Just as Witch Heart Demon angrily pushed Rosie away, Coulson's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Kreacher!"
Without a second thought, Coulson turned his back on Melinda and the others and sprinted away, clearly trying to lure Witch Heart Demon far from them so they wouldn't have to face him directly.
Hearing Coulson's call, Kreacher, who was some distance away, immediately teleported to Rosie's side, grabbed her, and then instantly reappeared beside Melinda.
Realizing he'd been tricked, Witch Heart Demon was so furious he couldn't even maintain his pale complexion. His ugly maw twisted into a snarl as he roared and charged at Coulson: Damn it, the hostage to threaten Ghost Rider is gone. Fine, I'll just take someone connected to Kamar-Taj instead!
Among the rescue team, aside from Melinda—the only woman—the rest were either burly men who only knew how to fight or frail researchers who couldn't even lift a sword, only capable of fiddling with instruments. In short, no one in the group knew how to comfort Rosie, who had just escaped the clutches of a Devil.
After all, this was close contact with a Devil. Who knew what psychological trauma Rosie might suffer?
Normally, Melinda, being the only woman present, would have been the best choice to comfort Rosie. But right now, with Coulson about to fall into Witch Heart Demon's grasp, Melinda had no patience for consoling anyone. She was far too anxious, practically itching to punch someone.
Especially when she saw Witch Heart Demon catch up to Coulson and fling him aside like a ragdoll, sending him flying several meters.
Too worried about Coulson's safety to care whether he was too close to Witch Heart Demon—and whether firing might accidentally hit him—Melinda directly ordered, "Open fire!" In her mind, being shot to death would surely be more comfortable than being beaten to a pulp like a sandbag by Witch Heart Demon.
At the same time, Melinda didn't hesitate to put on the Loki Mask.
Although Coulson had warned Melinda that 'the mask should only be used in emergencies,' now that Coulson was nearly dead, the situation was certainly dire enough.
In the blink of an eye, as soon as Melinda donned the mask, she involuntarily spun in place a few times before transforming into a streak of green lightning, positioning herself between Witch Heart Demon and Coulson. With a hostile glare at Witch Heart Demon, she asked, "Are you okay?"
Coulson rubbed his waist while eyeing Melinda, who now sported a green head and wore a bizarre leather jacket. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm alright. When Witch Heart Demon got close to me, the amulet formed a shield. Though it shattered instantly under his attack, it still helped a bit. But..." He pulled out a broken amulet from his pocket and added with a wry face, "I'm afraid I won't be able to return this amulet."
Melinda nodded. "As long as you're unharmed."
With that, she cracked her knuckles and jerked her chin toward the team's direction, signaling Coulson to leave quickly—now was her time to unleash her fury.
Coulson glanced at Witch Heart Demon and staggered toward the team, murmuring, "Be careful."
Opposite Melinda, Witch Heart Demon felt a flicker of surprise at the sudden appearance of this woman before him, sensing a trace of Divine Power emanating from her.
This puzzled him. He had encountered deities before, but never one with such feeble Divine Power.
Not that he was in much better shape. First, as a Devil from Hell, his strength was largely suppressed by the laws of this realm—Witch Heart Demon was no exception.
Second, he hadn't yet obtained the San Venganza Scroll, so his power hadn't had the chance to grow.
Thus, the strength he could currently muster was quite limited.
But without a fight, who could say who was stronger?
Narrowing his eyes, Witch Heart Demon asked, "Who are you?"
Melinda was already seething with rage, especially at the thought of nearly watching Coulson die before her eyes. Her anger burned so fiercely it felt like her stomach might explode.
Compounded by the mask amplifying her suppressed emotions, she had no intention of wasting words with Witch Heart Demon—she only wanted to speak with her fists.
So, facing this kill-and-leave-behind Devil, Melinda couldn't be bothered to respond. Instead, she stomped her right foot hard against the ground, cracking it like a turtle's shell, and used the recoil to launch herself at Witch Heart Demon like a cannonball.
Though Witch Heart Demon was wary of Melinda, her combat skills were already top-tier among humans. With the mask enhancing her strength and reflexes beyond human limits, she was even more formidable.
After a few exchanges, Melinda seized an opening and landed a heavy punch, sending Witch Heart Demon flying over ten meters away. If it were an ordinary human, being knocked five meters away would land them in the emergency room. But Melinda knew all too well that even though Witch Heart Demon had been sent flying ten meters, he'd likely only suffered minor injuries—nothing that would hinder his fighting ability.
Melinda tilted her head, thinking her fists were too small to deliver satisfying blows to Witch Heart Demon. Instinctively, she placed both thumbs in her mouth, took a deep breath, and blew into them.
In the distance, Witch Heart Demon seemed unharmed, more concerned about his clothes as he dusted himself off. Smirking, he taunted, "Did you think your fists were inflatable toys or something?!"
Before he could finish, his eyes widened as Melinda's originally slender hands suddenly ballooned to the size of palm-leaf fans.
Witch Heart Demon's lips twitched as he muttered to himself, "They really are inflatable?"
No sooner had he spoken than Melinda clenched her now skull-sized fists, curiously knocking them together to test whether these massive fists were all show and no substance.
When the collision produced a metallic clang, it was as if the fists whispered in her ear: "That's right, we're forged from steel. Beating up Devils will send you straight to cloud nine."
Hearing the same metallic sound, Witch Heart Demon's mouth twitched. Then he saw Melinda charging at him again, a vicious grin on her face.
Poor Witch Heart Demon. In a pure contest of strength, he might've stood a chance against Melinda. But now, with her overwhelming technique and those steel-like fists, he could only think one thing: Is this really Earth? This has to be a joke.
Before long, Melinda seized another opportunity, delivering a punch straight to Witch Heart Demon's forehead. The impact made him feel as if his brains had been scrambled, his skull buzzing like it was filled with bees.
Seeing him dazed, Melinda didn't hold back. She spread her palm-leaf-sized hands, grabbed Witch Heart Demon's arms, and with a mighty pull, performed a live demonstration of hand-torn Devil for all to see.
But Witch Heart Demon wasn't afraid of being dismembered. As the self-proclaimed Devil Prince, losing his arms meant nothing—even being blown to dust wouldn't stop him from regenerating.
Seizing the moment, the armless Witch Heart Demon staggered back, grinning as if impervious to pain. "Looks like you can't kill me," he sneered. Then, glancing at Coulson and the others in the distance, he added, "Seems Coulson's someone you care about. What if I took him hostage? Would you put on a hand-torn Ghost Rider show for me?"
As he spoke, the severed arms in Melinda's grasp dissolved into black mist, reforming at his sides as good as new.
Frowning, Melinda pulled a black balloon from her pocket. With a few quick breaths, a black balloon hammer labeled '1000T' materialized in her hand. Witch Heart Demon was utterly baffled. What kind of magic was this? It clearly looked like a balloon, yet every fiber of his being—from his sixth sense to his tenth—screamed that this was genuinely a 1000-ton iron hammer, the kind that could obliterate him in a single strike.
The next moment proved his instincts right. The hammer, which Melinda held as lightly as if it were indeed a balloon, suddenly revealed its true weight when she set it down and spat into her palm to increase friction. Witch Heart Demon's eyelid twitched as he watched the ground beneath the hammer crack like a turtle's shell.
Then, the green-haired brute of a woman charged at him again, wielding the 1000-ton hammer with a fist the size of a human head.
Within moments, Witch Heart Demon was flattened once more, and the 1000-ton hammer naturally became the perfect tool to pin him down—resting on his chest like the stone slab in a "chest-smashing boulder" performance.
Now, the Witch Heart Demon couldn't even move if he wanted to. Talk about bad luck.
In the distance, Coulson and the others were recording Melinda, who was wearing a mask and venting her emotions freely. Seeing the Witch Heart Demon being tossed around by Melinda like a flipped turtle, they broke out in cold sweat, thinking: How on earth did this woman ever find a husband? More importantly, how is her husband still not in a coffin by now? A miracle, truly.
Faced with such a brutal scene, Coulson could only ask one thing: "Mel, for the sake of our years of friendship, just tell me—do you hold any grudges against me? I swear I'll change."
While Coulson was still agonizing over whether he had ever offended Melinda, his eyes suddenly bulged, and his lips twitched as he watched Melinda pull out a massive cross-shaped greatsword from her pocket and, without hesitation, plunge it into the Witch Heart Demon's chest.
Unfortunately, even with his heart pierced, the Witch Heart Demon acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to sneer at Melinda.
With a poker face, Melinda gave the Witch Heart Demon a serious look before pulling out a 2-meter-long chainsaw from her pocket. As she began dismembering him, she shouted at Coulson, "Bring me some sealed containers. We'll pack up his body parts and dump them into the sea."
Before Coulson could fetch the containers, a black mist suddenly stopped beside him, startling him into drawing his gun.
When Coulson saw the figure—a black mist for the lower half and Li Feng's head for the upper half—he rolled his eyes and lowered his pistol, saying, "Mr. Austin, you Chinese have a saying: 'Scaring people can scare them to death.' Your sudden appearances could give me a heart attack."
"Sealed containers won't work on the Witch Heart Demon," Li Feng ignored Coulson's remark and glanced eastward before asking, "How much time until sunrise?"
Coulson checked his watch and frowned. "Right about now. The mask's effect could wear off at any moment. Melinda's in danger!"
No sooner had Coulson spoken than the sound of a motorcycle reached their ears, and the crimson sun shyly peeked over the eastern horizon.
Clearly, Johnny Blaze and the sun had arrived at the scene simultaneously.