That scarlet figure appeared without warning, and even Peter only sensed the spatial fluctuation through his Byakugan the moment the guy appeared.
The person who arrived was, naturally, Mephisto.
This cunning and treacherous Hell Lord finally couldn't help but crawl out from the shadows.
Just as Thanos was preparing to go down with the ship, detonating the stones to perish together with Earth, Mephisto launched a fierce attack.
A cold blade, carrying the scent of sulfur, descended silently yet with absolute decisiveness.
Squelch.
Accompanied by a piercing, dull thud of a blade piercing through flesh, Thanos's right arm, which wore the Infinity Gauntlet, flew into the air.
The three stones in the air, which had been glowing brilliantly, gradually dimmed at this moment.
Mephisto reached out and lightly grasped the Infinity Gauntlet in his hand.
Without any effort, that scarlet, clawed demon hand seemed to melt and quietly slipped into the Infinity Gauntlet.
In the blink of an eye, the Infinity Gauntlet had changed hands!
The light of the three Infinity Stones flowed in his palm, reflecting and enhancing his own evil, crimson energy.
"Not a bad toy." Mephisto examined the gauntlet with satisfaction, as if admiring a work of art.
Watching Mephisto, who had suddenly backstabbed him, the madness in Thanos's eyes was quickly replaced by astonishment and confusion.
"Wh—why...?!" Thanos couldn't help but ask the question that everyone was curious about.
He had considered that Mephisto might backstab him, but in his calculations, such a thing should have happened after he had conquered Earth or mastered all the stones.
But right now... how was this any different from seeking his own death?
Even he couldn't defeat Peter with the power of three stones; did Mephisto really think he could achieve all this relying solely on his own power?
"Why?" A whisper filled with mockery and ridicule rang in his ear. "Because I have no need to share the fruits of victory with a madman, do I?"
The moment the words fell, another flash of red light streaked by.
This time, it was Thanos's purple head, still wanting to say something, that went flying!
Almost at the same time he decapitated Thanos, Mephisto raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
But his target was not Peter or the Superheroes present, but the battered and bruised Gorr the God Butcher, who looked like he couldn't hold on much longer!
"Now, it's your turn." Mephisto's mouth curled into a chilling arc.
Gorr instinctively gripped all-black the necrosword in his hand, still wanting to resist.
But he found that his body simply wouldn't obey him.
After all, he was just an ordinary person controlled by the sword in his hand.
If all-black the necrosword hadn't chosen to parasitize him, he would have long since rotted away on that unknown, desolate Planet.
How could someone like him resist the power of the Mind Stone?
"Give me... your sword!"
Mephisto's voice, like a curse, rang directly in Gorr's mind.
Gorr's eyes instantly became vacant. Like a puppet with its soul extracted, he walked step by step toward Mephisto and respectfully handed over all-black the necrosword, the blade capable of slaying gods.
all-black the necrosword seemed to see the situation clearly as well; it did not struggle or resist, allowing Mephisto to grasp it.
"Not a bad weapon, but unfortunately, it followed the wrong Master."
As he finished speaking, he swung it backhanded.
The pitch-black blade of all-black the necrosword swept across Gorr's neck without the slightest hesitation.
Another head went flying.
This God Butcher, who made all the gods tremble, didn't even manage to let out a cry of grief before following in Thanos's footsteps.
Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand, all-black the necrosword in his right.
Mephisto stood in the center of the battlefield, took a deep breath, and his face was full of undisguised intoxication.
"Ah... the taste of this power is truly sweet."
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the Superheroes who had stopped their actions due to this sudden turn of events, and finally, it landed on Peter.
"Now, Peter Parker, how do you think this farce should end?"
"You're quite the professional, old Mephisto." Peter folded his arms across his chest, his tone revealing no hint of tension.
"I was wondering why you kept hiding and wouldn't come out; so you were waiting to kill-steal."
"Kill-steal?" Mephisto raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding the term, but that didn't stop him from understanding the mockery within it.
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, you're next."
"Seriously, I'm still very curious." Peter tilted his head; his feeling was similar to Thanos's:
"Who gave you the courage?"
"And what makes you think that, since your teammates weren't my match even relying on these external items, you could transform from a skulking sewer rat into someone capable of arm-wrestling with me just by obtaining them?"
"What makes me think so? You'll know very soon."
Mephisto smiled even more wickedly.
"I will let you witness with your own eyes what true despair is. Your soul... I've reserved it. Watching you show an expression of pain due to extreme despair will surely make me feel unprecedented pleasure!"
With that, he raised his left hand, wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, high into the air and slashed it to his side:
Following his action, the entire space began to vibrate violently.
A massive spatial rift tore open behind him with a boom.
That rift did not lead to the starry Universe, but to a place of endless scarlet and scorching heat.
Piercing wails, venomous curses, insane roars... a collection of countless negative emotions surged out from that rift like a bursting flood!
This was the "Hell" Mephisto spoke of, the pocket dimension he relied on for survival, and which also limited his ever-expanding ambition.
After countless small demons with red skin and tridents flew out, two tall figures slowly walked out from that scarlet abyss.
The moment they saw those two figures clearly, the Asgardians present had their pupils shrink sharply.
One of them, wearing golden armor, with one eye, and radiating an aura of kingly majesty that commanded respect without anger, was none other than the All-Father who had fallen not long ago—Odin!
And the other was a purple, hulking figure, none other than... Thanos, who had just been decapitated by Mephisto!
However, at this moment, their bodies appeared in a semi-transparent, illusory state, with scarlet flames burning in their eyes; they had clearly been eroded and enslaved by Hell energy!
"How about it, my friends?" Mephisto spread his arms, enjoying the shocked gazes of the crowd.
"Surprised? Unexpected? Thrilling?"
His triumphant gaze swept over the faces of Thor, Loki, and Frigga, admiring the expressions of mixed anger, grief, and disbelief on their faces, and the smile on his face deepened.
"Don't look at me with those eyes. Collecting the souls of the strong and great has always been one of my few hobbies, and the power of these stones has helped me save a massive amount of time in this process, hasn't it?"
As he spoke, Mephisto couldn't help but triumphantly kiss the Soul Stone on the gauntlet.
That smug look made the veins on Thor's forehead throb wildly; he couldn't help but raise Mjolnir high, swinging it directly at Mephisto's head.
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