About fifteen minutes later, Strange's phone rang, shattering the silence of the dark, quiet woods.
He picked up the phone, pressed the answer button, and held it to his ear. A pleasant voice from the Sanctum Sanctorum's customer service came through. "A communication from Mephisto, Lord of Hell, will be connected in 30 seconds. Please wait while we play hold music..."
After several dozen seconds of pleasant music, the phone shot out of Strange's hand. Its keypad transformed into a large mouth full of sharp teeth, and Mephisto's voice emerged from it. "Say, Strange, where did you see this symbol?"
The teasing note in his voice left Strange somewhat baffled. He asked, "What's wrong? What is this symbol?"
"You seriously don't know? This is the mark of Hela, Lord of the Underworld—the crazy woman who spends all day playing with skeletons and souls in her own home. Did you see any skeletons or corpses suddenly come back to life around this symbol? If so, it was definitely her..."
"There were, and more than one or two. A cemetery nearby has been haunted for several days straight."
"Then that's it. Hela's specialty is the Undead Army. Her affinity for death comes from the reverse side of the World Tree, so it is precisely the opposite of new life. Beyond death, there is also resurrection..."
"But why would Hela appear on Earth?"
"How would I know? Still... considering the nice discount you gave me before, let me give you a warning. That woman is difficult to deal with. Wherever she appears, her omnipresent power of death and resurrection will contaminate a vast stretch of land, then create all kinds of troublesome creatures. If you don't want her turning your turf into a skeleton dance hall, you'd better think of something..."
After hanging