After being attacked for no reason, and seeing that these people were striking straight for his vitals without the slightest mercy, Johnny could no longer suppress the anger in his mind. The hellfire on his body suddenly surged upward, and scorching heat spread out in an instant.
The hollow sockets of his eyes were filled with furious flame. Under the Penance Stare, Sif and the other three, who had experienced a thousand years of war, all glowed with a dense light of sin.
"You are guilty!"
His pale jaw opened and closed, and a hoarse, grating voice rang out. Johnny yanked the chain on his body, and flames rapidly spread along it from his finger bones.
Watching Sif and the others attack him together, he lashed out with his right hand. The flaming chain extended at high speed, carrying enormous force as it smashed toward all four of them. Its tip nearly turned into an afterimage, erupting with a deafening crack.
Sif's heart sank. She hurriedly leapt up to dodge, her longsword cleaving downward in the same motion.
However, the chain followed her like a shadow. Sif only felt her vision blur before her entire field of sight was occupied by a thick iron chain. In her panic, she quickly swung her sword to block.
In the next instant, the chain collided violently with her longsword, producing a ringing clash of metal.
Boom!
Terrifying heat struck her head-on, surging into her body through the longsword in her hand—a blade forged by dwarves and personally enchanted by Odin.
A blast of air exploded outward, violently sending the disbelieving Sif flying. The heat traveled through the sword and into her palm, and a searing pain that seemed to burn straight into her soul instantly stabbed into her mind.
After crashing heavily to the ground, Sif could not help letting out a muffled groan. By instinct, she released her weapon.
"Sif!"
Seeing Sif blasted away in a single exchange, the other three wanted to turn back and help her. However, the burning chain moved like a cunning serpent in the demon's hands, locking onto them in the blink of an eye.
Johnny whipped the chain rapidly. The three hurriedly swung their weapons to parry, but what surprised them was that this skeleton, who looked as if a gust of wind could knock him over, unleashed truly terrifying strength.
A mountain-crushing force came crashing down. Their coordinated assault was completely unable to withstand it and did not even last a second.
Hellfire scattered across the sky. In the span of a few short moments, the chain collided with them multiple times. When the sparks finally died out, three figures appeared. Including Hogun, who had raised his shield, all three were smashed heavily down from the air.
"Hot! Hot! It burns!"
Agonizing pain, as if their very souls were being roasted, assaulted them. The heatwave entered their bodies. Even after countless battles, large and small, the pain still made their vision go dark. They even dropped their weapons aside, lying on the ground grimacing and sucking in cold air, unable to recover for a long while.
"What a powerful demon…"
Sif finally struggled to climb up from the ground. She looked at Fandral and the other two writhing in pain, then glanced at the Ghost Rider watching them like prey not far away.
Even in Asgard, the four of them could barely be counted among the stronger warriors. She had never expected that they would be wiped out by a demon who had appeared out of nowhere so soon after arriving in Midgard, before they had even seen Thor.
Complicated thoughts rushed through her mind. After briefly analyzing the situation, Sif suddenly snatched up the enchanted longsword that was still radiating heat. Her foot moved, and her figure instantly turned into an afterimage.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the three people groaning on the ground, hauling them up with one hand each as if they were baggage, then turned and ran without the slightest delay.
"Heimdall!"
As she fled madly, Sif did not forget to raise her head and shout toward the sky. "Send down the Bifrost! Hurry and save us!"
Personal valor had its limits. As Asgard's vanguard warriors, when they encountered an enemy they could not defeat, the first thing that came to mind was always their invincible army and their undefeated king—not foolishly fighting to the death.
"Trying to run?"
Watching Sif frantically flee with several people through her own strength, Johnny stomped down, and the Hell Cycle's engine immediately roared like mad. His long, flaming finger bones pointed straight at her.
"Those steeped in sin deserve death!"
With a flick of the chain, the Hell Cycle dragged a dazzling line of fire behind it and suddenly accelerated, racing after Sif in the direction she had fled.
The instant their figures crossed, Johnny's right hand abruptly shot out. Though he moved second, he arrived first, slamming a heavy punch into Sif's back.
The moment Sif heard the sound of the bike behind her, she felt that something was wrong. From the corner of her eye, she caught a red glow flashing by at high speed. Her steps faltered, and before she could even dodge, a tremendous force smashed into her body.
"Gah!"
The vicious punch landed. Sif's chest churned violently, and she spat out a large mouthful of blood.
For a moment, all four of them tumbled heavily across the ground like rolling gourds. In the next instant, a scorching chain extended from the distance and bound them one by one.
"Urgh—!"
After suffering heavy blows one after another, they had been crushed in an almost one-sided rout. Fighting one against four had seemed effortless for this demon of Midgard, and the overwhelming strength he displayed nearly drove the four of them into despair.
"Sinners!"
"Look into my eyes…"
Heavy footsteps drew closer and closer. The hoarse, grating voice sent chills through the four people collapsed powerlessly on the ground. At the same time, the hellfire spinning in his eye sockets seemed to possess a terrifying magic that pulled their gazes toward it against their will.
Feeling that heat reaching deep into her soul, Sif's once-silken blond hair had already become a mess. Looking at the Ghost Rider drawing closer and the clouds gradually gathering in the sky, she opened her mouth. Hope finally began to flicker in her eyes.
"Heimdall, save—"
Rainbow light gathered above their heads. Seeing it, Sif and the others were instantly filled with wild joy.
"The Bifrost!"
It seemed that although Loki had temporarily inherited the throne, he apparently had not made things too difficult for Heimdall yet.
Powerful energy fluctuations spread outward. For a moment, even Johnny sensed the anomaly in the clouds and suddenly raised his eyes toward the sky.
However, just as Sif and the others were eagerly waiting for that beam of light in their moment of desperation to descend and carry them away from dangerous Midgard, the nearly formed vortex suddenly dispersed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The gathered energy vanished. The instant the rainbow light disappeared, the light on their faces vanished with it.
"It's over!"
Although they did not know what had happened in Asgard, this anomaly undoubtedly declared their death sentence.
"Sif, we dragged you into this…"
The burning of their souls had almost completely robbed the three of them of their ability to move. Watching that fierce, murderous demon slowly approach, Fandral showed a bitter smile.
"I never thought we would fall here in Midgard…"
(End of Chapter)
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