Chapter 159: There Is a Price for Disgusting People
Dormammu.
The ruler of the Dark Dimension. A powerful existence from a higher dimension than a demon lord like Mephisto.
In front of Dormammu, Mephisto could only be described as a minor figure.
So when Mephisto spoke of Dormammu, even his tone carried a rare trace of wariness.
Even Old Carter could hear it.
That made Old Carter, who had been thinking, widen his pupils slightly. Even the hand wiping the counter paused.
"So, in order not to offend him, you chose to come here and delay me?"
Matthew was too lazy to play word games with this old thing. His tone sounded calm, but in reality, it carried an extremely heavy pressure.
He knew exactly what Mephisto was planning.
Mephisto did not want to completely offend him, nor did he want to offend Dormammu. So he simply chose this method to stall Matthew, while also disgusting him along the way.
But to Matthew, disgusting someone came with a price.
Mephisto was no exception.
Under these circumstances, Matthew had not feared Mephisto even back when he was not strong enough. Now that his strength was increasing day by day, that was even more true.
He knew there was still a gap between himself and Mephisto for now.
Originally, the conversation between Matthew and Mephisto should not have been equal. But Matthew's rate of progress was enough to erase that inequality.
"Sprinkling salt on wounds and stabbing where it hurts. It isn't only demons who carry that out, is it? Humans do the same."
Mephisto took Matthew's attitude seriously.
In the past, he could treat Matthew as prey, as a child with some ability. Now, that was no longer possible.
Old Carter might not have sensed it yet, but Mephisto had confirmed that Matthew already possessed the bearing of a leader.
It sounded mystical, but at this level, it was extremely important.
In a conversation, one did not only have to consider the other party's strength, but also their status and position.
The way one spoke to a lone wolf was entirely different from the way one spoke to a guardian or a leader.
Matthew was clearly the latter.
"So?" Matthew neither accepted nor rejected that explanation.
"So we can make a deal," Mephisto said with a cheerful smile.
Fighting was impossible.
He had already been unable to defeat Matthew on Earth before. Now, it was even less possible. If they truly fought, even he could not predict the consequences.
Whether he could kill Matthew or not aside, even if he could, the price he would have to pay was absolutely unacceptable.
When the cost and the benefit were completely unequal, the best method was to end things at the smallest price.
Calling it a deal was the pleasant way to put it. In reality, it was his apology.
"Sure."
Matthew agreed readily, because both sides knew very well that this was inevitably just a setup.
The fact that Matthew could come here so calmly and sit with him drinking beer in such a leisurely way clearly meant he had long since gained confidence.
Mephisto's apology already meant he was showing goodwill, and Matthew did not make an outrageous demand.
Because he did not trust this old thing.
In terms of strength, Mephisto might only be so-so in this universe, but when it came to schemes, tricks, and disgusting people, he was absolutely top-tier.
Putting aside whether Mephisto was willing or not, even if he were, if Mephisto dared give Matthew some powerful artifact, weapon, equipment, or magical knowledge, Matthew would not dare accept it.
Who knew what kind of twists and traps were hidden inside?
In this universe, scientists could not be underestimated. Curses and contracts could not be underestimated either.
One careless step, and he might fall into a trap.
So Matthew only asked for the soul of a high-level demon.
The soul of a high-level demon was extremely rare.
Only a lord at Mephisto's level would have quite a few of them, and giving up one would not pain him.
On Matthew's side, a high-level demon soul could be used to unlock a top-tier fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, leaving both sides very satisfied with the arrangement.
Then the old fox and the young fox almost threw their arms around each other's shoulders and started drinking like close brothers. Old Carter's expression looked very strange.
What pleased Mephisto most, however, was that Kaecilius—that little bastard—had actually dared to show him attitude.
Relying on Dormammu's backing, Kaecilius had brazenly entered Mephisto's territory, sought him out, and even acted high and mighty while demanding that Mephisto delay Matthew.
Yet at the time, Mephisto had not lost his temper—in fact, he had responded politely and even agreed.
But afterward, was he supposed to keep indulging that puppet-like fool?
He might as well throw him away as a bargaining chip to show goodwill to Matthew. And on top of that, it had cost Mephisto the soul of a high-level demon.
If that fool were not already doomed, with his soul belonging to Dormammu, Mephisto would definitely throw his soul into Hell and torture him for ten thousand years.
Mephisto repeatedly suffering losses in front of Matthew looked somewhat ridiculous.
But that was only when it came to Matthew. To everyone else, he was still that terrifying Demon King.
...
While Matthew was happily drinking and chatting with Mephisto, far away at the island base in the South Pacific, more than fifty soldiers from the two Warbands had already been deployed to search for Wong, Mordo, and the group of sorcerers.
Another hundred-plus soldiers had also left for various parts of the world, working with the sorcerers to expel or kill the other-dimensional lifeforms that had suddenly arrived on Earth to cause chaos.
Reacher, Natasha, and Neagley had all left.
As a result, in Kaecilius's view, the island base had been completely emptied. At most, only a few people might have remained behind to guard it.
So on this night, several zealots from the dark sorcerer order founded by Kaecilius "cracked" the magical barrier around the island base and slipped inside.
There were two men and two women.
The two women had short dark-brown hair and short blond hair respectively. Of the two men, one was a strong blond man with a full beard, while the other was a black-haired Asian man.
They wore the signature yellow robes of sorcerers.
They stepped onto the beach of the island base.
At night, the base seemed very quiet. Aside from the sound of the waves, almost nothing else could be heard.
The four of them successfully reached the island and felt nothing was wrong.
They exchanged glances, then silently and swiftly advanced toward the island base.
Their objective was clear.
Before long, they infiltrated the base and found their target.
Blackheart.
Blackheart had been treated relatively well recently, as he had been sufficiently obedient and cooperative.
As a result, he had been granted a separate residence.
It was located outside the training ground, an independent house of more than a hundred square meters. It had water, electricity, and all necessary facilities, as well as snacks and drinks.
This had been Blackheart's own request.
Perhaps because he had spent a long time with Reacher and the others, he had become rather interested in certain human foods. He especially liked mint-flavored chips and oranges.
As for whiskey, red wine, and the like, Blackheart had no interest.
Recently, it was said that he had become fond of a British comedy.
Unfortunately, Blackheart did not have much rest time, so even watching shows happened in scattered bits and pieces.
Under the moonlight, the house outside the training ground appeared especially conspicuous.
The four zealots had just arrived a few meters outside the house. Before they could enter, the female zealot with short dark-brown hair raised a hand to stop her companions.
She stared ahead and said in a low voice, "There's a magical barrier here."
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : /cw/OblivionTL
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]