"Mephisto, let's negotiate. The Ancient One also has a contract she wants to sign with you."
Lucas stepped aside, wary of Mephisto escaping, and left the negotiations to the Ancient One.
Professional matters are best handled by professionals.
Lucas had been to the Ancient One's vault before. Those clusters of energy, each with different properties, couldn't possibly have been slowly siphoned by the Ancient One from the Multiverse, accumulated year after year, could they?
"Negotiate? How do you want to negotiate?" Mephisto asked.
The Ancient One gently rested her folding fan on her hand and smiled. "Of course, we'll discuss how you, Mephisto, the former Satan, will compensate Kamar-Taj and redeem this clone of yours."
A flicker of annoyance crossed Mephisto's eyes. Ascending to the Supreme "Satan" of the Demon World was his proudest achievement. His recent fall from the position of "Satan" was his most painful experience.
This event had severely damaged his power and influence, leaving him even weaker than before he became Satan.
The Ancient One's words, mentioning Satan and Kamar-Taj, were undoubtedly a display of power.
Mephisto suppressed his anger and calmly said, "It seems the Ancient One is very concerned about the affairs of demons."
The Ancient One smiled, not responding, merely gesturing for Mephisto to continue.
Seeing the Ancient One remain silent, Mephisto secretly fretted.
He wanted to probe how much the Ancient One knew about his situation to determine how much he should pay to get this clone back, but the Ancient One offered no answers.
After some thought, Mephisto spoke, "I wonder what compensation the Ancient One requires?"
The Ancient One raised a finger. "First, you incited Hank Pym to attack Kamar-Taj disciple, Tony Stark."
"And you attempted to lure him into your Hell Dimension with the souls of his loved ones. You need to compensate me with the souls of my disciple Tony Stark's parents and butler."
"Agreed." Mephisto readily accepted.
This condition incurred almost no loss for him.
The Ancient One raised a second finger. "Second, you attacked the next Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, leaving him severely wounded."
As she spoke, the Ancient One winked at Lucas.
Lucas immediately coughed a few times, his aura quickly weakening, his body swaying precariously, and his face turning pale.
Mephisto's lips twitched, pretending not to notice.
The Ancient One continued, "He needs a large amount of mystic energy to recover from his injuries."
Mephisto breathed a slight sigh of relief. While mystic energy was scarce in the material world, it was relatively abundant in various dimensions.
"How much?"
The Ancient One condensed a ball of energy, indicating it was one unit.
"Ten billion."
"Impossible, you're going too far! I'd rather we both suffer heavy losses!" Mephisto roared.
Ten billion units of energy wouldn't cripple Hell, but Hell isn't his alone.
Moreover, for such a large compensation, it would be best if he covered it himself. Word getting out would damage his reputation, making an already troubled region even more unstable and shaking his rule.
"Oh, both suffer heavy losses? Mephisto, are you going to have your main body leave Hell to rescue your clone?"
As she spoke, the Ancient One waved her hand, opening a portal.
On the other side of the portal was another Ancient One—a white-bearded one.
The moment he saw this Ancient One, Mephisto's eyes narrowed.
This person's aura was only slightly inferior to his own at the peak of his reign as Satan. As for now, outside of Hell, he could easily beat him.
"Are you threatening me?!" Mephisto's face darkened.
He never intended to have his main body leave Hell to rescue his clone.
His main body risking itself to save a clone?
Then what's the point of a clone? Clones are meant to take risks for the main body.
The female Ancient One deliberately displayed her power, intending to tell Mephisto—if you refuse my demands, your main body in Hell is also in danger.
"This clone of mine isn't worth that much energy at all." Swallowing his anger, Mephisto chose to haggle.
The female Ancient One smiled. "Mephisto, we are discussing compensation now, redeeming your clone will be later."
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Mephisto's breathing grew heavier. He now wished he could self-destruct his clone and sever the connection here, out of sight, out of mind.
"Ancient One, that's not how you set a price."
"Mephisto, I know you can afford it."
The female Ancient One had investigated thoroughly during this time. This figure was roughly eighty percent of Mephisto's private vault.
"Ancient One, if you don't want to negotiate, then let's meet in Hell." Mephisto threatened.
He had it, but he wouldn't hand it over.
"I think it's better for both sides to take a step back, lest we both suffer."
At this moment, the male Ancient One stepped forward to play the good cop.
"Two billion, as compensation for Lucas, and this matter will be settled. As for redeeming the clone, that can be waived."
Mephisto's expression relaxed. Redeeming his clone for two billion energy would certainly be a loss.
But being able to avoid being attacked by a combination of three powerful sorcerers, especially one who was sinister and another who had seemingly reached another level, he considered it a cost to avert disaster.
Mephisto and the female Ancient One exchanged glances, both understanding each other perfectly.
—
"Everyone, are you ready?"
At S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony and four Avengers had all donned their specialized suits and were wearing teleportation bracelets.
Everyone nodded with serious expressions.
With a major battle imminent, no one was in the mood for joking.
This opponent was extremely formidable, and the mission difficulty was very high, Nick Fury hoped the Avengers would return safely.
Sighing inwardly, Nick Fury waved his hand. "Depart!"
The Avengers team simultaneously pressed the switch on their bracelets, instantly shrinking and disappearing from their original spot.
The Avengers traveled through various bizarre landscapes and landed in a void. They quickly activated their suits' flight functions, and the few of them stabilized themselves.
The small island Tony had mentioned earlier was gone, leaving behind countless shattered rocks.
Some of the debris, stained with Hellfire, was burning fiercely.
In the sky, a projection of Hell was visible, with demons dancing chaotically.
In the distance, several colossal crimson light pillars descended from the sky, connecting the sky and earth.
"They're over there, it looks like the battle isn't over yet." Tony said, trying to open a portal.
Unexpectedly, the portal failed to open. Tony was puzzled but could only set aside his questions and lead the team towards the crimson light pillars.
A moment later, Tony and the others finally arrived at the location of the crimson light pillars.
What greeted their eyes was...
Four people sitting in a circle, seemingly playing a card game?
Among them...
Lucas wore a broad, unconcealed smile.
The female Ancient One maintained her usual smiling expression, but her slightly narrowed eyes revealed her extremely good mood.
The male Ancient One was a bit boisterous, seemingly having lost quite a bit at the game.
Mephisto, dressed as an English gentleman, had a bitter expression, drawing and playing cards quite casually, seemingly just there to make up the numbers.