Duke finally helped as he couldn't run anywhere after being surrounded by the Demon Birds, but Robbie was still concerned about the situation as two Ghost Riders didn't seem to be enough to deal with these Demon Birds!
As a result, Robbie used a strong hellfire attack to create a path for them to escape. Both of them gained some distance, but the Demon Bird chased after them relentlessly! Duke, who didn't care at all before, started to get annoyed and even worried as he now realised that hell wasn't such a lukewarm place.
"What the fuck is happening? Why are there more and more of them!" Duke shouted as the Demon Birds behind them kept increasing in numbers. Honestly, the situation didn't look good at all!
"In Hell, Ghost Rider is every creature's enemy! We are literally the public enemy of hell! From this situation, I think the Demon Birds have some way to deal with us as it wouldn't be necessary for them to do this if we can just reincarnate later! I guess they can stop our regeneration somehow!" Robbie said with clenched teeth.
Robbie frowned as he knew that he was in trouble, and Duke was no different as he didn't know what to do or what the Demon Birds could do to him later, but clearly, he didn't want to find out! Duke kept following Robbie as fast as he could as not to get left behind. He was really scared of what the Demon Birds could do now!
Eventually, Duke started to question everything as hell didn't have a steady concept of time, resulting in him feeling like he was running for a week as the numbness, fatigue, and despair seemed to be amplified several times.
It was fortunate enough for Robbie and Duke that they finally found the bones of several horses in the valley and demonized them into their mount! The real power of Ghost Rider was with their 'rides'. Once they acquired a ride, a car, a mount, a bike, or any transportation mechanism, they could tap into their full potential!
They finally managed to get away from the flocks of Demon Birds and took a breather for a little while, but it didn't last long as a cracking sound in the air was heard, and a huge figure fell from the air, right in front of them both.
Robbie immediately frowned as he already had some information about hell after his first visit. The one that fell in front of them was definitely a real demon, not a creature or any type of animal that lived in hell, but a real living Demon! The demon wore a huge cloak that flutters in the air, a dark red skin wrapping a tight muscular body and a pair of scarlet eyes that was ruthlessly examining Robbie and Duke.
"Come with me!" the demon said coldly.
"What?" Robbie and Duke shouted at the same time instinctively. But suddenly, they felt immense pain from their heart.
"You, bastard!" Robbie said as he raised his head to meet with the demon's eyes. He finally recognised this demon in front of him. In order to fulfill their wishes, they made a contract with a demon and sold their soul. If they ever wanted their soul back, they had to complete the contract. Realizing that the pain that he felt right now was the direct pain to his soul Robbie knew that this demon was the same demon who tricked him in the past!
"Anger, hatred, helplessness, and desperation! Oh, how I longed such an intense emotion! Remember my name now, Human! As I, the Great Hell Lord, Mephisto! You are honoured to see me in my real body and appearance!" Mephisto said as he began to shrink his body back to human size. As he did so, Robbie's and Duke's pain began to subside.
Robbie had one plan to fight against the great demon from hell, and upon recognizing the great demon, he immediately jumped into action as the pain he felt earlier was gone! He lunged forwards and immediately used his Penance Stare at Mephisto!
Mephisto seemed to be defenceless at the moment, so Robbie thought that he could get a jump on him, but Mephisto looked at Robbie and just smirked triumphantly. Robbie was confused, but soon enough, Robbie felt a searing pain in his skull! His body began to emit black smoke like something was burning!
"How does your own power taste like? It seems you didn't understand the content of your contract, which really disappoint me!" Mephisto said with a wide smirk on his face.
Mephisto didn't have a problem fighting against the Ghost Rider even without a contract, as he was confident that he would come out on top! Although the Ghost Rider was an immortal being inside hell, it didn't mean they felt no pain!
Furthermore, any demon lord in hell was extremely selfish and cunning, especially Mephisto, who was infamous as the king of lies and deception. In order to protect himself, or part of him that dealt with the Ghost Rider, he put a clause inside the contract that if the Ghost Rider ever tried to attack the contract holder, the attack would backfire!
Although Mephisto would be forbidden to lay his hands on the Ghost Rider to balance out the contract, it wasn't a big deal for him as he could just send a powerful high ranking demon in his ranks to try to eliminate the Ghost Rider for him!