"Don't rush, I have the Joker Knight here, no need for me to intervene personally..." Although Mephisto really wanted to annihilate Robert, he soon regained his composure. After all, he was on Earth and had not yet bypassed the various methods to avoid detection by Earth's dimensional surveillance. Acting hastily on Earth could easily expose him to expulsion. As he was about to vanish, Mephisto suddenly noticed Robert appearing before him.
"A consciousness avatar? Interesting!" Robert scrutinized Mephisto, sensing a depth far surpassing any demon lord in the adversary's consciousness, and remarked in surprise, "You wouldn't happen to be Mephisto, would you?"
Initially, Robert hadn't considered Mephisto, but given the overwhelming power of the consciousness far exceeding that of any hell lord and knowing only of Mephisto among hell lords, Robert naturally guessed it might be him.
However, Robert was puzzled by Mephisto's severe emotional reaction upon seeing him, as if there were some deep-seated grudge between them, even though this was the first time Robert had encountered Mephisto.
"Indeed, he is Mephisto..." Constantine, secretly observing from inside the magic base, also recognized Mephisto's presence and asked with a furrowed brow, "But why didn't I feel anything abnormal when I called your name before?"
"Merely humans, what you know is only what we allow you to know. Thinking you can see through the strategies of a hell lord is truly laughable," Mephisto replied with a cold smirk, mocking Robert and Constantine, "The power of a hell lord is beyond your feeble human comprehension..."
"If the power of a hell lord is so great, why don't you show your true strength before me?" Robert shrugged off Mephisto's remarks, sizing him up and adding, "It seems this avatar of your consciousness can't use even a fraction of its power. Are you afraid of something? No wonder calling your name did nothing; it's because you can't use your other methods, right?"
"Hahahaha!" As Robert finished, the Joker, who had been blasted away and was preparing to counterattack, suddenly burst into mocking laughter, drawing everyone's attention. Even Mephisto frowned, curious about the Joker's next words.
"You're right, this cowardly so-called hell lord is nothing but trash! Sounds impressive, but in reality, he dares not provoke anyone!" The Joker said, his grotesque smile widening as he openly ridiculed Mephisto.
"Even after coming to Earth, he dares not reveal even a bit of his power, fearing discovery like a rat in the sewers. He tried to lure me here, spending days preparing—what a joke. He doesn't really think I'm unaware of his plans, does he?"
As the Joker spoke, the ground around began to crack, unable to withstand the continuous ridicule from Robert and the Joker. Could Mephisto, a hell lord, really tolerate such affronts?
Even as one of the more cunning hell lords, preferring deception over direct action, Mephisto's inherent ferocity and madness, inherent to his demonic nature, were now awakened.
Mephisto began to channel the avatar linked with his real body in hell, summoning a terrifying force that made his avatar increasingly tangible.
"Good! Finally forced this old guy to show his power! What about next, will that power appear? My understanding of this world is getting deeper..." The Joker saw Mephisto's power erupt without fear, as this had been his intent all along. What followed, however, puzzled the Joker.
With a "hum," Mephisto's surging power suddenly stalled, as invisible forces seemed to envelop him, suppressing his presence.
This force was unfamiliar to the Joker, who subconsciously thought it was the hidden power from a contract he had signed.
However, Robert and Constantine, more knowledgeable than the Joker, understood that it wasn't an individual or a faction acting but the Earth dimension itself rejecting Mephisto.
Unlike the previous incarnation made from a drop of demon blood, which had been thoroughly cleansed and accepted by the Earth dimension, Mephisto's consciousness had now invoked real power, posing a significant threat to Earth's stability.
With a "hum," Mephisto's power significantly decreased until he returned to his initial spectral form, only to surge again as terrifying strength gathered once more, causing the ground to tremble.
"What's going on?" The Joker eyed the scene warily, touching the chains in his hand as if ready to strike a fatal blow to Mephisto.
"Earth just let him off with some energy expenditure? What's that about? Buying a ticket?" Unlike the Joker, Robert keenly sensed the reason behind the fluctuation in Mephisto's aura. A
powerful force had integrated into the Earth dimension, allowing Mephisto to stay.
To Robert, it seemed less like buying a ticket and more like paying protection money—a tactic similar to using magic to pay dimensional costs.
"Although a significant price was paid, this power should be sufficient to deal with you..." Mephisto stared at Robert and said, "When you kept calling my name and disturbing me, I wanted to kill you and doom you to hell forever. You just said I couldn't manifest power. Are you satisfied with my power now?"
"Hmm, he also said, why don't you deal with him?" Robert raised an eyebrow, pointing at the Joker and speaking.
"Because he thinks I'm his lackey, and he still has many tasks for me to perform. Why would he confront me himself?" The Joker, hearing Robert's words, looked at him with a smile.
"Oh, is that so? Would you like to confront him?" Robert nodded in understanding and smiled at the Joker, "If you want to confront him, I'd have to beat you both up, since I hate it when others steal my adversaries..."
"???" Even with the Joker's twisted logic, he couldn't keep up with Robert. Normally, shouldn't he be cruelly rejecting a joint attack on Mephisto? Robert's twist gave the Joker a familiar feeling, as if he had encountered someone like Robert before.
"Scoundrel!" As Robert spoke, the Joker's smile stiffened, and Mephisto, unable to hold back, unleashed his formidable power, aiming it at Robert. Suddenly, the world spun around them, and Mephisto and Robert were thrown into the air, watching as the surrounding buildings twisted and turned.
Meanwhile, the Joker, Constantine, and Claire remained on the ground, the sky below their heads, yet they felt no pull toward it, as if gravity still held them down.
"Mirror Dimension!" The first to identify the change was Constantine, more than the flaming circles or teleportation portals. What Constantine had most wanted to learn from Kamar-Taj was the Mirror Dimension. Mastery of this technique could ensure an unbeatable home advantage—provided the power gap between him and his opponent wasn't too vast, lest the target easily break free from the Mirror Dimension.
"Mordo!" Mephisto narrowed his eyes and addressed the surroundings sternly, "I have made an agreement with the Earth dimension. If you interfere, it means Earth has broken the unspoken rules, and then it won't just be one hell lord knocking on your door!"
"I'm not interfering..." As Mephisto finished, a figure appeared beside them—it was the Sorcerer Supreme, Mordo!
"???" Seeing Mordo, everyone but Mephisto and Constantine paused, struck by her loli-like appearance, vastly different from their expectations. Even Robert murmured, "Isn't this a nonsensical powerhouse? Arale? She doesn't also play with poop, does she?"
"What do you mean by this?" While others were distracted by Mordo's appearance, Mephisto, his eyes still narrowed, asked her.
If this were in the hell dimension, Mephisto wouldn't fear Mordo. Not just a Sorcerer Supreme, even if all such sorcerers combined their powers, they couldn't stir much in hell, such was its might. But unfortunately, Mephisto was on Earth now, Mordo's turf, and paying a price didn't mean Mephisto could bring all his power to Earth. His current strength was far less than Mordo's, even off her home ground.
"It means nothing. You fight your battles; targeting your avatar has no significance for me..." Mordo spread her hands, her innocent expression belied by her history of deceiving multiple dimensions. Mephisto, who had dealt with her often, knew too well that her seemingly innocent facade hid a heart of darkness.
Mordo had tricked and deceived countless dimensional powers, and Constantine's sensing a kindred spirit in her was not without basis; she was essentially a supercharged, unbeatable version of Constantine's own tactics and personality.
Thus, faced with the suddenly appearing Mordo, Mephisto couldn't afford to focus solely on Robert. He feared Mordo might take advantage of the situation to do something against him. Even if it was just an avatar, who could guarantee Mordo wouldn't cast some strange spell that affected his true form? Especially since Mordo might make the magic work twice—once with its inherent power and once by transferring its costs to Mephisto's true form. How well Mephisto knew this—it was precisely what Mordo had done before!
"My true form is already contacting other hell lords. If you truly dare to act, then what awaits Earth will be war!" Mephisto, uneasy about Mordo, stared at her and warned.
"Don't forget, the breach in Earth's dimensional fabric
hasn't healed. If we start a war, expanding that gap isn't out of the question. Then it won't just be our hell dimension striking at Earth. A dying prey attracts many predators!"
"I've said, I'm not out to get you..." Mordo sighed, seemingly exasperated, explaining with an innocent look, "You're here because of a successful transaction, and Earth's dimension isn't stopping you, so naturally, I won't either. But I can't just watch Earth get wrecked, can I?"
"Before I gain Earth, I won't destroy it..." Mephisto retorted with a frown.
"I wasn't talking about you..." Mordo glanced at Robert, who had unleashed nuclear-level destructive power in his previous battle with a top demon lord, even obliterating a subspace. She felt that if she didn't intervene in Mephisto's battle with Robert, not much more than half of Earth might be left unscathed.
"Are you talking about me? I've always been careful to control the destruction..." Seeing Mordo's expression, Robert scratched his head awkwardly, embarrassed.
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