Mephisto, whose expression was full of sorrow and anticipation, immediately beamed with joy.
"That's great, Hawke, I knew you..."
"Henceforth, Death in the Western Hemisphere belongs to me."
"..."
Mephisto's fleeting joy instantly froze. After realizing what was said, he gritted his teeth at Hawke.
"You're taking advantage of the situation."
"No, I'm saving your life."
"We already agreed before."
"I know."
Compared to the gritting-toothed Mephisto, Hawke was much calmer, looking at Mephisto: "But what I said then was that I would help you, but this time, what I'm saying is that I will help you."
Mephisto blinked.
"Is there a difference between the two?"
"Before, I was assisting you in finding that Hell Angel. Now, I'm the main force throughout. You can't possibly not give me any benefits, can you?"
"Hiss!"
Mephisto listened to Hawke's self-justifying explanation, and after his mind processed it, he instantly gasped, then looked at Hawke with a strange look in his eyes.
"You're more like a demon than I am."
"Thank you."
Hawke accepted Mephisto's compliment and looked at Mephisto, speaking truthfully: "Actually, what I initially thought was that if you were truly colluding with Heaven, that would be for the best. After all, in that case, I could swallow Heaven and Hell without any psychological burden."
Mephisto heard this and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.
"But I didn't collude with Heaven, so you're disappointed?"
"Not really."
"..."
Mephisto silently looked at Hawke.
Hawke didn't avoid his gaze.
Their eyes met.
The next second.
Mephisto looked at the calm Hawke and completely bristled.
"You're planning to backstab me?"
"Don't be so agitated."
Hawke glanced at Mephisto, who had jumped out from behind the bar and was pressing his back against the liquor shelf, and chuckled: "Didn't you ever think about backstabbing?"
Mephisto decisively shook his head: "I didn't."
Hawke said nothing, just quietly looked at Mephisto.
After a while.
Mephisto opened his mouth, then said nothing, walked back, filled both their glasses with Angel whiskey, and raised his own glass.
Hawke also raised his glass.
Their glasses clinked in the air.
After Mephisto drained his glass, he sighed and looked at Hawke.
"At this point, I think we should both be more sincere."
"I've always been sincere."
Hawke smiled at Mephisto: "You're the one who broke the foundation of trust."
The first time, he had really trusted Mephisto.
And what was the result?
That guy coveted his Phoenix divine authority, even going so far as to use his own son as bait to lure him in.
Mephisto gave a bitter smile upon hearing this, then looked at Hawke.
"Trust me one more time, okay?"
"Okay."
"Really?"
Mephisto's eyes lit up as he saw Hawke nod without hesitation: "Are you really willing to help a brother out?"
Hawke chuckled: "If I wasn't going to help you, I wouldn't have come here to drink with you."
He had actually considered a winner-take-all scenario.
Truly.
Hawke had been pondering this question until he came to the Hell Dimension to drink, and then he thought of HYDRA.
Why did HYDRA's two struggles both end in failure?
Fighting on two fronts is not advisable.
The Celestials behind the Heaven Dimension.
Death behind Mephisto.
Hawke could offend one of them, but not both simultaneously.
The most important point.
Befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones.
Death was too far, and the Celestials were too close.
Mephisto could die, but not now. Currently, Heaven was in the shadows, while he and Mephisto were in the open. If the two of them started fighting, it would only give Heaven more opportunities.
Gwen had a good saying.
As long as he maintained a shred of goodwill and remained calm at all times, then no matter how many schemes and tricks Heaven employed, they would be useless against him.
So... Hawke thought about it and ultimately chose to help Mephisto.
But!
"My kindness is always a one-time thing."
Hawke drained the glass that Mephisto had refilled, then inverted it on the table and looked at Mephisto: "Don't disappoint me, Old Mephisto."
Mephisto's expression was grateful. He looked at Hawke, who was getting up, knocked his fist against his chest, and then pointed at Hawke.
It seemed to say, watch my performance, bro!
"By the way, how do you plan to find that developing Hell Angel?"
"Simple."
"Get outside help!"
Hawke turned and walked towards the door of the Hell pub, waving his hand without looking back, saying casually, then pushed the door open and left.
The next day.
Hawke woke up early and first dropped Gwen off at the Osborn Biological Industry Building.
Felicia was already waiting in the parking lot.
"Felicia."
"Hawke."
Felicia hugged Hawke as he got out of the car, then looked at Hawke: "Want to come up and visit Dr. Stacy's lab together?"
Hawke waved his hand: "No, I have something else to do."
Felicia heard this and said, "Alright," then looked at Gwen beside her: "Dr. Stacy, are you ready to visit your lab?"
Gwen smiled: "Of course, I can't wait."
Felicia nodded, then looked at Hawke: "Then we'll go up first. See you at noon."
Today was the second day after Xiao Ben's baptism ceremony. According to custom, Peter and Felicia needed to treat him to a meal today.
After all, he paid for Xiao Ben's baptism ceremony.
Hawke also said, "See you at noon," then got back into his car, an audi a8, and drove out of the Osborn Biological Industry Building again, heading towards Times Square.
Half an hour later.
"A woman who looks somewhat Italian."
"She should have a little boy beside her."
"Oh, right."
"A priest."
"There should be a priest beside these two, a dark-skinned priest. Oh, and he was carrying a silver flask."
Hawke, who had obtained jurisdiction over life and Death in the Western Hemisphere and had souls being drawn into the underworld almost every moment, didn't hesitate. He sat directly in the office of Sharon Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top Agent in New York City, seeking assistance from S.H.I.E.L.D..
He actually had some theories about the Hell Angel Mephisto mentioned early on.
It was the little boy from Ghost Rider 2.
But... he had already forgotten the plot, but he vividly remembered the drunken priest in it.
After all, whose priest is dark-skinned?
However, considering that God is also dark-skinned at the moment, everything becomes quite reasonable.
Sharon lowered her gaze, taking notes of the characteristics of the person Hawke wanted to find, then looked up at Hawke.
"Anything else?"
"That's all, just that much."
"..."
A woman who appeared to be Italian.
A child.
A dark-skinned priest who drank.
Sharon looked at the recorded features, her lips moved, then she nodded: "Okay, I'll send these three features to headquarters and have S.H.I.E.L.D. agents worldwide keep an eye out."
Hawke nodded.
"Thanks. Tell me the first moment you find them."
"No problem."
Sharon did not hesitate.
Ever since she learned from Hawke in the Atlantic Ocean that Heaven, Hell, and Hawke were going to fight a divine war.
The Five Great Benefactors were even more proactive than Hawke.
Let's put it this way.
For the Five Great Benefactors, God could exist, and could even be real, but God could not appear on Earth.
In a word.
The Five Great Benefactors were unwilling.
After all, that old thing, God, had been gone for so many years. Now it was the Five Great Benefactors who called the shots. Why would he suddenly come back?
Leaving aside other things, if God really returned to Earth, then at that time, would the affairs of Earth be decided by God, or by their Five Great Benefactors?
So... more than Hawke and Mephisto, it was actually the Five Great Benefactors who least wanted God to return.
Therefore, at that time, the Five Great Benefactors dispatched their respective intelligence personnel to start searching for anyone who looked like a "Hell Angel."
Unfortunately, Hawke didn't say much at the time, so their search was also very confused, like blind men touching an elephant.
But now?
Although the features Hawke provided were still few, there were at least clues. Searching for a needle in a haystack was always better than blind men touching an elephant.
Sharon felt that the Five Great Benefactors would be very happy once this intelligence went up.
Soon.
Hawke, who had finished seeking assistance, did not stay long in Sharon's office.
However, just as he was walking with Sharon towards the parking lot, he suddenly saw an acquaintance.
"Hawke!"
"Jane!"
The person who came was none other than Jane Foster, Thor's girlfriend.
After Hawke hugged Jane, he looked at her curiously: "Why are you here today?"
Jane closed the documents in her hand and shrugged.
"Director Hill said some astronomical data had been declassified and asked if I was interested in learning about it, so I came."
"Where's Thor?"
When Hawke saw Jane, he thought of Thor, and when he thought of Thor, he thought of the golden saint cloth materials he had already gathered, only missing a blacksmith to forge a divine artifact.
However, because his Seventh Sense had not yet broken through, Hawke was not in such a hurry to have Thor introduce him to the Dwarf King.
But he paid close attention to his friendship with Thor, because whether the Dwarf King could help depended entirely on Thor.
Jane smiled.
"You'll have to ask Sharon about that."
"Ask Sharon?"
Hawke heard this and looked at Sharon, who was standing beside them.
Sharon smiled and said: "Thor is an Avenger. During this time, the Avengers are still clearing out HYDRA remnants all over the World. Thor really enjoys this feeling, especially after battles, these people always gather to drink and chat. Thor said it makes him feel like he's back in Asgard after a battle."
Hawke blinked.
"Why wasn't I invited?"
"Uh..."
Sharon hesitated to speak.
Jane, standing beside her, smiled and said: "Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?"
Hawke raised an eyebrow and looked at Jane.
"The lie is..."
"You're too high-level. Thor said to call you for help when they encounter something they can't solve."
"And the truth?"
"Thor said that you're not yet twenty-one on Earth, so you can't drink. There's no point in inviting you, so he didn't."
"..."
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