The world wasn't slow.
I was simply seeing more.
Every motion became a diagram.
Every breath a warning.
Every strike a straight line leading to its destination.
The Transparent World had awakened.
My eyes widened—not in fear, but in awe.
"This… is what it feels like…"
The assassins lunged.
I moved.
Not faster—
just… smarter.
I stepped aside before their attacks even began.
I ducked under a kick I saw coming from the way his calf tightened.
I countered strikes by tapping nerves I could visualize beneath their skin.
My body flowed.
My mind sharpened.
I wasn't fighting them—
I was reading them.
The Assassins Realize Something Is Wrong
One of them gasped:
"He's anticipating us!"
Another hissed:
"No—he's predicting—!"
But they were wrong.
I wasn't predicting.
I was seeing.
I struck the first one in the sternum
precise.
The second took a palm strike to the diaphragm.
The third collapsed when I swept his leg at the exact moment he shifted his weight.
The fourth dropped after a nerve tap to his neck.
Five and six lasted longer, but only barely.
Seconds later—
all six were on the ground.
Gasping.
Defeated.
Stunned.
I stood in the center of the arena, chest rising and falling slowly, my vision slowly fading back to normal.
Transparent World vanished…
…but its echo remained
Ra's al Ghul's Reaction
Ra's al Ghul stepped forward from the balcony.
He looked down at me with something rare—
Awe.
"…Remarkable," he whispered.
"No normal child can do what you just did."
Talia moved beside him, her expression tense and confused.
Ra's spoke louder:
"He sees their moves. Their bodies. Their attacks.
As though the world itself slows for him…"
Talia swallowed.
"Damian… what are you?"
I met her eyes.
Calm.
Steady.
"I'm your son."
And I will become something far greater.
Ra's smiled softly—
a dangerous, fascinated smile.
"Raise your head, Damian," he commanded.
"The League must understand…"
He spread his arms.
"…that today, they were defeated by a five-year-old."
The assassins bowed their heads in shame.
Ra's finished:
"This is the future Demon's Head."
And in my mind…
I whispered silently to myself:
This is only the beginning.
The Transparent World is only one piece.
The sun hasn't even begun to rise