A sky thick with dark clouds, ground that looked as though it were burning, and air reeking of sulfur—this was the legendary Hell.
A black-haired figure sat on a throne carved from obsidian. Before him, a little dwarf made of dirt jumped hard and struck the black stone above his head. With a sound effect, a mushroom popped out of the stone.
Then the mushroom fell from the black stone. The little dwarf stepped forward and swallowed it, growing into a big dwarf in the blink of an eye.
"I'm so bored."
The figure sighed and waved his hand. Both the dwarf and the Super Mario stage before him turned to ash and scattered.
His name was Wang Nanxuan, and he was the master of this New Hell.
"Other people get transported to other worlds, and so do I, but I end up in a New Hell that doesn't even have bugs. How am I this unlucky?"
Wang Nanxuan sighed miserably. He had absolute control over this Hell, but the problem was that there was no other life here besides him. At first, he had been a little excited, but after a year, all that remained was loneliness and agitation.
Shaking his head, Wang Nanxuan looked through the void into the dimension above, where a planet teeming with life lay.
There was a mysterious connection between that planet and this Hell. Wang Nanxuan desperately wanted to enter it, but he couldn't—a Golden Shield formed by three nodes surrounded the planet.
Wang Nanxuan had once sent a projection to descend onto that planet. Before it could even get close, a golden Magic Whip shattered it. Afterward, he tried many other methods, but none succeeded.
Clearly, that planet had an immensely powerful guardian, one even a Hell Lord had to fear.
"The more I look at those three nodes, the more they look like a power grid logo. Where the hell did I end up?"
Wang Nanxuan leaned back in his chair, his face full of despair. If this continued, he might go mad. Worse still, he couldn't even kill himself—unless this Hell was destroyed, he, its Hell Lord, would never die.
"Hm?"
Just then, Wang Nanxuan noticed a dark figure quietly approaching the planet. A strange layer of dark energy covered him, keeping the Magic Array from detecting him.
Wang Nanxuan's eyes lit up. He immediately sent out a projection, which silently approached the dark figure and attached itself to his clothes.
The dark figure was far weaker than Wang Nanxuan, a Hell Lord, so he noticed nothing. He quietly reached the planet's outer boundary and used the dark energy covering him to dissolve a tiny hole in the Defensive Shield. Then he slipped into the planet.
"Here's my chance."
Wang Nanxuan was overjoyed. The hole was so narrow that, to make sure he could pass through, he turned ninety percent of his power into a curse and merged it into the dark figure's body. Only ten percent remained attached to the figure's clothes.
Soon, the dark figure had fully entered the planet, and the Defensive Shield immediately returned to normal.
Wang Nanxuan exhaled and muttered, "I'm in. No matter what, my projection has to stay on that planet, or I really will die of boredom."
In Texas, beneath a night sky thick with storm clouds and flashing lightning, a figure appeared on the ground amid flames. He laughed loudly. "Hahaha! I, Blackheart, have entered Earth! Just you wait, old man. Once I find the San Venganza Pact, both Earth and Hell will belong to me!"
Dressed in a long black coat, with a pale face and a wicked expression, this figure was Blackheart, the son of the Hell Lord Mephisto.
"Blackheart? The son of Mephisto, the Demon King of Hell?"
Wang Nanxuan, who was attached to Blackheart's clothes, froze. That name sounded like a character from Ghost Rider. Had he been transported into the Ghost Rider universe?
"No, this must be the Marvel universe. Those three nodes aren't a power grid logo—they're Kamar-Taj's symbol. The one who shattered my projection was Bald Qiang—er, the Bald Supreme, the Sorcerer Ancient One."
Wang Nanxuan recalled the plot of Ghost Rider and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Actually, this is a great opportunity. If it works, no one will ever be able to stop me from entering Earth again."
It was worth noting that although Blackheart spoke English, Wang Nanxuan understood him because he could analyze Mental Waves. In fact, he would soon be able to learn the language.
While Wang Nanxuan was deep in thought, Blackheart arrived at a biker bar. The burly bouncer at the entrance tried to stop him from entering, but Blackheart pressed a finger against his chest. The next instant, the bouncer's body began rapidly blackening from his chest outward. Soon, he became a desiccated corpse and collapsed to the ground, dead from sulfur poisoning.
"Fragile humans."
Blackheart sneered, walked into the bar, and killed everyone inside.
"An unexpected bonus."
Wang Nanxuan's eyes lit up, and he quietly collected all the dead people's souls. Unlike other devils, Blackheart had no soul, so he generally didn't devour souls.
After killing everyone, Blackheart began summoning his followers. Soon, a mass of dirt in a corner formed into a bald man: Earth Demon. Then a long-haired man made entirely of water emerged from the liquor: Water Demon.
Finally, a fierce wind blew in from outside and transformed into a long-haired, bearded man. He was Wind Demon.
These Three Demons were all angels who had fallen from Heaven. They had remained in the human world and fused with natural elements to become demons. Their tattered clothes made it clear that things hadn't been going very well for them.
Blackheart said, "Help me find the San Venganza Pact. Then we'll rule everything."
"Fine. We're tired of hiding everywhere and living worse than dogs."
The Three Demons exchanged glances and agreed. Over the years, evading pursuit by Kamar-Taj and Heaven had made their lives utterly miserable. It was only because they didn't need food that they weren't malnourished.
Blackheart was about to continue when a shout rang out from outside. "Blackheart!"
Mephisto had arrived. Wang Nanxuan didn't follow Blackheart outside. Here in the human world, he wasn't afraid of Mephisto, but he couldn't let him learn of his existence just yet.
Dressed like an elderly gentleman, Mephisto had come to persuade Blackheart to return to Hell. Naturally, Blackheart refused. He shouted, "Old man, you've lived too long. It's time you died."
What was the greatest tragedy for a prince? A king who would never die. That was why Blackheart wanted to find the San Venganza Pact and establish a Minor Hell in the human world. Only then could he become a ruler.
"On Earth, I'm no match for you. But my Rider will find you and kill you."
Seeing that Blackheart remained utterly unrepentant, Mephisto left him with that threat, then faded away as a Phantom Image.
Earth was protected by the Sorcerer Supreme, so Mephisto could only send down a projection with little power to trick people into signing soul pacts. The other lords scoffed at this and had always considered Mephisto a disgrace to Hell.
"Ghost Rider? His hellfire will soon belong to me! I, Blackheart, will rule both Hell and the human world!"
Blackheart shouted with supreme confidence. Just then, his body suddenly froze. A voice drifted eerily into his ears. "Sorry, Blackheart, your part's wrapped. Please head outside and pick up your boxed lunch. Today's—uh, there's no chicken drumstick today."
As the voice spoke, great clouds of black vapor poured out of Blackheart's body. They wrapped around him, making him shrink smaller and smaller.