Simple and honest Yharnam, hospitable Undead Settlement

Following an initial exchange that was neither friendly nor particularly pleasant, Joss, his group, and a scowling Johnny set off on the road.

"We still have some distance to go from here, so let me explain the situation over there first."

Johnny was naturally riding his signature motorcycle. Although its design was quite stylish, lacking the blessing of hellfire, it did not look particularly cool.

As for Joss and the others, they naturally would not ride with him. Otherwise, not only would they face fines from traffic police, but the overall vibe would also veer wildly off course into something completely bizarre.

Therefore, the group was riding a flying carpet.

Huh? Somehow, it felt like the vibe wasn't much more normal either...?

Regardless, under Tornado's psychokinetic control, Joss and the others were casually sitting cross-legged on a soft blanket, keeping pace right beside Johnny at eighty miles per hour.

Unlike riding a motorcycle, which requires absolute concentration, Joss and his companions spent most of their time chatting and joking on the flying carpet. When they grew tired of playing, food and drinks were readily available, causing Johnny to glance over sideways with frequent side-eyes.

However, seeing that Joss and the others showed no tension whatsoever, Johnny could only sigh and begin his narration.

"This matter has to start from a while ago. In a small town one hundred and seventy kilometers away from New York City—which is the destination we are currently heading to..."

Yharnam Town, a rather common town name, was essentially an ordinary rural town common everywhere across America.

However, just a few months ago, when Johnny and his girlfriend passed through here, they discovered something unusual about it.

The two had originally just come out for a vacation, but upon arriving at this place, Johnny sensed that something was wrong here.

Although the people here looked no different from ordinary people on the surface, in reality, most of them had already been eroded by demonic power, albeit to varying degrees.

It could be deduced that there were demons here spreading faith or engaging in transactions, causing the place to be tainted with a certain demonic aura.

Yet, confident in his own strength, he wasn't too worried. That was understandable after all; ordinary ghosts and demons could not possibly be opponents of the Ghost Rider, so naturally, he had no need to worry.

If anything, coming here was like running into a pillow just when he felt sleepy—a perfect opportunity to clean up these demons making trouble in the mortal world.

Then reality slapped him hard in the face.

After some investigation, Johnny, feeling deeply exasperated and despairing, discovered that the demons stirring up trouble in Yharnam Town were extremely powerful. In the battle, not only did they beat Johnny until he was reduced to a pitiful nobody, but they also—cuckolded him for a second—no, snatched his girlfriend away.

In short, realizing he was no match for the opponent, Johnny kept his wits about him and immediately contacted familiar connections to seek help. Following that was the conversation between Joss and Blade.

"Damn it... I should have let her leave first when I discovered that demon. It was my fault for being too arrogant." Johnny's voice sounded somewhat dejected.

"If I were you, I would have detoured the moment I heard that town's name," Joss said, squinting at Johnny.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing... never mind." Joss's cheek twitched. That name gave off a really ominous feeling; he only hoped the people of Yharnam Town wouldn't be overly "hospitable with rustic customs."

"So you mean your girlfriend has already been captured for several days?" Joss wrapped an arm around Lilith's shoulder and asked Johnny with a solemn expression.

"That's right. So if we don't hurry up..." Johnny's expression was bitter, which could be felt even through his helmet.

Joss exchanged a glance with Tornado, then nodded and said, "It's fine, pretty much everything that needs to be done has been done. For detailed plot points, please refer to the dōjinshi—cough, cough, no, I mean since it's already been a few days anyway, we aren't pressed for just these few minutes. Tell me more about that demon's situation in detail."

Although he guessed that the opponent was most likely the silly meme demon he had in mind, since it was a demonic-type enemy he had never encountered before, Joss remained quite cautious.

Though he couldn't understand what the other person was saying, for some reason, Johnny felt waves of malice washing over him. Yet, looking at Joss's innocent and benevolent smile, and his hand gently stroking Lilith's hair...

"Is something wrong?" Joss used a Command Seal to make Xiao Hei feed him a potato chip, then looked innocently at Johnny.

Johnny finally realized why he felt such an overwhelming aura of malice emanating from the guy!

What the hell, my girlfriend was just snatched away, can you tone it down a bit?! Showing off aside, why do you keep staring at me? Are you doing this on purpose? You're definitely doing this on purpose!!

Despite the stampeding herd of alpacas running wild in his heart, Johnny managed to suppress the urge to let loose a torrent of abuse and began explaining the enemy this time.

"Based on some information I obtained, he should be a demon's... descendant, with several subordinates representing the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire. As for his own power, I have no clue."

Hearing Johnny's words, Joss roughly pieced things together. The enemy was indeed that goofy demon, alright. However, Joss only remembered that after absorbing countless souls, the guy referred to himself as a collective or something, and he didn't really have any impression of his actual name.

After all, even though they were both collectives, compared to that "Legion"... he wasn't even worthy of licking his boots.

This sentiment flashed past, and Joss didn't take the opponent too lightly because of it. Although the brain wasn't working too well, a demon's power was a tangible reality, and Joss wasn't thick-headed enough to jump straight into someone's face.

"Demons, huh? Is there anything I need to pay attention to when fighting this kind of enemy?" After roughly confirming the target's identity, Joss asked the question he cared about most.

"As for the fight..." Johnny seemed to freeze for a moment upon hearing Joss's words, before remembering that this guy had never actually been in contact with such things.

According to the original timeline, accompanying Johnny at this time should have been the previous generation of Ghost Rider, an old hunter riding a burning warhorse with off-the-charts aura... No, scratch that word, otherwise it felt like going on this trip would lead to death... an old warrior.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason—whether current Johnny hadn't met that old man or due to something else—he had no one to turn to for help; otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to seeking out the Midnight Sons.

However, after pondering for a moment, Johnny shook his head and said, "As for fighting, forget it. Although I heard Blade say that you are that person... but it's not that I look down on you, it's just that demonic power is simply not something ordinary people can touch. You would be killed before you even laid a hand on them!"

"Okay, understood, farewell," Joss decisively cupped his fists in a salute and said.

*Says the philosophical zombie:*

*I don't know why I suddenly ran a fever again... Finally finished typing some of it, another chapter will be out shortly... Anyway, sorry for being a bit late~*