Although Mephisto knew very well that William likely wouldn't dare risk devouring a demon lord's soul, he couldn't relax.
Normally, if it were anyone else, Mephisto would even welcome the chance for his soul fragment to invade someone—giving him a way to destroy them from the inside.
But William was different: he was a legendary mage, someone with both demonic talents and a bottomless well of mental strength. If anyone could pull off soul devouring without suffering backlash, it would be him.
"I swear upon the Satanic Throne," Mephisto growled, "if you release this fragment of my soul, I will immediately expel Set from my domain and never again interfere between you two."
Boom—
The voice of the Hell Dimension's Will rumbled through the air, signaling that it had acknowledged the oath.
Hearing it, William finally relaxed.
Although he had demonic talents and didn't have to worry about mental power growth, no one could guarantee that devouring Mephisto's soul wouldn't mutate him into something monstrous.
"One thing at a time, buddy," William grinned. "Giving up Set was something you should have done anyway.
If you want me to spare your soul fragment, fine—but you'll have to trade me something else, like, say, the soul fragment you just swallowed. Or something of equivalent value."
"This human is that important to you?"
Hearing William was willing to bargain, Mephisto realized both Set and John Wick's tainted soul were lost causes.
Still, his pride—and the demons' natural instinct to never back down—made him hesitate.
Seeing Mephisto hesitate, William narrowed his eyes and let his holy light blaze even brighter, making his threat obvious.
"Trade it or not?"
Mephisto, feeling his face begin to blacken and burn under the holy light, had no choice but to cough up the soul fragment. But with a wicked trick, he blew the fragment straight into the unconscious John Wick's body.
William frowned as he saw black smoke begin to seep from John's body.
Now, purging the contamination wouldn't be so simple.
If the soul fragment hadn't merged with John's entire soul, William could have purified it easily without much guilt—after all, the jealousy fragment was just a bundle of negative emotions.
But now? The entire soul was polluted. Any purification risked killing John outright—or turning him into a vegetable.
And from now on, John's fate would be forever tied to Hell and Mephisto.
Seeing William's tightly furrowed brow, Mephisto smirked triumphantly.
"I returned the soul fragment. Let me go."
William sighed and shook his head.
"No wonder you're a demon lord—you're willing to screw others even at your own expense."
Mephisto grinned wide, sharp teeth glinting.
"As long as my soul survives, I don't care about the rest. Besides, you never said you needed it before I gave it back."
Bang!
Encased in his Sentinel Armor, William punched Mephisto hard in the face, breaking several of the demon's sharp teeth.
Staring at the now-twisted, furious face, William chuckled,
"Sorry. I said I'd spare your soul—but I never said I wouldn't punch you."
Despite the blow, Mephisto was secretly pleased. He even faked losing his temper, snarling,
"Come on, you weakling, hit harder! If I beg for mercy, I'm not Mephisto!"
Bang!
Another punch.
This time, William cooled down a little—and quickly realized Mephisto's ploy.
If William hit too hard and shattered the soul-bound projection, the soul fragment would automatically be expelled from the material plane and return to Hell.
William immediately pulled back the holy light, smoothed Mephisto's suit collar, and smiled cheerfully.
"You're going to be the Satanic King, after all. Don't be so petty, buddy.
Tell you what—I'll apologize. You help me purge the pollution from John Wick's soul."
With the holy light withdrawn, Mephisto's horns and fangs faded, returning him to the appearance of a middle-aged man.
But he wasn't happy. On the contrary, he felt increasingly uneasy.
"Fine, fine," he said quickly. "I forgive you. Now let me go!"
"That's more like it," William patted his shoulder heartily.
At the touch, Mephisto stiffened in panic before forcing a fake smile when William's gaze swept over him.
William ignored the stiffness and said casually,
"Since we're friends now, mind telling me how Heaven contacted you?"
"This... this... I can't say."
Seeing Mephisto's troubled expression, William frowned. Could it really be direct contact between two dimensional wills?
The thought chilled him.
"If that's the case," William said thoughtfully, "how about you swear on the Satanic Throne that if you ever collaborate with Heaven again, you'll forever lose your right to the throne?"
"I—I..."
"Enough stammering," William cut him off coldly.
"If you won't swear, how do you expect me to trust you? Should I assume you'll keep working with Heaven to screw me over?"
After a moment of hesitation, Mephisto decided it wasn't worth it—and promptly swore the oath.
Boom—
The sound of the Hell Dimension's Will rumbled again, confirming the vow.
But William didn't release the spatial bind.
Instead, he grinned darkly and said,
"Since we're already here, buddy, why not swear another oath? This time, promise never to harm any of my family members."
Enraged, Mephisto roared,
"FUCK YOU, William Devonshire! You're pushing it too far!"
"Come on," William's smile didn't waver.
"I didn't ask you to stop targeting me—just to leave my family out of it. I'm even giving you an out."
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
"Or are you already planning something against them? Don't force me to channel star energy into your domain."
"I—I..."
Mephisto wanted to deny it, but he knew that after his little stunt with John Wick's soul, William's guard had skyrocketed.
And honestly? Mephisto realized he'd been stupid—sacrificing long-term strategy just to screw over a minor pawn like John Wick.
Now he'd handed William a perfect excuse to keep him on a leash.
Not only was he banned from teaming up with Heaven again, he was now being forced to swear not to harm William's family.
But thinking deeper, Mephisto suddenly saw a silver lining:
Having a brutal, star-energy-wielding madman like William as a semi-stable enemy wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
At least it meant their future clashes would stay within a controllable range—and wouldn't escalate into a full-blown war every time.
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