Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Mephisto, after revealing his true form as a red demon and proving himself, transformed back into his middle-aged punk appearance and looked at Hawk.
"It's not my fault Earth turned dark."
"Jehovah did it."
"Don't forget, I only took over Earth after defeating Jehovah."
Mephisto, now back in his middle-aged punk guise, shrugged and looked at Hawk: "What's more, he's dark too."
As he spoke, Mephisto's right arm transformed into a demonic claw, and with the rising Hellfire, the surging flames gradually condensed in the air into the image of an elderly Black man.
Hawk looked at the image of Jehovah projected by Mephisto, and his mouth twitched imperceptibly.
"Is this Jehovah?"
"Absolutely authentic."
Mephisto opened his mouth, and the fiery image of Jehovah was instantly sucked in, as if he had swallowed Jehovah whole.
Hawk recalled Jehovah's appearance and couldn't help but shake his head.
"If the people on Earth knew, the dreams of hundreds of millions of believers would probably be shattered."
"Including you?"
Mephisto smiled at Hawk: "Are you among them?"
Hawk chuckled, looking at Mephisto: "If I were, I wouldn't be here discussing how to slaughter his Dimension with you, would I?"
Mephisto's expression dawned on him, and he pursed his lips.
"That makes sense."
"But I'm very curious, since he's dark, why isn't his mythology prevalent in Africa?"
"It's simple."
Mephisto smiled as he answered Hawk's question: "The reason it's not prevalent in Africa is because of the birth of new Celestials. Think about the conditions for a new Celestial to be born."
Hawk noticed the smile returning to Mephisto's lips, and his heart stirred: "New Celestials require the number of lives on a life Planet to reach a critical point. The more lives, the more new Celestials will be…"
At this point.
His expression dawned on him, and he looked at Mephisto: "So, Africa is his pasture."
It is well known.
On Earth, each region has its own circulating beliefs.
The Jade Emperor of East Country.
The Buddha of India.
Odin of the Norse.
Zeus of Greece.
And the so-called God.
But only Africa has none.
There can only be one possibility.
This place isn't without belief, but rather, it cannot have belief.
After all… cultivating belief takes time, but if it's just a pasture, it's not needed.
Hawk's expression was somewhat enlightened, then he suddenly thought of something and looked at Mephisto.
"But after you got Earth, you didn't seem to do anything to Africa, did you?"
"Because I don't need to."
Mephisto spread his hands.
"I won."
"Jehovah needs life, and I need souls. Therefore, from a certain perspective, what Jehovah and I need is the same."
"But the big boss behind me is Death. All I need are souls. All I have to do is take over Heaven's plate and maintain control over life, preventing it from triggering the Celestials' life critical point."
"Then… what if it's uncontrollable?"
"I will intervene."
"The Plague of Athens."
"The Antonine Plague."
"…Oh, and."
Mephisto recounted to Hawk, as if listing family treasures, how he ensured that life on Earth was insufficient to trigger the Celestial critical point. Then his eyes lit up, and he looked at Hawk: "Who do you think instigated the first Portuguese to go to Africa to sell goods?"
Hawk was slightly stunned, his eyes lit up, looking at Mephisto, who was smiling faintly.
"You started the African trade?"
"Now, who do you think is a friend, and who is an enemy?"
"You are a friend, no doubt."
Hawk smiled brightly, picked up his champagne glass, and clinked it with Mephisto's: "Cheers to you, my dear friend."
The words fell.
Hawk drained the champagne in his glass.
Mephisto also drained the champagne in his glass, then smiled at Hawk, who was beaming, seemingly having found common ground because of him and the little dark one.
"So, we have an agreement?"
"No rush."
Hawk said with a faint smile: "The souls of Earth will still be yours in the future, but the souls I kill will be mine, not just those I know."
Mephisto, holding the champagne bottle, shrugged.
"As long as you don't try to exploit loopholes and harvest all the life on Earth for me."
"I won't."
"Then I have no problem, I can agree to that."
"Wow!"
Hawk looked at Mephisto, who nodded readily, his expression one of surprise, and looked at Mephisto: "My dear friend, Jehovah must have found your weak point. If I hadn't come over this time, would you have come knocking on my door in a few days, begging me to cooperate with you?"
This statement was very un-Mephisto.
Lao Mo regarded souls as more important than anything else. Just think about what happened last time when he tried to snatch Alexander Pierce's soul.
At that time, Mephisto was very much like an angry bull.
But now.
Facing Hawk's exorbitant demands, Mephisto agreed almost without thinking.
Either Mephisto had already figured out how to break the contract.
Or Mephisto had already seen Jehovah, who, once he made a move, would be astonishing, and was already sharpening his knife for him.
Hawk leaned towards the latter.
The way to verify it was also very simple.
"Swear in the name of Death."
"What?"
"Swear in the name of Death that in the war between Heaven Dimension and Hell Dimension, as long as I stand in your camp and help you thwart Heaven Dimension's conspiracy, from now on, the souls of all lives I kill will belong to the Underworld."
Hawk looked at Mephisto with a faint smile.
Although Mephisto's promotion of the African slave trade made him feel good about him.
But this was personal.
Hawk always kept business and personal matters separate.
Mephisto looked at Hawk, who wanted him to swear in the name of Death.
"…You don't trust me?"
"Again, Lao Mo, you're already a discredited person in my eyes. Frankly, I'm really afraid to cooperate with you. Even my fiancée thinks it's not a good idea, but I'm still willing to give you a chance. You should thank me."
Hawk spread his hands, looking at Mephisto with a serious expression.
Mephisto looked at Hawk, who sincerely asked him to say thank you, and his eye twitched uncontrollably as he retorted.
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome."
Hawk smiled and took the remark.
Mephisto's eyelids twitched even more severely.
"That wasn't a declarative sentence."
"I know."
Hawk nodded, then picked up the champagne in front of him, stood up from the bar stool, and urged Mephisto: "Hurry up and swear. Once you swear, our cooperation will be established."
Mephisto opened his mouth, looking at Hawk who was urging him, feeling an urge to curse.
But… he thought of Heaven Dimension's offensive this time, took a deep breath, and swore in the name of Death.
After a while.
Mephisto looked at Hawk expressionlessly.
"Are you relieved now?"
"Yes."
Hawk held out the champagne in his hand to Mephisto, then smiled and said: "Actually, even if you didn't swear, just for your efforts in sweeping away darkness, I would help you. After all, I'm very happy to help in sweeping away darkness and eliminating evil."
Mephisto looked at Hawk with a faint smile, chuckled, and clinked his champagne glass without acknowledging Hawk's words.
Who was he? The Lord of Hell Dimension, not a three-year-old child.
Eyes met!
A clink.
Hawk's champagne glass and Mephisto's champagne glass clinked in the air, making a crisp sound.
Both of them drained the champagne in their glasses.
Mephisto put down his glass and looked at Hawk.
"Happy cooperation."
"Happy cooperation."
Hawk put down his glass and looked at Mephisto.
"It seems Heaven Dimension has really got you by the balls, Lao Mo, otherwise you wouldn't be making such a huge investment."
"You can't imagine."
Since the cooperation was reached, Mephisto also gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and looked at Hawk: "The life that Jehovah has concocted, which can contend with me for the authority of Hell, has already been born."
Hawk raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mephisto.
"You already said last time that their seeds have…"
"No, no, no. Last time, I only sensed that their seeds had been planted, but after you left, I investigated carefully and discovered that a Death Angel had already been born."
"Hiss!"
Hawke gasped, looking at Mephisto, "And you're only just finding out now?"
Mephisto shook his head, "The invasion from the Heaven Dimension is that terrifying. If you hadn't come to me, I probably still wouldn't know about this."
Hawke's mouth twitched.
He suddenly realized that his asking price might have been too low, which explained why Mephisto had agreed so readily.
It wasn't just that he was being invaded by the Heaven Dimension; it was more like the Heaven Dimension was about to steal his home.
Hawke thought to himself, then sighed and looked at Mephisto.
"Alright, do you have any plans? For example, do you know the whereabouts of this Death Angel?"
"I don't know."
"...The Heaven Dimension, do you know where they're hiding on Earth?"
"I don't know."
"..."
Hawke looked at Mephisto, who knew nothing and only shook his head, expressionless: "Then what do you know?"
Mephisto smiled brightly, "I know that when we come knocking and devour the Heaven Dimension, the Celestials won't bother us."
Hawke raised an eyebrow.
"The Celestials won't interfere?"
"If you and I are on the same side, this is a dimensional war provoked by the Heaven Dimension. It wants to devour me, and I devour it. It's perfectly reasonable. If the Celestials dare to interfere, my boss isn't someone to be trifled with."
"Are you talking about Death?"
"Yes."
"I thought you were just a nobody among Death's many lords."
"Even then, I am still a Death Lord of Death. But you are different. Without me, when you attack, the Celestials might personally intervene to 'take care' of you."
"I don't care."
Hawke's tone was casual.
He had already offended the Celestials after absorbing Tiamut's massive life energy and delaying Tiamut's awakening. So, he had already anticipated being an enemy of the Celestials; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to Mephisto's demands.
Besides, since he had already offended them once, offending them again made no difference.
However... if he could avoid confronting the Celestials for a while, that would naturally be excellent.
After all, he hadn't even comprehended the Seventh Sense yet. Confronting the Celestials at this point would likely be a one-sided beatdown.
Yes.
He would be beaten down.
So... Hawke paused, looking at Mephisto, "How much time do you think we have left?"
Mephisto thought for a moment.
"A year, two years at most. The growth rate of a Death Angel is extremely fast."
"...Alright!"
Hawke was slightly surprised. He had thought it was an urgent matter, but he hadn't expected to have so much time. After thinking for a moment, he nodded, "Okay, you use your methods to find them, and I'll use mine. We'll tackle it from both sides."
After all, the Heaven Dimension wasn't just targeting Mephisto.
It was also targeting him.
The shadowy figures behind his clones seemed to be from the Heaven Dimension.
He wondered if the Heaven Dimension had managed to achieve anything after all that tinkering.
Frankly, Hawke was quite looking forward to the Heaven Dimension achieving something significant.
After all... if the Heaven Dimension had something going on, it would give him a more legitimate reason to act, making his occupation of the Heaven Dimension even more justified.
When asked, he would simply say the Heaven Dimension started it.
Hawke thought to himself, then, after bidding farewell to Mephisto, he turned, pushed open the door of the small tavern, and stepped out, returning to the flower room of Fox Manor.
It was already dark, and it was snowing outside. And by the looks of it, it seemed to have been snowing for a while.
Gwen was sleeping, sprawled on the flower table in the flower room.
However, the flower room had heating, so it wasn't very cold.
Hawke looked at Gwen, who was sleeping on the table nearby, like a wife waiting for her husband to come home. He smiled slightly and walked towards Gwen.
Gwen, who was sleeping, seemed to sense something. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and after slowly opening her eyes, she smiled faintly at Hawke, who was holding her in a princess carry.
"You're back?"
"Yes."
"How did the talk go?"
"He's desperate, desperate enough to want to cooperate with me."
Hawke took a step, carrying Gwen directly into the living room of the main manor house, recounting his trip to Hell to Gwen. Then he looked upstairs, "Is Grandpa asleep?"
Gwen got down from his arms and chuckled.
"He went to bed early."
"Then..."
"Don't worry, I said you went to the next town to see a friend."
"Alright."
Hawke smiled faintly at Gwen, "What's my friend's name, what's he doing in the next town, and what does he look like specifically? Do you know?"
Gwen shrugged.
"Just describe him like Peter."
"That works too."
Hawke thought for a moment, then nodded. He watched Gwen sit on the sofa nearby, then sat beside her, putting his arm around her and saying, "I'm sorry, I promised to come here to spend time with you and Grandpa and have a vacation."
Gwen leaned against Hawke's shoulder, glanced at Hawke's chin, and smiled faintly.
"As long as you're alright."
"I am indeed alright."
Hawke looked down, meeting Gwen's eyes, "Things are pretty much done. From now on, let's just relax and enjoy our vacation. Other matters can wait until we return to New York."
And there really wasn't anything left to do.
Mephisto didn't even know where the highly secretive bird people of the Heaven Dimension were hiding.
He naturally couldn't know either.
Unless... his Sixth Sense officially ascended to the Seventh Sense, and he reached the peak state of the Golden Little Universe.
Because at that time, his 'Sixth Sense—Contemplation' would be able to completely cover every corner of Earth.
Let's put it this way.
At that point, with a thought, he could see what was happening in any corner of Earth at that moment.
Real-time footage, 18K high-definition, with no delay whatsoever.
Unfortunately.
His current 'Sixth Sense—Contemplation' could only cover the area of Waterfall Town at most.
However, he didn't really like using this skill.
After all, he didn't have any voyeuristic tendencies, just as he didn't really use 'Sixth Sense—X-ray Vision' either.
Hawke thought to himself.
Gwen, meanwhile, chuckled at Hawke's words.
"You still have one thing left to do."
"What?"
Hawke snapped back to reality, looking down at Gwen.
Gwen smiled and said, "Klaus. Caroline came over again this afternoon, but she left after seeing you weren't here."
Hawke chuckled.
"Don't worry, Klaus will give me this much respect."
"What if he doesn't?"
"He will."
Hawke met his fiancée's eyes and said with a smile, "If he doesn't want to die."
Gwen blinked, moved away from Hawke's shoulder, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and looked at Hawke with a smile: "So you were lying to Klaus before, about her dying if Klaus died?"
Hawke shook his head.
"No, that's true."
"Then why did you just say Klaus, if he doesn't want to die?"
"If he doesn't give me respect, then he can only die. As for Caroline?"
Hawke gently leaned Gwen back against his shoulder and said with a smile, "My sister is quite bored alone in the Underworld. It would be good if Caroline joined her; they could keep Anna company. Mephisto and I just made a new deal."
He then recounted the latest soul agreement he had made with Mephisto.
"Klaus was killed by me, so his soul belongs to me. And the Vampires who die because of Klaus's Death, their souls naturally also belong to me."
"So, don't worry about Caroline's soul going to Hell to suffer."
"I promise you, she will live in the pure land of the Underworld, which I've described to you before. My sister lives there."
Hawke said, looking at Gwen, "Besides, you don't like Caroline becoming a Vampire either, do you?"
Gwen, leaning against Hawke's shoulder, shrugged.
"But there's something I haven't said yet."
"What is it?"
"It's better to live a bad life than to die well. So, try your best to get Klaus to agree, Hawke. If Caroline dies, Auntie will be sad."
"...Alright!"
"..."
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