Multiverse's Ghost Rider

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The deafening blast of gunfire echoed throughout the cavern. The natural acoustics of the rocky interior amplified every shot, and with the power packed into the shotgun Jon had handed Pinocchio, the sound thundered through the entire underground space.

By now, a mountain of grotesque corpses lay at Viola and Pinocchio's feet. Pinocchio raised the shotgun again, pulling the trigger to drop the last remaining creature.

"Where the hell did Belith get all these dark creatures from?" Viola muttered, her expression grim. "Thankfully, these are just low-tier beasts. If she had summoned something like a cyclops..."

But before she could finish, a pair of thunderous footsteps echoed through the cavern.

Then they saw them, two towering figures, over three meters tall, each wielding massive hammers. Their faces bore only a single, glaring eye.

Cyclopes.

Viola immediately tensed, prepared to fight. They were formidable, but two was still within her ability to handle.

She was just about to strike when a chilling sensation crept up her spine. Danger. From behind.

In a flash, a blade tore through her back, blood soaking her blue gown.

She could feel it clearly. Whoever had attacked her hadn't just sneaked up, they had appeared out of nowhere. Only one group had that ability.

"The Voidborn..." Viola whispered, her face pale with shock and pain.

Behind her stood Mecca, face twisted with malice. His sword had impaled her completely. As he twisted the blade, she let out a pained gasp.

"That's right. All of these creatures were summoned by me for Lady Belith," Mecca sneered. "Only we of the Voidborn can communicate with the beasts of the Void. That makes me her most valuable ally. And yet, that brat gets her attention? He hasn't done a damn thing!"

"Summoning these beasts... what are you after?!" Viola asked through gritted teeth.

"You're not worthy of knowing Lady Belith's plan," Mecca replied, yanking the sword from her chest.

The blade was forged of pure iron, a deadly material to witches. To them, iron was what kryptonite was to Superman. It was the reason why even the mighty witches of this world had been hunted by mere humans.

Bang!

But before Mecca could land another blow, a thunderous bang rang out, Pinocchio fired.

The force of the shotgun blast sent Mecca flying, blowing a hole through his chest. He hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Damn it... what kind of weapon is that?" Mecca groaned, clutching the wound.

Pinocchio, his soul still incomplete, acted more like a semi-autonomous machine, capable of following Viola's commands but limited in independent thought.

Viola had originally held him back, hoping to extract more information from Mecca. But now, there was no point. She gave the mental command, and Pinocchio fired without hesitation.

Viola didn't respond to Mecca's question. Truthfully, she had no idea what kind of weapon Jon had handed her brother. It resembled a hunting shotgun, but its power was far beyond anything conventional, on a battlefield, it would be devastating.

Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on that. She raised her hand, preparing to cast a spell to finish Mecca.

"Kill her, cyclopes!" Mecca suddenly roared.

The two towering monsters charged, raising their hammers to crush Viola.

Her face went pale. She had forgotten about them in the chaos. Under normal circumstances, she could handle them. But now, wounded by iron, her magic was weak. She couldn't take them both.

But just as the hammers fell, the cyclopes froze.

Two blazing chains of hellfire lashed across their backs. In seconds, their massive bodies were consumed by flames and reduced to ash.

As the smoke cleared, Viola looked up to see a flaming skull in black armor standing before her. Then the flames and armor faded, revealing Jon in his leather jacket.

"Jon?" Viola exclaimed, joy lighting up her face.

He stepped forward and helped her to her feet, then drew the Elder Wand to heal the wound on her chest.

Mecca, watching this, actually breathed a sigh of relief. If Jon had shown up here, it meant Belith had failed to seduce him. That meant... they hadn't done anything… together.

But Jon turned to Mecca and raised an eyebrow. "You look relieved. Thinking your goddess hasn't been defiled by me? But how do you know I didn't pretend to accept her offer, and then betray her?"

Mecca's face twisted in horror. "You... you bastard..."

His face flushed red as he pointed a trembling finger at Jon.

Jon burst into laughter. "Relax! I didn't touch her."

"You really are pathetic," Jon sneered. "Sixty years of loyalty, and she offers herself to me the moment we meet. Doesn't that just make you feel worthless?"

"You don't understand!" Mecca snapped.

Jon shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Even if I wanted to understand, I couldn't anymore, because I already killed her."

"WHAT?!" Mecca, who moments ago had been lying on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest, suddenly leapt up.

"Yep," Jon said with a grin. "That witch Belith? Dead. You're welcome. Consider yourself freed from the curse of love."

"You... you killed her... YOU KILLED HER! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Mecca screamed, his world collapsing around him.

"You... killed her... ha... haha..." He began laughing manically.

Jon looked at him and muttered, "He's cracked."

"If she's dead," Mecca said suddenly, his voice eerily calm, "then I'll follow her. My life has no meaning without her."

"You mean... you're gonna off yourself? Be my guest!" Jon said cheerfully.

Mecca's eyes darkened. "Oh, I will. But I'm taking you with me."

With that, he plunged a dagger into his own chest. But instead of blood, thick, black sludge oozed from the wound.

The black ichor transformed into glowing runes that soared into the air and formed a swirling vortex.

A moment later, Jon felt an overwhelming pull, his body lifted off the ground, hurtling toward the vortex.

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