Slicing open a portal, Mordo arrived beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Bucharest, only to be greeted by the sight of... two Ghost Riders?
Johnny lashed out with his crimson chain, whipping up a fiery tornado that sent the other towering black figure flying, crashing straight through the massive arch behind him.
With hollow eye sockets burning with hellfire, the resurrected Daredevil flipped back up, wielding his batons. Using his enhanced senses, he dodged the writhing chain and delivered a devastating uppercut to Johnny's jaw, nearly sending the flaming skull flying off its neck.
Two men bound by the Spirit of Vengeance, both having made pacts with Mephisto, now locked hands on each other's shoulders and each activated the Penance Stare!
Amid the seething hellfire, they witnessed each other's sins, their inner torment and suffering...
'...Johnny, sign the contract with me... I'll restore your father's health. You'll be free of him, able to chase your own happiness...'
'...Attorney Murdock, the only way to end violence is with greater violence. Go forth, destroy the criminals, cast their souls into hellfire!..'
Their past killings and sins replayed endlessly, as if they were trapped in molten hell, their bodies and souls scorched by unbearable agony.
For Johnny, his father's death was the wound that never healed. The former stunt rider hadn't made the deal just for his father's health... young Johnny had wanted to escape their small-town circus life, and to build a future with his girlfriend in the city.
If his father were healthy, he could leave it all behind. So he sold his soul to Mephisto, only for his father to die in an accident anyway. The demon had tricked him, taking his soul in the process.
Daredevil, his own eyes aflame, saw these memories clearly. Guilt and hatred intertwined, tormenting this wretched man just as they tormented him. Neither could find true redemption.
"Two lunatics!" Mordo swung his beast-headed staff, knocking both Ghost Riders unconscious.
The Spirits of Vengeance within them roared in fury before reluctantly receding.
*BOOOOOOM!*
A deafening explosion erupted from Constitution Square. Struggling, Mordo tossed the two unfortunate souls into the car. A primal fear gripped him as he turned to see a blinding light erupting into the sky like a sun being born, radiating endless heat and brilliance.
The shockwave rolled outward, the earth groaned as buildings were swallowed whole and pulverized into dust, then vanished into nothingness.
Silently, the apocalyptic force expanded. The grand structures around the square, parked cars, dim billboards, and shops... all disintegrated in the searing light.
"Dear God..." Mordo was paralyzed by the sheer scale of destruction.
Space itself seemed to tremble, making even opening a portal impossible.
The sorcerer jumped into the car, slammed the accelerator, and roared away as the shockwave chased him. Through the rearview mirror, he saw the annihilating force spreading... It was slow but unstoppable, like a miniature nuclear detonation.
Metal vaporized, concrete dissolved... The heat was enough to melt steel, the pressure enough to shred flesh.
'Is this the young man's true power?' Terror flooded Mordo's mind.
This level of pure devastation might even surpass the Ancient One. As the shockwave gained speed, he stomped the gas harder.
Only now did he understand why Sean had ordered him to flee. At this rate, Bucharest would be wiped off the map!
"Dear God!" he whispered again.
....
~Constitution Square~
Or what was left of it...
The historic plaza, where the first shot of the Cold War had been fired, was gone. Within the endless light and heat, a lone figure stood... the Sentinel...
An unfathomable energy stormed from his body, the radiance forming a miniature supernova.
Having completed his rebirth, Mephisto desperately conjured hellfire barriers only for them to shatter instantly under the onslaught. His demonic flesh which was capable of withstanding artillery fire held for less than a second before dissolving into ash.
"No! You can't do this–!" The city-wide blood sigil flared once more, pumping crimson energy into the nearly obliterated Hell Lord.
His body reformed, only to be annihilated again a second later.
"How many times can you come back? A hundred? A thousand?" Sean's voice was cold.
As he unleashed his full power, his consciousness brushed against a door... one leading to an unknowable realm.
Beyond it lay a destroyed universe...
The force of a million dying stars, unimaginable, untouchable, erupted in an instant, reducing all matter to its most basic particles.
Sean's soul ached to step through that door. For a fraction of a microsecond, he almost did, before the vortex of annihilation erased even that thought.
This power was beyond mortal comprehension, it was beyond control...
....
In the physical world, Mephisto kept resurrecting... each rebirth now a torment. Flesh peeled away, bones powdered, his very existence erased before reforming.
The Hell Lord clung to his will, refusing to die, "Just a little longer... His energy isn't infinite. Just... a little... longer..."
The battle had become a war of attrition. Sustaining this output was tearing Sean apart... every cell in his body screamed in protest. The pain was beyond any torture known to man.
Time crawled. Every second felt like an eternity of blades carving into their souls.
Thirty seconds. Three thousand microseconds.
An eternity later, the black sun on the Sentinel's chest dimmed...
The Hell Lord who was being reborn countless times finally begged, "Kill me! KILL ME!"
The once-proud deceiver of souls was now broken, driven mad by endless cycles of agony.
As the golden light faded, Sean staggered, barely standing. Before him, half of Bucharest (0.5 square kilometers, 500 years of history) was gone.
Like an eraser dragged across a canvas, the city's heart had vanished, leaving only barren earth.
Amid the swirling dust, the reborn Mephisto babbled incoherently, pleading for death. Sean obliged and vaporized him one final time...
...
Dawn broke. The panting Mordo leaned against the jeep, staring at the half-erased city before bursting into laughter in a mix of relief and exhilaration...
Behind him, the two Ghost Riders sat dazed in the truck bed, watching the sunrise.
It was over...