The Black Lion - The Battle for Hell - Part Two. (Patreon)

Stephen Strange, Hell Palace – Hell.

Stephen was a man of science.

Even with all his experience as the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum, he still enjoyed keeping himself up to date on mundane subjects such as medicine, science, and technology, so although only superficially, he was aware of the technological level and the golden age humanity was experiencing at this moment.

He knew perfectly well that Harrison Evans was the most brilliant man in human history. His privileged mind had propelled humanity forward by at least a thousand years, and although he had questionable methods, considering his spectacle in Washington and the benevolent dictatorship they now lived under, the truth was that things really were better for people in general.

Of course, the problems continued, mostly with protests sponsored by the powerful families who had benefited from the old regime. Politicians never stopped proclaiming that Harrison Evans would be the Doom of America and that the country would be finished if he remained in power.

Stephen could only shake his head. They still did not understand. Their limited minds were incapable of comprehending that the borders had been erased. There was no longer a United States, or England, or China.

Now everything was Midgard. Harrison's government was planetary and, before long, would be galactic.

And the cruel truth was that they could do nothing about it.

Of course, considering that Harrison had stopped global warming, repaired Earth's ecosystems, cleaned the oceans, and guaranteed the safety of every human, animal, and plant on the planet, the protests of the former millionaires were completely ignored.

Why focus on the words of a handful of lunatics when there were more important things to do?

Like… colonizing the fucking solar system, Stephen thought.

"That is Mephisto's castle. I've never been this close, in all my previous attempts" Victor said, bringing Stephen back to the present and his current mission: infiltrating the infernal fortress and rescuing the ruler's mother. His tone betrayed his anxiety and desire to enter, although Stephen couldn't blame him, to be honest.

"This… is enormous," Stephen said, observing the colossal structure before them.

It was… easily one of the largest structures Stephen had ever seen, excluding, of course, the Olympus Station, with all the clichés one could expect from the Devil's castle, Stephen thought with some amusement. However, his intrusive thoughts were interrupted by a sonic boom originating from the edge of his vision.

BOOOOM!

The Sorcerer Supreme's attention shifted toward the source of the thunderous noise, where he saw Harrison, wrapped in a cloak of magical flames, fighting the Devil hand-to-hand.

And the Black Lion was winning, to Stephen's disbelief and relief, as he watched Harrison strike the Demon Lord's face with such speed and force that every punch caused sonic booms to assault the ears of the Sorcerer Supreme and the ruler of Latveria.

Each blow seemed to tear entire pieces from Mephisto's body, which he regenerated almost instantly before responding with attacks of his own, both magical and physical.

Although apparently nothing was effective against that terrifying new armor Harrison had forged. Every blow or attack Mephisto launched seemed completely useless, causing Harrison to respond with even greater ferocity.

"The Black Lion is a powerful ally. Doom is pleased to have him on his side," the ruler said solemnly, as Harrison grabbed Mephisto by the neck and dragged him through his own palace, causing catastrophic damage in the process, collecting souls, weakening Mephisto's control over Hell, and opening a path for Stephen and Victor in the process.

The Sorcerer Supreme merely shook his head and replied.

"He is. Before today, I thought Harrison's plan was insane, that he was underestimating the Demon Lord's power and reach, and apparently I was wrong, I was the one overestimating him" Stephen said naturally, while both Victor and he began flying toward the ruined fortress.

As they did so, Stephen couldn't help but observe the deplorable state of Hell. Things had gone to shit; there was no other way to describe it.

The place of eternal punishment, the pit of torment and suffering called Hell, where tortured souls were sent to be tormented for all eternity, was under siege.

The troops of Limbo, led by Queen Ilyana, seemed to be having a field day. Mephisto's demons were being hunted and enslaved, and apparently, to Stephen's surprise, even the tortured souls had begun fighting, undoubtedly empowered by Harrison's growing strength and the Demon Lord's constant weakening.

In short, Harrison had, in a rather intelligent way, attacked not only Mephisto.

But the entire structure upon which Hell was built.

The presence of demons from outside Hell was a grave insult, one Mephisto was incapable of responding to, too busy being Harrison's punching bag.

"This place is losing stability. Look at the outskirts. They have begun to fade. The souls that give it power have escaped. It is only a matter of time before this entire place collapses," Doctor Doom said cautiously.

And Stephen agreed with him. The infinite wasteland from the beginning had disappeared, replaced by a kind of… orange storm, bright, powerful, and of an unknown nature.

It was monstrous, with clouds as tall as buildings and arcane lightning striking the ground of Hell mercilessly, destroying enormous pieces of Mephisto's realm and freeing millions of souls in the process.

"Then it is extremely important that we hurry. The faster we free your mother, the faster we can assist Harrison in his fight," the Sorcerer Supreme said with determination, causing Victor to nod softly.

"Although it doesn't seem like he needs our help," the ruler of Latveria said, just as Harrison seized Mephisto's skull with both hands and, with a roar of fury, tore it in half, throwing one half of the body toward the ground and the other half toward the borders, disappearing into the fierce storm that was slowly but steadily approaching.

The moment half of Mephisto's body touched the storm, it was completely disintegrated, releasing millions of souls from the Demon’s control. Those same souls immediately flew toward the gem in Harrison's chest, causing the aura of flames shaped like a Phoenix to increase in power and ferocity, destroying another enormous piece of Limbo and releasing even more souls in the process.

"I don't know the nature of that artifact, but it is extremely powerful," Victor said, as the two landed at the entrance of the ruined fortress.

"I agree with you, but let's not focus on that for the moment. The faster we rescue your mother, the faster we can get out of here," Stephen said firmly.

There was much to do, so the last thing the Sorcerer Supreme saw was Mephisto's body regenerating much more slowly than it had moments before. Apparently, Harrison's plan was working.

There was no time to waste.

Harrison Evans, Into the Fight – Hell.

He had never felt so alive, the Black Lion thought as his fist struck Mephisto's face once again, sending him crashing to the ground at an absurd speed.

Without waiting for a response, Harrison channeled the power of the Phoenix and launched himself after the stunned demon, leaving a trail of primordial flames in his wake and causing even more damage to the stability of Mephisto's Realm.

The Black Lion could feel it… the Soul Gem was burning with pleasure and it made certain of that. Every soul, tens of millions, trapped in this infernal and decaying Realm, far from the Cycle of Reincarnation.

The vast majority of these souls should have returned to the Wheel long ago, rather than being used as batteries so that this leech could cling to his pathetic existence, but that ended today.

Both Phoenix and Death agreed that Hell had to disappear, and that all these souls had to return to the cycle once and for all.

Therefore, with a war cry, Harrison struck the ground, hitting Mephisto's body again and releasing a ravenous amount of primordial flames, courtesy of Phoenix, who seemed delighted to "stretch her wings," so to speak.

The impact was devastating for Hell. The power of the primordial force of creation was released from Harrison's fist, completely atomizing the Demon's body, as well as a third of the decaying realm.

And in the process…

"FREEDOM!!"

"At last! Thank you!! Thank you!!"

"Mother… forgive me for everything!"

Those were the phrases Harrison heard most frequently from the millions of souls who could finally begin to transcend.

Harrison took a moment to observe as the translucent tide of spirits rapidly moved toward the storm generated by the Soul Gem, eager to escape the clutches of the Demon Lord, who apparently had not yet regenerated his body.

That was… easier than expected. Considering Mephisto's reputation, Harrison had genuinely thought he would give him much more trouble.

"You are a man full of surprises," said a soft, feminine, curious voice, a familiar one that Harrison had not heard since his visit to Asgard.

"I'm told that regularly," the Black Lion said as he turned around and found himself face-to-face with Hela, Queen of Hel and avatar of Death.

Beautiful, pale, and ethereal, she was surrounded by undead Norse soldiers… Thralls, as he remembered them, who looked eager to begin fighting, but all of them looked at Harrison expectantly, as if waiting for his order to begin.

And noticing the confusion on his face, Hela responded.

"They recognize the power of your title, my Lord. Both they and I are your servants. They will not attack unless you order them to," Queen of Hel said softly, surprising Harrison in the process.

"I'm surprised to see you here, my Lady," Harrison said calmly as he made a gesture with his hand, giving the Thralls free rein to cause destruction. They did not waste a single second before throwing themselves at the lesser demons who were unsuccessfully attempting to prevent Hell's destruction.

The Queen of Hel merely replied.

"There are souls of Norsemen who died trapped here, my Lord. As the Lady of Ladies decreed at the beginning of time, their souls must be sent to Hel to be purified and returned to the Great Cycle," the woman said, causing Harrison to nod softly.

"Then I won't distract you, but you should hurry. I plan to destroy this place completely in a short while," Harrison warned as he nodded softly and began to levitate, preparing to fly toward the castle.

But just before Harrison departed toward where he could sense the souls of Stephen and Victor, Hela spoke again.

"The gates of Hellheim, as well as those of my chambers, are always open to you, my Lord. Do not be a stranger, and come claim what is rightfully yours, I shall await your arrival with eagerness" the beautiful and dangerous woman said without the slightest hint of shame, causing Harrison to snort in amusement.

"I'll keep that in mind, my Lady," the Black Lion replied before channeling the Phoenix flames once again and propelling himself toward the Palace.

Along the way, the Black Lion observed the absolute disaster unfolding in Hell, which, for the first time in its history, was suffering a devastating attack.

Ilyana's demons were having the best day of their lives. Harrison watched with satisfaction as they dragged Mephisto's demons through the Limbo portals, undoubtedly to enslave them, while, as Harrison and Ilyana had ordered, all the souls were left free to ascend.

The imposing infernal structures were collapsing. The armies of Limbo had begun to withdraw, able to sense that Hell was losing stability, so he was not surprised by the message from his beloved demon lioness.

"Harrison, my love, I am withdrawing from the fight. Hell has begun to collapse. Many souls have been lost and the stability of the Dimension has been broken. My boys freed as many souls as we could and we took several thousand demons as pets. Don't worry, I'll save some for you," Ilyana purred with amusement through the mental bond they shared.

Harrison replied.

"Understood, my love. I'll get Victor and Stephen out of here, and then I'll lay this entire dimension to waste. See you at Hogwarts for dinner. I still have to see how your new pupils have developed," Harrison promised with amusement before cutting off communication with the blonde.

One by one, the enormous portals that had facilitated the incursion began disappearing, while the immense storm grew fiercer, moving faster and faster toward the central palace.

The Seat of Mephisto's Power.

With determination, Harrison focused the gem on the souls of Stephen and Victor, finding them in the central Chamber of the palace, undoubtedly the place where the demon kept the soul of the ruler's mother.

Therefore, without hesitation, Harrison flew at full speed toward the location, making sure to channel the primordial flames in the process, causing even more havoc throughout the fortress.

The Black Lion passed through the countless walls without difficulty, crashing like a missile into the deepest and most heavily fortified chamber of Mephisto's Palace, directly into a… peculiar sight, to say the least.

Victor and Stephen arguing with each other like little children.

"Do it carefully, Strange! And you call yourself a master of the Mystic Arts? Don't you dare drop her!" the King of Latveria snapped, while the Sorcerer Supreme looked at him with evident annoyance.

"If you would stop being a pain in my ass, this would be much easier!" the former doctor snapped as he once again focused on the task of freeing Cynthia Von Doom from her restraints.

"Victor… my son," the woman whispered, who was evidently in a completely deplorable state, making it abundantly clear that she had been suffering from the attentions of the Lord of Hell for quite some time.

"Mother… your torment is over," Victor said softly, with immense relief in his blue eyes, before looking at Harrison and asking.

"Where is Mephisto?"

Harrison simply landed beside Stephen and Victor with a sharp metallic impact before answering.

"I atomized his body completely a few moments ago. Hell is severely damaged. I assume he is trying to gather enough souls to form a new body. We must hurry. This place is going to fall apart," the Black Lion said calmly, just as Stephen exclaimed.

"Success!"

A moment later, the last of the chains running through Cynthia's body disappeared, causing the woman's body to collapse. Her fall was cushioned by the three men present until she landed softly in her son's arms.

"Mother," he whispered, in a broken tone of voice that Harrison had never thought he would hear from him.

The woman tried to respond, but she was far too weak to speak. It was evident that her time in Hell had been anything but pleasant.

Stephen stepped forward and spoke.

"We have who we came here to find. It is time to leave," the Sorcerer Supreme said, causing everyone around him to nod.

However, before Harrison could open the portal to escape once again…

It happened.

"NOOOO!"

The roar was monstrous, guttural, and filled with desperation, and the Black Lion watched as the upper section of the castle disappeared completely, condensing into a red, evil energy that began forming Mephisto's body once again, although curiously, at a much slower rate than at the beginning of the fight.

"Her soul is mine!! MINE!!" the Demon spat furiously, causing Harrison to snort with veiled mockery as he once again channeled magic through his armor, preparing to fight again.

"Silence, worm, and fade with dignity," Harrison spat, preparing to end this once and for all.

Mephisto's response?

He roared with overwhelming fury and hatred, but also with a measure of desperation.

"RIDER! PRESENT YOURSELF BEFORE ME AND SERVE ME! PROTECT YOUR MASTER!!"

A moment later, a demonic summoning circle spontaneously appeared before Harrison and company, through which a kind of… skeletal specter with an aura of flames made its presence known. It was dressed in leather attire, with a kind of… chain wrapped around its body.

"Fuck," Stephen muttered cautiously upon seeing the newcomer, causing Harrison to look at him and ask.

"Do you know who that is?"

Stephen nodded softly and replied.

"Yes. Only from stories. He is the Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos, a mystical bounty hunter personally employed by the Lord of Darkness. Extremely dangerous," Stephen said cautiously, causing Harrison to nod softly and ask.

"Perfect. You and Victor will take care of him," Harrison ordered before pointing his hand toward Cynthia Von Doom's body and sending her soul toward the Gem World to keep her safe.

"As soon as we reach Midgard, I'll make sure she recovers. But for now… focus on fighting," the Black Lion ordered upon seeing Doom's indignant expression.

The ruler of Latveria nodded softly, preparing to fight the Ghost Rider, while Harrison focused his attention on Mephisto.

It was time to end this.

Once and for all.