After Iosef swung his bat at Daisy several times, the demon accompanying them, seeing that John Wick was on the verge of death, quickly withdrew the mind-controlling curse. Following Mephisto's instructions, it used a cloaking artifact to mask its presence and fled far away—straight back to Hell.
Outside the villa, William's magical clone pretended not to notice the chaos inside, putting on a show of debating with Mephisto about who was stronger—Odin or Zeus.
Back inside, the moment Iosef and his two buddies snapped out of their trance and realized they had killed someone, panic set in. Without a second thought, they jumped into John Wick's Mustang and sped off.
Only then did the magical clone "notice" the commotion and blink into the villa.
Before he could say a word, Mephisto barged in, immediately grabbing the clone by the collar and accusing him with a sinister tone, "What the hell happened here?"
"You're asking me? As if you don't know?" the magical clone shot back, glaring coldly at Mephisto. "Once I find proof that you cheated, I swear I'll tear your domain apart."
Mephisto let go and smirked, "This human's soul is about to leave his body. Soon, you can ask him yourself what happened. Then you'll know I didn't cheat."
Then, as if everything was under control, Mephisto turned to look at John Wick lying on the ground and muttered with eerie satisfaction, "Come on, come on. Not perfect, but since you won me this bet, I won't consume you too quickly."
William rolled his eyes at the demon's creepy theatrics. But then a wave of dread hit him, sparked by that strange smirk Mephisto had just flashed.
That kind of intuitive warning only ever surfaced in moments of real danger.
Suddenly, William no longer cared whether John Wick was breathing. His mind raced, trying to figure out what Mephisto had planned.
"Hahaha, not bad—no wonder you became a legendary mage in your twenties," Mephisto chuckled, stepping in front of William. "Already figured it out, haven't you?"
"Have you prepared the thousand souls?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "If not, I'll have to say sorry—but something else on your person will have to do."
As William's face darkened, Mephisto took a deep breath near the clone and shivered with delight. "Such a beautiful scent… just thinking about biting into your soul makes me feel—"
"Shut up, you garbage."
William, now physically present from London, appeared beside Mephisto and stomped the demon's projection into the ground with a spatial lock. He immediately rushed to John Wick and, upon confirming that he was indeed not breathing, locked his soul inside the body.
Then he returned, foot still pinning Mephisto down, and asked darkly, "So, you and Heaven were in on this from the beginning? Ganging up to trap me?"
"You tried to rope Gabriel into your own schemes, didn't you?" Mephisto sneered. "But you people never learn—the war angels are way more devious and bloodthirsty than any of us demons. Otherwise, why is it always Heaven attacking Hell, and never the other way around?"
"Perfect," William nodded slowly. "So you rushed to kill John Wick because you noticed I hadn't been harvesting human souls on Earth. Which means you assumed I must be targeting alien souls instead. And whoever's out there gathering them for me… wouldn't be finished in time."
"Exactly!" Mephisto, even while pinned, looked triumphant. "Even if you can teleport, that John Wick soul is about to enter Hell. When that happens, the Hell dimension itself will demand your wager.
And if you can't pay up a thousand souls… I'll have the right to claim something else from you. Your soul—or the Space Bridge."
"The Space Bridge?" William's eyes narrowed. "So the ones scheming against me aren't just Gabriel—it's the Tenth Realm's plane will too. That so-called God of Light.
Because even a big-shot like Gabriel wouldn't dare deal with you face-to-face otherwise."
Mephisto's smug grin vanished.
"You think you've won?" William scoffed, secretly thanking himself for paying Yondu handsomely to hunt down war intel in the galactic black market. Otherwise, he might really have run out of time.
Just then, William sensed that his clone had reached Yondu and secured the soul coins—just in time to teleport them back.
Then, a wicked idea popped into William's head—something guaranteed to make Mephisto lose it.
He vanished for two seconds and reappeared… holding a shovel.
Seeing it, Mephisto froze. "Ghost Rider…?"
Then his expression twisted with fury, and he let out a demonic roar. "I'll tear that traitor apart! By Satan's name, I will find him!"
"If you can, idiot," William sneered.
In Mephisto's panicked eyes, William snapped the shovel in half and pulled out the San Venganza Contract from within.
"You didn't expect this, did you, old man? This contract just happens to contain… exactly one thousand souls."
Squatting beside John Wick's corpse, he said loudly, "I know you can hear me, Archangel Gabriel."
He waved the San Venganza Contract in the air. "You know exactly what this is. You were the one who ruined Mephisto's plan back then, remember?"
William glanced at the seething Mephisto and burst into laughter. "Now that I've got my chips, shall we—fellow members of the good faction—resume our previous arrangement?"
"No, no… NO!" Mephisto roared at William, face contorted. "You? Good faction? John Wick is your subordinate! Even I, a great demon, can't match your ruthlessness!"
Now Mephisto was genuinely panicking. He knew William had just reversed the entire situation. The Tenth Realm's so-called God might even shift allegiances just to smooth things over… and turn on him instead.
After all, he was a demon through and through. But William? As shady as he was, he was still a human—and one who could wield holy light magic.
If it weren't for the fact that William stubbornly clung to the Space Bridge, Mephisto wouldn't even have been targeted. He might've been courted by the Tenth Realm instead.
Sure enough, just seconds later, John Wick—dead for nearly three minutes—began to float off the ground without warning.
A glowing figure resembling Helen appeared in the air, gently calling to him in a voice only he could hear.
As she reached out her hand, John Wick's soul began to glow with a soft, divine light—ready to ascend.
"No, no, no! This isn't over! You're not getting away that easily!"
Mephisto's pinned projection vanished—only for a new one to appear behind John Wick, dressed in a white suit, barefoot.
Leaning close, the demon whispered into John Wick's ear,
"Your car's gone. Your dog is dead. Your vengeance is unfulfilled.
And you really think your wife Helen is in Heaven? Don't forget what she did before she married you…"
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
• Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.• Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.