"These are… evil spirits…" Glancing at the sky full of evil spirits, Tohka shifted her gaze to the other people present. At that moment, Johnny seemed to be no match for Blackheart and was already knocked to the ground, while his girlfriend was trying to help him up.
And of course, there was Blackheart himself, who was madly devouring the evil spirits. Watching him made both Tohka and Miku Izayoi feel sick, because countless evil spirits were being swallowed—but the method…
Just imagining all those skulls crawling into his mouth made both Tohka and Miku Izayoi want to throw up. They really didn't dare think any further about it. After all, they had just eaten.
"Wahaha!" But it didn't take long before all the evil spirits had crawled into Blackheart and were devoured clean. When he felt the immense power surging through his body, Blackheart let out an arrogant laugh. He was probably fantasizing about the glorious scene of ruling Hell and the human world, which left Tohka speechless.
Even after devouring all these evil spirits, this guy might still not be a match for his father Mephisto—otherwise, Mephisto wouldn't have simply sent a single Rider to deal with him, and would have used other methods.
Besides, after absorbing so many evil spirits, Blackheart now had a soul, which meant the Penance Stare would work on him. But more than all that, Tohka was really just curious about one thing…
"So… how do those evil spirits taste? Are they good?" Watching Blackheart cackling wildly, Tohka couldn't help asking curiously. After all, just looking at it was disgusting—she really couldn't imagine what it felt like having all those things crawl in from your mouth.
"..…"
Hearing Tohka's question, not only Miku Izayoi but also Johnny, who was climbing to his feet with his girlfriend, all stared at her dumbfounded.
They absolutely hadn't expected Tohka to ask something like that at a moment like this. Didn't she realize this was a life-or-death situation?
One slip and countless lives could be lost. But even that wasn't the most absurd part—because just then, Blackheart himself also reacted to her question.
"Gah… urk." Blackheart's triumphant grin froze instantly. Then he let out a noise like a duck's quack. And right there, in front of everyone's completely speechless eyes, he braced himself against a wall and started retching dryly.
So apparently, he'd been too excited before and forgotten what it felt like—but thanks to Tohka's comment, he'd remembered it again.
"I'm going to kill you, you wretched woman." After dry heaving a few times, Blackheart locked his eyes on the woman who had ruined his moment of glory.
"Eh? Am I really that annoying?" Tohka looked confused as Blackheart's hatred maxed out over one sentence. She couldn't understand how this guy's priorities worked.
Wasn't Ghost Rider supposed to be his sworn enemy? How could a single comment make him change his target of vengeance? But thinking about it… anyone would be enraged if someone mocked them while they were showing off.
"Tch, you really think you're invincible?" Watching Blackheart approach with dark energy radiating from his whole body, Tohka simply drew her greatsword and swung it straight down at him.
"Hmm?" Feeling the divine power imbued in Tohka's weapon, Blackheart's heart shuddered. Even in his current state, he didn't dare take that attack head-on—he immediately leapt backward.
Tohka's sword cleaved into the ground, and the divine energy did not dissipate but instead shot forward as a blade of light.
"Hmph." With a cold snort, Blackheart instantly turned into a cloud of black mist. The attack passed through it and smashed a huge hole in the wall behind him.
But at that moment, Tohka sensed a cold wind rushing toward her. She quickly raised her sword in front of her. The next second, Blackheart reappeared right in front of her, slashing down with his claw. But Tohka had been ready, and the claw only struck her sword, leaving her unharmed.
Bang. Just then, the sound of a gunshot rang out. Blackheart, who was grappling with Tohka's sword, was suddenly blown apart and vanished before her eyes. At the same time, Tohka saw that Johnny, who had been lying on the ground, was standing again—he'd transformed and was holding the same shotgun that had blown apart her armor the previous day. Only now, with ample energy, his attack was far stronger than the old Rider's ever was—enough to obliterate Blackheart in a single shot.
"It's over… did we win?" Looking at where Blackheart had vanished, Miku Izayoi asked uncertainly. After all, this guy had made such a terrifying scene before, and those blood-red eyes alone were enough to make anyone's scalp tingle.
"No, there's no way he'd die that easily." Even as she spoke, Tohka felt a headache coming on. Demons—especially powerful ones—were really troublesome to kill. At the very least, she knew that if she had to do it herself, it would take considerable effort. So, though she'd only come here to watch, Tohka turned to look at the flaming skull not far away.
"Hey—you over there. Here's a tip. That guy… now he has a soul." But it didn't matter—just because she found it troublesome didn't mean no one else could do it. Wasn't there a perfectly good candidate right here? She could just leave it to him.
"Mm?" Hearing her, Johnny immediately understood what she meant. He strode toward Blackheart's body, which was already starting to reform. Just as the body finished regenerating, Johnny grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him into the air.
"Look into my eyes…"
"It's over. He's dead now." Watching Johnny hold Blackheart effortlessly in one hand, Tohka knew it was truly finished. But she didn't relax—because in her senses, another evil aura was approaching rapidly. She knew that Mephisto, who had always been watching Johnny, had realized what had happened and was rushing over.
"Miku, be careful. The real mastermind is about to show up. Whatever happens, don't say a word—and don't agree to anything he offers." Knowing Mephisto was coming, Tohka immediately shielded Miku Izayoi behind her.