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In the United States, a small town called San Venganza, Texas was very remote, and almost no one visited. One day, a handsome young man suddenly arrived in the town with an old-fashioned backpack on his back. It looked a little discordant with his suit.
This person is Ivan. Looking at the crowds coming and going in the town, everyone's faces seem lifeless, as if they're merely going through the motions of their affairs.
In Ivan's mental induction, everyone here seems to be already dead, in a state of souls. The town is shrouded by some kind of power, making these souls manifest. This method is nothing new to Ivan. When he was learning magic knowledge, Ivan also discovered that souls can manifest in an environments rich in magical elements, such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where many ghosts reside.
Ivan noticed that these people harbored strong hostility. It's evident that, when alive, they weren't good individuals. This isn't surprising, as it's natural for the old devil to make Mephisto look good. As one of the seven monarchs of hell, evil spirits are his favorites.
The living dead in the town follow a predetermined trajectory every day, going about their half-dead routines. They can never leave this town until the devil arrives, transforming them into demons for killing or fulfilling their original destiny of being consumed as food. However, things took a turn for the worse. The devil sent his younger brother to collect the debt, but the younger brother, being anti-bone, refused to comply with the soul's request, causing the debt to linger.
Ivan strolled down the town's streets, checking his surroundings from time to time. Soon, he found his target in a tavern—a middle-aged man dressed as a standard Western cowboy.
"Can you give me a drink? I want the strongest," Ivan walked into the pub and said directly beside the cowboy who was drinking.
The man trembled, suddenly stood up from his seat, looked at Ivan with alertness, and said, "Living person, you shouldn't be here. Leave now before I take any action, or you will regret it."
Ivan remained seated without moving, calmly took a glass, poured himself a drink, and took a sip. He then said, "Regret? I will never regret it, Mr. Carter Slade. I think we can sit down and talk calmly."
"You know my name! Who are you?" Carter, the first-generation Ghost Rider, changed his face. His body lit up with flames, and he turned into a burning skeleton.
"The fire of hell? The eyes that judge all evil, burn all evil souls. It is indeed the spirit of vengeance. If you can exert this ability to the limit, you can theoretically defeat anyone. However, meeting a truly strong person leaves you no chance to use it, for example, me"
As Ivan's last word fell, he waved his hand, and his magic power surged. Sword-shaped energy appeared out of thin air, shooting at Carter like sharp arrows.
Shhhhhh! Carter was directly pierced by thousands of arrows, and large holes appeared in his body. Although the flames on his body kept surging, and the injuries recovered quickly, Ivan's attacks seemed endless. One hole was just repaired, and the second one, the third hole was shot out again. Each time he recovered from one injury, the flames on Carter's body disappeared until the last flame disappeared. After barely recovering from the last injury, his neck crooked, and he fainted, returning to human form.
Ivan chuckled lightly, picked up a half-full glass of wine from the table, poured it on Carter's face, and then returned to his previous chair, waiting for Carter to wake up.
After a few seconds, Carter opened his eyes and leaned against the wall. Due to the great strength he had expended earlier, his body felt a bit weak.
"Who are you? What's the purpose of my coming here?"
"You don't need to know who I am. As for the purpose, it's very simple. I'm here for the souls of the town. These souls are of good quality, so I want them."
Carter's expression suddenly changed. "You are also a devil..."
"You are the devil, your whole family is a devil... No, you're not even a devil! You signed a contract with the devil for freedom and sold your soul, but I don't know if this is the real loss of freedom..."
Carter was scolded by Ivan and stood there with a face of shame, not knowing how to respond. Ivan was right; he had been fascinated and made a deal with the devil at that time.
"Since you're not a devil, what do you want with these souls? And these souls have been branded by an old devil. If you are in a relationship with him, I'm afraid he won't let you go."
Ivan sneered, "Let me go? I don't need it. I was ready to fight him when I started thinking about these souls, but the old guy's body was still in hell. He can't get to the world; at most, he can send a clone. I'm also not afraid of him. Let him know now; I also want to see the demeanor of the Monarch of Hell."
"This..." Carter was embarrassed for a while. To be honest, although Carter was forced to serve Mephisto, he didn't want to hurt innocent lives. Still, when it comes to Aiwen, there is no life or death.
Just when Carter was having a hard time deciding, Ivan's voice sounded again, "Come on, don't waste time. I don't have that much patience. If you don't call your boss over, I'll directly take the soul."
"That's it! You are courting death yourself; don't blame me for being rude."
At this point, Carter had no other choice. He would pass the situation here to Mephisto through the soul contract.
In an instant, the clear starry sky in the small town of San Venganza was obscured by dark clouds formed by a strong dark atmosphere. With strange thunder and lightning, a figure suddenly appeared outside the town, disappearing for a while due to its high speed beyond the limit of human eyes.
The figure soon arrived outside the tavern where Ivan and Carter were located. Ivan felt the other party's presence the moment he arrived. Turning his head, he saw a man in a black suit with a cane—an old man with a smile on his face. While seemingly kind, a closer look revealed a smile mixed with insidiousness and contempt, a kind of charity shown to others.
Ivan didn't dare to be careless about this old man. The moment the other party appeared, Ivan felt a gloomy, rich, and shuddering dark aura. The person who came was Mephisto, one of the Monarchs of Hell.
Mephisto's aura was a bit beyond Ivan's expectations, feeling somewhat off. However, Ivan didn't dwell on it and approached him directly.
"Mr. Mephisto, it's a pleasure to meet you. It's an honor to communicate directly with one of the famous seven Monarchs of Hell," Ivan bowed slightly and said.
"Yi, do you want to be loyal to me? Then dedicate your soul. I'm in a good mood and can give you eternal life," Mephisto said aloofly.
"Allegiance? No, no, no! I just want to express my gratitude because I intend to take away the soul of this town, and I should be grateful," Ivan said this matter-of-factly as if he didn't know that it would anger the old devil in front of him.
"You want these souls. To be honest, these souls are nothing to me. At most, they can only be regarded as a delicious meal. But your soul is very special. Even I can't see through it. To be honest, this is the first time I've met someone like you, and you've caught my interest. So, how about we make a deal? Exchange your soul for all the souls in this town."
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't plan to sell my soul. I've disappointed you."
Mephisto was a little disappointed, but he didn't immediately turn hostile. He continued, "Is that so? It's a pity. So, what have you prepared to exchange for the soul of this town? If it doesn't pique my interest, it won't be that easy."
"Well, the actual situation is that I didn't prepare anything. This time, I plan to grab it directly," Ivan said sincerely.
"Are you joking? It's the first time I've met someone who dares to speak to me like that," Mephisto was intrigued by Ivan's words. It was the first time he encountered someone daring enough to attempt a direct theft from him. He even doubted whether Ivan had a problem with his head.
"I can tell you with certainty that I'm not joking. There's a first time for everything, so please enjoy the thrill of being robbed for the first time."
"Ant, you are courting death" Mephisto finally became angry, his voice becoming low, rough, and fierce, preparing to make a move.
Ivan had no plans for a peaceful solution from the beginning and was always prepared. He moved faster than Mephisto, shouting "Shenfeng Wuying" and shooting out dense magic arrows.
Mephisto didn't expect Ivan's response to be so fast. Although he blocked it with the power of darkness to form a black fog, he couldn't exert his strength in a hurry. Several magic arrows pierced through the defense and wounded him.
"Roar"
Although Mephisto had been dismissive of Ivan before, considering humans weak creatures, he didn't expect to suffer such a significant loss accidentally. With a roar, flames burned up and down his body, turning his suit to ashes.
Soon, a huge figure broke free from the shackles of the human body and descended into the human world. It had a dark, scaly body, a pair of horns on the top of its head, two anti-joint hooves, and a long tail. Those with a little knowledge immediately recognized it as a devil.