William had no intention of telling Mephisto that the only truly exceptional trait of the Tianwen Sword was its indestructibility—or rather, its impossibility to be damaged in any way. Given that, a mere dozen hammer strikes and the backlash from Set's Dark Codex couldn't possibly harm it.
There was probably nothing in the world more suitable than the Tianwen Sword for being used as a mystical nail.
However, once he obtained the Power Stone, the sword's level would rise to the very peak. At that point, a single swing might be enough to slice through an entire planet.
Holding the Tianwen Sword, William glanced at the now-dim and powerless Dark Codex embedded on its blade. With a mocking laugh, he cursed the Demon God Set as an idiot, then used the Frost Hammer to reabsorb the frost energy he had released.
With the sudden shift from extreme cold to heat, the underground vampire altar began to shake and seemed on the verge of collapse.
A single thought, and William appeared in the sky above the altar.
Looking up at the moon and stars scattered across the clear sky, he was just about to head back to the magic sanctum in New York to ask the Ancient One whether the Dark Codex could still be repaired—or possibly trade it for some treasures from Kamar-Taj—when a shadow came from afar, blotting out the moonlight.
In an instant, he sensed the smell of sulfur, undetectable to ordinary people.
A well-dressed old man in a tailored suit, holding a skull-topped cane, walked toward him from the distance.
Though he appeared to move slowly, in just over a dozen steps he crossed several kilometers, stopping only dozens of meters from William and staring at him.
William sneered. This kind of dramatic entrance? Please—I can do it too, and even better.
With a flicker, his body moved at a hundred kilometers per second, appearing like teleportation just five meters from the uninvited demon.
Mephisto's pupils shrank. He was genuinely surprised by William's speed and control.
Speed alone was hard, but what was even harder was stopping instantly after launching at full acceleration—this level of control was ten, even a hundred times more difficult than speed alone.
William activated the holy light runes in his eyes, easily seeing through the human disguise and revealing the demon's hideous form, full of fangs and horns.
"I am the Lord of Hell, the one and only Satan—Mephisto," the demon said with a slight bow and a smile. "Interested in making a deal?"
William frowned. The name Mephisto made his brow furrow even deeper.
In Marvel lore, Mephisto was perhaps the only demon to have ever earned the title of "Satan." In this world's Hell, there wasn't any singular demon lord named Satan—"Satan" was a title akin to "Emperor" among humans, the highest possible rank in Hell.
Anyone lacking sufficient power who dared sit on the Satan throne would face the united wrath of all other demon kings—Setorrak of the Crimson Hell included.
So even though Mephisto wasn't the strongest demon in Hell, he had reached the Satan seat entirely through cunning. In the main dimension, his manifestations were mostly used for seduction and manipulation, making him a truly sinister, scheming old devil.
While William believed he could imprison this Mephisto projection, there was no point in doing so. Just like William's magical clones, destroying it would only lead to petty grudges and loss of face—not any real damage.
He also remembered that Set was currently in league with Mephisto. If William were to believe that the previous ambush hadn't involved Mephisto, he'd be a fool.
Since Mephisto had already tried to turn him into a dark creature, there was no need to be polite.
Expressionless, William said, "Go kill Set for me first. Then we can talk. Otherwise, go back to wherever you crawled from."
As he finished, a thought struck him—Mephisto might be here for the Celestial Enemy's space bridge.
He put away the Tianwen Sword and the Dark Codex on its blade into his storage space, raised his palm, and summoned the space bridge's main control energy column into the air above his hand.
Squinting, he said, "You're probably just like those angels from the Tenth Realm—after the space bridge. But I suggest you move fast and take care of Set, before I'm tempted by Heaven's offer and sell it to your sworn enemy."
Then William considered whether he should initiate contact with the people from Heaven.
Although, at their core, Heaven and Hell were the same—both fighting over faith and souls—when push came to shove, even those who hated Heaven for its hypocrisy would still choose to cooperate with it over Hell eight times out of ten.
"No, you're wrong. Once you've dealt with Heaven, you'll understand. It may look beautiful on the surface, but it's colder than the deepest ice," Mephisto replied, smiling as if he had read William's mind. "Hell may be cruel, but it's filled with opportunity and challenge. That suits someone like you—someone who refuses to bow to fate. Only in Hell can you act freely, without restraint."
"Ah—" William yawned exaggeratedly and apologized insincerely, "Sorry, no matter how nice you make it sound, it has nothing to do with me. When it comes down to it, neither Heaven nor Hell is as good as Earth.
Otherwise, you guys wouldn't be trying so hard to squeeze into the material world. Are you really doing it just for souls?
You've just been stuck in Hell too long and gotten bored. That's why you're always thinking about living it up in the material world."
He dismissed the space bridge's energy column, casually tossing the Frost Hammer into the air and catching it again. Grinning, he added, "I don't even know how long my lifespan has been extended by now. When I finally get bored of the material world and want a change of scenery, maybe I'll visit Hell.
Though, by then, you might regret ever inviting me. I just might take that Satan throne for myself and stomp all you old bastards into the ground."
"Heh heh—heh heh," Mephisto could no longer maintain his composed, superior demeanor. His voice grew hoarse with fury. "Then you'd better pray that your loved ones all make it to Heaven. Otherwise, Hell has no shortage of torment and agony waiting for them."
Hearing Mephisto mention his mother, William's grip on the Frost Hammer immediately tightened, the sound of his knuckles cracking echoing in the air.
But before long, he smiled again. Tossing the hammer toward Mephisto's ear and recalling it instantly with a thought, he walked over to the demon.
"You know what, old Meph?" William said, grinning as he patted Mephisto on the shoulder.
In the demon's stunned and disbelieving gaze, William added, "Before I met you, I was always afraid that my mother might become a target for demons like you.
But seeing you pissed off like this, I suddenly realized—you're not so different from Odin and the others. Just a bunch of overpowered supernaturals."
He tapped his chest and said, "And look at me—I've become one too. A supernatural being who even controls a fundamental law of this world."
"If anyone pisses me off, I swear I'll drop nukes on their little Hell territory every single day."
As he spoke, William split off a clone from his main body. The clone grabbed Mephisto's projection, and in an instant, they both appeared in Hell—at the very place William had visited before.
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