Just as Mephisto's figure was about to vanish into the shadows...
Suddenly, a red-hot chain shot out from the corridor at breakneck speed.
It instantly wrapped around Mephisto's upper body, pinning his arms to his sides.
Then, with a violent yank, Mephisto—who had already half-merged with the darkness—was dragged back into the light.
Immediately after, the dim corridor was illuminated.
A Ghost Rider with a burning skull for a head was standing there, though no one had seen when he arrived.
Gripping the other end of the chain with one hand, his hollow eye sockets stared dead at the demon he had captured.
"MEPHISTO!! YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE ON EARTH!!"
However, even though his body was bound by chains and his retreat interrupted...
There wasn't a trace of panic on Mephisto's face. Instead, he looked the Ghost Rider up and down with keen interest.
"Robbie~ You should be thanking me. I gave your little brother the chance to walk again, and I haven't even claimed his life yet."
"You should know, usually when I make deals with people, I'm not this generous."
As he spoke, the bound Mephisto smiled and spread his hands (as best he could), as if to show he was telling the truth.
However, the burning skull face of the Ghost Rider at the other end of the chain showed a rare expression of confusion and bewilderment.
"Robbie... Brother...?"
It was as if Mephisto's words had awakened some buried memory.
The flames around the Ghost Rider—or rather, Robbie—suddenly began to flicker erratically.
Then, despite having a skeletal body, he clutched his head in agony, letting out shrill screams: "Robbie?", "Who am I?"
Seeing this, the smile on Mephisto's face widened.
"Oh~ My poor Robbie. Have you been worn down so much you can't even tell who you are anymore?"
"It seems you'll be replaced by Zarathos very soon. What a pity~ I'll have to find a new cage for him again."
Mephisto sounded genuinely regretful as he spoke, and even his gaze toward Robbie softened slightly.
However, just as the Ghost Rider seemed to be on the verge of collapse, the flames around his body suddenly surged violently, then contracted just as fast.
He gripped the iron chain tightly, roaring with a voice cold as ice.
"I AM... THE ENEMY OF DEMONS!!"
In an instant, Robbie poured all his hellfire into the chain. His arms bulged with power as he yanked viciously, dragging Mephisto toward him.
But just as Mephisto was pulled helplessly toward Robbie, his body suddenly turned incorporeal.
Before Robbie's furious punch could smash into Mephisto's face...
The parts of Mephisto's arms and waist that were wrapped by the chains instantly dissolved into sparks of fire.
In the blink of an eye, he slipped free from the chains and came to a steady stop right in front of Robbie, allowing the now-spent fist to halt just inches from his nose.
"You really live up to the title of the worst Ghost Rider I've ever signed."
As he spoke, Mephisto, now practically nose-to-nose with Robbie, suddenly raised his cane and tapped it lightly against Robbie's chest.
The next moment.
BOOM!
Fire exploded.
Robbie, who had seemingly held the upper hand just a second ago, was blasted away with laughable ease.
He flew backward over ten meters, smashing through the wall at the end of the corridor before finally coming to a stop.
However, repelling the Ghost Rider Robbie didn't mean the battle was over.
The instant he was blasted away, the walls on both sides of the corridor suddenly shattered in unison.
Two mecha-knights, clearly fusing technology with demonic aesthetics, burst out from behind the walls simultaneously.
Wielding sharp swords, they flanked Mephisto, attacking from left and right.
Slash! Slash!
Although the two mechas swung their blades and landed consecutive hits on Mephisto...
Just like Robbie's chains earlier, all attacks passed right through him as if hitting empty air. Aside from a few sparks, they had no effect.
Mephisto, on the other hand, strolled forward leisurely. He even had the spare capacity to offer a compliment.
"Integrating demons into technological mecha? A very creative idea. What do you say? Interested in working for me? The benefits are quite good."
As he spoke, two laser beams pierced through his face one after another.
Yet he made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through layers of concrete floors, staring clearly at Luca, who was remotely piloting the two demonic mechas from a conference room upstairs.
Monitoring the situation remotely, Luca naturally noticed Mephisto's gaze.
But he didn't feel nervous. He even had time to raise a hand and calm Gwen down.
"Don't be impulsive. Neither you nor Tony have any good means of fighting demons. This guy is famous for being treacherous and cunning. If you go down there and get controlled by his magic, we're really screwed."
Actually, the reason Luca and the others were gathered here was that they had detected Mephisto's intrusion in advance.
Of course, "in advance" wasn't by much.
Although Mephisto used magic to blind Hajimi's surveillance system upon arrival, Luca and Tony had been studying demons for days, so they weren't completely without other detection methods.
To prevent invisible demons from sneaking in, they had added several targeted detection devices to the lab.
However, Mephisto's method wasn't simple invisibility; it was closer to confusing the concept of his existence. So even though Hajimi detected abnormal fluctuations, it didn't flag anything wrong.
It was only after Mephisto left the lab that the residual fluctuations were noticed.
But since these sensors were only installed in the lab, they couldn't track where he went.
That was why Luca and the others had gathered here after receiving the notification.
They only managed to catch his tail again when Mephisto stopped hiding his presence and caused that small explosion.
"Hajimi, have you reconstructed the footage from inside the lab yet?"
While watching the "battle" in the infirmary corridor, Luca asked Hajimi.
But the answer wasn't satisfying.
"Sir, based on the latest scene in the lab from one minute ago, video reconstruction is currently at 39%."
Luca nodded calmly.
"Forget it. I think I've already figured something out."
Seeing that Robbie, the Ghost Rider who was blasted away earlier, had rejoined the fray, Luca immediately picked up the communicator nearby.
"Si Bei, coordinate with the Moro Mechas and try to snatch his cane. That thing should be solid!"
However, although Luca verbally ordered Si Bei to go for the cane, when he controlled the "Moro Mechas," he suddenly directed both units to attack the crimson rose on Mephisto's chest!
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