Arrival

Several cars sped like lightning across the vast, boundless wilderness of Texas.

Their wheels churned up clouds of dust, trailing a long yellow dragon behind them.

The vehicles had clearly been carefully modified. Every component had been optimized and reworked, allowing them to adapt effortlessly to all manner of complicated terrain.

Even while racing over uneven, pothole-ridden ground, they moved as steadily as if they were on a smooth highway. The bumps inside were barely noticeable, and the people in the cars could hardly feel any shaking at all, as though they were inside a stable mobile fortress.

Inside the largest vehicle in the middle of the convoy, Wes was completely absorbed in writing furiously on a sheet of paper.

The unconscious Johnny was tightly bound to his seat with sturdy ropes.

After casually glancing at the paper in Wes's hands a few times, Carter quickly lost interest.

He shook his head, went to a seat nearby, and closed his eyes to rest.

Meanwhile, Coulson sat beside Wes with immense curiosity, staring without blinking. Wes made no effort to conceal what he was doing from him.

Drawn on the draft paper was a circular Magic Circle, its Runes crisscrossing in an intricate, tangled pattern.

Wes remained intensely focused, constantly revising it with his pen as fine beads of sweat gradually formed on his forehead.

An hour later, Wes finally let out a long breath and handed the blueprint to Coulson.

Coulson took it, his face taking on an utterly bewildered expression.

"Send this blueprint to the engineers. Make them memorize it thoroughly. There can't be the slightest mistake."

Wes spoke with a stern expression and an unwavering tone.

"Can you tell me what this Magic Circle actually does?"

Coulson could not help asking, his eyes full of curiosity.

"I'll explain it when the time comes."

Wes did not answer his question right away.

"Jandi," Wes called out.

With a pop, the House-elf Jandi appeared instantly.

Coulson was left dumbfounded by the sudden sight, staring in astonishment at the strange creature.

Carter, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, heard the sound and lifted the brim of his hat to glance at Jandi. He could not help whistling. "What a magical creature."

"Keep an eye on this guy." Wes pointed at Coulson as he gave Jandi the order.

"Yes, Master!" Jandi answered respectfully.

After giving his instructions, Wes opened the case beside him and stepped inside.

The case locked itself automatically.

Jandi dutifully stood guard in front of it, his eyes fixed on Coulson without daring to relax for even a moment.

"This gentleman...?" Coulson tried to speak to Jandi, but he had no idea how to address him. He could only roughly judge from his voice that he was male.

Jandi, however, remained completely unmoved. "Sit quietly, Muggle, unless you want to suffer."

Coulson had hit a wall. Left with no choice, he obediently shut his mouth and did not dare say another word.

When Wes emerged from the case after resting, the sight before him made him pause slightly. Coulson was curled up into a ball.

The moment Coulson saw Wes, it was as though he had seen his savior. He immediately widened his eyes and made muffled "Mm! Mm! Mm!" sounds.

"Let him go, Jandi," Wes said.

At that, Jandi snapped his fingers.

Only then could Coulson stretch out his already stiff body. He let out a long breath, feeling as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

Looking somewhat wronged, he said, "I only wanted to talk to Mr. Jandi."

Johnny, who was drinking beer, could not help commenting, "You just wanted to pry information out of him. Stop pretending you're so pitiful."

Wes glanced at Johnny, who raised his beer toward him in acknowledgment.

"Good job, Jandi." Wes's praise made Jandi break into an ecstatic smile.

After Wes assigned him a new task, Jandi vanished instantly.

"A magical creature, a magical case, a magical Wizard!" Johnny drained his beer in one gulp, then casually tossed the empty can out the window.

The events of the past few days had been far too thrilling for Johnny. Even Wizards, figures that existed only in fairy tales, had appeared in his real life.

"You told him?"

Wes asked.

"I only told him about the Ghost Rider. I'm just as clueless about everything else."

Carter shrugged and answered helplessly.

"All right." Wes walked over to a chair and slowly sat down. "Where should I begin?"

"Mephisto!" Johnny and Carter shouted in unison.

The two of them were fellow sufferers, both having been deceived into signing contracts with Mephisto.

"All right. In truth, all of this is connected to Mephisto." Wes's tone grew heavy.

"Mr. Erwin, can my colleagues listen in as well? They'll be involved in what comes next, after all."

Coulson asked carefully.

After receiving Wes's affirmative reply, Coulson skillfully activated the communications device.

Though it was supposedly for his colleagues to listen, in reality, only Nick Fury, far away in New York, could hear their conversation.

Beginning with Mephisto's identity, Wes launched into an unbroken explanation, continuing until he reached the part where Ancient One had tricked him into accepting this mission.

The expressions of the three men kept changing as Wes spoke, shifting from shock to fear.

Even Coulson, who had undergone special training and possessed exceptional mental fortitude, found it difficult to completely control his expression.

The information was simply too explosive, too unbelievable.

Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme!

Mephisto, the Lord of Hell!

Coulson could not help wondering whether these were all myths Wes had fabricated.

Yet Carter and Johnny, who had signed contracts with Mephisto, were right in front of him.

That morning, Coulson had personally watched the two turn from flaming skeletal riders back into ordinary people. There had also been those terrifying devils the night before.

Everything proved that Wes was telling the truth.

"Honestly, I kind of admire you two." Wes looked at Carter and Johnny as if he were asking whether there was something wrong with their brains. "You actually dared sign contracts with the famous, treacherous Mephisto."

Carter and Johnny immediately looked both embarrassed and regretful.

Johnny slumped limply in his chair and muttered, "It's all too late. I've lost everything. Now, I can't even die if I want to."

His eyes were dull and lifeless, as though all vitality and hope had vanished from them.

Carter beside him was much the same, his face filled with despair and helplessness.

"Ask him how to stop Hell from descending."

Nick Fury urged anxiously through the earpiece.

"I can hear you. Do you agents always do things so sneakily?" Wes said disdainfully.

Coulson did not seem embarrassed. He skillfully pressed several buttons among the complicated array in the vehicle.

Immediately afterward, a lifelike projection of a bald, one-eyed man appeared inside the car.

"Whoa! Technology has gotten this advanced?"

Carter could not help exclaiming. Curious, he reached out to touch it, only for his hand to pass straight through Nick Fury's projection.

"Cowboy, this isn't the time to be curious." Nick Fury turned to Wes and asked urgently, "Mr. Erwin, what exactly can you do to stop Hell from descending?"

"Nothing." Wes spread his hands, his expression calm.

Everyone in the vehicle stared at Wes in shock, unable to believe what they had heard.

"I'm not that capable." Wes shrugged. "I'm only carrying out the task assigned by the Sorcerer Supreme."

"Who exactly is the Sorcerer Supreme? Why hasn't she shown herself for something that concerns the survival of the world?"

Nick Fury could not help laying the blame on the Sorcerer Supreme, his tone full of complaint.

Wes sneered. "Give me a break. When the Sorcerer Supreme was saving the Earth, your ancestors were still running from lions in Africa."

Nick Fury's already dark face instantly turned purple-black.

"The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are panicking." Wes's sharp tongue did not relent. "There's no point in you people worrying yourselves sick. If the Sorcerer Supreme can't be relied on, the Earth would have been ruined by these demon gods long ago."

Nick Fury wanted to say something in rebuttal, but at that moment, the vehicle came to a stop.

"Looks like we're here." Wes picked up the case beside him, opened the door, and stepped out.

Before them lay a desolate, bleak landscape, overgrown with weeds and filled with blowing sand and dust.

Only an ancient, weathered temple stood there alone, looking especially conspicuous.

"This is Sanctum Sanctorum?" Carter and Johnny followed him out, staring at the scene before them in disbelief.

"Will Mephisto come here?"

"Hopefully not. I don't want to face the Lord of Hell."

Although Wes had changed his past habit of obsessively pursuing safety, he knew full well that dealing with Mephisto would be nothing short of seeking death.