Moonlight poured across the desolate canyon.
The echo of a manic cackle split the silence, chased by the roar of an engine tearing through the night. A flaming motorcycle dropped heavy onto the ground—
Boom!
Like a beast straight from Hell, fire spat from its exhaust, sparks trailing in its wake.
The Ghost Rider had found a bike at last. After being toyed with by Hawk, he had finally returned to Texas, arriving just before midnight.
Clutching the handlebars, his burning skull glared up at Hawk on the cliff. Within the hollow sockets, hellfire churned and spun like twin vortices to the Pit.
"Kehehehe!"
He dismounted, no words wasted, and flung his chain skyward.
It writhed like a living serpent, wrapped in hellfire, spiraling into a tornado of flame as it lashed toward Hawk.
Hawk watched calmly.
The moment the chain smashed apart the rocks beneath his feet—he vanished.
The Rider had only a heartbeat to realize Hawk was gone—before his chest caved inward. He shot back like a fireball, slammed deep into the cliff wall.
"Supersonic Punch."
Boom!
Hawk reappeared where the Rider had stood, then followed up, fist cocked.
"Super… Sonic… Punch!"
Boom-boom-boom!
Hundreds of blows a second hammered the wall. Rock shattered, spraying like bullets in every direction. The Ghost Rider sank deeper and deeper into the crumbling cliff, crushed under the barrage.
At last, with a deathly wail, the cliff itself gave way, collapsing with a thunderous roar. Dust and rubble buried the Rider whole.
Hawk lowered his fist.
Could it really be that easy?
Of course not.
Unlike demons or even Blackheart, the Ghost Rider was the Spirit of Vengeance itself—immune to mere brute force.
Sure enough, a deafening blast shook the ruins. A surge of hellfire erupted, and the Rider leapt free, flames melting the rocks beneath his feet.
His burning eyes locked on Hawk. His voice was hollow, yet sharp.
"You… are guilty."
"None of your damn business."
Hawk's fist snapped forward again—sending the Rider hurtling into another cliff.
This time, he bounced off without embedding. Landing hard, he whipped his chain, hellfire hissing as it sought Hawk's ankle—
But only snagged a fading afterimage.
"Hey!"
The voice came from above. The Rider looked up—
And Hawk's fist smashed into his skull, driving him headfirst into the earth.
Wham!
Wham!
Wham!
Three blows later, only the Rider's flaming head remained above ground, the rest of his body buried.
Hawk shook out his hand, brushing off hellfire sparks.
"Damn, that skull really is hard."
Suddenly, the abandoned chain on the ground hissed, rising like a snake, striking for him.
Hawk's hand snapped out, gripping it at the "seven-inch" mark.
The Rider only laughed.
In a flash, the chain twisted—and the flaming skull appeared in Hawk's grasp instead, eye sockets blazing.
"Kehehehe… You are guilty. Face judgment."
Hellfire spun into a vortex in the sockets, a tunnel to endless darkness. Hawk felt the pull—his soul dragged toward Hell itself.
Once, he'd have had no defense. A man of Earth, unbound to any dimension, his soul would have been Mephisto's by right.
But now, he had his own Underworld.
His soul did not move.
Ten seconds.
Thirty.
A full minute.
Three minutes.
The Rider's laughter faltered, the vortex shrank, and even the flames dulled. Silence.
Hawk smirked.
"What's wrong? Keep laughing."
He tightened his grip.
Crack!
The skull fractured.
The Rider shrieked—not just the Rider, but Johnny Blaze too. His face flickered, shifting between a burning skull and the battered, weary visage of Nicolas Cage.
In that instant, Hawk understood.
This wasn't like Banner and Hulk, two beings sharing a body.
Johnny and the Spirit were fused. Entirely.
By choice.
That explained why Johnny still obeyed Mephisto even by day. His will and the Rider's were one.
"Tch."
Hawk clicked his tongue, then closed his fist.
Boom!
The skull shattered. The scream cut off. Shards trickled through his fingers.
A hellish vortex opened, sucking the fused soul into the Pit.
Hawk stood still, watching.
Now he knew how to enter Hell.
But…
Best to let the bullet fly for a while.
…
(End of Chapter)
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