"Where are you planning to go next? Why aren't you coming back?" Miku Izayoi had thought Tohka would return right away, but she quickly realized that Tohka wasn't flying back to the city center at all and instead was headed toward the suburbs.
"Relax, relax—I just want to check out a place. Anyway, it's still early evening. This isn't when those demons are active." Hearing Miku's question, Tohka casually replied. If she remembered correctly, there was an old Rider living somewhere on the outskirts. But that guy had already lost his power source and only had one transformation left. So Tohka planned to go over and get her hands on that so-called contract. As for that Mephistopheles or whatever, she wasn't worried. Her own powers were supernatural in nature, so those demons shouldn't have any advantage against her.
"Fine—just be careful." Hearing Tohka's answer, Miku didn't object and simply offered a word of caution.
"This should be the place, right? I remember there was only one cemetery near this city. That old Rider and his contract must be here. Should I just grab it now?" She thought about it, then jumped down from the sky.
That kind of ominous thing wasn't of any use to her anyway, and it definitely wasn't something good, so she had no particular desire to keep it.
"This isn't the kind of place a young lady like you should be visiting. Places like this aren't for you." As soon as she landed, an aged voice sounded behind her.
Tohka turned and saw the old Rider standing there, leaning on the shovel that held the contract. Even though he hadn't transformed in ages, she could still feel tremendous power from him. Only now that power had become thin and unstable—like it could extinguish at any moment.
"It's nothing. You should know about the murders in the city these past two days." Tohka wasn't too wary of him, since she could tell his strength was all but spent. And honestly, she wouldn't have feared him even if he were at full power.
"Hmph—what are you implying?" The old Rider frowned, Tohka's tone making it sound like she was there to demand answers. If he didn't know who she was and roughly what she was capable of, he'd almost suspect she was one of Hell's agents.
But even so, he wouldn't admit anything. He hadn't transformed in who knew how long, and with so little power left, he didn't have confidence he could beat Tohka.
"Not going to admit it, huh…" Narrowing her eyes, Tohka hesitated whether to just act. That contract was useless to her, but she also didn't want it falling into enemy hands. Movies were movies—who knew what might go wrong here?
"So, you really do know… I haven't told anyone about this." He hadn't said much, but the way she kept glancing deliberately at his shovel told him she definitely knew what was inside. He could already tell this was someone strong—and very well informed.
Boom. Just as Tohka was about to look away, a wave of searing fire burst from the old Rider's body. In an instant, the figure of a Ghost Rider wearing a cowboy hat and long duster stood before her. Before she could react, he lifted his shotgun and fired.
"Crap—why's he shooting without even talking?" Tohka hadn't expected he'd open fire with no warning. Caught off guard, her armor was blasted apart.
"You bastard—do you really think I care about the broken contract inside that stupid shovel?" She looked mournfully at her shattered armor.
Mainly, she hadn't expected he could transform in broad daylight. She distinctly remembered he'd warned Johnny repeatedly about that—turns out he could transform anytime, he'd just been worried Johnny might ruin himself by triggering his powers too soon.
"I'm not going to let you succeed. I don't know how you learned about this." The skull wreathed in flames stared at her, its voice utterly transformed.
"I'll say it again—I'm not interested in that thing. And don't kid yourself. Even at your peak, you probably couldn't beat me." Though the flaming skull made her uneasy, Tohka didn't back down. She stepped forward, her spirit armor forming again over her body.
"Who can say, little girl." The Rider didn't look impressed. He just gave a short whistle—and Tohka immediately heard a rumble behind her.
"That's his mount—damn it." As soon as she heard the whistle, she spun around. A warhorse wreathed in hellfire was charging straight at her. She knew how destructive its flames could be and didn't dare let it hit her. But caught by surprise, she had no time to attack it. She could only brace her massive sword in front of herself.
With a shrill whinny, the horse planted both front hooves on her sword and vaulted high overhead. The massive force pinned Tohka down, the earth beneath her feet cracking apart.
"Ngh!" Before she could recover, the flaming skull was suddenly inches from her face.
"Look into my eyes." The old Rider knew he'd never win in a straight fight. Years of experience told him this was his one shot. He seized her shoulder plate and hoisted her up. And then…
…and then nothing. Because Tohka, startled by the sudden skull in her face, reflexively kicked him away. He sailed through the air and crashed into several gravestones.
"Whew—that scared me, you bastard! What was I supposed to look at—your empty eye sockets?" Anyone would have been startled if a flaming skull appeared inches away. She hadn't even realized what he'd been about to do—she just reacted on instinct. Her heart was still racing.
"Cough…cough…enough." The Rider picked himself up. Ghost Riders were nearly unkillable in that state—or at least not easily killed. But his power was now completely spent, and he returned to human form.
He gave Tohka an incredulous look. His Penance Stare had failed. He knew exactly what that meant: even if she'd taken lives, her accumulated virtue far outweighed any sin, so she'd been immune.
"Cough…fine, enough fighting. I'll give you the San Venganza Contract." He coughed a few times, then stood up again. Seeing Tohka glaring at him with her giant sword, he hurried to explain.
"Ah—take my—wait, what did you just say?" Tohka had been about to swing, but froze mid-motion, staring at him in disbelief. What the hell? A moment ago he'd been ready to kill her—now he was giving up?
"Cough…cough…this is the San Venganza Contract. Here—you can have it." He ignored her look and picked up the iron shovel from the ground.
With a hard flick, he broke it apart and pulled out a white contract, tossing it to her. He looked immeasurably relieved.
"Hey—wait a second. Why do I feel like I've been set up? And you—why did you change your mind so fast?" She caught the contract automatically, still dumbfounded.
And that wasn't even the strangest part—what was with the way he now looked so carefree? She suddenly had a terrible feeling she'd just walked into someone else's trap.
"Heh…someone who can resist my Penance Stare can't be all bad. And with your power, you're more than qualified to guard that contract. I'd originally planned to pass it to my successor, but it looks like you're better suited for the job."
He sounded casual, but there was something he didn't say: someone immune to the Penance Stare—and that strong—was almost like a living saint. Even the so-called Gods might not fare as well.
"Fine…but…wait. You mean you're leaving this thing for me to guard? Do you realize the ones after it are demons—actual demons? Even if they're not invincible, they're all a huge pain to deal with!" Tohka broke out in a cold sweat.
That had really been the Penance Stare—she knew how terrifying it was. She hadn't expected it wouldn't affect her. But she almost jumped in outrage as she realized he'd just dumped this dangerous artifact on her. She didn't want any part of this thankless mess.
"That's your problem. You're the keeper now. If it falls into demonic hands, this world could become Hell itself. And I'm too old. Time to retire."
With that, the old Rider turned and walked away without waiting for her reply. His demeanor made it clear that even if she threw the contract back at him, he wouldn't pick it up.
"Hey—wait! What is this nonsense?!" Tohka nearly tore her hair out as she looked down at the scroll in her hands.
She wanted to slap herself. Why had she gotten involved? And she couldn't bring herself to just discard it—she wasn't the kind of person who treated human lives like nothing. But she knew exactly how dangerous this was.
Even if the original story had it get absorbed by Blackheart, she suspected this was really Mephisto's failsafe left behind in the human world—something to open the gate of Hell and unleash demons and himself.
"One more thing—the village sealing the demon is nearby. Here—memorize this map. But you'd best not go." Just then, the old Rider reappeared, handed her a sheepskin map, and left again.
"Hey—wait up!"
…..
In the end, Tohka had no choice but to fly back to her hotel alone, still carrying the contract. She'd tried to refuse, but the old man had simply vanished. And she wasn't the kind to just dump it. At least the hotel was in a very prominent location. Honestly, even if it hadn't been, she'd have stayed there anyway. The night they arrived, she and Miku had picked it at random.
"Ugh—you're back! You scared me half to death!" The moment she walked into the room, Miku Izayoi threw herself at her.
"Huh? What's wrong? I'm perfectly fine." Tohka was startled by her sudden hug. She hadn't expected Miku to react this way.
"You don't understand—when that old skeleton hit you, I was terrified. If I'd known where you were, I would've rushed over instantly. And—and what was with that guy turning into a skull?!"
"Relax, relax. Look—I'm fine, aren't I?" Seeing how flustered she was, Tohka quickly tried to soothe her. "He only destroyed the armor—I wasn't hurt at all. As for why you lost contact, I deliberately destroyed the armor's systems before I left so no one could salvage Stark tech. That's why you lost the feed."
She wasn't making it up. Tony would forgive her for wrecking the suit, but if she'd let the tech leak, he'd definitely be furious. To him, protecting the technology was more important than the hardware itself.
"Mm…I see." Miku nodded, finally calming down. But soon her attention was drawn to the object in Tohka's hand. "What's that? Just looking at it makes my skin crawl."