"See you soon"—what the hell does that mean?
Sipping on a glass of his own Château Latour, William only had to think for a second before it hit him.
That old ghost Mephisto… don't tell me he figured out I left a spatial mark on his projection?
Now that crafty old fox had dropped that line, William found himself hesitating—should he kill this demon named Bena or not?
The appearance of his magical clone had already tipped Mephisto off that William had tampered with his projection. But letting Bena live… after the bastard tried to trap and transform him into a dark creature? No way. Especially since Bena's real target was the space bridge. Leaving him alive was practically inviting disaster on his loved ones.
Between two evils, choose the lesser one.
William downed the rest of his wine in a single gulp, and with just a thought, his magical clone flashed into place beside Mephisto's projection.
"Changed your mind?" Mephisto grinned the moment he saw him. "I thought we were alike—ruthless, driven, uncaring about collateral damage…"
But before he could finish, William's clone shot forward like lightning and grabbed the projection by the neck, hoisting him into the air. "Tell me—if I take your projection and toss it into a star like I did with Set, do you think your territory will blow up the same way his Dark Kingdom did?"
"Heh… you think we Hell lords haven't prepared for that?"
"But you're forgetting—I hold the Space Stone." William smirked, snapping his fingers and locking Mephisto's projection in a spatial bind.
And suddenly, this idea started sounding really good.
He only needed something capable of withstanding the non-core regions of a star—tens of millions of degrees—without disrupting spatial energy. Then he could just open a portal directly into a star's heart. The solar heat—millions to tens of millions of degrees—would pour into Hell through the gateway.
At the very least, it would cause Set-level devastation. Done right—or done multiple times—it could fry legions of dark creatures and reshape entire regions of Hell.
A one-man assault to destroy an entire dimension? Just the thought of it had William's blood surging.
He closed his eyes. Seconds later, when they opened again, they were glowing a brilliant blue. Space thickened and warped around him.
He tagged Mephisto's projection with a precise spatial coordinate.
The moment Mephisto felt space energy surging through his projection and saw William's excited face, his own expression twisted in panic.
This madman really might go through with it.
Mephisto bared his fangs, practically snarling, "If you want a war to the death—go ahead. I swear in the name of Satan, if I can't drag you down, I'll take your mother, your friends, your soldiers—hell, even your dog—and send them all to Hell.
And if I fail, may I never sit on the Satan throne."
BOOM—!
A thunderous sound echoed through the sky.
William froze. That was the will of the Hell dimension… acknowledging Mephisto's oath.
His heart pounded. His mind cleared instantly.
He wasn't afraid of Mephisto's threats—but if he really did it, everyone in the universe would see him as a cosmic threat.
Destroying an entire realm just for personal revenge? Without a war, without a survival crisis?
No one would accept that. He'd be seen as a madman wielding apocalyptic power.
Forget peace—he might draw the attention of the highest-tier beings in the cosmos. Even if he survived, there was no way he'd keep the Space Stone.
After all, if people could keep Infinity Stones, why were they always lost?
In the movies alone, a Celestial once used the Power Stone to obliterate a planet. And now, that very same stone was unclaimed, just waiting for Star-Lord to help William find it.
With that in mind, William relaxed his grip on Mephisto's neck and grinned. "Old Meph, you've lived how long? Why so jumpy?
I was just messing with you. Did you really need to swear on Satan's name?"
Mephisto shoved his hand away, breathing a quiet sigh of relief, but grumbled, "If I hadn't, you'd have actually gone through with it, wouldn't you, you lunatic?"
Then he grabbed William's clone by the collar. "You think I can't tell you actually meant it?"
He suddenly started cursing, "Damn it—damn it—fucking Set! Why the hell did that bastard come crawling to me?
If he'd gone to another demon lord, I wouldn't have crossed paths with you. I could've just sat back, pulled some strings, and used you to eliminate one of my Satan throne rivals.
Then, boom—I'd be King of Hell."
He growled through clenched teeth, "Set, I'm going to tear you apart."
Watching Mephisto start to unravel, William quietly cast a subtle madness-inducing spell and whispered, "That's right. You should tear that moron Set apart. He ruined your plans."
But unexpectedly, the moment the negative magic touched Mephisto's projection, it snapped him out of it.
"Has no one told you? Negative magic isn't poison to us—it's nourishment."
"…Wait, really?"
William blinked in shock. And then it hit him—Mephisto was a demon. And this was just a projection. No way a madness spell would affect it.
He pretended nothing happened. "So? What's your point? Like I'd waste my magic on a projection. That'd be pointless."
"Would it?" Mephisto sneered. "Only you know the answer to that."
Whup whup whup—
The sound of wings flapping echoed through the air.
Both turned to look. A stone-winged creature with the body of a bestial orc and a massive longsword was flying toward them.
"Ah, these Heaven mutts—always dramatic," Mephisto said with a grin. "New York time, 2 PM tomorrow. Long Island Cemetery, yes?"
"At this point, do we even need a wager? Just let me kill Set and we can go our separate ways."
"No, no, no, my dear William." Mephisto grinned, retreating into the shadows as the stone beast approached. "I'm interested in every fun little soul."
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