Looking at the young girl standing before him, Johnny’s gaze grew incredibly complex. If what the old man said held true, then Seia was undoubtedly over a hundred and fifty years old.

"So that’s how it is."

Johnny’s words left Seia momentarily bewildered, but after catching a glimpse of the future, she understood exactly why he had said it.

The reason was simple: that contract was something the future Seia had taken with her when she traveled to the past. Before she ever made that journey, the contract existed in a state of absolute nothingness in the real world.

As far as hiding something went, there was no method more absolute than this.

Now fully understanding the situation, Seia offered Johnny a gentle smile. "I do know where the contract is. However, the moment you take possession of it, you must bear the consequences, Mr. Blaze."

"Consequences?"

"Yes. From that moment on, you will have to guard the contract yourself. This means you will face a never-ending cycle of pursuit and harassment by the demon bound to you."

"I understand. Take me to it."

The somewhat worn-out, despondent middle-aged man didn’t show a single flicker of fear. Instead, he answered with absolute resolve—he had prepared himself for this long ago.

At first, he had genuinely wondered if he should just leave this matter to the Church. But... in the end, he was the one who had signed the contract, and he was the one who had inadvertently caused his father’s death. He could never find peace with that, nor could he ever return to the life of an ordinary man.

He would fight that demon to the bitter end. If the creature wanted to hunt him down, then he would gladly use the opportunity to glean more information.

Even if it meant walking away from the woman he loved.

Sensing Johnny’s unshakable resolve, Seia didn’t waste any more breath trying to dissuade him. Right before his eyes, she opened a golden ’door.’

It had no frame, appearing as nothing more than a luminous gateway floating in the air. Yet, there was nothing eerie about it; rather, it radiated a deep sense of harmony and sacred tranquility.

"This is...?!"

Johnny couldn’t help but look at Seia, only to find to his utter astonishment that a pair of animal ears had sprouted from her head, and a halo hovered above her.

Setting the animal ears aside for a moment, the symbolism of the halo was glaringly obvious.

"This is the Sanctuary, a realm where only angels and the Lord may tread. You can think of it as a ’passage’ connecting the material world to Heaven," Seia explained.

"Concepts of time and space do not exist here. If we want to retrieve the Contract of San Venganza, we must travel to the specific time where it resides."

Once she put it that way, Johnny more or less understood.

"So you’re saying we’re going to use this Sanctuary to travel to the past...? Wait, no! While that’s incredibly important, what exactly is going on with you? Are you actually an angel?"

By this point, given that demons explicitly existed, Johnny naturally wouldn’t doubt the existence of angels.

He just hadn’t expected that the person standing right in front of him would turn out to be one.

And furthermore...

"If only angels and God can enter the Sanctuary, what am I supposed to do? Or are you going by yourself?" Johnny pressed.

He had a barrage of questions, but Seia showed no signs of impatience, explaining them one by one. "Mr. Blaze, you can consider me an agent of a certain angel. As for entering the Sanctuary, you need not worry. If you are in your Ghost Rider state, you will be able to step inside."

He could enter while in his Ghost Rider state? For real?

A demon entering the Sanctuary... is that even possible? It sounds completely absurd...

Johnny’s expression became rather bizarre.

"Allow me to correct my previous statement," Seia added. "Rather than saying only angels and God can enter, it would be more accurate to say that only pure souls are permitted. Although you are known as the Ghost Rider, your pure essence is no different from that of an angel."

"...Huh?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Pure? Really?

"Of course, this time I must ask that you do not let your human heart interfere with your Ghost Rider persona, Mr. Blaze. Try to return to your primal, original state. Otherwise, there is a very high probability you will be directly ejected by the Sanctuary."

"....Alright."

Though the whole thing still felt utterly surreal and strange, Johnny chose to trust Seia.

After all, out of all the eccentric and extraordinary people he had encountered so far, Seia was the only one who had genuinely helped him.

Not to mention, she was the agent of an angel.

"Whew..."

Johnny took a deep breath. Though only two days had passed, he had already grown accustomed to consciously controlling his transformation.

However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t revert to his initial state. In fact, it didn’t require any skill at all; he simply had to completely let go of the reins.

Flames quickly erupted from his chest, rapidly spreading through his entire body until his flesh burned away, leaving nothing but bare bone.

"Let’s go."

His voice was low, suppressed, and heavy with the burning wrath meant to purge all sin. Seia nodded, then took the lead, stepping through the gateway of light.

Unlike the human Johnny from before, the Ghost Rider knew no fear. At this moment, he was nothing but the flame of judgment and retribution, pure and obsessively focused.

He harbored no hesitation whatsoever about entering the Sanctuary.

Inside the Sanctuary, everything was a vast, endless expanse of white.

Knowing he didn’t understand the inner workings of this place, Johnny simply kept close to Seia’s heels, following her forward until he saw her open yet another door leading back to the material world.

Together, they stepped out of the Sanctuary.

Johnny quickly reverted to his human form. He scanned their surroundings; the houses nearby were ancient, dilapidated, and heavily weathered by time. Even though lights flickered inside some of the buildings, there wasn’t a single trace of a living human soul.

The village was completely deserted.

"This is... San Venganza Village," Seia spoke softly, revealing their location.

Before Johnny could ask any further questions, the sound of galloping hooves echoed from the distance.

Those familiar flames burned incredibly bright against the darkness, roaring along the horse’s mane and leaving scorching hoofprints upon the ground.

Riding atop the stallion was a Ghost Rider clad in a heavy trench coat and a cowboy hat. Even without seeing his human face, Johnny recognized him instantly.

The sound of hooves rapidly drew closer, finally grinding to a halt right in front of them.

The rider held a rolled-up piece of parchment tied tight in his hand. Looking down at Seia and Johnny, the roaring flames enveloping him quickly dissipated.

The silver-haired, elderly man looked at them with a deeply conflicted gaze.

He was the demon’s rider, and he had done many terrible things in service to that fiend. While he had indeed punished the wicked during that time, he had also brought immense power to the demon.

Over the years, he had grown utterly sick and tired of being a puppet on a string. Today was the very day he had resolved to break free from the demon’s control... He just hadn’t expected that the moment he formed the thought, an angel would appear right before his eyes.

This only solidified the greatness of the Lord in the heart of a man who had already begun to find his faith.

What he hadn’t anticipated, however, was that this angel would be accompanied by someone... who was likewise ensnared by a contract.

Whether out of basic politeness or religious devotion, the old rider couldn’t bring himself to speak to them from atop his mount.

Dismounting his horse, he walked over to Seia. Looking down at the parchment contract in his grip, he extended his hand and held it out to her.

"I take it you’re both looking for this."

--+--

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