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Chapter 265: The Burning Contract
The scroll suddenly began to burn without any warning, as if ignited by the ghastly flames of Hell. It started to emit a foul stench, as if countless years of accumulated sin were wailing within the flames, revealing one miserable face after another.
This was a contract from Hell.
Many of Hell's great demons liked to use this kind of scroll.
"A Hell contract? You want to use that thing against me?" Dormammu murmured, revealing a terrifying smile.
Tony snorted coldly, tearing off a small piece of Dormammu's soul. He looked at the scroll bearing his own name, his expression unchanging.
He had casually taken this scroll from Kamar-Taj and had never used it. Now was the perfect time to use it, specifically against Dormammu.
Dormammu attempted to use magic to stop the demon's arrival, but the scroll instantly erupted with a powerful demonic force that exceeded his expectations. The power stored within it was no less than his own, directly nullifying his magic.
The ancient scroll burned to ashes. The lingering smoke began to spread, and finally, a tall figure walked out from it. Carrying the aura of Hell, it crossed the boundary, projecting a small phantom here.
He was tall and imposing, yet he had the appearance of a human. At a glance, he looked just like an aging man with white hair, dressed in an unremarkable black suit.
But the unsettling scent emanating from him, enough to disturb a soul, made this demon terrifying.
"Child, according to the ancient contract, I can grant any wish of yours. Let me see, which lucky fellow used the contract I left on Earth... What the... Dormammu?"
The demon had just stepped out of the smoke, happily preparing to trick some foolish human and harvest another delicious soul, only to see Dormammu's soul at first glance.
At second glance, he saw the soul of Tony, who was fighting desperately against Dormammu.
He was thoroughly unnerved.
"What happened? Why did a contract I left for humans fall into the hands of someone in this godforsaken place? Or perhaps, you wish to make a deal with the great Mephisto?"
Mephisto paused, quickly calming down. He gripped his staff tightly, his face stern and cautious.
"Good, it's a level seven Mephisto that came. If it had summoned a level eight, that would have been trouble..." Tony inwardly sighed in relief.
Among those known to scatter scrolls on Earth, the strongest was the low-key, devious schemer Mephisto. Of course, Tony wouldn't have been surprised if it had summoned a small level 3 or 4 demon, but that kind would just be coming to die.
Earth had been targeted by demons from Hell more than once. After the Deviants and Eternals vanished from Earth, the great demon Zarathos launched a powerful invasion, only to be desperately repelled by the First Generation Spirit of Vengeance.
After that, there was the cunning fellow, Mephisto, who would send an avatar in the form of a benevolent old man to Earth every now and then, acting like a charlatan to trick people all over into signing his contracts.
Mephisto truly was a strange one in Hell. Despite having level seven strength, he was more cautious than any other demon. The Ancient One also turned a blind eye, allowing Mephisto to swagger and swindle on Earth.
In any case, they were just avatars. It was useless for the Ancient One to kill countless of them, as Mephisto would just send more avatars to Earth.
Besides, Mephisto only managed to trick a few dozen or a few hundred people a year on average. The number of people who committed suicide globally every day was higher than that, so the Ancient One couldn't be bothered to intervene.
A magnificent level seven great demon, so cautious to this extent... even someone as powerful as the Sorcerer Supreme truly had no way to deal with him.
"Dormammu, Archmage of Earth, master of the Dark Dimension, I warn you, do not attempt to provoke the even greater Mephisto!" Mephisto said, while cautiously observing his surroundings, paying particular attention to Tony, the contract holder.
Being summoned into the Dark Dimension was truly a rare occurrence.
"Child, if you want me to help you kill Dormammu, your soul alone is not enough," Mephisto said, looking at Tony with a benevolent expression.
Tony cursed inwardly. *You probably can't even beat Dormammu at all. If your main body were here, maybe, but this combat-useless avatar? I could slap it to death with one palm.*
Cunning demon.
"Mephisto, crawl back to your world, or don't blame me for being impolite," Dormammu sneered, once again carefully tearing off another tiny piece of Tony's soul to observe the changes in the Allspark.
He was very worried—worried that Mephisto would discover the Allspark and would surely fight him to the death for it. He was even more afraid that Mephisto would attract the other great demons of Hell. After all, a mere Mephisto was considered second-rate in Hell and usually had to act with his tail between his legs.
"That won't do. This burning slave contract is a very high-level one that I left on Earth, capable of bearing even greater power. I always thought that old woman had destroyed these contracts. I didn't expect any to remain... Child, tell me your wish, and I will judge the degree of its fulfillment based on the value of your soul."
Mephisto stared at Tony, and the more he looked, the more he liked what he saw, even exclaiming in amazement, "A delicious soul! Child, you are truly special..."
Tony's soul and the Allspark were tightly bound together, inseparable. Its unique quality had caused a subtle change in Tony's soul.
In the future, this might provide a precious opportunity for Tony to advance into a unique being, but for now, it wasn't obvious.
Even Mephisto, who was obsessed with souls, only sensed the preciousness and strangeness of Tony's soul. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was so strange about it; he just felt it was marvelous.
"A slave contract?" Dormammu was furious, his eyes widening. "Reptile, are you really so confident that you can enslave the greatest deity, Dormammu?"
"Of course. Why else would I summon a great demon from Hell who can appraise contracts?" Tony sneered.
"Do you really think I don't dare to kill you?!"
"It's enough that I dare to kill you," Tony said, his eyes narrowing slightly as the fluctuations unique to his soul began to erupt.
Dormammu was about to laugh but was stunned to find that the Allspark within Tony's soul suddenly burst forth with a terrifying light, eclipsing the darkness in the Dark Dimension and turning the space as bright as day.
The flame-shaped Allspark began to throb wildly, and bit by bit... it began to burn.
The Allspark had begun to burn once more!
"Mephisto, my wish is for you to help me enslave Dormammu with the power of the slave contract!" Tony shouted loudly.
"Your soul is not enough." Mephisto beamed, gazing at the Allspark with an astonished expression. A momentary flash of greed appeared in his eyes as he waited for Tony to offer more terms.
(end of chapter)
The scroll suddenly began to burn without any warning, as if ignited by the ghastly flames of Hell. It started to emit a foul stench, as if countless years of accumulated sin were wailing within the flames, revealing one miserable face after another.
This was a contract from Hell.
Many of Hell's great demons liked to use this kind of scroll.
"A Hell contract? You want to use that thing against me?" Dormammu murmured, revealing a terrifying smile.
Tony snorted coldly, tearing off a small piece of Dormammu's soul. He looked at the scroll bearing his own name, his expression unchanging.
He had casually taken this scroll from Kamar-Taj and had never used it. Now was the perfect time to use it, specifically against Dormammu.
Dormammu attempted to use magic to stop the demon's arrival, but the scroll instantly erupted with a powerful demonic force that exceeded his expectations. The power stored within it was no less than his own, directly nullifying his magic.
The ancient scroll burned to ashes. The lingering smoke began to spread, and finally, a tall figure walked out from it. Carrying the aura of Hell, it crossed the boundary, projecting a small phantom here.
He was tall and imposing, yet he had the appearance of a human. At a glance, he looked just like an aging man with white hair, dressed in an unremarkable black suit.
But the unsettling scent emanating from him, enough to disturb a soul, made this demon terrifying.
"Child, according to the ancient contract, I can grant any wish of yours. Let me see, which lucky fellow used the contract I left on Earth... What the... Dormammu?"
The demon had just stepped out of the smoke, happily preparing to trick some foolish human and harvest another delicious soul, only to see Dormammu's soul at first glance.
At second glance, he saw the soul of Tony, who was fighting desperately against Dormammu.
He was thoroughly unnerved.
"What happened? Why did a contract I left for humans fall into the hands of someone in this godforsaken place? Or perhaps, you wish to make a deal with the great Mephisto?"
Mephisto paused, quickly calming down. He gripped his staff tightly, his face stern and cautious.
"Good, it's a level seven Mephisto that came. If it had summoned a level eight, that would have been trouble..." Tony inwardly sighed in relief.
Among those known to scatter scrolls on Earth, the strongest was the low-key, devious schemer Mephisto. Of course, Tony wouldn't have been surprised if it had summoned a small level 3 or 4 demon, but that kind would just be coming to die.
Earth had been targeted by demons from Hell more than once. After the Deviants and Eternals vanished from Earth, the great demon Zarathos launched a powerful invasion, only to be desperately repelled by the First Generation Spirit of Vengeance.
After that, there was the cunning fellow, Mephisto, who would send an avatar in the form of a benevolent old man to Earth every now and then, acting like a charlatan to trick people all over into signing his contracts.
Mephisto truly was a strange one in Hell. Despite having level seven strength, he was more cautious than any other demon. The Ancient One also turned a blind eye, allowing Mephisto to swagger and swindle on Earth.
In any case, they were just avatars. It was useless for the Ancient One to kill countless of them, as Mephisto would just send more avatars to Earth.
Besides, Mephisto only managed to trick a few dozen or a few hundred people a year on average. The number of people who committed suicide globally every day was higher than that, so the Ancient One couldn't be bothered to intervene.
A magnificent level seven great demon, so cautious to this extent... even someone as powerful as the Sorcerer Supreme truly had no way to deal with him.
"Dormammu, Archmage of Earth, master of the Dark Dimension, I warn you, do not attempt to provoke the even greater Mephisto!" Mephisto said, while cautiously observing his surroundings, paying particular attention to Tony, the contract holder.
Being summoned into the Dark Dimension was truly a rare occurrence.
"Child, if you want me to help you kill Dormammu, your soul alone is not enough," Mephisto said, looking at Tony with a benevolent expression.
Tony cursed inwardly. *You probably can't even beat Dormammu at all. If your main body were here, maybe, but this combat-useless avatar? I could slap it to death with one palm.*
Cunning demon.
"Mephisto, crawl back to your world, or don't blame me for being impolite," Dormammu sneered, once again carefully tearing off another tiny piece of Tony's soul to observe the changes in the Allspark.
He was very worried—worried that Mephisto would discover the Allspark and would surely fight him to the death for it. He was even more afraid that Mephisto would attract the other great demons of Hell. After all, a mere Mephisto was considered second-rate in Hell and usually had to act with his tail between his legs.
"That won't do. This burning slave contract is a very high-level one that I left on Earth, capable of bearing even greater power. I always thought that old woman had destroyed these contracts. I didn't expect any to remain... Child, tell me your wish, and I will judge the degree of its fulfillment based on the value of your soul."
Mephisto stared at Tony, and the more he looked, the more he liked what he saw, even exclaiming in amazement, "A delicious soul! Child, you are truly special..."
Tony's soul and the Allspark were tightly bound together, inseparable. Its unique quality had caused a subtle change in Tony's soul.
In the future, this might provide a precious opportunity for Tony to advance into a unique being, but for now, it wasn't obvious.
Even Mephisto, who was obsessed with souls, only sensed the preciousness and strangeness of Tony's soul. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was so strange about it; he just felt it was marvelous.
"A slave contract?" Dormammu was furious, his eyes widening. "Reptile, are you really so confident that you can enslave the greatest deity, Dormammu?"
"Of course. Why else would I summon a great demon from Hell who can appraise contracts?" Tony sneered.
"Do you really think I don't dare to kill you?!"
"It's enough that I dare to kill you," Tony said, his eyes narrowing slightly as the fluctuations unique to his soul began to erupt.
Dormammu was about to laugh but was stunned to find that the Allspark within Tony's soul suddenly burst forth with a terrifying light, eclipsing the darkness in the Dark Dimension and turning the space as bright as day.
The flame-shaped Allspark began to throb wildly, and bit by bit... it began to burn.
The Allspark had begun to burn once more!
"Mephisto, my wish is for you to help me enslave Dormammu with the power of the slave contract!" Tony shouted loudly.
"Your soul is not enough." Mephisto beamed, gazing at the Allspark with an astonished expression. A momentary flash of greed appeared in his eyes as he waited for Tony to offer more terms.
(end of chapter)
