Mephisto, Let's Negotiate (Please Follow)

Crimson Energy rose from Mephisto's head, healing his wounds as his twisted face gradually returned to normal.

He was a little stunned by the beating.

You were a mage—how were you so fierce in close combat?

If you were so fierce in close combat, why had you run earlier?

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Centered on Mephisto, the surrounding space warped and shattered in expanding rings.

Layers upon layers of Mirror Dimensions overlapped, enclosing Mephisto completely.

Farther away, runes bearing the mark of Kamar-Taj emerged.

Three massive spell formations stood in three different directions, about to link together.

When that happened, heaven and earth would be sealed, leaving Mephisto nowhere to escape.

Just like Russell before him.

Having recovered his senses, Mephisto shot toward a gap in the formations.

By now, he realized that he had walked into an ambush.

Master Ancient One waved the Folding Fan in her hand.

The space before Mephisto suddenly twisted, diverting his flight path.

Russell seized the opportunity, arriving after Mephisto yet blocking his way.

"Old Mephisto, didn't you want to fight me up close?"

Seeing that the plan was proceeding smoothly and the situation was favorable, Russell could not help teasing Mephisto.

"Come, meet me in the land of death!"

Mephisto roared and charged at Russell, looking utterly ready to risk his life.

He was gambling!

Gambling that Russell would move aside.

As a noble Dimensional Lord, all his activities outside his domain were carried out through avatars.

The death of an important avatar would certainly be a severe loss, but it was not true death.

But these two mages were using their real bodies.

If they suffered grievous injuries, they could die.

Facing Mephisto's charge, Russell grinned and charged forward as well.

You clearly have no idea what an Indestructible Body is.

Boom!

Russell neither dodged nor evaded. With Energy Absorption running at full force, he slammed directly into Mephisto.

Without any prior agreement, both gathered their energy within their bodies and chose close-quarters combat.

Though every punch and kick contained power capable of tearing apart mountains and rivers and shattering space,

their power was condensed rather than released, and the energy scattered by their collisions was absorbed by Russell.

For a time, the commotion they caused was far smaller than the energy clashes during their earlier pursuit.

In slow motion, it even looked a little like a street brawl, with Mephisto holding a slight advantage.

Many of Russell's attacks were blocked by him;

while nearly all of his attacks landed on Russell.

But soon, Mephisto sensed that something was wrong.

When his fists and kicks struck Russell, it was like mud sinking into the sea, causing no harm whatsoever.

Even when Mephisto blocked Russell's attacks, his energy expenditure was enormous.

And if he was hit, not only was the damage immense, but Russell could also seize his energy, leaving him noticeably weaker.

He understood.

It was not that his close-combat skills were superior to Russell's, but that Russell simply had no need to dodge or block his attacks.

He could not break through Russell's defenses. Not at all.

In fact, hitting Russell was practically the same as hitting himself.

"Hehe."

Mephisto saw it.

In the middle of their battle, Russell actually smiled at him.

This was simply too humiliating for a demon!

Russell's expression stiffened.

Damn it, I accidentally laughed.

Mephisto's fists and kicks landing on Russell could aptly be described as a massage.

The instant they made contact, more than half of the Kinetic Energy in Mephisto's strikes was absorbed.

Immediately afterward, Hell Energy invaded Russell's divine body like mud sinking into the sea,

only to be completely drained by Russell's Energy Absorption talent.

After only a brief exchange, he had absorbed nearly a hundred thousand units of energy.

That was equivalent to grinding—no, sleeping—for thirteen days inside a star.

How could Russell not laugh?

Mephisto unleashed his energy, trying to blast Russell away.

Russell did not budge in the slightest and even took the chance to absorb more of his energy.

Seeing this, Mephisto silently flew backward himself, widening the distance between them.

Nearby stood Russell, his clothes torn and his appearance disheveled, yet completely uninjured;

farther away stood a bald female mage lightly waving a Folding Fan, radiating an imposing presence.

Around him lay what seemed like endless, twisting, flowing Mirror Dimensions;

on the horizon stood three massive interconnected spell formations that encompassed heaven and earth.

Mephisto understood that this avatar of his would likely be finished here.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.

Tony said to everyone, "Russell is fighting Mephisto in the Quantum Realm. We need to go support him."

Dr. Banner beside him asked, "But how do we enter the Quantum Realm and find them?"

Tony explained, "We can use Pym Particles. First, we'll go to the place where I left, then follow the traces of their battle to find them."

After hearing Tony's explanation, the Avengers began discussing among themselves.

Enter an unknown, entirely new realm and fight a mythical enemy?

Gradually, the discussion died down, and the Avengers turned their eyes to Nick Fury, who had brought them together to form the Avengers Initiative.

Yes, the Avengers Initiative had already been established.

After Doctor Pym's intention to assassinate the Avengers candidates was exposed, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. urgently contacted Dr. Banner.

A few days ago, after Doctor Pym was captured, Dr. Banner was also brought back to S.H.I.E.L.D.

During this process, S.H.I.E.L.D. made some exchanges of interest with the military and agreed to several of Dr. Banner's demands.

In the end, Dr. Banner became the fourth Avenger.

The other three were:

Hawkeye Clinton Francis Barton;

Black Widow Natasha Romanoff;

Blade Eric Brooks. (After the Blood God Descent incident, he joined S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Nick Fury frowned deeply.

This newly formed Avengers team would have no problem handling natural disasters and superhuman incidents on Earth.

But Lord of Hell Mephisto?

Was that not too huge a leap? They had just been formed, and they were already facing a top-tier battle.

But if he refused Tony's request for aid this time,

it would mean that S.H.I.E.L.D. was tacitly admitting that it could not handle major events and could only deal with trivial matters.

Once people's hearts scattered, the team would become difficult to lead.

Besides, they would never be able to recruit Russell and Tony into the Avengers afterward.

This might instead be an opportunity.

Nick Fury confirmed with Tony once more:

"The Sorcerer Supreme has already left Kamar-Taj. Her whereabouts are unknown, but she is suspected to have gone to support Russell?"

"Mm." Tony nodded. That was his guess.

If the Sorcerer Supreme and Russell were defeated, Earth would also be endangered.

Having made up his mind, Nick Fury decided, "Avengers, assemble!"

At the same time, he reached out and touched the BB Pager in his pocket.

If this operation fails, I might have to call you, old friend.

I just don't know how much attachment you still have to Earth.

Seeing that Mephisto knew he had nowhere to escape and had stopped where he was,

Russell and The Ancient One exchanged smiles and stopped attacking as well.

They had not forgotten their original goal—setting a trap to harvest energy.

At this moment, trapping Mephisto's avatar was not for the sake of killing him, but for a transaction—extortion.

Losing an important avatar would be a devastating loss for Mephisto.

But Russell and The Ancient One would gain nothing from it.

Hurting others without benefiting themselves was not worth all the planning Russell and The Ancient One had done.

"Mephisto, let's negotiate."

Thanks to Wuyou Is the Realm of Hope (Sister Hua), Storyteller Azong, and Ken for their rewards.