The sky is eternally gray.
Ash constantly falls from above.
The air is filled with the endless scent of sulfur.
This is Hell.
At the moment when the vortex of Hell devoured the Ghost Rider, the Ghost Rider, who had fallen into Hell, was instantly disintegrated.
The Spirit of Vengeance transformed into a stream of light, shooting towards the only structure that could be called a palace in the Hell Dimension.
Johnny Blaze plummeted onto the ashen, blood-soaked ground.
The next second.
Before he could regain his senses, a roar of anger came from Mephisto's distant palace.
The voice was filled with anger and disappointment!
"Hawk!!!"
"Boom!"
Just as Johnny had managed to crawl up from the bloody, ashen earth, his feet were suddenly lifted off the ground.
Johnny instinctively reached out with both hands to hold onto the Demon's Claw covered in scales, grasping his neck, then looked at the Demon King in front of him, his pupils involuntarily contracting rapidly.
Charred, crimson skin.
Jagged fangs.
Nostrils continuously spewing sparks.
Massive, twisted horns.
The ruler of the Hell Dimension, Mephisto.
"You..."
"Useless creature."
No longer disguising himself, Mephisto appeared in his true form, his voice low and hoarse, looking disgustedly at Johnny in his grasp, and after saying that, he flung him aside.
Once again hitting the ground, Johnny struggled to get up and looked at Mephisto.
He still thought he was on Earth, having no realization that he was dead and already in Mephisto's domain.
"Hey, you tricked me, you said as soon as he saw the Ghost Rider's eyes, he would..."
"Slap!"
Before Johnny could finish speaking, Mephisto instantly slapped the indignant Johnny away with his sturdy right hand.
His golden pupils flickered constantly, and sparks from his nostrils, along with thick smoke, made it seem like the air would ignite the next second.
Johnny once again struggled to stand from the muddy ground.
His pupils filled with shock and confusion as he looked at Mephisto.
After all...
In his impressions, Mephisto always had the demeanor of a gentleman, so this ruthless, aggressive behavior was hard for him to adapt to.
The most crucial point.
"You tricked me, so this isn't my fault, where's my father."
"Worthless!"
Mephisto replied coldly, his golden pupils glaring mercilessly at Johnny: "If it weren't for your arrogance and stupidity, how could he have exploited a flaw? As long as the Spirit of Vengeance remained as one with you, his attacks would be ineffective, but you, you were foolish enough to disassemble from the Spirit of Vengeance!"
He didn't understand how Hawk resisted the Eye of Judgment.
But he was sure of one thing.
As long as Johnny remained one with the Spirit of Vengeance, not even the Supreme Mage could reintegrate the Spirit of Vengeance back into Hell, much less imprison the Ghost Rider.
So...
The Ghost Rider was almost invincible, even against Hawk; the eventual winner would surely be the Ghost Rider.
But what was the result?
This arrogant fool had ignored his guidance, failed the mission and still had the audacity to demand his father's return.
Before, he might have thought Johnny was somewhat clever; now, he found Johnny utterly detestable.
Mephisto glared at Johnny with unabashed disdain and resentment.
Meanwhile.
Two Hell Demons flapped their wings as they descended beside him.
Mephisto resisted the urge to crush Johnny's soul with one slap: "Throw this fool in the cage. I want him to experience the despair and pain of separation from his father, every moment for the next ten thousand years."
The two Hell Demons nodded, went silently toward the dazed Johnny.
Johnny panicked.
"No, you can't do this, you deceived me."
"No!"
"You lied to me."
"Damn it, we had a contract, give me back my father."
"No..."
The two Hell Demons ignored Johnny's desperate cries, grabbed him, and flapped their wings, quickly taking him away.
As Johnny was taken farther, his voice gradually descended into despair and faded away.
Mephisto stood where he was, continuing to spit sparks from his nostrils, and after arranging the punishment for the arrogant fool Johnny, he began to review the memories brought back by the returning Spirit of Vengeance.
The next second.
His massive demon form shuddered violently, and a roar of utmost fury erupted from his throat once again.
"No!"
"Hawk!!!"
Mephisto's Demon's Eye lost their composure as they absorbed the memory of the Spirit of Vengeance standing before the cemetery.
It was simple.
His son, the Witch Heart Demon, was dead!
Moreover...
Even the Life and Death Law Fragment had been extracted.
In an instant.
Mephisto understood why Hawk had resisted the Spirit of Vengeance's Eye of Judgment and hadn't been dragged down to Hell by it.
But—
This was so damn fast.
A few days have passed on Earth now.
Two days, maybe not?
Mephisto found it hard to believe, especially after seeing the Ghost Rider's memory lingering at the volcano's edge, sensing the residue of the Fire Demon's aura, he completely understood why Hawk could use the Eye of Judgment from Hell.
Because his soul no longer belonged to Hell.
No!
Mephisto snapped out of his brief shock.
Because even if Hawk had plundered the Four Elements of Creation, and even his son's, the Witch Heart Demon's, Life and Death Law Fragment, it was impossible to create a brand new Hell Dimension in just two days.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Neither was a dimension.
The most important point.
As the owner of Earthly souls, Mephisto had yet to feel any new life and death dimension attempting to challenge his authority.
Whenever a new dimension tries to stake a claim in the game of Earth's soul ownership, he, as the current keeper, would be the first to sense it.
But he didn't.
So...
"Who did you sell your soul to?"
"Hawk!"
Mephisto's pupils flickered incessantly, then he slowly raised his demon head, looking at the Hell vortex gradually dissipating in the sky.
His son was dead.
The plan to plunder Hawk's soul had failed.
This time, having lost both his son and his troops, Mephisto wore only anger on his face, showing no fear.
The reason was simple.
He held a trump card against Hawk.
His sister.
Anya.
Through these trials, Mephisto was well aware of Anya's status in Hawk's heart.
He was certain of one thing.
Hawk would do anything for his sister, and right now, her soul was in his grasp.
So...
A cruel smile flashed across Mephisto's demon face as he muttered to himself.
"I've got you now."
"Hawk!"
In the canyon, sensing the direction the Hell vortex just disappeared to, Hawk, fully operating his Life and Death Law to locate the Hell Dimension's coordinates, opened his eyes and looked up at Sharon, who was running toward him from outside the canyon, raising an eyebrow.
"Why are you here?"
"The satellite noticed you hadn't moved for over ten minutes, so I got worried and came over,"
Sharon explained, while using the light in her hand to avoid tripping over rocks on the ground.
Listening to Sharon's explanation, Hawk was a bit curious, "Aren't you afraid that if something happened to me, coming here is just suicide?"
Sharon looked up, studying Hawk seriously, "You were the Phoenix who went to spar with Thor on Mars. If something happened to you, I think I should promptly report and have the Avengers regroup."
Hawk looked at Sharon's familiar face and chuckled.
"I'm fine."
"That's good."
Sharon also smiled slightly and then curiously looked around, "By the way, where's Johnny Blaze?"
Hawk's gaze fell at Sharon's feet, saying nothing.
Following his gaze, Sharon looked down at her feet.
In sight.
A blood-red neck level with the ground was still oozing blood.
Realizing in 0.01 seconds what she was seeing, Sharon gasped and instinctively shuffled back.
Hawk watched Sharon's action, like a startled little rabbit, his lips curling slightly.
"I didn't take his head off, he did it himself."
"Himself?"
Sharon was slightly stunned, then recalling the scene of Johnny Blaze transforming into a Flaming Skull in surveillance, seemed to understand, nodding thoughtfully, then again scanned the surroundings with her flashlight.
"Where's his head then?"
"There."
Hawk pointed at the tiny fragments of skull on the ground, "See that pile of white fragments? That's his head."
Shining her light over, Sharon saw what looked like it had been crushed by a press, opening her mouth slightly, shrugging her shoulders, "Alright then."
Listening to Sharon's voice, Hawk arched an eyebrow.
"You sound a bit disappointed?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah?"
"Don't get me wrong, it's not because you're alive. I just feel a bit disappointed that Johnny Blaze died."
"..."
Hawk said nothing, quietly watching Sharon.
Then Sharon realized again and looked at Hawk, "You know I came to Texas for the stunt show, I'm just a bit disappointed about that."
Alright then.
Hawk smiled slightly.
Sharon quickly collected herself, looking at Hawk, "Since the fighting is over, let's head out together."
Hawk shook his head.
"There's still one place I need to go."
"One place? Where? I can drive you there."
"Hell!"
"..."