Death is the final destination of all living things, and people always have various bizarre, terrifying, or beautiful imaginations about those unknown places.
For example, Italy poet Dante Alighieri.
His creation "Divine Comedy" depicts hell as a nine-layered world that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, shaped like a funnel.
The further down one goes, the more sinful the soul itself becomes.
In the Bible, hell has an everlasting fire that burns the souls of sinners.
Various religions have different records about this place.
In fact, the concept of hell first appeared in religious texts.
In a widely spread and familiar concept, it is a place where souls suffer, mainly used to imprison and punish unjust people who have committed serious sins during their lifetime.
But in Marvel Universe, hell is real.
It is composed of many overlapping and parallel dimensional worlds, and there are many rulers.
For example, Nine Realms for Norse Mythology.
Among them, Helheim, where Hela is located, is considered "hell".
As for Olympian Gods's Hades Hades, the territory he rules is also "hell".
Of course, the most well-known one is the "hell" belonging to Mephisto.
On the one hand, this old devil has a relatively strong presence.
From time to time it will come out to bubble and jump a few times.
On the other hand, those dimensional worlds dominated and controlled by the kings of hell are the opposite of heaven.
They are like two large enterprises with overlapping businesses, harvesting most of the human souls on the earth through various means.
And those at the front are just extraditing the souls of this pantheon.
Just like if Thor dies, he will only fall into Helheim, and then sink to the bottom of Yggdrasil, returning to the embrace of darkness.
Instead, it fell into the hands of Mephisto.
Anyway, different "hells" have different business scopes.
It involves complex games between Dimensional Demon God, hell and heaven, and many gods. Even the most knowledgeable scholar would have a hard time figuring it out.
"What a terrible place."
Strange opened the transmission channel and came to the hell where Mephisto was.
Compared to the lower dimension that was the venue for the second game, this place seemed even hotter.
The choking foehn wind carrying the smell of sulfur blew in our face, making us suffocate.
"This is... hell."
Strange murmured.
All he could see was red.
The rocks, vegetation, earth and sky are all red, like a huge endless furnace.
Dark and illusory shadows spread across the cracked, hard ground, like ants lined up.
That is the soul that fell into hell!
"Mephisto... save...San Venganza Contract..."
Strange took a deep breath and said secretly.
His goal is to recapture the souls of the residents of San Venganza from the hands of the old devil, so that those people can be liberated and complete this salvation.
It sounds extremely difficult, but this is the only effective method Strange can come up with.
Cloak of Levitation lifted his body and slowly passed through the air.
Although the heavy armor had been "reduced" by spells, it still slowed down his flying speed.
"Are you sure you can save my life from Mephisto?"
Strange looked at Superman who was following him. The reason why he made such a risky move was mainly because he believed in the strong strength of the contractor.
"That old devil is the dignified Hell Lord, the Dimensional Demon God who can compete with Sorcerer Supreme."
Luke did not answer directly, but said with a smile, "I thought you left San Venganza and took the initiative to go to hell because you planned to prove your courage to Vishanti and your determination to pay the price to save others."
"What? You want me to solve the problem?"
Strange coughed twice and looked embarrassed.
He is not Asgardian. He always only asks where the enemy is, not how strong the enemy is.
Go to hell, face Mephisto, and take back San Venganza Contract.
The reason that prompted Strange to make the risky decision was naturally Superman.
Since his contractor could speed through the second game in twenty minutes, easily defeating Hellspawn Blackheart.
It might be a feasible plan to hold back that cunning old devil Mephisto and create opportunities for himself.
Strange is very sober, and he has no extravagant expectation that Superman can be like Sorcerer Supreme.
He broke into hell single-handedly, had an amazing battle with Mephisto, and finally escaped with his whole body.
"Can you do it? Try to hold back Mephisto, or in other words, become my only and most powerful bargaining chip on the negotiation table."
Strange asked seriously.
"If I say no, will you give up the action and turn around and go back?"
Luke asked rhetorically.
Strange pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.
This is a gamble.
He wants to make a deal with the legendary cunning and ruthless old devil and conduct a negotiation that has never been done before.
"So, it doesn't matter whether I can block Mephisto. The key is whether you are fully prepared to be deceived by the devil, lose the bet, and have nothing left!"
Luke stared at the deep clouds like a raging red tide. Behind them, there was a pair of obscure eyes staring at him.
"I'm willing to accept the price of failure."
Strange said in a deep voice.
"Then just go ahead and do it. This is your test, Stephen."
Luke smiled.
The moment he finished speaking, there was thunder from the deep clouds.
A deafening and huge muffled sound erupted, as if war drums were beating and horns were blowing, and a big battle was about to begin.
"Stephen-Strange!"
"And your contractor!"
A gloomy voice sounded quietly, echoing in my heart.
"You want to take back San Venganza Contract?"
Strange slowed down, Cloak of Levitation flew behind.
He glanced at Luke, who looked calm, and the panic in his heart suddenly subsided.
It's like a gambler with no confidence, holding the only bargaining chip.
"That's right. Wise Hell Lord, generous Mephisto, I'm here to negotiate terms."
Strange behaved very politely, which is the necessary respect for the strong.
"Negotiate terms? Little mage, what can you do to impress me? And what bargaining chips do you have to allow me to sit at the same negotiating table with you?"
Mephisto sneered, and the desolate wilderness and empty sky suddenly shook, as if in response to his question.
"My soul! The soul of a Sorcerer Supreme!"
Strange puffed up his chest and answered loudly.
"Your Excellency Mephisto, as long as you hand over San Venganza Contract to me, I will voluntarily give up my soul!"
"In this way, I have completed the test of Vishanti and will take over Sorcerer Supreme's position."
"And you are equivalent to getting Sorcerer Supreme's soul - isn't this weighty enough and not enough to impress you?"
Luke on the side laughed dumbly. He actually saw in Strange the usual tricks of a liar in the studio next door.
Selling one's soul to the devil, or Angel, or other beings, this is Constantine's specialty.
"Sorcerer Supreme's... soul."
Mephisto stretched out his tone, seeming a little moved.
He and the Ancient One have been fighting each other for so many years, but they have never defeated each other once.
Not long ago, he was severely beaten by that old bald man and lost his human incarnation.
If there is a chance to regain the position, Mephisto will naturally be very happy.
The successor of the Ancient One, his soul returned to hell.
This is a complete humiliation for both Kamar-Taj and Three Sanctuaries.
"That's right! I want to buy a personal safety insurance from Mr. Mephisto's insurance company. After my death, my soul will belong to you - the premise is that Mr. Mephisto, you must hand over San Venganza Contract to me."
Strange struck while the iron is hot, added.
Among the plans he conceived, the smoothest progress was when Mephisto agreed to the conditions, and there was no need to resort to other means.
"Tsk, tsk, the Ancient One's guy, finally an interesting guy has appeared."
The crimson clouds gathered and drifted, condensing into a devilish face with horns on its forehead and ferocious features.
"This sounds like a good deal. I have never gotten the soul of Sorcerer Supreme. But -"
Mephisto's voice paused, a smile appeared in a lively manner, and then he continued, "If you want to negotiate terms with a devil, you must first show your ability to protect yourself."
"Sorcerer Strange, you are already in hell. I have countless ways to get your soul, so why bother to pay extra."
"You said that, right?"
The Batman Who Laughs is like thunder, shaking the sky!
The next moment!
The devil's face suddenly dissipated and turned into a locust-like black wave, surging over!
"It seems that your negotiation is not going well, Stephen."
Luke teased.
If Mephisto is so easy to fool, then he won't be the most troublesome old devil in Hell Dimension.
"What to do now?"
Strange smiled bitterly, the devil really had no moral bottom line.
Use open grabs first, and then go back to the negotiation table if you can't grab them.
"Prove to Mephisto that your soul is not that easy to get."
Luke spoke in a relaxed tone and smiled slightly.
The dark wave of evil spirits rolled across the red sky.
Like locusts crossing the border, devouring all living things!
Just by looking at it, I felt the power was terrifying and my heart was shaken.
"Kamar-Taj's Mystic Arts Master is best at dealing with evil spirits and devils!"
Strange nodded and took out the AK47-Fire Kirin that finally came in handy.
Ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta!
The muzzle of the gun, which was burning with blue fire, poured out a storm of magic-breaking bullets.
Like a long scythe, it suddenly swung down and wiped out the swarm of enemies.
"Hoggoth's Hoary Hosts!"
"Oshtur's dense breath!"
"Agamotto's eye of wisdom!"
"..."
Strange is like a ruthless spell-casting machine, desperately squeezing the magic power in the body.
High-level spells spurted out one after another, like ferocious turrets with full firepower, which was extremely effective in stopping the mad advance of the evil spirits.
"Live soul! Delicious!"
A huge four-hoofed demon with goat's horns on its head suddenly appeared.
He waved the fire whip in his hand, and with a "swish" sound, he destroyed Raggadorr Rings of Strange.
"This is a big demon!"
Strange said nervously.
As a Kamar-Taj trainee who has not yet graduated, he has never encountered such an enemy.
"Don't worry, just move on!"
Luke finally showed the true level of a high-level mage. The super-level spells on "Book of the Vishanti" were thrown out one after another as if they were free.
Hell Dimension The chaotic and violent magic power seemed so tame in his hands.
"Leave it to you!"
Strange kept blessing himself with "Hoggoth's Hoary Hosts", and then flew at full speed from Cloak of Levitation, crashing into the frenzy of evil spirits.
Those dark souls stretched out their claws and showed their teeth, trying to swallow this delicious soul into their belly.
But with the solid protection of the magic resistance armor, they were unable to attack.
"You are also... a human! A living... soul!"
Running on four hooves, the demonic creature resembled a man and a horse, raising a fire whip, and whipping it down with a "snap" sound.
"I don't have any hobbies in this area."
Luke's eyes were slightly cold, his fingers were closed and clenched into fists.
Strange is like a fish swimming in the deep sea, struggling to swim through the turbulent whirlpool undercurrent.
Ta-ta! Ta-ta-ta!
The blue-lighting fire unicorn spits out magic-busting bullets, clearing away the numerous evil spirits blocking the way.
The magic resistance armor was mottled with marks, as if it was about to be scrapped.
"Hold on a little longer!"
Strange Grit your teeth and move forward bravely!
Finally breaking out of the endless wave of evil spirits, Mephisto's huge body suddenly occupied all the sight.
Hell Dimension, there is no need for the old devil to use a human incarnation.
He was clothed in a robe made of brimstone and fire, with a terrifying mountain-like figure, standing on a huge throne.
Black horns sprouted from his forehead, as if cast from fine iron.
Especially those eyes, burning with ambition like fire, full of cunning and cunning plots.
It's daunting!
"Sorcerer Strange."
Mephisto called out the other party's name, and a smile appeared on his red face.
"You have proven your courage, strength and soul value. Hell Insurance Company is willing to tailor a policy for you."
Strange saw the old devil's right hand holding a paper contract, and the sound of the soul's wailing could be vaguely heard in it.
San Venganza Contract!
In his left hand, another paper contract appeared out of thin air.
Wow!
The paper suddenly spread out!
Each large text emerged clearly.
"Have you considered it? As long as you sign your name, then San Venganza Contract belongs to you."
"And your soul, the soul of future Sorcerer Supreme, belongs to me!"
The old devil laughed strangely, which seemed to be mocking and joyful.
He can't wait to see Strange make his choice!
"I've thought about it."
Strange's eyes are firm, and he will solve the problems he will face later.
Passing the test, completing the rescue, and shouldering his due responsibilities are the only things he has to persevere at the moment.
Lack of strength, lack of wisdom, lack of means... Strange knew that his ability to reach the final level was entirely dependent on Superman.
Now, it's time for him to pay the price.
"Give my soul to..."
Strange borrowed the spell and prepared to imprint his name and his soul.
However——
Boom!
The violent roar suddenly rose and spread throughout the hell world.
Just behind Strange, a huge mushroom cloud slowly appeared.
Endless light and heat radiate in all directions.
The terrifying energy annihilates all matter, not to mention evil spirits and demons, even dust will be shattered into smaller particles.
"Who dropped a nuclear bomb on hell?"
This is the thought that came to Strange's mind.