Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 103: [] - Lord of Hell, Mephisto

<><><><><><><><>

BOOM!

THUD!

CRASH!

Hawk, who had been completely absorbed in watching the birth of his Phoenix Armor, was caught off guard as the Demon Hulk’s hand burst through the mountainside, seized him, and hurled him outside.

Thrown clear of the mountain, Hawk’s body screamed through the air, the friction igniting him in a flash of fire. He slammed into the grassland, but his momentum didn’t stop—he bounced once, hard, and continued to fly backward.

Until—

BAM!

The Vibranium shield protecting Wakanda flashed.

Hawk, thrown from the inside, smashed against it, and for a moment, the world seemed to warp around him. He was thrown clean through, crashing hard onto the savanna outside.

The sound, like a meteorite impact, sent nearby herds of cattle and sheep into a panicked stampede. The S.H.I.E.L.D agents who’d just arrived were equally startled.

Leading them was none other than Commander Maria Hill.

She wasn’t here for Hawk.

Maria Hill had been tracking Bruce Banner—S.H.I.E.L.D’s New York office had suddenly lost his signal, and when it reappeared, he was in Africa.

She had immediately run a check on Hawk’s location.

And the result—

Africa.

So, she had brought a team. But it seemed she was too late.

When she’d arrived, all she had found was a battlefield of carnage and dismembered bodies, with no sign of Hawk or Bruce Banner.

Just as she was beginning to suspect they had already left and was about to give the order to pull out, a massive impact had drawn her attention.

"Is that..."

"Holy shit!"

"He came out of that forest!"

"Wait, do you guys hear that?"

The distant S.H.I.E.L.D agents instinctively muted their comms, listening intently. They could just make out a furious, roaring sound that was growing closer.

Their eyes all turned back to the forest in the distance.

The next second...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

It was abrupt, instantaneous, as if appearing from thin air.

With a furious roar, the Hulk—now the size of a real mountain—materialized at the edge of the forest’s canopy. It crashed down with the force of a falling mountain, a savage grin spreading across its face as it spotted Hawk lying in the crater. It raised its right foot and brought it down.

CRASH—

The grassland buckled again.

The Demon Hulk’s massive footprint was now deeply embedded in the earth. A pure, destructive shockwave of physical force radiated outwards in all directions.

In that instant, grass and dirt were ripped from the ground, thrown into the air in a blinding cloud that blotted out the sun.

"Shit."

"It’s the Hulk! No, wait, it’s a black Hulk!"

"How did he get out?"

The agents stared in shock and confusion at the sudden appearance of the Demon Hulk.

High above in the S.H.I.E.L.D. command jet, Maria Hill’s gaze was fixed on the primeval forest from which both Hawk and the Hulk had just been violently ejected.

Soon, the dust on the savanna began to settle.

"HUUULK!"

"DIE!"

The Demon Hulk, its foot still stomping down, roared with fury as it pressed its full weight onto the figure pinned beneath its massive sole.

Hawk, with more than half his body buried in the earth, was holding up the Hulk’s massive right foot with both hands.

His Cosmo was burning like a supernova.

And in that brilliant fire, the outline of the Phoenix Armor was beginning to form.

Hawk’s arms locked straight. An unimaginable power erupted from him. As the Demon Hulk roared in fury, Hawk slowly pushed himself free from the earth.

The next second...

"HUUUULK!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Hulk’s colossal frame was thrown off balance. It staggered backward and, with a heavy thud, crashed onto the grassland, its enormous ass gouging another massive crater in the earth.

Hawk hovered a few meters above the ground.

He looked like he’d been through hell.

The only thing left of his clothes was a pair of tattered casual pants, torn so badly his black boxers were visible.

Wounds covered every inch of his body.

Under the harsh African sun, the blood that seeped from his wounds shimmered with the light of golden stars.

But—

With every breath Hawk took, with the burning of his Cosmo, the wounds all over his body began to heal and disappear at a visible rate.

In a matter of seconds, though the shredded pants still made him look like a wreck, there was no longer any sign that he had been injured at all.

At the same time.

The Demon Hulk, which had been knocked on its ass, slapped the side of its house-sized head and pushed itself back to its feet.

Its eyes, burning with hellfire, locked onto Hawk, who was now hovering at eye level. It snorted, clouds of hot air blasting from its nostrils.

Their eyes met.

The moment Hawk looked into the Demon Hulk’s blazing eyes, he felt a strange sensation.

It was as if—

Someone was watching him through the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

No.

It’s not a sensation.

Hawk’s expression hardened. For a split second, he had seen him—a man with a goatee, smirking at him from within the flames.

The next second—

The Demon Hulk’s body seemed to freeze. The hellfire in its eyes burned even more intensely, coalescing into the form of a man, his entire being seemingly made of red fire. He had a sinister smile, yet he carried himself with the air of a gentleman.

The man’s image, shimmering in the hellfire of the Demon Hulk’s eyes, met Hawk’s gaze. His voice, hollow, as if echoing from the depths of Hell itself, sounded in Hawk’s ear.

"My name—"

"—is Mephisto."

"..." Hawk’s eyes narrowed as the demonic words echoed in his ears.

"You’ve been running your mouth about me for some time now. What’s the matter? Now that I’m here, you seem a little frightened."

Mephisto’s voice was hollow but casual. The tone was like a demonic whisper, but the words themselves sounded like he was just making light conversation.

Hawk hovered in the air, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the image in the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

"So... the Demon Hulk. That was you."

"Of course."

Mephisto’s tone was nonchalant. He held up his right hand, seemingly admiring it, then glanced casually at Hawk. "One minute you’re telling me to watch my back, the next you’re telling me to take care of your sister and make sure she doesn’t lose a single hair. I had to come up and see who was trash-talking me from behind."

Hearing this, a muscle in Hawk’s jaw twitched.

"My sister..."

"She’s fine."

Mephisto seemed to know what he was going to ask. He smiled. "You sent a message with the Hulk, didn’t you? I received it. Don’t worry. I promise you, as long as you are alive, your sister will be perfectly safe. I certainly won’t give you the chance to fly into a rage and kill me."

Hawk was silent for a moment.

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

Mephisto said with a smile, then his tone shifted, his voice becoming as cold and sharp as ice. "I thought you were supposed to be powerful. It seems you can’t even handle a toy I casually threw up here. If this is the extent of your strength, I’m quite curious... what gives you the audacity to threaten me?"

He was never supposed to be able to come to Earth.

But—

Some fool had traded a life for a life. And since he was planning on checking out this Hawk who was always running his mouth, he figured he’d just modify the Hulk that Hawk had killed and toss him back up.

And the result...

This is it?

The Demon Hulk might look impressive, but to a god, he was just a bit more durable than the average mortal.

The Sorcerer Supreme could knock the Hulk’s soul out of his body with a single slap.

What did they think he, the Lord of Hell, the god of his own dimension, could do?

A Dimensional God is still a God.

After his cold pronouncement, Mephisto seemed to sense something and chuckled. "I have to go. You’d better stay alive. If you die and come to my Hell... hehe..."

As he spoke—

His image dissipated with the swirling hellfire. At the same time, as Mephisto departed, the Demon Hulk began to move again.

It stood for a moment, shaking its head as if in a daze. Then, its eyes locked back onto Hawk, and with a furious roar, it charged. When it was still ten meters away, it swung its massive arms together, as if swatting a fly.

"Hulk... SLASH!"

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH!

The air compressed between the Demon Hulk’s clapping hands shot forward like a blade, tearing up the grassland as it rushed toward Hawk.

Hawk’s figure flickered, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he reappeared behind the Demon Hulk.

The Demon Hulk’s right hand balled into a fist. The instant Hawk appeared behind it, it spun and threw a punch.

Hawk met it with his own right fist.

BAAAAAAAAAM!

The earth trembled. A white vapor cone materialized at the point of impact, and the violent shockwave tore up the surrounding grassland once more.

Along with the flying grass and soil, Hawk was sent flying as well, letting out a sharp grunt.

Fuck!

The Demon Hulk got stronger again.

Thrown backward, Hawk saw the black shadow of the monster descending upon him. He flickered in mid-air, righting himself and putting distance between them, his face a mask as he stared at the Demon Hulk.

Just then, within his burning Cosmo, a single ray of golden light was born from the Phoenix Fire.

And then—

More Golden light bloomed.

The Phoenix Armor, at long last, had been forged.

<><><><><><><><>

If you’re interested, you can read advanced Chapters:

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

~# Bonus Chapter every 300PS!!

~# If you like the story, please leave a review.

~# Add to Library!