- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 486
“Since that’s the case…”
Leo opened his mouth in the direction of the Ghost Rider below and roared:
“Disarm!”
A deafening dragon’s roar erupted from Leo’s mouth, covering the entire island, including both Ghost Rider and Mephisto.
The two of them, caught within the roar, had their weapons ripped from their grasp—Mephisto’s staff was flung out of his hand, and Johnny’s chain was torn away.
Using magic to counter magic was the best approach.
“Slow down time!”
The second roar followed immediately after, altering the time flow on the island.
Taking advantage of this, Leo teleported behind both the Ghost Rider and Mephisto.
“Dimensional Rift!”
With a single punch, a spatial rift appeared, instantly sucking both of them in and banishing them to a remote part of the universe, countless light-years away from Earth.
Since they couldn’t be killed, banishment was the next best option!
Although the Ghost Rider was troublesome, the real problem was the Hell Lord, Mephisto.
So, while it seemed like Leo was fighting Ghost Rider, he was actually waiting for the right moment to deal with both of them at once.
“I wonder if this will work.”
Watching as Ghost Rider and Mephisto vanished from the island, Leo didn’t immediately leave, nor did he release Wanda from the Tsukuyomi world.
He wasn’t entirely sure whether this method of banishment would work against the two of them.
Sure enough, his concern was justified. About a minute later, a circle of hellfire suddenly appeared on the island, and Ghost Rider and Mephisto emerged once more.
“That was close! We almost didn’t make it back!” Mephisto exclaimed, patting his chest in mock relief. “Good thing we took a quick trip to Hell and then came back.”
In reality, Mephisto wasn’t nearly as frightened as he appeared. He was only pretending to mock Leo.
“Alright, Johnny, finish him!” Mephisto urged.
Hellfire on the Ghost Rider surged, doubling in intensity as he looked at Leo and said with difficulty:
“Be careful of this next strike. If you’re hit, it’s certain death.”
“The Penance Stare, is it?”
Leo immediately guessed.
The Ghost Rider’s most powerful attack was the Penance Stare.
It was a technique that maximized the use of hellfire and soul energy. By locking eyes with his target, the Ghost Rider would burn their soul with hellfire.
The more sins the target had committed, the more powerful the attack. The fewer the sins, the weaker the effect. If the target was sinless, they would be immune.
Even though Leo believed his own soul was strong, he knew the Penance Stare wouldn’t be something he could easily withstand.
However, in that moment, he had already come up with a countermeasure:
“Deep down, you know Mephisto isn’t trustworthy. How about this—I have a way to help you extract the Spirit of Vengeance from your body, as long as you can suppress it for a while and keep it from resisting.”
Killing the Ghost Rider wasn’t an option, and banishing him wasn’t working either. Truly getting rid of him was proving to be a headache.
That’s when Leo thought of a good solution.
He could separate the Spirit of Vengeance from Johnny Blaze’s body. Only then could he break Ghost Rider’s immortality.
Without the Spirit, Johnny would just be an ordinary human, and without a host, the Spirit of Vengeance couldn’t manifest its power.
But separating the Spirit of Vengeance wouldn’t be easy. It required Johnny’s cooperation, and Mephisto was still watching closely, ready to interfere.
“You really can separate it from me?”
Hearing Leo’s words, Johnny, who had been preparing to unleash the Penance Stare, stopped in his tracks, forcibly suppressing the Ghost Rider.
He had never truly trusted Mephisto to release him from the curse.
But besides Mephisto, who else could help him?
Even though he didn’t believe Mephisto would set him free, as long as he only killed the guilty, Johnny held onto a sliver of hope and cooperated with Mephisto.
However, if the person standing in front of him could offer him true freedom, it seemed far more reliable than Mephisto.
The only thing that made Johnny hesitate was the overwhelming sense of sin radiating from Leo’s body.
Leo saw Johnny’s hesitation and spoke up:
“You’ve probably heard of me. I’m the chairman of Li Corporation, the Dark Sorcerer who once stopped an alien invasion of Earth, and a friend to many Avengers.
“The reason you see so much sin on me isn’t because I’ve killed humans. It’s because I’ve killed many aliens.”
The well-established “good guy” reputation that Leo had cultivated came in handy once again.
“So, it’s you. Alright, I’ll trust you!”
Hearing Leo reveal his identity, Johnny immediately set aside his doubts.
When not in his Ghost Rider form, Johnny lived among ordinary people, so he naturally knew of the famous Li Corporation.
The company had developed various treatments and affordable medicines, saving many impoverished lives. Leo, as its chairman, was a globally renowned philanthropist.
As for the Dark Sorcerer who saved Earth and defeated the aliens, Johnny was well aware of him, too—he had been in New York during that time.
“Johnny, don’t listen to his lies! No one but me can free you! If you follow my orders and kill him, I swear I’ll let you go free!” Mephisto called out, walking toward them with his staff in hand.
He didn’t believe Leo could separate the Spirit of Vengeance, but just in case, it was best to prevent such a thing from happening.
“I’m willing to give it a try!”
Johnny roared, forcing his will to suppress the Spirit of Vengeance. He reverted to his human form, relinquishing his Ghost Rider state.
Seeing Johnny actually trust Leo, Mephisto let out a cold snort:
“It seems the little puppet wants to break free from its master’s control. That’s never a good thing.”
“Mephisto, I know you want to stop me,” Leo said with a smile. “But you can’t, because soon, you’ll be banished back to Hell.”
Despite Mephisto’s threat, Leo remained calm.
As a Hell Lord, Mephisto was cunning and powerful. Even outside his Hell dimension, Leo didn’t feel confident about defeating him.
But if he couldn’t do it, there was someone who could.
This was the backup plan he had prepared all along.
In a flash, Leo disappeared from the island, only to reappear a moment later, this time with a companion.
“Sorcerer Supreme, this is the guy—he calls himself Mephisto, Lord of Hell.”
Indeed, Leo’s backup plan was none other than the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One.
After all, both he and Wanda were allies of Kamar-Taj. So, when faced with a dimensional demon invading Earth, it made perfect sense to call on the Ancient One for help.
(End of chapter)