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[Frog] Chapter 178: Mephisto Outplayed, Green Goblin Vaporized
🕑 Added 2024-11-26 03:47:24 +0000 UTCMephisto raised the blood-red flames in his hand, a twisted and ferocious smile forming on his face.
Over the years, he had used his hypnotic powers to ensnare many powerful believers, scattering them across the universe.
He was confident that everyone, no matter how strong, had psychological vulnerabilities. Once these weaknesses were exploited, they would become his puppets.
To Mephisto, the greatest psychological flaw in anyone was the fear of death. By promising eternal life, he could expose their weaknesses, hypnotize them, and seize control.
"Hmph! If not for the Sorcerer Supreme guarding Earth," he muttered, "I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble to lure you here!"
Thinking of the Ancient One brought an inexplicable annoyance to his heart. That woman was the only enemy he had ever encountered who neither feared death nor hesitated to embrace it.
As the Emperor approached, Mephisto sneered and continued, "Once you sign a soul contract with me, your mysterious armor will become mine to command. I can sense it—the universal truths imbued in this golden armor.
"With its power, I shall rise above the Five Great Cosmic Entities!"
"Come, Emperor!"
Excitement coursed through Mephisto as he watched the Emperor step closer. He raised the crimson flames in his hand, preparing to strike Alan's forehead.
"Become my servant!"
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Mephisto's eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Alan had caught his hand mid-strike, holding it firmly in place. It wouldn’t budge an inch further.
"What’s going on?"
In Mephisto’s stunned gaze, Alan slowly lifted his head and said calmly, "So this is why you brought me here?"
"I see now."
"You… you mean to tell me you weren’t hypnotized?"
Mephisto stared at the Emperor in utter disbelief. The man before him showed no signs of being under his control—none at all.
No!
It dawned on Mephisto at last. The Emperor hadn’t fallen under his spell; he had been acting all along, drawing out Mephisto's plan.
Alan chuckled lightly. "Your voice is unbearable. With a tone like that, who could you possibly hypnotize?"
Mephisto’s face darkened with humiliation. His once-prized ability had now failed him twice, and both times at the hands of humans—beings he had always looked down upon.
Alan’s words were partly true. But the real reason was the Emperor Armor itself.
The Emperor Armor embodied the power of the Cosmic Principle of the Universe, rendering Mephisto’s hypnotic magic nothing more than pitiful whining. Hypnosis was out of the question.
If Alan hadn’t been fishing for information from Mephisto earlier, he would have struck him down with his sword already.
Of course, it wasn’t too late to strike now!
With one hand gripping Mephisto’s wrist tightly, Alan extended his other hand. In the distance, the Emperor Sword, which had been hovering mid-air, responded to his silent summon.
In a flash of golden light, it appeared in Alan’s hand.
Holding the Emperor Sword, Alan lifted it high with a powerful swing.
The energy it unleashed was overwhelming, so potent that even Mephisto’s expression changed drastically.
This power exceeded the cosmic energies of Galactus that Mephisto had encountered before. Back then, a few blows from Galactus had left him reeling for days. But this eerie golden sword—its energy was even more terrifying.
Just as Mephisto prepared to flee, he realized something alarming: his hand, the one intended to seal the soul contract, was still held tightly by the Emperor.
Watching the ominously radiant sword drawing ever closer, Mephisto’s face twisted with desperation.
Mustering every ounce of strength he had, he yanked his arm in a frantic attempt to escape.
With a ripping sound,
Mephisto's entire arm was torn from his shoulder. At that critical moment, he threw himself backward, narrowly avoiding Alan's devastating strike.
Alan casually tossed Mephisto's severed arm aside like discarded trash.
"Quick reflexes," Alan remarked. "It seems your combat instincts as a Lord of Hell aren't too bad. I thought you were just a glorified salesman wandering the universe, tricking people into selling their souls."
Though Mephisto was an enemy, Alan didn’t hold back his backhanded praise.
Meanwhile, below:
The Green Goblin's remaining eye observed the scene. Watching Mephisto sacrifice an arm to escape left him utterly baffled.
Hadn’t the Emperor been hypnotized just moments ago? How had the situation reversed so drastically in such a short time?
Mephisto's expression darkened as he stared at his severed arm. Although he could regenerate, the pain was still all too real.
With a thought, the stump where his arm had been began writhing and quickly regrew a new one. The discarded arm that Alan had thrown away disintegrated into a wisp of red smoke and vanished.
"You're really into recycling, aren’t you? Not wasting a thing," Alan taunted.
Already in a foul mood, Mephisto flared up at the insult. "Emperor, don’t get cocky!" he snarled. "I wanted to make you my servant so you wouldn’t have to suffer while I used your armor.
"But since you refuse a toast and choose the punishment instead, I’ll rip that armor off your body and discard you in the void of space," Mephisto sneered, licking his lips with a sharp, blood-stained tongue.
"I’ll ensure you die in the most agonizing way possible!"
As he spoke, Mephisto’s hand curled into a claw, red flames from Hell gathering around it.
"You’ll regret your arrogance, Emperor!"
"Enough talk—let’s fight!" Alan retorted, swinging the Emperor Sword toward Mephisto’s flaming claw.
When the sword and claw collided, a massive wave of energy erupted, red flames surging in all directions.
The Green Goblin, already reduced to scraps of flesh, was torn apart even further by the blast. The high temperature of the flames evaporated chunks of his flesh entirely.
This was Mephisto’s power, and against it, the Green Goblin’s vaunted immortality was meaningless.
Struggling with what little strength he had left, the Green Goblin controlled his remaining eyeball, darting from one asteroid to another to shield himself from the energy shockwaves.
Piece by piece, he felt his flesh lose connection with him. His sole remaining eye was filled with nothing but raw terror.
In mere moments,
Alan and Mephisto had already exchanged several fierce blows. The tremendous power they unleashed continued to tear through the surrounding space.
Eventually, no asteroids were left for the Green Goblin to use as cover. When the final fragment of his body—his last eyeball—touched the residual energy, it instantly evaporated.
In the moment before his death, the Green Goblin's gaze held not only terror but also a deep, unyielding resentment...
(To be continued…)
