The battlefield had become complete chaos.
Hellfire burned across the landscape. Demonic energy twisted the air. The ground itself had been shattered by repeated impacts powerful enough to level cities. In the center of it all stood Julius.
The Chains of Heaven glowed with divine light as they wrapped tightly around Mephisto's massive form.
For the first time since arriving, the Devil was no longer smiling.
Ghost Rider roared forward atop his hellish motorcycle, blazing chains whipping through the air like burning serpents. The chains wrapped themselves around Blackheart while nearby elemental demons were being engaged by Ghost Rider and the Wolfpack simultaneously.
Around them, Foundation forces had finally arrived.
Mobile Task Force Mu-0, Maxwell's Demons.
The elite anti-demon task force deployed with military precision.
Containment specialists spread out across the battlefield while heavy weapons teams established firing lines. Specialized thaumatechnological equipment activated immediately as containment fields began locking down sections of the combat zone.
Laser-guided anti-occult weapons opened fire.
Holy-infused rounds tore through lesser demons.
Containment nets crackling with anomalous energy trapped several infernal creatures attempting to escape.
For most demons it was an absolute nightmare.
For Mephisto it was merely irritating.
The Devil snarled.
The disguise of the kind old man finally disappeared.
His body expanded.
Crimson skin.
Massive horns.
Glowing yellow eyes.
Razor-sharp fangs.
A towering demonic figure radiating enough dark magic to make reality itself groan.
His mere presence caused nearby shadows to stretch unnaturally.
"You continue to impress me, mortal," Mephisto growled.
Julius calmly adjusted his grip on Crocea Mors.
His mind was racing.
Mephisto was dangerous.
Far more dangerous than Blackheart.
Blackheart was powerful.
Mephisto was an ancient cosmic manipulator who had been playing games with gods, demons, and mortals for countless centuries.
Fortunately, Julius wasn't fighting alone anymore.
Golden ripples spread behind him.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
The Gate of Babylon opened.
Countless weapons emerged.
This time Julius wasn't selecting random treasures.
Every weapon he chose had a purpose.
Holy spears.
Blessed swords.
Demon-killing relics.
Ancient artifacts specifically designed to combat beings of darkness.
Several of them had even been soaked in specially prepared holy water before deployment.
The sky turned gold.
Then it turned into death.
Thousands of weapons launched simultaneously.
The barrage descended upon Mephisto like divine judgment.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield.
Golden light and hellfire collided.
The shockwaves flattened entire sections of terrain.
Mephisto raised barriers.
Reality warped.
Space twisted.
Yet despite all his power, Earth was not Hell.
This was not his domain.
His power here was only a fraction of what it could be.
The Devil was being pushed back.
For the first time since arriving, Julius saw genuine irritation in Mephisto's eyes.
Good.
That meant he was winning.
Mephisto unleashed a massive wave of hellfire.
Julius answered by summoning another volley from the Gate of Babylon.
The two attacks collided.
The resulting explosion lit up the horizon.
Then Julius made a decision.
His expression became serious.
Very serious.
Several members of the Red Right Hand immediately backed away.
They knew that look.
They had seen it before.
Rarely.
But enough times to understand exactly what it meant.
Julius slowly reached into the Gate of Babylon.
His hand wrapped around a weapon that almost nobody had ever seen him use.
The Sword of Rupture.
Ea.
The atmosphere itself seemed to tremble.
Even Mephisto's expression changed.
The Devil recognized danger.
Real danger.
Julius slowly raised the weapon.
The three cylindrical sections began rotating.
Reality distorted around the blade.
Space rippled.
The sky cracked.
For a brief moment even Mephisto looked uncomfortable.
"Interesting," Mephisto said.
Julius didn't answer.
He simply activated the Noble Phantasm.
"Enuma Elish."
The world screamed.
A massive spiral of destructive force erupted forward.
Space itself was torn apart.
The attack didn't merely strike Mephisto.
It attacked reality around him.
The Hell-Lord attempted to defend himself.
Barriers shattered instantly.
Magical shields exploded.
Hellfire evaporated.
The attack struck him directly.
For a moment Mephisto disappeared entirely beneath the overwhelming force.
Then half of his body was simply gone.
The Devil was torn apart.
His upper torso separated from his lower body as infernal blood erupted across the battlefield.
The surrounding demons froze.
Even Blackheart looked shocked.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then Mephisto began regenerating.
Because of course he did.
He was Mephisto.
Unfortunately for him, regeneration didn't remove pain.
And it certainly didn't remove fear.
The Devil looked at Julius.
Then at Ea.
Then back at Julius.
A long silence followed.
Finally Mephisto sighed.
"I believe this conversation has become unproductive."
A massive portal to Hell opened behind him.
Julius didn't lower his guard.
Neither did Ghost Rider.
Neither did Maxwell's Demons.
Nobody trusted Mephisto.
The Devil slowly stepped backward.
"You have educated my son."
His eyes shifted toward Blackheart.
"Rather violently."
Then he looked back at Julius.
"We shall meet again."
"Hopefully not," Julius replied.
Mephisto laughed.
Then disappeared through the portal.
The gateway collapsed moments later.
The pressure hanging over the battlefield vanished instantly.
Everyone collectively relaxed.
Only slightly.
Because Blackheart was still present.
Unfortunately for him, his father had just left.
Ghost Rider tightened his chains.
Foundation containment teams moved in immediately.
Dozens of specialized containment devices activated.
Reality anchors.
Occult suppressors.
Demonic restraints.
Blackheart fought.
Hard.
Very hard.
But after watching his father retreat and suffering injuries throughout the battle, he was no longer in any condition to escape.
Within minutes the son of Mephisto was fully contained.
Julius looked over the devastated battlefield.
Several lesser demons had also been captured alive.
Exactly as planned.
The losses had been acceptable.
The mission had succeeded.
And perhaps most importantly...
The Foundation now had a genuine Hell-Lord's son sitting inside a containment cell.
Julius couldn't help smiling.
Alex was going to be absolutely unbearable once he heard about this.