Chapter 27: The Same Kind of People
Wayne glanced at the comic book in a young noble's possession, it was a Batman comic. The boy probably thought it was cool to become a famous superhero after his parents' sudden deaths, didn't he?
In fact, Wayne sometimes felt that Batman was much better than him, because Batman had friends. Just like Batman had said in Wayne's nightmare, he was not alone.
Superman and Batman, the World's Finest.
Green Lantern Hal was once Batman's most trusted ally, the most determined among superheroes.
But Hal was the first superhero to fall so deeply, nearly destroying the universe, which broke Batman's heart. However, Hal eventually returned to the Justice League. He even fought alongside Batman, facing countless crises together. Ultimately, Hal gave up his godhood and used his Green Lantern ring to help Batman return to the mortal world.
Batman's comrades gave him gifts; they helped him. The Hellbat armor was a gift from the Justice League heroes, jointly created for Batman.
But Wayne had no one to rely on. In this world, apart from a very few close individuals, Wayne only had artificial intelligence.
He didn't expect the Emperor to give him anything. As long as the Emperor didn't cause trouble, it would be fine. If he cooperated and didn't interfere, then there was something to discuss.
After all, both of them were secretive, had many hidden plans, and were paranoid. One dealt with biotechnology and the Warp, while the other focused on artificial intelligence and terror rule. These were all contributing factors to humanity's current fallen state.
Two such similar individuals naturally disliked each other, but they also knew what the other needed. If they cooperated, there would only be constant conflict.
Wayne hoped Konrad could succeed him as the leader of the Wayne Group, establishing an interstellar empire before the Imperium of Man arrived. Just like Dorn and Guilliman—if they had returned to the Imperium of Man a little later, they would have achieved greater personal accomplishments.
He couldn't be a figure like Batman who brought hope. He was merely a dark bat. Konrad could become a better version of himself.
Most importantly, Wayne absolutely would not work overtime for the Emperor, nor did he want to get involved with those Cult Mechanicum fellows. He only wanted to research artificial intelligence on Nostramo and prepare plans to deal with Chaos Gods.
Suddenly, Wayne smiled softly. He had a son now. He reached out and stroked Konrad's hand.
"I've done more ruthless things," Wayne said. "At that time, I even felt that was truly me, but eventually I gave up. I chose relatively gentler methods compared to the past. Now, I rarely kill entire families."
"....."
Konrad was speechless for a moment. Father dosen't know what gentle method mean does he?
But...
Konrd looked at his father smiling as if he was the most innocent and kind person in entire universe.
Indeed, Wayne had become much gentler. After all, Konrad couldn't imagine Wayne killing entire families at the slightest disagreement before, and turning people into flesh puppets to dance until they died.
To be honest I do secretly wishe father would teach me his methods.
"This..." The Primarch hesitated, wondering if he was falling. "I didn't know Father was like this before."
"Do you have any questions?"
"What should I do?"
Wayne lowered his head and smiled slightly. "You and I are the same, Konrad. You crave my methods, don't you?"
Konrad wanted to refute, but couldn't, because he wanted to learn all of it.
"I..."
"I can see you like them. You also want to turn people into flesh puppets, nail them to towers, and kill noble families."
Wayne continued, "It's alright. I'll teach you, Konrad, my son. But you must be able to control these methods. I fell into them and became a monster, but I chose the path of mercy."
"Mercy."
"Mercy is the hardest choice for a madman, and it's our last barrier before becoming...monsters?. Heh, To this day, I can still carry out terror attacks, killing indiscriminately without regard for civilians, but I choose to develop. I believe in Mankind's future."
Konrad understood that madmen were still human, but monsters were not. But every Primarch had a monster within, the form they would take after falling. Konrad feared becoming something inhuman.
"Don't fear your instincts. These are just methods. Look at these nobles, when I discussed things civilly with them, they looked down on me and wanted me dead."
Wayne gestured toward the assembled nobles.
These nobles remained silent. None of them wanted to argue. Now they desperately wanted to ally with Wayne precisely because they couldn't kill him, and Wayne would bypass security and towers to appear in their rooms before they slept, smiling while slicing off their faces.
"Why don't you smile?" This was once synonymous with Wayne's extreme violence. Every noble from then on couldn't sleep at night. They didn't even dare to exploit commoners, fearing Wayne would put them to eternal sleep.
They would go to other noble families, or the next morning see their shattered yet still breathing bodies hanging from their balconies, pleading for death. They would see their servants, or even ordinary old people, suddenly transform into Wayne and rampage through their family gatherings.
Then they could no longer sleep peacefully, only able to beg for Wayne's peace.
Wayne turned back to Konrad.
"I gave up extreme violence and turned to construction because... Adelaine. During one act of violence, I saw a group of children under six years old. They were innocent, yes, yet I punished them all the same."
Wayne looked at Konrad and smiled. "I later realized that if I continued like that, I would just be a monster nothing else. I decided to rebuild this world, to make the monster my strength, not for me to become the monster."
"Father?"
Konrad looked at his hands, understanding that the monster within him was not his burden but his strength. Just as Wayne controlled his monster, Konrad felt he could too.
"I understand. I will not fear my strength. Like you, I will use monstrous and mad methods to show compassion."
Wayne nodded. He still chose to let Konrad use these ruthless methods. After all, Konrad was Night Haunter, not Guilliman.
"Then Nostramo will become better in the future, but it will only be the oppression brought by personal authority. As his most outstanding creation, you possess the quality of assimilating humanity. If you are genuinely benevolent, humanity will eventually follow you."
"Am I that outstanding?"
"Have belief in your grandeur Son. Of course, the nobles won't be so simple. I'll teach you how to negotiate with nobles. If he's polite to you face-to-face, that's easy to deal with. If he's not, break his hand. If he's too high-ranking to do that, go talk to him late at night."
Wayne continued, "Usually, in such cases, they will communicate with you properly. Their brains will work at high speed, using their wisdom to serve you. If that still doesn't work, replace that batch of nobles. This batch is directly scrapped; the next batch might be better."
The other nobles listened, trembling with fear, thier wines spilling due to thier trembling bodies.
Several of them even prepared to act, but they saw a dark shadow outside the window, arriving with the wind and lingering. The nobles realized that Wayne's strongest and most mysterious Black Guard warriors had arrived, responsible for Wayne's safety.
The nobles froze.
Then the nobles ignored everything and began talking to each other, numbing their fear with alcohol and even drugs.
Wayne and Konrad looked at this situation and knew their actions were correct. When the future war broke out, even if some nobles wanted to resist, their families would not have the courage to act.
Wayne would only execute criminals and judge guilty nobles. The remaining people would undergo physical transformation and gain a stable life. Compared to death, most minor nobles would fully support Wayne, making his unification much simpler.
Wayne drank the wine at the party. When his finger touched the cup, he knew if it was poisoned or drugged. Of course, they didn't have the courage to attempt another poison assassination now.
"When you're a bit older, I'll teach you how to prepare plans. Sometimes, thorough planning can make your actions twice as effective."
"Okay, Father."
Across the room, Helena watched the scene of deep father-son affection. They were both the same kind of people, and the Emperor and Wayne were also the same kind of people.
She smiled slightly, her dark eyes turning into a ghostly blue glow, then returning to normal the next second. She gazed at Wayne. Only those who dared to challenge fate and the future were her favorite.
Helena had almost made a move just now, but the stage wasn't set yet. She needed to wait a little longer. The seed of Konrad's inner desire to prove himself had been planted.
The Primarch sought justice, but What is 'Justice', He-He-he. So when Helena's plan was activated, would Wayne and his son still have a chance to win? After all, she had come in person. It was all part of the plan.
"Let me see, Wayne, what plans do you have to fight us, you who know of the Chaos Gods' existence," she thought.
Just then her butler approached her from behind.
"My lady?" her butler asked.
"My butler, eat something. I'm hungry too. After all, I'm just a mortal now."
[End of Chapter]