148 Of Course You Need to Bring Proper Equipment for Exorcism

"Based on this, physical attacks deal zero damage, but physical laws such as inertia cannot be completely bypassed... Elemental attacks are effective... Throwing chunks of ice does not count as magical damage... And finally, soul-based damage is exceptionally potent."

Looking at Johnny, who was lying flat on the ground with a look of existential despair, Joss contentedly jotted down his experimental results in a small notebook.

Although the process of defeating the Ghost Rider could hardly be described as effortless and breezy, it had been remarkably straightforward.

After all, according to Joss's deductions, Johnny was currently in that multi-year period glossed over in the movie—the time immediately following his acquisition of the Ghost Rider's powers, spent clumsily trying to get a grip on them.

Even though he had inadvertently provoked that ridiculous demon ahead of time, Johnny's mastery over the Ghost Rider's power did not even qualify as rudimentary.

He could only transform at night when experiencing drastic emotional fluctuations, or when his consciousness was completely overridden by the Rider's power. Once transformed, he lost the ability to speak altogether, and his fighting style was no different from a wild beast's, relying entirely on reckless, direct charges.

Were it not for the Ghost Rider's undead nature and the soul-scorching effect of hellfire—two utterly broken cheats—Johnny's frivolous personality would have seen him beaten to a pulp by countless people over the years.

Compounding this was his lack of understanding regarding the Rider's abilities; he viewed them as a terrifying demonic power. For an American deeply indoctrinated in Christian beliefs, navigating such faith-based hurdles was an extraordinarily difficult obstacle to overcome.

If a person was terrified of their own power, and that power operated on such a metaphysical level, Johnny undoubtedly lacked the capacity to unleash even thirty percent of the Ghost Rider's true strength.

Under such circumstances, Joss finding it easy to defeat him was an understatement.

Of course, another factor was that he had brought Little Black and the others along to orchestrate a four-versus-one beatdown—a textbook example of overwhelming force with zero regard for fair play. It would have been a miracle if Johnny had won.

"That shield of yours... what on earth is it? Why was it able to attack my soul?" Lying spread-eagled on the ground, Johnny was still trembling all over from the lingering trauma of his soul being assaulted. That kind of pain was simply beyond what an ordinary person could endure.

"That just shows how arrogant you are. Don't assume you're the only one in this world who commands the power of the soul. This weapon of mine can strike the soul directly."

Johnny squinted sideways at Joss and asked with some uncertainty, "Just now, you said this is your... weapon? Then what is that sword in your hand?"

"The ultimate defense, Caliburn!"

"Defense...?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"..." Johnny originally had a mountain of complaints he wanted to vent, but at that moment, he had a strong intuition that if he kept arguing, he might just get beaten up again. He wisely chose to shut his mouth.

Observing Johnny's expression, Joss shrugged and said, "Anyway, now I've pretty much figured out the demon's weaknesses. The next step is dealing with your personal issues."

"My issues? What issues do I have?" Hearing Joss's baffling remark, Johnny was momentarily at a loss.

Joss's expression turned stern as he said mercilessly, "Have you never considered that your uncontrollable power could end up killing your teammates in battle? Furthermore, you possess such immense strength, yet you yourself are pathetically weak. By what right do you expect to challenge the powerful demon you keep talking about?"

"My power...?"

Hearing Joss put it this way, Johnny suddenly realized how hollow he felt inside. He had initially assumed it was just a brief aftereffect of the soul attack, but now he recognized that this emptiness originated deep within his very soul.

"Damn it... I shouldn't be this weak... I... It's that damned demon! It must have cursed me!" After a brief stun, Johnny flew into a furious roar, clearly pinning all the blame on that demon.

Joss stealthily slipped a glob of hellfire into his system inventory, nodded silently in agreement, and said, "Ah, yes, it's definitely the demon's fault!"

"Ahem, but that works out nicely anyway. If you can't even master this tiny fraction of power, what good would any amount of extra power do you?" Joss put his hands behind his back, checking a newly completed quest while putting on the lofty, transcendent demeanor of a senior master.

It had to be said, although Joss's appearance wasn't the kind that immediately elicited comments of "so handsome," he did have a few angles that carried a certain charm—such as the exact angle Johnny was currently looking at him from.

And as we all know, good-looking people receive preferential treatment everywhere, which forcibly boosted the credibility of Joss's words by a solid three percentage points.

Coupled with the fact that Johnny had previously heard some rumors about Joss, his attitude toward this Avenger—while perhaps not quite awe—was certainly filled with a degree of astonishment.

After all, by comparison, despite possessing a "higher level" of power, he had spent the last few years doing nothing but street brawls and the occasional exorcism. Whether those exorcisms stemmed from his own volition or the Ghost Rider's influence was something even he couldn't say for sure.

Combining all these factors, the way Johnny looked at Joss underwent a complete transformation, resembling the gaze one would reserve for a wise elder.

Johnny flipped over, scrambled up from the ground in a clumsy roll, and said solemnly, "You're right. I'm still far too immature."

"Well... ahem, no worries, no worries. People need to undergo tempering, after all. Otherwise, if they just told you 'you're the Ghost Rider, go be the Ghost Rider,' wouldn't that feel a bit pre-ordained, right? So no matter what, this time we must plan our strategy thoroughly and strive for a dual success in defeating both the demon and the spirit!"

"Y-Yes! My thoughts exactly!" In his excitement, Johnny's rural frontier accent slipped right out.

Though he had no clue what Joss was rambling about, he instinctively felt that the other person's words made absolute sense—especially the part about dual success!

"Alright, so like I said before, your girlfriend wasn't kidnapped just today; panicking for a moment isn't going to change anything. Therefore, our next step is to make proper preparations first."

Having figured out how to damage demon-type enemies, Joss's mind had already started racing. Moreover, since one of his quests was already completed and the remaining ones didn't require him to fight demons head-on, it was naturally time to shift tactics.

First, he had Johnny lead him and the others to a spacious, secluded spot to wait temporarily. Then, Joss used the Avengers' internal communication line to contact Tony Stark, requesting some assistance.

"Alright, that's settled on this end. Now we just wait for them to deliver what I need." Once the call ended, Joss turned his gaze back to Johnny and smiled, "Next, let's get you an upgrade."