Feigning Compliance
"Marvel's Magnetic Field Rotation"
"Should I call you Kent Clark or Doctor Death? Your situation is very peculiar; you possess two real names at the same time."
He was an old man in a suit and tie, tall and imposing, yet still within the realm of ordinary people, unlike the inhumanly Doctor Death with Magneto's face, who still exuded an aura of royalty.
However, once you see the old man's face clearly with the help of the light, the impression he left is completely swept away. Descriptions of sinister and cunning can be seen on his face. Even though he is smiling, you still feel that he is plotting how to deceive you, making you want to stay away from him.
In Doctor Death's eyes, the old man's image was even more repulsive. His body had become hunched over, his skin was blood red, a pair of spiral horns were on his head, and his mouth was full of sharp teeth like scissors—the very image of a demon created by people in literature and art.
"Mephisto." Taking a sip of beer, Doctor Death uttered the old man's name. "The mighty Monarch of Hell, what business do you have with me... If I remember correctly, you once tried to drag my true form into Hell, and it was the Master Gu Yi saved me."
"We all know that Kent Clark isn't you. You come from another timeline. Your soul escaped from the possibility of destruction and then acquired this body." As if recalling something, like a pervert accidentally holding a goddess's hand and then sniffing the hand still carrying her scent, Mephisto brought his claws, stained with sin and hatred, to his nose and smelled them. "Your soul is the strangest I've ever seen. I had already pulled it out of the possibility of destruction and held it in my hand, but it slipped through my fingers. What a pity!"
"Then should I thank you?" Taking another small sip of beer, Doctor Death, feeling that drinking alone was rather unappetizing without any snacks, chuckled and replied to Mephisto, "In return, I'll blow up the Earth tomorrow, sending all the souls to hell or heaven... I think you know I can do all that."
"Oh, that would be far too crude." Mephisto wasn't very interested in the Doctor Death's suggestion. Although he was interested in souls, he didn't want to acquire so many at once.
The characteristics of the human race will allow them to reproduce generation after generation. During this time, countless new souls will be born, just like a field of leeks, harvested one crop after another. Doctor Death really did that, it would undoubtedly be a case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and losing more than one gains.
"Let's make a deal. You do something for me, and you can name your price—as long as it's commensurate with what you give." Mephisto laughed. "This is the first time I've ever actively sought help from someone."
Doctor Death leaned out and glanced into the kitchen. The short-haired waitress was still busy at work. "How dare the Hell Lord look at me like this? What have I done to deserve this?"
"My son, the Blackheart, has run away from home in Hell and is trying to steal a copy of my contract that was stolen. I need someone to teach this unfilial son a lesson." Mephisto continued, "As you can see, my true body is still in the Hell Dimension; I'm just a projection, a mere clone with very little power. My unfilial son is in his true form, and since my power is inferior to his, I have to seek help from outside."
"Your son... truly lives up to his reputation as a devil, a liar. If even one out of ten of his lies is sincere, you should be grateful." Doctor Death suddenly switched to Chinese, as the English context couldn't express his meaning.
"You should know that I am, in a way, from the future, and some things have already happened to me. Your lies now seem so ridiculous to me."
Mephisto then spoke in Chinese: "The power of the devil comes from the sins within the soul. Sinful souls fall into hell, and as the Lord of Hell, I possess the greatest power. But power is endless, and all devils crave more and purer fallen souls."
"Many years ago, the Saint Faganza Town was a simple and honest city. The people there devoutly believed in a certain being and strictly controlled their behavior. The residents there all had the potential to become Saint on earth... Then one of my avatars went there, tempted them to fall, and made a pact with them, promising to acquire their souls after death for a very small price to pay."
"But something unexpected happened. After the contract was signed, the messenger I sent to retrieve the soul according to the contract had ulterior motives, stole my things, and then disappeared without a trace, hiding in a place beyond my power to detect."
"Then my son, the Blackheart, went through his rebellious phase... Although he was just a magical creation, I truly treated him like a son... The Blackheart somehow learned of the existence of the Sanctum Sanctorum Contract, and left Hell with a few worthless demons, attempting to obtain it and then control the sins within it, which originated from the fall of the purest souls."
"At that time, his power will surpass all my projections, making him the strongest demon on Earth, capable of easily turning the planet into another hell... He's really selling off his father's land without a care!"
"As for the guy who leaked this information to Blackheart, I will definitely not let him get away with it."
The Hell Dimension is not monolithic; other demon Monarch also hold sway. Human kingdoms fight each other, let alone demon Monarch, who often undermine each other.
It's quite possible that the Sanctum Sanctorum Contract was told to the Blackheart by a demon Monarch Mephisto couldn't afford to offend for the time being, and they were happy to see Mephisto suffer a setback.
"After all that, what do you want me to do?" Doctor Death said, "I'm not interested in the feuds and grudges between you devils. Tell me your purpose."
Mephisto said, "I have awakened my knight, but his power is insufficient to deal with the Blackheart and his minions, so I need your power."
"Ghost Rider? Is it Johnny Blaze or Daniel Katz?" Doctor Death asked. "And, as long as I believe my labor is enough to get what I want, I can make demands, right?"
Doctor Death's straightforwardness was somewhat unexpected for Mephisto. A plot that would have taken three or four chapters to write was about to end in less than two thousand words here, as if he had already completely figured out Mephisto, the Demon Monarch. Moreover, the other party's soul was full of peculiarities, which Mephisto could not fathom even with his authority. This made Mephisto, who had never suffered a loss before, somewhat unable to grasp Doctor Death's intentions.
Mephisto even had a feeling that he would be at a disadvantage in this deal.