Seia and the priest’s words hit Johnny like a bolt of lightning, shattering his emotional haze and bringing a faint, hopeful smile to his face.

It was true. While the terms of the contract had brought him nothing but misery, they also offered a glimmer of hope.

If he really could claim a demonic identity through that demon’s child, wouldn’t he finally be able to rid himself of that monster once and for all?

Besides, his chances were incredibly high.

The demon and his offspring clearly didn’t get along, which naturally set the stage for a perfect family betrayal. If Johnny and his allies approached the child expressing a desire to learn the father’s name just to take the old man down, would the kid really say no?

Even the father had sent them to deal with his own son.

As the realization settled in, Johnny’s expression grew vibrant with excitement, his previous despair completely vanishing.

"Then let’s get moving right now!" he said, practically vibrating with anticipation.

"Not yet."

Father Henn shook his head slowly, speaking under Johnny’s bewildered gaze. "As you are now, you can’t control yourself once you take on that form. When the time comes, negotiation will be impossible, let alone asking questions."

This cold dose of reality instantly threw a wet blanket over Johnny’s euphoria.

"Do not worry. You simply need to master your own strength," Seia said, her voice calm and imbued with a reassuring warmth. "The version of you after the transformation is still you. It is just that you are lacking a few things compared to how you are now."

"Lacking things?"

Johnny pondered her words for a moment. "Whenever I turn into that skeleton, all I feel is... rage. An uncontrollable, burning rage..."

"Because that form exists solely for vengeance," Seia explained. "As long as there are innocents suffering and wicked deeds being committed around you, its fury will be endless."

"Is that so..."

Johnny thought back to the robber he had executed with his Penance Stare the previous night.

The situation was exactly as the girl described... wait, no.

"How do you know that?" Johnny asked, suddenly suspicious. The girl had looked like a complete newcomer.

She hadn’t even heard that he didn’t know the name of the demon he signed with, so she shouldn’t have known the specifics of his condition either.

Father Henn also wore a look of surprise.

"In truth, Mr. Blaze’s condition is not an isolated incident." Witnessing their confusion, Seia dropped a bombshell.

"There are others like me?!" Johnny genuinely hadn’t expected this. But if that was the case, why did the priest look completely oblivious?

Oh...

He recalled how the priest had introduced the girl, mentioning she had completed ’more than one classified operation.’

Perhaps his situation fell under the umbrella of those classified operations?

Still, if even a priest from St. Patrick’s Cathedral was kept in the dark, the security clearance for this mission must be incredibly high...

Father Henn reached the same conclusion, and his gaze toward Seia turned to one of profound respect.

As expected of an exorcist specifically dispatched to handle this matter—she already had relevant experience.

Though their assumptions were wide of the mark, Seia didn’t bother to correct them, letting them believe what they wanted.

"So, how do I master this power?" Knowing he wasn’t a freak anomaly, and assuming the Church had a protocol for this, Johnny relaxed slightly.

"It is quite simple."

As Seia spoke, she drew a handgun from the holster strapped to her thigh and pressed the muzzle directly against Johnny’s forehead.

The sudden movement startled both men.

Yet, without offering a single word of explanation, the girl pulled the trigger without a hint of hesitation.

Bang!

It wasn’t the sound of a bullet tearing through flesh and bone, but rather the heavy crack of two solid objects colliding.

The moment the bullet flew from the chamber, Johnny’s human face was instantly engulfed in flames, dissolving to reveal the stark white bone beneath, radiating a heat intense enough to inflict severe burns.

"Ha... what... what is this?"

This time, however, Johnny didn’t lose his mind to the usual uncontrollable fury upon becoming the Ghost Rider.

It wasn’t that the anger was gone, but rather that he could still maintain his sanity alongside it.

He stared blankly into the girl’s eyes, only to find her expression completely unchanged, as if she hadn’t been the one who just pulled the trigger.

"I apologize, but that sudden shock and the instinct to survive were necessary," Seia explained. "The Mimic Holy Grail can awaken a human’s ego, allowing the light of humanity to shine brilliantly at any moment. With its aid, you can retain your human traits, even right now."

Her explanation and her youthful face made Johnny hold back his anger, though he couldn’t help but snap, "If I hadn’t transformed in time, I would have died right here!"

"Do not worry, you would have been fine. The body of the Ghost Rider is exceptionally powerful. Though you look human, you are already invulnerable to bullets and blades."

Anticipating his displeasure, Seia offered an apologetic look. "Under the influence of the Mimic Holy Grail, you cannot force a transformation through the curse, and you don’t yet know how to trigger it willingly. Relying on your survival instinct to transform was the simplest and fastest method."

"So if you had told me beforehand that I’d be fine, the psychological trigger wouldn’t have worked... is that it?"

Johnny sighed. He understood the logic, but still...

It was better to just move on to the next topic.

"Am I supposed to start getting used to this demonic power now that I’ve transformed?" He wasn’t stupid; the current situation naturally led him to that conclusion.

"Yes. Using this power is essentially no different from wielding holy energy. Perhaps Father Henn can act as your teacher in this regard?" Seia turned her gaze to the priest beside them.

But Father Henn was completely paralyzed with shock.

What did she mean by ’essentially no different from wielding holy energy’? This was a demon’s power. How could an unholy force be no different from divine energy?

However, Seia wouldn’t just make things up. Furthermore, based on her tone, this wasn’t an isolated case, meaning her conclusion had already been verified.

But how could such a conclusion ever be verified?

Holy energy was a power reserved strictly for believers, angels, and God Himself. Any evil spirit or fiend from hell should be purified by it.

Father Henn suddenly remembered how ineffective the silver crucifix and the exorcising holy flames had been against this fiery skeleton—no, this Ghost Rider. Even the blessed silver bullet Seia had just fired did little damage...

Though Seia used the word ’Ghost’ in his title, was this creature truly an evil spirit?

"Father Henn?"

Seeing him spaced out, Seia called out to him.

"Ah... yes. While I am not a professional exorcist, I do have some insights into the utilization of holy energy." After all, it was something all clergy had to study. Even if he wasn’t as proficient as a dedicated exorcist, he wasn’t completely clueless.

Forcing down the shock in his heart, Father Henn managed to speak. "Leave that part to me." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

--+--

T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL