Ch. 313 Doctor Doom

Upon hearing Russell's words, the Hulk climbed to his feet.

Afterward, Russell used his teleportation magic to take the Hulk out of the mirrored space.

Their sparring with the Hulk had made quite a commotion.

To avoid disturbing others and, more importantly, to prevent the training ground from needing frequent repairs, Russell had intentionally brought the Hulk into the mirrored space.

Inside the mirrored space, not only could they destroy the training ground, but they could also obliterate city without any repercussions in the outside world.

Through the teleportation portal, Russell and the Hulk returned to the real world.

As soon as they returned, No. 3's voice came over the speakers in the training ground.

"Sir, a Mr. Victor Von Doom has delivered an invitation."

Victor Von Doom?

Upon hearing No. 3's report, Russell couldn't immediately place the name.

After giving it some thought, he finally recalled who Victor Von Doom was.

Doctor Doom!

'Or, should I say, Lord Doom!'

In the Marvel Universe, Doctor Doom, or Doom, was a supervillain whose reputation was not much lower than that of Thanos.

While Doctor Doom might not be as mad as Thanos, he was definitely one of the top supervillains in the Marvel Universe.

Furthermore, despite being a villain, Russell had a certain appreciation for Doctor Doom.

Doom was born in the small Eastern European country of Latveria and possessed no superhuman abilities of his own. However, through his hard work and brilliant intellect, he had developed high-tech armor that was not much inferior to Tony Stark's Iron Man suits.

Moreover, Doctor Doom was a top talent in both "technology" and "magic," excelling in both fields.

Through self-study and various opportunities, he had acquired extensive knowledge of magic.

His magical prowess could even rival that of Doctor Strange.

Like Thanos, who sought to achieve balance in the universe by wiping out half of all life, Doom had his own aspirations. He sought to unravel all the mysteries of the universe and attain various sources of great power.

While Doctor Doom had not appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was a longstanding arch-nemesis of the Fantastic Four in the comics and had clashed with the Avengers on multiple occasions.

Having recalled information about Doom, Russell said to No. 3, "Alright, I understand."

After responding to No. 3, he turned to the Hulk and said, "If you want to continue training, you can go find Quicksilver or Peter. I might be away for some time."

"Okay!"

The Hulk replied in a deep voice.

After giving the Hulk his instructions, Russell used his teleportation magic to return to his study.

As soon as he arrived in the study, he saw the invitation on his desk.

"How did this invitation appear here?"

Russell asked No. 3.

"I received a message from Doom."

"And then, this invitation appeared in the study out of thin air."

No. 3 quickly replied.

Out of thin air?

No. 3 didn't understand magic, so he couldn't explain exactly what had happened.

However, for Russell, whose magical abilities were quite advanced, he could make an educated guess.

It was nothing more than a remote delivery method in the field of magic.

In the realm of magic, there were plenty of spells and methods that could accomplish this.

Doom's magical abilities were on par with Doctor Strange's, so it was entirely normal for him to perform such feats.

Having realized this, Russell sat down in his chair and picked up the invitation.

The black invitation appeared somewhat understated.

But upon opening it, Russell saw the demonic script inside.

To ordinary people unfamiliar with magic, the demonic script in the invitation appeared as decorative patterns.

These surface patterns were, in fact, the demonic script, a form of writing learned by human sorcerers from demons in Hell.

Before Heaven and Hell were completely cut off from the mortal realm, demons from Hell used to come to the real world regularly.

In order to acquire enough souls, demons from Hell would make open and seemingly fair deals with humans.

The Devil's Pact!

By signing a contract, devils and humans reach an agreement in the presence of Hell or other great entities.

Usually, when humans make contracts with devils, it's to fulfill their own desires.

For example, gaining power, beauty, strength, and so on.

From a certain perspective, devils are creatures with a lot of credibility.

Once the contract is signed, devils will go to great lengths to fulfill the agreed-upon terms, even if it costs them their lives.

However, this doesn't mean that making a contract with a devil leads to a fair deal.

Devils indeed have credibility, but their credibility only applies after the contract is signed.

Before the contract is signed, devils will do everything in their power to manipulate the contract, making what initially appears to be a fair trade heavily biased in their favor.

As a simple example, someone may wish to exchange their soul after death for a long life.

Devils are more than willing to make deals with such humans.

However, they will tamper with the contract in various ways.

For instance, they might add hidden clauses.

If the person making the deal is not familiar with devilish ways or can't decipher devilish script, they may easily sign these grossly unfair contracts.

Upon seeing the demonic script on the invitation, Russell furrowed his brow slightly.

This was just an invitation, not a contract, so it was unlikely that Doom had tampered with it in any way.

Even if he had, as long as Russell didn't sign his name or leave his blood, the invitation couldn't suddenly turn into a contract.

Russell ignored the human text on the invitation and focused directly on the demonic script.

In human script, the content was an invitation from Doom to meet in the capital of Latveria before the first of next month.

However, the content in demonic script was entirely different.

Today, at 1 PM.

Empire State Building Observatory.

After translating the content in demonic script, Russell casually placed the invitation back on the table.

It was obvious that Doom's true message was conveyed in those demonic characters.

Quite intriguing!

Though Russell wasn't sure what Doom had in mind, he couldn't help but be curious about Doom using demonic script for the invitation.

Doom wouldn't use demonic script just to show off, that much was clear.

If Russell's guess was correct, Doom was hinting at something they might discuss after the meeting.

With this thought, Russell's mind immediately brought up information about Doom's mother.

Doom's mother was a Gypsy witch who possessed some basic knowledge of magic.

In order to gain the power to protect others, Doom's mother had summoned the Lord of Hell, Mephisto, and made a pact with him.

The outcome was not hard to guess—Doom's mother did indeed receive the power granted by Mephisto.

However, shortly after, Mephisto took her soul.

Doom, originally a serious scientist, had later turned to the path of magic because he wanted to reclaim his mother's soul from Mephisto and give her true peace.

'Could this guy be planning to take me to Hell with him?'

While it seemed highly unlikely, Russell couldn't help but think this might be Doom's true intention.

However, he was curious about how Doom would convince him.

Going to Hell was no small matter, not to mention trying to retrieve Doom's mother's soul from the clutches of the Lord of Hell, Mephisto.

The difficulty of this task was on par with stealing the Time Stone guarded by the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One in the New York Sanctum, if not even greater.

This wasn't because Ancient One was less powerful than Mephisto, but because Mephisto had a natural advantage in Hell.

As the Lord of Hell, Mephisto could harness the power of Hell to its fullest.

Even if they managed to injure Mephisto severely in Hell, with the aid of Hell's power, he could quickly recover.

Unless they could overpower him before he had a chance to draw on Hell's power, any confrontation in Hell would turn what was already a difficult battle into a long and arduous one.

Furthermore, there was another crucial issue to address before going to Hell.

Unlike in ancient times when Heaven and Hell were more connected to the real world, it was much harder to reach Heaven and Hell now.

Of course, both Russell and Doom had the ability to travel to Hell.

To go to Hell, they simply needed to open a dimensional gate or Hellgate.

Though it wasn't a simple magic, both Russell and Doom were capable of it.

However, the real problem was not getting to Hell, but how to return from it.

Due to some unknown secret agreement, the crystal walls between Heaven and Hell and the real world had been reinforced unilaterally.

While traveling from the real world to Hell and Heaven was somewhat difficult, returning from Hell and Heaven to the real world was exceptionally challenging.

Otherwise, angels from Heaven and demons from Hell would have already come to collect souls in the real world.

In the past, it was relatively easier.

But with Russell's current knowledge of magic, he couldn't think of a way to return once they went.

The dimensional gate, which had originally been a two-way passage, had become a one-way door due to the secret agreement.

Does Doom know how to return from Hell?

If that's the case, Doom would be a valuable asset in Mephisto's eyes.

If they could bypass the limitations of the secret agreement and allow demons from Hell to come to the real world as easily as in ancient times, Mephisto would surely be willing to return Doom's mother's soul in exchange for an ordinary human woman's soul.

No matter how you looked at it, this was an incredibly favorable deal.

Time was passing by.

Soon, it was 1 PM.

Russell cast a teleportation spell and arrived directly at the Empire State Building's rooftop observatory.

Although this might seem extravagant, he had no need to worry about it now.

He was essentially in control of New York City at this point.

Even if he were to perform a nuclear test in the city center in front of ordinary people, they would have to tolerate it.

Upon arriving at the observatory, Russell quickly spotted Doctor Doom.

Normally, the observatory was crowded with tourists, but this time, there was no one else.

Doom was just as Russell remembered him, wearing a green cloak and a metal mask, standing at the center of the observatory like an odd figure, gazing out at the view of New York.

Upon seeing Russell's arrival, Doom nodded in acknowledgment.

Then, he spoke slowly, "Although this isn't my first time here, every time I come, I see a different view."

"The view hasn't changed; it's mainly the perspective that has."

Russell replied calmly.

"Yes, mainly the perspective."

Doom agreed with Russell's statement.

"Don't waste any more time; just say it. As the ruler of Latveria, what do you want from me?"

Russell had no intention of bantering with Doom and asked directly.

"You've come here, which means you can read demonic script. I wonder, what's your opinion of demons as creatures?"

Doom didn't answer Russell's question and instead asked in return.

"I've said it before, don't waste everyone's time. What exactly do you want to do?"

Russell asked again.

He had already made up his mind—if Doom continued with this cryptic act, he would turn and leave, not bothering to entertain Doom any longer.

Perhaps sensing Russell's true intentions, Doom didn't beat around the bush any longer and straightforwardly said, "I want to make a trip to Hell, and I hope to invite you to join me."

"For your mother?"

Russell didn't immediately agree and continued to inquire.

"It seems you know why I came to find you!"

"Yes, this time, I'm going to Hell to ensure my mother's complete rest."

"She was a good person, and she shouldn't have suffered Mephisto's eternal torment."

Doom's tone became somewhat impassioned.

"I have a rough understanding of your mother's situation, but I can't see why I would need to accompany you to Hell."

"It's not a tourist destination, and while getting there might not be too difficult, from what I know, no human has returned from there so far."

Russell said slowly.

"Normally, returning from there is indeed not easy, but I have the method to come back."

Doom turned to look at Russell, exuding great confidence.

"Show me the proof."

Russell wasn't going to believe Doom's claim just because he said he could do it.

If it were really that easy, Mephisto would have already sent demons to Earth to harvest souls.

Upon hearing Russell's words, Doom smiled.

Then, he snapped his fingers, and an ancient-looking scroll filled with magic appeared in his hand.

"The method to return is inside. Given your abilities, you should have no trouble understanding it."

With that, Doom handed the magic scroll to Russell.