---
"Kill the son of a b***h!"
- General Pete McAllister (Lethal Weapon)
---
<(Atem POV)>
[Ding! New mission received]
[Mission Title: Fall of the Devil]
[Mission Details: Marvel's devil is cringe and overrated, unlike the cool one from the neighboring universe. Show him what an actual god can do and destroy his reign. This mission will be considered complete when either Mephisto, his dimension of hell, or both are destroyed]
[Mission Rewards: One skill/item upgrade ticket]
[Mission Penalty: Mephisto makes you his bitch]
'Well, at least I'll be getting something out of this!' Rather than wasting time deciphering the weird system alert that had just popped up, I instead focused on the fight. As Mephisto's fist rocketed toward me from behind, I activated my Astral Manipulation, phasing through the strike like mist in the wind. Mephisto, being a Hell Lord of all things, should have been easily able to counter this ability of mine if he had expected it or foreseen it, but at near-light speed, he had no time to react or adjust to my intangibility. Therefore, instead of caving in my skull or piercing through my chest, his clawed hand simply passed through me.
"Gotcha," I said in a sing-song tone, gripping his cape from behind and yanking hard, slamming his face straight into the ground. "Was that your neck cracking, or just your old bones giving out?" I smirked as his head buried itself in the dirt.
"You... Oh, I see. I underestimated you, didn't I?" The red-skinned demon groaned; irritation laced in his voice as he tried to push himself up again. But unlike what he expected, I wasn't some hero bound by honor—I had no intention of letting him recover. So, I pulled his cape again, raising him up and slamming him down hard. Then again. And again. And again, until he was completely covered in dust and broken pieces of the floor. Then, with one final heave, I flung him across the battlefield, sending him crashing against the farthest wall of the palace.
"What do you think, Mephisto? Still feeling as confident?" I arched a brow, raising my hand as my telekinesis coiled around him like an invisible vice.
I decided to unleash the full force of my telekinetic power, not just to end this fight but to see exactly how strong my psionics were. And damn, I wasn't disappointed. Mephisto was a powerhouse—maybe not quite on Hulk's level, but close. Yet, against my full-powered telekinesis, he could barely twitch.
As my grip around him tightened to its absolute limit, I could feel his resistance weakening. He was fighting with everything he had, trying to break free, but I didn't let up. I wanted to see him pop like a water balloon—just like in those horror movies.
"ENOUGH!" he roared, unleashing a burst of dark-red energy. It hit like a shockwave, just strong enough to loosen my hold for a moment—long enough for him to barely escape and put some distance between us. "You dare insult me in my own realm? Now, you will pay for your transgression with your life." His voice dripped with venom; his rage barely contained.
Then, the space around us started to ripple. Not just the palace—no, I could feel the entire dimension shifting; it was like threads of energy were separating and peeling away from the reality of this dimension itself. My Rinnegan let me see it clearly, those strands of power unraveling from Hell's very essence and flowing straight toward Mephisto before being absorbed by him.
