Belasco was once a man; his journey to becoming a Lord of Hell is somewhat similar to Dormammu's, as they were both once humans on Earth.
His earliest mention was in the long poem by the poet Dante, although some question it, unsure if Belasco is indeed in the poem, given the abundance of demons in the "Divine Comedy."
According to records, Warlock Belasco lived in 13th-century Florence, Italy. By chance, he connected with the Elder gods through his knowledge of alchemy and the dark arts. He was awed by their terrifying power, which led him to strike a deal, allowing Earth's people to summon the Elder gods and Ancient Dominators via arrays and special rituals...
This was disrupted by the then-novice Ancient One; however, the blindly foolish Elder gods had no concept of anger or disappointment. Instead, they gifted Belasco with immense energy, elevating him from an ordinary neighborhood level warlock to celestial father level in an instant.
But this energy carried the attributes of desolation and annihilation, warping the warlock and transforming him into a new demon species, the earth-dwelling monster — a fusion of human and ancient dark power.
Delighted by his endless lifespan, Belasco sought the lost Pangu Continent based on the Elder gods' guidance. With their help, he severed the concept of the Pangu Continent from Earth, forming a new Hell Plane, known as the Hell Border.
The Elder gods' power spread wantonly in the Hell Border, where the most common monsters were various indescribable tentacle creatures, followed by Belasco's cultists and some oddities warped and deformed by energy.
Belasco continues his research on the Elder gods, and amid endless whispers and nightmares, various Elder gods have turned his mind into a mush.
This state of madness, Belasco calls it chaotic inspiration. By following the Elder gods' guidance chaotically, he unexpectedly created something significant.
Using bloodstone as the primary material, adding a heap of alternate dimension materials, and accompanied by senseless spells and rituals, he crafted the 'Bloodstone.'
This entity could combine with human flesh, granting power while transforming them into alien creatures, allowing mass production of strong monsters.
First, he implanted a piece into himself. Though already a monster, he did not mutate again; this action made him even more deranged, affecting his sanity, such as imagining himself as a giant dragon kidnapping maidens on Earth...
He is the only Lord of Hell bearing the label of a rapist, as for a time, influenced by an unknown Elder god, he was obsessed with siring offspring with female humans.
Those women died in childbirth; a normal human cannot bear a demon's offspring and live.
After dozens of attempts, Belasco found these mixed-bloods were not strong; rather, their mixed heritage made them weak, so he abandoned this approach, killing all these weaklings.
He continued to place his hopes for strength on the Elder gods, attempting to contact previously unknown ones to gain more power continually.
He also started using bloodstone to modify humans, hoping to cultivate his 'Banshee,' with the Secret Guest as an experiment.
Counting the Elder gods behind him, his power is unrivaled among the Lords of Hell, yet most Elder gods remain eternally in blind chaos.
They not only grant power to Belasco but also might cause his demise.
For centuries, Belasco has been trapped in a loop, conducting rituals — being killed by the Elder gods or gaining new power — resurrecting — and preparing new rituals.
As an Earthling, his longing to return home is strong, leading to frequent invasion attempts on Earth.
Yet, his battle accomplishments are not notable; his first invasion was thwarted by a poet, Dante, and the Bloodstone was destroyed.
The second attempt, with a new Bloodstone, was defeated by Card Zal—a normal man, akin to Marvel's Tarzan but raised by tigers.
The third was foiled by the time-traveling Cable, the fourth and fifth by the X-Men who messed with timelines, and he later lost to Ultron and the Secret Guest...
Indeed, although a mage once, he dislikes dueling with other mages, keeping a lukewarm relationship with the Magic Realm, maintaining a neutral stance.
Among the Lords of Hell, he is the best with a two-handed war axe, possessing a plethora of dark magic and energy radiation means, yet he forgets to use them, preferring to chop with his axe.
Balder escaped from him because he did not utilize his lord abilities or authority but rather raced with the God of Light, resulting in losing track.
He also didn't search his plane with Hell's ability, preferring to dispatch an army to capture Balder through primitive means, allowing Balder to hide for centuries.
If it had been Old Mo, with his control over hell's laws, he could have directly teleported Balder before him.
But Belasco refrains from using such methods; his actions often defy normal comprehension, perplexing even other Lords of Hell.
........
The current plan of action is to find a way to fish the God of Light out of the Hell Border to confront the Great Serpent. Su Ming knows the Twilight of the Gods prophecy will manifest in Thor, yet others do not.
In the prophecy, the Great Serpent and the Son of Odin perish together. Strictly speaking, Balder is the eldest son, Odin and Frigga's biological child, and rescuing the God of Light is enough to intimidate.
If Balder truly faces the Great Serpent, the outcome will merely be him dying again, but how does that affect Su Ming?
He just needs to ensure that in the future, the Twilight of the Gods occurs normally, not endangering Earth and Warnerheim. Temporarily intimidating the Great Serpent is also a resolution, akin to Odin's past sealing methods.
The issue with the Great Serpent seems like a condition discussed with Odin, but the Ancient One is the real employer. Even if Odin offers nothing, for Earth's safety, Su Ming must face the Great Serpent.
The key is that the Ancient One is overly generous; her rewards, Su Ming dares not even accept—Kama Taiji, Time Gem, Supreme Mage's position...
He can only incidentally extort some benefits from Odin to see if he can sell to two parties.
But he had a total of five conversations with Odin, three of which were probing, yet Odin's reaction was quite abnormal. As the clues accumulated, Su Ming noticed more and more discrepancies.
The past events, some aspects were off.
Specifically, it's hard to pinpoint, but this feeling is similar to when Conqueror Kang interferes, there's always something that feels rough around the edges...
Therefore, Su Ming deduced that there might be a Time Traveler in the Golden Palace, or even an Otherworldly Transmigrator, as tampered timelines always have loopholes.
However, this time it's different; he feels there's a conspiracy directly targeting him.
After all, on this day in the Immortal Palace, Su Ming also visited several other places. So far, Asgard's defenses are complete, and its military strength is sufficient, making the recall of the Valkyrie entirely unnecessary.
So why did the Mothers of Gods previously decide on the recall? There's no benefit other than drawing the attention of Su Ming and the Celestial Venerable Gao...
When a person takes action, there must be motivation. Brynhild told him the full recall was because the Mothers of Gods saw a premonition, but after understanding the situation, Su Ming found it completely unnecessary.
This indicates that their motives are unclear, and at least one of Frigga, Qitong, or Gaia has lied.
However, this matter should be observed in secret, appearing relaxed on the surface and indifferent to everything; the usual tactic is to mask oneself with a careless attitude, hiding in the dark...
"Is there a way to take us to the Hell Border?"
The thought only took a moment, so much so that neither the Mage nor Gin noticed it, when a raspy voice emerged from under Deathstroke's mask.
This question was directed at the Mage. To reach the Hell Plane, without the Space Gemstone at hand, magic is the more accessible means.
Even though alchemy and some technology could work, since Monac was here, he could handle it.
He himself wasn't a true Mage; otherwise, knowing the nodal lines to the Hell Border's spatial network, getting through with the Magic Floating Cloak would be faster.
Unfortunately, the spatial node coordinate teleportation is Observer technology, which ordinary people cannot comprehend.
Monac rubbed his face vigorously, somewhat worried about being detected by Heimdall. So far it seems fine, but the longer he was exposed under Heimdall's sight, the more troublesome things could get.
Thus, the Mage didn't hesitate, enduring the bloating and headache, he began to cast spells again. It was still an array set up with blood, only this time the incantation process was accompanied by some strange bodily movements, resembling an arching pose with the belly up.
Gin glanced at the boss, puffed her cheeks, and blew a breath, always concerned that Monac's big belly might burst from such movements.
However, no bloody scene emerged, and the Teleportation Gate opened successfully.
"All of you, come along."
After saying this, Su Ming didn't just bring the two people, but even dragged the Eight-legged Flying Horse through the gate.
The Flying Horse, called Xiaoba, was full of resistance, but after being struck twice by the Godslayer, it found a familiar feeling and seemed to understand what had previously happened, following obediently through the gate.
The Hell Border is barren land, truly, with not a single blade of grass growing on the ground.
Mephisto's Hell at least has some charred trees and branches, Hel's Hell has Death Spore Flowers, while this side is an endless expanse of dirt yellow.
The ground and sky are all yellow, dotted with some large black rocks, and Deathstroke's armor here actually provides camouflage.
It's as if they have reached the Grand Canyon area of the United States Colorado, surrounded by terrace-like cliffs and countless caves and tunnels.
These tunnels were burrowed by a kind of giant insect native to this place. Humans can traverse through them, and they are quite spacious.
However, if you encounter those insects in the tunnels, you'll find these giant worms move faster inside the tunnels than a train, with entire heads that are just a large mouth lined with layered teeth resembling petals.
Balder utilized these tunnels, unintentionally mastering tunnel warfare techniques, slipping through Belasco's army's grasp.
So the question arises: is it darker to drill into the sewers, or the tunnels dug by the worms?
The God of Light has lived in the tunneling system for hundreds of years, not to mention the narrow, claustrophobic conditions, the lifestyle with nobody to communicate with, constantly pursued, is enough to drive anyone mad.
Not to mention the forced choice of being eaten by worms or eating worms.
If one doesn't want to eat the corpse of a Demon here, the food choice is between worms and various tentacle monsters, and it must be eaten raw, because no Hell has a water source. Even with the strong physique of the Aesir Race, food and water are still necessary.
Blood is quite an excellent beverage, not only replenishing electrolytes but also very nutritious, just likely to cause psychological disorders and contract parasitic diseases.
Therefore, Su Ming is slightly worried about what to do if Balder is in a state of madness?
In the comics, it is the Enchanting Witch Amora who finds him. Her powers have exceptional effects on men, and if the God of Light truly went insane, pretending to be Odin would probably be futile.