In a cemetery marked with a cross, approximately fifty kilometers north of Fort Stockton.
Moru, the cemetery caretaker, who looked over fifty and seemed to have one foot in the grave, woke up from a leisurely afternoon nap. Hearing the sounds from the cemetery, he got out of bed, opened the door, and stepped outside.
What met his eyes.
Not far from the cemetery, a young man, seemingly unfazed by the winter cold in just a black T-shirt, was digging a hole with a shovel, his back to Moru.
Cemetery caretaker Moru chuckled at the sight.
"The cemetery here is free. You don't need to sneak in to dig."
"…"
Hawk, who was digging, paused, then, holding the shovel, turned and smiled slightly at the cemetery caretaker who was speaking to him from not far away.
"I wasn't sneaking. When I came, I saw you sleeping and thought it would be impolite to wake you. Besides, I wasn't secretly digging a hole."
"Is that so?"
The cemetery caretaker didn't believe a word, chuckling as he looked at Hawk: "Then what are you doing?"
Hawk smiled faintly, his gaze falling on the shovel in his hand.
"My home is missing a shovel, and there just happens to be one here. I thought I'd test its sharpness. It feels good, so I plan to take this shovel home."
"…"
As soon as Hawk said this, the smile on cemetery caretaker Moru's face vanished at a visible speed.
The next second.
Moru's previously somewhat cloudy eyes became incredibly clear and sharp, and even his voice, which had been old and hoarse moments before, was no longer so.
In fact…
If one looked closely, they would find that in the depths of Moru's eyes, two yellow flames seemed to have suddenly ignited.
His name wasn't Moru at all.
Carter Slade!
That was his name, and he was the first Ghost Rider from over one hundred and fifty years ago, who signed a soul contract with Mephisto and gained the power of the Spirit of Vengeance.
Carter Slade, back then, also signed a soul contract under Mephisto's temptation, becoming Mephisto's debt collector. After collecting from the residents of Saint Venganza, he fled Mephisto's control to atone for his sins, taking the saint venganza contract, which contained hundreds of souls, and settling here to build a free cemetery.
And the saint venganza contract was hidden by him inside an ordinary-looking shovel in the cemetery.
It was precisely the shovel Hawk was holding now.
Carter Slade looked at Hawk with a serious expression, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Demon?"
"No."
Hawk smiled and shook his head, weighing the shovel in his hand, then said to Carter Slade: "But a demon will be here soon. Since you're retired, then retire properly. Give me what's inside, and I'll help you deal with Witch Heart Demon who's coming later. How about it?"
He could tell that the Carter Slade in front of him could still transform into Ghost Rider.
But…
If he could transform, it would only be for the last time.
If Carter Slade didn't transform, he could continue to live for a good while longer with this energy.
But if he performed his last transformation, the moment his energy was depleted would be the moment his soul returned to Hell.
And considering how he deceived Mephisto back then, not only faking his death but also hiding the saint venganza contract, which rightfully belonged to Mephisto, in this Demonic Land for so many years, once his soul returned to Hell and this was exposed for Mephisto to know…
Heh heh.
He would be in big trouble.
Hawk was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see anyone suffer.
So…
He planned to make a fair deal with the first Ghost Rider, Carter Slade, in front of him.
The saint venganza contract would go to Hawk, and in return, Hawk would help Carter Slade stop Witch Heart Demon and the Water Demon accompanying him, who would come here later to try and take the saint venganza contract. Carter Slade would also be able to continue hiding and survive here with his remaining energy.
Indeed.
When Carter Slade heard Hawk utter Witch Heart Demon's name, his expression instantly changed drastically.
"Witch Heart Demon."
As the first Ghost Rider, he was naturally familiar with the demons in Hell.
Witch Heart Demon might not be the most powerful demon in the Hell Dimension, but his background was absolutely the most powerful in the Hell Dimension.
Without a doubt.
Because his father was Mephisto.
And Witch Heart Demon, it was rumored, was the child born from the union of Mephisto and a human Dark Witch, and it was precisely because of this that Witch Heart Demon, walking among humans, still possessed powerful magic.
But…
Carter Slade was somewhat shocked.
"How did he know I was here?"
"What's so fresh about that?"
Hawk couldn't help but scoff, his gaze sweeping over the rather numerous tombstones in the cemetery, then settling on the cross on the room not far away. He then said to Carter Slade: "You didn't actually think that by putting a cross up there, the souls buried here wouldn't go to Hell, did you?"
After Sharon helped him find Carter Slade's buried cemetery, as he rushed over, he was curious as to how Witch Heart Demon knew Carter Slade was hiding here under an assumed name.
Until…
He saw the numerous tombstones in the cemetery.
Goodness.
To play the 'hidden in plain sight' trick to this extent, Hawk didn't know whether Carter Slade was confident or lucky.
Now, hearing Carter Slade's words, he already had the answer in his heart.
After speaking, Hawk sighed, shook his head, and looked at Carter Slade: "The fact that you've lived until now truly means Mephisto is blind."
Carter Slade also reacted at this moment, looking at the numerous tombstones in front of him, his expression becoming exceedingly strange.
He didn't refute Hawk's words.
Because it was the truth. After Hawk pointed it out, he indeed felt that for him to have lived until now, Mephisto's eyes must have been blind.
But very quickly.
Carter Slade recovered and looked at Hawk: "May I ask what you want the saint venganza contract for?"
Hawk shrugged: "Haven't thought about it yet, but since it's a transaction, there must be a reward, right?"
Carter Slade nodded.
"That's right."
"It's settled then. I'll help you deal with Witch Heart Demon, who is already on his way here, and the saint venganza contract is mine."
"…Okay."
Carter Slade thought for a moment, glanced at Hawk, then nodded, agreeing to the deal.
There was no other way but to agree.
Because the saint venganza contract was already in Hawk's hand, and he only had one last transformation left. Once the transformation ended, his soul would go to Hell.
Just thinking about the torment he would suffer in Hell after Mephisto saw him, Carter Slade couldn't help but tremble inside.
The most important point.
He had already confirmed that Hawk in front of him was not a demon.
That was enough.
When Hawk saw Carter Slade nod, a brilliant smile appeared on his face. He then turned his head to glance at the setting sun and the two rapidly approaching auras, finally looking at Carter Slade: "Now you can go back to your room and close the door."
Carter Slade heard this, hesitated not at all, turned, entered the house, and closed the door.
All in one smooth motion.
Thump!
Hawk chuckled, watching the dust shake off the door as it was forcefully closed.
The next second.
The shovel held in his right hand instantly cracked with a bang. Immediately after, amidst flying wood chips, an ancient parchment scroll was already in his hand.
It was the saint venganza contract.
Sealed within it were thousands of souls, harvested onto this contract by the first Ghost Rider after they also made a deal with Mephisto over a hundred years ago.
Moreover, these thousands of souls were not just ordinary souls.
The thousands of souls on this saint venganza contract were the evil souls of fallen saints, lured by Mephisto.
Perhaps Mephisto no longer needed to harvest souls in this way now.
But one hundred and fifty years ago, it wasn't like this.
At that time, Mephisto was still in a heated war with the Heaven Dimension over the ownership of Earth's souls.
So…
Mephisto lured thousands of monks from Saint Venganza who were once devoted to Heaven.
It is well known.
Washing white weakens one by three points, while blackening strengthens one tenfold.
These monks, who were once devoted to Heaven, after turning dark, were no longer saints but fallen saints.
The power of their individual evil souls was enough to rival hundreds, even thousands, of ordinary human souls.
And this contract contained the power of thousands of fallen saints.
No wonder Witch Heart Demon was so confident when he invited the Earth Demon to join him, believing that once he obtained this saint venganza contract, he would be able to create a new Hell Dimension and contend with Mephisto, restarting the war for Earth's soul ownership.
As Hawk held the saint venganza contract, just by gripping it, he could hear the roaring and wailing of the thousands of evil souls that had been sealed within the contract for over a hundred years.
These thousands of evil souls even sent invitations to Hawk through the seal.
"Come!"
"Join us."
"Fall into darkness together."
"Enjoy the beauty of darkness together, revel in the allure of this darkness together!"
"Join us!"
Countless evil souls, with seductive voices capable of making one's soul tremble, echoed in Hawk's ears, inviting Hawk to sink into darkness with them, to fall into darkness!
It's just that…
Fall into darkness?
Huh?
Does darkness even need to be fallen into?
I can be Light!
But—
I can also be Darkness.
So…
I am darkness, why fall?
Hawk's lips curled slightly, revealing an undisguised sarcastic smile amidst the seductive voices of these countless evil souls.
At the same time, the saint venganza contract in his hand, which sealed thousands of evil souls, quieted down after a few rustling sounds.
It seemed…
They sensed a darkness that, even combined, they couldn't hope to reach.
They dared not act rashly anymore.
…
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