"Huh?"
Herman realized his Divine Fire Ray had been blocked by that suit of battle armor.
Before he could make sense of it—
"You! Guilty!"
The Ghost Rider's speed surged dramatically. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Herman as if he had teleported.
Such speed…
It even surpassed Quicksilver's current abilities. Though Herman reacted with Bullet Time, his body couldn't execute an evasive move in time.
"What's happening?"
Yet Herman remained calm.
He didn't even close his eyes to brace for the judgment. Facing the Ghost Rider at point-blank range, he swung another punch straight at the skull.
"Useless!"
The chains binding Ghost Rider whipped to life, snapping around Herman's fist and halting the devastating blow.
"Submit to judgment!"
The skeletal head cackled as Ghost Rider's jaw stretched wide. A thicker, sturdier Hellfire Chain spewed forth from his maw.
Wreathed in black hellfire, the chain instantly wrapped around Herman's entire body. Even with his overwhelming strength, he couldn't break free.
The black flames burned hotter, their power far more vicious, making Herman's skin tingle with pain—but nothing more.
"This truly surprises me."
Herman smiled faintly.
"Let's see how many sins you've committed. You'll endure the most agonizing judgment and feel the torment of your victims."
Ghost Rider gripped the chain binding Herman tightly in both hands.
"Look into my eyes, and accept judgment!"
Only flames flickered in the hollow sockets. Within the black voids, a deeper shade of hellfire burned with a sinister glow.
In an instant, the fire swirled into rings of flame, pulling at Herman's soul.
To Ghost Rider, anyone facing the Penance Stare head-on should already be screaming in agony, their soul ignited by his power.
What Mephisto's contract? That was Johnny Blaze's concern. What did it matter to Zarathos, the ancient demon controlling the Spirit of Vengeance? A soul this tempting should be nothing more than nourishment to restore his strength.
The Spirit of Vengeance was already prepared to feast on Herman's burning soul—until he saw the smirk on Herman's face.
"What's wrong? Surprised? Wondering why your judgment isn't working on me?"
Golden fire flickered fiercely in Herman's eyes.
"I told you, I'm a pure and wholesome good guy!"
Of course, that wasn't true. The reality was that during their battle, Herman had dismantled and consumed part of Ghost Rider's essence. Naturally, his divinity was analyzing and devouring it.
The Penance Stare was a rule-based power.
Herman's divinity, however, was the natural bane of all rules. Every law, every authority—eventually, they would all become nourishment for his divine fire.
Food already digested could never turn around and consume its host. And so, Ghost Rider's ability only served to fuel Herman's flames further.
This was what made the God-Eater's power even more unreasonable than psychic might—it could reduce all rule-based divinity to nothing but sustenance.
No god shall be revered but me.
That was the path Herman had to walk.
"Impossible!"
Ghost Rider's rasping voice shook with disbelief. He couldn't accept what he was seeing—how could the Penance Stare fail?
Because his opponent was "a good person"?
What a hellish joke!
The sight shattered his understanding of the world.
The Spirit of Vengeance within nearly lost control, giving Johnny Blaze's will a chance to seize dominance again.
That was the Ghost Rider's complexity—like a man with multiple personalities, no one could predict which would take control.
"Johnny Blaze… No. In this state, you're the Spirit of Vengeance, aren't you? And what sin do you think I have for you to judge?"
The divinity in Herman's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Though his body was bound in chains, his tone was steady, his expression composed.
"Everyone should bear their sins."
But Ghost Rider was left in disbelief and confusion.
The Penance Stare.
A power granted by God himself.
It allowed the Spirit of Vengeance to judge any soul in existence, according to its own will. Only soulless demons could escape it.
The man before him clearly wasn't a demon—just a powerful human.
And yet…
How could a soul-bearing being possibly withstand God's authority?
"You're wondering… why God's power can't touch me, aren't you?"
Herman peered into his thoughts, voicing the Ghost Rider's inner doubts.
"A mind reader?"
The hellfire in Ghost Rider's eyes flared even hotter. The Spirit of Vengeance within him was utterly horrified.
What kind of mind reader could peer into even his soul?
This was no ordinary psychic power.
"I mean, isn't it possible the sins I bear require God's personal judgment?" Devouring gods might be Herman's greatest sin.
However…
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't Ghost Rider's jurisdiction. In fact, even if God himself appeared, the question would still be—which God?—before anyone could speak of judgment.
The Marvel Universe had many gods, or beings who called themselves gods, including the All-Father Odin. Gods of that tier might wield power slightly beyond Herman's current state, but in terms of divine stature, they were hardly superior.
"You're just a husk of bone. You cannot judge the sins I carry."
Golden fire blazed across Herman's body. That terrifying flame—so overwhelming that even Ghost Rider felt fear, one that only Zarathos's power could resist in part—erupted endlessly from him. Standing so close, Ghost Rider felt true dread rise from within.
"What the hell are you?!"
He still couldn't believe God's gift of judgment could fail against a human. To him, Herman no longer seemed human at all, but something else merely wearing the shape of one.
"You'll know soon enough."
Herman smiled meaningfully. As the fire in his eyes grew ever fiercer, the golden blaze covering his body came alive.
Then, before Ghost Rider could react, a strand of golden flame raced along the Hellfire Chain binding Herman, surging into Ghost Rider in an instant.
"No!"
Ghost Rider howled in agony.
As the divine fire poured into him, the black-red hellfire inside couldn't withstand it. The flames flickered violently, but one by one, they were consumed.
"What have you done to me!"
Ghost Rider roared madly, but the black-red flames within him were being devoured uncontrollably, drained away until nothing remained.
This time, the fire was truly extinguishing.
When the hellfire engulfing Ghost Rider was fully devoured, the skeletal skull instantly lost its vitality, drooping limply. The body that had struggled only moments ago now hung lifeless, like a corpse.
"Damn you! I'll have my revenge! I'll devour you whole!"
A voice filled with hatred suddenly erupted. A soul steeped in malice, reeking of sulfur, emerged from the Ghost Rider's body—it was Johnny Blaze's unique Spirit of Vengeance.
This Spirit of Vengeance, possessed by the remnant soul of Zarathos, the ancient demon lord, was said to have once been the mightiest warrior at God's side before its corruption.
But under Zarathos' influence and fusion, it too had fallen into ruin.
"I know your trump card—the immortality God bestowed upon the Spirit of Vengeance. That's what you're relying on, isn't it? That's why you're so arrogant?"
Herman looked at the soul drifting out of Ghost Rider's body and sneered.
"Too bad. Even God can't save you from your fate."
With that, he seized the Spirit of Vengeance—its face twisted with hatred, ready to flee and plot revenge—and tore Zarathos' remnant soul straight out from within.
"Damn you! What kind of evil being are you?!" Zarathos' remnant soul sensed Herman's hunger and roared in terror.
In this world… how could there exist a being that fed on gods and demons?
Even God himself would never permit such a creature to exist!
"You won't be getting another chance at revenge."
Herman's words fell, and Zarathos' remnant soul was consumed, becoming fuel for his divine flame.
Immortality? Against his divinity, it was nothing but a joke.
"Worthy of an ancient demon. Even a fragment of your soul tastes exquisite."
Herman felt immense satisfaction as his divine flame swelled in power once again, this time even more than what he had gained from Blackheart.
The divine fire devoured Zarathos' remnant soul and in turn nourished Herman's body, expanding the strength of his divinity. His physical power surged to a new peak, while the divine energy within him grew from the size of a swimming pool to that of a vast lake.
"If the remnant soul of one elemental demon brings me this much power… then if I devour Mephisto, could I surpass Odin himself?"
He forced down the craving for more—a side effect of his Divinity. But compared to the overwhelming benefits it brought, the drawback was negligible.
Other gods needed time, training, and endless trials to grow stronger. Herman only needed to devour gods and demons, and his power would soar.
What others achieved in ten thousand years of training… couldn't compare to a single feast for him.
"As for this Spirit of Vengeance…"
Herman stared at the soul in his grasp, its black-red hue shifting into a pure blue. He restrained the urge to devour it with effort.
"Angel, I believe you still have another use."
Golden divine flames ignited in his palm. Instead of consuming the Spirit of Vengeance, he suffused it with golden fire.
"Johnny Blaze, your time to die hasn't come yet."
Herman turned his gaze to the skeletal frame before him, slumped and unconscious. He forced the golden Spirit of Vengeance back inside. At the same time, the golden flames seeped into every crevice of Ghost Rider's bones, replacing the hellfire and becoming the new power sustaining his existence.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
Flames burst anew over the skeletal body. This was a reborn Ghost Rider, reforged by Herman with the Spirit of Vengeance.
"You belong to me now."
His voice echoed in Ghost Rider's ear.
The Spirit of Vengeance, now under Johnny Blaze's conscious will, steadied the body and looked up at the man before him.
"Now, kneel before your new master."
The will of the Spirit of Vengeance compelled Johnny Blaze, leaving him powerless to resist. His body moved on its own, dropping to one knee before Herman.
And with a tinge of sorrow, he realized—
The mad entity within him, under a new master, had become like a zealous fanatic, overflowing with loyalty.