"Excellent!!!"
Watching Blackheart being eliminated by the joint efforts of the new and old Ghost Riders, Mike couldn't help but applaud.
Setting aside whether the Ghost Rider's complete form was strong or not, the combat scenes were indeed very cool.
They had great visual appeal…
At this moment, Johnny, who had successfully eliminated his opponent, did not retract his Ghost Rider form.
Riding his Hellfire, he rushed towards Mike and the others, sparks and lightning trailing behind him.
His eyes still burned with battle intent.
If the un-transformed Johnny gave off the impression of a rugged, cool guy of few words, then his transformed Ghost Rider form gave off an impression of coldness mixed with malevolence.
"You're guilty—!"
With a low and hoarse voice, Johnny swung his Hellfire Chain forward.
The chain, extending like a long snake, bypassed Mike when it reached him, then successively bypassed Father James and the apprentice angel Bruce.
It then circled the First Vampire Marcus and the First Werewolf William twice more before finally sweeping towards the three Earth Demons who were trembling in the back.
It was clear that Johnny had not forgotten his grudge against these three demons for chasing him.
Just as the three demons, who had lost all will to resist, were about to be strangled by the Hellfire Chain, a large hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the chain, saving the three demons at the last moment.
"They… are deeply sinful!"
Johnny, whose chain was restrained, stared at Mike with his hollow eyes burning with Hellfire, seemingly asking why he was stopping him.
"The mastermind has already been killed by you. I still have a use for these three demons," Mike, holding the Hellfire Chain with his bare hands, explained to Johnny.
"My duty… is to purge evil!!!"
Johnny's aggressiveness in his Ghost Rider form was clearly enhanced, and Mike's ambiguous explanation could not satisfy him.
Amidst his indistinct words, the Hellfire on Johnny's body suddenly erupted, and a stronger flame power than before was injected into the Hellfire Chain.
He seemed to want to break free from Mike's restraint and continue to kill the three Earth Demons.
"Interesting!"
Feeling the chain in his hand come "alive" again under the energy of Hellfire, Mike's hand also began to emit faint white-grey flames.
Although these white-grey flames looked insignificant, they incorporated the holy fire from the Flame Holy Sword and high-intensity Hellfire.
Therefore, as soon as these flames appeared, they instantly ignited the pure Hellfire on the chain and reversed their course towards Johnny.
In a moment of distraction, Johnny was scorched by the white-grey flames on the chain, and then he had no choice but to release the chain.
Mike, with a single pull, completely gained control of the chain.
Then, the white-grey chain in his hand was wielded in various patterns, like a ribbon.
"Here you go!"
After feeling the strength of the chain, Mike shook his head and extinguished the white-grey flames on it, then threw it back to Johnny.
Like a longsword returning to its sheath, the chain wrapped around Johnny's body a few times before resting diagonally across his neck.
"I told you, I have other plans for these three demons," Mike patiently explained again, noticing that Johnny still hadn't retracted his Ghost Rider form.
Marcus, Bruce, and the others also stood behind Mike at this time, silently expressing their stance.
Just then, Carter, who arrived late on his white steed, walked up to Johnny and advised, "Calm down, Johnny, they are not enemies."
The Ghost Rider form affects Johnny's emotions, but it doesn't mean he's an idiot after transforming.
Carter's arrival gave Johnny an excuse to back down.
"I want to know how exactly you plan to deal with them…" Johnny, having retracted his Ghost Rider form, still kept his eyes on Mike.
He didn't even notice the complex and somewhat disappointed gaze of his girlfriend, Roxanne, beside him.
"How to deal with them? Of course, it's to make them atone for their sins…" Mike turned to the vast Gobi desert around them and said, "Do you see this scene of endless yellow sand and desolation?"
"One of them is an Earth Demon, one is a Wind Demon, and one is a Water Demon. They can just use their abilities to transform this place…"
Saint Venganza, a thousand years ago, was actually a beautiful and densely populated town, but natural disasters had turned it into a desert.
If the Earth Demon, Wind Demon, and Water Demon were willing to take over, this place could very well become an oasis again.
"So, do any of you three have objections to my proposal?" Mike smiled as he looked at the three demons.
"N-no objections!" x3
The three disheveled demons instantly accepted Mike's "kindness" to save their lives.
Moreover, staying here, they were also professionally suited for the task.
"Then sign these three employment contracts—" Mike said with a smile, handing out three contracts. "Once you sign the contracts, work hard and don't think about escaping. Otherwise, even if you escape back to Hell, I will personally drag you out."
…
Johnny still wanted to kill the sinful three Earth Demons, but he also knew that these three demons had greater utilitarian value alive.
Therefore, he reluctantly accepted Mike's arrangement.
And after the demon incident came to an end, Johnny remembered that Carter possessed the Contract of San Venganza.
"What do you plan to do with that dangerous demon contract?" Johnny looked at the old man, who was both his mentor and friend, and said, "If needed, I can lend a hand…"
Meanwhile, Carter, through his observation, had already confirmed that Johnny initially possessed the ability to protect the demon contract.
In other words, he could retire with peace of mind.
"As the new generation Ghost Rider, it is your duty to protect peace and punish evil. So I want to entrust this crucial demon contract to you for safekeeping…" Carter shoved the Contract of San Venganza into Johnny's hand, patted his shoulder, and encouraged him, "I believe you will do better than me."
This could also be considered a form of inheritance.
Just then, Roxanne, who had been ignored and neglected by Johnny, suddenly let out a terrified scream.
From the spot where the woman stood, many decaying skeletal arms had emerged from the ground at some unknown time.
One of them happened to grasp the woman's ankle.
Like a chain reaction, numerous decaying corpses then continuously crawled out of the graveyard in front of the church.
These swaying corpses moved very slowly and seemed to have no combat power. But because they had been buried underground for a long time, they gave a strong visual impact.
"NO…"
Johnny, reacting quickly, instantly transformed into Ghost Rider and used his Hellfire Chain to smash several corpses that dared to approach Roxanne.
Until he saw his long-dead father among the horde of corpses.
Speaking of which, Johnny knew Carter, the previous Ghost Rider, because he had chosen to bury his old man here before.
Now, it turned out that his old man couldn't even rest in peace after death.
"Desecrating the dead!!! Unforgivable sin—!!!!!"
Johnny, with Hellfire burning in his eyes, looked around, trying to find the culprit.
His efforts paid off, and soon he saw a shadowy figure standing not far away.
"Satan!!!"
After recognizing the shadow's identity, Johnny summoned his Hellfire and rushed towards him without hesitation.
"I was right about you, you're indeed very suitable to take over the work of Ghost Rider." Satan, shrouded in black mist and appearing in human form, easily caught the Hellfire Chain Johnny swung at him, and continued calmly, "But you seem to have forgotten who bestowed this power upon you…"
As he spoke, Satan warningly suppressed the Hellfire on Johnny's body.
Johnny, losing his Hellfire, fell off his motorcycle as if his body had been drained, and even his [Penance Stare] was sealed due to insufficient energy.
"Remember your identity, Ghost Rider." Satan said condescendingly, "The next time we meet, I hope that demon contract will have enough energy to offer me."
Yes, Satan had actually arrived when Johnny killed Blackheart. It was just that due to Blackheart's disappointing performance, he did not intervene to save him.
The reason he appeared now was just to annoy Mike and the others, and to make Johnny, the new generation Ghost Rider, realize his identity.
"Yo, Satan, long time no see!"
Mike, who arrived shortly after, smiled at Satan, raised his fist, and greeted, "Have you eaten? If not, have a punch from me!"
Amidst the shaking of the earth and mountains, a fist imbued with holy light descended from the sky.