Just as Gwen's knocking on the glass grew increasingly impatient, her Spider-Sense suddenly screamed a warning.
Something's wrong!
Without time to think, Gwen followed her instincts. Her muscles coiled, and she pushed off the glass wall with all four limbs.
She leaped backward into the air, launching herself away from the building.
The next instant.
BOOM—
An explosion erupted without warning. The shockwave instantly shattered all the glass on the top floor.
Pale red flames from the blast scattered shards of glass in every direction.
Gwen quickly shot a web line, stuck it to a building pillar, and swung back to stick to the outer wall. She looked at the scene with lingering fear.
If she had been even half a second slower... that blast and the shrapnel hitting her face...
But concern for her own safety only flashed through her mind for a moment.
Immediately, she realized that Luca and Tony might still be inside that explosion.
Gwen's heart tightened.
Without thinking further, she covered her head with one hand, tightened her grip on the web with the other, and braved the residual glass shards and heatwave to swing into the top-floor laboratory.
However, when Gwen rushed into the lab, disregarding her own safety...
What she saw, amidst the wreckage of the lab and behind a conspicuous, bizarre earthen wall, were two men—one big, one small—covered in dust and soot. Their faces were red as they argued passionately, completely oblivious to everything else.
"I told you! We need to perfect the Pseudo Solar Furnace first! The GN Particles' ability to communicate with minds and diffuse energy, combined with the soul positioning of the Impure World Reincarnation, is the only way to lock onto a specific soul directly! Why did you have to add 'calling parameters'? Calling my ass!"
"Bullshit! Your theoretical basis is flawed! The Arc Reactor can completely substitute for the energy and signal source! The explosion happened because your energy conversion efficiency was garbage!"
"Garbage? With that conversion pathway you designed, if it were any stronger, it would have blown both of us to kingdom come!"
"What do you know?! It exploded because the insufficient conversion efficiency caused an energy blockage! And without the calling positioning, how the hell is your 'Impure World Reincarnation' supposed to locate a specific soul?"
"It's a magical ritual! You have to believe in magic!"
"First of all! This is a scientific experiment! You have to trust the science!"
Gwen, who had been tense a moment ago, stared at the two men jabbering non-stop with a look of utter stupefaction.
Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted.
It took a good while for her to manage to close her jaw.
By this time, Si Bei, who had noticed Gwen's entry long ago, casually dispelled the earthen wall adorned with snake heads and appeared silently by her side.
"Miss Gwen, are you here for Lord Luca?"
Gwen looked at the white-haired man in the butler suit who had appeared beside her like a ghost.
Before she could say anything, Luca, who was still mid-argument, noticed her and exclaimed in surprise.
"Gwen? When did you get here?"
"Eh? Spider-Sister is here too?"
Stark turned around as well.
However, just as the three of them stood there staring at each other, unsure of what to say next...
Gwen, who had been looking at Luca and Tony with exasperation, suddenly widened her eyes. Her pupils constricted.
Her gaze shot past the two men, locking dead onto the space behind them.
Simultaneously, Si Bei, who had been standing next to Gwen a second ago, vanished.
Immediately after, Luca and Tony heard the clatter-clatter of chains behind them, followed instantly by a sharp CLANG.
Only then did the warnings ring out from both in front and behind them.
"Look out!"
Luca turned around in shock.
The stone monolith of the Hell Gate, which had seemingly calmed down, had inexplicably torn open again, revealing a twisted, crimson rift.
From within this rift, a chain covered in eerie flames had shot out, only to be parried and knocked away by Si Bei, who was now wielding a long sword.
One could imagine that if Si Bei hadn't reacted fast enough, that red-hot chain might have already been wrapped around Luca or Tony's body.
At that moment, from the other end of the flame chain inside the suddenly opened Hell Gate, a voice rasped out like metal grinding against metal.
"Evil sorcerer who seeks to steal the power of demons... your judgment has come!"
Tony: "Judgment? That's it?"
Gwen: "This guy doesn't look like one of the good guys."
Luca: "What a weak Ghost Rider..."
The laboratory fell silent again.
But upon hearing Luca's last remark...
Tony and Gwen, who were curiously examining the skeleton man that Si Bei had sealed in a matter of seconds, turned their heads in unison to look at Luca.
"You know this freak?"
Hearing Tony's question, Luca pondered for a moment but chose not to hide it.
"Judging by his appearance, he should be the legendary Ghost Rider. Basically, think of him as a super-powered henchman created by a Hell Lord combining an evil spirit with a human..."
However, Luca had barely finished speaking when...
The skeleton, suspected to be a Ghost Rider, who had been immobilized by Si Bei's multiple sealing jutsu, suddenly burst into flames. His body began to tremble violently.
Unfortunately, as soon as the seemingly berserk flames appeared on his body, they were immediately sucked into an unassuming scroll in Si Bei's hand and vanished.
"...NOT!... Mephisto's henchman!!"
The flames surged and were absorbed repeatedly, but the skeleton finally managed to stutter out his defense.
Seeing this, Luca spread his hands helplessly.
"I wasn't finished. Although Hell Lords have created Ghost Riders more than once, most Ghost Riders eventually choose to rebel and become the vanguard against demons."
Hearing this, the skeleton seemed to stop struggling.
As if to verify Luca's words, as the flames completely receded, the skull face reverted to the appearance of an ordinary human.
Not a horse-face. So it's definitely not the original Johnny Blaze?
But considering he could still struggle a bit after being hit with so many specialized seals, he doesn't seem as weak as I thought.
Thinking back, the guy had eaten a [Ragtime] deceleration field the moment he popped his head out.
Then Si Bei threw the kitchen sink at him—Fire Sealing Method, Evil Sealing Method, Cursed Tongue Binding, Four Symbols Seal... no wonder he knelt immediately.
While Luca's mind wandered, Tony, having heard the explanation, coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem. So, you're saying this... Red Skull with a perm... is actually a good guy?"
---