While Arale was leading Ghost Rider on a wild chase all over Hell, Mephisto, the instigator of the whole mess, quietly slipped out of Hell through an avatar he controlled.
Having taken a punch from Arale head-on, Mephisto knew perfectly well that a mere Ghost Rider stood no chance against an existence as absurdly powerful as her. He held little hope even for Ghost Rider's unique Penance Stare.
By now, Mephisto had long since abandoned any unnecessary business about researching artificial intelligence souls. All he wanted was for Arale and those other nuisances to leave his Hell Dimension as soon as possible.
So the crafty old Mephisto had to find more help...
Or lure Arale somewhere else to wreak havoc on someone else.
And the one Mephisto chose was Dormammu, another Dimension Lord.
"Mephisto? Interesting. To think you would come to my dimension."
Dormammu's enormous face, which looked like a mosaic come to life, appeared in the sky of the Dark Dimension, while his even larger body loomed indistinctly in the darkness.
His massive head lowered as he looked down at Mephisto's avatar, which had suddenly appeared in his dimension. A trace of greed showed in his eyes.
Although this was only Mephisto's avatar, it still contained considerable power. To a fellow Dimension Lord like Dormammu, that avatar was an excellent source of nourishment.
"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."
Mephisto uttered a line that did not make Dormammu particularly happy.
His mood souring, Dormammu lowered his huge face toward Mephisto's avatar and sneered. "Bargain? I don't see any reason to let your avatar go."
Unexpectedly, Mephisto merely smiled and pointed at himself. "This is part of the bargain, too. If we reach an agreement, why shouldn't I give you this avatar?"
"..."
Dormammu stared hard at Mephisto. After a long