Chronicle IX: Crimson Monster

The confrontation between Baatral and Dante came to an abrupt end. The last thing to be seen near its location was that giant and fiery crimson whirlwind, which swept through a large part of the forest, leaving it scorched and dead.

The only thing that remained of the fallen angel was his ashes, which left the place being blown away by the brief wind. Swaying from side to side slightly, the crimson Ghost Rider hummed to himself, unaware of his surroundings. His flames moved and danced at the same time as him, giving more depth to the haunting scene that both demons from Hell, who had just arrived at the scene, were watching.

Leviathan and Blackheart advanced slowly and carefully. The Lord of the Oceans raised one of his tentacles, prepared to deliver a powerful and accurate blow to begin the offensive. Then, the avenging entity stopped his movement, unsettling both demons.

Like something out of a horror movie, the flaming skull took a 180-degree turn, focusing on the surprised faces of its enemies. His body did the exact same thing, and the sound of bones rearranging flooded the ears of the two demonic beings.

The Ghost Rider's jaw dropped slightly, assimilating into an expression of surprise upon seeing them; and then he laughed.

A dark, demonic laugh, totally unnatural. And that was enough for Leviathan's reflexes to kick in.

Contact from the blow never reached the Ghost Rider. The spirit took an unearthly leap, spinning in the air and landing like a beast, laughing maliciously.

In a blink, the remaining tentacles peppered the Ghost Rider, who leapt up again, and in midair, he continued to dodge effortlessly. He even cut some using his chains.

At the same time that Leviathan gave a pained expression, his adversary landed on the ground again without problems. Suddenly, Blackheart appeared in front of him, catching him off guard and dealing a blow that sent him through a dozen trees until he finally stopped.

However, the Ghost Rider felt no pain. On the contrary, after wandering his gaze over the destroyed logs, he got up smoothly. Blackheart appeared in front of him again, showing his true face: completely black eyes, eyes with sharp teeth, and demonic details.

The blue demon roared terrifyingly with the purpose of scaring him, or at least surprising him.

The Ghost Rider's skeletal hand gripped his throat without warning, lifting him off the ground. Laughing slowly, his head slowly turned 360 degrees, and his gaze focused on him.

- 𝕴𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖘𝖚𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖊? - He said- 𝕴´𝖑𝖑 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖙𝖗𝖚𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖙𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖆𝖗...

A circle of red fire formed in a wide radius around both supernatural beings, culminating in a sphere of fire that completely surrounds them. Little by little the fire calms down, turning into a black sphere of a hard and unknown material.

Beats and screams are heard from someone trying to escape; they lasted a few long minutes, until the sphere dissipated and the screaming stopped.

Blackheart was motionless, held by the collar of his jacket by the hand of the Ghost Rider. His head was no longer more than a skull with a few patches of blue skin. His eyes were petrified with the effect of the Penance Stare.

Suddenly, the rest of the surrounding trees were yanked off by the tentacles of Leviathan, who stared at the scene with wide-eyed shock.

- I-Impossible...- he stuttered.

The Ghost Rider laughed slowly and ghoulishly.

He took Blackheart's corpse by the head with both hands, so that the Demon Lord could see the horrible fate he suffered. And in an instant, his hands caught fire, incinerating the blue demon. As he finished his task, once again, he laughed, sending chills down Leviathan's bones.

The Sin froze, experiencing something he never felt:

Fear.

Pure terror, running through each and every corner of his body.

- 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙, 𝕷𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓...

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Johnny Blaze massaged his hair, complaining about the dust on his leather jacket.

Due to the blow from the overgrown serpent, he ended up miles from his initial location, even from his camp. Anyway, it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed.

With a whistle he called out to his motorcycle, hopping on it and heading into the forest where the boy and the demon were, with a speed that would put Formula 1 drivers to shame.

As he went back into the forest, a reddish light became clearer and clearer. The Rider had to slow down and take cover from the intense light curtain in front of him.

Now that he analyzed it better, he discovered that it was fire. Instantly, he remembered the only person who could start that kind of fire, and considering the situation, there was only one option: the kid.

Not wanting to break through the high curtain of fire, he smashed the ground into a ramp of sorts, certain that he would lift it over that fiery obstacle.

So it was. With such impulse, Johnny watched what was happening inside the fire as he soared through the air with his vehicle. And what he saw was enough to shock him, even when he landed.

In front of him, another Ghost Rider had his back turned to him, while thousands of ashes scattered around him. An adult body disintegrated at his feet as the crimson monster just watched him, until there was nothing left.

After a brief silence, Johnny Blaze got off the motorcycle, moving a little closer to the figure, but keeping his guard up.

- 𝐊𝐢𝐝...? - He questioned, alert.

The other one turned. His gazes locked on each other, but neither said anything. However, the red fire began to dissipate, until Daniel's human form was revealed. And immediately afterwards, he fell face down to the ground, losing consciousness completely.