MCIM Ch. 149

Mephisto took the Ghost Rider medallion from Mario's hand, turning it over. The artifact had undergone changes he couldn't quite identify, but he could still clearly sense the sinful souls trapped within its cursed metal.

Azure light flickered across his palm, and one by one, translucent blue spirits began streaming out of the medallion. They filled the air around them, growing in number until the entire chamber was packed with ethereal figures.

"Oh, this is beautiful."

With a wave of his hand, all the souls flew toward his massive true form.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

He reached into his chest and pulled out a red gemstone about the size of a golf ball. He held it out to Mario.

"This is one of my avatars. If you encounter danger, crush it directly. It's only a fragment of my power, but it should buy you time to escape whatever's trying to kill you."

At this moment, he wanted Mario alive more than almost anyone else in existence. The reason was simple economics. Mario was absurdly, impossibly productive.

Other Hell Lords were watching the Marvel universe too, after all. he had gone through a lot of effort to cultivate Johnny Blaze as a Ghost Rider and send him topside. In a good year, Johnny might collect a hundred villain souls. Maybe a hundred and fifty if he really pushed himself. Mario had been operating for three or four months and had already delivered over four thousand evil souls. Some of them were so saturated with wickedness that even he felt his mouth water. These weren't just damned souls, these were premium vintage evil.

Mario accepted the gemstone. "That's it? Come on. You're being cheap here. At minimum, you should be throwing in some Hell specialties. And keep your eyes open for more Spirits of Vengeance. The bad guys on my end are practically lining up to come visit."

Mephisto nodded enthusiastically. He wasn't worried about Mario asking for things, he was worried about Mario not asking for anything. A business partner with no demands was a business partner who might walk away. After a moment's consideration, he spread his hands again. Blue light condensed in his palms, slowly coalescing into a small vial. Inside sloshed a liquid.

"This is soul essence. Not particularly useful to me, but extremely valuable for mortal souls. It can significantly enhance the strength of a human soul."

Mario's eyes lit up as he took the vial, holding it up to examine the blue liquid inside.

Mephisto was equally satisfied with the exchange. A bit of soul essence for thousands of souls? Highway robbery in his favor. And he hadn't lied about the value, this stuff was legitimately precious. It was a byproduct of absorbing sinful souls, but extracting even this small amount required processing at least a thousand damned spirits.

Most importantly, it had no side effects.

Johnny Blaze... His thoughts drifted as he watched Mario pocket the vial. Maybe it's time to terminate that contract. The Spirit of Vengeance is wasted on him.

Once upon a time, Johnny had seemed like an excellent investment. Now, with Mario in the picture, the Ghost Rider just looked adequate at best.

If I remember correctly, Lucifer once controlled a Spirit of Vengeance too. Might be time to have another chat with him.

Mario, oblivious to Mephisto's scheming, was already planning how to use the soul essence. I'll have the Ancient One check it first, and make sure there's no nasty surprises hidden in there. If it's clean, I'll give it to Skye and see if it boosts her abilities. And Mephisto definitely has more of this stuff. If it works well, I'll just come back for refills.

He pocketed the soul essence and flashed a brilliant smile. "Well shit, Mephisto. You're being way too generous here."

Mephisto returned the smile and reached out to shake Mario's hand. Call him whatever you want, as long as you kept delivering souls, he would answer to anything.

"Of course, of course. This visit caught me by surprise, that's all. i didn't have time to prepare properly. Next time, I'll make sure you're completely satisfied with the exchange."

Mario's eyes gleamed. "Easy there. We're just getting started. Plenty of time to build this relationship."

Each man got exactly what he wanted. Everyone was happy.

Mario accepted the Ghost Rider medallion back from Mephisto and slipped it into his inventory. "Alright, I should head back. Harvesting evil souls isn't exactly easy work. Some of these bastards hide really well."

He glanced toward where he'd placed the waystone, but instead of seeing the familiar obelisk, there was just a large hill.

What the hell?

He stared at Mephisto.

Where's my waystone?

Mephisto waved his hand, and the hill immediately began trembling. A passage revealed itself, leading deep into the artificial mountain.

"I protected the device you placed here. Just in case something went wrong."

You think I'm an idiot? Mario thought. Who besides the Ancient One would be crazy enough to break into Hell? And even if they did, why would they specifically target your bedroom?

But it didn't actually affect anything. The waystone's magic would transport him to a safe location regardless of what was built around it. If it was buried, he'd simply appear outside the obstruction.

He pulled a teleportation scroll from his inventory and gave it a sharp tug. His form began dissolving into particles of light.

As Mario's figure vanished completely, Mephisto's smile grew even wider.

---

Back on Endstar, Mario looked at the spot where the blood-red portal had been. It had vanished completely, leaving no trace it had ever existed.

Two portals remained. He wondered where these might lead, when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Erik and Darcy had returned, carrying equipment and measurement devices.

Erik looked at Mario. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to check out the portal?"

"Yeah, I already went through and came back."

Mario turned to face them, noting the slightly alarmed expressions on their faces. "That portal led to Mephisto's dimension. You know, Hell."

Darcy's voice carried a note of disbelief. "Mephisto? Like, the Mephisto from all the legends?"

Mario nodded.

"But that's just mythology, right? There aren't demon lords and Hell dimensions?"

"Oh, they're very real. This world is way more complicated than you think." Mario helped them set up their equipment, placing sensors and measurement devices around the remaining portals. "You've seen the sorcerers who open portals at the company, right? They're specifically responsible for defending Earth against interdimensional invasions. When we have time, I can take you to meet Mephisto. He's a pretty reasonable demon."

Erik and Darcy exchanged glances but didn't respond. They'd both heard of Mephisto's reputation. The concern wasn't about visiting Hell, it was about whether they'd come back.

After finishing the equipment setup, Mario suddenly slapped his forehead. "Damn it. I forgot to have him open a Lucky Block."

The mental image of the demon lord getting struck by instant-kill lightning was intensely satisfying. But then reality set in.

What if he opened something powerful instead? That would be a nightmare.

"Actually, forget it. Probably for the best that I forgot." He shook his head.

Same thing with the Ancient One. What if she opened something that summoned Eternity himself?

The mental image was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying.

He immediately abandoned the idea. He looked at the two remaining mysterious portals, then at Erik who was busy calibrating measurement equipment.

"You guys study this for now. I'll come back tomorrow."

He wanted to bring the soul essence to the Ancient One for examination.

After saying goodbye to Erik and Darcy, he used the waystone to transport to Kamar-Taj.

---

Marco opened the door and stepped outside into the Himalayan landscape. The endless, flawless white snow made him feel like his soul was being cleansed just by looking at it. Distant mountains were wrapped in silver, looking like something from a fantasy painting.

He took a deep breath of the cold mountain air, then heard the sound of a bell.

A faint smile crossed his face. "I should ask the Ancient One if she can reserve a spot for me. If I could build a villa here at Kamar-Taj and bring Skye for weekend getaways, it would be incredible."

He walked toward the Ancient One's residence and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

The Ancient One's voice came from inside, and Mario opened the door.

The room was exactly as he remembered, minimalist to the point of being spartan. The Ancient One sat cross-legged in meditation at the center, and aside from the cushion beneath her, there was no furniture at all. Even the industrial table he'd seen last time had disappeared. Walking up to the Ancient One, he pulled the soul essence from his inventory. The moment the vial appeared, the Ancient One's eyes opened, focusing on the bottle in his hand.

"It seems you went to see Mephisto again."

"Soul essence?"

She paused for several seconds, and Mario couldn't hold back anymore. He stepped closer and asked, "Could you check this for me?"

The Ancient One smiled slightly. But she didn't keep him in suspense.

"There's nothing wrong with this soul essence. It's pure soul energy. The color alone is proof of that. If there were other energies mixed in, it would be immediately detectable. What I'm more curious about is how you convinced Mephisto to give you soul essence. This is extremely valuable, even to him."

Mario chuckled awkwardly and tossed the vial back into his inventory. "Well... I just made a small business deal with him."

The Ancient One shook her head gently. "When dealing with demons, you must never be careless. If there's any problem, you can come to me."

For some reason, what Mario heard sounded more like: If you want to default on the deal, come find me, I have plenty of experience renegotiating contracts with Hell Lords.

"Alright, I will."

After chatting with the Ancient One for a while longer and asking about how things were going with her training regimen, Mario left half of the soul essence with her.

According to her, this wasn't a case of "more is better." The dosage had to match the user's strength. If someone with insufficient spiritual power used too much at once, their soul could fall into a coma, potentially causing their physical body to deteriorate.

Leaving Kamar-Taj, Mario sighed. He teleported to the Afterlife, arriving in the paradise-like hidden village.

Following the familiar path to Skye's quarters, he was warmly greeted by the Inhumans he encountered. This wasn't because of his relationship with Jiaying or his connection to Skye.

This was respect he'd earned personally, with his fists and his actions. He opened the door to Skye's bedroom and walked inside.

Seeing Skye still asleep, he shook his head with mock disappointment. "Your situational awareness really needs work."

He walked over and looked at her peaceful face. But the next moment, Skye's eyes opened, locking onto him with a bright smile. She'd woken up the instant the door opened. She pulled Mario into her arms.

"Why did you come back so quickly this time?"

Mario freed his hand and gently pinched Skye's nose. "Missed you."

"And I brought you a present."

Skye sat up immediately, looking at Mario. "What is it?"

Mario pulled out the vial containing the soul essence from his inventory. "This is good stuff. It should definitely boost your abilities."

An Inhuman's powers depended on both their physical body and their spiritual strength. Skye's physical capabilities were already impressive, but with soul essence enhancing her spiritual side, her powers could undergo a qualitative transformation.

Following the dosage the Ancient One had recommended, he indicated a measurement on the vial.

"Only drink this much. Don't drink more."

"Come on, open up."

Seeing Mario's serious expression, Skye nodded and opened her mouth. Mario poured the soul essence into Skye's mouth. Though it looked like liquid, the essence wasn't a physical substance. It would disperse and absorb on its own.

"That's enough. Don't drink any more."

Skye stopped, fighting against the intense, euphoric sensation rising from deep within her soul. It felt like every nerve ending in her spirit was singing.

Mario put the vial away and looked at Skye with concern. "How do you feel?"

Skye looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes. "I feel... cold."

Mario reached out and touched her forehead. It was quite warm, around forty degrees Celsius, but this matched the Ancient One's predictions. A normal side effect of soul energy absorption.

"It's fine, don't worry. This is completely normal."