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"Poor Butterfly. You lost your wings!"
- Toffee (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)
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<(Atem POV)>
"Void Fire!" I roared, dark purple flames erupting from my hands in an instant, surging toward Mephisto like a relentless inferno. It wasn't the overwhelming tidal wave of hellfire he had just unleashed on me, but the amount of fire could still be compared to the most cutting-edge military-grade flamethrowers Earth had to offer.
"Heh, that's all? Pathetic for a so-called god!" Mephisto sneered, casually raising a hand to block the attack. The smug look on his face and his ever-present grin made it clear that he didn't see my fire as an actual threat.
However, the moment the purple flames touched his fingertips, his expression twisted. His grin instantly vanished as his eyes widened just a fraction. It was at this moment that Mephisto finally realized that he had just fucked up.
A guttural snarl tore from Mephisto's throat as soon as the dark fire had seared his flesh. Within moments, his smirk was replaced by wide-eyed fury as he tried to yank his burning hand back. However, for some reason, all his instincts warned him that simply yanking his burning hand away wouldn't save him. So, he did the next best thing he could think of, he severed all of his burning fingers by cutting them off at their bases.
"I felt that. It felt like... nothing," he hissed, watching as his fingers slowly began to mend again—slowly, not instantly. That alone made his eye twitch. "That doesn't happen often," He murmured, rolling his wrist as if testing the damage.
Around him, embers of purple void fire crackled and smoldered, devouring anything they touched at a slow, merciless pace. That was the real strength of these flames—they didn't spread fast, but there was almost nothing in existence they couldn't consume. Nothing could extinguish them. Given enough time, they could even reduce this entire dimension to ash, and not even Mephisto would be able to stop it.
The problem? I didn't have that kind of time.
"I've made up my mind… I want you for myself—for my collection. And if I can't have you, no one else will." His lips curled into a sinister grin, his gaze locking onto me like I was some rare, forbidden prize.
Yeah… this guy was seriously giving me Orochimaru vibes.
With a flick of his wrist, countless fiery portals made of seething hellfire erupted around us. The entire palace quaked beneath his oppressive aura as his smirk deepened. "I'm afraid I'll have to go back on my earlier words. My subjects seem to have grown too... curious and unruly for us to have any semblance of privacy anymore." His words carried the weight of an apology, but the expression on his face didn't look even the least bit apologetic.
Through the portals, hundreds of demons—some humanoid, others monstrous—soon began to pour into the palace, their claws and fangs bared as they zeroed in on me and Natasha. Strangely, they didn't even glance at Hela, who was hovering above the chaos—almost like they didn't see her as a threat.
'Don't'. I sent the thought directly to Hela, as soon as I sensed her urge to break her so-called neutrality. She hesitated for a second but then exhaled slowly before nodding expressing her silent agreement to let me do what I wanted.
"In your CV, you mentioned that you know the basics of martial arts, right?" I asked as I reached into my inventory, summoning the first prototype of the Universal Weapon—Zoya's creation, built from the blueprints I'd earned from the system during the quest to battle Ronan. "Here, take this," I said, handing the hammer to Natasha. "It should be enough to keep you alive against the low-level demons… if any get past me, that is."
As soon as she gripped the weapon, it began to transform, resizing itself into a more compact form, perfectly balanced for her body proportions. It was a clear sign that it had recognized her as its temporary wielder, courtesy of Zoya.
"What is this, Mr. Atem? Some kind of alien weapon?" she asked, already half-guessing the answer.
"More or less. The design's alien, yeah, but it was built right here on Earth by Meta Enterprises… under its sub-brand, Hammer Industries." I tried for a joke, but the absence of any laughter told me that no one found it funny.
"Anyway, just don't get overwhelmed... And do your best to bring down the hammer." I grinned before summoning my Void Fire again, unleashing a torrent of dark flames that engulfed the demons swarming toward me, reducing them to nothing.
Wherever the fire touched, a thin layer of ice spread in its wake, the air growing colder and the light dimming unnaturally. The fire's energy-absorption trait was truly something else.
Within seconds, the demon-infested room was nearly empty. The only ones left were writhing on the ground, their bodies slowly roasting in the still lingering embers of my Void Fire.
"You handled the low-level demons? Good for you!" Mephisto chuckled, stepping out from behind a smoldering pile of bestial corpses. The creatures had clearly shielded him in their final moments, their charred remains proof of their somewhat successful attempt to protect him from my flames. "But the thing is, they were just buying time for their betters—the high demons… and, of course, their demon lords." He revealed insidiously.
"Demon lords?" I raised an eyebrow. "Guess you're more cautious than I gave you credit for. Honestly, I figured you'd try to take me on alone, but it seems you're not above stacking the odds in your favor." I nodded, impressed. "Good. Honestly, I'm the same way."
A slow grin spread across my face as I finally felt "him" approaching the palace. "And just like you, I'm not opposed to calling in some backup." I tilted my head. "Turns out, there is someone else who really hates your guts. Your demon lords might be strong, but are they stronger than God's clenched fist?"
Mephisto's smug grin flickered. "You… you didn't. The Angel of Vengeance would never take orders from the likes of you, a god. He despises your kind as much as he does mine."
"Yeah, that's true," I admitted with a shrug. "But his host? He, I can work with. We go way back… at least when it comes to hunting demons. After all, we teamed up when we hunted and slaughtered your son like the pig he was," My smirk widened. "Oh, and just so you know—he's already here. And he's pissed. But then again, he's always pissed."
VROOM!
The monstrous roar of an engine—the kind that sounded less like a machine and more like the wrath of hell itself—ripped through the air. Then, as soon as the sound of the motor subsided, a deep, rasping voice bellowed from outside:
"MEPHISTO! PREPARE TO BE JUDGED!"
Mephisto's eyes widened. "Oh, damn!" he cursed before flicking his wrist in the direction the Ghost Rider's voice had come from.
The moment he did, every portal in the room snapped shut—except for one. But outside, I sensed new rifts tearing open near the place where the Ghost Rider had arrived, a fresh wave of demonic reinforcements waiting on the other side.
"Asmodeus and the others will be more than enough to handle one Ghost Rider," Mephisto muttered, his tone calculated; he almost sounded like a grandmaster moving pieces on a chessboard. "He might put up a fight, sure, but there's no way he takes them all on alone."
Then his smirk returned, his gaze shifting back to me. "As for you… Well, I suppose I have no choice but to entertain myself with you while my daughter deals with that little mortal girl and ensures that the goddess of Death, Hela, doesn't decide to break her unspoken vow of 'neutrality' in your favor."
With a snap of his fingers, the last remaining portal flared up even brighter, its hellfire swirling violently before finally parting to reveal a woman stepping through. Each of her movements oozed confidence, every step deliberate, almost theatrical, as if she were making an entry in a drama.
And strangely, the woman looked like Mephisto—uncannily so... probably because they had the same skin color.
Her body was draped in barely enough fabric to call it clothing, just barely covering her intimates, her crimson skin smooth and gleaming. Her face seemed akin to that of a trained seductress like the most expensive stripper or escort money could possibly buy, while twin horns curled atop her head, and a pointed tail swayed behind her, the sharp tip flicking through the air like a serpent waiting to strike.
[{(Image from Discord)}]
"Let me guess," the she-demon drawled, her sultry voice edged with irritation. "You dragged me out of my nap because you want me to kill someone, don't you?"
"Don't argue with your father, girl." Mephisto's tone turned razor-sharp, his eyes narrowing. "Do as you're told and kill the mortal. Also, keep an eye on this Asgardian goddess. Make sure she doesn't meddle in my fun."
Then his voice dipped into something even colder. "You do remember what I told you, don't you, Mephista? You have to prove yourself useful... unless you want to end up just like your useless mother."
"..." Mephista let out a low, guttural snarl—a wordless acknowledgment of her father's threat. But as her eyes flicked toward me and then Natasha, her lips curled into something between a smirk and a sneer as if she had found something quite interesting.
"Umm… Atem?" Natasha's voice wavered slightly as she took in the sight of her opponent, the weight of the moment pressing down on her.
"Don't worry," I reassured her, keeping my voice steady. "You won't die. My divine power will protect you and give you strength. But—if you ever feel like you're in real danger, if you can't win, just pray to me in your mind. I'll hear it. And I'll be there."
Truth be told, I could've just boosted her strength even more with a few of my abilities or sent her back to Earth through a Boom Tube right now. But I wanted to see how capable she really was as the Black Widow. The Universal Weapon I had provided her with might not be enough to beat someone on the level of a sky-father, but it was definitely enough for her to hold her own against high demons and possibly even demon lords. Furthermore, even if she were to get hurt in battle, I could always heal her back, and worse comes to worst, even resurrect her.
"Alright… I'll do my best," Natasha exhaled, bracing herself. She'd already figured it out—there was no walking away from this. Like it or not, she'd have to fight for her life.
"Now that all the kids have their playmates," Mephisto mused, teetering on the edge of an all-out villainous laugh, "why don't we entertain ourselves, too?" Before I could respond, he vanished—only to reappear right behind me, his clawed hand already slicing through the air, aiming straight for my heart.
But just before he could land the strike—
I finally heard the sound I'd been waiting for.
[Ding! New Mission received!]
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