"You… are guilty…"
The flaming skeleton pointed at him—
then revved his motorcycle and charged straight toward the apartment.
"Damn it— I almost forgot this guy's a complete maniac."
Lucas instantly ducked back inside and slammed the window shut.
With the barrier active, Ghost Rider wasn't getting in.
As expected, the Moogle inside the office lazily waved its staff, renewing the barrier—
then promptly fell back asleep.
Ghost Rider crashed head-on into the invisible wall.
His hellcycle was flung backwards, though he managed to steady it without being thrown off.
Unwilling to give up, he roared forward again—
but this time, instead of ramming the barrier, he jerked the handlebars at the last moment and rode up the wall, sprinting vertically toward Lucas's window.
Just as he reached it—
he threw a punch.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire room.
Even Lucas heard it loud and clear.
But the strength meant nothing—
the window didn't even tremble.
Lucas rubbed his temples.
He wanted to ignore the guy.
Once morning came, Ghost Rider would revert back to normal.
Judging from the motorcycle, this one was definitely Johnny Blaze.
To be honest, Lucas actually liked this Ghost Rider—
not just because the actor in his previous life had been Nicolas Cage,
but because Johnny was a proper Rider.
Not like his successor—
who drove a beat-up car.
That wasn't a Ghost Rider.
That was a Ghost Driver.
Outside, Ghost Rider kept punching the barrier relentlessly.
Each blow was like a drum, impossible to sleep through.
And when a person can't sleep, they get very, very irritable.
Lucas reached that point.
"You noisy pile of bones!
I'm trying to sleep!
I swear I'm the Monkey King tonight, and I'm sending you back to the underworld myself!"
He sprang from the bed—
didn't even bother changing—
and launched a flying kick straight out the window.
CRASH!
The window shattered outward, and Ghost Rider was blasted off his bike,
the flaming skeleton and motorcycle plummeting from the building.
Lucas looked down.
Ghost Rider looked up.
"You. Are. GUILTY."
"Oh for—! Do you ever shut up?!"
Ghost Rider mounted his bike again and charged.
Lucas kicked off the window frame and leapt down.
They met midair.
Lucas's kick struck Ghost Rider's chest—
but a bony hand immediately clamped his ankle.
With a violent swing, Ghost Rider hurled Lucas downward.
Lucas adjusted himself midair and landed lightly on the street.
The Judicator appeared in his hand, and he fired three shots.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
All three hit center mass.
Ghost Rider's bones cracked apart, three large holes torn into his ribcage.
He and his bike crashed hard into the ground.
The blaze in his skull dimmed significantly.
The Judicator's core was holy essence—
a natural bane to demonic beings.
Ghost Rider might once have been an angelic spirit,
but now he was a hell-forged revenant.
Perfect prey for Lucas's weapon.
Lucas walked up and kicked the fallen Rider.
Ghost Rider was barely moving, the flame in his skull fading into a weak blue flicker.
But Lucas knew—
Ghost Riders don't die that easily.
Besides, none of his shots were aimed at vital points.
Suddenly—
Ghost Rider's hand snapped up and clamped Lucas's ankle again.
The soul-fire surged violently, crawling up Lucas's leg.
Lucas frowned.
Knew it. This guy isn't staying down.
He went to kick him off—
but the grip was like an iron vice.
"Wind Blade."
A gust condensed into a razor-edged arc—
slicing clean through Ghost Rider's arm and severing it.
Ghost Rider didn't even flinch.
He only laughed, hollow and mad.
The severed hand crumbled to ash.
A new skeletal arm erupted from the stump.
With the flames cut off, the fire crawling up Lucas's leg faded, though the blast had burned his pant leg clean off—
leaving his thigh exposed.
In the next instant, Ghost Rider lunged, seizing Lucas by the front of his clothes.
"Look… into my eyes."
Ghost Rider's voice carried a supernatural pull—
and Lucas involuntarily met his gaze.
The Penance Stare.
Ghost Rider's greatest weapon—
a judgment that burned the soul of the guilty with hellfire until nothing remained.
A furious roar thundered from deep within Lucas's spirit.
Green and purple energy erupted outward,
shattering the Penance Stare instantly.
Ghost Rider's flames sputtered violently—
then extinguished in a single blow.
"That little trick doesn't work on me."
Lucas pressed the Judicator's barrel against Ghost Rider's forehead—
and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The skull exploded.
Bones scattered.
"Can't even get a good night's sleep.
I spend my days serving princesses,
and now I have to deal with you at night.
Do I look like I have time for this?!"
Grumbling, Lucas walked back inside.
His pajamas were ruined—
Gwen had bought them for several hundred dollars.
A complete waste.
The Next Morning
Lucas woke early and leaned out the window.
Ghost Rider and his motorcycle were gone—
only scorch marks and wreckage remained.
He immediately checked the office surveillance.
Just as expected—
Ghost Rider didn't stay dead.
Around 3 a.m., the pile of bones suddenly ignited.
The skeleton stood, its skull regenerating in a burst of flame.
It looked up toward Lucas's bedroom window—
then rode off into the night.
"Well, great.
Now he's fixated on me.
This guy's like cursed sticky tape—
you can't get rid of him."
Lucas sighed helplessly.
All because he opened a window and yelled at the wrong flaming skull.
Now he'd practically adopted a supernatural problem.
Skye and Wanda watched the footage too, and after Lucas explained, they finally understood what happened.
"So you're saying… he literally sold his soul to a demon? Hell is real?"
Skye asked in disbelief.
She never believed in heaven or hell.
Even after all her experiences, she still doubted it.
But a flaming skeleton on camera was hard to argue with.
Wanda, on the other hand, didn't care at all.
Whether hell existed or not was irrelevant—
as long as Lucas was here, that was enough for her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~