Mephisto's blood cone shot toward Lu Xi like a meteor.
However, as the blood cone passed through the rift, it seemed to be suppressed by some powerful force.
The blood cone instantly shrank dramatically, turning into a blood spike.
When the blood spike struck Lu Xi, it only made a crisp "ding" before shattering and dissipating into the air.
Lu Xi had already sensed that this attack posed no real threat to him.
So he could not even be bothered to dodge, merely saying flatly:
"Is that it? You're not much either."
Seeing this, Mephisto let out an unwilling roar:
"Earth's defensive magic array is clearly still active, why?!"
Lu Xi could not be bothered to keep wasting words on him. He raised his foot and stomped down hard.
With that stomp, the magic array beneath his feet shattered, and the spatial rift connecting to Hell vanished as well.
At the same time, his foot striking the ground created a visible shockwave that instantly stirred up fierce winds, blowing the surrounding trees every which way.
Then, a violent earthquake erupted. The land in this area rapidly caved in as if pressed down by a giant hand.
The ground farther away split open with enormous cracks.
Inside the base, Maria and Coulson saw that horrifying sight on the surveillance feed.
Combined with the intense tremors they felt firsthand, they were filled with terror at Lu Xi's immense power and cried out:
"Not good, it's an earthquake!"
"Run! Get to the safe room. That's the only place made entirely of steel."
At the same time, Mephisto's projection, more than ten meters tall, let out a despairing scream:
"No!!!"
Only then did Lu Xi look up at him, as if he had just remembered Mephisto was still there, and said:
"Almost forgot about you."
With that, his wings beat, and he appeared before Mephisto like lightning, throwing a powerful punch.
After being struck, Mephisto's projection turned into a cloud of black mist.
The black mist swayed from side to side, seemingly still trying to flee.
Just as Lu Xi prepared to pursue it and completely destroy the wisp of black mist, he suddenly felt alert and instinctively looked up at the sky.
In that instant, he realized that the entire world seemed to have undergone some strange change.
It was as if he had entered an independent dimensional space.
That distinctive sensation immediately made him think of a spell unique to Kamar-Taj—the Mirror Dimension.
He turned to look beside him, and sure enough, a circular portal glowing with golden light had appeared there.
Then Ancient One, bald-headed, slowly stepped out of the circle.
As an outsider, Lu Xi was naturally someone Ancient One would seek to expel.
His entire body tensed unconsciously, ready at any moment to deal with a possible attack.
Yet Ancient One merely smiled faintly, nodded to Lu Xi, and said:
"Greetings, Lord Lucifer."
Then he moved both hands through the air, and lines of golden runes immediately emerged from the void.
Like a pair of invisible giant hands, they trapped the wisp of black mist Mephisto was trying to escape with.
Only then did Ancient One look leisurely at Lu Xi and say softly:
"You need not be nervous, sir. I did not come for you. I came specifically to deal with it."
At that moment, Mephisto's scream came from within the black mist trapped by the golden runes.
"Ah!!!"
Amid flashes of light, the wisp of black mist was completely annihilated.
Ancient One withdrew his spell and explained to Lu Xi:
"This projection of Mephisto contained part of his soul origin and has been smuggled onto Earth for several centuries."
"Now that it has been completely destroyed, all the power he accumulated over the centuries has gone to waste. Moreover, the injuries he has suffered will likely take centuries to heal."
Lu Xi nodded. Rather than dwell further on Mephisto, he asked in confusion:
"Ancient One, you know me?"
Ancient One pointed outside the Mirror Dimension and said:
"You should still have matters to deal with, sir, so I will not disturb you further."
"When you have time, you may come find me at 177A Bleecker Street."
After saying that, he stepped back into the portal.
As his figure disappeared, the Mirror Dimension slowly dissipated as well.
Lu Xi slowly looked around and saw that the scene was a complete mess.
The ground was uneven and pockmarked, littered with rubble and dust. The surrounding trees, once standing tall, had been uprooted and lay scattered to one side.
Several Secret Service agents held their guns warily on Johnny Blaze as they cautiously put handcuffs on him.
Meanwhile, in the Hell Dimension where Mephisto resided, the whole world seemed to have fallen into apocalyptic turmoil.
The crimson, blood-red ground shook violently, spewing scorching magma and flames across vast areas.
This sudden disaster instantly spread to a large number of low- and mid-ranking demons.
They screeched in terror and fled in all directions through the flames.
All the demons trembled, their frightened gazes instinctively turning toward the incomparably enormous throne at the very center.
They understood that such a terrifying sight meant their demon god was in a state of extreme fury.
Mephisto's true body was now utterly enraged, blood continuously spilling from his mouth.
The double loss of his soul origin and projection power was something he could not accept either way.
Filled with resentment, he even began to suspect that Lucifer and Ancient One had colluded in secret, deliberately setting a trap to harm him.
Once that thought crossed his mind, it grew wildly like weeds, and the more he considered it, the more possible it seemed.
The more Mephisto thought about it, the angrier he became. He abruptly rose to his feet.
He beat his enormous pair of demonic wings with force, stirring up a violent gale as he flew rapidly in a certain direction.
Since Lucifer had made him suffer such severe losses, he would not let Lucifer have an easy time either.
Brimming with fury, Mephisto flew into Lucifer's territory in Hell and immediately launched a frenzied attack.
Demons screamed wherever he went.
His eyes were bloodshot and murderous intent filled the air. He swore to slaughter every demon here to vent the hatred in his heart.
But very soon, a fierce slash struck from the side, blocking his path.
A man with black wings on his back appeared out of thin air. His gaze was sharp as lightning as he stared coldly at Mephisto and shouted:
"Mephisto, are you trying to start a war?!"
The moment Mephisto saw him, shock appeared on his face, and he blurted out:
"Lucifer?! Why are you here?"
Black-Winged Lucifer frowned and asked in return:
"If I'm not in my own Hell, where else would I be?"
Mephisto shook his head in disbelief and demanded loudly:
"Impossible! You were clearly still on Earth just now. Speak! What method did you use?!"
Black-Winged Lucifer looked utterly baffled as he replied:
"What the hell are you talking about? I don't understand a word."
Before you continue