A crackling sound of electricity rang out as the White Samurai's right arm popped out a high-voltage electric blade.
"Breath of Thunder, Fifth Form: Thermal Realm Lightning!"
A golden-blue arc of searing lightning struck the surface of the Anti-Puppeteer Armor, but the promethium alloy only glowed faintly red before quickly returning to normal.
"Promethium again…"
Inside the White Samurai, Hardy frowned.
Whether it was magic or conventional energy attacks, promethium was almost completely immune. Its physical hardness was also astonishing—unless you had Superman-level strength, breaking through its defenses was out of the question.
"So you think locking yourself in this turtle shell means no one can touch you. Maybe you can block my attacks, but what about him?"
Hardy's tone was tinged with mockery as he pointed the high-voltage blade at the Batplane hovering in the sky.
"I have no intention of being your enemy, Hardy—or whoever you really are."
Batman's deep voice sounded as he pressed a button in his palm.
After Hardy had demonstrated his wind-style abilities last time, Batman had upgraded the Batplane.
The Batplane's underside rotated, four turbines rose and spewed flames, rapidly lifting it into the sky. At the same time, it emitted ultrasonic waves—sound waves can transmit energy and vibrate the air. In theory, if the frequency is high enough, ultrasonic waves can disrupt air currents and density, interfering with Hardy's airflow manipulation.
In addition, there were multiple boosters and airflow stabilizers. Relying on sensors and smart chips for calculation, the Batplane precisely counteracted the airflow generated by internal chemical reactions with external changes in direction and strength, maintaining balance.
Such massive computational power was something only Wayne Enterprises' black technology could achieve.
"Damn rich people!"
Hardy watched helplessly as the Batplane flew away, then looked at Batman, huddled in his turtle shell.
"You can't defend against me forever. Unless you lock that guy up for life, I'll definitely kill him. But if you do lock him up for life, that's no different from true death."
"Oh, and not just him—that fat, greasy mayor, and all those who support that idiot A—"
The idiotic politicians behind Arkham City's policies—I will personally hunt them down and kill them, one by one. I want to know, how will you protect them? Compared to those criminals, they are a thousand times more evil. I think you understand that even better than I do."
"And you've disgusted me twice already, Batman. You must have investigated me and know I have a bad temper. If you keep pushing, I'll retaliate—maybe starting with those closest to you. Tell me… am I right, Mr. Wayne?"
Batman simply stood there in silence, watching Hardy, until Hardy uttered the name "Wayne."
"You're not Hardy."
"No, I am Hardy."
"Hardy, son of Stone Walter White, born in 1987. Attended… at age seven. Entered Gotham University's School of Medicine at eighteen, then…"
Batman recited every detail of Hardy's past, leaving nothing out.
"I've reviewed all your treatment reports from your time in Arkham Asylum. There was a sudden change in you one day. After escaping Arkham, you were no longer that strange doctor, but someone else—someone with an obsessive desire for power and control."
"Mhm, so what does any of that have to do with our fight right now?"
"At the very least, you're not the Hardy from the records. Or perhaps the former Hardy was just a mask you wore to achieve some goal. The person you are now—maybe this is the real you. Maybe I know what you're trying to do."
Batman looked at Hardy as he spoke.
Looking over Bruce Wayne's past, he seemed nothing more than a decadent, pleasure-seeking billionaire playboy—nothing like the serious, mysterious Batman.
That was his disguise. He had even once locked himself up in prison to get close to criminals and understand them.
Before entering Arkham, Hardy hadn't committed any truly heinous crimes—just things like stitching up corpses and manipulating the dead, which fit the definition of mental illness more than criminality.
Looking at Hardy's rise in the underworld, most of the territories under his control were relatively well-run, and he refused to touch businesses like drugs that harmed the public.
He was different from other gangsters—at least in terms of motivation. As for his true purpose, Batman could only speculate and pick the most reasonable hypothesis.
Perhaps the man before him had chosen a path similar to Batman's, yet fundamentally different.
Both had chosen darkness, but Batman used pure darkness to instill fear, fight evil, and maintain order.
This man, on the other hand, blended into the darkness, seeking to control it in his own way and establish an order that fit his ideals.
But his methods were more radical and less constrained by any moral bottom line.
In that sense, he resembled the Demon's Head, though the latter's goal was to destroy darkness, not merely fight or control it.
As for taking a less dark path—like going into politics—that was nearly impossible in Gotham, and Batman understood that.
The more you know about Gotham, the more you realize that light cannot save it. The best example is Harvey Dent. Gotham's darkness will always drag the light down into the abyss.
Hardy hadn't expected Batman to develop such strange theories about him simply because of the stark difference between himself and the original Hardy.
He was merely after more "fortune"—it just so happened that the way to obtain fortune overlapped greatly with the pursuit of power and strength.
As for certain things he refused to do, or refused to let Hog United do, it was simply because he didn't see himself as a good person, but neither was he a beast—and he wouldn't allow those around him to be beasts either.
Otherwise, he might not be able to stop himself from killing those beasts first.
"Very well. Since you know what I intend to do, then don't get in my way."
"I'll be watching you, and I'll stop you from becoming like him—from letting your obsession lead you astray. Also, Mayor Sharp will end up like Dr. Hugo—sentenced to life imprisonment—but they shouldn't die by your hand."
"You mean…"
"Sharp is still the mayor, and Hugo is still a Gotham City councilman. The same goes for those high-ranking city officials—they represent the government of this country. If you kill them, you'll be going up against the most powerful institutions in the world. Then, you'll face the fiercest retaliation, and everything you have will be reduced to ashes."
Batman replied.
Damn! That actually makes a lot of sense!