25 Chapter 25: Ghost Rider vs. Zadkiel 

"Zarathos, or should I call you Ghost Rider?"

"…Zadkiel."

The spirit of vengeance continued to spin his fiery chain in a ring beside him. Looking at Zadkiel in person, the fallen angel stood at least ten feet tall. His massive black and silver armor covered his large frame from head to toe, exposing only his grey face. The sword held tightly in the fallen angel's hand was almost as long as he was tall.

"Look at you. Lowered to the point of merging with a mere human to survive." Zadkiel mocked. "Truly pitiful."

The Ghost Rider growled and continued to glare at the flying fallen angel. With a chuckle, Zadkiel descended, his armored feet rattled as they made contact with the cement. Tucking up his wings, Zadkiel lifted his sword onto his shoulder.

"Master Blackheart has ordered me to bring you to him. I suggest you comply."

"Fuck off."

"I was hoping you would say that."

The concrete beneath Zadkiel exploded as he dashed forward. Raising his sword over his head, the fallen angel slashed down at blinding speeds. Dodging to the side, The Ghost Rider avoided the blade as it cut deeply into the ground. Zadkiel wasn't done as he let go of his weapon and delivered a devastating punch towards The Rider's chest.

Bringing his arms up to protect his torso, The Ghost Rider tanked the punch. The force behind the hit sent him across the street. The Rider released a low growl, digging his feet into the ground to stop his momentum. He then saw Zadkiel pick up his sword and smile smugly at him.

"That attack would never have landed centuries ago. It seems like you've grown weaker in the in-between realm." Zadkiel mocked as he looked at him from afar. "How the mighty have fallen."

"I'm gonna enjoy sending you back to Hell." The Ghost Rider stated as he slapped his hands together and created chains made of Hellfire and magma.

The two then ran at each other quickly, leaving smoke and dust in their wake. Once the two were within arms reach, they punched one another's opposite fist. Causing a powerful shockwave to explode outwards, shacking and breaking any nearby glass. The spirit of vengeance swiped his chain at the fallen angel's face. Due to the proximity, Zadkiel had no time to dodge and received a devastating blow to his temple, the force behind the attack caused him to drop to one knee. He used his sword as a crutch to prevent him from landing in his face.

Lifting his head with a vicious glare, Zadkiel was blindsided by a mean left hook. Several punches were thrown in different combinations from The Rider, Each with enough force to leave minor dents in the fallen angel's impressive armor. Zadkiel rushed in and grabbed him by his stomach as he was becoming overwhelmed by the volley. The Rider looked up in time to see Zadkiel's forehead right in his face.

BAM

The Rider crashed into the floor below. Creating large and long cracks to spread out from beneath him. Before he could get up, he felt his leg get grabbed with enough strength to bend steel. Zadkiel then spun and launched The Rider through the front of the coffee shop. The Rider could do nothing as he crashed through three walls and exploded out of the back of the building.

Slowly lifting his face from the ground, The Rider's eyes widened at seeing a small group of young teenagers crouched behind a parked car. When they turned to look at him, they all screamed in surprise and fear. 

"Oh? What do we have here?" 

Getting up, the Ghost Rider saw Zadkiel fly above them, his massive wings flapping in the air. The fallen angel lifted his arm up and fired a beam of energy at the teenagers. Without time to think, the Ghost Rider ran forward and used his back to block the beam. With great effort, he looked down at the teens; they were staring at him in shock.

"GO!"

The teenagers broke out of their stupor and broke out into a sprint. Still feeling the blast of energy at his back, the Ghost Rider roared and jumped up. Zadkiel must have been surprised at his action because he stopped firing his energy blast for a second. A second was all the spirit of vengeance needed. Summoning a long chain made of Hellfire, he twisted his body and wrapped his weapon around the fallen angel's neck.

"GAH! Let me go!"

Roaring in response, the Ghost Rider pulled down and slammed his enemy down into an empty truck. Without pausing, the Rider used his chain to pull himself towards Zadkiel. Crashing down onto his chest, the Rider grabbed the fallen angel's head and pulled him up.

"Look into my eyes-"

"I don't think so!"

The Ghost Rider was punched across the street and into a parked Prius. Shaking his head, the Rider looked up and saw Zadkiel's feet mere inches away. With no time to react, he was stomped beneath the giant man's frame; the car beneath him exploded under the sudden force. Fire and smoke loomed around them, and things finally slowed and quieted. Looking down, Zadkiel is shocked to see a human with brown hair and blood covering his face.

"A child? You've merged with a child?"

Harvey gritted his teeth in rage as he looked up at his opponent. Using his hands, he tried to push the large man off him, only to feel him apply more pressure onto his body.

"GAAH!" Harvey yelled in pain. 

'Change back!'

'We can't! Your mind is unfocused!'

Harvey cursed at what his partner said. It was true; blocking that energy blast earlier affected him deeper than just physically. It caused his mind to panic and be fearful. Looking up, he saw the fallen angel smile at him.

"Your good heart was your undoing." Zadkiel said. "If you simply allowed those pests from earlier to be vaporized, it might have been you standing above me."

"Why are you doing this?"

Harvey said in a pained voice. Remembering the man liked to speak from his time as the Ghost Rider, he hoped he could buy some time to get his mind focused enough to change back.

"It is Master Blackheart's orders to bring you in, little human." Zadkiel exclaimed. "But if I'm being honest with myself, the thrill of beating Zarathos in battle was too great to ignore."

'Pathetic! Zadkiel was always envious of my power!' Zarathos raged.

"How did you find me?" Harvey questioned.

"Master Blackheart has instilled in me a remnant of Zarathos's power. I simply followed its push and pull until I arrived here." Zadkiel then applied more pressure onto Harvey's body, causing him to scream. "Sadly, it was a one-time use. The energy has flowed back into you when you first approached me."

"But it's useless now; I have you where I want you."

Zadkiel got off Harvey's chest, allowing him to take a deep breath of air. The fallen angel bent down, grabbed Harvey by the neck, and lifted him up lazily. Looking around, Zadkiel noticed the large groups of people watching him. Harvey was still behind the fire and smoke from the blown-up car, out of sight.

"Before I leave, I shall kill one hundred humans and bring their skulls to Master Blackheart. A suitable gift."

Harvey's eyes widened at what Zadkiel said. Turning slightly from within the fallen angel's grasp, Harvey looked at a familiar group of souls. His face shifted in horror as he saw Alex, Haley, Lily, and Cameron try to help Mitchell from under some rubble. Haley looked in his direction and was crying, her face filled with fear.

"I'll start with this group of humans here."

"…rraaaaaAAAAHHH!"

With a monstrous roar, Harvey's head exploded into a wave of fire. Zadkiel let go of him due to the sudden change and looked down to see an enraged Ghost Rider. In a flash, the Rider summoned his chain and wrapped them all around Zadkiel's body and neck. Hopping behind the large man, the Rider landed on his neck. Pulling on his flaming chains, the Ghost Riden let out another roar.

Zadkiel panicked and tried to escape his grasp as he shook his body violently to try and throw him off. Finding no success, The fallen angel fell to his knees as he struggled to breathe. Hoping off the man's back, the Ghost Rider pulled Zadkiel back and slammed his head into the ground. Causing large chunks of concrete to explode.

Letting go of his chain, the Ghost Rider walked around and grabbed the sword Zadkiel dropped when he was being choked. Infusing the weapon with Hellfire, the sword changed its physical shape into a hellish appearance. 

"Y-You'll pay for THAT!"

Zadkiel yelled as he slowly got back up to his knees and struggled to break out of the flaming chains. With rage, Zadkiel looked up at the Ghost Rider and was about to curse his name when he froze at the sight of his sword. 

SLASH

With a thud, Zadkiel's head was sliced off. Rolling around, the head of the fallen angel rolled up to the Ghost Rider's foot. Lifting his leg, the spirit of vengeance placed his foot on his opponent's head. Slowly, the decapitated head started to char and burn, and with a stomp, the head crumpled into ashes. Lifting the sword, the Rider stabbed down into Zadkiel's bleeding neck. With a twist, the Ghost Rider started burning the body from inside out, leaving only embers and ashes behind.

The Ghost Rider dropped the sword, causing the Hellfire amp to disappear, and stood there as he bathed in his victory. A slow growl escaped his jaw. Once he was done, he turned and looked at all the wreckage and destruction caused by the battle. The sounds of people in pain and those yelling for help could be heard. Walking around the burning remnants of a car, the Ghost Rider headed towards a man trapped inside his car; it seemed the vehicle was flipped over sometime during the fight.

Ripping the door off its hinges, the Ghost Rider bent down and looked at the man. He was frozen in fear at the sight of him. Slowly, the Ghost Rider held out his hand to the man. The man looked at his burning bony hand, a look of nervousness on his face. 

"It's okay… I'm here to help."

The man jerked at his voice. Slowly and nervously, the man touched his hand. The man's eyes widened in surprise at the fact the fire didn't burn his hand. With a nod, the man grabbed his hand and was pulled from his car. Once outside the vehicle, the Ghost Rider dragged him a short distance from the car. Looking down, he nodded at the man.

"T-Thank you…"

With a final glance, the Ghost Rider walked up to his friends. He saw Alex look at him in surprise and relief. As he was about to walk over to Mitchell to help, Haley got in his way.

"G-GET BACK!" She yelled as she held her arms out, her body shook in fear. 

The Ghost Rider stared at her for a few seconds. He was impressed at her bravery, but now was not the time to stand around. Several more people needed help. Walking up to the girl, he gently grabbed her shaking shoulder and moved her aside. Bending down, he lifted off the rubble that was on Mitchell's leg with ease. Seeing no life-threatening injury, the Rider nodded at the nervous red-headed man. As he was about to move on, Haley spoke to him again.

"A-Are you on our side?"

The Ghost Rider slowly turned around and nodded at the girl. Haley seemed to relax and looked down. She then held her hands tightly and stared at his eyes.

"Haley!" Cameron said in a harsh whisper.

"…Our friend. He got separated from us. He has brown hair, and he's wearing a red hoodie. Please help him if you find him."

The Ghost Rider nodded at her request. Haley then gave him a weak smile and thanked him quietly. Turning around, he walked over to the nearest person in need. It was a woman, and she was stuck under a collapsed wall. Lifting the wall, he picked up the woman and gently let her down a few feet away.

The Rider then moved on to the next person, and the next, until everyone who was affected in the battle was no longer in danger or trapped. He was unaware of the dozens of people recording him helping those in need. They even captured him healing a large gash that a little girl received on her leg, leaving only a tiny scar behind.

With no one left to help, the Ghost Rider summoned his ride. The crowd moved at the sight of a self-driving motorcycle, its flaming wheels leaving behind a trail of fire. Grabbing the handles, the Rider mounted his bike and drove off quickly. Just as he left, the police and fire department arrived and rushed to help everybody and address the fires from the battle.

Later that day, videos of a skull covered in flames became viral and shared worldwide. A question filled the minds of many: 

Is he a hero? Or a demon?