Emma let out a low shout. Her long, taut legs bent sharply, her right claw lifting slightly as she prepared to charge straight at Ghost Rider.
"Even the most beautiful sinner cannot escape the punishment of the Penance Stare."
Ghost Rider had not expected every opponent he ran into today to be built like this. After a brief pause, the flaming chain in his hand began whipping through the air again.
"Emma, come back!"
Fenris's call came from behind her, instantly forcing Emma's body to halt just as she was about to spring forward.
She turned back and looked at Fenris in confusion.
Fenris was in no condition to fight. Wanda had already exhausted herself somewhat by suppressing Ghost Rider twice on her own, and now Abomination was badly injured. If Emma hid behind Fenris as well, wouldn't the four of them be wiped out by this skeleton man in one fell swoop?
"Don't be reckless. You can't beat him."
Fenris shook his head.
Diamond was hard, yes. Even after Emma's abilities had been strengthened, in the end, she still could not withstand the searing heat of hellfire.
Johnny might have only just become Ghost Rider, but the power of the Spirit of Vengeance had not been diminished in the slightest. The difficulty of dealing with it would not decrease just because its host was a beginner.
As he spoke, Fenris's figure flickered, and he appeared in front of Emil.
Time seemed to pass slowly. From the moment Emil had fallen until now, only a few seconds had gone by, but even that brief exposure to the flames had already left him in unbearable agony.
Seeing Fenris arrive, he struggled to raise his head and called out softly, "Boss, get us out of here!"
"We can plan for the Spirit of Vengeance another time."
"Since when do we let meat already at our lips get away? Don't worry. I can handle it."
Fenris's low words seemed to bring Emil immense confidence. The moment he heard them, he gritted his teeth and nodded, even forcing his groans to stop.
"Bear with it."
Fenris raised his right hand lightly and gave Emil a warning.
The hell power inside his body was actively drawn out by Fenris once more. The next instant, an unprecedentedly dense black mist began gathering in his palm.
Looking at the hellfire blazing across Emil's body, Fenris pressed his right hand hard against Emil's chest.
"Whoosh—"
In an instant, the thick black mist spread from his hand along Emil's body, soon enveloping him completely.
Emil suddenly felt a wave of coolness outside his burning body. He opened his eyes and looked over, only to see the raging hellfire retreating in panic the moment it met Fenris's hell power, like a mouse seeing a cat.
As the black mist spread, all the burning flames were extinguished in a matter of moments. Every trace of scorching heat faded away. Emil opened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.
"That simple?"
He stared at Fenris in shock.
He had thought that even if there was some gap between his strength and Fenris's, it could not be that wide. He had never imagined that the hellfire which had nearly tortured him to death would be put out so easily in Fenris's hands.
"How could it be that simple?"
Fenris smiled helplessly. At some point, several terrifying wounds had split open across his face and hands again. As the flesh churned and granulated, the G-cells' infinite regeneration was frantically resisting two powerful dimensional forces.
"Fenris…"
Wanda stepped forward, her face full of concern as she reached out, wanting to support him.
"No need."
Fenris bared his teeth and shook off Wanda's hand. Then he leapt lightly, wrapped an arm around Emma's waist, and brought her behind him.
The bio-magnetic field around him surged gently. Emma's beautiful diamond giant form was forcibly undone on its own, beyond her control. The two landed on the ground, and Emma looked at the wounds slowly closing on Fenris's body, her brows drawn tight in frustrated anger.
"Are you insane?"
"Doesn't hurt."
Fenris grinned.
"You…"
"Do whatever you want, then!"
Emma's brows sharpened. She turned away, yet somehow, almost by accident, positioned herself at Fenris's side.
"Clatter!"
In the distance, Ghost Rider, transformed from Johnny, had no concept of mercy. Seeing the troublesome and agile diamond giant disappear, and seeing that Fenris, the most sinful of them all, had actually stepped forward on his own, a harsh, unrestrained laugh rang out.
He raised the chain in his hand high. The hellfire burning over it grew even hotter. As he swung both arms, the surrounding air rippled under the blazing heat.
"Accept judgment!"
With a shriek, the chain in Ghost Rider's hand began extending continuously under the cover of hellfire. Amid the piercing whistle of displaced air, the chain carried fierce wind and waves of heat as it lashed viciously toward Fenris.
"Bang!"
The corner of Fenris's eye swept over the three people behind him. Facing the incoming flaming chain, he neither dodged nor retreated. He thrust out his hand and, among a blur of afterimages, precisely caught the heavy chain.
The immense force it carried was easily neutralized by Fenris. His arm did not even tremble in the slightest.
"You fell for it!"
"Kakakaka!"
A dry, triumphant laugh rang out. The next instant, surging hellfire shot up violently, about to crawl along Fenris's arm.
Seeing Fenris entangled by hellfire, Ghost Rider flicked his arm. The chain flew high, ready to cut the young man in half at the waist.
Yet at that critical moment, he suddenly saw a brilliant smile appear on Fenris's face.
A sense of danger surged into him. The next instant, thick black mist poured out from Fenris's body. Everywhere it passed, the hellfire was completely extinguished, and with undiminished momentum, it opened a massive maw toward Ghost Rider.
An unprecedented threat descended. The flames in Ghost Rider's eye sockets flickered erratically. At that moment, he could no longer care how deep the sin of the man before him was. He twisted the throttle hard, and the hell motorcycle roared wildly, carrying him toward the shattered floor-to-ceiling window in an attempt to rush out.
"Where do you think you're running? Stay right here."
The ghostlike whisper seemed to sound right beside Ghost Rider's ear. He snapped his head up, only to see that the young man had somehow arrived before him despite moving later, blocking the front of his motorcycle.
One of Fenris's hands rested lightly on the front of the bike. He looked completely relaxed, and no matter how the wheels spun, they could not shake his body in the slightest.
Fenris casually tossed Ghost Rider's weapon, now no different from an ordinary chain, onto the ground. Seeing him raise his head, Fenris chuckled. His right hand shot out, and with a light sidestep, he forcibly dragged Ghost Rider off the bike.
Black mist spread. After the hellfire went out, the hideous, terrifying motorcycle quietly returned to its original form and fell to the ground with a bang.
Fenris raised Ghost Rider high with one hand. The flames on Ghost Rider's body quickly began to dim, and even the light in his eyes flickered uncertainly.
"You…"
Just as Fenris opened his mouth to say something, a powerful aura suddenly appeared outside the window without warning.
"You again!"
Fenris's gaze sharpened, and his eyes shifted.
Outside the window, in the night, an old man stood quietly with an exquisite cane in hand. The dense darkness swallowed his face, leaving only a blurred silhouette visible.
(End of Chapter)
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