Chương 156: Chapter 156: Blackheart 

Right in front of everyone, the Ancient One casually drew a small Sling Ring portal, reached her hand completely through it, and smoothly pulled out a massive, slightly outdated yellow pages phone directory. 

"Let's see here. Where exactly is the current contact information for the administrator of that specific church?" 

She flipped through the dense pages for a moment before pointing directly at a specific number. "St. Michael's Church. This was the original, highly sanctified location designated to protect the Contract of San Venganza." 

"So... if it was supposed to be heavily guarded there, why exactly did it end up hidden inside a shovel in your cabin?" Luke asked, pointing at the dark scroll on the table and giving Carter a highly skeptical look. 

Carter's weathered face instantly flushed red. He coughed awkwardly. "Well... I heard rumors that Mephisto was actively plotting to steal the scroll. I was genuinely terrified he might actually succeed, so I simply... took the initiative." 

Oh. So because you were terrified someone might steal it, you preemptively robbed the church yourself to keep it safe. Absolutely flawless, highly proactive preventative logic. 

Luke shook his head helplessly and turned to watch the Ancient One dialing the number on her smartphone. "So, your brilliant tactical plan is to simply place the Contract back in the church and patiently wait for Blackheart to break in and rob the place? Will that actually work?" 

The Ancient One smiled faintly. "Previously, St. Michael's Church officially reported the mysterious disappearance of the Contract to Kamar-Taj. After conducting a localized magical investigation, I discovered Carter was the culprit. Recognizing his intentions, I simply ignored the theft and instructed the church to maintain absolute secrecy regarding its absence." 

Ah. So officially, the Contract has always been at the church, while unofficially, it was buried in a graveyard. Double-layered magical insurance. 

"Therefore, we simply contact St. Michael's, formally return the artifact, and wait for Blackheart to enthusiastically claim his prize?" 

"Precisely. Having successfully 'stolen' the Contract with his own two hands, I am absolutely confident Blackheart will be incredibly eager to instantly consume the corrupted spirits contained within," she smiled, a hint of dark, highly calculated amusement in her eyes. 

She lifted the phone to her ear. 

A few minutes later, she hung up. "It appears the original priest from a decade ago has already passed away. However, before his death, he explicitly passed the sacred duty and the secret of the Contract down to his successor. While the new priest was understandably slightly skeptical of my call, he has formally agreed to cooperate and grant us access." 

"Excellent. Should we deploy immediately?" 

"While demonic entities fundamentally prefer to conduct their operations under the cover of night, arriving early to aggressively establish a localized tactical perimeter is highly advisable." 

The Ancient One picked up the dark scroll from the table, smoothly drew a localized portal, and the two of them stepped through. 

As night formally descended upon the city... 

Blackheart, accompanied by three highly corrupted elemental demons he had recently recruited, arrived at St. Michael's Church. He aggressively kicked the heavy wooden doors open and arrogantly strode directly into the main sanctuary. 

Staring up at the massive, ornate crucifix hanging above the altar, Blackheart offered a cold, highly disrespectful sneer. He casually traced a mocking cross over his chest. 

"I genuinely have absolutely no idea what psychological comfort mortals derive from this specific gesture. Honestly, whenever I execute it, it simply feels like I'm preparing to violently nail him back up there a second time." 

Blackheart turned his back on the altar, addressing his minions. "Alright. Aggressively tear this place apart. Find the Contract." 

Receiving their master's command, the three demons instantly shifted into their elemental forms. They rapidly transformed into swirling currents of wind, water, and shifting earth, aggressively permeating every single localized corner of the ancient church, desperately hunting for hidden magical compartments. 

The Wind Demon aggressively swept its chaotic currents throughout the sanctuary. Eventually, it detected a highly anomalous, localized draft emanating from microscopic gaps directly behind the massive stone wall supporting the crucifix. 

"I believe it is located here," the Wind Demon materialized, reporting directly to Blackheart before instantly shifting back into an ethereal breeze and smoothly phasing through the microscopic cracks. 

A few moments later, the heavy stone wall violently shuddered. The massive altar split open, aggressively sliding apart to reveal a dark, highly concealed stone staircase descending directly into an unknown subterranean vault. 

"Excellent work," Blackheart praised smoothly. Staring down into the pitch-black corridor, he confidently descended the stairs. 

He eventually arrived at a highly secure, heavily reinforced subterranean chamber. He frowned deeply, observing the highly complex, densely packed holy runes meticulously carved into the surrounding walls. 

"Incredibly irritating localized wards." 

Blackheart casually placed his hand directly against the stone wall. Highly corrosive, localized Hellfire violently erupted from his palm! The dark flames aggressively raced along the walls, violently burning and completely neutralizing every single holy rune in a matter of seconds. 

With the localized magical defenses completely shattered, Blackheart strode into the center of the chamber. Illuminated by the flickering, residual Hellfire, a highly ornate, heavily sealed metal lockbox rested on a stone pedestal. 

"Is this the prize?" 

Blackheart casually picked up the box. His Hellfire instantly, violently melted the heavy metal exterior into slag, revealing the ancient, deeply sinister parchment scroll resting inside. 

"This is it! The Contract of San Venganza! I can clearly, intimately hear the agonizing shrieks of the thousands of corrupted souls trapped within!" 

Blackheart threw his head back and laughed maniacally! He aggressively grasped the scroll and violently tore it completely open! 

Instantly, thousands of screaming, highly corrupted, incredibly evil souls violently erupted from the parchment, aggressively swarming Blackheart and violently plunging directly into his physical vessel! 

The Wind, Water, and Earth demons materialized behind him. Feeling the massive, terrifying, apocalyptic surge in Blackheart's localized demonic power, they immediately dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in absolute, terrified submission. 

As the chamber finally fell into a heavy, suffocating silence, Blackheart slowly exhaled a breath of pure, highly concentrated dark energy. He examined his hands, feeling his localized authority and raw power having exponentially multiplied. He nodded in absolute, profound satisfaction. 

"And now... I shall begin by aggressively, completely devouring every single pathetic soul in this entire city!" Blackheart roared triumphantly at his minions. 

"I genuinely believe that is a highly unacceptable tactical outcome." 

A calm, highly confident voice echoed down the stone corridor. 

The demons froze, violently snapping their heads toward the entrance. 

Johnny Blaze offered them a highly characteristic, arrogant smirk. He let out a primal, aggressive yell! Intense, highly volatile Hellfire violently erupted from his core, instantly completely consuming his flesh as he transformed into the terrifying Ghost Rider! 

"Mephisto's pathetic personal errand boy? You are entirely too late!" Blackheart laughed maniacally. 

The thousands of corrupted souls now residing within his body began shrieking in unison, generating a terrifying, highly concentrated sonic wave that violently echoed off the cramped stone walls. 

"Too loud," the Ghost Rider muttered, his tone distinctly lacking the mindless, autonomous demonic echo. It was incredibly obvious Johnny's human consciousness was currently in absolute, total control of the physical vessel. 

He aggressively unspooled the heavy, burning chain wrapped around his torso. With a practiced, highly intimidating flourish, the Ghost Rider violently hurled the burning chain directly at Blackheart! 

Watching the lethal weapon approach, Blackheart didn't even attempt to dodge. He casually reached out and caught the burning chain mid-air! Seeing the highly corrosive Hellfire actively attempting to aggressively spread up his arm, Blackheart simply ignited his own, newly augmented Hellfire, violently pushing the flames backward! 

Johnny aggressively gripped his end of the chain and violently yanked himself forward, launching his flaming body directly through the air, intending to tackle Blackheart and execute a point-blank Penance Stare! 

However, Blackheart easily anticipated the maneuver. Dozens of horrific, highly mutated, ethereal limbs violently erupted directly from his torso—manifestations of the thousands of souls he had just consumed! The demonic limbs violently snatched the Ghost Rider mid-air, pinning him securely, actively attempting to violently tear his skeletal body completely in half! 

"It certainly appears you have encountered a massive localized tactical disadvantage." 

Carter Slade, fully dressed in his classic, rugged cowboy attire and casually carrying a heavy-gauge lever-action shotgun, calmly strolled into the chamber. 

Observing the chaotic, highly lethal struggle, Carter's body violently ignited! He instantly transformed into the terrifying, imposing figure of the previous generation's Ghost Rider! 

His heavy shotgun was instantly entirely corrupted by localized Hellfire. Carter smoothly racked the lever and aggressively pulled the trigger! 

BOOM! 

Thousands of tiny, hyper-concentrated pellets of pure, unadulterated Hellfire violently erupted from the barrel! The devastating, localized blast slammed directly into Blackheart! 

The sheer, overwhelming kinetic and magical force of the point-blank blast violently shattered Blackheart's physical avatar, forcing him to temporarily dissolve into a massive, chaotic swarm of individual, shrieking souls that scattered wildly across the cramped room! 

"KILL HIM!" thousands of overlapping, demonic voices shrieked simultaneously! A massive portion of the soul-swarm aggressively rushed the pinned Johnny, violently burying him beneath their collective weight. 

Seeing their master attacked, the three elemental demons aggressively lunged directly at Carter! 

Carter didn't even flinch. He rapidly racked the lever, continuously unleashing devastating, highly concentrated blasts of Hellfire! The aggressive, localized bombardment violently forced the three demons backward, cornering them in the confined subterranean space. 

"This localized operational environment is entirely too restrictive! We are relocating to the surface!" the Earth Demon roared in panic. It instantly dissolved into shifting sand, aggressively burrowing directly into the stone floor to escape. 

Seeing their comrade flee, the Wind and Water demons instantly aggressively phased through the surrounding cracks and ventilation shafts, desperately fleeing the terrifying shotgun blasts. 

"YOU PATHETIC, INCREDIBLY USELESS COWARDS!" Blackheart roared furiously from the chaotic swarm of souls currently aggressively pinning Johnny down. He couldn't believe his elite enforcers had instantly abandoned him! 

However, watching Carter calmly reload his blazing shotgun and slowly turn his burning gaze directly toward the swarm, Blackheart realized he was at a massive tactical disadvantage. 

Compared to the relatively inexperienced Johnny, Carter possessed over a century of highly refined, extremely lethal combat experience utilizing the Ghost Rider's power. If the Spirit of Vengeance had currently possessed Carter's vessel, Blackheart would likely have been permanently incinerated instantly. 

Recognizing the severe, localized threat, Blackheart entirely abandoned his assault on Johnny. Maintaining his chaotic, highly evasive swarm-form to avoid the devastating shotgun blasts, he aggressively surged up the stone corridor, desperately fleeing the subterranean vault. 

Johnny violently shoved the remaining residual souls off him and staggered awkwardly to his feet. He looked at Carter, who was calmly resting the smoking shotgun on his shoulder. 

Johnny looked down at his own skeletal hands. "Did I... did I perform highly inadequately?" 

"You did perfectly fine," Carter reassured him, his deep, ethereal voice echoing warmly. "The absolute most critical victory is that you successfully maintained absolute localized control over your own consciousness. Regarding actual combat efficiency... that requires extensive, localized battlefield experience." 

Carter turned and began walking up the stone stairs. 

"Let's move. The night is still incredibly young." 

Out on the completely silent, deserted street in front of the church... 

Thousands of agonizing shrieks echoed through the night air as the massive swarm of souls violently erupted from the cathedral doors, rapidly coalescing and re-forming into Blackheart's physical avatar. 

Looking around, Blackheart spotted his three elemental demons materializing nearby. His face twisted into a mask of pure, murderous fury. 

If he didn't actively require their localized combat assistance to handle the two Ghost Riders, he would have instantly, violently tortured them for their blatant cowardice. 

Carter and Johnny strode confidently out of the church doors, their Hellfire burning brightly in the darkness. 

"I honestly assumed you pathetic cowards would have completely fled the city by now!" Carter mocked loudly, racking his shotgun. 

Blackheart glared at him, his eyes burning with malice. "We merely proactively executed a highly calculated tactical relocation to a superior battlefield. You possess absolutely zero localized advantage here." 

Carter casually leveled his blazing shotgun directly at the group. The three elemental demons instinctively, violently flinched backward in genuine terror. 

Carter let out a highly mocking, skeletal laugh. "I genuinely assumed you demonic entities possessed slightly more localized backbone." 

Just as Blackheart angrily prepared to launch a massive, coordinated counter-attack, a highly sophisticated, elegantly dressed old man slowly, casually stepped out from the nearby shadows. 

"My two highly prized, localized Riders... formally gathered together in one location. This is an incredibly rare, highly unexpected occurrence. However, I must explicitly inform you that I absolutely refuse to authorize overtime pay." 

Mephisto smiled pleasantly, casually strolling toward the group. Observing the localized tactical situation, his mind raced with highly complex, manipulative calculations. He intended to explicitly utilize the binding demonic contract to actively force Johnny to permanently assassinate Blackheart, allowing Mephisto to easily, flawlessly reclaim the dimension's core authority. 

"Then allow me to formally, aggressively register a localized labor complaint on their behalf." 

A sudden, highly intense gust of localized wind violently erupted directly behind Mephisto! 

Mephisto's ancient combat instincts flared! He violently spun around, aggressively raising his elegant cane just in time to physically block a massive, highly lethal scythe blade aimed directly at his neck! 

"I assure you, I am absolutely not foolish enough to be successfully defeated by the exact same localized sneak attack twice," Mephisto smiled arrogantly, locking eyes with Luke, who had silently manifested from the shadows. 

"You are absolutely correct," Luke smiled back, his expression radiating absolute, lethal intent. 

CRACK-BOOM! 

A massive, apocalyptic bolt of pitch-black, highly concentrated dark energy lightning violently plummeted directly from the sky! The devastating strike slammed perfectly, flawlessly into Mephisto, instantly violently obliterating his physical avatar into millions of tiny, dissipating fragments!