Inside the small wooden cabin in the cemetery, the dim light of a kerosene lamp cast flickering shadows on the walls.
Johnny Blaze crouched on the ground, grimacing as he examined the disassembled shotgun.
His cheekbones still bore fresh bruises, and his lips were scabbed with blood—so much so that every time he turned the wrench, the movement tugged at the wounds on his face, forcing an involuntary gasp.
In the corner, Carter Slade slowly polished his two antique revolvers.
The silver barrels gleamed coldly in the lamplight, and the rune-engraved cylinders rotated with a flick of his finger.
Click.
The faint creak of the door hinge was barely audible—but Carter Slade's hand moved like lightning. The muzzle of his revolver snapped toward the door, the hammer cocking with a crisp, piercing snick.
Johnny Blaze looked up, blinking in confusion at Carter's alarmed expression.
"What's wrong—?"
"Good evening."
Diluc stood at the window, his black-and-red trench coat damp with night dew. He gazed calmly at the two inside, not even his eyelashes trembling.
Carter Slade turned, his expression screaming, "You must've gotten into a car accident—or lost your mind!" His face darkened as he growled,
"You little brat—trying to give me a heart attack on purpose, aren't you?!"
Diluc said nothing. His eyes swept over Johnny Blaze's bruised and battered face.
Though silent, his stare felt like a scathing insult.
Ignoring Johnny's resentful glare, Diluc cut straight to the point:
"Are you ready?"
Johnny eagerly patted the shotgun slung across his back. "Ready to go—anytime!"
Carter Slade picked up the pipe from the table and took a slow drag. The ember glowed red in the dim light.
He exhaled a plume of grayish-white smoke and gave a slow nod.
Outside, the cool night breeze swept past the tombstones, whispering through them like a mournful whimper.
The moment the three stepped out of the cabin, a figure emerged from the moonlight.
He was a boy barely 1.6 meters tall, holding a long jade spear that shimmered with bluish light, its tip wreathed in a faint breeze.
His dark green hair fluttered in the night wind, framing a handsome yet aloof face. Strange green patterns coiled around his right arm, pulsing faintly beneath his skin as if alive.
His amber eyes held a murderous aura—ancient, cold, and heavy with a thousand years of wrath—making onlookers flinch from his gaze.
Johnny Blaze instinctively reached for the gun at his waist. Carter Slade's finger was already resting on the revolver's trigger.
Diluc raised a hand to stay them.
"This is Xiao—a friend I invited, and a formidable exorcist."
Xiao's indifferent gaze passed over the two. The tip of his Flowing Moon Needle tapped lightly against the earth as he spoke, his voice clear and cold, like jade striking jade:
"Demonic energy is gathering on North Brother Island. It's time to go."
Johnny Blaze and Carter Slade exchanged a glance.
They'd seen Diluc's power firsthand—if he called someone "formidable," that person was no joke.
"Hey, I'm Johnny Blaze," Johnny said with a grin, offering a fist bump in a clumsy attempt at friendliness.
The boy merely gave a slight nod, dark green hair rippling in the breeze.
"…Hmph. Don't hold me back."
With that, his figure dissolved like a passing gust—leaving only a few specks of blue starlight drifting slowly to the ground.
Johnny's lips twitched.
Great. Now it's confirmed.
This tattooed kid was definitely Diluc's kind of friend.
He sighed enviously, already plotting to ask Diluc to teach him that vanishing trick—only to turn and find that Diluc, too, had vanished.
"Damn it! I have to learn that move!"
Fuming, Johnny stormed toward his Harley-Davidson and called over his shoulder to Carter Slade:
"Old man—can you keep up with my speed?"
Upon hearing this, Carter Slade smiled without saying a word and let out a slow whistle.
"Call out—!"
Yu-yu-yu—!
A sharp neigh echoed from the stable, and a chestnut horse galloped out.
Carter Slade leaped into the air, tracing a graceful arc, and landed smoothly astride the steed. He snatched the cowboy hat hanging from the saddle and said:
"Let's see how far ahead you can get."
The moment the hat settled on his head—
BOOM!
Hellfire erupted in a sudden blaze. Carter's skin cracked inch by inch, revealing a burning skeletal face beneath.
His tattered denim outfit transformed into charred leather armor, and the revolver at his hip reshaped itself in the flames, forging into a rune-etched weapon.
The horse, too, burned in the inferno—its hooves igniting with crimson fire, its eye sockets now pulsing with inextinguishable soulflame.
But then—Johnny Blaze threw back his head and laughed, twisted the motorcycle's throttle, and became the Ghost Rider.
BOOM!
Hellfire roared from the bike's exhaust, and the tires scorched twin black streaks into the earth.
Two blazing figures shot out of the cemetery one after the other, racing toward North Brother Island.
High in the night sky, a faint blue streak of light led the way.
Beneath the pale moonlight, a yellowish-green iguana proudly clambered onto a roadside rock.
Its golden slit pupils fixed on the overgrown wasteland across the road, its chest rising and falling with quiet excitement.
The lizard flared the scales on its throat, trembling as if thrilled to have discovered an unconquered territory.
"That," it declared inwardly, "shall be my new kingdom—and I, with a fiery will, shall be its first pioneer!"
It solemnly raised its front claws, ready to take the first step of its grand conquest—
BOOM!
Two searing figures tore across the road like falling stars.
The heat of their hellfire instantly ignited the ambitious reptile, reducing it to a tiny fireball.
For a split second, Johnny Blaze thought he felt the bike's wheels roll over something soft. A brief flicker of light flashed in the rearview mirror.
"Huh… that's odd," he muttered. "Feels like I might've just set off something… amazing?"
But the winding mountain road ahead already demanded his full attention.
---
Inside the makeshift command post along the Hudson River, a holographic projector displayed a 3D map of North Brother Island.
Nick Fury stood with his hands resting on the tactical console, his single eye scanning real-time reports from the combat units.
Vice Commander Maria Hill pointed to the island's hydrological data and spoke in a low, firm voice:
"The waters around the island feature strong tidal currents, complex salinity gradients, numerous reefs, and insufficient depth—making them impassable for large landing craft. Therefore—"
Her sentence was cut short as the door burst open. A communications officer strode in, snapped to attention, and saluted sharply.
"Sir! Urgent situation!"
Fury's gut tightened. He frowned. "Explain."
"Satellite tracking detects three unidentified targets inbound at 300 kilometers per hour. Estimated time of arrival: eleven minutes."
The officer continued rapidly:
"The targets emit high-intensity energy radiation. All RQ-4 drones attempting close-range recon crashed within five hundred meters. Final telemetry showed humanoid silhouettes—but the imaging systems were severely jammed."
The operations room fell dead silent.
Maria Hill pulled up the satellite trajectory overlay. Three scarlet paths slashed toward the command post like blades.
A technician called out:
"Radiation spectrum analysis shows an 87% match with the demonic entities that appeared in Manhattan!"
Fury's knuckles tapped once against the tactical table—the sound cold and sharp as steel.
"Activate the Iron Curtain Protocol. All units to high alert. Switch air defense arrays to armor-piercing incendiary rounds. Scramble helicopter interceptors."
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL to gain access to 40+ chapters