Clang! Clang!
The phoenix flew, singing in harmony!
The moment Hulk closed his eyes, accompanied by a phoenix cry, in an instant, a pure, magnificent phoenix phantom, composed of light and flames, appeared behind Hulk.
The next second.
The phoenix phantom erupted with dazzling flames, merging into Hulk's body, whose eyes were already closed.
Boom—
Extremely brilliant flames formed a pair of burning phoenix wings on either side of Hulk. Immediately after, the phoenix's phantom, like a gentle mother, folded its wings, as if afraid of disturbing the sleeping Hulk, slowly wrapping him within its wings.
Malekith, who hadn't shown any surprise even when his face was completely disfigured, was utterly astonished when he saw this scene.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Thor's expression was also one of shock at this moment.
"This is…"
"Thor."
Natasha walked to Thor's side at this moment, also looking at Hulk, who seemed perfectly integrated with the phoenix phantom, or perhaps embraced within its wings, with his eyes tightly shut and all signs of life seemingly gone, with a somewhat bewildered expression: "This is…"
Thor's thoughts raced.
"Nirvana!"
"Nirvana?"
"He's not a demigod."
Thor only reacted after seeing this scene.
What demigod?
Nonsense!
This is a god.
Both the conversation between Thor and Natasha, and the look of astonishment on Malekith's face, happened in a flash.
Just like Hulk.
One moment he remembered closing his eyes, but the next moment, when he opened them, he found that he hadn't been resurrected.
Instead…
He had arrived in a tavern.
Hulk listened to the Texas songs slowly playing in the tavern, then looked at the wall adorned with accessories full of Texas elements, feeling a bit bewildered.
Good heavens, where did this take me?
Hulk thought to himself.
Just then, the sound of glasses clinking came from a table not far away.
Hulk looked in the direction of the sound.
Upon sight.
The previously empty tavern table and sofa now had a stranger on it.
He wore an impeccably tailored dark suit, his black hair slightly disheveled, but one could still see his pair of narrow, dark golden eyes. A playful smile adorned his pale face as he raised the glass in his hand towards Hulk, who was looking at him.
It seemed he was inviting Hulk to join him for a drink.
Hulk frowned, walked over, and sat down opposite the stranger.
The man opposite smiled and handed over the filled glass in front of him.
"Kentucky, Bourbon from Thunder Distillery."
"Try it."
"…"
Hulk glanced at the glass full of liquor pushed in front of him, then raised his eyes to look at the smiling man opposite.
The next second.
He picked up the glass in front of him and drank its contents in one gulp.
The next second after that.
Hulk placed the empty glass back on the table and looked at the man opposite: "Hello, Mephisto."
The man opposite…
No, that's not right.
Mephisto, disguised as a decadent Texas youth from the eighties or nineties, burst into laughter.
But the laughter came and went quickly.
Mephisto abruptly stopped laughing amidst his mirth, then looked at Hulk, revealing his true form.
The well-tailored suit he wore was no longer fabric; it squirmed and split like a living thing, revealing not flesh and blood beneath, but a churning, viscous mixture like asphalt and lava.
The gentlemanly human face completely vanished, replaced by a hideous demonic head.
His skin was scorched red.
Rough like gravel.
His nose bridge was gone, leaving only two holes spewing sparks.
His dark golden pupils, at this moment, transformed into pure hellfire.
The next moment.
Mephisto, revealing his true form, smiled sinisterly and looked at Hulk, his voice as deep as if from the abyss: "Welcome to Hell!"
Mephisto, Lord of the Hell Dimension, makes his appearance.
Hulk showed no expression, merely looking quietly at Mephisto before him.
Mephisto, seeing that his performance received no cooperation, chuckled deeply: "You don't seem scared at all. You haven't entered Nirvana; you've come to Hell."
Hulk ignored that remark and instead looked at Mephisto: "Can I see my sister?"
Although he didn't know how he ended up in Hell.
One thing was certain.
He had already entered the Nirvana process.
So…
Since he was here, he would make the most of it. If possible, he wanted to see his sister Anya.
Mephisto's hideous expression vanished upon hearing Hulk's request.
The next second.
Mephisto, who had reverted to his human Texas wanderer form, laughed heartily. His left hand opened, and the bourbon on the bar automatically flew into his hand. After refilling both their glasses with bourbon, he pushed one back to Hulk and raised his own glass, looking at Hulk.
Hulk picked up his glass, clinked it against Mephisto's on the table, and then drank it all in one gulp again.
"I want to see my sister."
"Sorry."
Mephisto directly rejected Hulk's request, then offered an explanation: "Your sister is in Hell, but you are not."
Hulk frowned.
"Then where am I now?"
"On the edge of life and death."
Mephisto said, refilling Hulk's glass with bourbon again, and once more raised his own glass: "Now I know why you dared to say that if I didn't take good care of your sister, you'd rip my head off and use it as a wine decanter…"
Hulk raised an eyebrow, picked up his glass, and clinked it against Mephisto's once more: "My exact words weren't 'wine decanter,' but rather…"
At this point, Mephisto drank his glass dry, inverted it, and looked at Hulk.
The meaning was self-evident.
Hulk chuckled, said no more, and once again drank the contents of his glass in one gulp.
He still hadn't given up on seeing his sister.
Hulk could feel that he was about to leave this place and return to Earth.
"You are the Lord of Hell, and my sister is in your Hell. You should be able to resurrect my sister, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then…"
"No."
"What?"
Hulk frowned again upon hearing Mephisto's words: "Aren't you afraid I'll really break into your Hell?"
Mephisto laughed heartily.
After pouring them both drinks, he didn't raise his glass as he had the previous three times. Instead, he leaned back against the sofa, crossed his legs, and with a smile on his gentlemanly face, said to Hulk: "I must admit, you do have the power to break into my Hell, but that's in the future, not now, isn't it?"
Hulk did not refute this statement.
Because it was the truth, how could he refute it?
But…
He quietly listened to Mephisto finish speaking, and then quietly gave his own reply.
"Resurrect my sister, and I can grant you any three requests. You don't have to agree, it's fine. When I have the power to enter your Hell, Mephisto, for the sake of our conversation today, take good care of my sister, and I will spare your life."
He truly didn't have the power now, so he could negotiate.
But if he gained that power later, what was there to negotiate?
It is well known.
When East Country people negotiate, the first offer they make is always the most favorable. If you don't accept the first time, sorry, future conditions will never be more generous than the first.
Hulk believed he had shown absolute sincerity.
Any three requests.
To date, even HYDRA Anna, who had given him the most and greatest help, hadn't received such a generous favor from him.
Unfortunately, Mephisto refused.
"Sorry."
"Alright."
Hulk's face showed no disappointment. After hearing Mephisto's refusal, he calmly glanced at him and nodded.
You don't want to talk nicely.
Then let's fight!
Hulk thought to himself.
Just then.
Mephisto chuckled: "I have no reason to fall out with a future god. After all, I still hope to gain dominion over the deaths of beings under your rule."
The authority of death is not singular.
As is well known.
Where there is death, there is life.
He controlled not just a single authority of death, but the authority of life and death.
His Hell was the end point of the death of beings under his rule, and also the starting point of life for beings.
The wider the scope of his life and death authority, the stronger his power became.
And under the rule of a great God King, their dominion would be a scene of vibrant life and flourishing growth.
Although it was in the future tense.
But Mephisto had already seen this possibility in Hulk, so he had no reason to offend a future God King for an ordinary soul.
As for the Hell Hulk of the African savanna.
That was Hulk's doing behind his back; he threw Hell Hulk up there as a return gift.
That matter was in the past.
He didn't take it to heart, and likewise, Hulk didn't take it to heart either.
Hulk frowned slightly upon hearing that sentence.
He was about to say, since he wasn't going to cause trouble for him, then he should resurrect his sister, when suddenly, a surge of soul stirring arose.
Hulk looked down at the golden flames rising from his toes.
"This is…"
"You should leave."
Mephisto smiled at the sight, picked up the fourth glass of bourbon he had just poured but not yet drunk, and looked at Hulk.
Hulk, seeing this, also picked up the glass in front of him.
The sound of glasses clinking was crisp.
At this moment.
Golden flames had already engulfed Hulk's entire body.
Hulk suppressed his inner speculation, looked at Mephisto with a calm expression, and said in a very calm tone: "Take good care of my sister."
Mephisto smiled slightly, looking at Hulk, who was becoming transparent in the golden flames, and raised the empty glass in his hand.
"Goodbye, Hulk!"
"Goodbye, Mephisto."
As Hulk finally disappeared, he politely nodded to Mephisto.
The next second.
The golden flames, like dancing starlight, carried him away from there.
The next second.
"Where the hell did this take me now?"
"…"
…
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