Chapter 44: Marvel Bugs Nullified
Two burning titans clashed with cataclysmic fury, one stood over 300 meters tall, engulfed in the Eternal Flame that would never extinguish. The other, once noble, now a damned Spirit of Vengeance consumed by the Hellfire of Mephisto's enslavement.
The sheer force of their battle was nothing short of apocalyptic. And the outcome was brutally one-sided.
Ghost Rider was obliterated.
Even his iconic motorcycle was cleaved into molten fragments by Surtur's wrath.
"My ride..."
The flames atop Ghost Rider's skull flickered. His voice was low and seething with rage.
"Scrap metal,"
Surtur snarled with a guttural laugh, gripping one of the Nine Realms' mightiest weapons, the Twilight Sword, a blade rivaling even Gungnir itself. With a lazy swing, he shredded the motorcycle to smoldering wreckage.
Now, all of Earth, and indeed the entire solar system, trembled beneath Surtur's oppressive presence.
As his infernal aura spread across the World Tree, ancient deities and forgotten races stirred, jolted by his resurgence.
"That stench of fire... it's our ancestral nemesis! The bane of the Frost Giants... He's returned?"
"The destroyer who once rivaled Odin himself? Why has he reawakened?! And where is Odin's response?!"
"Why does he walk among mortals now...?"
"The Realms whisper that Odin may have been defeated, by a human from Midgard!"
Waves of divine thought surged through the cosmos. Panic. Awe. Dread.
This was the Fire Giant who once stood toe-to-toe with Peak Odin, a breath away from becoming Supreme Ruler of the Nine Realms, until his Eternal Flame was ripped from him, his final battle lost, and Odin rose as the Allfather.
Earth, this fragile blue world, could not possibly contain the full weight of Surtur's power.
Against such a monstrosity, the inexperienced Ghost Rider was utterly outmatched. Not even his cheat-code-tier ability, the Penance Stare, could faze Surtur. The fire giant's strength and mental resolve were simply too vast.
"Enough. My loyal servant, stand down. I have questions for this... knight of justice."
Martin stepped forward, his stride calm, his voice composed, so infuriatingly composed that Surtur almost felt tempted to deck him on instinct.
The fire giant barely restrained his fury, opening his mouth to reply, only for Martin to cut him off with commanding finality:
"Silence, my servant."
Surtur choked on his own rage, his infernal flame roaring into the upper atmosphere, searing through the clouds with explosive force.
Ghost Rider, battered and scorched, perked up at the authoritarian tone. The flames on his skull flared with renewed intensity, he looked excited.
"You reek of sin."
The Spirit of Vengeance stood tall again. His Hellfire instantly repaired his broken body, and his menacing aura flared once more. He took a step toward Martin.
"You, sinner. Look into my eyes."
He seized Martin by the shoulders, hollow eye sockets locking onto his target.
In that moment, the Penance Stare activated.
Martin's past surged forth like an unstoppable flood; scenes of slaughter, conquest, and cosmic devastation flickering past in a hellish montage. The Rider bore witness to it all.
This was Ghost Rider's most feared and broken power, what many fans once dubbed the ultimate "Marvel bug." One look, and all of a target's past sins would be laid bare. Their soul, judged by the brutal laws of Hell itself, would be ripped from their body in an instant.
No matter how powerful the being, even a Skyfather-level god, one misstep could mean damnation.
Worse yet, the criteria for what counted as "sin" was infuriatingly arbitrary...
"These... These crimes... You've directly slaughtered over a hundred million, and caused the deaths of billions more!"
"You wretched human! You must atone for your mountain of sins!"
Even Ghost Rider was shaken. He saw a swarm of souls, wailing in agony, reaching out to him, pleading for deliverance.
He saw Martin massacre legions of soldiers...
He saw Martin commit genocide on an entire nation, all for Vibranium mining rights...
He saw Martin instigate a war with Odin over some absurd cause, resulting in the destruction of stars, the annihilation of entire planets, and untold cosmic tragedies...
This... this was unlike anything the Spirit of Vengeance had ever judged before.
And he was loving it.
The normally cold, stoic Rider was visibly trembling with exhilaration. His flaming skeletal hands clutched Martin's shoulders with an iron grip, terrified that this walking cataclysm of sin might escape.
"Human... you shall forever dwell in a prison of guilt, your soul condemned to suffer the price of your sins."
His eyes widened, hellish suction pulling with terrifying force, undetectable to bystanders, but targeting Martin's soul directly.
He was confident. No one, nothing, had ever survived a full-force Penance Stare.
In other words, this sinful man was finished.
Even gods fell.
Even Mephisto himself couldn't intervene.
This... was the end.
And then—
Snap!
Martin calmly raised his arms, seizing both of Ghost Rider's wrists. With terrifying strength, he began to squeeze.
A sickening crunch echoed out. The Rider's wrists cracked under the pressure, brittle bones grinding like dry branches.
"What's wrong, clown?"
Martin's voice was low, and smiling, a predator humoring prey.
"Is your little morality play over?"
He raised his head, that unsettling grin still plastered on his face.
"You talk to me of sin? A Conqueror?"
"Every act of slaughter I commit... every world I purge... every order I give... I do it with reverence. With devotion."
"I exist to conquer. To annihilate any who stand before me. That's what gives me joy. That is my very nature."
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]