Chapter 237: Mephisto, Who Almost Had His Place Smashed
Standing at Mephisto's level, one could basically see through part of everything in this universe.
The higher the dimension, the more one could see.
That was a rule of the universe.
To put it plainly, the universe was like a huge computer network.
The lives within the universe were the code inside that huge network. Countless pieces of code, large and small, formed the network and kept it running.
One Above All was the server developer, the architect, and the sole owner.
The Living Tribunal was the GM. The Celestials were high-level administrators made up of engineers, testers, and auditors, maintaining the balance and order of the network.
Mephisto was a neither-large-nor-small computer hacker within that network.
He existed inside the network, and within it, he had a certain level of authority. He could see through the rules and loopholes of how the code worked.
The higher one's level of life, the higher one's authority.
And the higher the authority, the easier it was to understand those codes, or even change them.
This was why Mephisto could alter a person's fate and karma, and why he was so fond of making deals and signing contracts with humans. He had that authority.
Matthew should originally have been one piece of code within this network.
Even if Mephisto could not change that code, he should have been able to see through its basic logic. Yet he could not.
This broke the rules.
At first, he thought it was the Ancient One's doing, but later, as Matthew gradually grew stronger, he knew he had been overthinking it.
The problem was not the Ancient One.
Matthew himself was an anomaly.
Mephisto did not have the Time Stone. Unlike the Ancient One, he could not easily see through future timelines or fully understand all the operating rules of the universe's huge network.
But he could faintly sense something.
Matthew was an error code, one that should have been cleared or rewritten. Otherwise, the universe's network would definitely develop problems, or even collapse.
Yet the universe's network was still running in an almost unbelievable way.
There was not the slightest sign of collapse.
Mephisto's level was still not high enough. He could sense it, but he couldn't be certain.
Even so, that uncertainty alone was enough to change his attitude toward Matthew.
Seeking advantage and avoiding danger was simply part of a demon's nature.
Still, a change in attitude was just that. Mephisto might be willing to lower himself before Matthew, but only because of Matthew's unpredictable nature, the Ancient One standing behind him, and the fact that they were on Earth.
Hell was different.
This was his domain.
Then again, there wasn't really anything wrong with that. After all, even if Matthew came to Hell, Mephisto still wouldn't dare kill him.
The reason was simple—the Ancient One.
That old woman possessed something truly terrifying: the Eye of Agamotto, with the Time Stone sealed inside it.
Even if Mephisto killed Matthew, that old woman could use the Time Stone to reverse time. This kind of time influence could fully avoid the so-called time paradox.
No matter how Matthew died, she could rewind him right back to when he was alive.
Even someone as powerful as Dormammu could not resist the power of the Time Stone.
Mephisto was even less capable of resisting it.
Mephisto did not dare kill him, but that did not mean Matthew could trample on his pride and dignity in such a way.
Breaking into Hell alone and appearing in such a loud, high-profile manner—
It was no different from slapping Mephisto across the face in front of every demon in the Hell Dimension.
Back then, Mephisto's projection had been killed by Matthew, and even his son had been imprisoned. Although that had been embarrassing, it was not enough to shake Mephisto's rule.
This time, it truly could.
If Matthew did not give him a good enough reason, then no matter how unwilling Mephisto was, he would have to respond firmly—even if it might draw out that old woman, the Ancient One, afterward.
In truth, Mephisto was also confused.
What madness had suddenly struck Matthew, making him break into his kingdom like this?
After all, Matthew had not yet reached the Ancient One's level.
In Hell, the Ancient One and Mephisto were roughly equal. If Mephisto truly went all out and used his authority to draw on Hell's power, then putting aside the Time Stone, he might not lose in a real fight.
So what gave Matthew the confidence?
More importantly, after dealing with Matthew several times, Mephisto knew he was not brainless.
This guy was so mature in temperament that even Mephisto found it surprising.
He had already accepted by default that Matthew stood at the same height as him—not only in terms of strength, but also vision and thinking.
Without a reason, Matthew would never break into Hell like this.
And sure enough—
Matthew spoke.
His voice spread in all directions together with the rolling thunder.
"Mephisto, I did not come for you."
His voice paused briefly before continuing.
"Lilith, you should give me an explanation."
Lilith?
The corner of Mephisto's mouth twitched.
Good grief. So he really hadn't come for me after all, but for Lilith.
Mephisto couldn't help cursing Lilith inwardly.
That old sow who loved having children had gone and provoked this thorn for no reason.
She nearly scared me to death.
Didn't she know that if things went even a little wrong and neither side could back down, a war could easily break out?
If that happened, all the goodwill I'd shown before would have been wasted.
After grumbling to himself for a while, Mephisto finally felt a little relieved.
Matthew's words just now had not been meant for him alone, but for every demon in Hell.
Now that he understood the situation, Mephisto immediately withdrew his power and settled in to watch.
He also wanted to know what that old sow Lilith had done to provoke Matthew so badly that he had come to Hell alone to settle the score.
In truth, Lilith was not one of Mephisto's subordinates.
As one of the ancient great demons, Lilith ranked among Hell's upper echelon, though she was not a Hell Lord.
She stood above the high demons, but below the Hell Lords.
She was no match for a Hell Lord, but she was far stronger than an ordinary high demon. Given another few tens of thousands of years, she might very well reach the level of a Hell Lord.
Another reason Lilith held such influence was her astonishing ability to bear children.
She was known as the Mother of Demons.
The title came from one of her unique abilities—endless childbirth. Whether from herself, from the void, or directly from the souls of those she corrupted, she could create offspring.
She also enjoyed venturing into the human world to have children, sometimes as a man and sometimes as a woman.
She sought out humans with excellent genes to produce children.
It could be said that even now, there were quite a few people on Earth who carried Lilith's bloodline.
It was just that most of those genes were hidden deep at the lowest level, with no chance of being activated.
For higher-dimensional lifeforms, producing descendants in this dimension was difficult. The time needed to carry even one was very long, not to mention when the other half was a human with genes far too low in level.
Lilith's ability of endless childbirth was closely tied to her strength.
With every additional descendant, her power, magic, and physical strength would rise. The more children she had, the stronger she became.
That was why Lilith was so enthusiastic about giving birth—to children with excellent inborn genetic potential.
And that was why Lilith was called the Mother of Demons.
The number was honestly shocking. It had even grown into a race known as the Lilin, a demon race that belonged only to Lilith.
Their numbers were large enough to be called an army.
Lilith could summon her army of children across dimensions to fight. This was what made her special.
...
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