58: Where did YOU come from?

Such a sudden and unexpected action shocked the crowd, leaving many even more nervous than before. The main culprit, ignoring the frightened guests, picked up one of the legs of the broken chair. "I had a friend once. One day, I drove an aspen stake into his chest, and he went and died. We'd been friends since childhood. Never would've guessed he was a vampire, ha-ha-HA!" said the smiling villain as he approached the Penguin.

Oswald began backing away, clearly unwilling to let this psycho get any closer, especially while holding a wooden stake. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Ha-HaHa! Calm down, okay? Come on, Pingy, why so serious? Ha-ha, I won't kill you. Otherwise, Gotham would become boring! So, step aside and be a good bird."

The Joker instantly lost interest in the owner of the Iceberg Lounge, and Cobblepot, clearly relieved, retreated to the darkest corner of the restaurant. Meanwhile, Gotham's maddest criminal turned his attention back to the terrified guests.

"So, ladies and gentlemen," the villain began, only to pause suddenly as if remembering something. "Ah, I still don't know how many people are here." He approached a strong-looking middle-aged man. "Listen, do you happen to know how many people are here? I'd like an exact number." He grabbed his chin and tilted his head. "Huh, huh? Looks like he doesn't know!"

Letting the man go, he moved on to another. "Well, maybe you know, huh? Or perhaps you, madam?" The Joker wandered around the hall, asking random people, but everyone remained silent, keeping their heads down and avoiding his gaze.

"What's wrong with you all? Nobody knows! Eh, you'd better learn the multiplication table! Imagine being woken in the middle of the night, and you'd have no answer!" He suddenly stopped in the middle of the room for no apparent reason. His face twitched, but he wasn't smiling. It seemed as though he was deep in thought.

Then, he raised his gun and, pointing it at the stage, fired three bullets at the musicians.

"Well, fine, then! No music today! Ha-HaHa!" His maniacal laughter echoed through the room as he began to dance. The audience, trembling with fear, turned their terrified eyes to the stage, still unable to process what had just happened. Three people had been shot right before them.

Damn it, this man's actions are utterly unpredictable! Why did he do it? What reason could there possibly be? My God, what am I saying—this man doesn't need a reason! He just acts, without rhyme or reason.

Wait, where's she going?!

"Enough! Enough of this madness!" screamed Silver St. Cloud, unable to bear the gruesome scene any longer.

My heart sank into my stomach—not for myself but for this foolhardy woman!

"Enough madness? Enough? And how do you measure madness?" asked the Joker, turning toward the ash-haired girl.

"Why did you do it? What did they do to you?" Silver demanded, her voice filled with anger and contempt.

"So-so-so... And who do we have here? Do I know you, darling?"

"I'm Silver St. Cloud, the organizer of this evening! Their deaths are on my conscience! Why did you kill them?!"

"Ah, I see! Allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for such a marvelous evening. Ask anyone—they'll all agree this celebration will go down in history! Ha-ha!"

"You! Okay, I get it now... You're a psycho, right? That's your excuse for killing three people?"

"No, not at all! They just sang too out of tune to deserve to live," the killer replied casually, as though the explanation was entirely logical.

"You… You're insane!" Silver said, her voice trembling as her shoulders began to shake involuntarily.

"And here I thought I was a Sagittarius," the Joker quipped.

Quiet whispers rippled through the room.

"Why are you so upset about them? If I were dying on the sidewalk, you'd step right over me!" He stepped closer to Silver, grabbing her face with the hand that held his knife. "What, are you nervous? Is it the scars? Do they make me seem strange to you? Or is it my behavior? I admit, I have a certain character. But you know what?"

He released her, glancing around at the crowd with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"You think I'm strange because I'm not like all of you. In truth, you're the strange ones—for being the same."

"Stop pretending to understand anything! You're a lunatic, and your place is in Arkham Asylum!" Silver snapped, glaring at him with fiery defiance.

"The world has become so fake that most people are grateful for lies and offended by the truth," the Joker said, pulling out his gun and pointing it at her head. "Let me prove to you how people are no different from each other. Listen up, everyone: in five minutes, I'm going to blow this beauty's brains out.

"Is there anyone here who'd like to take her place? Don't worry—it won't be an act of self-sacrifice. I won't kill the brave volunteer… at least not right away. After all, I need time to properly get to know someone daring enough to face me."

"Harley, start the timer!"

"Yes, Mister J!"

Damn it, why couldn't she just sit still?!

Why did I ever accept that invitation? My intuition screamed at me to stay away, but no I had to come here, fuc*ing retard! Damn it, I am going to get myself killed over some girl if I keep thinking with di*k.

Okay, calm down. Think this through…

"You're a good person—how can you stand by while this young girl gets killed?" said a tiny angel perched on my right shoulder, clad in a white tunic with a glowing halo and a harp.

"What's there to think about? Go save her! It's the perfect way to win her over!" chimed in a miniature devil on my left shoulder, holding a bloody trident.

"Guys, aren't you supposed to be giving me actual advice?"

"That's true," the angel admitted, "but in this case, there's only one right choice."

"Don't listen to him!" the devil argued. "We all know you'd never leave a damsel in distress."

"Ugh, you're no help. Just disappear!"

As they vanished, I realized the truth—I couldn't stand by. I was the only one who could save Silver and survive the Joker's madness.

As they say, who if not me?

"As you see, all people are the same—cowardly, greedy, and unprincipled. They don't care about anyone else's suffering. They only want to save their own pathetic lives. Can you still tell me I don't understand people? Ha-ha-HE!"

The maniacal laughter echoed again, but Silver's eyes had already lost their spark of hope. She awaited her grim fate in silence, resigned to her death.

Her thoughts drifted to the man she'd met earlier that evening—something about him intrigued her. There was an air of mystery, as though he knew something he couldn't say.

"But he promised to write a love story for me," she thought. "How I'd love to read it… But that's not going to happen now."

She closed her eyes, waiting for the shot.

It was time to act.

I stepped forward, my voice calm but firm.

"Let the girl go. I'll take her place."

My words froze the entire room. No one could believe someone had dared to step up.

Silver stared at me in disbelief. She'd resigned herself to her fate, but now, someone was changing everything.

Even the Joker looked stunned. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped.

"What?! Where did you come from?!"

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Can you all do one thing? Can you all add some images of the harem members?

Thank you all for reading, please vote with power stones.

Man, I could've broken my arm and kept working normally, but this normal fever made me half dead Istg.

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