---
"Army or not, you must realize... You are doomed!"
- General Grievous (Star Wars)
---
<(Atem POV)>
Finding the so-called ruler of Hell momentarily bewildered by our presence, Victor was the first to seize the opportunity to speak, his voice monotonously flat like always.
"Mephisto," he began, "I am Doctor Victor Werner Von Doom, sovereign of the great country of Latveria. I have come before you once more to demand a battle for my mother's soul. Accept my challenge and…"
Mephisto interrupted with a dry chuckle, his fanged grin stretching wide. "Yes, yes, I know all that already. No need to drone on like some broken record every damn year. Honestly, do you ever tire of your own voice? Hah! You must have a rod so far up your ass it's practically a part of you. Hahahahahaha." His laughter echoed through the hellish throne room, but it vanished just as quickly as it came.
The very next moment, his crimson features hardened, and his eyes narrowed with a dangerous glint as he slowly rose from his throne. A flowing cape, the exact shade of his infernal red skin, materialized behind him, billowing as if caught in an invisible breeze before, finally, his gaze locked onto mine with a cold, simmering fury.
"But what I really want to know, Lady Hela, is why you're here… and why you're standing beside him." His voice dripped with venom as he jabbed a clawed finger in my direction. "He is the one who slaughtered my son, Blackheart, back on Earth. He even struck down Azazel—one of my most loyal followers on Earth. So, tell me, Death Queen… do you intend to declare war against me, a fellow Hell Lord?"
"Me? Oh no, of course not. Why would I ever declare war on a fellow Hell Lord?" Hela's lips curved into a small smile, her tone almost playful. "After all, was it not you who once declared, centuries ago, that all of us—save for Dormammu—stand on nearly equal footing? By your own admission, a battle between us would yield no true victor or benefits, only costly sacrifices." She said with a sharp glint in her eyes before tilting her head as if considering the notion. "No, I am merely here to observe… and, of course, to be entertained. After all, watching a charming young god challenge the Lord of Sin himself? That promises to be quite the spectacle." She shrugged, feigning innocence.
Mephisto let out a low, guttural growl, a sound that carried the illusion of acceptance. But of course, no one in the room was foolish enough to believe he had taken Hela's words at face value. The Lord of Hell was far too cunning, too insidious to be deceived so easily. No, he had likely already figured out our intentions—now he was simply biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to twist the situation in his favor.
"A challenge, is it?" His lips curled into a smirk. "Seems too many people for just one challenge, don't you think? But I suppose the spell circle at the battle royale must have recognized you all as a... team. Yes, that would explain why it allowed all of you into my palace at the same time. An oversight I'll have to correct… can't have that happening again." His smirk widened. "After all, watching allies and friends slaughter each other just for the chance to challenge me would be far more entertaining than dealing with multiple challengers at once." He chuckled darkly before his gaze snapped back to me, his expression darkening.
"And you…" His voice was laced with pure malice. "Ever since you killed my son, I've been trying to track you down. Yet until this moment, you always somehow managed to remain beyond my senses. A high-level concealment spell, perhaps." He guessed, his claws clenching into a fist. "But now..." His smile turned predatory. "Now that you stand before me, I will make certain you don't leave my palace alive, little fledgling god." He spat the last word like venom, two literal balls of fire staring at me, burning where his eyeballs should have been.
His gaze then shifted to Hela, scrutinizing her with dangerous amusement. "And I am sure that my fellow Hell Lord isn't going to complain too, since she is just here to watch. After all, if she does interfere, then that would be an act of war. And we both know…" His smirk deepened as he gave her a piercing look. "…a war between Hell Lords always gets messy, and sometimes even other Hell Lords or gods of other pantheons might knowingly or unknowingly get involved in them."
Hela gave no response to his threat, choosing instead to remain silent, her face mirroring an unreadable mask of cold indifference.
"Perhaps this was a mistake," Natalia—better known as Natasha—murmured under her breath. She knew all too well that she would be at the most disadvantage in case of an all-out battle in this realm. As a mere human without any magic, survival would be nearly impossible without constant aid. Even now, she could feel the oppressive heat and the corrupting influence of Hell pressing against her, trying to invade her body. The only reason she remained unaffected was that my divine energy was relentlessly shielding her from the effects of this infernal environment. Without it, enduring this wretched dimension would be far more difficult for her than it seemed.
Furthermore, even if she could resist the adverse effects of Hell with her enhanced body for some time, she still would not be able to fight against the supernatural without the necessary weapons. As a Black Widow, she had been trained from birth to counter humans, super soldiers, and even machines, but not actual demons from Hell.
"Mephisto, you dare to ignore Doom while he stands before you?" Victor's voice thundered, his rage finally breaking free. "Doom will teach you the true meaning of fear, Hellspawn." He threatened before hurling a small cube—concealed within his grasp—directly at the Ruler of Hell without the slightest hesitation.
It was clear to my superior senses that the cube was, in fact, a rune-engraved artifact containing a very powerful spell sealed inside it. If it were anyone else, they would be in big trouble, irrespective of the actual function of the spell inside the cube. But unfortunately for Doom, this wasn't just anyone else. This was a Hell Lord, the Prince of Darkness, Mephisto.
Mephisto eyed the cube with mild amusement. "Hm… The Baatorian Hell-Binder Cube? Now that's a relic I haven't seen in ages. I always wondered where it ended up after Zathrakk bought it from me all those years ago. I guess he bartered it to a human, then. How quaint." He let out a low chuckle as he remained still, watching as the cube detonated in a flash of magic, unleashing thousands of glowing cables that coiled around him, instantly tightening in an attempt to bind him in place.
"This would be quite effective against a high demon… perhaps even an archdemon." His voice was laced with amusement as he examined the bindings tightening like snakes all over his body. "But unfortunately for you—" He lifted a single clawed finger and tugged at one of the ropes binding his wrist. The moment he did, the entire construct unraveled in an instant, dissolving into nothing. "—it was never meant to hold a Hell Lord, little prince."
"Impossible!" Doom exclaimed, not wanting to believe his bad fortune.
"Impossible?" Mephisto mused. "Nothing is impossible in my realm, boy—except for you ever defeating me, that is." Then, the very next moment, with a lazy snap of his fingers, the ground beneath Doom's feet twisted and opened up into a gaping void, swallowing him in an instant. The king of Latveria vanished without a struggle, consumed by the hole before he could even react.
"A shame, really." Mephisto sighed, feigning disappointment. "I do so enjoy our little games—raising your hopes just to crush them under my heel every year. But alas, pressing matters demand my attention today. So, I won't be able to play with you, my dear toy. You'll have to wait until next year." Even as Doom was no longer present, Mephisto's final insult rang through the air before his gaze finally turned toward me. "Now then… with that distraction handled, we can finally begin your little punishment session—without any further interruptions."
"... You are good." I nodded, acknowledging the level of emotional damage that Mephisto could cause with his taunts and insults before snorting. "But still not as good as me, Hell's most persistent bottom-feeding, overhyped, red clown jester."
I let the words sink in, watching as a flicker of annoyance passed through his infernal features. "All that power, all that scheming, all that... real estate, yet you're still nothing more than a glorified loan shark for desperate souls. An afterthought among true dimensional conquerors who dream of conquering realities and universes. Even your appearance is like a low-budget costume that a kid wears on Halloween, only to be bullied by his classmates for how dorky it looks." I mocked as I noticed two thin smiles forming on both Hela's and Natasha's faces.
But I still didn't stop. Instead, I continued with full confidence, watching as the smugness on his face wavered with each word that came out of my mouth. "You always parade around like some genius, all-knowing mastermind, yet every scheme you pull off is just another desperate grasp at relevance. Face it, Mephisto—you're not some feared king, not an angel that fell from grace, and definitely not the devil that people all over the world fear. You're just a petty bureaucrat in a flaming wasteland, scamming lost souls because it's the only power you'll ever have. In ancient stories, Lucifer Morningstar fell from Heaven, but at least he fell grandly. But you? You've been crawling in the dirt since the beginning... just like a filthy, grimy maggot." I finished before taking a breath.
"HELLFIRE!" Mephisto roared, his voice echoing through his palace as neon-green flames erupted in his palms. Without hesitation, he hurled them toward me, a swirling storm of pure, unrelenting fire.
Yet, instead of reducing me to ash as he had expected, the raging inferno merely swept past me, flowing harmlessly as if repelled by an unseen force. A force that, of course, was none other than my telekinesis.
I hadn't relied much on this ability in the past, but lately, it had been growing into one of my favorite powers in my arsenal. Honestly, telekinesis was one of the most broken powers in existence—especially at the level that I had attained after devouring Onslaught.
Mephisto continued to unleash wave after wave of hellfire, his neon-green flames engulfing me for several relentless minutes. Yet, as time passed and not a single mark appeared on my body, he finally ceased, realizing his efforts were futile.
He looked like he was ready to shift tactics, likely preparing another form of attack. But before he could act, I chose to test out my own newest ability.
"Void Flames!"
---
GIVE me POWAH-STONES💎💎💎.
You can join my Discord channel using the link below:
https://discord.gg/WYVfYe2KNS
Also, you can check out my Patreøn page as well to read ahead or to support your amazing author.
patreon.com/God_Doom
Right now, I have about 20chapters in advance there.
(My Patreon uses the new billing method, which means if you pledge on the 15th of this month, you will have to pay again on the day you pledged, i.e., the 15th of the next month. So, whenever you subscribe, you will get a whole month.)