Chapter Summaries

Lake met Casillas, his former mentor who had used the alias Hannibal, and discussed why they had both come to the area. Casillas revealed that he was seeking Mephisto, while Lake’s friend was pursuing the Witchcraft Demon, leaving Lake to consider the mention of the Dark Dimension.

• Uncle Ba aimed a pistol at Lake, but Lake explained he had come to speak with Casillas rather than arrest him.
• Lake and Casillas shared Lightning Bourbon and recalled their earlier meetings and Lake’s time as Casillas’s assistant at Yale.
• Lake asked why Casillas had arrived, explaining that his friend was pursuing the Witchcraft Demon and that he wanted to prevent their targets from overlapping.
• Casillas said his own target was Mephisto and asked Lake whether he had heard of the Dark Dimension.

Lake questioned Casillas about his connection to Dormammu and learned that Dormammu had offered him power if he destroyed Mephisto’s physical body on Earth. Dormammu intended to use Casillas against both Mephisto and the Ancient One, while Lake’s deductions closely matched his plan.

• Lake asked Casillas whether he sought the Dark Dimension’s power to challenge Mephisto, then pointed out that he seemed to have already borrowed power from a demon god.
• Casillas explained that the dark demon god who had previously lent him power had been swallowed by Dormammu, leaving him without that strength.
• Casillas said Dormammu had promised him power if he destroyed Mephisto’s earthly body, in exchange for offering Dormammu a planet every three years.
• Lake reasoned that Dormammu wanted Casillas to weaken Mephisto and avenge himself on the Ancient One, who had once taken Dormammu’s power without paying.
• Dormammu planned to use his power to whisper to Casillas that the Ancient One was secretly corrupt and urge him to betray her and offer Earth to Dormammu.

Lake visited Casillas and learned why he had accepted Dormammu’s dark power, while warning him that the bargain could carry a hidden price. After narrowly avoiding Casillas’s dinner invitation, Lake told Tiffany that Hannibal would turn himself in in three days.

• Dormammu’s history with The Ancient One and his stolen power explained why he remained bound to their agreement until Earth was devoured or she died.
• Casillas admitted that he had accepted Dormammu’s power for strength and feared losing it if he returned to Kamar-Taj without it.
• Lake warned Casillas that Dormammu’s seemingly simple terms could lead to a terrible price, but kept The Ancient One’s own use of dark power secret.
• Casillas invited Lake to dinner, and Lake declined after ten tense minutes before driving away with Tiffany.
• Tiffany warned Lake that protecting Hannibal could cause a scandal, and Lake said Hannibal would turn himself in at the Department of Homeland Security Building in three days.

Lake met with Casillas to keep him from acting before Ghost Rider appeared, then explained to Tiffany that Johnny Blaze survived his reckless stunts because Mephisto would not let him die. Mephisto summoned Johnny and demanded that he find and kill Witchcraft Demon to repay his Soul Contract.

• Lake persuaded Casillas to turn himself in and suggested he could deal with future food cravings by eating scavengers.
• Tiffany returned from Explosive Johnny’s stadium performance and found Lake eating pizza and drinking beer after dining with Casillas.
• Lake told Tiffany that Johnny Blaze sought danger because Mephisto had made him effectively immortal, then recounted how Johnny traded his soul for his father’s restored health.
• Mephisto appeared to Johnny, reminded him that his soul belonged to him under their contract, and dismissed Johnny’s claim that he had been deceived.
• Mephisto ordered Johnny to find and kill Witchcraft Demon, hoping to restore his reputation after his son’s escape from Hell.

Mephisto forced Explosive Johnny to accept the Hell power needed to become a Ghost Rider, while Dormammu empowered Casillas to attack Mephisto. Casillas pressed Mephisto with a dark-power assault, and Mephisto called out for Saga as Lake watched from nearby.

• Mephisto used Johnny Blaze's contract to force Explosive Johnny to ride off and undergo a Ghost Rider transformation.
• Mephisto's true body sent Zatanos to act, then dragged the chained Satanish back into green magma.
• Casillas attacked Mephisto at the intersection of three alleys with Dormammu's dark power.
• Casillas drove a shock wave toward Mephisto and demanded that he leave his body behind.
• Mephisto shouted for Saga while Lake watched the battle from the sky.

Lake was dragged into Casillas and Mephisto’s battle after Mephisto mistook him for Saga and attacked him. After Casillas offered to reveal the Holy Vatican Contract’s location, Lake joined the fight and trapped Mephisto inside the Gemini Maze.

• Mephisto mistook Lake for Saga, accused him of colluding with Dormammu, and attacked him; Lake destroyed the blasts before they could hit nearby residents.
• Mephisto burned his remaining vitality to manifest his true form on Earth, and Lake challenged him as Casillas fought beside him.
• Casillas told Lake that the Templar Mage would arrive in five minutes and offered to reveal where the Holy Vatican Contract was hidden after the battle.
• Lake and Casillas attacked Mephisto together, and Lake rescued Casillas when Mephisto tried to swallow him.
• Lake unleashed the Gemini Maze and brought Mephisto into its world.

Lake fought Mephisto in the Gemini Maze and tried to devour his Hell origin, but Mephisto destroyed himself and the Hell Dimension intervened to restore and increase his power. Lake absorbed the scattered origin, while Mephisto recovered in Hell and Satanish questioned why the dimension favored him.

• Lake struck Mephisto through a star and challenged him, intending to devour his origin and expand his authority over Hell.
• Mephisto attacked Lake with Hellfire, but Lake overpowered him and began devouring him with the Law of Hunger.
• Mephisto pleaded to negotiate, then chose Self-Destruction rather than let Lake consume his origin.
• The Hell Dimension reclaimed origin from its Hell Lords and returned it to Mephisto, increasing his share as Lake absorbed the origin scattered in the Chaos Universe.
• Mephisto recovered in Hell with the dimension's help, while Satanish cried out from his lava prison and questioned why Mephisto received such favor.

Lake returned to Texas, obtained Carter Slade’s location from Casillas, and confronted the first Ghost Rider. He found and claimed the Holy Vatican Contract hidden in a cemetery shovel.

• In Hell, Mephisto asked Zatanos to kill Saga in exchange for freedom, but Zatanos refused.
• Lake left Texas’s ruined blocks to S.H.I.E.L.D. and told Tiffany to prepare to return to New York.
• Lake met Casillas, requested Carter Slade’s location, and warned him that dark power could consume him.
• Lake arrived at Carter Slade’s church and demanded to know whether Witchcraft Demon had visited, but Carter attacked him with a hunting rifle.
• Lake searched the cemetery with his Sixth Sense, revealed the Holy Vatican Contract hidden in a shovel, and caught it.

Lake took the Holy Vatican Contract from Carter Slade and refused to share its souls with him, provoking Carter to summon the Spirit of Vengeance. When Mephisto ordered the Ghost Rider to kill Lake, Lake used his power to seize the Spirit of Vengeance for himself.

• Lake told Carter Slade he knew how to use the Holy Vatican Contract and rejected Carter's demand to split its souls.
• Carter threatened to inform Mephisto, but Lake urged him to contact Hell and walked away.
• Carter transformed into the first Ghost Rider, and Mephisto recognized Lake and ordered the Spirit of Vengeance to kill him.
• The Spirit of Vengeance attacked Lake with the Penance Stare, but Lake manifested the Chaos Universe and began claiming it as his own.

Lake plundered the Spirit of Vengeance from Carter Slade and teleported away, leaving Carter to be summoned to Hell and killed by Mephisto. Witchcraft Demon and the three Element Demons discovered the Holy Vatican Contract was missing and headed toward St. Salvatican, suspecting Lake had taken it.

• Lake plundered the Spirit of Vengeance into the Chaos Universe, leaving Carter Slade without it.
• Mephisto summoned Carter Slade to Hell after the contract ended, and Carter died while trying to enter a church.
• Witchcraft Demon and the three Element Demons arrived, found Carter's remains, and concluded Mephisto had not taken the Holy Vatican Contract.
• Witchcraft Demon revealed that he had escaped Hell with Voldemort's help and planned to use the contract's thirty thousand souls to build his own Hell.
• Witchcraft Demon suspected Saga had taken the contract and led the three Element Demons toward St. Salvatican.

Lake arrived at St. Salvatican and captured the three Creation Element demons in his Gemini Maze, while Witchcraft Demon was left behind. Mephisto freed Zatanos and ordered him to kill Witchcraft Demon, who had just begun arguing with his father.

• Witchcraft Demon asked Lake to wait, but Lake dismissed him and judged that the three Creation Element demons could serve as the origin of his hell.
• Lake opened the Gemini Maze and pulled the fleeing Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Water Demon into it.
• Mephisto possessed Ghost Rider and demanded to know where the three Creation Elements had gone.
• Mephisto ordered Zatanos to kill Witchcraft Demon and promised him freedom, then released him from the Creation Fire Element.
• Witchcraft Demon began confronting Mephisto about losing his Hell origin, while Zatanos readied his judgment chain to kill him.

Lake ground three weakened Creation Elements into elemental powers and used them to begin forming a Hell within his Chaos Universe. He then confronted the Hell Dimension over its interference in his struggle with Mephisto, demanding either the title of Lord of Hell or the thirty-five percent share he claimed as his own.

• Lake had the Fates watch as Mystra’s magic-powered spring helped grind the three Creation Elements into wind, earth, and water powers for his Chaos Universe.
• Hermione entered the Chaos Universe, and Lake explained that he was creating a separate Hell because the Hell Dimension had taken sides.
• Lake led Hermione into the Hell Dimension and accused it of breaking its founding law by interfering in his contest with Mephisto.
• Lake demanded that the Hell Dimension make him Lord of Hell or let him take his thirty-five percent share, provoking the dimension to awaken in fury.

Lake rejected the Hell Dimension’s rules after it sided with Mephisto and demanded control of the thirty-five percent of Hell origin he had claimed. He accepted the Hell Dimension’s lease-like concession, leaving him with practical control of that territory and his plan to build a true dimension still in motion.

• Lake confronted the Hell Dimension and Mephisto, demanding that the thirty-five percent of Hell origin he controlled be handed over or taken by force.
• Lake invoked his own pure darkness and sent the Hell origin into it, beginning to separate his territory from the Hell Dimension.
• Mephisto accused Lake of killing Witchcraft Demon and manipulating him into ordering Ghost Rider to kill his son, but Lake denied responsibility.
• The Hell Dimension split off Lake’s portion of its origin and offered it under a lease-like arrangement rather than surrendering it outright.
• Lake accepted the proposal after recognizing that the territory would functionally belong to him and could help turn his illusory dimension into a true one.

Lake transformed the Chaos Underworld, created Cerberus to guard its gate, and used the Holy Vatican Contract to gather the first souls for his new realm. After the thirtieth thousand soul entered the underworld, Lake received a notification.

• Lake used the Hell Dimension's origin to shape the Chaos Underworld and transformed the Spirit of Vengeance into the dark-fire Cerberus, who guarded the Underworld Gate.
• Mephisto threatened Lake, but Lake showed him the Holy Vatican Contract, reminding him that Mephisto had given it to him.
• Lake returned to the Chaos Universe with Hermione and said that he intended to gather souls to complete the underworld.
• Lake and Hermione arrived at the ruins of St. Salvatican, where Lake let Ghost Rider go and explained that he no longer served as Mephisto's debt collector.
• Lake cast the Holy Vatican Contract into the Chaos Underworld, drawing more than thirty thousand souls from the St. Salvatican ruins into his realm.
• After the thirtieth thousand soul entered the Chaos Underworld, Lake raised an eyebrow at a sudden notification.

The upgraded Gacha System returned after Lake became the Lord of the Chaos Underworld Dimension, and he used its gift of 108 Demon Stars to establish the underworld’s power. He left the remaining souls under the stars’ control and learned that his ten draws came from his recent accomplishments, including killing Mephisto twice.

• The Gacha System rebooted, recognized Lake as a god, and gifted him 108 Underworld Demon Stars.
• Lake brought Hermione into the Chaos Underworld, where the Demon Stars devoured most of the thirty thousand hostile souls and formed a starry sky.
• Lake explained that the Demon Stars would nurture Underworld Cloth and that he would choose the 108 Underworld Warriors later, while Hermione questioned what would happen to the remaining souls.
• Lake left the underworld with Hermione and suggested using Azkaban criminals to fill it, but Hermione refused.
• Lake checked the reactivated Gacha System and learned that his recent deeds had earned him ten draws without requiring money.
• The Gacha System explained that Lake earned two draws for killing Mephisto twice and plundering Hell origin on both occasions.

Lake realized he could repeatedly plunder Mephisto’s restored Hell origin to earn lottery draws, then used his ten available draws and upgraded the Chaos Underworld. A drop of River Styx water caused the Underworld to surge in power, alarming Mephisto and the Hell Dimension.

• Lake confirmed with the System that each successful plunder could qualify him for a draw, and considered repeatedly draining Mephisto’s origin before conquering Hell.
• Lake used ten draws, receiving seven golden chests along with spirit packs and a River Styx water conversion item.
• Lake devoured the Chaos Underworld’s existing spirits and replaced them with new spirits and varied hell creatures from the gift packs.
• Lake released the River Styx water into his Underworld, and the resulting drop made both the Chaos Underworld and the neighboring Hell Dimension tremble.
• Mephisto and the Hell Dimension sensed the Chaos Underworld’s rapid growth, while Mephisto wondered whether Saga’s unseen backer had conquered ten life planets.

Lake used Creation Soil from his Golden Legend chests to strengthen the Force Tree and expand the Chaos Universe, then gained the Teleportation Law and Great Law Manifestation. He was left eager to open his four remaining chests and eventually face Mephisto on equal footing.

• Lake opened seven Golden Legend chests and found Creation Soil, which the Force Tree absorbed to grow to a thousand meters and expand the Chaos Universe to the size of a large city.
• The Force Tree became full and said it would digest the remaining Creation Soil slowly, while the Void Spring overflowed with magical power and Mistra scrambled to collect it.
• Lake opened the Teleportation Law and swallowed it so it could merge into the Chaos Universe.
• Lake opened Great Law Manifestation and swallowed the divine ability, which he hoped would let him fight giant opponents like Mephisto on more equal terms.

Lake used a thousand years of time to evolve Lightning into a divine weapon, then established a divine mountain at the top of the Chaos Universe and made it his new residence. He named it Mount Olympus and invited Anna and the Fates to live there.

• Lake used the Thousand Years of Time to evolve Lightning into a silver Lightning Divine Spear, then explained to the Fates that his divine weapons had been forgotten trump cards.
• Lake placed the divine mountain atop the Chaos Universe, and a staircase of nine hundred and ninety-nine steps formed between it and the land.
• Lake brought Anna and the Fates to the mountain and decided they would live there as the Force Tree continued to expand.
• Lake used the Force Tree's power to expand a miniature palace group into a collection of palaces covering the mountain.
• Anna chose a palace near the mountain's foot, while the Fates chose a palace on a neighboring peak.
• Lake suggested that he and Anna have a child, then named the divine mountain Mount Olympus.

Lake fought Mephisto in Hell to test whether he could repeatedly plunder Mephisto’s origin, then escaped after using a trick to make Mephisto stumble. The Hell Dimension comforted Mephisto and continued to believe he could defeat Lake, while Lake gained another prize draw.

• Lake entered Hell and attacked Mephisto, destroying his palace and provoking him into a fierce battle.
• Satanish watched from a lava pool as Lake and Mephisto clashed, then sank out of sight.
• Lake used a Tripwire Rope to make Mephisto fall, restrained him, and plundered a trace of his origin power.
• Lake let Mephisto knock him away before escaping through the Underworld Gate, leaving Mephisto raging outside it.
• The Hell Dimension reassured Mephisto that he had only lost because of bad luck, while Satanish resented their closeness.
• Lake received confirmation that his prize-draw count had increased by one.

Lake delayed using his lottery draws while he planned to farm Mephisto’s dungeon, then juggled family promises, global conflicts, and his growing workload. At Homeland Building, he approved Adam’s request to travel to Texas and fight demons.

• Lake returned to the Chaos Universe and put creating life with the Fates and Anna on his agenda.
• Lake called Emilia, learned that Little Cotton-padded Jacket was helping the Wizarding World eliminate Dark Mage strongholds, and was urged to hurry to Forks Town.
• Lake decided he would take two months off to gather his daughters for a family trip.
• At Homeland Building, Lake asked Tiffany to identify the documents that required his signature.
• Tiffany showed Lake the Texas Supervisory Bureau’s request for Adam to oversee an operation, and Lake approved it.