Although Johnny's words indicated that he didn't view Aaron as an enemy to be judged, he didn't stop. Instead, his entire body erupted with Hellfire, his flesh seeming to burn away, revealing his stark white skull.
Mary was so scared that she quickly hid behind Aaron. Aaron patted her back, signaling her to relax.
Then he looked at Johnny. "So you're just here to cause trouble?"
Aaron was still smiling, but those who were his enemies knew how much that smile implied. Because everyone who had directly seen his smile was already dead.
Johnny shook his head, then nodded. "My purpose here is simple: to test your abilities."
"There's something you might not know yet. Currently, all the demons in Hell are discussing how to deal with you."
"According to the information I've gathered, those Dimensional Rulers are preparing to jointly create a terrifying existence to get revenge on you and this world."
"That will be an unprecedentedly terrifying existence, the greatest plan in history."
"You are strong, but you need to prove that you are strong enough."
"Because that guy might possess my power."
Upon hearing this, Aaron pondered for a moment and understood Johnny's meaning.
"Interesting... The Dimensional Rulers are preparing to create an evil guy to deal with me?"
Johnny nodded. "Hell has issued a bounty on you."
"Anyone who can kill you will gain a Dimension and become a Dimensional Lord, the King of Hell."
"They also explicitly stated that they will take revenge on your world, that they will slaughter all living beings and destroy all time and space."
Johnny's voice grew deeper. "This no longer concerns just you, but the fate of this world."
"Believe me, buddy, if your strength isn't enough, you'd better leave here. Those demons absolutely mean what they say."
Johnny was the bane of demons. But that didn't mean he wasn't afraid when facing demons.
That was a collective of countless Demon Gods.
The powerful Mephisto was merely an ordinary member among them.
Just thinking about it filled him with despair.
This matter concerned the fate of everyone.
Aaron was strong, but Johnny still couldn't rest assured.
So he came.
"Come on, buddy."
"You are powerful, but sometimes mere power isn't invincible."
"Only if you can look directly into these eyes of mine can you face the coming challenge."
A flaming chain appeared in Johnny's hand.
He approached Aaron step by step.
Under the overcast sky, he was like a Demon God from Hell, sending shivers down one's spine.
Ghost Rider was the bane of evil, created by Mephisto using Hellfire.
Hellfire alone naturally couldn't create such an existence. In fact, the Ghost Rider's body also contained the Spirit of Vengeance.
There were many theories about the Spirit of Vengeance. But ultimately, they all related to one entity: God.
The Spirit of Vengeance was immortal and indestructible. Once combined with a living creature, it could transform into the Ghost Rider, thus possessing the mighty power to judge everything.
Aaron's mind flashed with information about the Spirit of Vengeance.
He patted Mary, who looked worried, and walked towards Johnny without fear.
Honestly, he wanted to test the quality of the so-called Penance Stare. Before his transmigration, the Penance Stare was hyped as an invincible divine skill. It could instantly defeat anything.
Even powerful first-tier heroes like Thor and Hulk couldn't look directly into Ghost Rider's eyes.
He seemed like a transcendent cleaner, always descending like a god at the last moment to end battles.
Aaron was very curious and he was also quite interested in Ghost Rider's abilities.
Fear? Worry?
Non-existent.
With his current abilities, what if he carried sins?
My power level is above yours.
Moreover, Johnny himself didn't have a strong judgmental intent towards Aaron.
Aaron was quite skeptical about how much power the Penance Stare could truly exert.
The two stood facing each other.
Aaron ignored the high temperature of the flames emanating from Johnny and met Johnny's gaze.
Johnny hesitated at this point. "I must warn you, these eyes of mine are extremely terrifying. So far, no one has been able to look directly into them and live."
Aaron, however, smiled. "Then I'll be the first."
Looking at Aaron's confident expression, the skull opened and closed its jaw, saying, "I hope you can still smile in a moment."
In an instant, Johnny's eyes erupted with golden fire.
Penance Stare!
Aaron fearlessly faced the judgment. He saw the sins he had committed in the past. However, what he saw was... endless darkness.
"What the f*ck, what kind of ghost are you?"
Johnny, now a skull, seemed to have seen something horrifying, his jaw wildly clattering open and shut in shock.
The entire skull instinctively recoiled, its flaming eye sockets revealing a skull-like terror.
When the Penance Stare judges an opponent, it assesses the evil in the enemy's past. Both he and the enemy can see the sinful experiences committed.
However, this time, he didn't see evil, only ultimate darkness that made his heart palpitate and his skull tremble. It seemed like a black hole, or an endless abyss.
"You... who exactly are you? Why do I feel like you're more hellish than Hell itself?"
The skull's mouth opened and closed with an exaggerated amplitude, and the flames around him were no longer as vigorous as before.
The terrifying scene he glimpsed caused a backlash. The flames on Johnny dimmed considerably, and his strength was less than one-tenth of what it was.
He seemed to hear a certain inexplicable consciousness screaming in terror.
Aaron blinked. "Are you sure you used the Penance Stare just now? How about you strengthen your killing intent and truly judge me?"
Johnny shook his head repeatedly. "No, you devil, don't try to trick me into judging you again."
"Your soul is simply darkness within darkness. Damn it, I shouldn't have come here."
Johnny was still shaken.
If Aaron had any other intentions just now, Johnny suspected that the dark abyss would have swallowed his soul.
He had never seen such a monster. Even when facing Mephisto, Johnny had never been so disheveled.
For a moment, Johnny felt that Aaron was a devil deliberately luring people.
He was the bane of Ghost Rider!
He was the only being in the world unaffected by the Penance Stare.
Seeing Johnny so scared he was almost incoherent and completely lost his nerve, Aaron shook his head, bored.
He originally thought Ghost Rider was incredibly powerful but it turned out the so-called Penance Stare was nothing special.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
He remembered that while Ghost Rider's ultimate move was effective against ordinary characters, it still had flaws.
For example, the Punisher, who didn't feel he was committing any crimes, or a Soulless Symbiote, or an elderly Thanos with a powerful soul and no guilt.
Especially the latter, who used Ghost Rider's ultimate move every day to refresh himself and reminisce about his glorious past.