Marvel: The Enlightened One#159+160: From Now On, I'll Make You My Full-Time Job, There May Be Cowards, But There Are Also Kings

The moment the spectral black phoenix projected itself into Hell, the moment it unfurled its wings, the underworld of Hawk’s Cosmo followed, merging perfectly with the celestial bird.

At the same time, as the phoenix burned with a dark, crimson fire, a black, crystalline armor—part metal, part crystal—materialized.

Mephisto was stunned. The next second, he let out a furious roar and threw a punch at Hawk.

“GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk didn’t move. He stood his ground, completely ignoring the attack.

Just as Mephisto’s massive fist was about to connect, the black phoenix’s wings beat once, and with a flash of dark light, it merged with Hawk’s body. An unstoppable wave of energy erupted from him—and even Mephisto, the Lord of Hell, was thrown backward.

He scrambled to his feet.

Hawk just glanced at him and offered a single, dismissive comment.

“Idiot...”

Did this guy seriously not know about transformation invincibility?

It’s a well-known fact. During a transformation sequence, no matter how long it takes, no matter how strong or weak the character is afterward, they are invincible.

You can’t interrupt it.

Even if the entire planet exploded, the character in the middle of transforming would be completely unharmed. It’s an unwritten rule of the universe.

As Hawk finished his critique of Mephisto’s breach of protocol, the black phoenix armor in the sky broke apart, and the individual components, wreathed in dark, crimson flames, shot toward him.

The first to arrive were the sharp, deadly claws of the gauntlets.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Arm guards. Leg plates. Shin guards. One by one, the obsidian-black components snapped into place with crisp, ringing precision, each piece glowing faintly as the flames danced across the surface.

Dark red fire coiled around his legs as the greaves and boots materialized, locking into position like living shadows forged from black gemstone.

Then came the helmet.

As it descended, the side panels—feathered, fierce, blazing with flame—unfurled like the wings of a phoenix. The faceplate dropped, concealing Hawk's expression entirely. Only his eyes remained visible—half crimson, half gold, heterochromatic and burning with the weight of the Underworld flowing within them.

Finally—

The waist guard, shaped like a tail feather wreathed in fire, locked into place with a satisfying snap.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A pair of massive, spectral black phoenix wings, forged of pure energy, unfurled behind him.

Black flames erupted from him, and as he clenched his fists, the fire spread in all directions, and the very ground of Hell began to shake.

Mephisto’s expression was full of rage as he stared at the transformed Hawk, now clad in the black phoenix Surplice.

“Surprise.”

Hawk, now fully armored, spread his hands. “Turnabout is fair play. You gave me the Ghost Rider. I had to get you something, too. And it seems my gift has surprised you a lot more than yours surprised me. Look me in the eye, Mephisto. Tell me. Are you surprised?”

Mephisto’s entire body was trembling. “Good. Very good. The Reality Stone is in you. And the Time Stone too!! The Ancient One. Of course!”

He finally understood.

Hawk hadn’t sold his soul to any dimension. He had sold it to himself. He had actually used his son’s laws of life and death, and the Four Foundational Elements, to create his own Dimension in just two days.

And it wasn't just a dimension. It was a realm—a full-fledged afterlife, a tier above a mere pocket dimension.

And that should have been impossible. Even with the aether, it should have taken eons.

Unless… the Time Stone.

The moment Hawk’s underworld had projected itself into Hell, Mephisto had felt it—the power of the aether, and the lingering, residual energy of time.

Mephisto’s voice was low and dangerous. “How did you convince the Ancient One to lend you the Time Stone?”

Hawk just shrugged. “You might not believe this, but I just asked. I told her I needed to borrow it for a bit, and she handed it over. Guess she's more reasonable than you made her out to be.”

He was telling the truth. The only difference was that he hadn’t even had to state his promise. The Ancient One could already borrow power from her future self. She could do whatever she wanted with the Time Stone.

Hawk thought to himself.

Mephisto was stunned. The Ancient One? That celibate, bald woman? She’s easy to get along with?

'That bald bitch has trapped me in a time loop more times than I can count. That’s the only reason I could even recognize the residual time energy on his underworld in the first place.'

...

Mephisto quickly composed himself.

His gaze was cold as he looked at Hawk. “You think this is enough to defeat me? Don’t forget, this is my Hell. I once tricked Odin into this realm, and even he was powerless against me. You think you can stand against me here?”

He paused. “And don’t forget, your sister is in my hands. You’re not afraid I’ll just burn her soul to ash?”

Hawk, his face hidden behind the visor, stared at Mephisto with his half-crimson, half-gold phoenix eyes. “Give me back my sister’s soul, and I’ll leave. I have no interest in you or your Hell.”

He was a busy man.

If Mephisto had shown even a shred of integrity, he wouldn't have even bothered creating his own underworld.

God was his witness. Before Mephisto had shown up, he had been sizing up Thor’s hammer, trying to figure out how to ask for a few tons of Uru metal. It was a strategic resource of Asgard, after all. Not something you could just ask for.

Especially not in the quantities he needed.

He'd been plotting how to forge his Gold Cloth.

Then Mephisto showed up with his schemes, and suddenly Hawk had a reason to fast-track the Black Phoenix Surplice as a temporary solution.

So, from a certain point of view, he should be thanking him.

Of course, that was assuming Mephisto would actually hand over his sister’s soul.

“NOT A CHANCE!”

Mephisto roared, his expression twisting with rage. “You killed my son! I’m going to kill your sister—”

Hawk just laughed.

“You were just thanking me for killing your son.”

“I was lying! A demon can’t be trusted!”

“Fair enough.”

Hawk couldn't argue with that. He just pulled out the Contract of San Venganza, with its thousand fallen souls, and casually tossed it in his hand. “How about a trade? My sister for the contract.”

“…You give it to me first. Then I’ll give you your sister.”

“HA!!”

Hawk just snorted. “You just said, not a second ago, that a demon can’t be trusted. You really think I’m going to fall for that?”

Mephisto’s grin was savage. “You don’t have a choice. Give me the contract, or I’ll burn your sister’s soul right now.”

As he spoke, his clawed hand shot out, fingers curling through empty air.

SNAP.

In an instant, Anya—who had been under "protective custody" in Mephisto's palace—was yanked through space and appeared before him, dressed in white, her expression confused and frightened.

The moment she saw the man in the black phoenix Surplice, even though she couldn't see his face, she knew who he was.

“Brother!”

“Anya.”

The cold, hard light in Hawk’s eyes softened the moment he saw her. The next second, as Anya started to run toward him, Mephisto held her in place.

His expression was savage.

“The contract. Give it to me!”

“Mephisto.” Hawk’s eyes went cold again. “I’ll say this one last time. Release my sister. Then you get the contract.”

Mephisto just laughed, his claw resting on Anya’s head. “And I’ll say this one last time. The contract. Now.”

Hawk’s visor retracted, revealing his face to his sister. He smiled.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course. You’re the best brother in the world.”

“Good.”

Hawk’s smile was gentle. He then looked at Mephisto, his eyes filled with an infinite, chilling coldness. “Go ahead. Do it.”

Mephisto was taken aback. “What?”

“Do it.”

He took a step forward, his tone sharpening into something deadly.

"Because the second you do, I'm tearing up the San Venganza Contract. I'll contest every soul that tries to enter Hell. I'll make it my life's mission to ensure not a single damned spirit crosses into your domain. And I won't kill you—oh no. I'll just starve you out. I'll watch as your Hell withers. As your demons fade. As your empire crumbles into nothing."

"From now on, I won't do anything else. I'll dedicate every waking moment to making your existence a living nightmare. I'll be your full-time problem, Mephisto. So go on."

Hawk spread his arms. "Make your move."

Mephisto: “…”

<><><><><><><><>

When Hawk had decided to use the San Venganza Contract to bargain with Mephisto for his sister's soul, he'd already anticipated the possibility that this old bastard would try to use Anya as leverage against him.

Hold Anya hostage to control Hawk?

One simple answer to that.

Absolutely not going to happen.

Compromising was like cheating—you either did it zero times, or you did it endlessly.

Once he gave in to Mephisto this time, tasted that bitter pill, what would stop the demon from doing it again and again? How could he ever call himself a man after that? He might as well become Mephisto's puppet and be done with it.

Besides—

Hawk had zero doubt that if he showed even a hint of weakness, the Phoenix Heart would abandon him without hesitation.

After all, what was the difference between that kind of surrender and the cowardly lords who retreated behind their walls and let their enemies run wild?

So, Before coming to Hell, Hawk had already prepared himself for the worst-case scenario.

He'd already steeled himself to face it head-on.

Just like now.

...

Hawk's eyes turned ice-cold. His voice was completely emotionless as he stared down Mephisto and laid out exactly what would happen if the demon tried to burn his sister's soul. Then, watching the frozen sneer on Mephisto's face, he roared, "DO IT, THEN!"

Mephisto's massive frame shuddered violently.

Wait a second. What the hell does he mean by "from now on I'll do nothing but hunt you down"?

And what does he mean by "no souls will ever enter Hell again, and no demons will ever leave"?

This was nothing—NOTHING—like the script Mephisto had imagined. The whole "hold Anya hostage to control Hawk" plan wasn't supposed to go like this at all.

Mephisto's thoughts raced.

And in that split second, he looked at Hawk's face, hidden beneath the Saint Armor's visor, unable to see any expression—only those freezing, merciless eyes staring back at him—and the realization hit him like a freight train.

Mephisto's voice turned vicious again.

"You think I won't do it?"

"You won't. But I will!"

Hawk's tone was flat, emotionless. And the next instant, his body vanished from where he stood, reappearing directly in front of Mephisto in the blink of an eye. He didn't even consider the possibility that Mephisto's clawed hand, still resting on Anya's head, might ignite her soul. He just swung.

One punch.

Straight into Mephisto's demonic face.

WHAM!

Sparks erupted from Mephisto's nostrils as his head snapped sideways. His colossal body lifted off the ground, launched backward like a cannonball, and crashed into the earth with a thunderous boom.

The ground cracked open on impact, fissures spreading outward as thick plumes of smoke billowed up from the gaps.

Hawk's form flickered again. He reappeared mid-air, his leg already cocked back, wrapped entirely in black Phoenix flames, and drove it down in a devastating diving kick aimed straight at the crater where Mephisto had landed.

CRASH!

The ground didn't just crack this time—it shattered. The fissures widened, exposing the rivers of molten lava flowing endlessly beneath Hell's surface.

The moment Hawk's kick was about to connect, Mephisto rolled out of the way just in time.

The expressionless, black-armored figure hovered up from the smoking pit, rising into the air as if the destruction below meant nothing.

Mephisto's demonic eyes locked onto Hawk, his face twisted in disbelief. "You really don't care if I burn your sister's soul and make sure you two never reunite??"

"I’m not afraid!"

Before Hawk could answer, Anya—still frozen in place by Mephisto's power—shouted out first, her voice ringing across the hellish wasteland.

"I believe in my brother! My brother is the greatest in the world!"

Hawk didn't turn to look at her. He didn't even acknowledge Mephisto's words anymore.

He had only one thought now.

Even though he knew Mephisto was unkillable in his own Hell Dimension, Hawk still wanted to beat the absolute hell out of him.

So—

Hawk didn't speak. He just attacked.

"Supersonic Fist!"

"You're insane!!!"

"Both of you are completely insane!!!!"

Mephisto heard Anya's declaration, and something in him snapped. Then, seeing Hawk launch another relentless assault without a word, the demon roared in fury. "THIS IS MY DOMAIN!"

BOOM!

With Mephisto's bellow, the space around him twisted and collapsed, warping into a pitch-black void of absolute nothingness.

POP, POP, POP!

Hawk's supersonic punches struck the void and simply... vanished. Not even a sound. Just silence.

And then—

Countless Hell-forged energy spikes materialized out of thin air around Hawk, forming a deadly cage. Each spike shrieked with soul-rending power as they closed in from all sides, converging toward the center where Hawk floated.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!

The Black Phoenix Surplice rang out with a rapid, drumming rhythm as the spikes collided against its surface, each impact sending terrifying sparks flying—sparks that would tear apart any ordinary soul they touched.

At the same time—

As Hawk and Mephisto tore into each other, the shattered ground revealed another threat. Countless Demons that normally lurked on Hell's underside began crawling up through the cracks, swarming out into the open.

They moved in massive numbers, a black tide of claws and teeth, like a plague of locusts spreading across the scorched earth.

These demons usually lived hidden beneath Hell's surface, emerging only at "night" to feed on the souls trapped in the dimension. Once they locked onto a target, they would devour every last fragment of that soul.

And now, they had locked onto Anya—frozen in place by Mephisto's spell.

Anya had lived in Hell long enough to recognize them. The moment she saw the horde crawling toward her, terror flooded her expression.

But—

She looked at the demons, already sprinting toward her on all fours, their eyes gleaming with hunger, and forced herself to suppress the fear clawing at her chest.

'I'm my brother's sister. But I will not be his burden.'

Hawk saw it too. His eyes flicked toward the approaching swarm.

With a sharp burst of power, the Black Phoenix phantom flared around him, its wings spreading wide and shattering the cage of energy spikes in an instant. He twisted mid-air and threw a punch toward the demons racing for Anya.

The Phoenix phantom folded its wings and fused into his fist.

“Phoenix’s—"

“—Winged Ascent!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

His Cosmo didn't just ignite this time.

It exploded.

Not a controlled burn. A full-power detonation of his inner universe's energy.

In an instant, with Hawk's body as the epicenter, crimson-black flames erupted outward, forming two massive flaming wings. The twin infernos carried unimaginable heat—enough to boil oceans and melt mountains—and with a single beat of those wings, they surged forward in a devastating wave toward Anya's front and sides.

Time seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

The demons charging at Anya—faces still twisted in ravenous greed—suddenly stopped mid-stride.

The searing black flames consumed them.

The lead demons didn't even have time to scream. Their armor-like hides melted instantly, their souls vaporized on contact. Not even ash remained. They were simply erased from existence.

The Phoenix wings swept outward in a cascading shockwave of destruction. Everywhere they passed, the air itself shrieked and hissed under the soul-scorching heat.

The shockwave, wrapped in annihilating light and heat, rolled outward like a tidal wave of oblivion, crashing into the endless swarm of demons pouring in from all directions.

The demons vanished. Entire waves of them, gone in an instant. And even the ground beneath them—the very earth of Hell itself—melted under the terrifying heat, transforming into dark, glassy obsidian.

From above, the attack left a perfect imprint: two enormous crimson wings of crystallized glass, burned into Hell's surface.

Anya stood at the center, her eyes wide, staring at the Phoenix wings surrounding her. Unlike the others, the flames didn't burn her. Instead, they felt... warm. Protective.

Only one thought filled her mind. 'My brother is the best brother in the whole world.'

Mephisto, watching the devastation Hawk had just carved into his Hell Dimension, felt something twist painfully in his chest. He opened his mouth, about to shout for them to stop, but—

Hawk wasn't done.

The moment he unleashed that explosive strike to protect Anya, he'd already capitalized on the residual momentum. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and reappeared directly in front of Mephisto.

"Stop—"

WHAM!

Hawk's fist—still riding the explosive aftershock of his Cosmo detonation—slammed into the right horn on Mephisto's head.

A deafening crack echoed across Hell. Mephisto's massive body was launched skyward like a meteor, spinning wildly before crashing back to the ground with earth-shaking force.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hell's ground split open again.

More demons from the underside began crawling out.

But this time, they didn't charge toward Anya, who stood alone at the center of the crystallized Phoenix wings like she was protected by a divine guardian.

They scattered.

They ran.

They bolted in every direction across Hell's wasteland, desperate to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the battlefield. They took advantage of the chaos—while their master, Mephisto, was getting his ass handed to him—to feast on the abundant souls scattered across Hell's dimension.

Hell never ran out of souls. And Anya wasn't worth dying over.

They were demons, not idiots.

A streak of black light shot up from the crater.

Mephisto emerged, clutching the broken horn in his hand. He hovered in the air, his golden demonic eyes locked onto Hawk, who was already preparing another charge.

"STOP!!"

"..."

Hawk's form halted ten paces away from Mephisto.

He stared at the demon lord—now missing one of his horns—his face emotionless beneath the armor's visor, his eyes cold and unreadable. He said nothing. Just waited.

As if daring Mephisto to make the next move.

"Within ten seconds, GET BACK TO THE UNDERSIDE!"

Mephisto didn't address Hawk first. Instead, he projected his voice across the entire Hell Dimension, his tone laced with absolute authority.

Instantly, the demons that had just crawled out—many of whom hadn't even had time to find a meal yet—froze. Then, without hesitation, they turned and scrambled back down through the fissures into Hell's hidden depths.

...

Only then did Mephisto turn his attention back to Hawk. He took a long, slow breath, his voice low and rumbling like distant thunder.

"Take your sister. And leave the Contract of San Venganza."

This was still his home turf. He wasn't going to die here.

But Hawk had the Law of Life and Death. He could come and go as he pleased, and there wasn't a damn thing Mephisto could do to stop him.

Sure, this was Mephisto's domain. Hawk couldn't do any permanent damage. But if they kept fighting, if Hawk truly let loose and started tearing the place apart... Mephisto would be the one left cleaning up the mess afterward.

Mephisto's golden eyes bored into Hawk.

"Take your sister, leave the Contract of San Venganza, AND GET OUT OF MY HELL!"

"That's not enough anymore."

"WHAT??"

"I said—that's not enough anymore!"