MCIM Ch. 156

Since climbing to his position as Hell Lord, Mephisto hadn't encountered a single demon stupid enough to talk to him like that. The sheer audacity was almost impressive.

Mario felt equally stunned. In his understanding, Mephisto was already top-tier among demons, especially in the Marvel universe. Apart from the missing Satan, the other demon lords were at most only slightly stronger than Mephisto. Dormammu came to mind, that mutated version of a demon lord. Even he wouldn't be this arrogant. Sure, he could suppress Mephisto in a straight fight, but if Mephisto decided to make his life difficult? That would give even the Dark Lord a headache.

Like when Kaecilius became Dormammu's follower and tried to devour Earth, Mephisto had squeezed just a sliver of projection through and pinned the sorcerer to the ground.

"I've got a pretty good idea."

Mario looked at the still-bellowing black mist, a smile spreading across his face. Mephisto's expression mirrored his own. They were thinking the same thing. He took a deep breath.

The black smoke immediately lost cohesion and got sucked into Mephisto's body. His eyes gleamed with excitement as realization hit him.

"This is a brand-new world. A new Hell..."

Mario nodded.

"How about a fifty-fifty split?"

"Deal."

Mephisto agreed. Then a vicious smile spread across his face. "Seems I've caught the attention of certain entities. For nearly a thousand years, my subordinates have been cooped up. Time to let them out to play."

Mario smiled. "Perfect. I'll go recruit some people too."

As for the demon lord who'd just threatened them? Nobody in this room felt an ounce of pity. This was naked profit calculation.

A fifty-fifty split of what? The territory of this so-called Hell Lord, obviously.

He walked over to the couch and sat down.

If I hand half this Hell over to Kaecilius... given his talent, plus my help and the Ancient One's guidance, he should be able to successfully control half a Hell dimension.

Then we'd have our own Hell Lord.

A Hell Lord wasn't just a title. It came with benefits. Within their own Hell, their power increased exponentially. The home field advantage was massive.

At that moment, Harry and Peter stepped forward, their eyes locked on Mario. Finally, Harry forced himself to stay calm and spoke, "Thank you for saving me. Otherwise, I might have followed the same path as my father."

He'd seen what he looked like during his "episodes." Later, when he relapsed again, he hadn't even remembered what happened.

Hearing Harry's words, Mario snapped out of his thoughts. He looked up at the two young men, smiled, and waved dismissively.

"I didn't want you and Peter ending up with such miserable futures. Since I had the ability to change things, I did. Like seeing a stray cat on the street and buying it some food."

For him, everything he did was simply following his own will. No deeper philosophy than that.

Hearing Mario's words, Harry froze for a moment before recovering. Being compared to a stray cat didn't feel great, but ultimately, this man had saved his life. And judging from his tone, Mario wasn't asking for anything in return at all.

"The curse on me, what exactly was it?"

"Oh, that. One of your ancestors made a contract with a demon, then failed to uphold their end of the bargain. As punishment, the demon cursed your entire bloodline. Your ancestor probably died on the spot. Think back, did any of your family members die suddenly and unexpectedly?"

Normally, these kinds of curses didn't stretch back too far. Once a demonic curse was placed, it couldn't really sustain itself for many generations. If Mario hadn't intervened, the Osborn family line would have ended with Harry.

Harry thought about it, his expression darkening as he nodded slightly. Family scandals weren't something to air publicly, so he didn't elaborate. Mario, for his part, wasn't particularly curious about the specifics. He was just slightly impressed that despite facing such a powerful being, that ancestor had still broken the contract.

"Oh, right. Harry, I need you to do something. Bring Dr. Octavius back from the hospital. That shouldn't be difficult for you. Peter, Dr. Octavius' tentacle inhibitor chip has been damaged. He's being affected by the mechanical arms now. You'd better go along, in case those tentacles end up hurting someone."

Peter's expression shifted immediately. He knew exactly how monstrous the power of Otto's mechanical arms was, strong enough that even he had trouble resisting them.

"Alright. Are you planning to treat Dr. Octavius?"

"I'm going to ask if he's interested in joining my company first. Only after that will I consider whether to save him."

Mario's words were blunt and direct. The meaning was simple: if Otto didn't want to join, then whether he lived or died was no longer Mario's concern.

At this point, his focus had already shifted to matters of Hell.

He turned to look at Mephisto. "I want to call in a few people. One of them might be someone you don't like."

Mephisto immediately understood who Mario meant. "You mean the Ancient One?"

Mario nodded.

Mephisto smiled. "Don't worry, I won't make a move against her. I can't beat her with just an avatar anyway. Besides, if she helps this time, things will be much easier."

---

Kamar-Taj.

Mario sat across from the Ancient One, lifted his tea cup, and took a light sip. The warm liquid left a distinctive fragrance lingering in his mouth.

"That's roughly the situation."

The Ancient One's expression was grave. She watched Mario savor the tea before finally speaking. "You're playing with fire. Mephisto is dangerous. The facade he shows you may be deceiving you."

Mario nodded and smiled. "I know. That's why we need a Hell Lord of our own. This time, in cooperating with Mephisto, I plan to make Kaecilius the new Lord of Hell, just like Dormammu became the Dark Lord."

Dormammu had originally been a sorcerer. After accidentally discovering the Dark Dimension and entering it, he'd abandoned his physical body to become its ruler, gaining incomparably powerful dark energy in the process.

"Very well. I will keep close watch on Mephisto and ensure he has no chance to lay any traps."

---

"Long time no see."

"Yeah. Long time no see."

A smile appeared on Kaecilius' face. His training had made him significantly stronger, and with the Ancient One's guidance, many of his foundational issues had been corrected.

Mario opened his arms and pulled Kaecilius into a hug. If he was being honest, he'd spent more time with Kaecilius than anyone else. Back when he couldn't open portals himself, he'd had no choice but to keep the sorcerer tied to his side.

"Are you planning to make a move on Hell?"

Mario smiled and nodded. "I've joined forces with Mephisto and the Ancient One. We're preparing to strike at a Hell dimension in a new world. This time, it mainly depends on you, Kaecilius. You must seize half of that Hell, merge with its dimensional rules, and become the new Hell Lord. Only by becoming stronger yourself can you save your family."

After this period of reflection, Kaecilius had come to understand the Ancient One's words. If he truly relied on Mario to bring his family back, then Mario wouldn't be able to do anything else. He had too many subordinates, and everyone had regrets of their own.

That would inevitably cause chaos on a massive scale.

"I will become the new Hell Lord."

Mario nodded in satisfaction and, together with Kaecilius and the Ancient One, returned to the Spider-Man universe.

The moment the Ancient One arrived, she closed her eyes, scanning the dimensional fabric. Kaecilius did the same. Mephisto, who'd been lounging on the couch, straightened immediately when he saw the Ancient One and stood up.

Harry and Peter weren't present, they'd gone to the hospital to find Otto, following Mario's instructions.

Mephisto stared at the Ancient One with a darkened expression, itching to attack right then and there. But the impulse passed almost immediately. He nodded to Mario first, then waited for the Ancient One to finish her scan.

Soon, the Ancient One opened her eyes. "This world indeed has demons, and it also has Heaven. But it has no sorcerers... That's fascinating."

Then she turned her gaze to Mephisto. "I truly never imagined that one day I would be standing calmly together with you like this."

"Neither did I."

Mephisto even spread his arms, making a gesture as if to hug her, but the Ancient One ignored him completely. He showed no displeasure, instead, his smile grew even brighter.

RUMBLE...

Suddenly, massive dark clouds appeared outside, blotting out the sky. Fierce winds howled against the windows.

Mephisto, the Ancient One, and Kaecilius all turned toward the balcony.

Mephisto's expression became extremely animated, while a restrained smile appeared on the Ancient One's face.

A figure materialized out of thin air on the balcony.

The newcomer was barefoot, dressed in a white suit, with a confident smile plastered across his face. A powerful aura radiated from his entire body, making the air feel heavier.

Fortunately, even Kaecilius only frowned slightly and didn't suffer any discomfort from the pressure.

The visitor took two steps forward. With every step, his bare feet seemed to tread on black sludge, leaving black footprints on the clean floor.

Mario narrowed his eyes as he looked at the figure, but another name surfaced in his mind.

Constantine...

This world mixes Constantine and Spider-Man. No wonder there are demons here but no Sanctum sorcerers. This must be Constantine's movie universe...

John Constantine. The guy could be considered notorious across both Marvel and DC universes, an expert at selling out his teammates. If Mario ever knew him personally, he'd find a way to eliminate the threat, even if it meant mutual destruction. Because you never knew when Constantine would betray you.

At this moment, the uninvited demon smiled and said, "I presume it was one of you who lifted the curse on the Osborn family."

Although he spoke to the group, his gaze never left the Ancient One. He could sense the immense power within her and Kaecilius. However, he couldn't detect any power from Mephisto or Mario, so his attention focused mainly on the Ancient One and Kaecilius.

Mario came back to his senses and looked at the demon before him. If he remembered correctly, this was Satan, the legitimate Hell Lord of this world. In terms of status alone, this Satan ranked higher than Mephisto. One was a true Hell Lord; the other merely bore the title while being a Hell overlord.

He pulled his staff from his inventory. The holy gem at its tip emitted a soothing glow.

"Shall we move?"

He glanced at the Ancient One and asked directly.

The Ancient One smiled and nodded. Then came the sound of shattering glass, and their figures vanished from the penthouse. She raised her hand immediately. Layers upon layers of magic circles materialized in the air around her, golden light tracing complex geometric patterns.

Mephisto seemed to recall some unpleasant memories. His expression darkened slightly, but soon a dark-red figure surged up from beneath him. His true demonic form emerged. Massive horns rose from his head, wreathed in hellfire.

A gigantic flaming greatsword condensed in his hand, the blade alone easily five meters long.

The previously calm and composed Satan was now completely panicked. His expression shifted dramatically as he stared at Mephisto's true form.

"That aura... you're Mephisto!"

He tried to flee, wanting to send information back to his Hell, but within the Mirror Dimension, escape wasn't an option.

Magic circles identical to the Ancient One's appeared in Kaecilius' hands. Several enormous golden whips materialized. This time, they weren't meant to restrain, they were weapons, lashing at Satan with blinding speed.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The whips connected, tearing through Satan's defenses and scorching his flesh.

At the same time, Satan's body began transforming. The massive form of a demon lord unfurled, skin identical to Mephisto's deep crimson, though the body appeared somewhat shorter in stature.

"Holy shit... Don't tell me this Satan is actually Mephisto?"

Mario stared at the Mephisto-lookalike figure and couldn't help blurting it out in shock.