On the outskirts of Texas, an ancient cemetery.
Lin Huai and Steve Rogers passed through the rusted iron gates and immediately spotted a figure crouching among the tombstones.
Johnny Blaze, once a stunt rider, now looked like a vagrant abandoned by the World. He had tossed aside his leather jacket and wore only a dirty T-shirt. His eyes were hollow as he mechanically dug at weeds with a small trowel.
"Johnny," Steve spoke.
Johnny's movements stopped. Without looking up, he asked in a raspy voice, "Come to see how a Monster builds his own grave?"
"We're here to help," Steve said, his voice deep. "Black Heart Demon and his associates have vanished, but they could reappear at any moment."
"So what?" Johnny laughed self-mockingly. "I'll only make things worse." He threw down the trowel and stood up abruptly, shouting at Steve, "You have no idea what it feels like! I can feel that thing waking up inside me! My bones, my flesh—they're all its fuel! I can only watch as that burning skull takes over my body and does whatever it wants!!!"
His emotions collapsed, and he clutched his hair in agony. "I can't control it! It's just a Monster that only knows Judgement and destruction! Please, stop looking for me!!!"
Lin Huai stepped forward and interrupted him, his tone very calm. "But you've got one thing wrong. This isn't a game you can just end because you want to."
Lin Huai looked Johnny in the eye and said emphatically, "Black Heart Demon's goal has been the zarathos contract from the very beginning. There are only two outcomes: either you give him the contract, or you find him and use the power within you to drag him back to Hell for good."
Johnny was stunned.
At that moment, a cold malice choked the air of the entire cemetery. The sunlight seemed to be obscured by an invisible grey veil, and the temperature dropped.
A pitch-black rift silently tore open in the center of the cemetery, and two figures stepped out.
Leading them was Black Heart Demon, and beside him stood that Spirit Guide. A hideous, pale claw mark now marred her face, and her body radiated a deathly aura as pure as ten-thousand-year-old ice.
"Look who I've found," Black Heart Demon said, surveying the group, his gaze landing on Johnny. "A lamb shivering in a grave."
The Spirit Guide didn't waste words. she held out her hand, cradling a yellowed ancient skull in her palm, and began chanting an incantation.
"Move!" Lin Huai barked.
Steve's body turned into a blue afterimage as his Vibranium shield flew toward Black Heart Demon's head.
Clang—!
Black Heart Demon casually raised a hand and blocked the shield. The terrifying recoil force sent Steve flying back.
Just as Black Heart Demon was about to follow up, several cold glints flashed before his eyes. Lin Huai twisted his body in an impossibly acrobatic posture, dodging the leaking Darkness energy. Simultaneously, with a flick of his wrists, several playing cards flew from his fingers like sharp blades toward Black Heart Demon's face.
Black Heart Demon frowned and swatted the cards away, but a faint white mark was still left on his cheek. He was becoming irritated.
The brief exchange failed to wound Black Heart Demon, but it bought time for the Spirit Guide.
"By the will of the Death Consul, Enslave!"
The skull in her hand erupted with pale light, and a beam shot into Johnny's forehead.
"Ahhh—!!!"
Johnny screamed. The human struggle in his eyes rapidly faded, leaving only a hollow, obedient paleness.
His body stood up stiffly, looking exactly like a Puppet controlled by strings.
Just then, an old, raspy voice echoed through the cemetery. "Bullying a kid? What kind of skill is that?"
An inconspicuous Old Groundskeeper, carrying a shovel, walked out from the depths of the cemetery.
"Mephisto's old dog... Carter Slade," Black Heart Demon narrowed his eyes. "You're not dead yet? It seems the contract is with you; no wonder I couldn't find it."
"An old man's life is always a bit tougher than these youngsters'." Carter Slade grinned and let out a sharp whistle toward the sky.
Neigh—!
A Hellish Warhorse made of Fire and bone charged out, leaving burning hoofprints behind.
Carter Slade's body erupted in flames, his flesh peeling away to reveal a burning skeleton. His worn work clothes transformed into a stylish Western cowboy duster.
The Ghost Rider had returned.
Bang!
Carter Slade flipped onto the horse and opened fire with a burning shotgun. A slug of pure compressed Hellfire blasted toward the Spirit Guide.
The Spirit Guide's expression changed, and she immediately drove the controlled Johnny to intercept it.
"Roar!" The enslaved Johnny also completed his transformation. He swung his chains, violently clashing with the Hellfire slug.
Boom!
The two forces of Hellfire collided, creating a massive shockwave.
The old and new Ghost Riders engaged in a fierce battle. Carter steered his warhorse, using speed and terrain to maneuver around Johnny, his shotgun always finding a tricky angle to fire. Meanwhile, the controlled Johnny fought like a berserker, his chains dancing wildly and smashing lava-filled craters into the ground.
On the other side, Black Heart Demon's face darkened. He punched Steve away and appeared behind Carter, a clawed hand condensed with Darkness energy reaching for his back.
Lin Huai's figure slid in a curve that defied the laws of physics, appearing once again on Black Heart Demon's flank. He scattered playing cards like falling petals, but the target wasn't Black Heart Demon himself—it was the ground beneath his feet.
The cards landed silently, but they caused Black Heart Demon to slip as he stepped, disrupting his attack rhythm.
Whack!
Steve's shield seized this fleeting opportunity, whistling through the air and slamming into the side of Black Heart Demon's face, snapping his head to the side.
The battle fell into a stalemate. Lin Huai and Steve used every trick in the book, engaging in a life-and-death skirmish around Black Heart Demon. Steve handled the frontal pressure while Lin Huai was like an eel, using bizarre footwork and an endless stream of tricks to constantly create trouble in Black Heart Demon's blind spots.
Black Heart Demon grew more irritated as the fight went on. He found that he couldn't immediately deal with these two ants.
Suddenly, Black Heart Demon's movements froze. He seemed to sense something; his expression shifted drastically, and he looked up at the sky in shock and uncertainty.
Rage and resentment at his plans being interrupted appeared on Black Heart Demon's face.
"Go!" Black Heart Demon roared unwillingly, giving the order to retreat to the Spirit Guide.
He personally tore open a dark rift.
The Spirit Guide clearly realized something was wrong as well. She forced Carter back with her staff and grabbed the Puppet-like Johnny, preparing to retreat into the rift.
In the final moment before the rift closed, her cold gaze pierced through space to land on Lin Huai and Carter, leaving a final ultimatum:
"Want to save him? Bring the zarathos contract to me for a trade. Otherwise, he will become our tool for collecting souls until your city is slaughtered clean."
The words fell, and the rift snapped shut.