Not just guilty? But deeply sinful?
At that moment, Herman could only picture himself with a completely baffled look on his face.
"What the hell is going on in that empty skull of yours? Do you think I'm that easygoing?"
Herman suddenly leapt from the chimney down to the ground.
A thunderous boom shook the air. The earth split open. He landed steadily in front of Ghost Rider.
"Want to judge me? Then come on!"
Herman crooked his finger at him, thinking it was time to fix whatever was wrong with this flame-headed fool's brain.
"Sinful soul! Hell... is your only destination!"
Ghost Rider rasped, raising his hand and swinging the pitch-black Hellfire Chain.
"Whoosh—"
The chain cracked through the air with a sharp whistle, blazing flames trailing as it swept toward Herman. Wreathed in hellfire, it writhed like a serpent through the air, sealing off every escape route and locking down his entire field of movement.
The scorching fire roared, as if determined to lash Herman straight into the depths of hell.
"Don't bother playing with toys like this in front of me. Believe me, trying to judge me will be the stupidest decision of your life."
Herman's combat reflexes were already outstanding, and with the divine skill of Bullet Time, evading came effortlessly. Even without reading Ghost Rider's thoughts, slipping past the chains was easy.
Despite the flailing Hellfire Chains blocking every path, he moved through the gaps with precision, not a single link touching his body.
And as he dodged the burning chains, Herman rapidly closed the distance. No matter how frantically Ghost Rider swung, nothing could stop his advance.
"Nice gloves. I think I know who you are... Johnny Blaze. But if you want to look cool, you should at least pick the right target."
Amidst the fierce sweep of the chains, Herman walked toward him as if on a leisurely stroll. He lifted his hand and clamped down on Ghost Rider's wrist. The hellfire couldn't scorch his divine body, nor touch his soul.
"Crack—"
With a bright smile, Herman's grip tightened. Strength enough to crush steel exploded in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, both of Ghost Rider's wrists were pulverized to dust.
The severed hands clutching the chains, gloves and all, fell helplessly to the ground.
The flames along the chain flickered out, leaving nothing but ordinary iron. The skeletal palms turned into drifting black smoke.
"Tell me, how does that feel?"
Herman followed up with a punch, sending Ghost Rider flying. His body smashed through several abandoned buildings in succession.
Under that terrifying force, solid structures crumbled like brittle tofu.
Wind howled in his ears as Ghost Rider crashed into the ruins, swallowed by a storm of dust and rubble.
"Still better than the eternity you'll spend in Hell!"
Ghost Rider growled, pushing aside the debris as he staggered out once more.
He glanced at his ruined arms. Hellfire blazed at the stumps, rapidly forging new skeletal hands. A hunter of demons could hardly afford to lose his weapons so easily.
Clatter—
As Ghost Rider opened his new palm, the chain that had fallen earlier responded, snapping back toward him.
Herman didn't bother stopping it. He knew the Hellfire Chain was Ghost Rider's exclusive weapon. Even if one was destroyed, countless more could be drawn from the hollow sockets of his skull.
"So, Mephisto sent you to hunt me down? I remember now... his precious son died a miserable death."
Herman freely probed Ghost Rider's mind, unconcerned about harming it, and immediately pieced together the truth.
No wonder Ghost Rider kept calling him wicked, insisting he belonged in Hell—it was just Mephisto's assignment.
Didn't I say I was a good guy?
Herman suddenly understood.
"I couldn't care less about Mephisto's son!"
Ghost Rider, realizing his chains were useless against Herman, wound them back around himself and charged forward with a roar.
Herman sneered as he watched him rush closer.
"You really think he'll return your soul once the job's done? Don't make me laugh. That's a demon from Hell. After your father paid with his life, you still haven't learned your lesson?"
Those words struck deep, stirring Johnny Blaze within the Ghost Rider.
"I have my own plans!"
The Ghost Rider roared as he charged toward Herman, raising his hand to grab his head and unleash his signature skill, Penance Stare.
But alas.
Though the Ghost Rider's speed was blindingly fast—impossible for any ordinary human to evade—to Herman, it was barely quicker than a turtle's crawl.
"Your attack means nothing to me."
Herman effortlessly seized the Ghost Rider and slammed him to the ground with a shoulder throw.
Not only were his reflexes and speed exceptional, but his ability to read minds let him anticipate every move before it happened. That was the unfairness of a psychic.
Before the Ghost Rider could struggle to his feet, Herman pressed his knee into his chest. Then, like a storm, his fists came crashing down on the Ghost Rider's skull.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Punch after punch.
Concrete fragments burst into the air as the ground caved in. Cracks spread in every direction. Each swing of Herman's fist ripped through the air with a sonic tear, sending shards flying from the Ghost Rider's skull.
Soon, only a fraction of the Ghost Rider's steel-hard head remained. But no matter how fierce the barrage, the physical punishment inflicted no real damage, nor did the hell-born spirit feel an ounce of pain.
"Cackle cackle!"
Herman's relentless assault only made the Ghost Rider laugh maniacally, his skeletal jaw rattling.
"Masochist?"
Herman had had enough.
That laugh was insufferable.
Divine fire flared in his eyes. As the flames ignited, his entire body surged to an unprecedented level of strength.
"Boom—"
A single punch shattered the Ghost Rider's head completely. The ground itself exploded, collapsing the entire abandoned factory several meters downward.
Ruined structures toppled one after another. A massive shockwave swept outward, churning dust and smoke into a ring that howled through the air. Trees hundreds of meters away swayed violently, thinner ones snapping to splinters.
At that moment, the sheer force of Herman's punch reached a level even the Avengers would struggle to imagine—enough to obliterate the heaviest tank or armored vehicle with one blow.
"Ghost Rider is nothing but a dead knight."
Herman rose slowly. He glanced at the pit where Ghost Rider's hellfire had been extinguished, his shattered skull reduced to fragments. He followed up with several brutal kicks, grinding every remaining bone into dust.
This was grinding bones to ashes. Surely, he was dead for good.
Herman turned to leave, stepping out of the crater his own fist had carved.
"Cackle cackle cackle!"
That smug, mocking laugh echoed once again from behind.
Herman spun around in disbelief.
The Ghost Rider—who should have been reduced to ash—had somehow restored himself to full strength.
With a sneer, he leapt from the pit, flexed his newly reformed head, then crooked a finger at Herman. The flames blazing atop his skull burned fiercer than ever.
A provocation.
A blatant provocation.
Herman couldn't stand it.
He blurred forward in a flash, his fist smashing into the Ghost Rider's skull with world-shattering force, reducing it once again to fragments.
However…
This time, Herman saw it clearly with his own eyes.
The hellfire raging at the Ghost Rider's neck flared wildly, surging upward in a torrent. In an instant, his mangled head was reforged as if nothing had happened.
"Physical attacks don't affect you at all?"
Herman was finally convinced. The information he'd once read was true: even reduced to ashes, the Ghost Rider could restore himself. Even Wolverine would have to admit he was facing a monster.
"Well then, how about this?"
Golden light blazed from Herman's eyes. Twin streams of searing divine fire erupted forth, illuminating the ruins with their brilliance.
The Ghost Rider was hurled backward, his agonized howls piercing the night as the golden light seared his body.
"How about that? Can't laugh now, can you?"
Herman's eyes poured forth endless rays of divine fire. This time, it was his turn to laugh—a bright, radiant smile shining on his face.
"No one escapes my judgment!"
The flames melted Ghost Rider's body, breaking down his very essence. Yet he still roared defiantly.
A dark, overwhelming aura erupted from within him. Black energy wrapped around his body, forging a set of sinister battle armor.
In an instant, it was as if someone else had taken control of the Ghost Rider. His aura shifted, and his power skyrocketed in a heartbeat.
Even the hellfire burning on his body... had turned black.
...
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