16 Chronicle XVI: Malicious entity (2/2)

The sound of the motorcycle echoed through the dark streets of the night, which was guarded by Daniel in his Ghost Rider form. In the past few days, the demons had increased their attack rate, and because of this he could hardly sleep. His mother insisted on asking the reason for his insomnia, since he returned home late at night and with visible bags under his eyes. By lying to her, she found a way for her to be satisfied with her answer, so she didn't ask any more. However, she told him to take care of herself and try to get more sleep. According to her, a teenager should not have so little sleep.

Daniel felt horrible lying to her. But what was better? Tell him the truth, how his adopted son became a demon? No. The Johnson family was Christian, if they found out, she didn't want to imagine how they would react. He lately spent little time at home due to the increase of demonic beings in the city, but he still had time to spend with his family.

Anyway, in these hours remaining until dawn, he inspected every corner of the city but found nothing that required his attention, so at last, he could take a well-deserved rest. He headed home, undoing his transformation as it progressed. Driving slowly, enjoying the morning breeze, she heard her phone ring, with the ringtone she assigned to his mother.

Frowning, wondering why that was, she took the call.

- Mom? I'm coming back, the job took a lot more than-

Suddenly he stopped. He listened intently to what her mother was telling him, and his eyes widening when she finished. Suddenly cutting off the call, he accelerated his motorcycle at full speed, earning insults from the other drivers and civilians passing by.

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Some time after the sun rose, Daniel arrived home. Some police cars caught his attention, located right in front of his house. He could visualize Elizabeth's mother, crying on the shoulder of her adoptive mother who comforted her while hugging her, and next to them, were his brother and his father. The adult was talking to an officer, and Rex listened to the conversation holding his father's hand, a sad expression on his face.

Concern began to hover over the teenager. With a screeching brake, he stepped off his motorcycle as all eyes turned to him. He quickly approached both mothers, but before he could say anything, Elizabeth's mother took him by her shoulders, crying uncontrollably.

-Please tell me you know where she is! -she begged, bathed in tears- Tell me she's fine, tell me you know something, Daniel, please... Please...

Saying those words, she collapsed on the boy's chest, crying, knowing that no one could have any clues as to where her daughter was. Dante hugged the woman, trying to comfort her as he looked at his family, who shared the woman's emotions.

Some hours passed. All this time, the police continued with the investigation, questioning the Johnsons and the neighbors, to see if anyone managed to observe anything or have any clues. On the other hand, Daniel embarked on his own search after being interrogated.

One of the advantages of Sophia's power is that unlike Justino and the powers of the Ghost Rider himself, she could place innocent souls in danger. As the Riders felt evil and guilt, Sophia gave him the power to feel innocence and purity, along with any change that disturbed that soul in any way.

However, to his bad luck, that power was one of the ones he discovered recently, and it was not mastered at all. He couldn't locate the soul he wanted, and besides, thousands of pure souls, like those of babies, obstructed his search.

He walked all around, frustrated that he wasn't getting anything, until he did. A demonic stench stood out from the others, so without wasting time he headed for the source.

When he arrived, the smell grew stronger. And next to him, a familiar feeling came to the teenager. Some demons could leave a hint of their embodied power in some places, objects or people, both intentionally and unintentionally.

And the presence that he felt, was already one that he felt before.

Aaron Crane.

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Aaron Crane rejoiced at the attention he was receiving in the middle of high school. Surrounded by beautiful girls and cool guys, he couldn't be more pleased with himself. Acting, he welcomed the compliments of the girls and invitations to go out between friends of the boys, with the excuse that he had to go.

Until an angry, terrifying presence loomed behind him, silencing everyone and sending the shivers down their spines, Crane included.

- Crane.

The redhead turned just in time to receive a punch to the face, which sent him to the ground with incredible force, spending a few seconds in the air before landing on the ground. Not a single scream came out of the students' mouths, all of them scared by the aura that Daniel Williams was emanating at that moment.

Crane put a hand to his bloody, probably broken nose. Without even having time to get up, he was grabbed by his shirt by two hands, suddenly lifting him off the ground and held in the air. Looking at his assailant, he laughed a little.

- Oh... Hello, Daniel~...- the boy sang, with a half smile.

Before the shocked and frightened eyes of the institute, Dante had grabbed the redhead with an expression of uncontrollable fury, He seemed ready to kill him at any moment.

- Where is she?! -the boy shouted, furious- Where is Elizabeth?!

-Oh, sorry, who are we talking about? I don't remember well the faces of incompetent humans...

The grip tightened, letting out an uncomfortable groan at him as he held his smile.

- Where. Is. She.? -he asked again, but this time with the deep and gloomy voice of Zarathos, causing terror and nerves to all those present. Although his rival did not seem to have that effect- Tell me now before I break all your fucking bones and send you straight to Hell!

-Hmm...No, I don't think I will...But hey! Have you tried around the docks? Maybe she's taking a bath!

The redhead maintained a smile full of mockery, delighting in that look of desperation and fury from his rival.

Oh hell, how he enjoyed it.

Finally, Daniel yanked the boy away from him roughly, eliciting a groan of pain from him.

- If something happened to her…-he warned - I'll fucking kill you, Crane!

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Meanwhile, in Hell...

Elizabeth was terrified.Her legs were shaking like a sheet of paper and she was sweating cold, being watched by vile and horrible demons was not a pleasant feeling of course.The screams of excitement and debauchery tormented her, making her cry with fear. All she wanted was to go home.

Suddenly, silence. An immense one was present, however that fear was still palpable in the environment, and it was much greater than before.

A firm back and a determined posture sent a shiver down the spine of the poor girl, who felt her tears increase from the fear that ran through her body. In front of her, Astaroth took a seat, and outlined a smile that made her step back unconsciously...

- Don't be afraid, Elizabeth... I'll make sure nobody does anything to you...-the emperor's features widened, showing his sharp teeth-.You must be wondering why you're here. If this place is real, if we are real... If this is nothing more than a vile and passing dream.

Her toothy grin disappeared.

- Let me tell you this is real. We are real, authentic, true demons. And you, you are in my kingdom... Hell. It must be shocking, right? Worship the one your people call God, hoping that, when you die, you get to Heaven... And suddenly, find yourself in Hell.

Before continuing, Astaroth laughed deeply, and the surrounding demons joined his laughter, scaring the poor girl even more.

- But as I said, no one is here to hurt you. In fact, no one will do anything to you. We brought you here... Simply to show you the truth...

Despite the fear, a curious gleam came into her eyes, making the Emperor smile.

- I see you're curious... Ah, I had forgotten how ambitious and curious humans can be. Before I start my story, I'm assuming you know Daniel Williams... Oh, I forgot, he's going for Daniel Johnson now, right?

The girl's surprise was all he needed in response.

-I can feel the love you have for him... The love you feel when you're next to him...- he smiled wildly-It's exquisite...- she added, approaching the girl-. But your love is nothing to him. All this time, he's been lying to you.

The pain in Elizabeth's face and heart told the demon that her power was working. Like other demons, Astaroth had an ability of his own. Like the Seven Deadly Sins, who acted according to what his title represented, the Emperor did the same.

Asmodeus was Lust. Lucifer was Pride. Astaroth was the Torment.

Pain that a person could feel was his specialty. Through his power, a single word could awaken that feeling and manipulate it to his whim. He could manipulate his feelings, achieving things that initially, the affected person would not say or do. That was his power, his primal ability. And Elizabeth was victim of it.

- You want to know why he takes you away from his side. Why you don't tell each other anything anymore. The reason he changed. He hides things from you, human. Dark secrets, and if you found out about them, his plan would fail. Daniel Williams was never human. He is one of the most dangerous demons in Hell, Elizabeth. You know something is wrong with him, you always knew.

The girl's mind began to cloud, as did her feelings. She little by little was being affected by Astaroth.

- He told you himself, didn't he? That day in church, as children... You asked him if he believed in the Devil. You didn't get an immediate response, but you saw it in his eyes. You remember what he told you, right?

- I-I...

Ashtaroth smiled. She had fallen prey to his power.

- Tell me, Elizabeth. Tell me what he said.

Tears fell from the eyes of the blond-haired beauty, influenced by the Torment. The pain she felt was getting stronger.

- H-He s-said... T-That he had already s-seen h-him... - she answered, crying.

Astaroth's smile widened, congratulating the girl. With a wave of her hand, a hidden figure took flight, leaving Hell and beginning its true hunt.

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Dante stopped his motorcycle in front of an abandoned warehouse. The scent and remnants of Aaron Crane's power in his Vengeance form led him there. The sky was beginning to darken after so much time looking for the right place. Turns out Crane wasn't an idiot, and he left traces of his power all over the warehouses in town, covering up the right one and causing the teen to drive all over town in a waste of time.

He kicked the door to pieces and entered, transforming into the Ghost Rider ready for any attack.

However, there was nothing and no one. The place was desolate. The Rider scanned the warehouse, confused and frustrated that there was nothing. He paused under a window, focusing on the presences he detected. Until suddenly, a demonic presence entered his range.

A shadow covered the window, obscuring the little light that was left and bursting into the warehouse, trying to crush the Ghost Rider who moves out of the way by throwing himself to the side.

The gray winged demon let out a roar that shattered the glass in the windows and shook the warehouse. As fast as the avenging spirit stood up, he swung at it with his tail, sending it flying through the wall.

With the force of the blow, the Rider went through walls, buildings and cars, scaring the few civilians walking around. He grunted as he saw that he was sunk inside the car.

Using his own superhuman strength, he split the car in two, managing to get out of it, only for the demon to lunge at him and grab him by the shoulders, taking flight once more.

Both supernatural beings traveled on the clouds, dealing blow after blow. The first chance he got, the Ghost Rider broke free and climbed up to his wings and ripped them off, plummeting to the ground.

Transport and passenger collided brutally with the ground, scaring the civilians who were wandering around the area calmly. With all the common sense in the world, they were stunned in place instead of running, especially when they visualized a demon with its wings torn off and a burning skeleton.

Speaking of the beast, it gave a loud roar, so loud that it broke the windows of nearby buildings and businesses, turning furiously on the one responsible for his pain. The Rider acted, entangling his chains around his neck. The hellfire from his hands traveled through his weapons to the demon, setting it on fire. Then he loosened his grip on the chains and was propelled forward; him hitting the winged beast with both feet smashing it to the ground.

In a jump, the Ghost Rider moved away from his enemy. Lacing his chains around his wrists to get more grip, he yanked his weapons and lifted the beast off the ground, smashing it viciously onto the concrete. He didn't end there, though. He again yanked the chains from him and smashed the demon's head to the ground.

So he continued for a few moments, taking out his anger against the demonic being. His fury grew second by second. They dared to kidnap Elizabeth and attack him from behind on top of her like bloody cowards? Damn bitches!

The demon stopped his beating by crushing the cement with his hands, forcing himself free, which he managed. With tremendous force he snapped the chains, sending the Ghost Rider reeling. With that short interval of time, he regenerated his wings and tried to reach the sky, only for the hellish chains to bind to his legs this time.

Despite his strength, the Rider was thrown out of the concrete where he was standing due to a powerful flapping of the beast's wings, so both of them entered the land of the air again. The journey did not last long, because with a quick movement, the demon cut the chains with its claws and hit the avenging spirit with a powerful punch charged with demonic power.

The result was painful for the spirit of vengeance. He impacted with a crash in a construction zone, against the sand, causing a curtain of the same material to rise. The demon landed a couple of seconds later, and let out a grotesque little laugh at the deplorable state of his opponent.

The Ghost Rider's hands clenched tightly, dragging sand into his palms, seized with uncontrollable rage. A bestial growl escaped his skeletal lips as he stood up. The beast's derisive laughter was unpleasant. He couldn't stand that damn laugh. His black eye sockets fixed on his opponent, who was still laughing, and lit up red. An intense red and full of brightness.

The winged beast stopped his laughter at this, surprised.

- 𝔻𝕚𝕖.

Suddenly the Rider unleashed a crimson flamethrower at the beast, incinerating it and making it roar in immeasurable pain.

Without wasting time, he attacked. He landed a punch to the enemy's stomach, then a backhand, and to finish, he unleashed all his fury in a beating on the demon, hitting his head with absolute and total brutality with his fists, again and again. The flames on his head and hands momentarily changed color from orange to red as he destroyed his enemy. However, the demon was still alive, so the Ghost Rider decided to finish it off with what he knew best.

Punish.

He took the demon spawn's head in both hands and locked eyes with his. His eyes glowed brighter, illuminating everything around him in a reddish color.

His fury at past events influenced that moment. Instead of the demon´s eyes burn, his entire body burned. An intense flame engulfed his entire being, horribly agonizing, until not a single ash of the devil remained.

The flames subsided, and the only thing left was the Ghost Rider. He had won, but the fury did not go away. His fists clenched helplessly, and his flames turned a very dark red. Releasing the rage from him, he let out a devastating roar, worthy of a demon beast.

Unknown to him, two beings watched everything that had happened.