Late at night, Brooklyn, New York.
High-end mattresses often require only the simplest setup. Johnny Blaze, having had a busy day, was just about to lie down…
Bang!
Suddenly, a large, pale hand shot out from behind, gripping the back of his neck like an iron clamp. It yanked him upward and slammed him against the wall!
Boom!
The thick wooden wall crumbled like paper. Johnny Blaze's body punched through the partition and crashed heavily onto the floor of the empty room next door.
Wood chips and dust exploded into the air. His back burned with pain, and the impact had squeezed every breath from his lungs.
Through the dizziness, he vaguely saw a tall, dark figure step through the gaping hole in the wall—moving with the calm ease of someone out for an evening stroll.
"Cough… cough… who…?" Johnny gasped.
He tried to rise, but the pale hand struck again—this time seizing his throat and hoisting him off the ground.
Only then did he clearly see his attacker's face.
A black priest's robe draped a powerfully built frame. The face beneath the hood was unnervingly handsome, pale as bone, and those scarlet pupils gleamed faintly in the darkness.
Though they'd never met, an instinctive dread surged through Johnny Blaze—and with it, instant recognition.
"Black…heart!" he choked out through gritted teeth.
"Bingo!" the demon replied with a smile, tilting his head as if savoring his prey's final struggle. "Congratulations on answering correctly—though, sadly, there's no prize!"
Blackheart regarded him with amusement. "So you're Mephisto's watchdog—the Ghost Rider who slaughtered my three generals: Earth, Water, and Wind? What a disappointment…"
Johnny's pupils contracted. Fury erupted from deep within his chest.
He no longer held back. Blazing hellfire burst from his eyes, mouth, and every orifice, flooding the room with searing heat.
His flesh blackened and peeled away, revealing a skeleton wreathed in flame. Crimson chains materialized from the void, rattling as they coiled around his bony arms.
Boom!
Hellfire consumed his entire form, and the Ghost Rider's skull emerged from the inferno.
He seized Blackheart's wrist—and scorching flames surged up the demon's arm from the point of contact!
"Aaaaah—!"
Blackheart cried out in pain, released his grip, and staggered back two steps, staring at his charred palm.
But within seconds, the burns healed before their very eyes. A grin spread across his face.
"Great! That's more like it!"
Ghost Rider lashed out with his chains—the links wreathed in fire, coiling like a monstrous python aimed at the Blackheart's neck.
Yet the demon didn't flinch or dodge. He merely raised a hand.
Snap!
The hellfire-wreathed chains froze midair, just half a meter from his throat—the inferno solidified into jagged ice.
Ghost Rider's flaming eye sockets narrowed. Before he could react, Blackheart flicked a finger.
Bang!
The frozen chains shattered—and a storm of ice shards rained back toward the Rider. Ghost Rider rolled aside, but the spikes impaled the wall behind him, flash-freezing the entire surface.
Boom!
Hellfire erupted from the floor like a volcanic geyser, engulfing the living room. Furniture blackened and crumbled to ash in the intense heat.
For the first time, Blackheart took half a step back—raising an ice blade to block the oncoming flames. A shimmering wall of frost surged upward, halting the inferno just short of his body.
But Ghost Rider seized the opening. He charged forward and drove a blazing fist straight into the demon's face!
Bang!
The punch struck the ice barrier—and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface in an instant.
A flicker of surprise crossed Blackheart's eyes—quickly replaced by a cold, mocking laugh.
"Not bad… for raw strength. But you're still far too weak!"
He abruptly shattered the ice wall and seized Ghost Rider's wrist. A chilling cold surged through the point of contact, dimming the hellfire and suppressing its flames.
"Can your fire extinguish my ice?"
The Demon prince placed his other hand on Ghost Rider's chest and unleashed a burst of extreme cold—
Snap!
Ghost Rider's ribs instantly froze, the hellfire trapped within his bones. He let out a pained roar but couldn't break free.
"Look me in the eyes!"
Ghost Rider's eyes blazed with infernal fire as he locked gazes with Hearteart.
Yet after a moment, Blackheart remained unchanged.
Boom—!
With a flick of his robes, the hellfire engulfing him vanished without a trace.
He grabbed Ghost Rider by the throat, and a terrifying chill surged inward, causing the hellfire across Ghost Rider's body to dim further—nearly snuffed out.
"I forgot to tell you," he said coldly, "my soul is still hidden somewhere in Hell. You can't judge me!"
Boom—!
A knee strike to the abdomen shattered the ice crystals, and Ghost Rider's hellfire was completely extinguished.
Johnny Blaze was forced out of his transformation, crashing heavily to the ground. His body was sheathed in a thin layer of frost, his lips tinged bluish-purple from the bitter cold.
The Demon prince looked down at him, an icy shard forming at his fingertip, aimed at Johnny Blaze's heart. His voice was glacial:
"Tell me—who exactly is the human who took the San Venganza contract?"
Just as a victorious smirk curled Blackheart's lips, a scorching wave of heat erupted from outside the window!
His pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, he raised his hand—
Boom—!
A half-meter-thick wall of ice solidified instantly, its crystalline surface reflecting a cold, silvery gleam under the moonlight.
Pfft—!
The next second, a longsword wreathed in black-and-red flames pierced through the ice like a meteor. The searing blade vaporized the ice into a cloud of white mist, grazed Blackheart's neck, and slammed into the floor with a metallic clang!
"What—?"
Before Blackheart could react, a dark figure burst through the shattered window!
Whoosh—!
The man moved so fast he left a blur, his right fist engulfed in dark red flames and aimed straight for the demon's face. The demon hastily conjured an ice shield—but it shattered the instant the punch made contact!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive heavy blows, each exploding with black-and-red fire.
Blackheart was forced into a frantic retreat, ice crystals constantly forming and shattering before him.
Boom—!
The fourth punch struck his abdomen. The searing heat pierced deep into his body—and for the first time, pain flickered across his face.
"Get out of my way!"
Splash—!
With a roar, Blackheart unleashed his extreme cold, sending countless ice spikes erupting from the floor.
The newcomer flipped midair, lightly tapped an ice spike with his toes for leverage, and—like a phantom—circled behind Blackheart, delivering a whip-fast kick to his spine!
Snap!
Boom…
Blackheart smashed through the wall and crashed into the kitchen, crushing the refrigerator and cabinets beneath him.
As he struggled to his feet, he finally saw his attacker's face clearly—
A black-and-red leather trench coat billowed in the heat. A high, fiery red ponytail danced in the wind. And from that sharply chiseled, handsome face, b
urning red eyes stared at him with icy contempt.
Diluc Ragnvindr!
Blackheart wiped the icy blue blood from the corner of his mouth—and revealed a ferocious grin.
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