Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

Chapter 237 The Difference Between Life and Soul! (A 5K-word Chapter!)
Hawke raised his eyebrows.

After revealing his true form as a red demon and proving himself, Mephisto transformed back into his middle-aged punk rocker look and stared at Hawke.

"It's not my fault that the earth is turning black."

"It was Jehovah's doing."

"Don't forget, I only took over the Earth after I defeated Jehovah."

Mephisto, now back to his middle-aged, flamboyant appearance, shrugged and looked at Hawke: "Besides, he's black too."

As he spoke, Mephisto's right arm transformed into a demonic claw, accompanied by soaring hellfire that gradually coalesced in the air into the shape of an old black man.

Hawke looked at the image of Jehovah projected by Mephisto, and his lips twitched without leaving a trace.

"Is this Jehovah?"

"Replacement guaranteed."

Mephisto opened his mouth, and the flames that had transformed into the image of Jehovah were instantly sucked into his mouth, as if he had swallowed Jehovah whole.

Hawke recalled the appearance of Jehovah and couldn't help but shake his head.

"If people on Earth knew about this, the dreams of hundreds of millions of believers would be shattered."

"Including you?"

Mephisto smiled and looked at Hawke: "Are you one of them?"

Hawk chuckled. He looked at Mephisto: "If I were him, I wouldn't be here discussing with you how to annihilate his dimension, would I?"

Mephisto looked enlightened and pursed his lips.

"Makes sense."

"But I'm curious, since he's black, why isn't his mythology circulating in Africa?"

"It's very simple."

Mephisto smiled and answered Hawke's question: "The reason it didn't spread in Africa is because of the birth of a new god. Think about the conditions for the birth of a new god."

Hawke watched as Mephisto's smile returned, a thought striking him: "A new Celestial requires a planet with a critical mass of life. The more life there is, the more..."

Speaking of it.

He looked at Mephisto with a sudden realization: "So, Africa is his ranch."

Well known.

On Earth, every region has its own set of beliefs.

The Jade Emperor of the Eastern Kingdom.

The Buddha of the Indians.

Odin of Northern Europe.

Zeus of Greece.

And there is also the so-called God.

But Africa is the only exception.

Then there is only one possibility.

This place is not devoid of faith, but rather unable to have faith.

after all……

Cultivating faith takes time, but it doesn't if it's just a ranch.

Hawke looked somewhat dazed, then suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Mephisto.

"But after you got the Earth, it seems you didn't do anything for Africa."

"Because I don't need to do it."

Mephisto spread his hands.

"I won."

“Jehovah needs life, and I need a soul, so in a sense, Jehovah and I need the same thing.”

"But the mastermind behind me is 'death.' All I need is a soul. All I have to do is take over the plate from heaven and keep my life under control without triggering the gods' life threshold."

"What if...it's uncontrollable?"

"I will intervene."

"The Plague of Athens".

"Anthony's Plague".

"……correct."

Mephisto recounted to Hawke how he ensured that life on Earth was insufficient to trigger the Celestials' critical point, then his eyes lit up as he looked at Hawke: "Who do you think persuaded the first Portuguese to go to Africa to sell goods?"

Hawke was slightly taken aback, then his eyes lit up as he looked at Mephisto, who had a half-smile on his face.

Did you initiate trade with Africa?

"Now, who do you think is a friend and who is an enemy?"

"You are a friend, without a doubt."

Hawke smiled broadly, raised his champagne glass, and clinked it with Mephisto's: "Praise be to you, my dear friend."

The words fell.

Hawke downed the champagne in his glass in one gulp.

Mephisto also downed his glass of champagne in one gulp, then smiled at Hawke, whose smile was radiant, as if he and Blackie had found common ground.

"So, we've reached an agreement?"

"Not urgent."

Hawke said with a smile, "The souls of Earth will still be yours, but the souls I kill belong to me, not just those of people I know."

Mephisto, clutching the champagne bottle, shrugged.

"As long as you don't try to exploit loopholes and harvest all the life on Earth."

"I will not."

"Then I have no problem, I can agree to that."

"Wow!"

Hawke looked at Mephisto, who nodded readily, and exclaimed in amazement. He then looked at Mephisto and said, "My dear friend, Jehovah has surely found your weakness. If I hadn't come this time, would you have been begging me to cooperate with you in a few days?"

In short, this is very un-Mephisto-like.

Old Mexican is someone who values ​​the soul more than anything else; just think about what happened when he stole Alexander Pierce's soul last time.

Mephisto at that time was just like an angry bull.

But for now.

Faced with Hawke's exorbitant demands, Mephisto agreed almost without hesitation.

Either Mephisto has already figured out how to break the contract.

Or perhaps Mephisto had already seen Jehovah, who, once still, was about to strike with astonishing force, and was already sharpening his sword against him.

Hawke leans towards the latter.

The method for verification is also very simple.

“Swear an oath in the name of death.”

"what?"

"I swear in the name of death that in the war between the Heavenly Dimension and the Hell Dimension, as long as I stand on your side and help you thwart the Heavenly Dimension's conspiracy, from this day forward, the souls of all those I kill will belong to the Underworld."

Hawke looked at Mephisto with a smile.

Although Mephisto promoted the African slave trade, which earned him his favor.

But this is a personal relationship.

Hawke has always kept his public and private affairs separate.

Mephisto looked at Hawke, who was asking him to swear an oath in the name of death.

"...You don't believe me?"

“Once again, Lao Mo, you’ve already broken your promise to me. To be honest, I’m really afraid to cooperate with you. Even my fiancée thinks it’s not a good idea. But I’m still willing to give you a chance. You should thank me.”

Hawke spread his hands, looking at Mephisto with a serious expression.

Mephisto looked at Hawke, who was earnestly telling him to say thank you, and his eyes twitched involuntarily as he asked a question in return.

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome."

Hawke accepted the remark with a smile.

Mephisto's eyelids twitched more severely.

This is not a statement of fact.

"I know."

Hawke nodded, then picked up the champagne in front of him, stood up from the bar stool, and urged Mephisto, "Hurry up and swear the oath. Once you've sworn it, our cooperation will be complete."

Mephisto opened his mouth, looking at Hawke urging him on, and felt an urge to curse.

but……

Thinking of this attack from the Heavenly Dimension, he took a deep breath and swore an oath in the name of death.

after awhile.

Mephisto stared at Hawke expressionlessly.

"Now you can rest assured."

"Yes."

Hawke raised his glass of champagne to Mephisto and said with a smile, "Actually, even if you don't swear an oath, I would help you just for your work in cracking down on organized crime. After all, I'm very happy to help with the fight against organized crime."

Mephisto looked at Hawke's smiling face, chuckled, picked up his champagne glass and clinked it against Hawke's, ignoring Hawke's words.

Who is he? He's the ruler of the Hell dimension, not a three-year-old child.

Eye to eye!

There was a ding.

Hawke's champagne glass and Mephisto's champagne glass clinked together in mid-air, producing a crisp sound.

Both of them downed their glasses of champagne in one gulp.

Mephisto put down his glass and looked at Hawke.

"Pleasant to work with."

"Pleasant to work with."

Hawke put down his glass and looked at Mephisto.

"It seems that Heaven Dimension has really got your lifeline, Old Mo, otherwise you wouldn't have gone to such lengths."

"You can't imagine."

Now that the cooperation was reached, Mephisto gave a wry smile, shook his head, and looked at Hawke: "The life that Jehovah concocted, capable of vying with me for the authority of Hell, has been born."

Hawke raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mephisto. "You already said last time that their seeds are already..."

"No, no, no, last time I only sensed that their seeds had been planted, but after you left, I investigated carefully and found that the Angel of Death had been born."

"hiss!"

Hawke gasped upon hearing this, then looked at Mephisto: "And you're only realizing it now?"

Mephisto shook his head and said, "The invasion from the Heavenly Dimension is that terrifying. If you hadn't come to me, I probably wouldn't have known about this."

Hawke's lips twitched slightly.

He suddenly realized that his asking price seemed too low, which explained why Mephisto agreed so readily.

It's not just that the Heavenly Dimension has come knocking on our door; it's that the Heavenly Dimension is about to steal our entire home.

Hawke sighed, then looked at Mephisto.

"Alright, do you have any plans? For example, do you know the whereabouts of this angel of death?"

"do not know."

"...Heavenly Dimension, do you know where they're hiding on Earth?"

"do not know."

"..."

Hawke looked at Mephisto, who knew nothing and could only shake his head, and asked expressionlessly, "Then what do you know?"

Mephisto smiled broadly: "I know that when the time comes, we'll come knocking on their door and swallow the Heavenly Dimension without being bothered by the Celestials."

Hawke raised an eyebrow.

"The Celestials won't get involved?"

"If you're on my side, this is a dimensional war started by the Heavenly Dimension. He wants to devour me, so I'll devour him. It's perfectly reasonable. The Celestials dared to get involved, and my boss isn't someone to be trifled with either."

You mean death?

"Yes."

"I thought you were just a nobody among the many lords of death."

“I am also a Death Lord of Death, but you are different. Without me, when you come to attack, the Celestials might personally come down to take care of you.”

"I do not mind."

Hawke spoke casually.

He had actually offended the Celestials after absorbing a massive amount of Thiam's life energy, thus delaying Thiam's awakening.

Therefore, he had anticipated that the Celestials would become his enemies; otherwise, he would not have agreed to Mephisto's request.

Since we've already offended them, offending them again won't make a difference.

but……

If we can face off against the Celestials later, that would be ideal.

After all, he hasn't even grasped the seventh sense yet, so if he were to face the Celestials at this point, it would probably be a one-sided beatdown.

Ok.

He was beaten badly.

and so……

Hawke paused, then looked at Mephisto: "How much time do you think we have left?"

Mephisto thought for a moment.

"The Death Angel grows extremely fast, within one or two years at most."

"……OK!"

Hawke was slightly taken aback. He had thought the situation was extremely urgent, but he hadn't expected there to be so much time. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, you can use your method to find them, and I will use mine. We'll do it both ways."

After all, the Heavenly Dimension isn't just targeting Mephisto.

And him.

It seems that the one secretly working on his clones has a connection to the Heavenly Dimension.

I wonder if the Heavenly Dimension has accomplished anything after all that tinkering.

To be honest, Hawke is quite curious to see what kind of mess the Heavenly Dimension will come up with.

after all……

The Heavenly Dimension has a story to tell, so when the time comes, his actions will be more legitimate, and his occupation of the Heavenly Dimension will be more justifiable.

The answer is that the Heavenly Dimension made the first move.

Hawke thought to himself, then after saying goodbye to Mephisto, he turned around, pushed open the door of the tavern, and stepped out, returning to the greenhouse of Fox Manor.

It was already dark, and it was snowing outside; it seemed to have been snowing for quite some time.

Gwen was sleeping on the flower table in the greenhouse.

However, the greenhouse is heated, so it's not very cold.

Hawke glanced at his wife, who was slumped over a table not far away, seemingly waiting for her husband to return home, smiled slightly, and walked towards Gwen.

Gwen, who was sleeping, seemed to sense something. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, smiling as she looked at Hawke, who was holding her in his arms.

"came back?"

"Ah."

"How did the talks go?"

"He was desperate, desperate to cooperate with me."

Hawke stepped forward with his right foot, carrying Gwen directly into the living room of the main building of the manor. He recounted his trip to Hell to Gwen, then looked up at the upstairs and asked, "Is Grandpa asleep?"

Gwen got out of his arms and chuckled.

"I went to bed early."

"That……"

"Don't worry, I told you you went to visit a friend in the next town."

"Ok."

Hawke smiled slightly upon hearing this and looked at Gwen: "Do you know my friend's name, what he does in the next town, and what he looks like?"

Gwen shrugged.

"Just describe him as Peter does."

"also."

Hawke thought for a moment, then nodded. He looked at Gwen, who was sitting on the sofa, and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her and saying, "I'm sorry, I promised to come here to visit your grandfather and go on vacation."

Gwen leaned against Hawke's shoulder, glanced up at Hawke's chin, and smiled slightly.

"As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."

"Indeed, nothing's wrong."

Hawke looked down and met Gwen's eyes: "Things are almost done. From now on, take a vacation. You can deal with other things when you get back to New York."

And indeed, there's nothing else to be busy with.

Mephisto had no idea where those highly concealed birdmen from the Heavenly Dimension were hiding.

He couldn't possibly know that.

unless……

When his sixth sense officially advances to the seventh sense, and at the peak of the Golden Cosmo.

Because at that time, his "sixth sense - visualization" will be able to completely cover every corner of the earth.

Let's say that.

At that time, with a thought, he could see what was happening in any corner of the earth.

Real-time video, 18K high definition, with absolutely no delay.

pity.

His current "Sixth Sense - Visualization" can only cover the area of ​​Waterfall Town at most.

However, he doesn't really like using this skill.

After all, he doesn't have any voyeuristic tendencies, just as he doesn't really use his "sixth sense - X-ray vision" much.

Hawke thought so.

Gwen chuckled upon hearing Hawke's words.

"You still have something to finish."

"what?"

Hawke snapped out of his reverie and looked down at Gwen.

Gwen said with a smile, "Klaus, Caroline came over again this afternoon, but left after seeing you weren't there."

Hawke chuckled.

"Don't worry, Klaus will give me that face."

"What if he doesn't give it to me?"

"He will."

Hawke met his fiancée's eyes and smiled, saying, "If he doesn't want to die."

Gwen blinked, lifted herself off Hawke's shoulder, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and looked at Hawke with a smile: "So you were lying to Klaus before, about her dying too after Klaus died?"

Hawke shook his head.

"No, it's true."

"So you just said that if Klaus didn't want to die?"

"If he doesn't give me face, then he has no choice but to die. As for Caroline?"

Hawke leaned Gwen back on his shoulder and said with a smile, "My sister must be bored all alone in the Underworld. It's good that Caroline is going there too, so she can keep Anna company. I just made a new deal with Mephisto."

He then recounted the latest soul agreement he had reached with Mephisto.

"I killed Klaus, so his soul belongs to me, and the souls of the vampires who died because of Klaus also belong to me."

"So don't worry about Caroline's soul going back to hell to suffer."

“I assure you, she will live in the pure land of the underworld, the place I described to you, where my sister lives.”

As Hawke spoke, he glanced at Gwen: "Besides, didn't you also dislike Caroline becoming a vampire?"

Gwen, leaning on Hawke's shoulder, shrugged.

"But there's something I haven't said yet."

"What?"

"It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death, so try your best to get Klaus to agree. Hawke, Caroline is dead, and Auntie will be heartbroken."

"……OK!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)