章 56: The Weight of Impulsiveness [56]

Clark at Sir Patrick's Castle

'So, that's the castle.'

Clark observed from a distance, still invisible, leaning against a nearby tree. Sir Patrick's castle stood out on the horizon—a stark stone structure surrounded by a dense forest of ancient trees. The architecture was imposing but lacked excessive ornamentation, a typical fortress of old London, with towers reaching toward the cloudy sky. There were no other visible buildings, only the castle and the surrounding trees, creating an isolated and almost mystical environment.

Clark narrowed his eyes, activating his X-ray vision.

The castle's thick walls did little to block his power, allowing him to scan the various rooms.

He located Sir Patrick in the main hall, seated in a rustic armchair, seemingly lost in thought. His posture was relaxed, with no indication of urgent or suspicious activity.

'There he is.'

Clark pondered, realizing that simply observing from afar would not be enough to confirm his suspicions. Sir Patrick's apparent calm did not reveal the true identity of the man Clark believed to be Ares.

'If I want to confirm he's Ares, I'll have to get closer.'

Clark was about to act when his super hearing picked up something alarming from the city.

Desperate screams of a woman echoed in the distance:

"Murderer! Murderer! Help!"

He remained invisible, leaning against the tree, as his attention shifted to the chaos unfolding in London's streets. The screams grew louder, suggesting a critical situation that could not be ignored.

....

Hotel Savoy - A Few Minutes Earlier

Diana in the Hotel Room

Time seemed to crawl painfully in the hotel room. Diana was restless, feeling trapped and useless. She paced back and forth, casting impatient glances at the window, trying to see beyond the thick fog covering London. The passivity imposed by the wait felt like a weight on her shoulders. She needed action; she needed to do something. The feeling of helplessness was something the warrior simply could not bear.

Suddenly, Diana stopped, her sharp senses picking up something unusual.

Screams. Not just one scream but several, coming from the same floor of the hotel. Desperate voices echoed through the hallways, and she could clearly distinguish a woman crying out for help:

"Help! Someone help me!"

Diana frowned, her warrior instincts instantly kicking in. Without hesitation, she walked to the corner of the room and grabbed her gear—her sword, shield, and the Lasso of Truth. Her expression was one of pure determination. There was no way she would stand idle while someone was in danger so close by.

With her weapons in hand, Diana opened the door to the room and quickly stepped into the hallway.

She could hear the screams coming from one of the nearby rooms, her heartbeat pulsing in sync with the urgency of the situation. Determined, she ran toward the sound, her armor reflecting the pale light illuminating the hotel corridor.

When she reached the door where the screams were coming from, Diana didn't hesitate. She threw her weight against the door, which gave way with a deafening crash.

BAM!

The door burst open violently, slamming against the wall with a force that made the room tremble. Diana quickly entered, her eyes immediately capturing the scene before her. A woman was naked, tied to the bed, her eyes wide with terror. Above her, a man was kneeling, turning with an expression of absolute shock as he saw Diana's imposing figure in her armor.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Diana roared, her voice firm and powerful, echoing through the room.

The man, paralyzed by the sudden entrance, hesitated, unable to articulate an immediate response.

The woman on the bed, seeing Diana, became even more frightened. Her eyes widened in terror as if the warrior's presence was equally threatening. She didn't know who this armed and powerful figure was; she only saw someone who had just broken down the door.

Finally, the man recovered from the shock, his expression shifting from fear to anger as he shouted:

"Who do you think you are?! How dare you barge into this room?!"

Diana didn't respond with words. In a swift, precise movement, she raised her sword and, with a decisive strike, decapitated the man in one blow.

SLASH!

The man's body fell to the floor as his head rolled to the side, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. Diana turned her attention to the woman, her voice attempting to be reassuring, though the scene was still saturated with violence.

"You're safe now. There's no need to worry," Diana said, trying to calm the woman.

However, the woman's reaction was one of pure panic. She began writhing in her restraints, her eyes fixed on Diana's figure, tears streaming down her face.

"Murderer! Murderer! Help!" the woman screamed, her body trembling with fear as she tried to get as far away from the warrior as possible.

Diana frowned, confused by the woman's reaction. She had just saved her life, but instead of gratitude, the victim was terrified.

'"You don't need to be scared. I've already killed that man,"' Diana said, trying to explain, but her voice sounded almost perplexed, as if she couldn't understand why the woman was so frightened.

The woman, however, could not be comforted. She continued to scream, her voice hoarse with desperation: *"Help! Someone help me! Murderer!"* Her eyes were wide with terror, unable to process that Diana was a savior. To her, all that mattered was that she had witnessed a brutal and bloody scene.

She shrank against the headboard of the bed, still tied up, her body shaking uncontrollably. Diana, unsure of what to do, stood by her side, trying to find a way to calm the woman but realizing that, at that moment, her presence only amplified the victim's terror.

Suddenly, everything around seemed to stop. The woman, who had been writhing in despair, suddenly froze. Her terrified expression remained, but her body was motionless, the trembling halting abruptly. Diana, still holding her blood-stained sword, stood frozen, a crimson drop suspended mid-air. It was as if time had been suspended at that moment.

At that moment, Clark entered the room, the Speed Force still active. The scene before his eyes was chaotic and tragic.

He saw the man's decapitated body on the floor, the head nearby, and the woman tied to the bed, screaming in despair. Diana stood there, her bloodied sword in hand, a look of perplexity frozen on her face.

'I shouldn't have left Diana alone,' Clark thought, his mind quickly assessing the scene and considering the next steps.

Clark approached the woman carefully.

He touched her head and began to read her mind, accessing her memories. The images flowed into his consciousness: the woman was a prostitute hired to enact a consensual role-play scenario with the now-dead man. The scene Diana had interrupted was consensual, and the man posed no real threat.

Clark turned his attention to Diana, who remained frozen. She was clearly confused, unaware of the context in which she had acted.

'How am I going to clean up this mess?' Clark thought, observing the complexity of the situation. The blood on the floor, the panicked woman, and Diana—the warrior who, unknowingly, had made a fatal mistake. It all required a careful and swift solution to prevent the situation from escalating further.

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