Ch. 317 Doctor Doom vs Ghost Rider

Doom wanted to face Ghost Rider Johnny alone first, and Russell fully understood.

Last time, Doom let Johnny escape, forcing them to come together this time.

Although it didn't matter much to them, who were about to go to Hell together, Doom, a proud man, couldn't just let it slide.

So, even though the two of them could handle Johnny more quickly if they acted together, Doom still intended to try it alone first.

If it didn't work out, Russell could step in later.

Seeing Doom approaching, Ghost Rider Johnny, holding the Hellfire chain, stared fixedly at Doom.

At the same time, he involuntarily glanced in the direction of the Hellfire motorcycle.

Although he only looked casually, this small gesture didn't escape the gaze of Russell and Doom.

Clearly, Ghost Rider Johnny had the immediate intention to retreat.

However, he knew very well that Doom wouldn't give him that opportunity.

Although he was only about ten meters away from the Hellfire motorcycle and it could come to him at his command, Doom wouldn't allow it in front of him.

Doom's strength was something he had already experienced firsthand in their last encounter.

If it weren't for Doom's carelessness last time, Johnny wouldn't have escaped.

Although Ghost Rider Johnny was now staring intently at Doom, Doom didn't seem to care about his gaze.

Just like Ghost Rider Johnny, Doom had also figured out Johnny's strength after their last battle.

Unless Johnny's power had significantly surged in these few days, he wouldn't be Doom's match.

When Doom was within ten meters of Johnny, he finally made his move.

Doom raised both hands, and two extremely complex magic circles appeared in his hands.

As soon as the magic circles appeared, Ghost Rider Johnny felt a strong surge of magic power.

Before he could even see Doom's movements clearly, the ground beneath Johnny's feet turned into a swamp-like state.

At the same time, a powerful force appeared under his feet, trying to pull him into the ground.

Although there was an extremely powerful force in the swamp, Johnny had no intention of just waiting to die.

He raised his left hand and whistled.

As soon as the whistle sounded, the Hellfire motorcycle parked in the distance rushed towards Doom.

It was as if Doom hadn't even noticed the Hellfire motorcycle approaching him; he simply pushed forward with both hands.

The magic circle, with numerous patterns and complex symbols, instantly collapsed, turning into specks of starlight that flew towards Johnny like bullets.

When the starlight formed from the magic circle flew towards Johnny, Doom finally cast his levitation spell. He floated lightly, avoiding the impact of the Hellfire motorcycle.

As Doom evaded the Hellfire motorcycle's collision, the starlight, which had transformed from the magic circle, struck Johnny.

Johnny was currently in his Ghost Rider form.

In this form, he had no flesh and only a skeleton wrapped in Hellfire.

Of course, he still wore clothes. After all, Johnny wasn't in the habit of streaking, even in skeletal form.

In his Ghost Rider form, Johnny possessed what was called "invulnerability."

The foundation of being a Ghost Rider was that they were avatars of vengeance created by God.

Unless someone had the same level of power as God or God personally intervened, Ghost Riders, with their invulnerability, were immune to all attacks.

Whether it was physical attacks like missiles or laser cannons or magical attacks, nothing could truly harm a Ghost Rider.

Even if they were blown to bits by a nuclear bomb, a Ghost Rider would quickly reassemble their body.

Even when the host was injured in human form, the spirit of vengeance within could heal the host's injuries.

Seeing Doom casting another magical attack on him, Johnny simply ignored the incoming starlight, focusing instead on the powerful force pulling at his feet.

Doom indeed had many magical abilities, but Johnny knew that only a few of them could truly harm him.

The magic that Doom was using now was similar to what he had used in their last battle, and Johnny had already experienced its power firsthand.

It was because he knew that Doom's current magic couldn't harm him that Johnny ignored the starlight.

However, he had guessed wrong.

As an ordinary human, Doom had achieved his current accomplishments and powers not through luck or assistance from others.

He knew very well that ordinary magic couldn't harm Ghost Rider Johnny.

On the surface, the magic he was currently using appeared similar to what he had used in their last battle.

However, in reality, it was an entirely different spell.

Doom had deliberately misled Johnny, making him believe that this magic wouldn't harm him.

The seemingly weak starlight unleashed astonishing power the moment it hit Johnny.

It not only dispersed the Hellfire on Johnny's body but also shattered his bones.

If it were only that, Doom wouldn't have needed to mislead Johnny with this magic.

After shattering Johnny's bones, the starlight didn't dissipate; instead, it flew into Johnny's body like a swarm of bees.

Subsequently, within Johnny's body, the starlight reconfigured itself into a magic circle.

As the magic circle took shape inside Johnny's body, two identical magic circles appeared above Johnny's head and deep within the swamp, invisible to the naked eye.

Combination magic? Quite interesting!

Seeing the small magic circle inside Johnny's body connecting with the magic circles above his head and beneath his feet, Russell couldn't help but praise in his heart.

Compared to ordinary magic, combination magic wasn't as simple as just merging several different spells together.

To combine different magics in a way that made them more potent than the sum of their parts was much more challenging than developing an advanced spell from scratch.

Just as different chemical substances could create various chemical reactions, magic had different interactions between spells.

After the two smaller and one larger magic circle established a connection, Johnny immediately realized that something was amiss.

However, it was already too late.

At this moment, he couldn't escape from these three magic circles, and even commanding the Hellfire to heal his injuries was beyond his reach.

When the three magic circles simultaneously erupted with dazzling green light, the swamp beneath Johnny disappeared, and the Hellfire on his body vanished as well.

Ghost Rider Johnny, in his spirit form, was forcibly reverted to his human form.

How is this possible?

Johnny wore an incredulous expression when he saw himself transformed back into his human form.

Since becoming Ghost Rider, he had never encountered such a situation.

Now, not only had he returned to his human form, but he was also in an extremely weakened state.

He couldn't even raise his hands now.

After Johnny was reverted to his human form, the Hellfire chain in his hand and the Hellfire motorcycle in the distance returned to their original state.

"I'm curious, why did you let him escape last time?" Russell displayed his flight ability and flew to Doom's side, speaking calmly.

"This is a new spell I developed after our last encounter," Doom replied calmly.

"I disguised it as the same spell I used last time, making him believe it was the same."

Doom didn't explain why he let Johnny escape last time but instead explained how he was able to handle Johnny so easily now.

"Luckily, I didn't have to face you last time. Otherwise, you might have developed a spell against me by now," Russell said calmly.

Although Doom's explanation sounded simple, Russell knew that achieving this was not easy.

Just after one battle, he found a way to counter Ghost Rider Johnny.

Moreover, he had developed a spell specifically for Johnny in just a few days.

These two facts alone were enough to show how remarkable Doom's talent was.

Russell had decent magical talent, but he was certain that he couldn't do what Doom had done.

Creating spells tailored to an opponent's weaknesses required extensive knowledge of magic, as well as the energy needed to cast the spells, which could only be borne by the spellcaster himself.

Even though Doom hadn't used any external objects and relied solely on his magical gestures and his own magical power to create the spell for opening the Gate of Hell, Doom had easily constructed a large magic circle for opening the Gate of Hell.

While different schools of magic had different requirements for casting the Gate of Hell spell, the underlying principles were the same.

It involved the creation of a magical coordinate system with the spellcaster as the origin point, followed by extending this coordinate system to connect the dimensions of Earth and Hell, which were not in the same dimension but closely linked.

In simpler terms, the spellcaster acted as the key, and with the right key, one could open the Gate of Hell connecting Earth and Hell.

However, creating such a key was no easy task.

The magical knowledge required, as well as the energy needed to open the Gate of Hell, had to be borne by the spellcaster himself.

Of course, preparing auxiliary magic circles in advance and using magical crystals or other items with a significant energy source could greatly reduce the spellcaster's energy expenditure.

Seeing that Doom didn't use any external objects, relying solely on his magical gestures and his own magical power to construct the large magic circle for opening the Gate of Hell, Russell couldn't help but raise his opinion of Doom.

Although Doom still had some distance to go to match him in the field of magic, considering Doom's age and the time he had spent in the superhuman world, Doom's talent was at least on par with his, if not surpassing it.

After noticing this, Doom's expression toward Russell became somewhat complicated.

Unlike a typical door, the Gate of Hell was currently opening wasn't standing upright; instead, it was parallel to the ground.

To be precise, the magic circle beneath his feet was what they referred to as the Gate of Hell.

Of course, if he wanted to make the magic circle stand up and become a true door, it wasn't difficult at all.

He just needed to make a few adjustments to the symbols within the magic circle, and he could easily accomplish that.

Once the magic circle was fully activated, the legendary Gate of Hell was officially opened.

A strong aura of hell, accompanied by a pungent scent of sulfur, descended upon Earth.

Along with the hellish aura and sulfur scent came intense heat and chaos that didn't conform to the laws of the mortal realm.

At this moment, Russell wasn't standing directly on the magic circle but rather floating above it.

After the Gate of Hell was opened, he beckoned toward the distant demon, Paris.

Though this large demon might not appear very intelligent, he was, in any case, a native-born demon of Hell.

Preparing for a journey to Hell required a local guide.

More importantly, if they left the demon Paris on Earth, who knew what trouble this guy might cause in the distant city of Las Vegas.

While Kamar-Taj's mages would definitely come to deal with Paris, Russell didn't want to leave any trouble for his fellow sorcerer brothers.

Seeing Russell's gesture, the demon Paris was momentarily stunned.

Then, he swiftly moved to Russell's side.

"Go in!" Russell instructed Paris.

"Yes, master!" The demon Paris responded respectfully.

Without hesitation, he leaped into the magic circle and quickly vanished in front of Russell.

"Let's go!" After Paris had entered, Russell looked up and said to Doom.

"Hmm," Doom responded silently, floating beside him, with Johnny enclosed in a cylindrical barrier.

When Doom and Johnny's figures also disappeared, Russell lifted the flying effect from himself and descended into the Gate of Hell.

A few seconds later, the large magic circle on the ground dissipated and disappeared, as if it had never been there.

Meanwhile, Russell, Doom, and the others had arrived in the infamous Hell.