Mario hadn't even finished materializing when a miniature sun dropped from the sky. He tried to dodge, but the fireball was already kissing his face. The explosion him, and he went flying backward. His health bar plummeted to nearly zero in a single blast.
"Font of Vitality!"
A holy staff materialized in his hand, releasing a beam of divine light that poured over him. His health bar ticked back up from the brink of death.
Is this quantum armor even working?
A confused voice drifted down from above. "Not the Ancient One?"
Another fireball appeared, growing rapidly like a second sun being born. Mario felt like he'd been thrown into the deep end without a life jacket. He swapped to a different staff and blinked away, the explosion scorching the ground where he'd been standing a heartbeat earlier.
Fire Resistance!
Whatever else was about to happen, buffs came first. That was basic RPG survival.
"I'm not the Ancient One! Stop attacking!"
Mario's shout echoed across the hellscape. He hadn't even figured out where he was, and already he'd been blown up. Worse, it looked like he was taking the blame for whatever the Ancient One had done here. But his words had zero effect. Orange-red flames erupted across his body, wrapping around him. The fire looked almost ordinary, yet radiated an aura of danger.
A word surfaced in his mind: Hellfire.
The legendary flame that burned souls. According to the stories, even a single spark could reduce a person to ash.
He checked his health bar. It hadn't moved.
He let out a breath. Hellfire had a terrifying reputation, but his fire resistance wasn't just for show.
Though wearing quantum gear against a magic-type enemy was still asking for trouble.
"Huh?"
The surprised exclamation came from somewhere above. He immediately fired back, "Huh yourself, asshole! Come down here if you've got the balls!"
He'd already said he wasn't the Ancient One, yet this bastard was still trying to kill him. Fine. If diplomacy was off the table, violence it was.
He finally took a moment to assess his surroundings. Brown earth stretched in every direction, littered with severely damaged buildings. The shockwave from that first fireball had reduced most of them to drifting ash. The sky and air were thick with reddish fog that limited visibility to maybe thirty meters. Beyond that, everything blurred into an ominous crimson haze.
"How interesting..."
The voice returned, closer now. "I can't see your soul."
"There's plenty you can't see. If you're not gonna keep attacking, I'm out of here."
Marco blinked away without waiting for an answer. The mini-map only showed a single red dot.
"No need to rush, human."
RUMBLE.
The ground shook like an earthquake was tearing through Hell's foundations. He finally saw his opponent, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
The body was the size of a small mountain. Red-brown skin that blended with the earth made it hard to tell where the ground ended and the creature began. A massive head rose into the sky, complete with enormous curved horns and hellfire burning where hair should have been.
And above that head, a health bar that made him want to cry.
Three hundred thousand? Are you fucking kidding me?
This had to be Mephisto himself. If random mobs in Hell were this powerful, the Ancient One might as well uninstall the game.
I'm out!
He didn't look back. He activated Blink at full power and ran like the Devil himself was chasing him, which, technically, he was. There was no universe in which he could fight something with 300,000 HP. The guy's health bar alone probably had maxed-out resistances to match.
Fighting someone in their own dimension? He wasn't the Ancient One. He didn't have cosmic-level plot armor.
"No need to hurry..."
The voice boomed like thunder, close enough now that he could feel the vibrations in his chest.
Blink... Blink... Blink...
Fifteen seconds of teleportation later, Mario stopped running. Because it was pointless. The massive figure behind him hadn't changed position at all. It was like he'd been running on a cosmic treadmill.
In those gigantic eyes, he saw pure amusement. The bastard was enjoying this.
"Such powerful spatial abilities... Even the Ancient One couldn't use space magic this effortlessly in my dimension. Tell me, how do you manage it?"
Mario looked around, confirming that his Blink skill wasn't being blocked. Mephisto was just moving with him, making all his teleportation completely useless. Since running was off the table, he gave up. He put away his staff, pulled a cobblestone block from his inventory, and sat down on it.
"Mephisto, right?"
"You know me?" A figure materialized in front of Mario, a man who looked maybe fifty, slightly overweight, with a friendly smile. "Few have seen my true form. Hmm... though you do smell strongly of the Ancient One. Did she send you here? Does she have something against you?"
This was one of Mephisto's avatars. The Hell Lord had countless forms and could appear however he wanted. Watching him approach, Mario had an idea. He pulled another cobblestone block from his inventory and placed it nearby.
"Please, have a seat."
Mephisto didn't hesitate. He sat down next to Mario without any concern for dignity, studying him.
"The Ancient One did send me here," Mario admitted, holding up his hand with thumb and forefinger pinched together. "Just because I took a tiny bit of furniture from her place. And then she told me to come here, said you were very hospitable and would treat me really well."
"Hahahaha! You're telling the truth. But you're definitely hiding some details."
Mephisto had lived for eons. Even without seeing Mario's soul, experience told him when someone was lying.
"But still, welcome to my Hell dimension."
Mario looked at Mephisto with surprise. This wasn't what he'd expected at all.
Seeing Mario's expression, Mephisto immediately understood. "You're wondering why an evil Hell Lord is being so reasonable, aren't you?"
Mario nodded like a bobblehead.
"Because I find you interesting."
Mephisto waved his hand, and a box of cigars appeared out of nowhere. "Want one?"
He tossed a cigar over. Mario caught it, held it under his nose, and took a sniff. Rich tobacco aroma flooded his senses.
Oh, this is quality stuff.
He bit off the end, lit it, and soon a human and a demon were sitting together, smoking like old friends.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Mario Argento."
Mephisto nodded with a smile. "Mario, I'm pleased to meet someone as interesting as you. In your mind, I'm probably some embodiment of evil, spending all my time deceiving humans and collecting souls..."
Mario took a deep drag, let the heavy tobacco flavor swirl in his mouth, then exhaled slowly.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm Catholic. When I die, my soul goes to Purgatory or Paradise depending on what the big guy upstairs decides. I don't really know much about demons or Hell Lords."
Mephisto couldn't refute that. As long as Mario didn't sign a contract with him and didn't die by his hand, the soul belonged to whatever cosmic entity had first claim. And apparently, Catholic cosmology had Mario covered.
"You came here just to visit me?"
Mario rolled his eyes. Visit you? What, you think you're that special?
Then he glanced at Mephisto's mountain-sized true form.
...Well, I guess you are pretty big.
"I'm here to help a friend search for the souls of his family."
Mephisto's expression shifted to something like mockery. "Humans are always like this. Always trying to retrieve lost loved ones and friends. But once something is lost... it's lost. There are no souls in Hell."
Mario frowned at that answer.
Mephisto continued, "Any soul that leaves the main world and comes to Hell will either be devoured or transformed into a demon. Either way, there's no hope of returning."
So this whole trip was for nothing. Though meeting Mephisto isn't bad, I guess.
Mario felt a headache coming on. He had no idea how to retrieve Kaecilius' wife and child now.
Could I find parallel universe versions and bring them back? Wonder if clones would work...
Thinking for a moment, he asked, "Since that's the case, I don't have any other business. You got anything else? If not, I'm heading out."
Mephisto chuckled. "Don't be in such a rush. Other than the Ancient One, no one's visited me in a very long time. Interested in boosting your strength a bit?"
Mario could practically hear the sound of a sales pitch being prepared. He eyed Mephisto suspiciously. "Explain first."
"Have you heard of the Spirits of Vengeance?"
To Mario's ears, it sounded exactly like: Have you heard about our lord and savior, demonic possession?
He nodded slightly.
"Perfect timing. I happen to have an original Spirit of Vengeance here. I can give it to you as a greeting gift, consider it compensation for my earlier impoliteness."
Mario fell silent, eyes narrowing as he studied the smiling demon before him.
This guy is definitely up to something. But... an original Spirit of Vengeance is seriously rare. And this one's had its memories wiped by Mephisto personally.
After brief consideration, he decided to swallow Mephisto's sugar-coated cannonball whole. Don't ask why, he just had a good appetite.
"Can I examine it first?"
"Of course."
Mephisto extended his hand. A flame-wreathed medallion appeared in his palm.
Over twenty thousand years ago, the very first Spirits of Vengeance had been born on Earth. Their original mission was to stop an elemental demon lord named Zarathos. The Spirits and Zarathos had destroyed each other, but their power hadn't fully dissipated, it had fused into several power medallions.
Mario reached toward the Spirit of Vengeance medallion in Mephisto's hand. Seeing Mario show zero caution, Mephisto's smile grew even brighter.
Whoosh.
The Spirit of Vengeance vanished without a trace.
It's gone. The Spirit of Vengeance's aura is completely gone.
This Spirit had been with him for thousands of years. Its energy signature was burned into his memory like a brand. But now he couldn't sense even the faintest trace. He looked at Mario with a complicated expression. He didn't impulsively attack because his instincts screamed that he couldn't detain this man. That was why he'd been sitting here having a civil conversation in the first place.
If the Ancient One came to his dimension and they fought, he could force her to stay at the cost of serious injuries. But it would never be worth it. The moment he got badly wounded, the other Hell Lords would pounce without hesitation.
That was why the Ancient One could raid his home and cause chaos whenever she felt like it.
[Spirit of Vengeance:
Equip to gain transformation: Ghost Rider
Upon transformation, gain: Hellfire, Soul Chain, Penance Stare, Judgment Gaze, Undying Body Lv.1, Ghost Rider Motorcycle]
[PS: After transforming, souls of slain beings flow to Mephisto. Priority below "Heroic Immortality"]
[Mephisto: "Young man, you're full of violence. I like that."]
Mario's eyes widened. To him, this was basically a badass transformation item. As for the souls going to Mephisto? He didn't give a shit. They were all enemies anyway, he'd be thrilled if they got properly tortured in Hell.
"Use," he whispered the command. With a BOOM, ice-blue flames erupted from his body.
Not only that, his field of view rose noticeably, and a new exclusive chain appeared in his inventory.
[Soul Chain:
Damage: 20-20
Undead Slayer: 100]
Damage isn't impressive, but Undead Slayer 100? That's kind of overkill. Are you sure this thing judges sinners and not the Ghost Rider himself?
He reached to pull the chain out and test it, but froze when he extended his hand. It had turned into bone.
Not elegant bone. Not intimidating bone.
Minecraft skeleton bone.
His hand had become the blocky, square bone-hand from Minecraft, no fingers, just a single bone stick burning with ice-blue fire. He looked up and saw Mephisto also frozen in shock. Mario felt a pounding headache coming on.
"Mind giving me a mirror? I want to see this."
Mephisto snapped out of his stupor and waved his hand. A magical mirror formed in front of Mario.
In the reflection stood a Minecraft skeleton, specifically, a blocky white skeleton wearing a black leather jacket and black boots, wreathed in ice-blue flames. No bow, though.
He quickly accepted reality. He moved around a bit, testing the transformation.
"Looking at it closely... it's actually pretty cool. At least the outfit's still there."
The square skull wasn't as imposing as a classic Ghost Rider skull, but the effect wasn't bad. Sometimes a cubic head had its own charm.
"Thanks. I like it. If anyone pisses me off, I'll send them down here for you. Don't worry."
If Mephisto had been this easy to talk to from the start, he would've visited sooner. Too bad those vampires and Hydra agents wouldn't get the chance to enjoy a Hell vacation.
"Ghost Rider Motorcycle!"
As soon as he spoke, a Harley-style bike made of bones appeared beside him, also blazing with blue fire. The entire motorcycle was constructed from bones, stretching an impressive three meters long. It looked incredibly formidable. Except it was also made from Minecraft skeleton bones, all blocky and cubic.
Straddling the bike, he wore an excited grin, though his skull face showed no expression. He turned toward Mephisto.
"Let's sign a contract. Otherwise, taking this gift from you makes me feel bad."