"Calm down, Johnny—"
Facing the emotional and flustered new generation Ghost Rider, Carter placed his hand on his shoulder, his eyes fixed on his.
As the saying goes: the eyes are the window to the soul.
Under Carter's profound gaze, Johnny finally calmed down slightly, losing his previous impetuousness.
Seeing him calm down, Carter nodded in relief and comforted him, "Don't worry, child. Besides me, everyone here is also here to help you."
Carter, who felt no malice from Mike and the others, also pulled Johnny into his camp.
After all, the more friends, the more paths.
Upon hearing this, Johnny turned his gaze to the approaching individuals.
Because of his [Eye of Judgment], even if Johnny didn't transform into his ghostly form, he could still discern the unique "scent" on humans.
So, he quickly smelled an evil aura on Marcus and William.
"They might have something special about them, but this time I'm facing Blackheart, the Son of Satan, so they probably won't be of much help…" Johnny's attitude was not particularly friendly after retracting his gaze.
Due to his identity, he actually not only disliked the evil scent on the Marcus brothers but also disliked the holy aura on Bruce, the apprentice angel, and Father James.
In other words, among the five people, only Mike could make the Ghost Rider look somewhat pleasing.
"Don't be impulsive, William. We are not enemies…" Mike stopped the First Werewolf, who had keen senses and a volatile temper.
Of course, it wasn't entirely William's fault; Johnny's gaze just now was very "unfriendly."
"Then as you wish…" After calling out to the First Werewolf, Mike turned to Johnny and said, "Later, we'll help you hold off opponents other than Blackheart. As for Blackheart, the Son of Satan, he'll be up to the two of you."
Regardless of the church's considerations this time, Mike's mission this time only had two parts: one was to deal with the evil energy within the Contract of San Venganza, and the other was to find time to warn Johnny, the new generation Ghost Rider, not to "cause trouble" in New York without reason in the future.
Comparatively, dealing with Blackheart, the Son of Satan, seemed less important.
Anyone could do it…
"Thank you." Because his girlfriend's safety was at stake, and Johnny didn't feel any malice from Mike, he kindly said, "Later, you just need to try your best to hold off Blackheart's three subordinates. Once I find a way to deal with Blackheart, I'll come to support you…"
Honestly, this new generation Ghost Rider was quite a good person.
"Carter, last time you helped me control my power. This time, I want you to help me use that power even during the day." After assigning opponents, Johnny brought up the old topic again with Carter.
The Ghost Rider's power comes from both God and Satan, so even a newly empowered Ghost Rider is enough to contend with Blackheart.
Johnny's current problem was his inability to transform independently during the day.
This was the real reason he came to Carter.
"Sigh—" Carter looked at the relaxed expressions of Mike and the others, then looked at Johnny, who was foolishly underutilizing such strong allies, and couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. Finally, he said, "Come with me. I will try my best to help you possess that power during the day as well."
It could be said that Carter had gone to great lengths to ensure Johnny, the new generation Ghost Rider, had the ability to protect the Contract of San Venganza.
"Do you remember what I told you last time?" Carter, back in the church, instructed Johnny one-on-one, "Humility, justice, compassion, and courage, among others, are the virtues of a knight. Only by possessing these virtues in your heart will you not get lost in power and become a killing machine…"
The Ghost Rider's duty is to judge sin.
But if there is no restraint in the heart, and every person with a guilty conscience is regarded as sinful, then what difference is there between the Ghost Rider and a serial killer?
After all, there are very few people in the world who can truly have a clear conscience.
So last time, what Carter taught Johnny was self-restraint.
"From your recent actions, you have basically acquired knightly virtues, but it is clearly not enough. How to define the scale of sin, you still need to slowly comprehend in the future…"
Carter gave his assessment of Johnny's recent commotion, then continued, "Of course, these are all future matters. Now, what I want to ask you is, what do you use that energy for?"
The Ghost Rider's power is also quite mysterious; everything originates from the heart.
When the heart has enough integrity or bonds, the power will increase accordingly.
"What is power for?" Johnny had a moment of trance, as if he had grasped something yet hadn't.
Coupled with his current situation, he couldn't calmly ponder these philosophical questions at all.
"No, right now I just want to rescue Roxanne and then send Blackheart back to Hell…" Thinking of his girlfriend still in the devil's hands, Johnny's expression once again became agitated.
"Calm your mind, Johnny. Ask your heart, the answer is there." Carter continued to guide him patiently.
However, it was clear that Johnny's mind was currently filled with negative emotions like agitation, anger, and worry, with no other thoughts.
So much so that his expression became very conflicted.
"It's protection." Beside him, Father James, who couldn't stand the riddles, directly gave the answer.
"It is protection. Wanting to rescue Roxanne is protection, and judging the sins of the world is also for protection…" Carter, whose rhythm was interrupted, could only reveal the answer in resignation, then said, "Johnny, now I need you to try to mobilize that power in the name of protection."
"Protection?" That elusive feeling descended upon Johnny again. He tried to connect the idea of rescuing his girlfriend with the meaning of protection.
Immediately, his expression became increasingly conflicted, even a bit distorted, while tiny sparks gradually began to emerge from his body.
Clearly, it was the rhythm of transformation.
Then, under Carter's expectant gaze, Johnny suddenly slumped, and the sparks on his body turned into wisps of smoke and dissipated.
"Just a little bit more…" Johnny, unable to successfully transform, had a look of annoyance on his face.
"It's okay, you did very well. Hold onto that feeling you just had, and you'll succeed very soon." As his guide, Carter felt it was a pity, but he still didn't forget to encourage Johnny.
…
Just as Johnny continued to search for the feeling of "protection," a huge dump truck on the dirt road outside the church, following the Ghost Rider's tracks, crashed its way to the front of the church.
It had undoubtedly knocked over countless gravestones along the way.
"Johnny, I told you you can't escape… If you don't want to see your pretty little girlfriend die, then quickly hand over the Contract of San Venganza!!!"
Amidst the evil threat, a gloomy-faced man jumped down from the dump truck, carrying a helpless-looking woman in his hand.
Then, three more disheveled men jumped down from the dump truck.
The identities of this group were Blackheart and his subordinates, who had kidnapped Johnny's girlfriend.
"Blackheart…" How could Johnny not recognize Blackheart's voice? He rushed out, shouting angrily, "Let Roxanne go, or I'll make you regret coming to the human world!!"
It was truly, hair-raising rage for a beauty…
Watching his girlfriend's helpless appearance in the devil's hands, Johnny, who had already grasped that feeling called "protection," instantly burst into small flames on his face and body.
This Hellfire was named anger.
"Oh, I'm so scared…" Blackheart had a cat-and-mouse smile on his face, clearly pleased with Johnny's reaction.
Then, he slowly raised the hostage in his hand and sneered, "But you seem to have forgotten, your girlfriend is still in my hands."
As he spoke, Blackheart's five fingers gradually tightened, and Roxanne, whose neck was being squeezed, turned crimson from lack of air.
"What exactly do you want to let Roxanne go?!" Finally, Johnny, retaining a shred of sanity, lost the negotiation due to his girlfriend's situation.
The flames on his body also disappeared with it.
"What do I want?" Blackheart suddenly burst into laughter, causing his three subordinates behind him to echo his laughter.
"I already told you the answer. If you don't want your girlfriend to die, then exchange her for the Contract of San Venganza." Blackheart, having laughed enough, his eyes turned gloomy, answered his own question.
This sudden change of expression made him look like a madman.
"I also told you, you've got the wrong person. The Contract of San Venganza isn't on me." Johnny replied truthfully.