Johnny shuddered hard.
Although he had been instantly defeated in a single exchange, and even the hellfire around him had withered, after so many consecutive battles, he had already gained an extremely clear understanding of his unreasonable regenerative ability.
But…
A hand with long, distinct knuckles had casually ignored the soul flame that even Asgardian warriors feared to approach, and was tightly gripping his cervical vertebrae.
Johnny struggled to raise his head, only to meet Fenris's faintly smiling eyes.
Behind Fenris, one large and one small pair of wings of light, each stretching dozens of meters, gently fanned the air. A sacred aura of light spread over them, carrying a pressure that made Johnny feel unbearably suppressed.
The two auras had only touched for a few seconds before Johnny felt the power in his body recede like a tide. The bewitching, murmuring voice in his mind also quietly vanished. That rare sense of relief finally made him let out a breath.
"Johnny, awake now?"
Watching the hideous flaming skull before him slowly grow skin and flesh again, Fenris raised an eyebrow, and the hand gripping Johnny's neck quietly loosened.
"I'm awake. I'm awake."
As the sense of suffocation gradually faded, air mixed with western wind and sand rushed into Johnny's nose. To him, it was like the sweetest spring water in the world. Johnny gulped down fresh air, and only after a long while did he slowly calm down.
He pointed at Fenris's hand, which was still around his neck. Clearly recalling that he had just attacked Fenris outright, he gave an embarrassed smile.
"Uh, can you let go of me first?"
"Hmph."
Fenris gave a soft snort and slowly released him.
The wings behind him suddenly swept once, and a fierce wind that seemed to engulf heaven and earth was born out of nothing. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding gale slowly died away, and the sand and gravel swept up by the storm gradually fell.
As the flames filling the sky disappeared, after a short while, the world became clear once more.
"So strong."
Seeing Fenris lightly calm such a vast storm with such casual ease made Johnny's heart tremble.
After experiencing several battles in a row, he was no longer the motorcycle star who relied on a soul contract and an undying body to perform insane stunts.
The more he came into contact with this hidden supernatural world, the more clearly he understood just how terrifying the seemingly harmless man before him truly was.
Not long ago, when Fenris subdued him, he had still needed to endure a powerful backlash.
How many days had it been since then?
At that thought, the smile on Johnny's face became even more harmless.
Yet in the next moment, his body swayed beyond his control. The violent dizziness caused by the backlash gradually spread into his mind, and his vision suddenly went dark.
Fenris looked Johnny up and down.
This man had been willing to give up Fenris's promise to help him reclaim his soul, choosing instead to force a move against Blackheart to prevent him from harming the human world. Right now, his physical condition was not good.
His complexion was somewhat pale, and his spirit was even closer to exhaustion. It was as if that battle had burned through the last of his vitality. After reverting from his Ghost Rider form, Johnny's mental state was visibly worsening.
Very soon, the smile on his face disappeared, and even the light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
"Overdrew your power and got hit by the Spirit of Vengeance's retaliatory will?"
Fenris determined Johnny's current condition at a glance.
Mephisto, one of the lords of the Hell Dimension and the true controller of the Ghost Rider's soul contract, was not as obsessed with invading Earth as Dormammu, the lord of the Dark Dimension. But because he liked interfering in everything, he was likewise one of the key targets watched by Earth's sorcerers.
As a result, the library of Kamar-Taj also had no shortage of records about the Ghost Rider.
Fenris frowned helplessly, but in the end, he still reached out to support him.
"Thanks, Fenris. And sorry. I didn't mean it… I really couldn't control myself just now."
Johnny's mind grew increasingly scattered. Forcing his eyes open, he spoke one word at a time.
"Because the Earth Demon was already destroyed by you, when I was chasing Blackheart, I nearly lost against him, the Water Demon, and the Wind Demon together."
"To defeat them, I overdrawed the Spirit of Vengeance's power, but its frenzied backlash swallowed my reason."
"Thankfully, someone saved me and taught me how to control my power…"
At those words, Fenris immediately understood.
"As expected."
As for the person who had saved him…
If nothing unexpected had happened, it was probably the former Ghost Rider, Carter Slade, the man who had forcibly taken the Contract of San Venganza from Mephisto and hidden his identity ever since.
The only question was whether he had given the Contract of San Venganza to Johnny.
That powerful contract was enough to make even someone as strong as Mephisto covet it so desperately. Now that Fenris possessed the same kind of power as him, he wondered…
Just as Fenris's thoughts were racing, the long stretch of high-intensity combat, combined with the backlash from overexertion and the mental burden, finally pushed Johnny's mind to the brink of collapse.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. With his head splitting in pain, Johnny suddenly grabbed Fenris's arm, his face full of apology.
"Sorry, Fenris. That Spirit of Vengeance… I can only take you to find it after some time… later…"
Before he could finish the sentence, Fenris felt his arm grow heavy. Johnny had completely passed out in his arms.
"You really aren't afraid I'll take revenge, are you?"
All Fenris had to do was reach out and squeeze lightly, and Johnny would be erased from the world entirely.
With several powerful forces at his command, even the Spirit of Vengeance would not be able to save Johnny from his hands.
Looking at the battered Johnny, Fenris curled his lip, but in the end, he withdrew his gaze.
With a gentle tremor of the wings behind him, Fenris carried Johnny and turned into golden light that dispersed. The next moment, the two of them appeared in front of Sif and the others.
With the powerful physical constitution of Asgardians, after this period of adjustment and recovery, the burning pain that had sunk deep into their souls finally subsided. Although they were still far from their peak condition, at least they had regained enough strength to pick up their weapons.
Golden light flashed.
Seeing Fenris reappear like a ghost, the others were startled despite having already prepared themselves.
"You lot, if you want to find Thor, come with me."
Fenris's mind was filled with complicated thoughts at the moment, leaving him with no interest in talking to them. As the wings of light turned into drifting specks and scattered, his foot moved, and the next time he appeared, he was already dozens of meters away.
"Keep up."
That quiet command instantly snapped the dazed group awake.
Looking at the back that had deliberately slowed down for them, Sif quickly stepped after him.
At the same time, outside the room where Thor was staying.
Wanda was leaning idly to one side, bored out of her mind. Her eyes kept drifting toward the window from time to time.
"All that noise… Even Emma and Emil ran out to take a look…"
"Why isn't Fenris back yet?"
"Knock!"
"Knock, knock!"
Before her voice had even fallen, the door was lightly knocked on.
"I'm back!"
Wanda's eyes lit up, then quickly calmed again.
After giving a soft snort, she walked forward on tiptoe and opened the door. Fenris's familiar face immediately appeared before her.
"Fenris, you're back?"
The corners of Wanda's mouth lifted slightly. She gave a light cough, but her gaze deliberately passed over Fenris in feigned surprise.
"Huh. I clearly sensed Johnny's aura just now. What, he didn't come back with you?"
"Oh, Johnny has something to deal with. He'll be here soon."
Fenris replied with a smile.
"Aren't you going to let me in first?"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]