Harrison Evans, Somewhere in Hell.

Harrison and company landed at the highest point of a solitary infernal tower. All around them, they could see nothing but lava, volcanic stone, and death.

From here, this place, this… infernal realm seemed to have neither beginning nor end, only a constant agony of decay and suffering.

Although it was hardly a surprise for Harry.

They were in Hell, after all.

Literally.

Beneath them stretched an ocean of black rock crossed by rivers of fire, while impossible towers rose from the abyss like charred fingers trying to reach a sky covered in red clouds. There was no beauty there. There was not even life. Only… eternity and eternal punishment.

“It is still quite incredible to me that we willingly made an incursion into Hell,” Stephen whispered extremely cautiously, grimacing uncomfortably as he observed the tormented souls slowly and painfully walking at the foot of the Tower, being guided by what appeared to be a Demon.

Although considering his… less-than-enviable physique, he appeared to be a very low-ranking one.

Harrison merely rolled his eyes at Stephen’s words and replied.

“Come on, Stephen. I know this isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with demons. When we get out alive, I’ll give you a copy of that book you wanted so badly,” Harrison promised, laughing softly when he saw the Sorcerer Supreme gently stroking his chin, intrigued by the shameless bribe.

“This is not a kingdom,” Victor murmured in his characteristic voice. “It is a prison, a constant sentence of suffering and terror,” the ruler of Latveria spat as he walked toward the edge of the Tower and stared intently at the imposing infernal palace, the titanic construction located at what Harrison assumed was the center of the Realm.

For his part, Harrison devoted himself to observing the enormous chains disappearing between mountains of bones, while in the distance, structures suspended in the void slowly swayed above seas of lava like small floating castles, made of an unknown red and glowing stone and levitating over an enormous sea of agony and despair, where the moans and screams of the damned were the only things anyone could hear.

Harrison simply shook his head solemnly and replied.

“No. A prison has doors, this...there is not a word to describe this putrid place”

That was the only answer Harrison gave.

Stephen said nothing. He merely muttered to himself again and again, undoubtedly reviewing his grimoire as much as possible, trying to be prepared for any eventuality.

His eyes traveled across the depths, searching for something that could give meaning to that place, unable to find anything useful. Only fire, stone, and a darkness that seemed to extend far beyond what his eyes could reach.

Then he understood the worst part.

The heat was not what made it difficult to breathe, but rather the overwhelming sensation that the realm itself was conscious of them, as though it had been watching them from the instant they arrived.

And then… it happened.

A scream shook the entire realm, agonizing and heart-wrenching, a female voice filled with despair.

Unknown to Harrison and Stephen, but apparently painfully familiar to the Sovereign of Latveria.

“VIIIIICTOR!!”

the unknown voice screamed, shaking the entire place and making the man in question look toward the infernal and titanic Palace, his blue eyes widening with realization before expressing only one thing.

Hatred.

“Mother,” the man whispered, closing his fists helplessly, and Harrison truly could not blame him at all. If he were in the same situation, if something or someone threatened Lily Evans or tortured her as apparently this… Mephisto was doing to Victor’s mother…

The Black Lion shook his head.

He did not even want to think about it, to be honest.

And then the agonizing screams were abruptly silenced, at the same time another voice, masculine and deep, filled with malice and mockery, made itself heard.

“Victor… Victor, do you ever get tired of being humiliated over and over again?” the mocking voice whispered.

It was powerful, coming from absolutely every corner of the place at the same time. The being responsible had no visible physical form, but it was evident that his control and dominion over Hell were absolute.

Something similar to Illyana with Limbo, but on a much greater scale.

“With your defeat last year, your mother and I celebrated for a very long time, you know? I took her more times than I can remember before sending her to the boys’ barracks. The screams were… sublime. HAHAHA.”

Harrison could not help grimacing uncomfortably at the rotten being’s words, but he quickly composed himself when he saw Victor beginning to tremble with rage and helplessness.

Therefore, with complete naturalness, Harry spoke firmly.

“Don’t fall for his provocation. He wants to distract you before the fight,” Harrison said naturally, making Victor look at him seriously.

“I want to assume that your privileged mind has something planned, correct?” Victor asked, making Harrison solemnly nod.

“I do. Wait a second,” the Black Lion replied before focusing his will upon the Soul Gem and speaking directly with his two Magical Lionesses.

“Ilyana, Wanda, can you hear me, darlings?” he asked through the bond, receiving an answer almost instantly.

“Harrison? Is everything all right, my love?” the two asked at the same time, worried about the… call, for lack of a better term.

“Everything is fine for the moment, but we will need both of your help. Ilyana, darling, do you think the inhabitants of Limbo would be interested in an incursion into Hell?” the Black Lion asked, making the Russian mutant snort with amusement.

“A bloody confrontation during an incursion into Hell? I think that is the closest they would ever get to Christmas, darling,” the mutant woman said, making Harrison solemnly nod.

“Perfect. Then coordinate them, my love. They are going to invade Hell,” the Black Lion said, cutting the communication and focusing on his new toy.

“What are you planning, Harrison? I recognize that look… you have a plan. I can see it,” Stephen said suspiciously and curiously.

Harrison did not answer. He simply smiled and began levitating, channeling his magic and preparing the surprise for this incursion.

His newest prototype, a considerable improvement upon his old armor, designed with a single purpose.

Allow Harrison to control the maximum potential of the Soul Gem.

Constructed with Uru, using the remains of the Destroyer that Harrison recovered from New Mexico, the arcane mastery of his beloved Jotun princess, and his own engineering skill, it was the perfect mixture of Technology and Magic.

The process had blackened the metal, giving it a deep matte finish. Each piece fit over another, forming a segmented anatomy that was elegant and brutal, crossed by fine lines of greenish arcane energy, courtesy of the rune clusters responsible for condensing the magical power required for it to function. It was capable of drawing energy from the Universe itself, giving it an elegant and imposing appearance.

The helmet was completely enclosed, streamlined, and without any visible face or visor, completely unnecessary considering the level of technology Harrison had implemented into it, with a central crest and side plates that floated elegantly around the neck.

The chest was constructed in the same manner, geometric plates adapting perfectly to Harrison’s body, utilizing precise Ezzo nodes to allow for antigravity maneuvers and biotic potential, although with his mutant power it was not truly necessary.

The armor was so advanced that it made the Mjolnir armor of his Spartans look like scrap metal.

And at the center of the breastplate, radiant and imposing, was the Soul Gem, the most powerful of the Infinity singularities.

And the tool Harrison would use to begin breaking Mephisto’s sphere of influence.

Without saying a single word, Harrison began to levitate, the gem in his chest glowing with an orange radiance while the Black Lion began exerting his will and channeling the immense cosmic power of the Gem.

And then…

The Lion roared…

And with him, the Soul Gem, which began shining with the intensity of a hundred suns, preparing to obey the will of the Master of Death.

“ROOOOOOARR!”

The wave of power that emanated from the Black Lion was simply overwhelming, destroying not only the Tower where they were standing, but also rapidly expanding throughout the surrounding area.

The order was simple.

Mephisto obtained power from the souls trapped in Hell, using them as a source of power, and unfortunately for the rotten demon…

Harrison’s jurisdiction over souls was much greater.

Therefore, when the Soul Gem began collecting the souls of Hell, the Realm itself began losing power.

For the first time in eons, Mephisto felt what it meant to lose power.

The mutilated and twisted souls gave Hell its form, so the moment the Soul Gem broke their bond with the Demon, they began escaping as quickly as possible, destabilizing the dimensional barrier.

And all of them… flew directly toward the nearest safe place…

The Gem itself.

Flooding the Gem World with millions of souls, all eager to deny Mephisto their power.

And evidently, obtaining an immediate response from the Lord of Hell.

The entire place suddenly began to tremble, although evidently with less power than before, before the Demon’s voice spoke once again.

“INSOLENT MORTAL COCKROACH! YOU DARE COME TO MY HELL? AND STEAL MY SOULS?” the Being roared, his voice filled with hatred and fury, although Harrison could recognize something else, buried deep beneath all the demonic power emanating from him.

Caution.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re doing, Evans, but keep doing it. I’ve never seen him this furious!” Victor spat with evident pleasure as more and more souls began flying toward Harrison’s chest and the ceiling of Hell began tearing apart, the loss of souls becoming so considerable that Hell was incapable of maintaining its own structure.

And of course… allowing Incursions.

Harrison did not answer. He simply sent a message through the Gem toward Ilyana, who appeared a few seconds later accompanied by Wanda and thousands of Limbo’s demons, servants of Ilyana who were evidently ecstatic.

“Impressive. Using demons to fight demons,” Stephen whispered in surprise before grimacing uncomfortably as the demons of Limbo hurled themselves against Mephisto’s troops.

Ilyana, clad in her armor as Queen of Limbo and carrying the Soulsword, began giving orders.

“You know what to do, you bastards! This dimension is ours now! Any demon serving Mephisto, I want thrown into the Great Void! or even better, get it back to Limbo as our pets!” the blonde roared before fiercely launching herself toward a nearby demon, cutting it in half.

At Ilyana’s orders, all the demons of Limbo screamed with joy before charging into Hell, which was growing weaker and weaker thanks to Harrison’s actions.

“It’s working… I can feel it… Hell is weakening,” the King of Latveria said, but Harrison did not deign to answer.

He had… more important things to do.

Such as stopping the Master of Hell, who, upon realizing the danger he was in, was approaching their location at incredible speed.

“Victor, Stephen, find a way to reach the Palace. Cynthia still has her body, so I cannot bring her here. I’ll give you as much time as I can,” Harrison ordered before surrounding his body with an aura of orange flames and flying at an utterly absurd speed, intercepting a being who was flying at full speed toward the place where the War for Hell was taking place.

A blow to the face, charged with all the Cosmic Power granted to Harrison by his title as Lord of Death, allowed him to deliver a punch so powerful that it stopped the Lord of Hell dead in his tracks, stunning the demon for an instant.

Harrison showed no mercy.

Taking advantage of the moment, he delivered another blow, and then another, carrying Mephisto away from the battle and distancing him as far as possible from his companions.

Hell was weakening little by little. The power of the Gem had disrupted the firm yet delicate balance Mephisto maintained within his Realm, so the souls had begun escaping Hell, generating a chain reaction that, if left unchecked, would cause Hell to collapse in upon itself.

And both Harrison and Mephisto knew it.

“You… You are not Victor… you are something else, something...more,” the Demon spat cautiously, observing the aura of flames surrounding the creation of Harrison’s suit while the Gem roared with delight, eager to obey the desires of its master.

Harrison answered with a kick to the chest, sending the demon crashing to the ground before intercepting him with a powerful attack of primordial flames directly into his torso, causing severe damage.

“AHHHHHHHGHG!” he roared in pain as his charred body rapidly repaired itself, but his yellow eyes remained completely focused on the sight of Harrison floating in the air, the silhouette of the Phoenix behind the Black Lion like an executioner preparing for the execution.

And then Harrison spoke, and with his voice, Life and Death spoke as well.

“I… I am the Guardian, Lord of Death and Herald of Life, Bearer of the Soul Gem… and this is your execution, scum,” spat the Trinity of creation and destruction.

And Harrison, behind his helmet and the incessant chatter of Death and Phoenix, who were genuinely excited to be invading Hell for some strange reason, could see something in Mephisto’s face that he was certain the demon had never felt throughout his entire existence.

Fear.

The girls continued with the invasion. In the distance, he could see the purple flames of Limbo beginning to consume Hell. Victor and Stephen would infiltrate the Palace and free Cynthia.

And Harrison?

Well, the Black Lion, for the first time in a very long time, would fight without holding back.

The Siege of Hell had begun.