A wave of Hellfire surged forth, devouring everything.
The dark barrier raised by Black Heart Demon immediately emitted a sizzling, corrosive sound upon contact with the orange-red flames, visibly thinning out.
The aristocratic composure vanished from Black Heart Demon's face. He poured the dark energy within him out recklessly, trying to reinforce the defense line.
The three elemental demons and the Spirit Guide behind him also wore grim expressions, desperately channeling their power into it.
"Crack..."
A crisp sound came from the center of the barrier.
Cracks exploded, spreading across the barrier like a spiderweb. Then, the entire combined barrier shattered with a thunderous crash!
"Boom——!!!!"
The destructive wave of fire rushed in, blasting the five figures away with flames, landing somewhat disheveled around the camp.
As the flames dissipated, the ground was left scorched black.
Ghost Rider stood at the center of the sea of fire. His burning Skull turned, with two flickering Hellfires in his empty eye sockets.
His burning jawbone opened and closed, emitting a low, grating laugh that sounded like sandpaper grinding against metal.
"Heh... hehehe... Sin!"
This laugh sent shivers down the spines of the demons who had just gotten up from the ground.
"Roar!"
With a muffled roar, Earth Demon was the first to steady himself. His body was made of rock, the largest and with the strongest defense. Though he had been knocked dizzy earlier, he was completely unharmed.
"A mere mortal who just gained power dares to be this arrogant! I'll crush you into dust!"
Earth Demon was supremely confident in his defense, his body tempered for a thousand years in hellish lava. He didn't believe any fire could melt him.
His massive rocky body took a step, shaking the ground. Like an out-of-control heavy truck, he charged straight at Ghost Rider.
Facing this charge that could collapse a building, Ghost Rider didn't even bother to move.
He just stood there, tilting his burning head, watching the approaching rock monster with interest.
"Seeking death!"
Earth Demon roared, channeling all his strength into his right fist, his rocky fist whistling through the air as it smashed toward Ghost Rider's seemingly fragile Skull.
But, the Skull didn't shatter.
"Sizzle——"
A sharp sound like a branding iron pressed against raw meat sent chills down everyone's spine.
As soon as Earth Demon's rocky fist touched Ghost Rider's face, the part of the fist that made contact melted instantly! The orange-red Hellfire came alive, crawling up his arm from his fist!
The supposedly indestructible rocky skin was no different from wax before this fire.
"Ahhh! This... how is this possible?!"
Earth Demon let out a terrified scream, feeling his arm rapidly liquefying from the outside in, turning into scalding lava that dripped onto the scorched ground.
"Hehe..."
Ghost Rider laughed, his voice full of cruelty and mockery.
His skeletal hand suddenly rose, grabbing Earth Demon's melting arm.
The speed of the flame's spread increased tenfold!
Earth Demon tried to retreat in panic, but found his body welded in place, unable to move. He could only watch as the destructive fire burned up his arm, toward his shoulder and chest.
"No! No!!!"
Amid Earth Demon's desperate howls, Ghost Rider did something that left all the demons dumbfounded.
He raised his flaming left hand, his five finger bones merging into a blade, and with a squelch, stabbed it into Earth Demon's rocky chest.
There was no resistance.
Ghost Rider's arm sank in up to the elbow.
"Squelch——"
Ghost Rider withdrew his arm.
Earth Demon's massive body froze in place. He looked down at his chest, where there was now a gaping hole, front to back, its edges completely crystallized.
Immediately after, centered on that hole, crimson cracks spread like lava veins, instantly covering his entire body.
"Boom!!!"
With a loud explosion, Earth Demon's massive body exploded from the inside out, turning into a shower of burning lava and rocks that scattered in all directions.
The scene was both spectacular and tragic.
Black Heart Demon instinctively waved his hand to set up a barrier, blocking the flying scalding liquid, his face as grim as could be.
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
A string of bubbles rose from a large oil drum not far away.
Water Demon's figure emerged from the murky water, half his body made of flowing water and the other half a twisted human shape. He looked at where Earth Demon had exploded, his face full of fear.
But when his gaze turned to Ghost Rider, that fear was quickly replaced by greed and arrogance.
Water Demon sneered coldly, "You're fire, useless against me! I am water!"
"Splash!"
Water Demon's body swayed, and he melted into the water in the oil drum, disappearing.
The next second, all the remaining liquid in the camp—scattered bottled water, puddles, even blood flowing from corpses—came to life, transforming into water arrows shooting at Ghost Rider from all directions.
Ghost Rider remained standing in place, not dodging or avoiding.
Those cold water arrows evaporated into white steam as soon as they got within a meter of his body, defying physics with a "hiss," not even touching the hem of his clothes.
"Interesting."
Water Demon's voice came from a puddle, tinged with surprise.
"If a stream can't drown you, then try a river! I've drained all the groundwater nearby. Let's see how you stop this."
As soon as he finished speaking, the large oil drum exploded, the water inside shooting into the sky, gathering into a roaring water dragon that crashed down toward Ghost Rider!
This amount of water was enough to extinguish a forest fire.
Facing this towering wave, Ghost Rider finally moved.
He extended his right hand toward the water dragon and spread his fingers.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no World-destroying power.
The roaring water dragon stopped eerily a few meters away from him.
Then, something that shattered Water Demon's courage appeared.
Every drop of water making up the water dragon ignited with a point of orange-red light at this moment.
Hellfire, burning in water!
"Impossible! This is impossible!!"
Water Demon's scream carried real fear for the first time. His true form was hidden within the water dragon, and at this moment, he felt as if he had been thrown into the center of the Sun.
"Roar——"
Ghost Rider let out a low growl from his throat and clenched his right hand suddenly.
"Hiss..."
In an instant, the water dragon suspended in mid-air, along with Water Demon hidden within it, was vaporized from the inside out!
Water Demon, along with all the moisture he controlled, had completely evaporated from the World, leaving no trace.
Black Heart Demon's expression finally changed completely, his arrogance and mockery vanishing entirely, replaced by a mix of anger and horrified gravity.
He realized that he seemed to have few ways to deal with this knight of his father.
Originally, he had received news that the contract was on this "knight." He hadn't paid much attention to the accuracy of this information; if it wasn't there, they could still use Ghost Rider's sense for sinful souls to lead them to the contract.
But now, Black Heart Demon turned to look at his partner, who, though somewhat disheveled, could still remain calm.
"Lady, do you have any ideas?"
The Spirit Guide looked at him with an expression that said "you idiot." "You never told me this thing's soul was so complex, with two souls entangled and two powerful forces stabilizing the fused soul. With my power, I can't invade his soul at all."
At that moment, Ghost Rider's burning Skull turned, his empty eye sockets sweeping over the remaining three targets.
His burning jawbone opened and closed again, as if... counting.
"...Three..."
"Let's go. The contract isn't on him. We'll monitor him first; the knight and the contract are always entangled." Black Heart Demon waved both hands, and Wind Demon disappeared with the three of them, leaving behind ground scorched clean by the fierce flames.
A whistle sounded, the roar of the hellish engine carrying Ghost Rider's terrifying laughter as he continued chasing the fleeing three.