(A/N):
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Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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Bound by the burning chain and unable to pull free, the Saw Tooth Jack lifted its head.
Hatred filled what little remained of its expression.
Then—It smirked.
-Smirk
"...."
The pumpkin head began to glow hotter—brighter—the cracks sealing as fire condensed inward, pressure building like a furnace pushed past its limit.
Ghost Rider felt it instantly.
-GRRRR...
The heat wasn't rage anymore. It was detonation.
The pumpkin flared white—
BOOM.
The head exploded in a violent blast of fire and corrupted energy.
Ghost Rider was thrown backward a few steps, boots carving trenches into the church floor—but he stayed standing.
Where the demon had been, its body collapsed inward, flesh and flame shrinking, hardening—until only a dead, leafless tree remained.
Charred. Hollow. Lifeless.
For half a second—Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Then—The ground shuddered.
From the shattered remains, pumpkin seeds scattered across the stone floor—dozens of them, blackened and smoking.
They twitched.
Suddenly, sharp roots burst downward, piercing the stone like spears.
Green veins surged outward, crawling unnaturally fast, intertwining—forming limbs—torsos—heads.
One after another, new Saw Tooth Jacks rose, smaller than the original but just as vicious, pumpkin heads flickering with unstable fire.
They turned in unison.
All eyes locked on Ghost Rider.
Then—They lunged all at once.
Three leapt high, crashing into him from above.
Two slammed into his legs, trying to force him down.
Another wrapped itself around his back, clawing, burning, shrieking.
"...."
They piled onto him like rabid animals, trying to pin him to the ground, their combined weight grinding him into the cracked stone.
The church floor fractured beneath the pressure.
Chains rattled.
Hellfire flared violently around Ghost Rider's body—but the swarm kept coming, claws digging in, bodies locking together to restrain him.
For a brief moment—It looked like they might succeed.
Then the flames stilled.
The heat didn't fade.
It focused.
Ghost Rider's skull tilted downward.
-GAGAGAGA!
A low, rumbling laugh rolled out of him—deep, layered, echoing like it came from multiple throats at once.
"YOU REALLY THINK—"
The chains ignited, blazing brighter than before, spreading fire through every demon clinging to him.
"—NUMBERS MEAN ANYTHING TO ME?"
-GRAAAAAAA!!!
He planted both boots into the ground.
The church trembled.
-CREAK -CREAK
"HELL ISN'T FAIR."
With a violent surge, Ghost Rider stood, lifting every Saw Tooth Jack clinging to him off the ground.
Flames erupted outward in a circular blast, peeling demons away, burning through vine-flesh and pumpkin skulls alike.
"...."
Seeing their numbers fail them, the Saw Tooth Jacks panicked.
Their carved faces began to flake, ash crumbling from cracked pumpkin grins.
-GRIN
Where hellfire had raged moments ago, flesh peeled away, exposing glowing cores—raw, unstable, vulnerable.
Ghost Rider saw it instantly.
All of their heads began to heat again, fire compressing inward.
They were going to detonate—split—multiply.
Again. A deep, thunderous snarl rolled from Ghost Rider's chest.
"ENOUGH."
He threw his arms wide.
The chains tore free from his body and lashed outward, carving burning sigils into the church floor.
Hellfire surged from those marks like liquid sunlight, racing outward—
and then rose.
A ring of fire erupted around every remaining Saw Tooth Jack.
Not scattered flames.
Not walls.
A perfect inferno, sealing each one in its own blazing prison.
The fire climbed high enough to lick the church rafters, touching stone, altar, broken pews—claiming the terrain itself.
There was nowhere for the seeds to fall.
Nowhere for roots to dig.
The Saw Tooth Jacks screamed as their pumpkin heads exploded—
-BOOM! -BOOM!
-BOOM!
Seeds blasted outward—straight into the walls of hellfire.
They didn't bounce. They didn't sprout. They ignited.
-Puff! -Puff! -Puff!
-Puff! -Puff! -Puff!..
Each seed flared bright orange for a heartbeat—then turned to black ash, scattering uselessly into the flames.
No vines. No bodies. No rebirth.
Ghost Rider clenched his fist.
"...."
The ring of fire collapsed inward, consuming what little remained—burning bone, bark, sin, and contract alike.
When the flames finally died down—There was nothing left.
No monster. No seed. No curse.
Just scorched stone and drifting embers.
-HAHA!
Ghost Rider stood alone in the ruined church, hellfire slowly dimming along his skull.
"...."
He looked once at the spot where the last Saw Tooth Jack had vanished.
The dead tree—what little remained of the original Saw Tooth Jack—finally surrendered.
Hellfire crept up its bark-like limbs, climbing patiently, mercilessly, until the entire thing ignited.
The tree burned without screaming, collapsing inward, cracking, splintering—and then it was gone, reduced to drifting ash that scattered across the church floor.
The flames receded.
Ghost Rider turned and walked out of the church.
Behind him, Caroline, Inadu, Gayathri, and Debbie followed—and last came Dan Shepard, his steps heavy, his face pale but resolute.
Outside, the boys had gathered.
Dozens of them.
They stood at a distance, trapped behind a wall of fire that curved like a living fence, separating them from the church—and from the flaming truck idling nearby.
Heat rolled off the barrier in waves, forcing them back no matter how brave they pretended to be.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Fear. Confusion. Denial.
Ghost Rider stopped at the edge of the firelight.
He turned his skull slowly toward the boys.
Then he spoke.
His voice rose—unnaturally sharp, cutting through the night, carrying across the cornfields and into every shaking chest.
"YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT AWAITS YOUR 'CHAMPIONS'?"
The boys flinched.
-Flinch
"...."
"...."
"...."
Some scoffed. Some clenched their fists.
Ghost Rider lifted one burning hand and pointed back toward the church.
"THEY DON'T WIN GLORY... THEY DON'T WIN FREEDOM... THEY DON'T LEAVE THIS PLACE."
His flames flared brighter.
"THEY BURN... THEY ROT... THEY ARE STRIPPED OF THEIR NAMES—AND TURNED INTO THE VERY MONSTER YOU HUNT."
Murmurs broke out—angry, disbelieving.
"That's not true—"
"He's lying—"
"That's just to scare us—"
Before Ghost Rider could speak again, Dan Shepard stepped forward.
The fire did not touch him.
His voice trembled—but it carried truth.
"It's true, My son… Jim… he won last year. You guys already knew about it."
The boys froze.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Dan swallowed hard.
-Gulp
"He didn't come home a hero. He came back as a monster which you hunt at the dark harvest. And every year, this town fed a demon another boy. Who carries the cycle..."
Silence crashed down like a weight.
Faces drained of color.
Hands that once gripped knives and makeshift weapons fell limp.
Dan turned, facing Ghost Rider.
Slowly—deliberately—he bowed.
Not in fear. In gratitude.
"Thank you, For freeing my son. And for ending this."
Ghost Rider looked at him for a long moment.
The flames around his skull softened, no longer roaring—just burning steady.
He gave a single nod.
-NOD
"...."
The fire fence dissolved, embers lifting harmlessly into the night sky.
The harvest was over.
And the boys—for the first time—understood what they had almost become.
With a soft puff of black smoke, the hellfire unraveled.
-PUFF
Flames peeled away from bone and leather, shrinking inward like a dying star, until Ghost Rider was gone—and Jojo stood there instead, boots planted on scorched stone, jacket fluttering in the heat haze.
The flaming truck still rumbled in the distance, circling the settlement on its own—a moving wall of hellfire, sealing every road, every field, every hidden path out.
Jojo exhaled slowly.
Then he turned to Dan Shepard.
"Call everyone,"
Jojo said calmly, his voice carrying authority without volume.
"Every resident. No exceptions."
Dan hesitated for only a heartbeat as he began.
"Even—?"
Jojo met his eyes and repeated his words.
"Everyone, Old. Young. Infants in arms. If they live here, they stand here."
Dan swallowed, nodded once, and turned toward the church.
-Gulp
"...."
The moment he stepped inside, he pulled the cord.
The alarm bell roared to life.
Not a gentle call to prayer—but a harsh, urgent peal that echoed across the cornfields, rattled windows, and clawed its way into every home.
Lights flicked on across the settlement.
Doors creaked open.
"...."
"...."
"...."
People emerged—confused, frightened, wrapped in coats and blankets, clutching children, whispering prayers.
They came because the bell demanded it.
Meanwhile, the hellfire truck completed its circuit.
A ring of fire now surrounded the settlement—low, steady, unbroken.
No one could leave.
And more importantly—No one could hide.
Caroline stood beside Jojo, arms crossed, watching the people gather.
Inadu's gaze was colder, sharper—she was already listening, sensing all those confused looks directed at them.
Gayathri murmured under her breath, recognizing sigils that had been buried for generations.
Debbie stood silently, eyes wide, realizing how deep this rot had gone.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Jojo watched the crowd grow.
Faces filled with fear. With guilt. With relief.
And with something else. Expectation.
They knew this wasn't a meeting. This was a reckoning.
Jojo stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the firelight, where everyone could see him clearly.
He didn't raise his voice and didn't threaten but simply said.
"Tonight, the harvest ends. Once and for all..."
A ripple went through the crowd.
Some people sobbed.
Some shook their heads in denial.
Some looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Jojo's gaze moved across them—slow, deliberate as he continued.
"You've fed a demon for generations, Not because you were forced. But because it was easier than stopping."
The air felt heavy as he continued his speech.
"The contract is broken, The monster is gone. But what comes next depends on you."
The hellfire ring flickered—responsive, alive.
"I'm not here to burn a town, But,"
Jojo said quietly.
"I'm here to make sure it never happens again."
Silence fell.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Absolute.
The kind that comes when people realize the story they've lived by is finally over—and they don't yet know how to live without it.
Jojo turned slightly toward Dan.
"Let them speak, Every truth. Every secret."
Dan nodded, gripping the church rail as if it were the only thing keeping him upright.
-Nod
"...."
The night wasn't over.
But the lie that ruled this place—had finally died.
Jojo raised his right hand.
Only his right hand.
The skin darkened, cracked—and with a low, ominous hiss, it shifted, bone and flame briefly surfacing before settling into the unmistakable shape of Ghost Rider's arm, wreathed in restrained hellfire.
He snapped his fingers.
-SNAP
The air split like torn parchment.
One by one, contracts materialized—floating, hovering gently before every single person present.
Men, Women, Teenagers, Children and even infants, cradled in their parents' arms, had a contract suspended before them, glowing faintly with ember-red script.
A wave of panic rippled through the crowd.
Jojo spoke calmly, evenly—like a judge reading a verdict.
"This is a soul-bound covenant."
The contracts shifted, the words rearranging themselves so everyone could read them in their own language while Jojo continued.
"You will never again perform, revive, imitate, or glorify the Harvest... You will never enter a pact with demons—directly or indirectly... You will never influence, coerce, or groom another to do so."
The letters burned brighter as the next clause revealed itself.
"These conditions bind not just you—but your future lineage."
Gasps broke out.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Parents clutched their children tighter.
Jojo's voice remained steady.
"You will not reveal the truth of what happened tonight. Not the demon. Not the contract. Not me. Until its necessary... History will forget about the dark harvest—and that is mercy."
At the top of each contract, a memory-forged blade sigil shimmered—sharp, elegant, undeniable.
While Jojo explained how it works.
"To sign, a single drop of blood."
A man stepped forward, shaking with anger and fear as he shouted.
"This is our tradition! You have no right—"
He never finished the sentence. There was a blur.
-FOOOWSHH!
A rush of air.
"...."
And then silence.
Caroline stood where the man had been, her expression cold, eyes glowing faintly.
She opened her hand and let something fall to the ground—not gore, not spectacle—just the proof that resistance was no longer an option.
She didn't speak. She didn't need to.
"...."
The message was clear.
Fear swept through the crowd like wildfire.
Hands trembled. Throats went dry.
"...."
"...."
"...."
One by one, people stepped forward—pressing a finger to the blade symbol, leaving behind a single crimson drop.
The contracts absorbed the blood and vanished in soft embers.
When a young couple hesitated, clutching their newborn, terror written across their faces, the mother whispered.
"...."
"...."
"Why… why does our baby need this?"
Jojo knelt slightly, bringing himself to their level while he replied gently.
"For protection, Demons don't look for doors. They look for cracks. This closes one—forever."
The parents' faces drained of color.
With shaking hands, they nodded.
-Nod
A tiny pinprick. One drop.
The contract vanished.
The same was done for every child. Every family. Every soul.
When the last contract dissolved into ash, Jojo lowered his arm.
The Ghost Rider's form faded from his hand, leaving only human skin behind.
The ring of hellfire around the settlement dimmed… then extinguished completely.
Jojo looked over the crowd one final time.
"This place is free, What you do with that freedom—is on you."
No cheers followed. No thanks.
Only silence, heavy and reverent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Jojo's gaze drifted through the dispersing crowd and settled on the old man who had rented them the house.
The man stood stiffly near the church steps, hat clutched to his chest, eyes lowered—not in fear now, but in something heavier.
Shame. Relief. Finality.
Jojo walked up to him and said plainly.
"We'll be vacating, No need to prepare anything."
The old man nodded immediately, voice caught in his throat.
-Nod
"I… I understand."
Jojo didn't linger. There was nothing more to say.
They returned to the house in silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The town felt different now—emptier, quieter, like a body after a sickness finally breaks.
Jojo, Caroline, Inadu, Gayathri, and Debbie gathered their belongings quickly.
No one joked. No one argued.
The weight of what had ended here still clung to the air.
Debbie paused at the doorway once, glancing back at the house.
"...."
Inadu answered softly,
"Evil always looses when it faces us."
They left the keys on the table.
No goodbyes.
The car rolled out of the settlement just as dawn began to soften the horizon.
Cornfields stretched endlessly on either side, golden and innocent again, as if nothing had ever screamed within them.
The road ahead was clear—no barriers, no fire, no shadows clinging to the edges of the world.
Caroline leaned back in her seat, finally exhaling.
-Sigh
"That's one town that won't be repeating history."
Gayathri nodded while looking out of the window.
"Some places are cursed because people let them be."
Debbie stared out the window, fingers tightening around the DMC card in her pocket.
"I won't, Let things stay buried again. I won't ever make the same mistake as them."
Jojo said nothing. He drove.
"...."
After Few Hours...
Hours later, the familiar silhouette of the mansion appeared—the temporary base Freya's loyal subordinates had prepared for them.
As the car pulled in, the gates opened smoothly, welcoming them back without ceremony.
Jojo shut off the engine.
Another lie burned away.
And somewhere far beyond this place, other shadows were already stirring.
But for now—After preparation they need to go to the place where that Father Sal was.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Guys it was the new cover image I planned to add to this story what you guys think about it.
As for giving power to others. I came up with a idea contract. While someone can gain ability after being exposed to angle fire like Jenny. But this will make him to be able to give a specific power he needed them to have.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!