"What's happening?!"
Blackheart's eyes widened in shock.
Then he sensed the presence inside his body and shouted in disbelief.
"A Hell Lord?!"
"That's impossible! How could a Hell Lord exist on Earth?!"
Wang Nanxuan smiled.
"Well… you can thank yourself for that."
With a subtle gesture, he tightened the puppet curse controlling Blackheart's body.
As a Lord of Hell, Wang Nanxuan naturally possessed many abilities—control over infernal flames, curses, supernatural strength, soul contracts, and more.
Under the curse's power, Blackheart's body slowly began transforming into a puppet.
Nearby, the three elemental demons stared in horror.
"A… Hell Lord…"
The Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Water Demon instantly turned pale.
None of them dared approach.
In fact, they were already considering running.
Then Wang Nanxuan appeared before them.
His voice turned cold.
"Kneel."
"Wait there for my orders."
The three demons dropped to their knees immediately.
They didn't dare resist.
This was a Lord of Hell.
Meanwhile, Blackheart struggled desperately.
"No…!"
He refused to accept it.
After all the effort he had spent escaping Hell… was he really going to fail before even beginning?
Unfortunately for him, determination meant nothing against a Hell Lord.
Dark energy swallowed him.
His body shrank rapidly until it became a small black statue floating in the air.
Wang Nanxuan reached out and caught it.
Then he turned to the kneeling demons.
"Give me a phone."
The three demons blinked.
"A… phone?"
Of all the commands they expected from a Hell Lord, that wasn't one of them.
Had Hell become… technological?
The Wind Demon reacted first. He scrambled to his feet, searched one of the corpses inside the bar, and returned with a smartphone.
He handed it over respectfully.
Wang Nanxuan took the palm-sized device and checked the date.
2008.
A news article was open in the browser.
Billionaire Tony Stark spotted on a date with a model from Maxim Magazine.
Wang Nanxuan stared at the photo.
"…Yep."
"That punchable face."
"This is definitely the Marvel movie universe."
He began browsing the internet quickly, searching for the information he needed.
The Wind Demon spoke carefully.
"My lord… Mephisto's rider will find this place soon. We should leave and locate the Contract of San Venganza immediately."
Wang Nanxuan glanced at him.
"And how exactly were you planning to find it?"
The Wind Demon answered cautiously.
"Blackheart said the contract is hidden somewhere in the nearby cemetery."
"But he never told us where exactly."
"You could… ask him."
The tiny statue in Wang Nanxuan's hand suddenly shouted.
"I'll never tell you!"
Wang Nanxuan chuckled.
"He doesn't know the exact location anyway."
"And besides…"
"I already found it."
He turned the phone toward them.
A news article filled the screen.
Famous stunt rider Barton Blaze buried in Saint Michael's Cemetery.
Barton Blaze.
Better known as Johnny Blaze's father.
The three demons stared in disbelief.
You found the location… by clicking a few things on a phone?
If it were that easy, why hadn't Mephisto found the contract after all these years?
Wang Nanxuan shrugged.
"Times change."
"Even devils need to keep up with technology."
He memorized the map, then his body transformed into a streak of black light and shot into the sky.
"Let's go."
The Wind Demon quickly transformed into a storm of wind, sweeping up the other two demons as they chased after him.
Outside Saint Michael's Church, a quiet cemetery lay under the night sky.
An old cowboy stood among the graves, repairing a tombstone with a shovel.
Suddenly—
A violent wind descended from the sky.
Leaves spiraled wildly around the cemetery.
The old man grabbed his hat.
Then the wind vanished.
Four figures appeared before him.
The old cowboy's eyes narrowed immediately.
He recognized it at a glance.
These people… weren't human.
Wang Nanxuan stepped forward.
"You're Carter Slade, aren't you?"
"The Ghost Rider who betrayed Mephisto and stole the Contract of San Venganza."
The old man slowly stepped backward.
"You've got the wrong person," he said calmly.
"I'm just a caretaker."
"Really?"
Wang Nanxuan raised a hand.
The shovel in Carter Slade's hands suddenly flew into Wang Nanxuan's grasp.
Slade's eyes burst into flames.
With a speed that completely ignored his age, he lunged forward and tried to grab the weapon back.
Wang Nanxuan swung the shovel casually.
BANG.
Carter Slade flew backward and crashed into the ground.
Once, he had been the Ghost Rider.
But he hadn't judged a soul in over a century.
The Hellfire within him had grown weak.
Weak enough that Wang Nanxuan could defeat him easily.
Slade roared in frustration.
A beam of holy light suddenly shot out from a nearby building, flying toward Wang Nanxuan like an arrow.
The power came from the statue of Saint Michael.
The archangel had protected Carter Slade for decades, hiding him from Mephisto's search.
Wang Nanxuan raised the small Blackheart statue as a shield.
Holy light slammed into it.
Black smoke poured from the statue as Blackheart screamed in agony.
Inside the statue, he howled.
Is this guy even a devil?!
He turned me into a statue and now he's using me as a shield?!
Then again…
Hell Lords were never known for kindness.
Wang Nanxuan spoke calmly.
"Capture him."
The three demons immediately rushed forward.
Even now, they were still shocked.
Their lord had actually found the contract using a phone.
That was… surreal.
Within moments, Carter Slade was beaten badly.
Blood ran down his face.
Finally he shouted,
"I surrender!"
"I'll take you to the contract—just spare my life!"
Wang Nanxuan laughed.
"You're quite the actor."
He flicked his wrist.
The shovel in his hand disintegrated into dust.
In its place appeared an ancient parchment scroll.
The Contract of San Venganza.
Carter Slade stared in shock.
"How did you know it was hidden in the shovel?!"
Wang Nanxuan shrugged.
"I watch a lot of superhero movies."
"Honestly, the older ones were better."
"Nowadays everything tries too hard to be politically correct."
He stored the contract away.
Then he looked at Slade thoughtfully.
"Carter Slade… what a shame."
"Your soul already belongs to Mephisto."
"Otherwise I might have offered you a place among my followers."
Slade froze.
"Followers?"
"You're a Hell Lord?"
Wang Nanxuan smiled.
"Correct."
"Sign a contract with me."
"Offer me the Spirit of Vengeance, and I'll grant you one more year of life."
"If you refuse…"
"I'll rip it out of you by force."
"And trust me—"
"That will be extremely painful."
In truth, Wang Nanxuan wasn't entirely certain he could extract the Spirit of Vengeance with his current strength.
That was why he offered a contract.
Contracts allowed him to borrow power from his true body in Hell.
Carter Slade sighed.
"I'll sign."
"I don't exactly have a choice."
"At least this way I get another year."
"Good."
Wang Nanxuan raised his hand.
A transparent infernal contract appeared before Slade.
While reading it, Slade grumbled.
"You're already better than Mephisto."
"That bastard cheats."
"He hides blades inside the parchment. When someone opens it, their finger gets cut and their blood lands on the contract."
"Then it activates automatically."
Wang Nanxuan blinked.
"That works?"
The three demons looked equally disgusted.
"That's… incredibly shameless."
Slade finished reading the contract.
"Can we add a few more years?"
Wang Nanxuan sighed.
"Carter Slade."
"I know you're stalling."
"And I know you're signing just so you can survive long enough to stop me later."
He glanced at the contract impatiently.
"I process hundreds of souls every minute."
"I don't have time for this."
"Sign it… or I remove the Spirit of Vengeance myself."
Slade's eyes hardened.
After a moment, he signed.
Then he looked up.
"One question."
"Which Hell Lord are you?"