Falling from the Sky! This is the Power of the Great Air Force

Too miserable!

That was Johnny Blaze's first impression upon seeing Carter Slade!

It couldn't be helped!

As Ghost Riders who wielded the same inherited power of hellfire, the two differed greatly in the details, but the source of their supernatural power—the hellfire within them—was one and the same. Thus, as a "self-awakened Ghost Rider," Johnny Blaze far surpassed Carter Slade in both the amount of hellfire he could control and the finesse with which he wielded it. The moment they met, Johnny sensed the agony endured by Carter Slade, who appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary old man.

However, Johnny Blaze's mind had long been subtly influenced by Mephisto's psychological manipulation. So even though Johnny sensed that Carter Slade, the first-generation Ghost Rider, was suffering unimaginable pain, he had no intention whatsoever of using his own power to relieve it.

Not even the slightest bit!

It was as though Johnny considered Carter Slade's suffering perfectly natural!

When Carter Slade saw the magma-like fire burning deep in Johnny's eyes, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Such terrifying hellfire was something even he had never possessed in his prime!

Then, in an aged, weary voice, Carter Slade slowly told Johnny another version of the story of the "San Venganza Contract."

In this story, Mephisto, that great demon, was evil to the core. Through vile deception, he made an entire town—thousands upon thousands of people—sign Demonic Contracts. Then, using his wicked power, Mephisto corrupted those simple, kind, innocent residents, until they became vengeful evil spirits, gathered within the "San Venganza Contract."

That's right!

The most valuable thing about the "San Venganza Contract," which so many people coveted, was the thousands of malicious souls brimming with resentment inside it!

Carter Slade reminisced about the past, finally explaining that,