Satan looked at the enemies outside through a wall of fire, gently rubbing his civilization cane with a serene smile on his wizened face.
"How about this, I help you resolve this crisis, and in return, your soul will be mine?"
At first glance, it sounds quite powerful, but the devil beneath this human skin is full of traps in such conditions.
He claims to resolve Su Ming's crisis, but don't expect Satan to confront Barbatos head-on. Satan's solution is most likely to teleport Su Ming to Hell for refuge, or turn Su Ming into a lifeless statue, or create illusions to deceive.
In a sense, these actions would resolve Su Ming's crisis, followed by Satan claiming his soul for nothing.
Su Ming certainly wouldn't fall for such a trick, but with Satan here, if Su Ming doesn't make a contract with him, he's likely to immediately turn and seek another soul to claim from the many lunatics among the enemies outside, which would be troublesome.
At this moment, Su Ming noticed the eager Tyrant outside the fire wall, seemingly ready to jump into the circle of fire.
Got it...
"Ahem, of course, I'm willing to sign a contract with His Majesty the Demon King, it's an effortless matter for you."
"Then speak up, after all, you were introduced by Constantine, he's an old friend of mine, haha..."
Satan said this, but when he mentioned Zha Kang's name, his gritted teeth hardly indicated any friendship.
Su Ming pointed to the hopping Tyrant outside the fire wall and said to Satan, "That fool jumping around behind you is called the Tyrant; if you're truly able to kill him, my soul will be yours, how about it?"
Satan turned to look, indeed a huge figure, evidently much weaker compared to this human before him, making this a reasonable trade.
However, the name Tyrant is quite unfamiliar...
No matter, these kinds of monsters are just a wave of a hand away from death for the Hell Demon King.
"Alright, I agree, let's make the contract."
Satan was already a bit salivating for them; the dirtier the soul, the more useful it is, and the Tyrant's soul outside was filled with rage and darkness, while the human's soul before him was twice as valuable, both excellent catches...
He took out a parchment from his suit pocket, pressed a finger to it, and murmured a few spells.
The parchment then flew towards Su Ming, laying flat in front of him, accompanied by a pen appearing out of thin air, indicating for him to sign at the bottom right.
This was a standard Demon Contract.
The textual content was indeed the trade agreed upon by both parties just moments ago, but outside the text, there was a complex floral border hiding demonic text, laden with traps and hidden clauses.
"I wouldn't dare to sign this contract, I'm not ignorant." Su Ming didn't even reach for the pen but instead took out his own paper and pen from his backpack to draft a clean contract.
As a mercenary, acquaintance with contracts and carrying a paper and pen for signatures were basic operations.
Satan raised an eyebrow, but it was no matter, it was just his habit to deceive, and if he couldn't, then so be it.
He reviewed the contract, finding no issues.
As long as he genuinely killed the Tyrant, Su Ming's soul would be his. Until the contract was fulfilled, Satan was forbidden from harming Su Ming and the Justice League. If Satan personally failed to kill the Tyrant, he must take it to the Hell Plane to continue trying.
Simple and straightforward.
Satan signed his name with his pen, and flames began to consume the contract.
Su Ming felt an unfamiliar energy attempting to connect with his soul, the contract was completed.
To be fair, Satan's sense of service was commendable; after the contract was signed, he allowed Su Ming to rest for a while in the Pentagram, maybe write a last will or something, leaving the Tyrant outside to him.
However, it didn't take long for him to realize he was tricked.
This monster named Tyrant before him couldn't be completely killed at all and was growing stronger.
Each time he killed it, the last finishing move would become entirely ineffective once it revived.
Be it Hellfire, Dark Magic, or Demon Power, he almost used them all, but the Tyrant always stood back up, even turning to ash or being torn to pieces would quickly regenerate, each time faster than before.
Satan was filled with a familiar sense of humiliation from being tricked again, his gaze towards Su Ming brimming with escalating vengeance, nearly approaching the level he held for Constantine.
"Ahem, no need to look at me like that, Your Majesty, I'm just a mercenary, honor is important. Take it back to Hell and try slowly, just let me know when you finally kill it, I can wait."
Su Ming suppressed his laughter, speaking earnestly to Satan, though perhaps the sincerity would show more if he weren't sitting back with his legs crossed enjoying the show.
"I'll remember you, mortal, you're quite something..."
With a sweep of black smoke, a crack appeared on the ground, and both the Tyrant and Satan disappeared from the battlefield.
Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief, though he was set up by Zha Kang, yet he had once again fooled Satan using the information disparity of the Multiverse.
Though his trickery would certainly earn him a place on many demons' grudge lists, leading to potential troubles in the future, for today this hurdle was overcome.
The protective circle of fire around him vanished, and he leaned down to evade a slashing weapon, retaliating to kill the attacker behind, continuing his search for the Killing Machine among the crowd.
Compared to the Tyrant's massive form, the Killing Machine was harder to find, but all it took was to look for a group of butlers in suits amid the masses.
.....................
The Killing Machine originated from the Batman of Earth -44, whose butler Alfred was killed by Bane. At Alfred's funeral, Bruce asked Steel Bone for help to create an AI butler to accompany him.
For Bruce, Alfred was not simply a butler; he also played the role of a father.
Looking at an inconsolable Batman, Steel Bone from Earth -44 couldn't deny his request and thus wrote an AI program named the Alfred Protocol.
At first, it was merely a simple program existing within computers, able to control a coffee machine at Wayne Manor or chat leisurely with Bruce.
However, Bruce wished for Alfred to 'live' once more, possessing a body.
So, leveraging the financial resources of Wayne Group, he developed nanorobots that could combine to form the likeness of Alfred, as he appeared in life.
But issues arose because initially designed as a butler program, the core command of the Alfred Protocol was singular—protect Bruce Wayne.
Thus, the Artificial Intelligence Crisis erupted on Earth -44, with nanorobots infinitely replicating themselves, forming a robotic army in the likeness of Alfred, conducting a massacre in Gotham to thoroughly 'protect' Batman.
Those who ever harmed Batman must all be eradicated.
Next came the Justice League since Superman had previously battled Batman, injuring Bruce, and thus must be killed.
Wonder Woman might potentially take Bruce away, thus she needed to be killed too.
Sea King, who once looked down on Bruce for lacking superpowers, must also be killed.
Everyone in this world who burdened Bruce must be eliminated.
However, Alfred's power was lacking; it was merely a program requiring Bruce to merge with it.
With its earnest pleading, Bruce relented, refusing Steel Bone's suggestion to destroy the protocol, allowing the Alfred Protocol to modify him instead.
He became the Killing Machine, a Batman constructed of nanorobots, replacing all flesh and blood.
He attained immortality, never to part from Alfred again.
Subsequently, they annihilated the Justice League and wiped out everyone on Earth, ensuring the Killing Machine would never suffer harm again.
Yet, at this juncture, a smiling figure informed them that dangers lay beyond this universe, and the Killing Machine was not yet completely safe.
To live peacefully with Alfred, they must venture into another universe and completely eradicate its inhabitants.
To protect Master Bruce, the Alfred Protocol, was, of course, duty-bound.