Compared to their last encounter, Mephisto's power had multiplied exponentially...
Freed from the shackles of the material world, this Hell Lord whose life spanned tens of thousands of years had previously been forced to walk the mortal plane in fragile human vessels, unable to unleash his true strength.
If he wanted to accomplish anything, he had to rely on contracts with Ghost Riders, otherwise, crossing the line would provoke the Sorcerer Supreme's wrath.
But now, everything was different. Mephisto had used the perfect vessel to complete his rebirth ritual, and torrential power surged through his new form.
The Hell Lord took a step forward, and the white marble beneath him exploded. His figure shot forth like a blade, carrying devastating force as he slammed into the unmoving Sean.
Mephisto hadn't forgotten how this young upstart had humiliated him in New York, forcing him to lose a precious avatar to the Ancient One's destruction.
Like a volcanic eruption, his molten fist tore through the air with a piercing shriek. The grand hall was ravaged by hurricane-force winds, overturning tables, chairs, and candelabras in a chaotic mess.
Sean took a slight step back, his posture lowering slightly before unleashing a terrifying energy beam. It collided with Mephisto's hellfire in a cataclysmic explosion, the shockwave blasting upward and nearly tearing through the entire Palace of the Parliament!
"I've never met a human like you..." Mephisto's massive bat-like wings unfurled behind his youthful form..
The wings spun like deadly saw blades as they slashed toward the golden figure. Moving with lightning speed, Mephisto closed the distance, refusing to believe his opponent could sustain such an overwhelming energy output.
The air twisted like a vortex as golden flames of raw power erupted from Sean's body, compressing the atmosphere until invisible shockwaves shredded everything nearby.
Behind the golden visor, a sharp glint flashed in Sean's eyes...
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The energy beam expanded like a tidal wave, engulfing the entire hall. Even the cunning Mephisto couldn't suppress a flicker of shock, and then, a long-dormant fear.
The explosion was like a thousand tons of high-grade dynamite detonating at once. Blinding light consumed everything, drowning out all senses in a deafening roar.
Once the second-largest administrative building in the world, the Palace of the Parliament collapsed under the force, rubble crashing down like tidal waves as thick smoke billowed into the sky.
The chain reaction lasted a full three minutes. The 275-foot-tall palace was reduced to ruins, its sturdy framework disintegrating from the bottom up. The residual shockwaves even reached Constitution Square, sending tremors throughout Bucharest.
Vampires, werewolves, the dark-skinned sorcerer, and the Ghost Rider all froze mid-battle, sensing the terrifying presence the moment the explosion erupted...
A battered figure clawed its way out from under the rubble, gasping for breath, "How can such a monster exist...?"
Crimson energy surged from the city-wide sigil, pouring into Mephisto's nearly obliterated body. His flesh knitted back together at a visible rate.
As the massive spell continued to operate, Bucharest and Hell began to overlap. In half an hour, the legendary realm of sulfur and molten fire would swallow Romania's capital, turning it into a true City of Hell.
And until then, no one could stop him... unless someone was insane enough to drop a nuclear bomb on the so-called 'City of Joy', wiping it off the map entirely.
"You're annoyingly tenacious." Golden flames lifted Sean into the air as he hovered above the wreckage.
"Hahahahaaaha!" Mephisto laughed triumphantly, "You can't kill me... Not even the Sorcerer Supreme could halt my grand design now."
Freed from his demonic form, unshackled from the material world, and sustained by the endless power of Hell itself, he was untouchable. Even the Ancient One who had fought Dormammu to a standstill and banished angels and demons alike would struggle to stop him.
The golden figure before him was undoubtedly powerful, but truly killing Mephisto? That was beyond his reach.
"Tell me, have you ever wondered why I let you complete your rebirth ritual?" Sean looked down at the smug Hell Lord, his voice laced with mockery, "Great Mephisto, what's the best way to solve a problem permanently?"
The question hung in the night air, "To the Sorcerer Supreme, you're nothing but a persistent pest... hard to eradicate, yet too dangerous to ignore. Even if she destroys every avatar you send, there will always be fools willing to bargain with demons... They sell their souls for petty rewards, never realizing the true cost."
Mephisto's expression darkened. He couldn't find any flaw in his plan. Dormammu and his fanatics had the Ancient One pinned down... she wouldn't recklessly abandon Kamar-Taj and risk giving Kaecilius an opening.
With no interference, his rebirth was complete. The descent of Hell into the material world was inevitable. The vampires and werewolves served as his claws, the corrupted Carrigan as his blade, and Daredevil (now a Ghost Rider) as his pawn.
Who could possibly stop him now?
After running through every possibility, Mephisto scoffed, "What's the point of bluffing at this stage?"
Sean didn't argue. Instead, he activated his comms, "Mordo, are the energy nodes destroyed?"
<...I... might need more time–...>
The master of the mystic arts was locked in brutal combat with the vampire elder and the Werewolf King. Even as a disciplined master of Kamar-Taj, he was outmatched by these apex predators of the dark.
"What about Johnny?"
<...Not looking good either...>
Sean sighed, 'So much for relying on teammates...'
Then he said, "Evacuate the city. You have ten minutes."
<...You're giving up at the final–..>
"Shut up and take Johnny with you!" Sean's sharp interruption cut off Mordo's protest.
The sorcerer glanced at the towering Lucian and the relentless vampire leader before turning and fleeing without another word.
"Pathetic humans," the two dark lords sneered.
They didn't bother giving chase. Hell's descent was imminent. As long as these meddling sorcerers didn't interfere with Mephisto's plan, letting them go meant nothing. The age of darkness was coming.
After sending the message, Sean stood atop a crumbling spire, the black sun emblem on his armor dimmed slightly, as if the earlier onslaught had drained too much energy...
"Human, stop this futile resistance. Last-minute heroics only happen in movies and books." Despite the unease gnawing at him, Mephisto refused to back down.
"I've always wanted to know... just how far I can push my limits." Sean's voice was calm, "Thank you for giving me the chance to find out."
The moment the words left his mouth, light erupted...