Signing the Contract and Turning Hostile

"I was originally going to let you see this child's soul to prove my identity, but now it seems there's no need..." Seeing the Joker's indifferent appearance, Mephisto shook his head with some regret. A faint white soul disappeared into the newly appeared Hell Rift beside him.

It's safe to say that this Red Nose was really unlucky. He only came here for a part-time job, but ended up dying a horrible death here, and was even given a complete "kill and send to the afterlife" service by the Joker and Mephisto...

"So, Mr. Demon, what do you want with me?" The Joker sat down in a chair. He vaguely saw the white soul, but he didn't react at all. It was just a soul; it couldn't affect the Joker at all.

In fact, if there had been a cup available, the Joker would have loved to have a drink with this gentlemanly Demon before him, since none of the Demon he had ever encountered before had ever looked like this.

"I can see that you have a very strong obsession in your heart, and I can help you fulfill that obsession!" Mephisto said to the Joker with a smile.

In Mephisto's view, the Joker's obsession ran so deep that he must desperately want to fulfill it. If he were to offer just a little something in return and help the Joker achieve his goal, wouldn't the Joker, the most evil human soul he had ever seen, be easily captured?

"To fulfill one's obsession?" A smile suddenly appeared on the Joker's face, because he felt that the Demon in front of him was no different from General Ika. Both were so-called superhumans who could not see through his heart, yet thought they could understand people's minds.

"Hmm?" Mephisto frowned at the Joker's reaction. He noticed a hint of mockery in the Joker's smile, but Mephisto didn't understand what Joker mocking smile meant.

"Do you doubt that I can help you fulfill your obsession?" Mephisto asked, narrowing his eyes at the Joker.

"Indeed, some obsessions cannot be achieved simply by having the ability!" The Joker nodded, his eyes flickering slightly as he spoke.

"That's because you know nothing of true power!" Mephisto's voice was filled with seductive allure as he looked at the Joker and smiled. "Once you accept my power, whatever your obsession, you can achieve it!"

"Oh? Is there anything special about your power?" Joker Fayan looked at Mephisto with a hint of interest, seemingly bewitched by Mephisto.

"I am the supreme Hell Lord. Sign a pact with me, gain my power, and you will be invincible on Earth, fulfilling your obsession and judging all those you wish to judge..." Mephisto's majestic voice rang out, leaving the Joker somewhat bewildered as he stared blankly at Mephisto's performance.

"This Demon? More powerful than the Demon King? Much more powerful than Little Ikka? Judging everyone I want to judge? Judgment? Isn't that something Little Bat has always been unwilling to do?" The Joker's thoughts drifted, and he thought of Batman once again.

Batman protects Gotham in the shadows, but he doesn't kill criminals on the spot. He only arrests them and lets the law imprison and try them. He basically doesn't conduct private trials or convict people...

Meanwhile, Mephisto's ability to judge caught the Joker's attention. He even wondered if Mephisto's judgment ability could be used to judge Batman. If so, that would be very interesting, because Batman was also breaking the law!

"So, what will I have to give in return?" After regaining his senses, the Joker looked at Mephisto and asked softly.

"Sign a contract with me, and I will grant you the power to fulfill your obsession, but after death, your soul will belong to me!" A contract materialized in front of Mephisto and floated toward the Joker.

The contract was densely covered with information, and even Mephisto's real name was signed on it, demonstrating how confident Mephisto was that the Joker would sign it.

"After death?" The Joker saw the complex contract and keenly noticed the ambiguity in the definition of the word "death."

Having obtained Mephisto's power, one would undoubtedly be considered a transcendent being. This so-called Hell Lord is certainly more powerful than the Demon King. After acquiring such power, will the contracted party truly die? Or rather, is it really that easy to die?

The Joker felt it might not be that simple. After all, the opponent was the Hell Lord, Demon Demon. Are there any good demons? Are there any Demon who wouldn't betray others?

Even Ikka, who seems as innocent as a little white rabbit in the Joker's eyes, is still a bewitching Demon. How could there possibly be any truly good people in this race?

"So? Are you satisfied?" Mephisto asked softly, Joker expression unchanged, as he watched the Joker fall silent after reading the contract, without even touching it.

"I'm not very satisfied. You see, you only granted me power, but you didn't guarantee that you could help me fulfill my obsession. If I can't fulfill my obsession, wouldn't the contract have been signed for nothing?" The Joker looked at Mephisto, shrugged, and asked with a smile.

"The power I bestow upon you will surely help you fulfill your obsession..." Mephisto said confidently.

"What if I wanted to reverse time?" The Joker interrupted Mephisto with a slight smirk. "What if I wanted to travel to the future? What if I wanted to create a truly chaotic world without order?"

"..." This was the first time Mephisto had been interrupted while signing a contract with someone, especially after the Joker said something that made Mephisto fall silent.

"You want to reverse time or travel to the future? That's not impossible, but the price you pay isn't enough. As for creating a truly chaotic world without order, you don't need to create one at all, because Hell is such a place. As long as you sign a contract with me, you can go to Hell after you die..." However, Mephisto had seen all kinds of storms, and he quickly regained his composure, looking at the Joker calmly as he spoke.

"Then, what's the definition of death? What if I sign this contract and you kill me, or use some trick to kill me? Wouldn't I have sold my soul to you for nothing?" Hearing Mephisto's words, the Joker didn't believe him. Instead, he looked at Mephisto and started negotiating the terms. The Joker definitely couldn't sign such a contract.

"How could that be? I'm the most trustworthy Hell Lord, would I do such a thing?" Mephisto immediately denied it. As the Hell Lord who loves signing contracts the most, Mephisto hates it when people say he has problems with integrity, even though he does have problems.

"Since you're so insincere, then let's meet again next time!" The Joker waved his hand, made a move to stand up, then stopped, glanced around, and looked at Mephisto with a smile, saying, "Or are you planning to forcibly kill me?"

"You don't need to provoke me. Since I've chosen you, I naturally won't force my way in..." Mephisto gave the Joker a deep look and said with a smile, "Since you say there's a problem with my contract, then we can discuss revising it. How do you plan to revise it?"

"It's simple. You came for my soul, so my price is naturally my soul. But it certainly can't be as simple as just giving you my soul after death..." The Joker shrugged and looked at Mephisto, speaking softly.

"Your sacrifice helps me fulfill my obsession. So, after I fulfill my obsession and die, I will entrust my soul to you. How about that?"

"To die after fulfilling your obsession?" Mephisto frowned, giving the Joker a deep look before asking, "What if you don't fulfill your obsession? And what exactly is your obsession?"

"My obsession is simple: defeat the Little Bat and kill him as part of my plan, or let the enraged Little Bat kill me..." A hint of madness flashed in the Joker's eyes, a madness that even made Mephisto take notice. "But the Little Bat has broken our agreement; he's started using outside help. So I must eliminate his outside help as well, allowing him to once again become the Lone Knight in the Dark, to face him fairly and defeat him!"

Sensing the Joker's madness, Mephisto understood that it was indeed the Joker's deepest obsession. However, Mephisto also realized that the Joker's mind was probably somewhat abnormal. He carefully observed the Joker, and this obsession was indeed the most profound one Mephisto had ever seen in his long life. Thinking about it this way, there shouldn't be any problem.

With a "whoosh," Mephisto's mind stirred, and the contents of the contract began to change continuously, modifying it to mean that Mephisto would grant the Joker power to help Joker fulfill his obsession. After fulfilling his obsession, the Joker would die, and his soul would belong to Mephisto. As for when the Joker would die after fulfilling his obsession, that would depend on Mephisto's will.

If the Joker dies at the hands of the Little Bat he speaks of, that's one thing; if he doesn't, Mephisto wouldn't mind sending the Joker on his way. Besides, who's to say that the Joker won't be affected by Mephisto after signing the contract?

The contract itself may be fine, but that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with the power Mephisto granted the Joker!

"Not bad, this contract is alright... Hmm?" The Joker accepted the contract with satisfaction, but as he was speaking, he noticed that his finger had been cut. The Joker had expected this; he had only picked up the contract after confirming that its contents were correct. Since he was going to sign the contract anyway, whether his finger was cut or not didn't matter.

As a drop of the Joker's blood merged into the contract, the contract instantly emitted a light and merged into the Joker's body. Correspondingly, a powerful force began to awaken within the Joker's body.

"You'd better get yourself a ride, because everyone who signs a contract with me will become the Ghost Rider..." Mephisto's lips curled into a slight smile as he looked at the Joker and said, "Oh, by the way, before you fulfill your obsession, you need to do something for me first!"

With a whoosh, Mephisto's words had barely faded when the Joker's head instantly transformed into a fiery skull, and his body followed suit, becoming a flaming skull as well.

"What if I don't do things for you?" But at that moment, the flames burning on the Joker's body stopped, followed by the Joker's faint mocking voice.

"Hmm?" Mephisto's gaze sharpened. Under his watchful eyes, the Joker's fiery skull underwent a change. His flesh and blood grew back, and he still had that familiar Joker look, but the Joker's hair had turned into flames and was fluttering in the wind.

"How could this be?" This change was something Mephisto hadn't expected, because he had never encountered his knight in such a terrible state.

"You still haven't answered me. What would happen if I didn't work for you?" The Joker touched his face; flames burned Joker skin, but caused no harm. Joker looked at Mephisto and smiled faintly, saying, "I can sense that the contract doesn't restrict me or force me to work for you. There's a certain consciousness within this power, but it doesn't seem to be able to stop me. This power you bestowed doesn't seem to come entirely from you, does it?"

"Don't forget, after you die, your soul will be under my control..." Mephisto's face was ashen. He realized that the methods he had hidden within his power could not affect the Joker's consciousness in any way. He took a deep breath and looked at the Joker, speaking in a deep voice.

"Then let's talk about it after I've fulfilled my obsession and died! I'm afraid your welcome to me won't be enthusiastic enough! For now, go back to hell!" A terrifying flame suddenly spewed from the Joker's mouth, instantly engulfing Mephisto.

Even Mephisto didn't expect the Joker to act so decisively. His body was instantly engulfed by the flames, turning into a drop of blood. Within the flames, the blood seemed to be evaporating.

"I'll be waiting for you!" But in the next moment, a powerful force was released from the blood, as if it were trying to struggle out of the flames. But halfway through the struggle, the blood gave up and was completely evaporated by the flames.

"Hmm? Giving up? Why?" The flame in the Joker's mouth vanished the next moment, and a tiny spark flashed in the air, only to disappear just as quickly. The Joker, however, had keenly sensed the spark's presence. "Was it scared away? This world is truly interesting! But even more interesting is my current ability..."

The Joker looked at the flames engulfing his body, his eyes flickering slightly, and said, "After I fulfill my obsession and die, my soul will belong to you? Heh! Do you really think this power can help me fulfill my obsession? My obsession isn't so easily eliminated! Besides, who said I only have one obsession?"

"However, more than any of that, what I really want to know now is whether the Little Bat will actually be judged by me..."