...

Chapter 56: Underworld Of Roses VI

...

Ian went ahead and took a shower before calling for a meeting with all the Rose executives. He started the ritual very late at night, so it was morning by now.

The shower he was in was understatedly a bit isolated as he didn't want anyone to see his state with all the gross blood and smell on him.

Only once he cleaned himself completely did he go back to his room where he found Selina waiting for him again wearing his oversized shirt. They were still stretched in her breast area though.

She pulled him to the bed and sat on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck, "How did it go? Whatever it is you were doing."

She asked with curiosity not expecting much of an answer. There were very few things he was secretive about, and his recent activity was one of them. She didn't mind and just believed that it was for her own good.

"It went perfectly," Ian let out a chuckle, reminiscing about what just happened, "Can you believe that I just made a deal with the devil?"

"Eh? Is that like a metaphor or something?" Selina asked, confused more than surprised he actually told her.

"Nah, it's literal. Well, he isn't actually the devil but one of the hell lords as far as I know." He let out a long laugh afterward, "I can't believe I just scammed a scammer and not just any scammer but a hell lord whose job is fucking people over."

"I don't get it?" Selina was still confused. She knows of many supernatural entities, and even aliens such as Superman, but Demons? A hell lord?

Ian fell back on the bed, bringing Selina down with him as she rested on his chest and awaited an explanation, "I performed a ritual that summoned the demon whose name I will not speak of just in case. The summoning know-how was the courtesy of my side of the plan two weeks ago... You don't need to know much more."

Ian started caressing her hair after making her look into her eyes, "I didn't tell you before because there is a possibility that the demon will find out something about me through you if certain conditions are met or something similar.

Now I am telling you for your safety. Since I involved myself in the fires of hell, I have to teach you about a few things.

First, never make a deal with any demon because it's not a deal they're after, but a robbery, a scam that leads to falling in despair while they laugh at you with amusement.

Second, if you have to do that, just tell me, and I will guide you. I will slowly teach you about the rules and a few necessary things about demons.

Third, demons are a bunch of ruthless scammers. Their goal is your soul and to get it with the least amount of effort possible while inflicting misery upon you. Always assume the worst in their every action."

Selina understood the seriousness of his words, so she nodded, making sure to engrave them in her mind.

"I can rest assured then." Ian layed his head on the bed again out of tiredness.

"I was wondering why you appeared to be tired these days, but I guess you must've barely had any sleep." She didn't scold him as she understood he must've had to do a lot of preparations to make sure everything goes well.

Instead, she started massaging his shoulders, and neck while leaving a trail of kisses on his skin, "I guess I have to comfort you. I don't know exactly how it works, but it seems that you become more energetic when we perform our training sessions."

She bit his earlobe causing Ian to let out a gasp. She then whispered, "Mmnm, what do you think, handsome?" Her hands were all over his body, almost drolling over his form.

"Hmm, have it your way, but let's make it faster lest they wait for long." Afterward, Ian flipped her around, becoming the one above instead.

"We've worked on your resistance for quite a while now, so let's try something different." Ian pinned her down and sealed her mouth in a deep and passionate kiss. This time, his hands were the one all over her body as he helped her take her clothes off, showing her exquisite creamy form.

Ian couldn't help but lick his lips, "It's my turn right now, so just enjoy, alright?" He then dived down to his prize, starting from her neck. In contrast to Selina's naughtiness but gentleness, he was more aggressive, and he seemed to get off from pleasuring her.

Selina remained lying there, defenseless with her hands on her face, hiding her blush and trying to stop her gasps and moans from slipping out. Alas, it had to have happened at some point, and it was when his skillful tongue reached her seductive perky tits.

Ian traced his fingers around them, treating them as holy objects. That was no more as he left a trail of rough kisses all the way to her erect nipples, then gave them a long suck causing his girl to loudly moan.

He worked on her breasts for quite a while, tasting each and every spot of them while Selina was left a moaning mess.

Selina was getting to know his kinky side quite a bit, but he was just starting as he turned his attention to her toned abdomen and started leaving kisses all over.

He did that all while adjusting his position so that his left hand can still fondle her breast and his other hand went to her uncensored holy place.

"Ahnnn Ian waimmmnn Slowmmmn " Despite her moans, Ian was having none of it. He seemed to be high on drugs by just pleasuring her and seeing her hazy eyes, flushed face, and sweaty form.

All the hand on her holy place did was gently brush it, he didn't want to go too far yet, that's his tongue's job, and soon, his tongue started working on it.

He was far too skilled for Selina to bear, "Iannnnw itAhnnmmnnmm " Her first orgasm was intense, to say the least as Ian had to hold her in place and continue with his holy ritual, sucking, gently biting, and letting his tongue five to the depths of heaven.

His main focus however wasn't the holy place. Now you might wonder, what would be holier than the holy zone? Well, it's her thighs of course. His tongue and hands traveled all over them, treating them with strange gentleness and devotion, almost as if they both had the same kinks.

Selina was simply dying with satisfaction as she found her hands clutching onto his hair as she watched his every move with fascination, and soon, "Ahn Mnnnnmmm Ohhhhhhhhhhjgh "

Ian raised his upper body up and looked down on the result of his work, an absolute mess. Selina's body was flushed and her holy place was totally drenched with sacred liquid, and she was slightly twitching from time to time.

"Fabulous. This gave me more satisfaction than anything else." Ian let out a chuckle before picking her in his arms and entering the shower room.

He took another shower with her, slowly cleaning her up in the jacuzzi with warm water, he remained gentle as to not wake her up.

Some time passed before Selina opened her eyes, finding herself lying on Ian's chest with her legs wrapped around his waist, stuck on him like glue.

"Good morning, I guess?" Ian murmured and continued to caress her silky dark hair.

"Hmm, thank you." Selina dived deeper into his chest, finding a more comfortable position. She felt very clean, making her realize that he had freshened her up, "I am sorry..."

"Hm? Why?" Ian was understandably confused.

"You know, I pass out too quickly and we end up not doing much. We aren't even able to go all the way because of that. I just thought that you might be unsatisfied... Are you?"

Even when speaking about such a subject, she remained confident and looked him straight in the eyes. This is her usual style, be upfront about things.

Ian eyed her strangely for a few seconds before shaking his head with amusement, "Oh Selina you have no idea just how satisfied I've been since I arrived in Gotham. I don't even know why you're asking such a question.

Remember, I've abstained from sex for months, and I am used to similar things due to my adventures, so that was never a problem. Even though my desire for you is quite strong, I can still handle working on your resistance which is something I enjoy.

Moreover, it's my fault that this is happening, I have very little control over my power, so you shouldn't feel any responsibility for that."

Ian lifted Selina's chin, gazing at her emerald eyes, and spoke, "The most important thing however is that we're not just lovers but also partners. In fact, we were partners before lovers, we worked together and supported each other, and now, you're even working for me, so have faith in our partnership, alright?"

Selina seemed absent-minded as she stared into his brown eyes with a hazy look, "I... You're really too much." Afterwhich, she rested her head on his chest, hiding her silly expression.

Ian let out a chuckle and hugged her tightly, "You also forgot how honest I am. If there is something on my mind, I will tell you. If I don't want to tell you something, I will just tell you that I don't want to tell you, it's that simple, so if you ever have any doubts, just ask."

She didn't get to respond as she yelped in surprise feeling her ass getting a gentle smack, "Let's get to work, shall we?"

...

Chapter 57: Underworld Of Roses VII

...

"Sorry for the delay," Ian spoke as he took a seat with Selina, joining the group of four, namely Ralf, Barney, Mike, and Layla.

"It's okay, we kept ourselves busy," Barney responded with a bright smile, his grin was almost reaching his ears.

"Tch." Mike scoffed, seemingly in a bad mood.

"Yeah, I can see that. Some things just don't change." Ian let out a chuckle as he crossed his legs together, and observed the table. There were a bunch of cards scattered on it and some cash though the cash was stacked only in front of Barney.

"Again?" Selina let out a giggle. Somehow Barney was even luckier than Ian, and that says a lot considering how the latter acquires his luck.

"What can I say? The benefits of being good." Barney bossed with pride. Selina has been living with Ian for some time now, so they're used to her company, and they know who she is.

"Let me correct that. He meant lucky. The benefits of making idiotic decisions yet succeeding anyway." Mike clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Hahaha, you still don't understand Mikey. It's just like Ian's plans, they sound foolish, but they always work out, so they must be clever. I am just following by example."

Barney's mental gymnastics caused Mike a headache, especially since they make so much sense, but he knows for Barney at least, it's just luck.

Layla to the side let out a giggle while Ralf shook his head with amusement.

"Anyway, let's start," Ian interrupted them after being entertained for a few seconds. The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy and serious as each of them know this should be one of the most important meetings they had to date.

"So boss, you said to wait for things to calm down for a bit before we start our next massive operation, what is it?!" Barney didn't shy out from showing his excitement.

"I am curious as well. You told me nothing about what you're planning." Selina also shared her curiosity.

Ian started stroking his chin with a gentle smile on his face, yet as gentle as it was, it gave everyone in the room quite the psychopathic vibe, scarier than anything they had seen until now.

Yet his words were... Well, strange to say the least, "As you all know, we're very kind. We look out for our people, especially the homeless because we were in their place once, so our next move will be extremely grand, all for the greater good."

The suspense was building up as every gulped in anticipation. His nonsensical words were the norm for them.

"The plan shall be called 'Underworld Of Roses' It sounds nice to the ear, doesn't it? It's basically just my plan to hasten taking over Gotham. How? We already killed two birds with one stone. The Russian and cartel crime families, and they rule a large portion of the east end's other half."

Ralf nodded while massaging his newly grown beard, the holy beard, "The war ended two weeks ago with the fall of the two families, mostly under Batman's interference.

We took the opportunity to take over most of their territory under the other crime families' noses. We've already gained so many benefits, so what's more is there to gain?"

Ralf got used to his position. His back was straight despite his old age, and his demeanor was stern and wise. He was starting to gain the natural intimidation aura of some of the crime lords,

"I didn't plan this far, it's just something that emerged in my mind at the time. We already have enough funds to do some interesting moves, but two weeks ago, we gained even more."

Ian started explaining, and Mike added, "Really, who would've thought while the war was happening, we'd steal all the Russians and Cartels' known valuables, leaving them dry."

Barney was in synergy with the whole conversation as he continued, "Then again, they're gone, so their things are better left in our kind hands."

Ian smiled, "We'll be using it all, and more, all to charity."

"... Hahahaha, yeah, right... Y-you're serious?" Barney really thought it was a joke, sadly, it was not.

"To be specific a charity of our own, let's call it Roses Of Peace. We'll complete the takeover of the east end, and build a few infrastructures, and buy as many properties as possible.

The Roses of Peace shall be grand and peaceful. Somewhere everyone can see as their home, its responsibility is pulling funds for the homeless though we'll mostly use our money.

Its most important role is attraction. I want to call the homeless and beggars from all over the country, as many as possible. We'll let them know that they have a home here, and a home we shall provide.

We already own three coffees, subsidiaries of Cat's rest. We need to build more of not only coffees but also businesses that can succeed only in such an environment.

The rest of Gotham is a fucking mess, but not the east end. Anything we do will bring profit, and the area will become even more prosperous than it already is."

Selina let out a chuckle. The man who always says he isn't smart was speaking words of the gospel right now, to Barney at least, "But your primary goal should be expanding your information network. right? That's the meaning of underworld of Roses."

"Some still choose to adorn a beggar's appearance while looking for information. Others choose to walk around the city just like an everyday normal human.

They're everywhere scouting for info, but I want more, so much more... Layla, you've had a similar experience in your childhood, so tell me, what does this feel like?"

She definitely deserves to be on that seat with all the work she had put in, but most importantly, she's quite experienced in something Ian values greatly.

"A cult, like a cult. Our goal is to free Gotham, to free our home. Perhaps to free the entire world and build our family to where it deserves to be."

Layla was... Her smile seemed even scarier than Ian's. She understood what he wants perfectly all because she was in a cult, she became the cult's leader, she destroyed the cult then lost her way in the streets of Gotham.

"Brilliant Layla, absolutely brilliant! God aren't you a gem."

Right after saying that, Ian's expression became deep as he added, "However, remember what I told you the day I gave you this position. If you ever feel uncomfortable doing any of the things we do, tell me and I shall stop it."

He looked at everyone in the chamber and spoke with rare seriousness, "You all should remember that we are a bunch of scumbags. Whatever good we do is simply a side effect of my plans. Always recall that I am a selfish bastard. This is especially important because it'll remind you what kind of family we are."

"And a greedy bastard, you always take all the good things for yourself," Barney complained directly after.

"And a lazy son of a bitch, you always throw all the cold work on me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to train some of the idiotic underlings?" Mike also followed suit.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but you're really crazy, always guiding us to our death. It only occurred to me recently how lucky we're still alive though that didn't matter to me before, it does now, so keep it down." Even Ralf expressed his thoughts.

"Well, since you all spoke, don't mind if I do... Keep being who you are." Selina really thought about what she wanted to say, but she found herself fine with the whole package that is Ian. The others seemed to agree as they nodded as well.

Ian traced his fingers along his chin with an unreadable expression. He took a quick glance at Layla whose smile was still gentle before letting out a smile, "Then I shall always stay as I am... Now let's talk about how we'll destroy the rest of the crime families in less than five months."

... It's safe to say that everyone was speechless. I mean, they did say stay being who you are, but does he have to be so abrupt and blatantly insane.

"Now I know what you might think, but we don't have a choice. We've gone too far, and we'll be going further. The other crime families will become desperate sooner than later, and I don't want that as it will only be a waste of resources.

We need to erase them from the roots just like what happened with the latest war. It led to many casualties and a lot in jail, so someone couldn't just take over and continue the work.

Underworld Of Roses is a vital part of this goal because all we have to do is to attract the crime families' ire and feed the Bat information. He should be able to take care of the rest.

The more valuable the information we acquire the better, so from today onwards, we'll cut off contact with all crime families."

The east end of Gotham was becoming more prosperous by the day, It was thriving way too much for a few groups' liking. Sometimes Ian's plans don't work out as well as he predicts, they either fail or succeed beyond his loftiest presumptions.

Ian was putting his time into exercise, especially after his one-sided fight with Nightwing. He even used a massive amount of money to hire someone to train him, so much money that the man felt obligated to accept.

That man has just set his foot in Gotham. He had blonde hair with a faint tint of orange, and he was ripped to say the least, as Tall as Ian and the latter is very tall, but his shape was like that of a fucking dragon.

"What a maniac this guy is. Just double would've been enough, he really didn't have to X10 my salary. I guess that goes to show his passion or need for this... It's not bad to be a mentor one last time after my retirement."

He spoke as if he was old, and he was. It's just that no one can see it with how young and vigorous he seems.

Only, will that be enough to prepare him enough for what's to come? A lot of things are about to get out of control after all.

...

Chapter 58: Underworld Of Roses VIII

...

Gotham remained relatively calm for an entire month after the war. The fall of two crime families in that manner was certainly alarming for many, so things went quiet except for the usual crimes and degeneracy.

The east end was the anomaly in Gotham, where people had to look behind their back in other areas, people in the east don't have to do that.

The area was thriving, and businesses were dying to buy in. However, very few businesses found themselves lucky to be part of it, most of the legal businesses were under the Roses' control.

Speaking of the Roses, they became extremely famous across America due to their recent actions. Not just from the monthly donations they give to different charities but also by creating a charity of their own which has already started showing an impact.

Ian can 100% be sure after this that every homeless in Gotham has taken the east end as their home, and that most are working under him. The prosperity also brought plenty of work opportunities with it.

It also brought danger and greedy eyes which is why Ian continued to increase the area's security whenever possible, and he made sure everyone knows the consequences of breaching the Roses' bottom line.

The most secure place however was the Cat's rest. Hell, its security level can even be compared to Area 51.

No, one can even say it's protected by supernatural entities because of Ian's existence. He made sure not to leave the place as he's its greatest protector, a bomb may not explode simply because he's there, all due to his death immunity.

"Very flexible and extremely fit. You're not having a problem picking up what I am putting down though I still don't understand your fighting style, but everyone has their own secrets, so it doesn't matter." Richard Dragon, Ian's new mentor spoke.

He eyed Ian as he spoke. The latter was standing on one foot in a strange position that shouldn't be possible, a significant portion of his weight was leaning towards his left leg which was in the air, so in theory, he should be falling to that side.

However, he remained stable in a strange balance. His arms were extended before him in a claw-like pose. It was as if he was like that for hours as he was sweating like crazy. He looked drenched as if he had just jumped into a pool.

"You're a natural... Change art Leopard." Richard swiftly spoke, and Ian quickly reacted changing his pose to an even stranger one, and it's even harder.

"Are you sure you want to learn everything from me? That'll take years, it would've taken longer if not for your talent." Richard didn't seem to be interested in hearing the answer, he was just trying to distract Ian as even a single flinch can ruin the whole combat style

"Your focus is truly remarkable. I didn't expect it from you with how distracted you seemed when we first met... Combat 3... 2... 1."

He spoke as he stood behind Ian, but the moment the latter heard his words, he changed his posture and faced Richard, seemingly ready for a fight.

Despite his rough breathing and slight shaking, he did his best to focus on the man before him as he knows what will happen otherwise, not that it won't happen now.

Richard just stood straight, his posture was immaculate while Ian's was low, yet from that simple of a posture, Ian still found it hard to evade Richard's kick, mainly because of how shaken up he was.

The low posture of Ian allowed him to naturally fall even lower while performing a 360-degree turn with one of his legs extended, trying to kick Richard's leg.

Yet with just one leg on the ground, Richard still found it easy to jump quite high from the ground and flip mid-air, coming down on Ian with a downswing kick.

Something Richard noticed about Ian is his extraordinary flexibility which has only become more apparent as time went on. His current flexibility was even more of a feat when Richard found out he only started doing yoga a little over two weeks before meeting him.

He used his flexibility to turn around like a snake while still being low on the ground, ending up evading the attack. Ian then reset his posture and eyed the chill Richard carefully.

"I will get a bit more serious, so be ready," Richard spoke as his posture changed, almost mimicking that of a snake.

At that moment, all Ian wanted to do was to let a sigh of resignation, preparing himself for another round of daily suffering.

So it was as Richard leaped to him like a frog, and Ian responded with a swift punch. His mentor's legs however were like a snake's tail as he maneuvered around Ian, seeming like an untouchable shadow.

A month's worth of practice wasn't for nothing as all Ian did was dodging. He saw no opportunity to counterattack, so his only option was to avoid every attack, but all it took is one to land for everything to go downhill.

The claw-like attack that landed hurt to such a degree that it paralyzed Ian for a second, and that was all it took. He tried to regain his calm and posture, but Richard was simply too persistent.

Ian found himself falling down to the ground, unable to move even a single muscle of his.

"Well done, there is progress. Your endurance is good. Your reaction time is excellent. Your pain tolerance is... Passable, you don't seem to be able to handle pain very well." Richard judged.

"..." Ian couldn't respond. He was still having difficulty breathing while some of his muscles were spasming.

"That's still a surprise to me considering all the scars all over your body, and your adventurous life. You told me that you've broken quite a few bones before which have quite the adverse effects that surface with time... Yet when I inspected you, you seemed extremely healthy."

Richard thought while stroking his chin before he just shook his head, "Perhaps you can learn all I have in no more than a year if we continue with this intensity. I don't know exactly how you regain your energy so quickly, but I have seen some weird things, so it's not that strange. Anyway, just tell me when you're ready to continue.

Also, remember that we're sparing when you're at your weakest. When you face someone at your optimal state, you'll feel like a bird spreading his wings for the first time... Value that moment." He seemed to speak from personal experience.

He then walked out of the practice chamber, a large chamber within the Rose headquarters. The ground of the chamber was all soft mats and for a good reason.

It wasn't long before Ian stood up. He was only wearing grey sports pants, so the bruises all over his chest, abdomen, and even neck stood out quite a bit.

He let out a sigh before stretching for a bit, just slightly, "He's fucking ruthless, but I feel like I should go harder, like something ominous is happening or will happen... I will go and recharge my energy."

And that he did, he went back to his room where he found Selina lying on the bed exhausted. She had been training with him just a while ago but got drained before he did.

"I don't know how you do it," Selina murmured under her breath, "The training is getting more intense by the day yet you're keeping up and even forcing him to increase the intensity further."

Ian let himself fall next to her, and she was quick to jump on top of him, making as much contact with him as possible, her head was resting on his sweaty chest, and she didn't mind because she was just as sweaty.

"Ah? Because of your nourishment?" Ian lazily said causing her to let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, it makes no sense. You're feeding me your life force yet I am getting weaker while you're getting more energetic. I don't understand it at all."

Selina murmured as she traced her fingers along his chest. She witnessed him getting more ripped by the day, and damn if she didn't find his persistence hot, especially since she was his mentor before yet he had already surpassed her.

"To be fair, you only stay weak for a while before the overdosing effect disappears, so it's not that bad." Ian shrugged his shoulders before opening his eyes and standing up with her in his arms, a common occurrence that always makes her giggle with delight.

They took a shower before doing their usual training session which requires a lot of skin contact, and plenty of +18 stuff.

They then spent the evening together, running the Roses and overseeing their businesses. They went back to practice in the training chamber by the time Richard came back.

The second session of exercise was mostly about weapon mastery. For Ian, he was interested in dagger and sword mastery. Richard happened to be a master of both, so things worked out just fine.

Selina on the other hand was interested in whips which he didn't have much knowledge about but still instructed her on possible training routines.

She's quite an experienced fighter and she's especially a master of acrobatics, but Richard is hailed to be one of the top fighters in the entire world, so she didn't mind learning more with Ian.

That only went on for a bit more before Ian heard his phone ringing. He left it on a wall table in the chamber, so he only had to walk several steps to get it and answer after seeing the caller, "Sir Carmine Falcone, it's been a long time huh?"

Selina turned her attention to Ian, walked up closer to him, and hugged him from behind, listening to the voice coming from the phone.

"I know of what you have done. Not telling would be pointless considering you'll find out soon anyway, but you really shouldn't have done that.

Did you think we won't find out? No, we did and you just made an enemy of the entirety of the criminals of Gotham. Your friend won't save you, he won't be able to stop us all... The war has begun."

Ian could hear the anger in his voice, not just that but also hate. Ian didn't understand where all of that came from, and the certainty of his words... It was all a bit too strange.

"There is definitely a third force that has interfered, the league of shadows perhaps? Well, it doesn't matter, it's just war after all." Ian scratched his hair without much worry, 'I should just leave all the work to Batman and his associates.'

...

Chapter 59: The Darkest Of Roses I

...

"What a headache," Ian murmured while shaking his head, 'All I need is the last piece, yet I can't acquire it.

There is definitely something supernatural about the location, stopping me from even laying eyes on the piece of the paper, not unexpected considering its value.'

It has been just a week since the start of the war, well, one can not really call it a war since all the work was done by Batman with Ian feeding him information.

He was already giving him information about any illegal deals happening around, anything that can throw someone in jail, but now the crime families are targetting him, basically handing him free evidence, and they're no match for Batman unless they take some extreme measures.

They're however still putting a lot of pressure upon the Roses as the latter have to keep the peace of their territory, yet Ian was thinking about something else entirely.

He collected almost all of the pieces of the dead hell scrolls after Beelzebub's charitable deed. All that's left is one piece of paper which lies in the middle of the desert of Egypt.

It's just not that simple. He couldn't personally go, but he did send a few of his underlings with a few tools yet they found nothing. They even used a gound-penetrating radar, but it showed absolutely nothing underground.

The only conclusion Ian came up with was that something magical is involved, but he knows nothing about magic, 'I can't hire anyone either lest they betray me, I am still kind of weak against magic.'

"What are you thinking?" Selina questioned as she took a seat next to him and rested her head on his shoulders. They were seated right on the edge of the roof.

"I am just thinking that we can't let this go on for much longer. We can't stay on the defensive side because it'll only get worse."

"Everything is going to be alright. You'll think of a suicidal plan and we'll end up just fine... I trust you." She softly spoke without a hint of worry in her tone.

"I do have a plan, but I can't implement it just yet," Ian spoke though there wasn't much worry in his tone also.

Selina noticed as she responded, "If you aren't worried then I am not, but what's the problem? Why can't you do that?"

"There is someone, or something conspiring against us. They don't want us around, there is no other explanation as to why things would accelerate to such an extent. Someone had given information to the crime families about us, information that should be quite secretive yet...

They know a lot more information than they should, and I don't understand how they got any of it. Some are deducible while shouldn't be known at all."

Yet even with all of that, he didn't seem to be worried and neither was Selina, "Just tell me what needs to be done." She had way too much trust in him.

They remained like that in silence just watching the streets of Gotham in the middle of the night until Ian brought out his phone to check on something.

'As I thought, it's happening. Tiny Meteors falling on the earth, this should be what's keeping Batman busy. That and the Joker who started messing with him. I wanted the joker to keep Batman off my back but now I want Batman protecting my back, what an annoyance.'

Ian let out a sigh before just resting there with Selina. It was like a date, they spent a few hours just chatting, eating sweets from time to time until it happened, a deafening blast seemingly heard in every corner of Gotham.

Ian and Selina turned their attention to the closest explosion to them. It was actually quite close to them just one building away.

Ian looked carefully at the explosion site, noticing two destroyed cars, one more devastated than the other.

He noticed brake trails that led him to believe that one of the cars was driving in opposite lines, specifically in the coffee's direction. However, it collided with another car that erupted the explosion.

'They wanted to destroy the coffee huh, it's not the first time they tried that except that in the previous times, the bomb just didn't go off while now...'

It was but an instant before the little Roses surrounded the Cat's rest, protecting it with their lives while others started investigating the scene before the police arrive.

Selina frowned, getting an understanding of the situation, "I guess the only reason the place is still intact is because of you. The other explosion sites shouldn't be so lucky."

"Yeah, this is I wanted to stay here the entire time, but..." Ian shrugged his shoulders and pulled Selina into his embrace.

They hugged for quite a while before he gently whispered something in her ears while caressing her hair. It seems that he whispered a lot of things because it took a while.

Her lips quivered for a second before she wrapped her arms around his neck and sealed his lips in a passionate kiss as if it was the end of the world. She didn't want to let him go at all and Ian reciprocated her passion.

"It's alright. It will be just a nice fun show, and we'll come out on top. It will take some time, but things should work out. If they don't I will just go with some extreme means and everything will be fine."

Ian disappeared that very same day from the face of Gotham and so did the Roses' executives. The Cat's rest was abandoned, leaving no one within, even the chambers beneath it were cleaned out.

In fact, it was like the entire Rose family has disappeared and ceased all their activities in but a few hours, leaving every other crime family in Gotham confused, and even the ones behind the scene were left perplexed.

Yet despite that, the east end remained peaceful because by this point, the Rose family wasn't needed to keep it, they planted the seeds and the trees were growing, acting on their own to protect their home.

"What should we do? Should we interfere know?" Talia asked the middle-aged man standing next to her.

"No, we were too late. He must've escaped, our primary goal is getting rid of the Roses' head and things should work out perfectly, but he disappeared... He's smart." The man was her father, Ra's al Ghul.

"Have we found out why the crime families turned against them yet?" Talia questioned further with curiosity.

"No, but it's not hard to deduce. The crime families must've found out something about the Roses, and from how most crime deals have been failing for the past two months, one can safely assume that the Roses are feeding information to the police, or perhaps even... Batman."

Ra's shook his head before starting to head somewhere, "It's too bad, I wanted to meet with the Rose head, but if we find him, just get rid of him and let the chaos start."

Talia heard his instructions loud and clear as she narrowed her eyes while licking her lips, "You've made way too many enemies. I told you that you'll regret it though be grateful, we'll also get rid of your enemies after your passing and perhaps all of Gotham."

The league of shadows' goal or specifically Ra's al Ghul's goal is to save the Earth from ecological devastation by destroying most of its population, so their goal was not just Ian and the Roses, but also Gotham.

They didn't have as much information as the dark force of Gotham, so they weren't as confused.

They'll however get more confused as time went on, as things got weirder and weirder until nothing made any sense anymore.

...

Chapter 60: The Darkest Of Roses II

...

The cat's rest has fallen. There were no casualties as no one was within, but it did indeed become rubbles. The crime families just had to make sure the Roses are down for good.

They still remained cautious as Carmine believes the Roses are up to something, the recent circumstances made him paranoid.

Just as it made another force paranoid, so they decided to dive back into their hole, hiding until they find it necessary to take action again.

Hell, even Batman was paranoid, way too many things were happening at the same time, and he hadn't much time to investigate things in Gotham, but he did leave things to Nightwing and Batgirl. Much to his dismay, despite Ian's disappearance, he's still receiving information through their usual medium.

It made him paranoid about what Ian could be planning. Alas, he has more important things to take care of, way more important to the point he had to band with Superman, the fallen meteors.

In contrast to everyone's expectation, Ian wasn't in Gotham nor was he anywhere close to it. He was seated in a Chinese restaurant, slowly enjoying a bowel Ramen. Chinese Ramen was something he never tried, he had tried Japanese ramen but never Chinese.

"Hmm, it's nice," Ian murmured after finishing his meal before paying the bill and heading out with a large briefcase in his hand. He was understandably disguised, knowing someone might be looking for him.

He was in New York City, specifically in a residential area located in the downtown area of the city for a specific purpose. He toured the streets of the area for a bit before finding his objective, a small unremarkable shop. It had a few strange drawings such as a hand with an eye within but nothing too catchy that might draw people in, Hokus & Polus Occult Curioso it was named.

Ian walked into the shop casually, finding it empty except for the shop owner, not very a popular place. He laid his eyes on her, the candy of the shop, adorned in a sleeveless purple Chinese dress, it had a pink hue to it.

Her hair was ebony black with a lustrous look to it, styled like a waterfall braid. It was fluffy falling all over her flawless fair skin.

Ian smiled and walked up to her table before taking a seat on her opposite side and eyeing her pale green eyes, in fact, her eyes almost had a white tint to them.

"Ian Rose, a former crime lord in Gotham, perhaps in the future I can regain my position? Who knows." He had a sweet smile on his face, almost as if he was picturing a bright future or a fun one.

Her eyes seized him up from top to bottom with an emotionless look. It seemed as if no matter what he did, they'll still remain just as emotionless and detached.

She had her head resting on her hand at first but that changed as she started positioning her tarot cards in a specific way.

Ian let out a sigh, "How far I've fallen. It's definitely the devil's fault. The son of a bitch wants to collect my soul quickly. I wanted to do a full revamp of Cat's rest anyway, so it's not that big of a deal. It's more fun anyway."

"Do you truly believe that?" The woman before him questioned emotionlessly.

"The last part, yes. The first part, no. I've made sure to include a term where the devil can't interfere to make my death any sooner or make any action that may lead to my death." Ian shrugged his shoulders while letting out a chuckle of amusement, he really fucked Beelzebub over.

"I see... You can call me Madame Xanadu. You can refer to me as Madame, that should be better."

Ian nodded as he made himself comfortable in his seat while crossing his legs and eyeing the objects in the parlous, from books, and different objects to black jars, everything within looked strangely appealing.

"I see greed in your eyes." Madame Xanadu murmured, still arranging the tarot cards.

"How can I not? Everything in here looks like it could fit right in my collection, anything in here for sale by any chance?" He naturally responded with anticipation.

Xanadu lifted her still emotionless eyes, gazing at him for a second before shaking her head, "No. Tell me what you want only if you can pay the price."

"Well, I heard you're a fortune-teller. Can you see my future?" Ian questioned with apparent curiosity.

"Give me your hand." She ordered and Ian obeyed. She took his hand into hers and started trailing her fingers alongside it while observing it as if seeing something other than skin.

That only went on for about ten seconds before she let go of his hand with a frown on her face. Her eyes had a hint of wonder and puzzlement in them but she shook her head and didn't prey on his strangeness for now.

She started collecting all the tarot cards before shuffling them. She then started placing the cards in their previous position from top to bottom without looking at the face of the cards.

Once she was done, she flipped all the cards and started observing each one of them. She then spoke in her usual emotionless tone, "You don't have a future... You'll die in less than two weeks."

Ian raised his brow in... Well, not surprise, "Oh... Ok. Anyway, what I am really here for is your services. I want to get something but it can't be found. I think there some magic bullshit barrier thingy protecting it."

Xanadu gave him a bizarre look before speaking, "I don't do that. I can not help my clients directly."

Ian let out a chuckle, "You see, you'll be helping me indirectly. Just get me inside and we're done. I will get the thing myself."

"That's not how it works."

"No, it's how it works. It's an indirect help. You just throw me in there and that's it."

"And I am telling you that I can't do that."

"Ok, just listen. How about this, just destroy the barrier or something out of curiosity to see what's inside, and I, a random traveler will be there to rip the benefits. You'll be unintentionally helping me."

"..." Xanadu just stared at him in wonder for quite a while, her mouth opened and closed, seemingly trying to say something, "I'll tell you the solution, that's the furthest I can go."

"Tch." Ian clicked his tongue in annoyance, "As long as whatever you say has a 100% success rate, or if you want to lead me to someone that might help, I don't want them to go back on their word and take what's mine."

Xanadu remained silent for a while. His worries weren't unfounded as from the tone of his words, she can deduce that what he wanted might be a bit too powerful.

"I'll accept your request and help to the limits of what I can do. Tell me the location."

And Ian did tell her, and he wasn't worried she would betray him. The rules hold her chained, just as she can't directly help him, she shouldn't be able to betray him while the deal is ongoing, so that may change later.

She then started doing her own thing and it took her a while to finish arranging the new set of tarot cards, "It should be easy to do as long as you persuade someone, but first, pay the price."

Ian lifted his briefcase from the ground and placed it on the table. Xanadu eyed it strangely as she opened it, and what she found made her speechless.

She usually asks for relatively low fees but what's before her should be more than 3 million dollars. She remained silent for a bit before waving her hand to her left side, "Go inside, and good luck."

Ian turned his attention to what looked like a portal opening up right next to him though before going inside, he asked, "How about joining my team? I want to build a versatile unit that can support each other."

"No."

"Ok." Ian shrugged his shoulders and went into the portal, finding another eye candy already waiting for him.

"Xanadu sent you?" She questioned with her left hand on her waist, seizing him up. She was strangely attired in a top hat, a black tuxedo jacket with a white top underneath and a white bow-tie around her neck, with black fishnet tights and black, knee-high high-heeled boots.

It's safe to say that her clothes made her even more captivating than she already is. Her fishnet showed her enticing ample creamy thighs, a sight to behold especially since that's his weakness.

Just as she stared at him from top to bottom while probing him with her magical means, he eyed her from top to bottom for a second before nodding at her.

"Huh Troublesome," Zatanna let out a sigh, "Well, I guess she owes me another one. Also, why does magic i..." She wanted to say something, but she stopped, seeing a letter flying her way from the portal, and only then did the portal close.

She read through the letter before eyeing Ian again, "The only thing I will do is to destroy the barrier and the rest is up to you. If you can do it, then good for you, if not, I will take it myself. Also, if I sense whatever the object is to be too vile and powerful, I shall take it... This is not a negotiation."

Ian stroked his chin, contemplating her words for a second before glancing at her eyes, "Sure."

Zatanna got to work instantly as she waved her hand before her, "Latrop!"