Chapter XXI: Punishment and Corruption

Have we ever seen ourselves in the mirror, analyzing every detail of our face. Every point, every gesture, everything. We wonder if at some point in our lives, there will be someone similar, even equal to us. Although it seems incredible, these kinds of meetings happen. After all, it is a world where heroes, monsters and gods exist.

Now think about that fact. There is a low probability that you will find your possible double being an ordinary human. So how does this same event unfold when the protagonist is a supernatural being?

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The Ghost Rider thought he was hallucinating. An exact copy of himself was staring at him, as if waiting for some movement on his part. It was a carbon copy of himself: same clothes, same weapons. Heck, he was even standing the same way as him!

Getting up, he stared at his copy.

- 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙣𝙮? - he asked confused.

The other didn't answer. His bony jaw formed something that looked like a smile, and suddenly attacked him with a right blow that sent him flying. However, thanks to a quick recovery, the Ghost Rider managed to land on his feet.

- 𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙯𝙚 - he said -. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤-?

Interrupting his train of thought, he was again caught off guard by a blast of hellfire, which he took squarely. Though he didn't take considerable damage, it was enough to knock him back.

Seizing the moment, his opponent tackled him with his trademark superhuman strength, smashing through walls of burning houses in the process. The Ghost Rider tried to free himself from such a tenacious grip, to no avail; so he opted to use his own strength to stop himself, which worked.

Sensing the disadvantage in the copy's pose, he wrapped his arms around his torso, lifting him off the ground and smashing him brutally against himself; getting a rebound effect that he took advantage of crushing it with the brute force of his foot, causing a loud "CRACK" to be heard. Apparently, he managed to break his enemy's back, since he didn't move. Waiting a few seconds, he removed his foot from the opponent's back.

Waiting for something else, the Ghost Rider didn't lower his guard, taking a few steps away from his copy lying on the ground. Seeing that he didn't move at all, she debated inwardly whether he should wake him up to get answers, or leave him lying around and rescue the civilians still trapped in the flames.

However, in less than a second, his opponent rose from the ground with the sound of his bones rearranging, shocking the spirit of vengeance. A devilish laugh was all that came out of the other's mouth as his back rearranged itself loudly.

The body of the copy jerked viciously, as if in a convulsion. A sudden green flare covered him completely, shedding the false image of him little by little like burned paper. His skull became sharper, spikes appeared on his head as well as on his clothes, and finally his fire took on greenish tones, showing who was hiding behind the mask:

Vengeance.

- 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙚?! - howled the Ghost Rider, stunned.

- 𝙉𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚... 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣! - the demon answered between pauses, while he laughed.

And that was where the realization hit the transformed teenager.

The fire. The burned houses. The charred people. His own figure being the cause of the terrible tragedy.

- 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 - he whispered in astonishment, before turning to fury- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮!

A flame from Vengeance's mouth was what prevented the spirit of vengeance from lunging at him and destroying him with his bare hands, cutting off his vision. The maniacal laughter of the demon of corruption echoed behind the curtain of fire.

- 𝙂𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠... 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢...

The strange words of the demon were heard behind the flames, confusing the Ghost Rider. Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle engine reached his skeletal ears, having to dodge his enemy who passed through the wall of fire without problems, mounted on his own vehicle.

- 𝘾𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣! - Vengeance exclaimed, bursting into insane laughter.

Hearing the police sirens in the distance, the spirit of vengeance did not hesitate to summon his own motorized steed, and set off in pursuit with an angry growl.

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Both infernal beings were driving down the road at full speed, crossing all kinds of vehicles. For the moment, Vengeance had the upper hand; and giving his pursuer a mocking look, he accelerated, a movement that was imitated by the Ghost Rider.

Now faster than before, Crane smiled. Grabbing one of the chain from him, he flung it forward with his left hand and began to spin it in circles, thus generating a green portal in the distance in front of them.

The spirit of vengeance showed surprise, but it was quickly replaced by anger again at the thought that his enemy was planning to escape.

Vengeance laughed again, crossing through the portal without slowing down.

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[𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹 ]

As soon as the two beings from hell crossed the portal, it closed instantly, sealing both of them in a non-return to the human world... The only one aware of this fact was Vengeance, who only widened his smile.

Hell was a deserted place, with a single color palette that predominated: red. Winged demons prowled in the sky, dodging the columns of solid rock that hindered their flight. The only sound that could be heard was the scream of the beasts, until the motorcycle engines overshadowed them.

- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝘾𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙚! - exclaimed the Rider.

Driving his vehicle with enviable mastery, he threw his chains to the wheels of the other's motorcycle, making it stop abruptly.

Vengeance fell to the ground with a crash, but got up quickly to see how his enemy stopped his progress.

- 𝙀𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚? 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙡... 𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚?- he questioned, getting up- 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮-!

A fiery punch connected directly to Vengeance's jaw, disorienting him for a moment. The Ghost Rider had closed the distance between the two and provided the first blow. Without stopping, he kept hitting him: right, left, hook, and so on. Slowly, his flames took on a more reddish hue until he dealt the final blow: a kick to the middle of the chest that sent his opponent flying, sending him crashing through a pair of rocky pillars and falling into their rubble.

A fluttering demon approached the wreckage out of curiosity, attracted by the noises of battle unlike others of its peers who accompanied it. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to avoid a hand that shot out of the rubble, grabbing his neck.

Suddenly, the demon was covered in green fire, uttering cries of pain as it burned to ashes. The hand entered the rubble again, which began to tremble almost after a few moments.

A giant Vengeance, close to 30 meters high, entered the scene smashing the rubble and letting out a roar that echoed throughout the place. He then fixed his gaze on his target and shot a blaze right at him. The Ghost Rider managed to dodge the attack but was sent flying anyway due to the expansion of the impact. Maneuvering in midair, he bumped and rolled to the ground, but stopped his drag by digging a hand into the sands that made up the cobbled terrain.

Without having time to think of a counterattack, a huge fist rushed towards him. Acting in an instant, the Rider manifested the infernal chains around his arms. Throwing them in the direction of a rocky pillar, the weapons dug into it, and by applying a little forward force he managed to avoid the colossal punch, which sank into the reddish ground.

Dropping onto the giant's arm, the Ghost Rider began to run down the limb reaching for the head, avoiding all the ways Vengeance tried to throw him off. Holding on like a skilled climber, he took a couple of turns around his foe's igneous skull with his chains and leaped down, catching the spirit of corruption's neck with a vicious yank. Vengeance immediately tried to break free, but the spirit of vengeance continued to tug hard, grunting with the effort.

Vengeance's colossal body was contorted, and the giant recognized that what he was doing was not a good strategy. So instead of trying to be free, he chose to use his own strength, pulling forward causing his opponent to be thrown into the air, with the difference that this time he crashed directly into the ground in a brutal way.

Without wasting time, the spirit of corruption returned to its normal size, pouncing on its enemy who was trying to get up from such an impact. Disoriented, the Ghost Rider was unable to defend himself against the onslaught of blows he received. Every time he tried to fight back, his hits were evaded and ended up costing him more damage than he took.

Falling to his knees, a hand clutched at his neck. Vengeance's black eye sockets gleamed with a light green glow as he smiled.

- 𝙎𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚! 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪! - he yelled- 𝘿𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮!

A green light surrounded both spirits, which spread within a large radius in Hell. The screams of the Ghost Rider were heard as true suffering... The corruption was entering him and that indicated the death of him, being the victim of the Corruption Stare.

- 𝘿𝙄𝙀! - Vengeance exclaimed, laughing like a madman.

Vengeance laughed maniacally, enjoying Ghost Rider's cries of terrible pain. In a matter of seconds, the screams became deeper, hoarser, which intensified the laughter and satisfaction of the spirit of corruption at the sight of his sworn enemy fainting on her knees.

And at that moment, it happened.

The flames, once orange from the Ghost Rider, erupted and turned blood red, growing enormously thick and tall, obscuring the light from the Corruption's Stare.

- ...?!

Vengeance's laughter ceased as he felt a strong grip on his hand. Before he could utter a scream, his arm was yanked off as a punch hit him square in the face, sinking him into the ground and dragging him a few feet to a stop.

Crane gave a short cry of sharp pain, bringing her one remaining hand to his missing limb, covering the place where his arm had been. His regeneration seemed to work slowly, or maybe not at all.

The demons that were hovering over the battlefield watching the show landed around keeping a distance from both demons. The shrieks of ecstasy that hadn't stopped for minutes began to sound louder and more vigorous, displaying his clear emotion at the Ghost Rider's transformation.

On the other hand, the spirit of vengeance's gaze fixed on his enemy. Chains bathed in hellfire fell on Vengeance like a dizzying whip, with no way for him to avoid or defend himself. Without stopping, the Rider wrapped his chains around his arms and torso, lunging at his enemy, who, thanks to the previous blow, "bounced" off the ground and remained in the air for a few milli-seconds, which the Avenger shortened by a In a heartbeat, unloading a sledgehammer blow to Vengeance's stomach that plunged him into the ground again.

He then grabbed his foot and slammed it into the ground several times, from left to right. The move complete, he clasped her hands back to his foot and, spinning a few times, hurled Vengeance out of his sight. The chains were thrown at him and wrapped around his torso, pulling him back from whence he came and slamming him against mountains of stone.

A groan of pain came from Vengeance's mouth. The chains unraveled from his limbs, returning to their owner like trained snakes. Ghost Rider stalked over to him, taking his time. Once in front of him, he grabbed his jacket and lifted him up, pushing him against the earthen structure.

- 𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆? - he asked. His voice sounded deeper and hoarser than before- 𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒘, 𝑨𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒆...

Growling in a sudden surge of helplessness, Vengeance threw a punch at his face, but it was parried too easily, taking a punch to the stomach that made him arch in return. Following that, a knee hits the middle of his skull, forcing him to look up; being received at the moment by multiple blows in all parts of the body.

Finally, the blows cease, and Vengeance falls to his knees, defeated, broken, and exhausted. His skull had some small cracks after the devastating blows of his enemy. Slowly, the green fire that covered him left him, ending his corrupted transformation and giving way to his normal demonic form.

The Ghost Rider grabbed his head, forcing him to look at it, while his eye sockets lit up like streetlights.

- 𝑨𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔?

Vengeance's exhausted look indicated that he needed to take a breath before speaking. The Avenger's eye sockets lit up and he recited the words corresponding to the Punishment Stare, while Aaron Crane felt unimaginable pain burning inside his body.

A sigh was what the demon let out as he returned to his human form. His red hair was dirty, his face showed some bruises and blood. Aaron Crane, facing the last moments of his life, cried with regret.

- If... If you ever meet my father... Te-Tell him I'm sorry, and that I always loved him...- he said through tears.

With his last words spoken, the redhead closed his eyes. A raging fire completely covered him, facing his death as his body and soul turned to ashes. They remained in the air for a few moments, until they rose slowly upwards, disappearing into the cusp of hell. The Ghost Rider's crimson flames faded, returning to their original color as his eyes watched the path of the ashes, which gradually disappeared.

He felt a hand pat his shoulder in support. He did it. He had avenged his family. He got revenge on him.

Justice had won over corruption.