Chương 155: Chapter 155: Two Generations of Ghost Riders 

"Once Stephen is officially ready to succeed you, what are your retirement plans?" Luke asked the Ancient One, casually glancing over at Johnny and Roxanne, who were currently sharing an incredibly sweet, tearful reunion a few booths away. 

The Ancient One delicately sampled the restaurant's food, mentally concluding it was significantly inferior to the street food available in Kamar-Taj. 

"I intend to quietly visit several old friends," she replied thoughtfully. "The sorcerers residing within Kamar-Taj are absolutely not the only practitioners of magic on Earth. Practically every nation possesses hidden enclaves of localized magic users. For countless millennia, we have secretly, highly cooperatively watched over the planet together, actively ensuring that localized magical power is not catastrophically abused." 

"I genuinely assumed your organization exclusively focused entirely on repelling Dimensional Lords," Luke noted, slightly surprised. 

"When localized magic is recklessly abused, it frequently creates localized dimensional fractures that allow demonic entities to easily slip through the planetary grid. Therefore, actively policing rogue magic users is a fundamental aspect of our primary responsibility," she explained patiently. 

She paused, looking at Luke. "Would you care to accompany me on a diplomatic tour to meet them? As the formally recognized Lord of Earth, establishing direct, localized contact with the global magical community is highly advisable." 

"Absolutely. Schedule the itinerary and I'll join you," Luke agreed casually. 

Nearby, Johnny and Roxanne finally concluded their highly emotional reunion. Roxanne offered Johnny a glowing, incredibly happy smile before turning and exiting the restaurant. Johnny remained completely frozen in his booth, staring blankly after her with an expression of profound, absolute joy. 

"Alright, loverboy. It's time to snap back to reality. We have an incredibly critical tactical objective to complete. You can spend the absolute entirety of the rest of your life staring at her later," Luke said, lightly slapping Johnny's shoulder to wake him up as they walked past his booth. 

Johnny rapidly snapped out of his daze and eagerly followed them outside. 

Standing on the sidewalk, feeling the cool night air, Johnny felt an absolutely profound, unprecedented sense of relief and happiness. 

"So... what exactly is the highly specific tactical objective?" Johnny asked, a massive smile still plastered across his face. 

Luke casually checked the position of the moon overhead, then smiled reassuringly at Johnny. "Incredibly simple. We simply need to aggressively, brutally beat you to a pulp." 

? 

Johnny's brilliant smile instantly froze, rapidly morphing into an expression of absolute, profound suspicion and alarm. "I'm sorry, what exactly did you just say?" 

The Ancient One stepped forward, quickly and precisely explaining the highly complex, localized tactical mechanics regarding Blackheart, the Contract of San Venganza, and Mephisto's elaborate dimensional trap. 

Johnny listened intently, his brow furrowing as he processed the information. "So... if we successfully maneuver Blackheart into acquiring and actively absorbing the corrupted souls... we can utilize my localized demonic power to permanently, permanently incinerate him and steal his dimensional authority?" 

"Precisely," Luke nodded. "However, to successfully execute the next phase of the plan and locate the previous Ghost Rider—who currently possesses the Contract—we actively require your demonic alter-ego to manifest. Therefore... we need to violently beat you until he comes out." 

Johnny hesitated, swallowing nervously. "Are you absolutely, mathematically certain I won't accidentally be violently beaten to death during the extraction process?" 

"Absolutely," Luke smiled warmly. "My operatives are incredibly disciplined and possess flawless localized force-control." 1

Suddenly, dozens of glowing, terrifyingly bright red eyes silently snapped open in the surrounding shadows! Massive, highly intimidating pitch-black silhouettes silently stepped out of the alleyways, completely surrounding Johnny. 

"Uh... are you absolutely certain they have good force-control? They genuinely do not appear friendly," Johnny stammered, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as the Shadow Ninjas closed in. 

Without a single microsecond of warning, the Shadow Ninjas aggressively swarmed him! 

Johnny vanished beneath a massive pile of pitch-black fists and boots, receiving a highly coordinated, incredibly brutal physical beating! 

Standing safely on the sidewalk, Luke calmly checked his watch, timing exactly how long it would take for the localized demonic entity to violently manifest in response to extreme physical trauma. 

Approximately three agonizing minutes later, a massive, terrifying burst of highly volatile Hellfire violently erupted from the center of the pile, aggressively forcing the Shadow Ninjas to rapidly retreat! 

"It appears the primary target has successfully manifested," Luke noted calmly to the Ancient One, observing the roaring flames. 

A heavy, burning chain violently whipped out of the flames, aggressively striking several Shadow Ninjas and sending them flying. The intensely hot, highly corrosive Hellfire actively attempted to spread and consume them. 

However, the Shadow Ninjas simply, seamlessly sank directly back into the shadows, completely avoiding the lethal burn. 

The Ghost Rider slowly stood up from the cratered pavement. He aggressively cracked his burning, skeletal neck and turned his empty, flaming eye sockets directly toward Luke. 

"YOUR SOUL IS STAINED BY THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT! YOU... ARE GUILTY!" the Ghost Rider roared with a terrifying, ethereal, multi-layered demonic voice! 

Luke blinked, completely unamused by the highly aggressive, utterly indiscriminating judgment. "I assume the localized human consciousness has completely relinquished control?" 

The Ancient One nodded. "Correct. The Spirit of Vengeance is currently operating entirely autonomously. We must execute the secondary tactical protocol to aggressively subdue and transport him." 

"Understood." 

Luke casually took a single step forward. Instantly, the shadows surrounding the Ghost Rider aggressively, violently expanded! 

"If any fraction of the localized human consciousness can currently hear me... brace yourself. This extraction process is going to be highly uncomfortable," Luke warned calmly. 

The Ghost Rider completely ignored the warning, aggressively marching directly toward Luke, preparing to unleash his lethal Penance Stare. 

Luke simply shrugged. "Well, I formally provided a warning." 

A colossal, five-meter-tall Troll Ninja violently, silently erupted directly from the shadows behind the Ghost Rider! The massive Troll aggressively, violently grabbed the Ghost Rider directly by his burning skull, lifted him effortlessly into the air, and brutally slammed him face-first into the pavement! 

Luke watched the Troll Ninja's massive hand begin to slightly smoke from the intense Hellfire. With a casual wave of his hand, Luke aggressively channeled a dense wave of dark energy, completely instantly extinguishing the Hellfire on the Troll's hand, ensuring zero localized structural damage to his unit. 

With absolute safety confirmed, several more massive Troll Ninjas erupted from the shadows! They violently converged on the Ghost Rider, aggressively lifting him up and brutally tossing him back and forth like a highly volatile, burning ragdoll! 

After several minutes of highly aggressive, completely one-sided physical abuse, the Ghost Rider managed to successfully retaliate! He violently hurled his burning chain, wrapping it tightly around a Troll Ninja's arm, and aggressively yanked himself directly onto the giant's chest! 

"LOOK INTO MY EYES! YOUR SOUL IS STAINED BY THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT! FEEL THEIR PAIN!" the Ghost Rider roared, violently grabbing the Troll Ninja's head and desperately attempting to force direct eye contact to trigger the Penance Stare! 

However... the Troll Ninja completely lacked a soul. It was a localized manifestation of pure dark energy. 

The Troll Ninja stared blankly at the burning skull for a second. Completely unaffected by the absolute ultimate attack of the Spirit of Vengeance, the Troll simply reached up, casually grabbed the Ghost Rider by the throat, peeled him off its chest, and violently slammed him back into the pavement. 

Realizing his primary offensive capability was entirely, fundamentally useless against these specific entities, the Ghost Rider violently whipped his chain, wrapping it around a nearby streetlight, and aggressively swung himself entirely out of the massive encirclement! 

Seeing the Shadowkhan instantly melt back into the shadows to aggressively pursue him, the Ghost Rider let out a terrifying, highly distinctive whistle! 

A massive, deafening, terrifying roar of an incredibly powerful engine echoed down the dark street! 

A heavily customized, highly intimidating chopper-style motorcycle, completely engulfed in localized Hellfire, violently sped down the street with absolutely no driver! 

The Ghost Rider aggressively leapt directly off the streetlight, landing perfectly, flawlessly onto the seat of the Hell Cycle! 

The absolute microsecond he made contact, the Hellfire violently surged, heavily mutating the vehicle into a terrifying, apocalyptic demonic war machine! He aggressively twisted the throttle, accelerating directly toward Luke! 

Watching the Hell Cycle rapidly approach, instantly igniting the asphalt and nearby parked cars, Luke frowned deeply. "It is incredibly fortunate we are currently operating in a highly deserted, industrial sector. If we were in a dense residential zone, the localized collateral damage would be highly unacceptable." 

As the Ghost Rider aggressively attempted to violently run Luke over, a colossal, terrifyingly massive pitch-black entity violently erupted completely out of the asphalt directly in front of the charging motorcycle! 

The colossal Shadow-Eater aggressively opened its massive, cavernous maw and violently, instantly swallowed the Ghost Rider and the Hell Cycle completely whole! 

"Flawless execution," Luke applauded enthusiastically. 

The colossal Shadow-Eater turned toward Luke, happily wiggling its massive body exactly like an incredibly gigantic, terrifyingly lethal puppy seeking approval. 

The Ancient One smiled faintly, looking up at the massive entity. "It has experienced a highly aggressive, rapid growth spurt. What is its current localized physical parameter?" 

"Approximately one hundred meters tall," Luke replied proudly. "During the localized engagement within Dormammu's Dark Dimension, I aggressively permitted them to consume an absolute, practically infinite buffet of demons." 

Judging that the Ghost Rider had been sufficiently physically subdued and successfully contained within the Shadow-Eater's localized digestive dimension, Luke gently patted the Shadow-Eater's massive leg. 

The Shadow-Eater enthusiastically nodded its colossal head, then violently regurgitated the completely disoriented Ghost Rider! 

"Ahem," Luke cleared his throat and pointedly tapped his foot. 

The Shadow-Eater quickly burped, regurgitating the Hell Cycle as well. 

The Ghost Rider crashed heavily onto the pavement. His localized Hellfire was currently burning significantly dimmer, indicating massive energy depletion. He stared blankly at the Hell Cycle, which had landed several meters away. 

He weakly, desperately slapped the ground. The Hell Cycle automatically righted itself and slowly, autonomously rolled over to him. The Ghost Rider painfully climbed onto the bike and immediately, aggressively sped off into the night, desperate to escape the terrifying shadow monsters. 

"Perfect. The localized tracking protocol is officially active," Luke smiled highly satisfied. 

The colossal Shadow-Eater slowly, silently sank back into the asphalt, completely hiding within the localized shadows, leaving only Luke and the Ancient One standing on the street. 

"Let's proceed. I anticipate we will successfully locate the previous generation's Ghost Rider very shortly." 

Luke casually stepped directly onto the Shadow-Eater's invisible, submerged head. The Ancient One smoothly stepped beside him. The massive entity instantly, aggressively accelerated through the subterranean shadows, effortlessly, silently tailing the fleeing Hell Cycle. 

They pursued the Ghost Rider through the entire night. As the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, they finally arrived at their specific destination: an incredibly remote, highly isolated, highly unkempt rural graveyard. 

When Luke and the Ancient One smoothly materialized from the shadows, they observed a highly weathered, rugged old man currently meticulously utilizing a shovel to clear weeds near the entrance. 

The old man stared at the exhausted Ghost Rider, then instantly locked his highly intense, heavily guarded gaze directly onto Luke and the Ancient One. 

He wasn't remotely intimidated by the flaming skeleton; he was entirely focused on the two highly powerful, unrecognized magical entities. 

As they stood in a highly tense, completely silent standoff, the rising sun finally fully crested the horizon, casting direct sunlight onto the Ghost Rider! 

The Ghost Rider let out a highly agonizing, terrifying shriek! The Hellfire violently extinguished, and the skeletal form rapidly, painfully reverted back into human flesh! Johnny Blaze collapsed heavily onto the dirt, completely unconscious. 

Seeing Johnny fall, the old man instantly aggressively moved forward, highly protectively positioning himself directly between the unconscious Johnny and the two intruders! He aggressively leveled his shovel, gripping it like a highly lethal combat staff. 

Luke looked at the rusty shovel, highly amused. "Are you absolutely, genuinely attempting to aggressively defend the highly classified demonic contract utilizing gardening equipment?" 

The old man flinched slightly, instantly aggressively hugging the shovel tightly to his chest. "Abandon your localized objective immediately! I will absolutely never voluntarily surrender the Contract of San Venganza to you!" 

Suddenly, Johnny groaned, slowly, painfully regaining consciousness. He rubbed his pounding head, looking highly confused at the incredibly tense standoff occurring directly over him. 

"What exactly is happening right now?" Johnny mumbled, highly disoriented. "Didn't you explicitly state that the previous Ghost Rider was a highly friendly, localized tactical ally? Why does it appear we are currently actively engaging in a hostile standoff?" 

Hearing Johnny's highly confused question, the old man instantly froze, violently turning to stare at Johnny in absolute, mind-boggling disbelief. 

He aggressively shoved the shovel directly into Johnny's hands. "Flee immediately! I will actively attempt to highly aggressively stall them! You absolutely must ensure that the Contract never falls into the hands of these specific demonic entities!" 

The old man let out a sharp, highly piercing whistle. A massive, terrifyingly muscular black horse instantly aggressively charged completely out of the nearby forest, stopping directly in front of him! 

Despite his apparent age, the old man executed a flawless, highly agile leap, effortlessly mounting the massive horse! He violently drew a highly customized, heavy-gauge shotgun from a specialized saddle scabbard, aiming it directly at Luke! 

"I strongly advise you to instantly execute a highly rapid, localized tactical retreat! If you force my hand, the consequences will be highly lethal!" 

"Wait! Hold on! Stop everything!" 

Johnny violently, aggressively scrambled to his feet, ignoring his massive, localized muscle pain. "Can someone please clearly, accurately explain exactly what the hell is happening?! You explicitly told me this guy was an allied tactical asset!" Johnny yelled, pointing frantically between Luke and the highly aggressive old man. 

The old man slowly lowered the shotgun, completely bewildered. 

Wait... you weren't desperately fleeing from them in terror? I was actively attempting to aggressively sacrifice my life to protect you, and you're claiming they are your localized allies?! 

As the old man stood entirely frozen in profound confusion, the Ancient One calmly stepped forward, throwing back her hood. 

"Please maintain localized calm, Carter. We are absolutely not demonic entities," she stated smoothly. 

Carter violently snapped his head toward her, his eyes widening in absolute, profound recognition. "Wait... are you... Master Ancient One?" 

Luke instantly turned to stare at the Ancient One in absolute, mind-boggling shock. "You actually personally know him?!" 

The Ancient One nodded calmly. "He formally served as Mephisto's primary, localized Ghost Rider for several decades. Given his highly active, highly destructive operational profile, it was statistically absolutely inevitable that I would directly, formally cross paths with him during my localized planetary patrols." 

"Oh. Well, that makes complete, logical sense," Luke exhaled a massive sigh of relief. "In that case, I will formally delegate the highly complex, localized diplomatic explanation entirely to you." 

A short time later, inside Carter's highly secluded, rustic cabin... 

The localized misunderstanding had been completely, successfully resolved. Carter had graciously invited them inside, offering a highly hospitable, localized environment. 

"So, you have finally successfully developed a highly viable, localized tactical methodology to permanently eliminate those specific demonic entities," Carter smiled warmly, looking highly respectfully at the Ancient One. 

The Ancient One shook her head slightly. "As you are acutely aware, there are numerous, highly entrenched demonic entities. Our current, specific operational objective is strictly limited to permanently neutralizing a single, highly specific target." 

"Even permanently eliminating a single, highly powerful entity is an absolute, massive victory," Carter nodded enthusiastically. "Especially given that Mephisto is arguably one of the most highly dangerous, deeply entrenched Lords in existence." 

He stood up and began pouring water for the group. Johnny greedily grabbed a glass and practically inhaled the water. 

Undergoing the highly volatile, physically destructive transformation into the Ghost Rider essentially completely vaporized his internal biological hydration. Carter, possessing extensive personal experience with the agonizing side effects, highly sympathetically continuously refilled Johnny's glass. 

Luke watched the mundane interaction, then glanced subtly at the Ancient One. Why didn't you just casually utilize your highly advanced magical teapot that magically generates infinite tea? 

Having sufficiently rehydrated Johnny, Carter turned his highly intense gaze toward the Ancient One, then slowly shifted his focus entirely onto Luke. 

"I maintain absolute, profound respect for you, Master... but my localized, highly specialized demonic senses clearly indicate that he is absolutely not a biological human." 

Carter still possessed residual, highly advanced demonic perception from his decades as the Ghost Rider. He could clearly, unequivocally sense the absolute, terrifying, primordial darkness radiating from Luke's core. 

The Ancient One simply shrugged noncommittally. 

Luke immediately spoke up, highly defensive. "Excuse me, how exactly am I not human?" 

Carter raised a highly skeptical eyebrow. "Because I can explicitly, clearly sense a massive, terrifyingly dense reserve of pure, absolute dark energy completely permeating your localized physical vessel. That level of absolute, unmitigated darkness is fundamentally, biologically impossible for a baseline human to possess and survive." 

"Following that highly flawed logic, does that specifically imply that you are also no longer formally classified as a biological human?" Luke countered smoothly. 

"Correct. I completely agree with that specific assessment," Carter nodded sagely. "I genuinely do not believe that an entity capable of violently transforming into a highly volatile, flaming skeleton every night and magically reverting to flesh every morning legally qualifies as a standard, biological human being." 

Damn. He successfully executed a flawless, highly logical self-deprecating counter-argument. 

Luke was genuinely highly impressed, while Johnny sat nearby, completely stunned. Wait... does that explicitly mean I am also legally classified as a non-human entity now?! 

Having successfully established a highly relaxed, mutually respectful atmosphere, the Ancient One meticulously, precisely detailed their specific tactical plan to utilize the Contract to permanently strip Blackheart of his dimensional authority. 

Carter listened intently, nodding in absolute agreement. He reached into his coat and casually retrieved the highly modified shovel. Without a microsecond of warning, he aggressively, violently smashed the heavy iron spade directly onto the wooden table! 

"Whoa! What exactly are you attempting to do?!" Johnny flinched violently as the heavy iron blade smashed inches from his hand. 

"Do not panic, son," Carter chuckled deeply. "We are fundamentally immortal. A minor physical impact is entirely irrelevant." (At least, until their localized demonic energy is completely exhausted). 

Carter expertly disassembled the heavy iron spade, revealing a highly secure, hidden internal compartment. He carefully extracted a highly ancient, heavily sealed, deeply sinister parchment scroll and placed it carefully on the table. 

"This is the specific localized asset you require. The Contract of San Venganza." 

Luke entirely ignored Carter's highly cautious, deeply protective glare. He casually reached out and picked up the incredibly ancient, highly corrupted scroll. 

As Luke slowly, carefully unrolled the parchment, a terrifying, deafening chorus of highly agonizing, soul-rending shrieks violently erupted directly from the paper! The localized auditory assault was so incredibly terrifying it could easily induce instantaneous, fatal cardiac arrest in a standard human. 

"That is incredibly, highly irritating," Luke muttered, deeply annoyed by the noise. 

He casually raised his hand and forcefully flicked his finger against the parchment! A highly concentrated, tiny burst of pure dark energy violently shot into the scroll, aggressively instantly suppressing and completely silencing the terrified souls within! 

Luke casually tossed the completely silent scroll back onto the table. "Alright. The primary tactical objective is extremely straightforward. We simply locate Blackheart, forcefully ensure he physically acquires the Contract, and patiently wait for him to actively absorb the souls." 

"However, there is a massive, highly critical tactical flaw in that specific plan," Carter warned. "Blackheart and Mephisto share the exact same highly paranoid, incredibly deceitful biological lineage. They are both absolute masters of complex manipulation. If we simply blatantly hand him the Contract, he will instantly deduce it is a highly lethal trap and absolutely refuse to absorb the souls." 

The Ancient One smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming with highly calculated tactical brilliance. "The solution is remarkably simple. We simply recruit several highly specific, localized 'volunteers' to assist us with the delivery." 

Luke blinked, genuinely surprised. "Exactly how many highly specialized, localized tactical assets do you actively maintain contact with?!" 

"The planet is relatively small," the Ancient One replied smoothly. "If an individual possesses significant localized power, I am generally formally acquainted with them."