Reading settings
### Chapter 309: Unwelcome Guests Arrive
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony quickly learned of Mephisto's return to Earth.
The news was confirmed when Johnny Blaze came seeking help, revealing that Blackheart and his numerous followers had already secretly arrived on Earth.
"I'm not worried about Blackheart. He's just an idiot being used by Mephisto. I really don't know how the cunning and treacherous Mephisto could have fathered such a foolish son as Blackheart."
Tony stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the view outside the window. The manor's grounds were neatly lined with numerous rare trees, a truly pleasing sight.
Johnny anxiously ran his hands through his hair, messing up his once neat hairstyle until it resembled a beggar's "Shamate" style.
"I'm out of options; I could only come to you. The demon demands I kill Blackheart, and furthermore, in his presence, I always involuntarily transform into Ghost Rider, as if my entire being uncontrollably obeys his commands..." Johnny clutched his head in pain and despair, his face filled with sorrow.
Tony turned around, patted Johnny's shoulder, and comforted him, "You've been prepared for this, haven't you? Ever since you signed that contract with him years ago and realized you couldn't die no matter what."
The young Johnny, in order to save his father who was suffering from late-stage cancer, was tricked by Mephisto into signing a soul contract. This type of contract, involving the Spirit of Vengeance, was extremely complex. From the moment Johnny signed it, he lost control over his body and soul.
"I want revenge, Tony, I want revenge!" Johnny said, lowering his head, his eyes terrifyingly red. "If he had genuinely cured my father, I would have willingly obeyed him, but the very next day, he made my recovered father die in an accident! He did it on purpose! I want revenge!"
Mephisto reappeared, forcefully issuing commands to Johnny. Yet, the resentful Johnny was powerless to resist and would instantly fall under the control of the Spirit of Vengeance.
The contract signed back then was one to transfer the Spirit of Vengeance, and Johnny's soul was merely a mortal's soul. Even facing only a clone of Mephisto, he was powerless to resist the contract's power.
The Ancient One had trained him, but it seemed ineffective against the contract.
Tony was very willing to help Johnny, hoping to completely turn the Spirit of Vengeance into Earth's property, or even his own, by stripping it away.
The Penance Stare possessed immense destructive power against beings below level seven.
"You'll stay with me for now. I also happen to be planning to destroy Mephisto's clone. Blackheart and his scum, not one of them will escape," Tony said.
He also needed to interrogate them about the Ancient One's whereabouts, especially her safety. Hell was indeed vast, but it also contained numerous terrifying beings. After all, Hell was one of the many realms within the Sphere of the Gods, and the Ancient One's strength truly didn't amount to much there.
Moreover, the Ancient One was a multiversal being, naturally at a disadvantage against a unique being. Although level seven beings possessed the ability to resist space-time fluctuations, their souls were ultimately not a singularity, and thus couldn't permanently fix space-time within their souls.
Being able to hunt down Mephisto was also thanks to the Ancient One's astonishing strength, placing her among the first tier of level seven beings.
That night, as darkness fell, the time was ripe for Ghost Rider to appear.
Johnny began to lose control. Amidst frequent screams, the Spirit of Vengeance within him began to riot, easily seizing control of his body.
The fiery skull head appeared once again, its eyes burning with hellfire, staring intently at Tony.
"I don't care if you have self-control or not. If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll throw you into the Sun," Tony said coldly, sitting calmly on the sofa.
Ghost Rider fell silent for a moment, his entire body ablaze with wildly flickering flames, seemingly struggling, thinking, and agonizing.
The dense sin emanating from Tony held a fatal attraction for him, but Johnny, within his mind, was desperately resisting and loudly pleading with him.
Moreover, Tony also gave him a sense of danger.
This feeling was annoying.
"You... have grown stronger... but I can still pass judgment on you..." Ghost Rider said in a deep voice, as if from Hell.
"That's meaningless, Spirit of Vengeance. You could also pass judgment on the Ancient One, so why didn't you make a move in the end? Was it merely because you weren't her match?" Tony slowly stood up, walked in front of Ghost Rider, and firmly poked his finger into the other's chest, saying coldly, "I'm also warning you, don't use your ridiculous rules of judgment on me. I don't know what the Ancient One taught you, but I'm different from her. I will never give you a second chance."
Beings like the Spirit of Vengeance were simply a bunch of fanatics, each one proclaiming to pass judgment on sin.
What defines sin?
Someone loses rank in a game today, filled with guilt; someone lies, filled with guilt; someone steals because they can't survive, filled with guilt.
According to the Spirit of Vengeance's standards, all these people should not live and should go to hell, because they are filled with sin.
Newly born Spirits of Vengeance were particularly volatile. They never cared why humans were filled with a sense of guilt; they were only responsible for judgment and killing.
For example, Thanos, who has killed countless beings, only regards his past actions as honors and feels no remorse whatsoever. In such a case, Ghost Rider's Penance Stare becomes ineffective.
In fact, in a certain version from his previous life, an elderly Thanos would keep Ghost Rider captive, watching the Penance Stare every day, reminiscing about his lost years of passion with an appreciative gaze.
That's truly outrageous.
The power of the Penance Stare stems from judging an individual's inner conscience, rather than truly judging them by the number of despicable acts they have committed.
A human with a fragile psyche, who feels full of sin no matter what they do, is utterly defenseless before the Spirit of Vengeance. Conversely, a paranoid-type mortal who believes their acts of murder and arson are righteous can simply ignore the Penance Stare...
Therefore, Tony's impression of Ghost Rider was not particularly pleasant, and he always maintained a high degree of vigilance.
If Ghost Rider were to attack him, Tony would definitely find a way to kill Ghost Rider. If he couldn't kill him, he'd banish him to outer space.
An uncontrollable and irregular combat power could cause backlash at any time; it's better to decisively discard it.
This would prevent Tony from being stabbed in the back by an ally while fighting Mephisto.
The flames in Ghost Rider's eyes dimmed slightly. "I understand. Before I reclaim my soul, I won't do anything to you."
Tony snorted coldly, looked towards the door, and said, "You had best keep your emotions in check... Now, we have guests. Let's get rid of these minions first."
(end of chapter)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony quickly learned of Mephisto's return to Earth.
The news was confirmed when Johnny Blaze came seeking help, revealing that Blackheart and his numerous followers had already secretly arrived on Earth.
"I'm not worried about Blackheart. He's just an idiot being used by Mephisto. I really don't know how the cunning and treacherous Mephisto could have fathered such a foolish son as Blackheart."
Tony stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the view outside the window. The manor's grounds were neatly lined with numerous rare trees, a truly pleasing sight.
Johnny anxiously ran his hands through his hair, messing up his once neat hairstyle until it resembled a beggar's "Shamate" style.
"I'm out of options; I could only come to you. The demon demands I kill Blackheart, and furthermore, in his presence, I always involuntarily transform into Ghost Rider, as if my entire being uncontrollably obeys his commands..." Johnny clutched his head in pain and despair, his face filled with sorrow.
Tony turned around, patted Johnny's shoulder, and comforted him, "You've been prepared for this, haven't you? Ever since you signed that contract with him years ago and realized you couldn't die no matter what."
The young Johnny, in order to save his father who was suffering from late-stage cancer, was tricked by Mephisto into signing a soul contract. This type of contract, involving the Spirit of Vengeance, was extremely complex. From the moment Johnny signed it, he lost control over his body and soul.
"I want revenge, Tony, I want revenge!" Johnny said, lowering his head, his eyes terrifyingly red. "If he had genuinely cured my father, I would have willingly obeyed him, but the very next day, he made my recovered father die in an accident! He did it on purpose! I want revenge!"
Mephisto reappeared, forcefully issuing commands to Johnny. Yet, the resentful Johnny was powerless to resist and would instantly fall under the control of the Spirit of Vengeance.
The contract signed back then was one to transfer the Spirit of Vengeance, and Johnny's soul was merely a mortal's soul. Even facing only a clone of Mephisto, he was powerless to resist the contract's power.
The Ancient One had trained him, but it seemed ineffective against the contract.
Tony was very willing to help Johnny, hoping to completely turn the Spirit of Vengeance into Earth's property, or even his own, by stripping it away.
The Penance Stare possessed immense destructive power against beings below level seven.
"You'll stay with me for now. I also happen to be planning to destroy Mephisto's clone. Blackheart and his scum, not one of them will escape," Tony said.
He also needed to interrogate them about the Ancient One's whereabouts, especially her safety. Hell was indeed vast, but it also contained numerous terrifying beings. After all, Hell was one of the many realms within the Sphere of the Gods, and the Ancient One's strength truly didn't amount to much there.
Moreover, the Ancient One was a multiversal being, naturally at a disadvantage against a unique being. Although level seven beings possessed the ability to resist space-time fluctuations, their souls were ultimately not a singularity, and thus couldn't permanently fix space-time within their souls.
Being able to hunt down Mephisto was also thanks to the Ancient One's astonishing strength, placing her among the first tier of level seven beings.
That night, as darkness fell, the time was ripe for Ghost Rider to appear.
Johnny began to lose control. Amidst frequent screams, the Spirit of Vengeance within him began to riot, easily seizing control of his body.
The fiery skull head appeared once again, its eyes burning with hellfire, staring intently at Tony.
"I don't care if you have self-control or not. If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll throw you into the Sun," Tony said coldly, sitting calmly on the sofa.
Ghost Rider fell silent for a moment, his entire body ablaze with wildly flickering flames, seemingly struggling, thinking, and agonizing.
The dense sin emanating from Tony held a fatal attraction for him, but Johnny, within his mind, was desperately resisting and loudly pleading with him.
Moreover, Tony also gave him a sense of danger.
This feeling was annoying.
"You... have grown stronger... but I can still pass judgment on you..." Ghost Rider said in a deep voice, as if from Hell.
"That's meaningless, Spirit of Vengeance. You could also pass judgment on the Ancient One, so why didn't you make a move in the end? Was it merely because you weren't her match?" Tony slowly stood up, walked in front of Ghost Rider, and firmly poked his finger into the other's chest, saying coldly, "I'm also warning you, don't use your ridiculous rules of judgment on me. I don't know what the Ancient One taught you, but I'm different from her. I will never give you a second chance."
Beings like the Spirit of Vengeance were simply a bunch of fanatics, each one proclaiming to pass judgment on sin.
What defines sin?
Someone loses rank in a game today, filled with guilt; someone lies, filled with guilt; someone steals because they can't survive, filled with guilt.
According to the Spirit of Vengeance's standards, all these people should not live and should go to hell, because they are filled with sin.
Newly born Spirits of Vengeance were particularly volatile. They never cared why humans were filled with a sense of guilt; they were only responsible for judgment and killing.
For example, Thanos, who has killed countless beings, only regards his past actions as honors and feels no remorse whatsoever. In such a case, Ghost Rider's Penance Stare becomes ineffective.
In fact, in a certain version from his previous life, an elderly Thanos would keep Ghost Rider captive, watching the Penance Stare every day, reminiscing about his lost years of passion with an appreciative gaze.
That's truly outrageous.
The power of the Penance Stare stems from judging an individual's inner conscience, rather than truly judging them by the number of despicable acts they have committed.
A human with a fragile psyche, who feels full of sin no matter what they do, is utterly defenseless before the Spirit of Vengeance. Conversely, a paranoid-type mortal who believes their acts of murder and arson are righteous can simply ignore the Penance Stare...
Therefore, Tony's impression of Ghost Rider was not particularly pleasant, and he always maintained a high degree of vigilance.
If Ghost Rider were to attack him, Tony would definitely find a way to kill Ghost Rider. If he couldn't kill him, he'd banish him to outer space.
An uncontrollable and irregular combat power could cause backlash at any time; it's better to decisively discard it.
This would prevent Tony from being stabbed in the back by an ally while fighting Mephisto.
The flames in Ghost Rider's eyes dimmed slightly. "I understand. Before I reclaim my soul, I won't do anything to you."
Tony snorted coldly, looked towards the door, and said, "You had best keep your emotions in check... Now, we have guests. Let's get rid of these minions first."
(end of chapter)
