Chapter 79: Ghost Rider vs. Blackheart
"How does it feel, Blackheart?"
Harvey looked out at the destroyed remains of the Demon City, his expression apathetic. "To have something you cared about be taken from you. Does it hurt?"
"You'll rue the day you were born, Harvey Miller." Blackheart growled. "Once I'm done with you, I'll personally see to it that everyone you've ever cared about is put through unimaginable torture! They'll be begging me to kill them!"
Turning away from the ruins, Harvey made eye contact with Blackheart. A tense moment of silence hung in the air as the two glared at one another. Harvey transformed into the Ghost Rider in a flash of fire and blurred away.
BAM
Fist met fist as Blackheart and the Ghost Rider stared at each other mid-air. A resounding shockwave shook the ground beneath them, and the enormous skull of the dead Icon of Sin cracked in half.
The two Demons broke off in a blink of an eye. Ghost Rider dashed after Blackheart over the tall rocky mountains close to the giant skull and raised a hand. Hundreds of flaming bullets shot out towards Blackheart. Blackheart flew back and dodged the bullets effortlessly with minimal movements.
Swinging his right across his chest, Blackheart sent an invisible attack that cut off Ghost Rider's forearm—stopping the onslaught of bullets.
Without missing a beat, Blackheart flew towards the Ghost Rider and smacked him towards the ground with the butt of the spear of Longinus.
Crashing into the ground with an explosion of large boulders and a dust shroud. Before Blackheart could start his next move, the sounds of chains rattled from within the dust cloud. Several flaming chains shot out from the dark cloud and flew after Blackheart as if they had a mind of their own.
"How annoying." Blackheart said as he lifted the spear in his grasp. Its brightly glowing blade left a trail of light as it moved.
Moving with sharp and undisciplined movements, Blackheart shattered each incoming chain with slight difficulty. The spear in his hands making quick work of the Ghost Rider's constructs. Unknown to him, a fast-moving shadow zoomed behind him.
"Geh!" Blackheart grunted as he was struck hard, sending him flying to the ground. But before the son of Mephisto could impact the land's hard surface, he summoned several tendrils of purple and black energy to slow his descent.
It was only thanks to his extensive battle experience that Blackheart could sense the incoming attack toward his neck. With a back step, he saw a jagged blade fly in front of his eyes. A long chain was attached to the pommel. It snapped back and pulled the blade back where it came.
Ghost Rider grabbed his blade with ease and raised both hands; it seemed that at some point, he regrew the cut-off forearm back. The two stared at one another, waiting for each other next move.
"Is that all, Ghost Rider? I'm disappointed." Blackheart mocked and raised his spear.
"Not even close." Ghost Rider said and dashed forward.
From there, the two powerful Demons entered a battle of blades. Twin daggers clashed with the bladed end of the legendary spear; it didn't take long to realize who had the more powerful weapon.
CRACK
In a flurry of sparks, the twin jagged blades shattered into pieces after being struck by the sharp glowing spear. Cursing under his breath, Ghost Rider dodged to the side to avoid being stabbed by the spear. It was then that he could inspect the weapon in Blackheart's hands. This was no simple spear.
"The spear of Longinus." Ghost Rider said as he tried dodging and avoiding Blackheart's slashes. His opponent didn't allow him to construct a new weapon; he had to make do with dodging. Considering the weapon being used against him, he couldn't afford to get hit. "A god-killing weapon."
"Ah, it seems you've finally recognized it!" Blackheart said with a grin. Stomping his foot on the ground, several black and purple tendrils of energy shot out of the ground and struck the Ghost Rider's side. Launching him through a tall pillar of rock.
"Yes, the spear that killed Jesus Christ himself." Blackheart boasted as he inspected the glowing spear. "But I've added a new element to this legendary weapon. Augmenting its power, making it especially effective against our kind. I wonder if you'll figure out what is before I kill you!"
As if a bell rang to signify the start of the next round, both combatants rushed each other once again.
Constructing a long Bo staff, Ghost Rider used his weapon's long reach to deflect and parry Blackheart's strikes. As they continued to exchange blows, Ghost Rider noticed his opponent's lack of weapon proficiency. Blackheart's strategy was to use the spear shaft as a blunt weapon and the blade end to try to skewer or slash him.
The only reason he hasn't beaten Blackheart in their fast battle is due to the sheer power that the spear contains. It was dangerous.
Ducking under a horizontal swing, Ghost Rider felt the blade's golden energy fly above him. The energy felt vaguely familiar. Dismissing his staff, Ghost Rider held his palms out towards Blackheart. A flash of orange light burst from his hands, and a blast of concentrated fire shot Blackheart in the chest.
KABAM
Standing up from his crouched position, the spirit of vengeance watched as a Blackheart crashed through a large, jagged mountain. What followed was a giant ball of fire exploding out from where Blackheart made impact. The fireball expanded three miles and slowly dissipated, leaving ash and embers flowing lazily through the air.
A large object shot out from the side of the smoking crater that the fireball created; it was Blackheart. It seemed he survived the blast but sustained several injuries, injuries that were already healing. Roaring in rage, he ran towards him and jumped in the air. That was when Ghost Rider noticed the Longinus spear was no longer in his hands.
"You petulant child!" Blackheart roared and slashed the air in front of him at blinding speeds.
It was the same attack as the one that took off his forearm. They were thin purple arcs of energy; they traveled at speeds almost impossible to track. Summoning his twin-chained daggers, Ghost Rider began slashing and deflecting the hundreds of energy blades. His arms were nothing but blurs as he moved at incredible speeds.
Due to his focus being solely on deflecting the energy, Ghost Rider failed to sense Blackheart's presence until it was too late.
Blackheart grabbed Ghost Rider's flaming skull and dragged his face across the ground, leaving a deep trench behind. It wasn't until the intense flames of his skull became too harsh that Blackheart flew up and spun around quickly with Ghost Rider's skull still in his charred hand.
"How about you go cool off!" Blackheart said as he looked down at his opponent.
With a mighty toss, he sent Ghost Rider flying through the air until he crashed into the large body of lava at the edge of his ruined city. Blackheart looked down at the ocean of lava. He knew that wouldn't be enough to finish Zarathos's container.
Below Blackheart, two enormous hands of lava shot out and clapped towards each other. Crushing Blackheart between them. The hands pressed against each other, creating more tremendous pressure for the trapped Demon.
"GRAH!" A purple ball of energy exploded from within the lava's hands, causing the elemental appendages to splatter and fall apart.
Blackheart breathed deeply as large chunks of muscle and bone were exposed. Steam rose from his wounds as he healed his injuries.
"ACK!" Blackheart gagged as a flaming chain wrapped around his throat tightly.
"Get over here!" Ghost Rider yelled from the cracked ground floor below. His body was covered in flames from being submerged in the lava. With a powerful pull, Blackheart was pulled violently toward the ground, impacting it with a bone-rattling crash.
"I'm beginning to grow tired of this." Blackheart said as he walked out of the large crater he created with his body.
In the distance stood the Ghost Rider; Blackheart's ruined city lay behind him. The spirit of vengeance reached up, grabbed his leather jacket's tattered remains, and ripped it off. It left him in only his black shirt, several cuts lined across its fabric.
"Tell me, do you hate me for killing that Angel? She was your friend, wasn't she?" Blackheart said viciously. "I imagine you did all this in revenge… shall I tell you how she screamed in agony as I ripped the wings off her back?"
Deep inside Harvey's mind, his already damaged psyche grew another crack. Resulting in a small chip falling into the endless abyss of his consciousness. What lay behind was a deep red glow of light; this was an emotion Harvey suppressed after his awakening. It was cold, unyielding rage.
"…I'll make you suffer." Ghost Rider said lowly and dashed towards Blackheart, caution thrown to the wind. All he wanted was to wring the life from Blackheart's eyes.
'Good, be blinded by your anger.' Blackheart thought as he watched the spirit of vengeance grow closer and closer. Ready to spring his trap. 'After all… the one who angers you, controls you.'
Striding to the side, Blackheart watched as a golden spear shot out from within a small purple portal behind him and stabbed itself into the torso of the Ghost Rider. The blade's golden energy swirled from within the stunned spirit of vengeance.
Ghost Rider's flaming transformation slowly disappeared, leaving behind flesh and skin. Harvey made a pained expression as he grabbed the spear's blade tightly, cutting his palms.
"D-Damn, we were careless…" Zarathos said. The spear's mysterious energy was now clear to him. "This energy… it's…"
Harvey's eyes grew wide, and his expression grew pained. Slowly, he looked down at the glowing blade and reached out with his senses.
"A-Amy?" Harvey whimpered.
"Ah, finally!" Blackheart smiled, grabbed the spear shaft, and stabbed it deeper into Harvey's chest, forcing him down to his knees. "You see, the spear of Longinus is indeed mighty. After all, it can take down a god, but its effects against demons aren't quite as strong. So, to rectify that, I infused the blade with the soul of an Angel to fuel it with positive energy! Do you understand now!"
"This spear is housing the soul of the Archangel Chamuel! Making it a first of its kind!" Blackheart laughed like a madman.
Harvey's face grew horrified as he understood the implications of what Blackheart just said. Not only was Amy's life taken away by this Demon, but now she could never fully rest due to her soul being trapped within a weapon.
"Y-You monster." Haven glared hatefully at Blackheart. "You ruthless… heartless… bastard!"
Blackheart chuckled and looked down victoriously at the defeated, bloody form of Harvey.
'It seems this is it, partner… it was an honor…' Zarathos spoke weakly; Harvey tried to respond but couldn't.
Feeling his energy drain away, Harvey felt the Holy energy attacking him from the inside out; his body grew numb due to the loss of blood. Against his wishes, his eyes grew heavier and heavier as his body grew cold. As he was about to succumb to the spear's deadly effects, Harvey felt himself be pulled away.
•••
"Where… am I?"
Opening his eyes, Harvey found himself standing in a bright open space. Warm yellow colors blurred into the bright whites of the space around him. For all its brightness, Harvey didn't find it to be overwhelming. Frankly, he felt at ease and comfortable. He could compare the feeling to waking up midday on a cold winter day, tucked away within the soft embrace of your bed's warm and soft covers.
Looking down, Harvey found himself dressed in the clothes he had worn in his fight against Blackheart. Except the clothes he had on were new and clean. They had none of the cuts and burns from today's battles.
"Am I dead?" Harvey asked calmly and looked around.
"No, you're not." A warm and familiar voice said from behind him.
Slowly, Harvey's eyes grew wide in disbelief. He spun around slowly with numb and trembling knees and saw a figure standing a few feet away. It was a blonde woman with otherworldly beauty. Her warm golden eyes looked happily at him as a broad smile beamed at him. The woman's long white sundress shifted around as she shifted her weight; this brought attention to the white flats on her feet.
"…Amy?" Harvey whispered in apprehension.
"Yes, Harvey… I'm so happy to see you." Amy said with tears at the corners of her eyes, her hand on her chest.
Harvey took a shaky step forward and then another. It wasn't until he wrapped his arms around Amy in a tight hug that he realized that he practically ran towards her. It didn't take long for Amy to hug him back.
"Amy! Amy, I'm-I'm so sorry!" Harvey cried as he held his friend tightly against his chest, her head laying peacefully on his shoulder as she rubbed his back gently.
"Harvey… why are you apologizing?" Amy whispered and backed away slightly from him, keeping her hands on his shoulders and smiling.
"It's all my fault… if it weren't for me, you'd still be alive." Harvey closed his eyes and looked away from Amy's gaze. Shame and regret weighed heavily on him. "Blackheart killed you because of me… I'm so sorry."
Amy shook her head slightly, gently rubbed his tear-stained cheeks, and softly turned his head. "Harvey... look at me."
Harvey couldn't do as she asked at first, but when she repeated herself, he ultimately relented. Amy nodded in satisfaction and brushed away his tears gently.
"You're wrong, Harvey. It's not your fault; it was my choice to fight Blackheart. It was my choice to stall him to give Pietro and Wanda enough time to defeat all the Demons targeting our friends and find you." Amy smiled widely and gave him a thumbs-up. "So stop blaming yourself over what happened! Okay?"
Before Harvey could protest, Amy hugged him again. "I've lived a long life, Harvey. I'm happy I spent my last year sharing many happy memories with you and everyone else."
"What I'm trying to say is… thank you! Thank you for being the person I could call my best friend!" Amy chirped as she pulled away and held his face.
Harvey tried to speak but couldn't articulate any of the emotions or thoughts he was feeling. So he decided to return Amy's smile and nod.
"But it's not time for you to go just yet, Harvs." Amy said as she backed away and placed her hands on her hips. "You still have to look after our friends and protect the innocent! After all, you are the man I placed my trust in!"
"Amy, I can't. Blackhearts spear… it's too powerful." Harvey placed a hand over where he was impaled. "He's using your soul to power it to be extremely lethal to Demons."
"Ah, so that's what he did." Amy said with a hand on her chin, expressing deep thought. With a snap of her fingers, Amy looked at him with a face he was too familiar with. "I got it! I'll give you my positive energy! That way, you'll never be affected by Holy energy again! You'll even be able to use it, too."
Harvey looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Wait! Hold on! How are you going to do that? No, that's not the problem. You can't just give me your positive energy! My bond with Zarathos means my body already has negative energy; having positive energy shoved inside will cause them to clash! It won't work!"
Amy chuckled and looked at him cutely, placing her hands on his head and grinned. "Don't worry about that, Harvs! Let me and Zarathos figure that out! All you have to do is trust me. Trust me and live."
He wanted to deny what she said. What she was proposing was an act that defied nature. However, Harvey shook his head and gave up on the idea. Getting Amy to change her mind once it was set on something was hard. With a heavy sigh, Harvey smiled and looked into Amy's eyes.
"Alright, Amy... I'll trust you."
"Good!" Amy said, satisfied. "One more thing, Harvey. I need you to promise me something. Promise me... that you'll keep protecting the innocent and keep those underserving of the world's evil safe as best as possible. Save everyone you can! Not only as the spirit of vengeance but also as the Angel of justice. Can you do that for me?"
"But what about you? There has to be something we can do!?" Harvey said anxiously. "I-I can bring the spear to Heaven; have Michael bring you back!"
"Harvey... I'm already dead. This is it for me, but I won't let it be the end for you." Amy said softly. "What I asked, Harvey... can you promise me that?"
Harvey stared into Amy's eyes thoughtfully. After a while, he nodded his head, a small, sad smile on his face.
"I promise."
Amy smiled and nodded. Slowly, her hands began to glow with golden energy, and the world around them grew brighter in its light. She then leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, Harvey… I entrust you with my strength and will. Goodbye... my best friend."
Before he could reply, Harvey disappeared, leaving the corporeal plane. Leaving Amy alone in the now flaming environment that was the shared soul space between Harvey and Zarathos. Turning around, Amy smiled at the sight of the large red flaming skull of the Demon Zarathos.
"It's an honor to meet you, Zarathos, finally." Amy greeted with a respectful bow.
"Chamuel." Zarathos nodded and made a thinking expression. "Hmm… I see, so that's what you're proposing."
Amy nodded and placed her hands behind her head. Of course, he already knew what she was about to say. They were both souls within Harvey's body. Nothing was hidden between them. "Yup! So what do you think?"
"What you're proposing should work; Harvey's body is ever-changing. Evolving. He should be able to adapt to your Holy energy without consequences. But… you do know what will happen to you. Don't you?" Zarathos said gravely.
Amy looked down and nodded, not at the least bit bothered. After all, her idea would mean that her soul would amalgamate itself away into Harvey's mind to allow him to properly utilize her positive energy without it having deadly ramifications for his body or soul. Or, in his case, souls.
In conjecture to Zarthos's power stemming from within his Demonic soul, it granted Harvey use of his power that was composed of negative energy. If Amy had to compare it to something, she would say it was like Harvey now had two different batteries he could draw power from. And since neither she nor Zarathos were at odds with each other, the polarizing powers wouldn't cancel each other out.
Holy and Demonic power working together for the first time in history, a truly historic moment. It was only possible because the circumstances were exactly as they were. Otherwise, it would be impossible, unthinkable even.
"I do." Amy nodded, and her body began to glow; golden energy particles rose upwards from her body. Exiting the flaming soul space. "Can I ask you a favor, Zarathos?"
Zarathos watched as Chamuel's body became transparent, the energy particles continuing to rise. "...very well."
"Keep an eye on my friend, okay?" Amy said softly, her voice came out in a whisper.
"I will." Zarathos nodded.
It was now almost impossible to see Amy's body. She nodded thankfully at him and vanished.
Zarathos continued to look at the spot she stood in somberly. An act that he would never think he would do in his life, being bonded to Harvey, has indeed affected him deeply. It made him more… human.
Chuckling, he looked up to where her soul's energy rose into his partner's mind. Its energy and power rested in wait while her soul and memories ceased to exist. She was no longer trapped in a tool of violence. Chamuel was now free.
"Goodbye, Chamuel. May your soul rest in peace."