Chapter 185: Annihilation

The Daredevil was severely injured, with his eye sockets spewing raging flames... He let out a piercing shriek from the Spirit of Vengeance, a sound so intense, it reverberated through the basement of Star Ring Tower like a tangible shockwave...

Feeding on the absorbed souls of the wicked, the surging power within him roared like a raging river. Daredevil suddenly threw his head back, and spewed a torrent of fire from his mouth (like a flamethrower) directed straight at the Sentinel.

The distance between them was too close for evasion. The Spirit of Vengeance cackled with glee... It had sensed the overwhelming darkness within this man.

The stench of sin was so thick it dwarfed even the Black Sky that once resided in Elektra's body. The seven deadly sins from religious texts; excessive selfishness and suffocating darkness, all of it coalesced into an intoxicating aroma, like a delicious pastry luring in hungry eyes.

"…You are more terrifying than any demon. I can feel it, your madness, your greed, your desire to trample the entire world beneath your feet!" The Spirit of Vengeance roared madly.

Its flames twisted like a dragon, and emitted a scorching heat that was akin to a furnace. The spirit was hellbent on reducing the Sentinel to ashes, "Arrogant fool! Tyrant! Schemer! Madman! Your sins are boundless! Face the judgment of hellfire!"

Inside the Sentinel armor, Sean's eyes flickered with disdain. From their earlier clash, he already knew the so-called 'hellfire' was nothing more than smoke and mirrors, an illusion of spiritual torment, a burning sensation inflicted upon the soul.

The Penance Stare of the Ghost Rider wasn't infallible. At least, not against him.

The so-called hellfire was merely a weapon designed to counter demons, which was later modified by Mephisto and paired with a living weapon (an angel) to create the Spirit of Vengeance, a hunter of darkness and slayer of fiends.

All it needed was a suitable host to manifest as the Ghost Rider.

The void trembled faintly as a visible golden energy field expanded into a semicircular barrier.

The two forces collided violently, causing shockwaves to erupt and tear the cramped basement apart. Debris and stored items were obliterated in an instant.

Controlling Daredevil's body, the Spirit of Vengeance unleashed its fury and spewed flames so intense, they threatened to illuminate the entire underground space.

Breaking free from the Sentinel's grip, the inferno surged like a raging dragon. Against anyone else, the heat alone would have evaporated bodily fluids and reduced them to a desiccated husk.

In the dark spaces clinging to the material world, there existed spectral beings, entities once revered as angels or demons in humanity's ignorant past and recorded in religious texts.

Stripped of mysticism, from a scientific perspective, they were merely beings with powerful soul-magnetic fields. Without physical forms, they could traverse dimensional rifts freely. They could even directly manipulate the elemental energies of the material world.

The scorching flames battered against the golden barrier, filling the air with the stench of sulfur. Eerie, spine-chilling shrieks echoed, attempting to inflict psychological damage.

The Spirit of Vengeance poured on the assault, but Daredevil had long since lost consciousness, his body now a mere puppet.

"You're not qualified to judge me." Sean's voice was almost playful as he stood firm and unshaken, like a mountain.

The Ghost Rider, forged by Mephisto, was a being whose flesh burned away under hellfire, leaving behind a skeletal frame of unyielding resilience.

Driven by the Spirit of Vengeance, it wielded supernatural abilities; defying natural laws, burning in water or vacuum, searing souls with its flames, and enchanting anything it touched... like Johnny Blaze's ghostly, skull-faced motorcycle that gleamed with metallic menace.

But most importantly, the Ghost Rider possessed the Penance Stare, a power feared by demons and sinners alike.

Through its hellfire-lit gaze, it could peer into souls and force targets to relive the pain they had inflicted upon others, delivering divine retribution.

Yet now, as the hollow eye sockets blazed, fixed upon the Sentinel, the Ghost Rider sensed something amiss...

This man was not innocent. His soul was far from pure, his hands stained with blood. But when the Penance Stare activated… Nothing happened...

No sins reflected back. No torment inflicted.

Despite the overwhelming aura of corruption that should have driven the Spirit of Vengeance into a frenzy, the Sentinel's soul remained untouched.

"I may not be a good man, but don't mistake me for evil. My soul isn't pure, but it is absolute. Hellfire alone won't break my will." Golden energy surged, and resisted the relentless onslaught of hellfire.

Sean stepped forward, closing in on the flaming skull of the Ghost Rider. Through those hollow, burning eyes, he saw two entwined souls; one belonging to Daredevil, Matt Murdock, the other to the ravenous Spirit of Vengeance.

"Hey, Matt." Sean smiled.

"…You can't kill me!" Daredevil's consciousness flickered weakly, while the Spirit of Vengeance roared in defiance.

The fiery specter possessing the human shell was the true Ghost Rider.

"I am eternal!" It cackled, taunting the Sentinel.

Even if Daredevil's body was destroyed, the Spirit of Vengeance would not die. It would be reborn in hellfire, seeking a new host.

"Oh, really?" Sean raised his hand.

Golden energy erupted, annihilating the hellfire like a beam of pure destruction.

The entire block trembled as if stampeded by ten thousand wild horses. The towering skyscraper swayed violently. Golden light (bright as a newborn sun) exploded outward, radiating endless heat and power.

Sean gripped the flaming skull and slammed the Ghost Rider into the ground like a hydraulic pile driver.

The earth shattered beneath the impact, forming a deep, human-shaped crater. Cracks spiderwebbed across the hardened bones as agony jolted Matt back to consciousness.

"Maybe I'll gift-wrap you for the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj." The cold words cut like a blade.

The golden torrent, relentless as an energy cannon, pounded the hellfire-clad skeleton.

A sickening...

*Crack!*

...echoed.

The Ghost Rider was on the verge of annihilation...