Lingering Ghosts

Knowing Batman well, the Joker instantly understood Batman's meaning upon hearing Batman speak. If Batman's mental state was truly compromised, then the Penance Stare could definitely harm Batman, or even kill Batman!

Unfortunately, the Penance Stare was cast by Joker Joker, which proves that the Joker is not dead. However, the Penance Stare Penance Stare is powerless against Batman, who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment.

"Perhaps, I need to force Batman to accidentally kill someone else before I can truly put him to trial!" A thought flashed through the Joker's mind, and he looked towards Arkham Asylum.

At this point, Arkham Asylum certainly wouldn't only have Elsey as a doctor; there were several other doctors and patients inside. If the Joker and Batman continued fighting there, luring Batman to use even more powerful forces to cause destruction, and unintentionally destroying the entire Arkham Asylum, everyone inside would naturally die!

By then, Batman's mental state will inevitably be affected, and using the Penance Stare at that time will surely be able to truly harm Batman!

Thinking this, the Joker's eyes lit up, and his previous annoyance instantly vanished. He wanted to continue fighting Batman; how could he give up just because the Penance Stare had failed once? Besides, it wasn't like the Joker hadn't lost to Batman before...

Moreover, he had just won a race against Batman, so he now had a win-loss record. In addition, Batman failed to save Elsey from him. As long as he didn't care about the Penance Stare's mistake, he still had some advantages. Therefore, the Joker quickly adjusted his mindset.

With a whoosh, the Joker, having adjusted his mindset, instantly attacked. Knowing he couldn't gain the upper hand over Batman in terms of strength, he decisively chose to continue using Hellfire against his enemy.

Batman frowned. He suddenly realized that the battle seemed to have returned to square one, back to the state it was in when he first arrived at Arkham Asylum. Although he had broken the Joker's Penance Stare, if the Joker continued to bombard him like this, he wouldn't gain any advantage...

However, Batman couldn't just stand by and watch the Joker unleash Hellfire on Arkham Asylum behind him. There were still people inside, especially since one person had already died. Batman absolutely couldn't allow anyone else to die in front of him!

With a hiss, Batman, even knowing his Dark Energy was inferior to Hellfire, still tried his best to resist. However, the difference in energy was not something that could be overcome by effort alone.

The Hellfire continued to ravage Arkham Asylum, bombarding the Arkham Asylum to shreds. The Joker, too weary to even consider moving in and experiencing his new home, decided to wait until the next time Arkham Asylum Arkham Asylum rebuilt before truly immersing himself in its atmosphere...

As for Arkham Asylum and its patients and doctors, they can only be sent to hell to wait for the Joker to come and see them one day!

However, while the Joker's idea was good, Batman wasn't without a way to counter it. In fact, Batman's Dark Energy was no match for the Joker's Hellfire, but Batman wasn't fighting alone!

Although General Ika's consciousness was severely damaged, it did not affect Batman's ability to use the power of the Dark Dimension or control the Shadowkhan.

When the Shadow Warrior face the Joker, they are like moths drawn to a flame, unable to cause any impact. However, the Shadow Warrior can transfer patients and doctors from Arkham Asylum!

Once the patients and doctors are transferred, what does it matter if Arkham Asylum is completely destroyed? Rebuilding Arkham Asylum is just a matter of minutes for Batman; it won't take much time at all!

"Boom!" As Arkham Asylum continued to be destroyed, the Joker noticed this, and his expression turned grim again. However, the Joker was indeed helpless. His Hellfire was powerful, but it was not enough to completely suppress Batman from a distance. At most, it could only cause damage to the surrounding area and could not achieve the goal of disrupting Batman's mental state!

"Very good! Little Bat, you were able to protect it here. I hope you can do the same next time in Gotham City!" After completely destroying Arkham Asylum, the Joker had no intention of staying any longer. Since this place could no longer threaten Batman, he would move on to another location and deal with it next time!

This wasn't the first time they'd evacuated like this. The Joker had already killed Elsey in front of Batman and destroyed Arkham Asylum. In this battle, at least the Joker wasn't at a disadvantage, not to mention that Joker was basically dominating Batman throughout the fight!

The method Batman used to completely destroy the Joker's body seems to be a secret trump card Batman developed, which he may not be able to use easily, or even a one-time use. Otherwise, given Batman's personality, he would probably find an opportunity to trick the Joker again!

"Goodbye, Little Bat!" The Joker leaped to his feet, deciding to give up the fight Batman. He lunged at his Joker Mobile Joker Mobile, and a terrifying flame erupted from it as it sped away from Arkham Asylum, leaving Joker Mobile alone behind.

"Little Bat, this is just a welcome gift for my return. Next time, it won't be so easy!" The Joker's voice echoed in the darkness. Batman frowned, watching the direction the Joker had left in without taking any action.

It wasn't that Batman didn't want to chase, but rather that Batman simply couldn't catch the Joker at that moment.

Previously, after the Joker entered Arkham Asylum, he used fire to destroy Batman's Batmobile. Even though Batman used the Ika Mask to protect himself with Dark Power, his vehicle was still destroyed.

Moreover, even if it isn't destroyed, given the power the Joker Mobile has demonstrated, it would be extremely difficult for the Batmobile to catch up with the Joker.

"Strengthen surveillance of Gotham. Notify me immediately if the Joker shows up!" Batman took a deep breath and whispered, watching the direction the Joker had gone.

"Yes, sir," the Butler Alfred, replied, raising Gotham's security level even higher.

The one seeking revenge is the Joker. Raising the city's security level as high as possible is perfectly justified. Even before his superpowers, the Joker was enough to give Batman a major headache in Gotham. It took an immense amount of effort to finally imprison Joker in Arkham Asylum...

Now that the Joker has regained his freedom and gained superhuman powers, Joker poses an even greater threat to Gotham!

This time is different from when the Joker wielded the Ika Mask Ika Mask. When he did, Joker was still in Arkham Asylum, and his main purpose was to send the Dark Knights out to cause trouble; the destruction wasn't as severe then.

But the Joker, now a skeleton, was different. Joker had become a superhuman, and his destructive power was far more terrifying than before. Most importantly, Batman, knowing his old adversary well, keenly sensed that the Joker's mentality was somewhat unstable!

The Joker was a psychopath with wildly imaginative thoughts, but Batman felt he could still keep up with the Joker's thinking, and at that time the Joker still had some principles, such as not liking to leave Arkham Asylum unless there was a bigger plan.

But now, Batman is struggling to keep up with the Joker's train of thought. This either means that the Joker has surpassed Batman's way of thinking, or that the Joker has begun to lose control!

As the person who knows the Joker best, Batman knows how terrifying it would be if the Joker completely lost control; he could very well drag Gotham and even the entire world into darkness!

"I need to make sure the Shadow Warrior are well hidden and keep a close watch on the surroundings!" A thought flashed through Batman's mind, and countless Shadow Warrior scattered.

Batman knew that the Joker knew a lot about the Shadow Warrior. The Shadow Warrior might not be able to do anything, but sending them out was better than not sending them out at all. Even the slightest Spider Web could help uncover the Joker's conspiracy!

After dispatching the Shadow Warrior, Batman looked at the Ika Mask. Batman could sense that General Ika was still trembling. It seemed that the effects of the Penance Stare on General Ika had not yet dissipated; it wasn't just the physical impact, but also the psychological one...

Batman had also experienced the Penance Stare, so he naturally knew how powerful Penance Stare. However, Batman felt that General Ika, given his strength, shouldn't be so afraid of the Penance Stare.

However, what Batman didn't know was that the power of the Penance Stare was determined by the degree of evil. Even though many innocent souls were blamed on Batman, the evil Batman actually committed was far less than that of General Ika!

General Ika has lived for countless years. Although he suffered defeats at the hands of the Joker and Batman, he is still considered one of the Demon of the Dark Dimension. As a long-lived Demon lurking on Earth, how could his sins be few?

Of course, if it were just a matter of having many sins, General Ika wouldn't have ended up in such a terrible state. With enough sins, the power of the Hellfire was also strong enough to burn General Ika's soul to ashes on the spot. Considering all that, General Ika shouldn't have suffered too much pain.

However, the problem is that General Ika's soul is not so easily burned to ashes. The Dark Dimension power behind General Ika General Ika constantly supporting him, helping him stabilize his soul.

Therefore, General Ika was essentially experiencing two extreme states of destruction and restoration, which amplified the original pain to ten or even a hundred times, and General Ika had no way to resist it!

"What kind of power is the Joker using?" Batman asked, looking at General Ika, who was still trembling.

"..." General Ika's consciousness was somewhat blurred at this moment. The power of the Hellfire had gradually subsided, but it was not so easy to recover. Therefore, when faced with Batman's question, General Ika was unable to answer.

"Whoosh!" Just as silence fell over the area near Arkham Asylum, a Batplane appeared above Batman. The Batmobile had been destroyed by the Joker, and the area around Arkham Asylum was a desolate wasteland. Batman couldn't directly use his grappling hook to scale the walls and return to Gotham City. Besides, compared to the power of the Ika Mask, Batman was more comfortable with the power of technology. Therefore Butler Alfred thoughtfully sent the Batplane...

Batman quickly returned to Gotham to prepare, after all, the Joker had already vowed revenge after this defeat, which would inevitably cause a huge uproar...

The entire Gotham was instantly filled with a sense of impending doom, but the Joker was no longer in Gotham. As he drove his Joker Mobile away from Arkham Asylum, he saw a familiar figure on the way. That figure was none other than Mephisto, the one who had previously forced the Joker to sign a contract!

"My knight, not bad. Although the car you're driving is a bit beyond my expectations and not within my aesthetic range, at least you've lived up to the title of knight." Mephisto, halfway through the journey, looked at the Joker and nodded with a smile, speaking softly. But the Joker Mobile had no intention of stopping; instead, it crashed directly into Mephisto's body.

With a "whoosh!" sound, as if it were an illusion, the Joker Mobile passed right through Mephisto's body, but didn't hit anything.

"Hmm?" The Joker frowned, showing no intention of stopping to investigate. He could sense that Mephisto was different now than before. When they made a contract before, Mephisto was more real and more terrifying, but now Mephisto was like a ghost that didn't exist in the human world, all show and no substance, and had no impact on reality at all.

In fact, the Joker's senses were not wrong. Mephisto, who had previously made a contract with the Joker, was a consciousness formed from a drop of blood. Even though it was only a drop of blood, it was still the blood of the Hell Lord, so his strength was naturally great.

Mephisto has no intention of finding Human Vessel, as it would only be a waste of time and energy. For Hell Lord like him, both the consciousness of Earth Dimension and the Sorcerer Supreme would keep a closer eye on him. Mephisto simply descends with a powerless consciousness, which will not attract any attention.

Of course, even if the Joker realized that Mephisto wasn't that much of a threat, Joker still had no intention of stopping. But since Mephisto had his eye on the Joker, how could he let Joker escape so easily?

On the road, Mephisto's figure kept appearing in front of the clown 'Joker Mobile Joker Mobile, only to be passed through again and again, with no intention of stopping...