Chapter 108: As Everyone Knows, Demons are Very Dedicated
Hell is an extremely vast world, existing independently outside the multiverse.
If every dimension were considered akin to a universe within the multiverse, then Hell, in a broad sense, is a special multiverse with slightly different worldly rules.
In a certain large hell dimension, countless infernos blazed, and one demon after another walked upon the crimson earth, bathing in magma, an endless radiance gleaming above them.
Some were engaged in arduous labor, while others were locked in brutal combat.
In the world of Hell, to get ahead, one relied on only one thing: strength.
Regardless of what kind of strength it was—be it magic, divine power, bloodline, the use of special energy, or even if a demon popped up playing with high technology—as long as they could do something impressive with it, they would earn the respect of many demons.
In the multiverse, one had to abide by the most basic order. It was a place where multiple creator gods suppressed all domains, and where numerous multiversal-level beings—and even those beyond the multiverse—presided to stabilize the world's structure.
But in Hell, there weren't so many meddlesome gods to interfere with the operation of various rules.
The strongest great demon, Cyttorak, merely resided in the Crimson Cosmos and completely ignored the various disputes among the other hell dimensions.
Cyttorak was the strongest demon. If he wished, he could rule over all of Hell, just as creator gods like Eternity and Death preside over the multiverse. Moreover, his ruling authority would be countless times more stable than the creator gods' control over the multiverse.
But Cyttorak didn't do so. He simply stayed in his Crimson Cosmos, shutting himself away and minding nothing. He couldn't care less who did what, as long as they didn't bother him.
The demons should feel fortunate. Had any troublesome fellow risen to his position, it would be absolutely impossible for the many hell dimensions to maintain the status quo.
Mephisto, for example.
The competition for the title of 'Satan' of Hell had been ongoing for an unknown number of ages. From the time of the Second Multiverse or the Third Multiverse, from the very moment Hell was born, the demons spawned within it began an endless civil war.
The old batch of demons died out, and a new batch grew up to continue the slaughter, only to then age, fall behind, and subsequently die, repeating the cycle endlessly.
They slaughtered each other generation after generation. The multiverse had collapsed and been reborn time and again, but Hell remained the same as ever.
On a throne that seemed to be cast from blood, a tall figure sat calmly.
Demons continually cast reverent glances his way, then quickly lowered their heads, afraid of disturbing him.
Blackheart lowered his head, his face filled with jealousy.
*"That old geezer is listening to the voice of the multiverse again,"* he thought. *"Perhaps he's made another major gain that will allow that old bastard to further increase his strength."*
Blackheart was currently leading a group of high-level demons on a patrol of this hell. As Mephisto's strongest offspring and the crown prince of this hell, Blackheart held a very high status in this world.
The problem was, a demon who didn't plot to kill his father and take his place was not a proper demon. Therefore, from this perspective alone, Blackheart undoubtedly possessed the purest demon bloodline.
He was already secretly scheming how to get rid of Mephisto.
The status Mephisto possessed made him salivate.
Don't think that being a hell lord is just a title of honor. Honor is useless; out here, what matters is strength.
The position of hell lord was a tangible one, capable of mobilizing the true power of an entire dimension.
To put it simply, under what circumstances is Mephisto's strength at its peak? Is it the Mephisto who runs rampant causing trouble in the main universe or other important universes?
No, to think so would be wrong. Blackheart knew very well that only the Mephisto standing within this hell dimension was the strongest.
The longer Mephisto was away from Hell, the weaker the power he could draw from it, and the weaker the combat power he could exert.
In other words, if Blackheart could replace Mephisto, he would possess the power that Mephisto currently wielded.
*"If this old bastard truly accumulates enough high-quality souls and one day reaches Cyttorak's position, then there will be no place left for me in all of Hell."*
Blackheart hid his madness and ambition deep in his heart. As an offspring directly created by Mephisto, Blackheart was well aware that Mephisto most likely knew of his treacherous thoughts.
Because no demon was ever truly loyal. To speak of loyalty with a demon was something not even a moron would do.
The only fortunate thing was that Mephisto was still stuck at the single-universe level. Despite countless ages, he had only progressed far within this tier, but he was still incredibly distant from the multiversal level—and this was with the empowerment of the hell dimension he ruled.
Blackheart felt that he still had a chance to overthrow Mephisto's rule.
The land beneath his feet was one of the larger hell dimensions, coveted by many demon lords.
He had heard that even the infamous Shuma-Gorath wanted to meddle in the vastness of Hell, to become a demon lord despite not being of demon origin.
It was said that Shuma-Gorath had been left in a rather sorry state after being besieged by numerous Ancient Ones from across the multiverse, who had sacrificed their lives to do so. So many of his clones had been destroyed and sealed that his overall strength was weakened.
If Shuma-Gorath wanted to directly slaughter all the Sorcerer Supremes in the omniverse, he would have to face the Vishanti and Eternity head-on. A direct confrontation, at least one-against-two, was a battle he certainly couldn't win. So, he could only send his clones to wear down the numerous Ancient Ones in a war of attrition.
Blackheart's mind raced, pondering if any part of this miscellaneous information could be exploited by him.
Just then, Blackheart keenly perceived a subtle change in Mephisto's eternally unchanging posture. He saw Mephisto lift his head, a strange expression on his face.
Was it... surprise?
*"What happened to move that old geezer... Could it be an invasion by another great demon? Or perhaps the master of some multiversal dimension wants to attack a remote dimension on the fringes of Hell?"* Blackheart guessed.
Mephisto was indeed very surprised. He had just received the complete information from a deceased clone.
Losing a clone was nothing, not worth Mephisto dwelling on.
After all, in a certain universe, Khonshu and Moon Knight had already killed many of his clones. They were still lying in wait, preparing to continue slaughtering Mephisto in other parallel universes, and even so, Mephisto hadn't paid it much attention.
His methods were completely different from someone like Shuma-Gorath. Most of the clones Mephisto created didn't carry much power, so their loss was not worth mourning.
This was related to Mephisto's modus operandi: instead of plundering, he used deceit to strike a bargain with special, high-quality humans who carried a portion of a universe's rules, will, or fate, thereby harvesting their souls.
By taking away a key human from a universe, he could obtain a portion of that universe's power, which Mephisto would then integrate into his own hell dimension, ultimately becoming a part of the power that granted him empowerment.
Only if a deal truly fell apart, and there were significant interests at stake that warranted the use of force, would Mephisto dispatch a powerful clone to resolve the issue with violence.
Mephisto's interest was greatly piqued. *An unknown universe has given birth to a special species? How interesting. This species is so young that it has yet to be recorded and replicated by the rules of the multiverse itself.*
Any newborn race could potentially be a breakthrough for further advancement.
Although Mephisto was only at the single-universe level, an unimaginable distance from the multiversal tier or even higher, the amount of information he possessed was by no means small.
Mephisto knew even more clearly that at the dawn of the entire multiverse system, the multiverse was nowhere near as powerful as it is today. It had only reached its current state through the continuous absorption and fusion of all sorts of concepts over long ages.
These concepts were diverse, manifesting in various forms. Some were divine artifacts, some were physical objects, or some were simply a special divine entity.
Every great disaster was an opportunity to integrate these new concepts. The reborn multiverse would then welcome a new round of prosperity and expansion.
Therefore, Mephisto immediately showed a strong interest in Du Wa.
Of course, perhaps Du Wa and the Xenomorphs were ultimately just an insignificant species, but what if? What if they could provide some small assistance to Mephisto?
*"This reminds me of those things called zombies... Before the most recent multiverse collapse, there were no such things as zombies."*
Within Mephisto's blood-red eyes, a passion brewed, as if capable of devouring countless planets.
Mephisto did know a little about that bunch of zombies. He also knew that their universe had descended into utter chaos. It seemed that group of native zombies was plotting an invasion of other universes to acquire a large supply of flesh.
As for how the zombie universe would end, Mephisto couldn't be bothered. He found it difficult to take an interest in a group of already corrupted souls.
Could this trashy horde of zombies actually team up and barge into Hell looking for flesh to eat? If so, Mephisto would let them personally experience the taste of being seared by the fires of Hell, a sensation far more unbearable than hunger.
But Mephisto was extremely enthusiastic about Du Wa.
No matter how he looked at it, the Xenomorphs led by Du Wa had far more value than zombies and could perhaps be of greater help to him.
What truly attracted Mephisto, however, was Du Wa's absolute control over the Xenomorphs.
*"Hmm, my clone has already tasted a Xenomorph's soul and discovered that if one bypasses Du Wa, the Xenomorph soul obtained is incomplete... All Xenomorphs, in both body and soul, naturally serve and protect Du Wa, just like a pyramid."*
Mephisto was in a joyous mood, even letting out a terrifying laugh. The sound instantly spread throughout all of Hell. He unscrupulously vented his power, freezing space-time and encompassing all that was tangible. This was real, tangible power.
So much so that in the skies above Hell, these real sounds clearly transformed into demonic script, as if a part of Hell itself, naturally engraved above. Translated, the meaning of these words was—Hahahahahaha.
It caused countless demons, great and small, to reveal expressions of awe.
This entire hell dimension trembled slightly.
Mephisto naturally thought that if he could obtain Du Wa's soul, wouldn't that be equivalent to indirectly controlling all Xenomorphs? To naturally obtain the souls of all Xenomorphs?
What concerned Mephisto even more was that this meant he could instantly gain countless high-quality enforcers who could act as his spokespeople to enter various universes, exponentially increasing the efficiency of his soul-harvesting operations.
Every great demon had their own specific method of growth. Some chose the absorption of the emotional power of multiverse natives, while others expanded the dream realm. But for these great demons, none would refuse human souls, as they could provide some assistance to the growth of their strength.
Only Mephisto's chosen path of advancement was not so flashy. He focused on a single path: harvesting high-quality souls and recruiting the most outstanding human talent. Over countless years, through several great collapses and reboots of the multiverse, his original intention had never wavered.
If he could add a creature like the Xenomorph—capable of rapid reproduction, able to parasitize the natives of any given universe, and achieve a transcendence of potential—then things would be much easier for Mephisto.
It would save him from having to use tricks like Angelic Contracts or prayer rituals to cultivate high-quality spokespeople, only for guys like the Ghost Rider to often betray him after serving for a period of time. It was truly troublesome.
*"My clone has already completed its arrangements in that unknown universe. It's not yet worth my personal intervention. I'll first see how things play out in that universe."*
Mephisto suppressed his inner joy and began to scrutinize this universe, which should have been unremarkable. Besides thinking about Du Wa and the Xenomorphs, he also noticed the attention that native deities like Dormammu were paying to Du Wa. Clearly, upon reaching the single-universe level, they all shared a common understanding on certain matters.
But what truly baffled Mephisto was the Ancient One in this unknown universe.
Mephisto was definitely worldly and knowledgeable; he had dealt with plenty of Ancient Ones before, but this particular one left him completely bewildered.
This wasn't as simple as losing a few clones. A portion of his own power had been taken by this Ancient One, who was now refusing to return it.
What was worse, this Ancient One was using the power of other deities to prevent him from reclaiming his own power. This maneuver was what truly shocked Mephisto.
*"I can sense seven or eight different kinds of power alone... Has the cosmic god of that universe gone mad? And the Vishanti, how could they tolerate cultivating this Ancient One in such an unsightly manner?"*
It was a truly shameless method.
Mephisto couldn't figure it out. The war between Shuma-Gorath and the Ancient Ones had clearly entered a stable phase. At worst, an Ancient One from some universe would sacrifice their life and soul to seal one of Shuma-Gorath's clones. This was normal; this form of combat was precisely the primary way Shuma-Gorath and the Ancient Ones interacted.
But he hadn't heard of any major moves from Shuma-Gorath recently.
Mephisto sat back down on his throne and abruptly glanced downwards. That vicious gaze, which momentarily swept over the entire dimension, made Blackheart feel that it was aimed directly at him.
But soon, Blackheart felt the pressure lighten as Mephisto clearly retracted his gaze. This only tormented Blackheart further, and a deep sense of anger welled up within him.
...
Du Wa was unaware of the events unfolding in Hell; his reach did not yet extend that far.
He had also seriously evaluated the possibility of attacking Hell in his mind. He confirmed that with his current strength, it wouldn't be difficult to attack and conquer a small, remote hell dimension, but the problem was that he couldn't face those renowned great demons.
These beings had the empowerment of Hell. When fighting within Hell, their strength soared, making them opponents Du Wa could not currently handle inside Hell.
*"The plan to attack Hell is overturned. It's not usable now, but it might be in the future, so I'll shelve it for now... Now I need to calculate the possibility of Mephisto's next move. That guy isn't one for simple murder and mayhem; he must have already dug a trap somewhere... Strange..."*
Du Wa appeared to be sunbathing, giving off a leisurely air. It was as if even the collapse of the entire universe couldn't make this man show a hint of retreat or fear. Just by being there, doing nothing, he was enough to put others at ease and fill them with confidence.
In reality, a tempest of thought was raging in Du Wa's mind, with countless clues and pieces of information converging and colliding at a frantic pace.
(end of chapter)