When the eerie wind finally dissipated, Blackheart emerged from the shadows, his three demonic subordinates flanking him like a pack of predators.
"I didn't expect the contract to be in the hands of a mere mortal," Blackheart mused, his gaze settling on Ethan with clear amusement.
"Makes my job a whole lot easier."
"You bastard! You were following me!" Johnny snarled, flames flickering wildly across his skeletal form.
Blackheart smirked. "Take it as a compliment, my dear father's lapdog."
With a lazy wave of his hand, dark tendrils of smoke slithered toward Johnny, curling around his skull, seeping into the cracks of his fiery visage.
Johnny stiffened. "What the—?!"
Sensing the corruption creeping in, he roared, hellfire bursting outward in a fiery explosion.
The black smoke disintegrated instantly.
"Tch. Boring." Blackheart sighed in disappointment before shifting his attention to Ethan.
"Enough games. Get me that contract."
"As you command, my lord," rumbled the burly Earth Demon, stepping forward.
With each step, the ground pulsed, and soil and stone coiled around him, encasing him in a towering, jagged shell until he stood three meters tall—a walking mountain.
"Hand over the contract, or I'll make sure you're buried so deep, even the Devil won't find you."
The theatrics.
The bravado.
The Earth Demon clearly expected awe, maybe fear.
Instead, Ethan just sighed.
Then, without warning, he grabbed the demon's massive arm.
And lifted him.
As effortlessly as one might pick up a rag doll, Ethan swung the Earth Demon overhead and slammed him into the ground.
Once. Twice. Three times.
'How many times have I used this move already? Hulk would be proud of me,' Ethan thought to himself, still sporting a deadpan look.
The sheer force cracked the pavement beneath them.
The demon groaned, his rocky armor already regenerating, but Ethan only scoffed. "A demon relying on brute force instead of magic? Embarrassing."
"That fool underestimates his enemies every time." The Water Demon sneered, stepping forward.
"We'll handle it."
A chilling mist thickened the air, coalescing into jagged icicles hovering in midair.
With a flick of his wrist, they launched forward, razor-sharp spears of frozen death aimed straight at Ethan.
He didn't move.
The ice shards struck his face, his chest, his arms.
And shattered on impact.
"Pathetic," Ethan muttered, brushing nonexistent dust from his sleeve.
"Compared to Hellfire? This is child's play."
The Water Demon's face contorted in shock, but he quickly masked it.
Instead, his gaze flickered to the ground—where Ethan's feet had been encased in ice.
"Got you."
"Well done!" The Wind Demon howled with laughter as the air around him swirled violently. "Now, let's turn you into mincemeat!"
A storm of wind blades materialized around him, crescents of compressed air honed sharp enough to slice through steel.
They shot toward Ethan, multiplying as they closed in.
Then—
They stopped.
Hung motionless in the air, frozen in place by an unseen force.
The Wind Demon's laughter died in his throat. "What… what's happening?! I can't move!"
Panic set in as his entire body twisted, contorting unnaturally.
His limbs jerked in opposing directions, forced into unnatural angles.
First an S-shape, then a B-shape, as though some unseen force was playing with him like a puppet.
Ethan extended his hand, and one of the suspended wind blades drifted toward him, as if obeying an unseen command.
He turned it in his grasp, inspecting the razor-sharp crescent with mild curiosity.
"So, this is your wind magic? Pretty basic stuff," he mused, unimpressed.
With a flick of his wrist, the wind blade shot forward—not at its intended target, but straight at the Earth Demon.
The hulking creature had barely managed to piece himself back together when he saw the Wind Demon's own attack heading straight for him.
His rocky face twisted in fury. "Wind Demon, what the hell are you doing?!"
"I—I can't stop it!" Wind Demon stammered, terror in his voice.
The storm of wind blades tore into the Earth Demon, slicing through rock and stone with merciless precision.
Roars of pain echoed as his massive body was stripped apart piece by piece.
Being naturally weak to the Wind Demon's power only made it worse—he never stood a chance against the unexpected betrayal.
Blackheart, watching from a distance, finally lost his patience.
His eyes darkened, seething with fury. "Enough. Useless, all of you. Looks like I have to do everything myself."
He stepped forward, his voice dripping with malice. "Mortal, you will—"
SHINK!
Before he could finish, two massive wind blades, each a meter wide, carved through the air in a crisscross, slicing Blackheart clean in half.
The demonic prince barely had a moment to react before more wind blades followed, shredding his body into unrecognizable pieces.
His dismembered remains scattered across the ground, black and red flesh splattered across the pavement.
Ethan frowned slightly. "Huh. That was too easy."
As the thought crossed his mind, an ominous shift in the air sent a chill through the battlefield.
The bloodied remains of Blackheart oozed a strange black energy, tendrils of darkness seeping out like spilled ink.
Before Ethan could react, the dark mist slithered toward him, wrapping around his body with an unnatural grip.
A voice, low and guttural, echoed from the swirling darkness. "Mortal… you dare lay a hand on the great Blackheart? I curse you! Your flesh will rot, your bones will blacken, your blood will curdle into poison.
Maggots will feast on your decaying organs, and when your body finally collapses into filth, your soul will belong to me!"
Ethan felt the creeping sensation of decay as blackened veins spread across his skin, a wave of negative energy attempting to invade his body.
"Huh. A curse?" he muttered, watching his arm darken. "That's cute."
Raising his hand, he snapped his fingers.
The sky rumbled in response.
A bolt of lightning, thick as a tree trunk, ripped through the heavens and struck Ethan dead-on with a deafening BOOM!
Blackheart's forming silhouette halted mid-regeneration, his expression twisting in sheer disbelief. "Is he insane?!"
As the lightning faded, Ethan stood unharmed, crackling with residual energy.
He flexed his fingers, arcs of electricity dancing between them, his body now overflowing with raw power.
"You seriously don't know? Hell's education system must be worse than I thought." He smirked, brushing off the last traces of the curse as if it were dust. "
Lightning cancels out negative magic. That's common knowledge."
Blackheart's jaw tightened. "You're joking."
"Nope. Not even Holy Light purifies as efficiently as a direct lightning cleanse. Honestly, even Thor doesn't use it this well."
"That's—" Blackheart stopped himself. He had no rebuttal.
He had never—ever—seen someone casually strike themselves with lightning and walk away stronger.
Even in all of Hell's teachings, nothing accounted for this level of absurdity.
This wasn't magic.
This was bullshit.
As Blackheart struggled to reform his body, Ethan smirked. "Your regeneration is impressive, but you look a little drained. Here, let me refresh you."
With a casual snap of his fingers, the sky churned.
Dark clouds roiled overhead, electricity crackling within them like caged beasts.
Then, as if obeying his command, multiple bolts of lightning lashed downward, striking the demons where they stood.
"AAAHH!!" The Earth Demon and Water Demon barely had time to react before they were reduced to charred husks, their screams fading into oblivion.
Blackheart, however, merely staggered, black smoke billowing from his scorched frame as he dropped to one knee.
Ethan tilted his head, pretending to inspect him. "Huh. Your complexion's looking better already. Maybe a few more rounds will give you that healthy glow."
Before Blackheart could snarl a reply, the sky erupted once more.
A barrage of lightning spears rained down, each one slamming into him with enough force to shatter stone.
"BOOM!!"
The sheer onslaught was overwhelming.
Blackheart's form crumbled into ash.
But from within the cinders, tendrils of inky black mist writhed, slithering back together.
Within seconds, he was whole again, grinning wickedly. "Foolish mortal. You think you can kill me so easily? I am immortal."
Ethan scoffed. "Is that so? Then let's try this."
Without hesitation, he lunged forward, a basketball-sized sphere of crackling plasma forming in his palm.
He shoved it into the swirling darkness that was Blackheart's essence.
The moment the high-intensity energy touched him, the demon let out a bone-rattling shriek.
"NNNOOOO—!!"
The black mist was swallowed in a violent burst of energy, leaving behind nothing but the scent of scorched ozone.
Ethan exhaled. "Is it over?"
"No." Johnny Blaze, still in his Ghost Rider form, stepped up beside him.
His fiery skull turned toward the distance, where faint remnants of Blackheart's essence shimmered.
"That bastard doesn't have a soul in his body. He won't go down that easy."
And sure enough, the remnants began coalescing once more, forming Blackheart anew.
He looked slightly weaker, but still very much alive. Even he seemed surprised at first—before his confusion morphed into sheer delight.
"So it's true!" he laughed, throwing his arms wide. "I really am immortal! Not even that old fool Mephisto could achieve this! And you, mortal, you—"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Fuck your villain speech. Just go down already,"
More lightning.
More destruction.
Ethan didn't even let him finish before summoning another relentless barrage.
The entire sky seemed to collapse, every cloud discharging its fury upon Blackheart.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Let's see how long you last."
But despite being torn apart over and over again, Blackheart kept reforming.
It was maddening.
'Seriously? What does Mephisto do all day in Hell? Just sit around inventing ways to make the most annoying villains possible?' Ethan thought, gritting his teeth.
"Enough!!" Blackheart finally bellowed, his patience shredded.
Though his body would not stay destroyed, the pain was unbearable.
Then, with a triumphant sneer, he played his trump card.
"Ghost Rider! Stop him! Unless you want to watch your precious woman die!"
With one clawed hand, he yanked an unconscious woman from the shadows, her lifeless form dangling in his grip.
Johnny's flames flickered in horror. "Roxanne!"
He spun toward Ethan, his voice desperate. "Stop! Please!"
Seeing that Blackheart intended to use the woman as a human shield, Ethan's eyes flickered for a moment before he stopped the lightning.
Blackheart hesitated, caught off guard by the sudden ceasefire.
A smug grin spread across his face as he tightened his grip on the woman's throat.
"Ghost Rider, have this mortal hand over the contract now, or I will snap her neck and feast on her soul. She will suffer eternal torment in the depths of hell."
"I won't... don't, don't kill her!" Johnny clutched his head in agony, his two conflicting consciousnesses battling for control.
The demon within craved vengeance, but the man still cared.
Ethan, watching the struggle, sighed as if making a difficult decision.
Then, with apparent reluctance, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
Truly, an Oscar-worthy act.
'I should be rewarded by this,' Ethan thought while still making a pained expression,
"If I give you the contract, do you swear to release her?"
"Of course." Blackheart sneered, already planning their demise once he secured his power.
Fools.
Mortal compassion was always their downfall.
"Fine. On the count of three, we toss them at the same time," Ethan said, pulling the contract from his coat.
"One. Two. Three!"
As the countdown ended, Ghost Rider successfully grabbed his girlfriend while Blackheart snatched the contract.
Laughing victoriously, he opened it and began reciting the incantation.
"Aaaah—hahahaha!!" Thousands of condemned souls erupted from the contract, their screams filling the night air.
They spiraled around the demon, merging with his form, amplifying his strength beyond mortal comprehension.
"I can feel it... I can feel—"
Boom!
A bolt of lightning crashed down, silencing his monologue as he was electrocuted into a smoldering heap.
Ethan shrugged. "Well, that didn't change much."
Blackheart coughed, his charred body regenerating rapidly. "You pathetic insect! You dare mock the new Lord of Hell?!"
A thick, black mist poured from his mouth, expanding rapidly as it absorbed the surrounding energy.
Within seconds, his form mutated, growing larger—his once-humanoid skull expanding until it loomed over the battlefield like a grotesque monument of death.
The demon cackled, then inhaled deeply, sucking in the storm clouds above and extinguishing the lightning threat in one gulp.
"Okay, now that is different," Ethan admitted. "Unfortunately, your real opponent isn't me."
"That's right." A voice growled from behind.
While Blackheart had been focused on Ethan, Ghost Rider had moved in unnoticed.
His flaming skeletal hand clamped down on the demon's shoulder, locking him in place.
"Now that you've got a thousand damned souls inside you, I've got plenty of fuel to burn."
The flames of Penance Stare ignited, burning brighter than ever before.
Blackheart's grin faltered.
"No... NO!" For the first time, genuine fear flashed across his monstrous face.
The souls trapped within him shrieked in agony, writhing as the Hellfire incinerated them from the inside out.
His body convulsed violently before he finally collapsed, his form disintegrating into a pile of smoldering ash.
Johnny let out a slow breath, his skeletal visage shifting back to his human form. "It's finally over."
Ethan crossed his arms, watching the remains carefully. "Don't celebrate yet."
A flicker of red light flared within the ashes. Blackheart's corpse trembled—then, impossibly, he stood up again.
"You two really did a number on me," he said casually, dusting off his now-reformed body.
He clapped his hands mockingly, a smirk playing on his lips. "Impressive."
Johnny's face twisted in shock. "How the hell are you still alive?!"
"Then I'll just burn his soul again," Ghost Rider snarled, transforming back into his demonic form.
His fiery hands grabbed Blackheart, engulfing him in Hellfire.
But this time, the demon merely chuckled.
"Oh, my dear knight," he cooed, unbothered. "You're trying to use Hellfire against me? The very power that I created?"
Johnny stiffened as realization dawned.
Blackheart's grin widened, his voice shifting, deepening, becoming something far more ancient.
"You should know better than anyone... The flames of Hell belong to me."
Johnny swallowed hard, the flames in his hands sputtering. "Mephisto."