The Palace of the Parliament was one of Romania's most famous landmarks, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the second-largest administrative building in the world, surpassed only by the Pentagon...
Its sheer scale was staggering, though its Soviet-era architecture influenced design lacked the elegance of Europe's many exquisite structures, appearing rigid and austere in comparison.
Sean landed in Constitution Square, where the vast ground was etched with winding, blood-red patterns. The intricate sigils pulsed with an eerie glow. As if burning with invisible flames, they emitted a dense sulfurous mist.
The temperature here was significantly higher than the outside world, like a boiling cauldron.
A suspicion gnawed at the young man's mind...
He hadn't anticipated that the Hell-Lord would attempt something of this magnitude. If Mephisto's ritual succeeded, the age of dark creatures would return. The formidable defenses erected by the Three Sanctums and Kamar-Taj would face unprecedented upheaval.
Gazing at the imposing palace in the distance (also known as the "People's Palace"), Sean took in its grandeur.
Built from rare marble and high-quality timber, the sixteen-story structure stood 275 feet tall, housing over a thousand rooms. The Ceaușescu regime, which once ruled Romania, had spent six years and two billion dollars constructing this colossal edifice. Yet even after the political upheavals of Eastern Europe, it had never been fully completed.
Through his psychic senses, Sean perceived a swirling mass of dark energy, interwoven with molten fire. Undoubtedly, this was Mephisto's power at work.
The demon lord had already begun his rebirth ritual. The violent energy fluctuations triggered unnatural phenomena... thunderclouds gathered, lightning split the sky, and deafening roars echoed through the night.
As the temperature in Constitution Square continued to rise, the massive blood sigil at its center emitted a faint crimson mist, transforming the area into a ghastly, hellish landscape. Reality itself seemed to warp, light refracting unnaturally as pale grotesque faces materialized in the air, accompanied by harrowing spectral wails.
Sean ignored them...
By now, Mordo and Johnny should have reached their respective targets, engaging powerful foes. The Kamar-Taj sorcerer was likely facing the vampire lords of the Volturi, and Lucian the Wolf King... while the Ghost Rider, desperate to break his curse, would have encountered Daredevil lying in wait. A fierce battle was inevitable...
The young man ascended the palace's grand staircase and pushed open the massive wooden doors, "Turning all of Eastern Europe into your dark empire… now that's ambition..."
Inside, the cavernous hall was bathed in dazzling light, crystal chandeliers hanging from above like glittered constellations, creating a scene of opulent splendor.
At the center stood a silver-haired old man, kneeling before a child... undoubtedly Danny, the boy the Sanctum had been searching for...
The offspring of a human and a demon, the perfect vessel to bear the full might of a Hell Lord.
Stepping onto the plush handwoven carpet, Sean observed Mephisto, who was wholly focused on his ritual.
The vast blood sigil enveloping the city pulsed with crimson light, its energy nodes surging violently. Suddenly, scarlet beams erupted from multiple points across Bucharest and converged above the Palace of the Parliament in a dome of colliding and merging energy before crashing down like a spear!
The force tore through the palace's upper floors, blasting straight into the central hall, where it poured into the human vessel Mephisto had been using to walk the mortal world.
The silver-haired elder's skin cracked like dried earth, his human form disintegrating as a towering, sixteen-foot demonic figure emerged...
The figure was crimson-skinned, wreathed in flames, and had massive bat-like wings. The stench of sulfur intensified, as if hell itself had erupted into the material world.
Four colossal runes, forged like iron, materialized in the air, linking to the city-spanning sigil and siphoning molten energy from the depths of hell. The true form of Mephisto now knelt before the unconscious boy, Danny.
Sean raised his palm and fired a beam of energy at the barrier surrounding the ritual.
*Boom!*
The black mist trembled but remained unbroken. The cunning Hell Lord had prepared thoroughly... the core of the spell was anchored to Constitution Square, binding it inextricably to Bucharest itself. Short of annihilating the entire city, there was no way to disrupt the ritual now.
A boiling, blood-red barrier solidified around Mephisto, who gazed at the young man with thunderous disdain, "Give up. No one can stop this. Ancient One cowers in Kamar-Taj, too afraid to step foot outside. And you? You lack the power to break this defense... it is rooted in the earth itself, it's unshakable!"
"A rebirth ritual doesn't require something this elaborate. This city-wide spell must serve another purpose." Sean's voice was calm, his expression unreadable.
His mindset was far more composed than Mephisto anticipated. If he had truly been desperate to stop this, he could have sent the Hell Lord back to the abyss long ago.
This was, after all, merely a transaction with the Sorcerer Supreme... one he had approached with a detached curiosity. But now, Mephisto's true plan was unfolding.
It wasn't just about rebirth. He had spent years consolidating power... manipulating pawns, rallying the vampires and werewolves nearly driven to extinction by the Sanctums, amassing wealth, and infiltrating human governments. The effortless evacuation of Bucharest's citizens was proof of his deep-rooted influence...
"Bucharest… You're planning to drag this city into hell. Or perhaps you aim to shatter the dimensional balance, merging the infernal realm with the material world?" Sean's eyes widened as the full scope of Mephisto's scheme became clear.
A reborn Hell Lord alone might not be enough to challenge the Ancient One. But on his own turf?
"More ambitious than that…" Mephisto conjured a blazing greatsword from hellfire and plunged it into his own chest.
Molten blood gushed forth, seeping into the intricate patterns on the floor like crimson serpents slithering into Danny's small body.
"Heh… I will turn Eastern Europe into a forbidden zone for humanity... a dark empire in the mortal realm!" The Hell Lord's voice dripped with triumph, "For this grand design, I have plotted for over a century! The vampires, the werewolves... they are but new pawns! The Asgardians once left behind records on this planet… their ancient enemies, the Dark Elves, sought chaos, forging weapons capable of plunging the Nine Realms into darkness..."
"...I took inspiration from them. Using myself as an anchor, I will pull hell into this world layer by layer, until they overlap. The infernal realm of myth will expand and swallow Bucharest whole! It shall be the first… City of Hell!"
Sean's gaze darkened. He looked up at the crimson energy pouring through the shattered ceiling and murmured, "If you succeed, you could replicate this plan, conquering Eastern Europe nation by nation… building your so-called dark empire. You've stalled long enough. Your rebirth ritual must be complete by now?" The young man's voice turned hoarse as his helmet sealed shut.
Mephisto's demonic form withered rapidly, while Danny's body grew at an unnatural pace. The boy's limbs stretched, his frame expanding into adolescence in seconds.
Then, his eyes snapped open, blazing with bloody light. An invisible hurricane erupted.
Crystal chandeliers exploded, marble cracked, and the very air trembled as the newly reborn Mephisto (now wearing Danny's matured form) locked eyes with the golden figure standing before him.
"This time… the Ancient One won't be here to save you."
The words were a death sentence, colder than the void. In the next instant, the reborn Lord of Hell blurred forward...