While Peter was still in the Spider-Kingdom learning how to utilize Chi, a minor incident occurred in far-off Hell.
Simply put, the souls of the individuals possessed by the Dark Cohort were delivered to Mephisto in accordance with their original contract. Although the un-possessed members of the Dark Cohort had become much more well-behaved following the Chthon arrival incident, the contract had already been established, and since demons found it incredibly difficult to defy their own nature, they would still look for opportunities to carry out possessions.
On the other hand, the number of souls Mephisto required had already reached sufficiency—exactly 666 people, just right.
"Thank you all very much for your explanations. I now have a further understanding of the human social structure—at least the structure of your nation."
Mephisto sat upon his throne in Hell, gazing at the collection of souls before him. Without exception, they all belonged to the elite class of human society, and the majority of them possessed countless ties to the Roxxon Energy Corporation. These individuals were a vital component of Mephisto's plan.
Just as Strange had said, Mephisto's conspiracy was merely a grand show born of a demon's true nature, and his objective had already been completed at the very start of this grand show.
He had "invited" this batch of souls to Hell.
"Which is to say, given your respective investments in Roxxon Energy, once some... unusual accidents occur with Stark Industries' technology, Stark Industries' stocks will undoubtedly plummet, while Roxxon's stocks will soar, correct?"
The souls of these people hastily answered "yes." Although the demon before them had not harmed them yet and had even assured them that he would send them back once he understood what he wished to understand, this group had witnessed the horrifying state of Hell. A large number of sinful souls—especially those belonging to capitalists like themselves—were sent straight to Hell to endure torment.
Demons fed upon desire and sin; who could possibly be more greedy and sinful than them?
"That sounds wonderful. If a day comes where I can be of assistance to you all, that would be excellent."
These souls immediately agreed, and all sorts of flattery instantly erupted left and right, with statements like "As long as Lord Mephisto takes action, Stark will definitely run with his tail between his legs" echoing continuously. Mephisto merely chuckled softly. "Then it is a deal, everyone. Oh, and furthermore, if I happen to arrive in your world, I wonder if it would be convenient for me to visit your respective homes as a guest?"
What else could this group of people say? Naturally, they cheered in unison, each scrambling to speak over the other, saying things like "We will certainly extend our hospitality" or "We await your arrival at all times."
In truth, Mephisto could have said this long ago, but previously, the number of these souls had been insufficient.
"In that case..." Mephisto produced a human-skin scroll. On the contract, there was only a single, simple line of text: The souls of these individuals shall return to their original physical bodies.
"I am highly satisfied with your attitudes. Please return home, everyone."
Mephisto smiled and produced a pen. These people scrambled forward to inspect the contract, and upon seeing this content completely devoid of any word games, they were overjoyed and signed it one after another. Mephisto quietly waited for them to complete this step before rolling up the scroll and clapping his hands in satisfaction.
"Belasco spent the entire time thinking about using rituals and brute force to return to Earth-616, but in reality, it does not require such trouble."
Mephisto muttered to himself as he sat back down upon his throne.
"The local residents have invited me to visit their homes as a guest."
This was the contract that had just been signed. When a guest expressed a desire to visit the host's home, the host expressed agreement. Consequently, the barrier of reality's resistance against Mephisto failed; he was traveling to Earth-616 by invitation, and it was an invitation from a substantial number of individuals capable of causing considerable influence on Earth.
"The local residents have expressed a desire to cooperate with me."
They agreed with Mephisto's perspective that as long as Stark Industries encountered issues, they would make a fortune, and they firmly believed Mephisto could accomplish this.
Since that was the case...
"Why should I not fulfill this contract?"
Mephisto burst out laughing. Demonic contracts had never strictly required a written signing; the conversation just now was still entirely sufficient to constitute a binding agreement. Sulfur began to boil, and hellfire began to burn across Mephisto's body as the Lord of Hell smiled and departed from Hell.
On Earth-616, the first to detect the anomaly was Magik. A large number of individuals from the Dark Cohort were directly banished back to Limbo, many of whom were people Illyana had not even found yet. Illyana directly interrupted her training at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, traveling from the Danger Room straight to the Sanctum Sanctorum via a portal. This time, because there were no demons causing disruptions, she arrived here successfully. Strange sensed the disturbance and instantly floated over.
"You are rarely this urgent, Magik. What has happened?"
"The people of the Dark Cohort have been uniformly banished back to Limbo, but I haven't had the chance to interrogate them about what happened—and there are too many people, far exceeding our previous expectations."
"They disguised themselves exceptionally well; a demon pretending to be a capitalist is virtually unrecognizable..." Strange sensed the disturbances within the Sanctum Sanctorum. "The dozens of individuals possessed by the Dark Cohort whom we captured during this period have also shown anomalies. Their souls seem to have... returned?"
Just as Strange was still feeling perplexed, yet another portal opened. This portal was composed of hellfire, and on the other side of it, Johnny Blaze collapsed onto the floor of the Sanctum Sanctorum in immense agony.
"Mephisto... Mephisto is coming..."
Before Strange even had the chance to be shocked, a massive explosion triggered a minor earthquake. Strange and Illyana hastily rushed out the door to look in the direction of the explosion. It was Avengers Tower; the entire building was burning furiously from its midsection up.
Illyana could not comprehend the current situation. "What is... going on? Did a plane crash into Avengers Tower?"
Strange instantly cast a spell, the Eye of Agamotto on his chest snapping open. He then took a deep breath and looked toward the burning Avengers Tower. "Mephisto... he has altered reality."
"Altered what reality?"
Meanwhile, at Avengers Tower.
At the exact same moment the explosion occurred, Tony Stark, who was stationed at Avengers Tower today, blacked out entirely on the spot. The arc reactor on his chest suddenly lost all function, taking several full seconds before its power supply resumed.
By the time he woke up, Avengers Tower was already burning.
"What's the situation, Jarvis? Is Avengers Tower under attack?"
[According to calculations, the arc reactor in the midsection of the tower has exploded, sir.]
"That's impossible, I calculated all of those personally..."
[Your calculation results have been re-evaluated, and seventeen mathematical errors have been discovered.]
[Warning: The arc reactor at the base of Avengers Tower is about to overload.]
[Warning: The 134 arc reactors installed by Stark Industries across the United States are experiencing varying degrees of malfunction.]