"It seems being alone for so many years has made you stupid, Hela."
Oh no. That voice.
That smug, condescending tone that sounded like someone who's been sitting on a throne of lies and cheap cologne for millennia.
Hela's eye twitched. The anger hit her like watching your girlfriend make out with another guy right in front of you. She knew that voice instantly, and because she knew who it was, it pissed her off even more. Who else would have the guts to poke at her deepest wound and then call her stupid?
Still, she kept her face cool. Poker face: activated.
"Mephisto," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "looks like being unsupervised for too long made you braver—or just dumber."
And yep, who else but Mephisto?
The red bastard showed up with a whole entourage of Hell-Lords—Asmodeus, Pluto, Blackheart, and a couple of others she couldn't immediately recognize (probably some discount demon lords trying to stay relevant). Trouble had arrived in bulk.
These guys were the types who'd sell their grandma for a soul contract. The Ancient One probably kept them on a short leash, and now Hela had swooped in, snagging the souls they'd been eyeing like vultures. Worse? The one who was supposed to keep them in check seemed to be helping Hela.
Yeah, that alone could tick them off—but Hela wasn't buying that as the only reason. Mephisto was a schemer. Cautious. Cowardly, even. For him to show up this openly, looking for a fight? Something was off.
And seriously, how the Hel did they even get back on Earth so easily?
Then again, this is Earth. In the comics, it gets invaded by demons, aliens, and angry dimensional warlords like, what, twice a week? So maybe not that surprising.
Back to business.
Mephisto didn't even blink at her earlier jab. "You know the pact of the Hell-Lords, Hela. What you're doing is a major violation."
Oh, look at him. Playing responsible adult now.
Mephisto, of course, was the so-called leader of this Hell-Lords coalition. He couldn't stand the idea of Hela getting her hands on so many souls just like that.
It reminded him way too much of the last time she went on a power trip—thousands of years ago, back when she and Odin conquered the Ten Realms and she casually started claiming all their souls.
Back then, she was supposed to only manage the dead Asgardians who didn't die in battle. But Hela? She's never been good at following rules. She reached out with those sharp claws and tried to grab everything.
And unlike the others, Hela wasn't just some demon lord. She was an Asgardian. And the literal daughter of Lady Death. Lady Death, seriously. The one even Mephisto wouldn't mess with unless he was feeling especially suicidal.
It made her way more dangerous than the rest of them. She didn't even need to stay in her realm to keep her power. Hell, she had the damn Space Stone now. As if she needed a buff.
With or without that, she was already stronger than most of them. But with it? She was a walking apocalypse. They all knew it. That's why they were here. Not because of some soul drama.
Because if they didn't stop her now, she'd get even stronger—and Hela with power is a conqueror. First chance she gets, she'll turn every single one of their Hells into her personal property.
And they all knew it.
Hela, of course, wasn't underestimating them either. Especially not Mephisto. His power? Pure plot device. Sometimes he's a joke. Other times? He's threatening to blow up the entire Omniverse.
Seriously—there's that one comic where his war with a version of Hela (who wasn't imprisoned by Odin, lucky her) was about to cause Omniversal Armageddon. As in, their fight was so insane it would've destabilized everything. Every universe, multiverse, higher realm—gone. All of it.
So yeah, she respected the danger. But she wasn't scared. No way she was backing down here. Not in front of them. She kept her tone calm, but her presence hit like thunder.
"Mephisto. And all of you who crawled out of your little hellholes to show up here." Her projection tilted its head, that smug grin creeping back onto her lips. "Are you seriously thinking about starting a war with me?"
One of the reasons Hela was walking around with that smug 'I-dare-you' face was simple. In the rewards she received in the past four days, she got a reward so good it made all the chaos she stirred up feel completely worth it.
The kind of thing that made killing her even harder than it already was—which, let's be honest, wasn't easy to begin with.
The other Hell-Lords didn't know what exactly her trump card was, but they weren't shocked by her attitude. I mean, this was Hela. She was already more unreasonable than Odin on his worst days. It would've been weird if she wasn't acting like she owned the place.
Meanwhile, the humans watching the whole mess? Yeah... pure mess. They were ready to die in theory, sure, but in practice? Most of them had no clue what was happening or how it was about to go down.
Some of them—mostly the science geeks—actually wanted to go to Hel. Not because they had a death wish or anything, but because they were curious. 'Other dimension full of dead people? Let's go!' They were fine with dying... just after they made some groundbreaking discoveries.
Now cut to the Hell-Lords: Mephisto, with his shiny red hair and smug expression, standing like he owned the runway. Beside him was Asmodeus—fat, reptilian, and gross as ever—screaming like someone had stepped on his tail.
The rest of the Hell-Lords weren't doing much better. All that demonic pride, and they still looked like they might crap themselves any second.
Fortunately for them, their babysitter arrived.
Or... Mephisto's babysitter, to be specific.
A portal opened up, smooth and golden. And just like that, the Ancient One stepped out. Second time she showed herself publicly in such a short time—which was kind of a big deal, considering she'd barely appeared once in a thousand years.
She looked calm as ever, like she'd just stepped out of a cup of tea and an existential lecture. The Time Stone hung around her neck, pulsing faintly. There was a slight chill in the air as she appeared.
"It's the second time you've made me come, Hela," she said, her tone calm and without any hint of annoyance, just stating facts.
Hela raised an eyebrow. Oh, she wanted to say wording—but with millions of people watching, she swallowed it. No way she'd let her dignity drop just to roast the Sorcerer Supreme in public.
She just shrugged. "This goddess doesn't go looking for trouble. Trouble just really likes the view."
Still, she didn't step outside the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. She'd be a total idiot to give up the biggest advantage she had.
The place was practically designed for her. In fact, she even opened the gates a little, just in case some dumbass got mad enough to charge in. She was ready.
The Ancient One looked around, quiet for a moment, then turned to Mephisto and the others. Her gaze was calm, sharp. Like a blade wrapped in silk.
"You do remember the terms of our agreement, don't you?" she asked, not raising her voice but still making it clear this wasn't a suggestion. "And the consequences for breaking it?"
Mephisto let out that signature chuckle—silky and smug, like he was always one step away from pulling out a cursed contract and offering you your heart's desire.
"Ah, Sorcerer Supreme," he said smoothly, "we're simply here to remind our lovely Hela of the accords. Just a gentle nudge. Nothing more."
Yeah. Sure. That's how it always started with him.
Their relationship with the Ancient One was weird. Balanced, but weird. Over the years, she'd turned a blind eye to some of their smaller games—like when some curious human tried to summon them or contact them through rituals.
In return, they made sure not to start anything big enough to mess with the dimensional fabric or put Earth in danger.
Today, though? This wasn't just some random visit. They were testing her too. Everyone knew the Ancient One had dipped her toes into the Dark Dimension.
Dormammu's influence had touched her. And rumor had it—she didn't have much time left. So now the Hell-Lords were trying to figure out how much power she actually still had.
But as usual, the Ancient One was unreadable. Her expression didn't change. Not even a flicker of concern.
"I don't care what conflict you have. As long as it doesn't threaten Earth, I won't interfere," she said, her tone even. "But I'd appreciate it if you took your power struggle somewhere else. Preferably your own realms."
Hela smirked. "Oh, don't worry, Sorcerer Supreme. I have no intention of turning Earth into a battleground." She gestured provocatively toward the entrance. "They can enter if they feel like it. I expanded the space here to be enough to support our battle. It's neither my dimension nor theirs which make it more fair. I'm curious to see what gave them the courage to go against me."
....
Just in time guys and I don't understand, I never to make cliffhanger or anything but think about it seriously, no matter how long I continued, it would still be a cliffhanger when I stopped seriously, anyway, big thanks for the support and don't forget your mone—ahem, your Power Stones:
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