Headless Horseman VS Ghost Rider

Watching Galina Dubois gradually grow more proficient with her abilities, Kino smiled.

He suddenly realized that if the Headless Horseman fought the Ghost Rider, it would probably be quite a spectacle!

The Headless Horseman's abilities—

[Black Dragon Flame (Black Flame)]: Formed from the transformation of the "dark energy" of the Black Dragon Acnologia. In terms of ability, it was similar to the Ghost Rider's "Hellfire."

Hellfire could burn any substance at the Ghost Rider's will, or leave untouched anything the Ghost Rider came into contact with. Hellfire was not bound by the laws of nature; neither water nor a vacuum could affect it in any way.

The Headless Horseman's Black Dragon Flame was the same.

Furthermore, Hellfire could serve as the Ghost Rider's long-range attack, striking enemies by burning both their souls and bodies.

That was where the difference lay!

The Headless Horseman's Black Flame could also attack from afar, but it could not burn flesh! In fact, aside from harming living beings, it had no effect whatsoever on soulless, lifeless "non-living objects" such as machinery, buildings, chemicals, and so on...

Nor did Black Flame burn away souls. It harvested them and made them its own.

The more souls it harvested, the stronger the Headless Horseman became!

Hellfire could alter the form of any object. For example, it could reshape a motorcycle, load itself into a firearm and turn into bullets to harm enemies, or enchant all kinds of weapons to increase their fire damage, such as chains.

Black Flame could likewise enchant a mount, granting it the ability to traverse any terrain as well as greater ramming power, though it could not alter its shape.

Black Flame could also be added to other "weapons," such as knives, guns, and stones, increasing their power. But that had little significance, since Black Flame attacked the soul. It could simply be shaped directly into a weapon for attack.

Against someone like Iron Man, Black Flame might not be able to burn through the outer iron shell, but it could seep inside and destroy Tony's soul! Well, if it was an unmanned robot, then a stone imbued with Black Flame would come in handy.

[Soul Binding]: The soul was bound to the Book of Kino. When transformed into the Headless Horseman form, the soul resided within the book. Once she returned to normal, it returned to her.

Therefore, the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare was useless against her!

The Headless Horseman's weakness was her head. As long as someone found it, they could kill her. But here, her weakness was her soul. Her soul was protected by the Book of Kino, and the book was with Kino, so... she basically had no weakness.

[Immortal Body]: When injured, Black Dragon Flame repaired the wounds. Even if the body suffered devastating damage beyond repair, she would not die. Her soul would forge a new body within the Book of Kino.

Of course, under normal circumstances, Black Dragon Flame was enough to restore her body.

This was similar to the Ghost Rider's Spirit of Vengeance.

When the Ghost Rider's human host was injured in human form, the Spirit of Vengeance could also heal the host's serious wounds. Of course, in essence, the Ghost Rider was immortal only in the transformed "Ghost Rider form," so what was truly immortal was the Spirit of Vengeance, not the human host.

Furthermore, Hellfire was magical damage!

Kino possessed magic immunity. Although the Book of Kino he had refined could not grant its contractors complete magic immunity, it could still negate a considerable portion of the damage.

So—the Headless Horseman and the Ghost Rider were natural mortal enemies. Neither would likely be able to defeat the other!

The Ghost Rider's greatest cheat, Penance Stare, could not harm the Headless Horseman, while her partial magic immunity could negate a considerable portion of Hellfire.

The Ghost Rider's two greatest attacks were basically crippled.

Although the Headless Horseman's Black Dragon Flame could not burn the bodies of living beings, uh, emmmmm... the Ghost Rider did not have a body either!

He was just a skeleton, but he still had a soul!

Black Dragon Flame was the nemesis of all souls!

Whether at range or in close combat, it could injure the Ghost Rider.

Of course, one harmed the soul, while the other harmed the body.

It looked like an evenly matched war of attrition, where whoever failed to endure first would die first, but in reality, the Headless Horseman held a slight advantage.

After all, even if Galina Dubois's body died, she could be revived through the Book of Kino, while the Ghost Rider would be in trouble if his soul was gone... he would be truly dead.

Of course, if the Ghost Rider destroyed the Headless Horseman's body first, Galina Dubois would have no answer either.

"Stop, that's enough. This is your task for today." Kino called out to Galina Dubois, who was practicing her abilities, then tossed her a photograph.

Maria Hill had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the person in the photograph. She knew it was the task Kino had just accepted.

"Wait, you want her to kill someone? She..."

For the past twenty-two years, she had been an innocent, harmless girl. Now, in the blink of an eye, she was going to become a murderer?

"Bullshit! What did you think I gave them power for? Just for immortality? What a joke! Power is meant to be used. If you don't use it... wouldn't you just be a salted fish? Besides, he's trash. Why are you getting so worked up?" Kino rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Maria Hill froze. She suddenly realized that Kino was not simply being good to his hookups. He seemed to be systematically planning something.

As for what it was, she could not figure it out yet!

Obviously!

Kino naturally had a plan.

The Battle of New York was only a year or so away. Tony Stark would soon be kidnapped, and the Marvel Universe was about to officially begin.

Though he was very powerful and had enough influence, had anyone ever seen a general charge out first?

A general was supposed to sit firmly at the center and control the overall situation!

The trivial matters could simply be left to the underlings.

So before Kino took down Thanos, he needed to gather some subordinates first!

"You want me to kill him?"

Galina Dubois lowered her "head" to look at the photograph in her hand, somewhat stunned. Uh, actually... she lowered her neck. She had no head!

She already understood what kind of place the Odd Jobs Shop was.

But—if she had to do it now, she was truly terrified.

"When the Headless Horseman appears, she will not return without seeing a soul. After the Headless Horseman appears, she must harvest a soul before she can return. Otherwise, the price will be a portion of your own soul."

"What?" Galina Dubois was terrified. This was not what they had agreed upon.

"What are you worried about?" Kino's expression hardened as he sternly rebuked her. "You're already a superhuman now, so don't panic whenever something happens! There are so many evil people in this world, what are you worried about? Over on 13th Street, every last one of them is steeped in sin. You don't need to worry about finding villains to harvest, because the Headless Horseman form can be maintained for a long time."

The current Galina Dubois was no longer merely his hookup; she was also his subordinate. Kino had always held his subordinates to strict standards!

"Remember this: whenever the Headless Horseman appears, she must harvest a soul! Even if you do not release her, you must harvest one soul every month. Otherwise, she will devour you in return."

"Do you understand?"

"I... I understand!"

Galina Dubois let out a breath of relief. Good, good. At least there was no strict time limit.

Indeed!

There was too much evil in this world. Finding a villain would be effortless, would it not?

"If you understand, why aren't you going?"

"Ah, but... but how do I get there?"

"That motorcycle over there. Put on a helmet yourself, and it'll conceal your identity!"