nightmare Phantoms."
Bruce, called over, was still half-asleep. As the Primary Universe Batman and Jack recounted the series of events to him, it was in one ear and out the other until he heard a certain name.
"Shiller?" Bruce asked, somewhat surprised, "What happened with Shiller?"
"Morbid manifestations," the Primary Universe Batman cut to the chase with the key term, "All the morbid manifestations have escaped."
Bruce's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he said, "All escaped?!"
Then he turned to the Primary Universe Batman and said, "Then what are you still standing here for? Pack up and run! This universe can't be inhabited anymore."
With that, Bruce was about to leave but was pulled back by the Primary Universe Batman. He said, "Don't think about running; you need to go track them down."
Bruce's face was written with "Do you even listen to what you're saying?".
"As long as you go, I'll give you a Batmobile, wedding-themed. You can drive it to pick up Selina."