“So that’s the case, a master from Kamar-Taj,” Carter Slade said, his voice wary. “What brings you here?”

“The Witch Heart Demon is rallying Earth’s demons to seize the Contract of San Venganza,” Sebastian replied. “I need you to hand it over to me. I’ll safeguard it to keep it from the Witch Heart Demon.”

Carter Slade drove his shovel into the ground, leaning on its wooden handle with both hands. “I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about a contract. Try asking the church—they might have answers.”

“You misunderstand,” Sebastian said evenly. “I’m not asking where it is. I’m asking you to give it to me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please leave.”

Sebastian sighed, facing Carter Slade’s clear intent to dismiss him. “I didn’t want to be rude, but… Accio shovel!”

He drew his wand and pointed at the shovel in Carter Slade’s hands. It tore free from Slade’s unprepared grip, flying into Sebastian’s grasp.

With a flick of his wand, Sebastian cast Diffindo, lightly tapping the shovel’s handle. The wood splintered, revealing a slender scroll—the Contract of San Venganza.

“How… how did you know where it was hidden?” Carter Slade stammered, eyes wide.

Sebastian smiled faintly. “Perhaps the Contract of San Venganza was meant to be mine.”

Turning to leave the cemetery, he paused as the sunlight bathing the grounds abruptly dimmed. Glancing up, Sebastian saw dark clouds rolling over the sky, cloaking the cemetery in shadow.

A chill of unease hit him. He moved to Apparate away, but a tombstone, ripped from the earth, hurtled toward him from behind. Dodging swiftly, Sebastian watched it graze past his head, shattering a tree at the cemetery’s exit.

He spun around, eyes narrowing at Carter Slade, now wreathed in faint flames.

“Whoever you are, return the Contract of San Venganza, or you’ll sleep here forever!” Slade growled.

Sebastian met his glare with a calm smile. “If you were the current Ghost Rider, with the full Spirit of Vengeance, I might comply. But as the former Ghost Rider, with only a spark of that power, I don’t think you can stop me.”

Carter Slade didn’t respond. He seized a nearby pickaxe, and blazing hellfire erupted from his hands, engulfing the tool and his body. In moments, he transformed into a flaming Ghost Rider, the pickaxe now a massive, skeleton-adorned weapon wreathed in fire, as tall as a man.

With a roar like a beast—or a soul in torment—Slade charged, swinging the enormous flaming pickaxe.

Boom!

The weapon crashed into the ground, carving a deep crater.

Sebastian dissolved into black smoke, Apparating around Slade in a blur of motion.

Reforming, he waved his wand from within the smoke, casting Bombarda. Red filaments of light shot from the wand’s tip, striking Slade and triggering a series of explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blasts forced Slade to stagger back.

Undeterred, Slade gripped the pickaxe and hurled it toward Sebastian, sending a wave of soil, rocks, and flames in his wake.

Protego!

An invisible barrier deflected the onslaught of earth and fire.

But Slade charged forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed, swinging the blazing pickaxe down.

Sebastian’s wand flared with blue flames as he cast Impedimenta, the spell bursting outward. Slade was flung back as if striking a wall, crashing heavily to the ground.

Pressing the advantage, Sebastian advanced, casting Stupefy. A white light shot toward Slade, who scrambled up, swinging his pickaxe to block. The move played into Sebastian’s plan.

Expelliarmus!

The pickaxe was wrenched from Slade’s grasp, reverting to its mundane form as it spun through the air and landed with a thud.

As Slade lunged to retrieve it, Sebastian swung his wand arm sharply. Scattered earth, stones, and broken tombstones rose, transfiguring into jagged spears that hurtled toward Slade, propelled by Oppugno.

Roar!

Slade bellowed, unleashing a torrent of hellfire that surged skyward. The intense heat melted the oncoming spears into molten slag, dripping onto the ground.

His fiery eyes locked on Sebastian. Crouching, Slade plunged a hand into the earth, channeling flames into the soil.

With a fierce tug, he drew out a blazing chain, forged from hellfire, and whipped it toward Sebastian.

A chain forged on the spot with hellfire? Sebastian thought.

No matter who becomes the Ghost Rider, they’re destined to wield chains.

Sebastian didn’t waste a second. He transformed into a burst of black smoke—using Apparition—and zipped into the sky, dodging the fiery chain’s blazing attacks with super-fast moves. He scanned for a chance to hit back.

The Ghost Rider was tough, shrugging off Sebastian’s magic like it was nothing. Even Carter Slade, who only had a tiny spark of the Spirit of Vengeance’s power, became a fierce Ghost Rider. Most of Sebastian’s spells barely made a dent against him.

The chain whipped faster, its hellfire glowing hotter, making Sebastian feel pinned down for a moment.

But with Apparition, he stayed one step ahead, slipping away from Carter Slade’s fiery strikes.

The constant attacks sparked anger in Sebastian. He wasn’t running away—he was ready to finish this fight!

The black smoke vanished, and Sebastian stood firm, facing the chain speeding toward him. He swung his wand hard, casting Confringo.

A blast of blue-white flames roared out, exploding in a series of loud booms that snapped the chain in half.

Carter Slade didn’t back down. He charged straight at Sebastian, flames blazing.

As Slade got close, Sebastian pointed his wand and shouted Expecto Patronum!

A shimmering silver mist shot out, spraying over Slade like water from a hose. Slade howled in pain, the hellfire around his skeleton body fading fast under the mist.

Without the flames, he grew weak, collapsing to the ground in a puff of dark smoke.

The Spirit of Vengeance’s power came straight from Hell, but Sebastian’s Patronus Charm was stronger. The spell’s bright, pure magic put out Slade’s hellfire like a candle, leaving him too weak to fight.

Since Slade only had a tiny bit of the Spirit’s power—not the full force—he couldn’t stand up to Sebastian’s spell.

“Aguamenti!”

A streak of blue light shot from Sebastian’s wand, piercing the dark clouds above.

The sky rumbled as if a bomb had detonated, a shockwave rippling outward, scattering the clouds in seconds. Sunlight poured back into the cemetery, bathing the grounds in a warm glow.

Under the light, Carter Slade, shrouded in black smoke, reverted from his Ghost Rider form to human. Without the Spirit of Vengeance, he could never transform again.

“You… you can’t let the Contract of San Venganza fall into the demons’ hands!” Slade gasped. “Once it leaves this cemetery, they’ll sense it immediately!”

“I won’t return it,” Sebastian said firmly, “but I promise it won’t reach the Witch Heart Demon.”

“You don’t get it! The real threat isn’t the Witch Heart Demon—it’s Mephisto! He’s the true danger, and the Contract of San Venganza must stay out of his grasp!”

“Hiding it forever risks Mephisto finding it,” Sebastian countered. “But if it’s destroyed, the threat ends.”

Carter Slade froze, stunned by the idea. Before he could respond, Sebastian vanished in a swirl of Apparition, leaving no trace.

Half an hour later, at Kamar-Taj, Sebastian sat cross-legged on a futon, facing the Ancient One. “Master Ancient One, here’s the situation: the Witch Heart Demon is after the Contract of San Venganza. But his plan to use it to overpower his father, Mephisto, or build a demonic kingdom on Earth is a fantasy. It’s impossible.”

He paused, his tone sharpening. “I suspect the Witch Heart Demon’s been misled about the contract’s power from the start. His goals are beyond what it can achieve.

This feels like Mephisto’s scheme, manipulating his son into thinking he can seize control of Hell’s dimension.”

The Ancient One nodded thoughtfully, her calm presence radiating wisdom. She poured Sebastian a cup of tea, her gesture warm yet deliberate, hinting at the trust they’d built. “Master Sebastian, what’s your take on this?”

Sipping the tea, Sebastian replied,

“I think we should let events unfold naturally. The demons that need to be stopped will be, one way or another. But we must stay sharp for Mephisto’s tricks. He’s bound to make a move when this ends.We can use the Ghost Rider as a key to tackle the Witch Heart Demon and uncover Mephisto’s true motives.”

Mephisto, Hell’s dimension lord, wielded power rivaling Dormammu’s. Unlike Dormammu’s dark dimension, Hell’s ties to Earth let demons slip through when the timing was right. But dimension lords like Mephisto were strongest in their own realms, where their authority peaked.

Leaving their dimension stripped them of that power, leaving only their base strength—a risky move that could spell doom.

That’s why Dormammu sought to expand his dark dimension, swallowing the universe to boost his might. Mephisto was no different, but leaving Hell would weaken him drastically. In magical history, dimension lords who ventured out were often betrayed and slain, their realms claimed by new masters.

Mephisto wouldn’t dare leave Hell, not with enemies like the Ancient One waiting.

Even without his dimension’s boost, he was a force few could match. So, he’d rely on his followers—or, as Sebastian suspected, manipulate his son, the Witch Heart Demon, into doing his bidding.

The Witch Heart Demon’s reckless ambition made him an easy pawn in Mephisto’s game.

Their discussion complete, Sebastian left Kamar-Taj for now.

After his departure, Mordo, who had stood silently by the Ancient One, spoke up. “Master Ancient One, why didn’t we handle the Contract of San Venganza ourselves?”

“Master Sebastian found it, so it’s his to manage,” she replied, her voice steady.

“But without our guidance, he wouldn’t have succeeded! This is urgent.

An item as crucial as the Contract of San Venganza should be in Kamar-Taj’s hands. Sebastian’s strong, but he’s no match for all of Kamar-Taj—or you, Master Ancient One!”

The Ancient One met Mordo’s gaze, her expression calm but tinged with disappointment. “Mordo, Sebastian is our ally. You know what that means. I don’t want you dwelling on this.”

Mordo hesitated, then bowed slightly, yielding to her resolve.

The Ancient One sighed softly, her thoughts turning inward.

Mordo’s narrow-mindedness and stubborn streak worried her. Kamar-Taj’s future rested on others, like Stephen Strange.

Sebastian’s choice to remain an ally, not a full member of Kamar-Taj, stemmed from this dynamic.

As an ally, his discoveries—like the Contract of San Venganza—were his own. Joining Kamar-Taj would bind him to its rules, surrendering his gains to the collective. For Sebastian, independence was non-negotiable.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep