Rumble.
The ceiling of the football stadium quietly opened amid thunderous cheers. Scorching sunlight poured down, but it did nothing to dampen the crowd's surging excitement.
Six UH-106 helicopters descended neatly from the sky and lined up in a row, their rotors spinning at high speed as they stretched across the center of the field.
"Johnny!"
"You've got this!"
Johnny Blaze rode his motorcycle to the stunt ramp at the edge of the field. Amid the cheering crowd, the engine began to roar wildly. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he shot up the ramp and launched into the air.
The surrounding cheers came to an abrupt halt.
The sleek motorcycle soared high above the field. Beneath him were rotors spinning at terrifying speed. If he made even the slightest mistake and fell, Johnny would be shredded beyond recognition.
"There it is."
The stadium fell silent. Inside the private box, Fenris's eyes were suddenly covered by a faint layer of black mist.
In a flash, he appeared by the window. At that moment, the world in Fenris's eyes abruptly darkened. Only Johnny, who was flying through the air, burned with strange bright-yellow flames.
A faint black thread extended from Johnny's body, winding toward the stadium entrance.
"What is that?"
Fenris raised his brows in surprise and followed the line with his gaze.
Boom.
It was as if all light had been swallowed whole. The entrance, which looked completely normal to ordinary people, had become an enormous, bottomless black hole in Fenris's eyes.
That dense darkness continued to shrink and condense, finally transforming silently into an old man dressed in an old-fashioned black formal suit.
The old man held an elegant cane. His silver hair was combed with immaculate precision. As soon as he appeared, he looked at Johnny, who was soaring through the air and basking in the attention of thousands, as if admiring a work of art he had carefully crafted himself. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he tapped his fine cane against the ground in satisfaction.
"Hm?"
"A guest from Hell?"
The old man's smile had barely settled on his face when he suddenly sensed that he was being watched.
He clearly felt an extremely familiar power rising faintly from another direction. Its target was clear. It was pointed straight at him.
"Who is it?"
The smile froze on his face at once. A powerful dark aura surged out from the harmless-looking old man, and at the same time, his emotionless eyes lifted. His gaze easily pierced through the private box's one-way glass and collided directly with a pair of eyes glowing black.
The power of the Hell Dimension on Earth was as conspicuous as a torch in the dead of night. Appearing beside Johnny Blaze at a time like this, with hidden strength not much weaker than the Ancient One herself, allowed Fenris to recognize him at a glance.
The lord of the Hell Dimension, Mephisto.
However, because Mephisto was too powerful, he was restricted everywhere in the human world. Every time he acted, he instead had to borrow the power of his representative on Earth: the Ghost Rider.
When Mephisto looked toward him and their gazes met, the black mist in Fenris's eyes did not fade. Instead, he consciously drew even more power from the Hell Dimension inside his body and gathered it in his eyes, facing Mephisto without the slightest fear.
"Interesting."
It seemed to last only an instant, yet also felt as if a long time had passed. Mephisto's mouth stretched into a grin, and he was the first to withdraw his gaze.
Beneath that human appearance, a hideous demon face flashed for the briefest moment. After one last look at Johnny, who was still in midair, Mephisto's figure instantly faded and disappeared, as though he had never appeared at all.
Crash.
Everything that had been frozen around them resumed in that instant. Johnny successfully crossed over the helicopters and landed lightly on the ground.
The roaring cheers surged in waves like the sea. Fenris suddenly staggered, nearly losing his balance and falling.
Emma's ear twitched. Before the sound even arrived, she had already appeared beside Fenris and steadied him.
"Fenris, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm a little tired."
Fenris pulled himself free of Emma's arm and gently tugged at his coat, covering the split wound on his arm.
"I'm heading back first. You can enjoy yourselves."
"We'll stay here a few more days. Tell Wanda there's no need to rush."
Before his words had fully faded, Fenris took out a Sling Ring and slipped it on. His entire body then plunged into the mirror-like space beside him and vanished.
"Fenris, look! I got Johnny's autograph!"
Fenris had only just left when the private box door was pushed open. Wanda bounced in excitedly, holding up an autographed photo.
She looked around, but all she saw was Emma's unsettled expression. Beside her, Emil walked past Wanda without a word and headed toward the hotel.
"What happened?"
Wanda froze.
"Wanda, let's go back. That's enough for today."
Although Emma could not read Fenris's mind, her sharp senses had instinctively detected the sudden disorder in his aura, as well as the faint, fleeting scent of blood from his arm. To Emma, that thin trace of blood carried a deadly attraction.
Fenris had hidden it very well, but Emma was perceptive. She quickly guessed the truth.
Clearly, within a span of time she had been completely unable to perceive, Fenris had encountered some kind of trouble.
"Okay."
Hearing that, Wanda quickly put away the smile on her face.
She casually folded the autographed photo she had been treating like a treasure just moments ago, stuffed it into her pocket, and said decisively, "Let's go."
...
That night.
Inside the garage of a luxury residence, Johnny Blaze was in an especially good mood. Not only had he completed a mad challenge unmatched in history and unlikely to be repeated, but after the stunt, he had also successfully made plans to have dinner with his beautiful ex-girlfriend.
He hummed a light tune as his gaze swept over the dazzling collection inside the garage. Soon, he chose a motorcycle with a flame design.
"You'll do."
Johnny adjusted his expensive leather jacket, took a few light steps, and leapt toward the motorcycle.
"Johnny..."
"Johnny!"
An eerie, aged male voice suddenly reached Johnny's ears from every direction.
At first, the voice sounded distant. But in the next second, it was already beside his ear. Along with the cold wind brushing past him, Johnny's previously fiery mood was drenched through in an instant. An inexplicable fear surged up, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
That voice was already carved into his bones. He knew it all too well.
Years ago, it was the owner of that voice who had tricked him into signing a contract, causing him to trade away his soul.
After all these years, everything from back then still lingered in his mind like a nightmare.
"It's you!"
Johnny's gaze instantly turned cold. Hearing the faint sound of footsteps, he spun around and pointed toward the shadows in the garage.
"You still dare to show yourself in front of me!"
An old man holding an elegant cane stepped out of the darkness.
"Yes. It's me."
"Johnny, long time no see."
(End of Chapter)
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