Marvel: The Enlightened One#103+104: Lord of Hell, Mephisto, The Birth of the Phoenix Saint

BOOM!

THUD!

CRASH!

Hawk, who had been completely absorbed in watching the birth of his Phoenix Armor, was caught off guard as the Demon Hulk’s hand burst through the mountainside, seized him, and hurled him outside.

Thrown clear of the mountain, Hawk’s body screamed through the air, the friction igniting him in a flash of fire. He slammed into the grassland, but his momentum didn’t stop—he bounced once, hard, and continued to fly backward.

Until—

BAM!

The Vibranium shield protecting Wakanda flashed. Hawk, thrown from the inside, smashed against it, and for a moment, the world seemed to warp around him. He was thrown clean through, crashing hard onto the savanna outside.

The impact cratered the earth.

The sound, like a meteorite impact, sent nearby herds of cattle and sheep into a panicked stampede. The S.H.I.E.L.D agents who'd just arrived were equally startled.

Leading them was none other than Commander Maria Hill.

She wasn’t here for Hawk.

Maria Hill had been tracking Bruce Banner—S.H.I.E.L.D’s New York office had suddenly lost his signal, and when it reappeared, he was in Africa.

She had immediately run a check on Hawk’s location.

And the result—

Africa.

So, she had brought a team. But it seemed she was too late.

When she’d arrived, all she had found was a battlefield of carnage and dismembered bodies, with no sign of Hawk or Bruce Banner.

Just as she was beginning to suspect they had already left and was about to give the order to pull out, a massive impact had drawn her attention.

“Is that...”

“Holy shit!”

“He came out of that forest!”

“Wait, do you guys hear that?”

The distant S.H.I.E.L.D agents instinctively muted their comms, listening intently. They could just make out a furious, roaring sound that was growing closer.

Their eyes all turned back to the forest in the distance.

The next second...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

It was abrupt, instantaneous, as if appearing from thin air.

With a furious roar, the Hulk—now the size of a real mountain—materialized at the edge of the forest’s canopy. It crashed down with the force of a falling mountain, a savage grin spreading across its face as it spotted Hawk lying in the crater. It raised its right foot and brought it down.

CRASH—

The grassland buckled again.

The Demon Hulk’s massive footprint was now deeply embedded in the earth. A pure, destructive shockwave of physical force radiated outwards in all directions.

In that instant, grass and dirt were ripped from the ground, thrown into the air in a blinding cloud that blotted out the sun.

“Shit.”

“It’s the Hulk! No, wait, it’s a black Hulk!”

“How did he get out?”

The agents stared in shock and confusion at the sudden appearance of the Demon Hulk.

High above in the S.H.I.E.L.D. command jet, Maria Hill’s gaze was fixed on the primeval forest from which both Hawk and the Hulk had just been violently ejected.

Soon, the dust on the savanna began to settle.

“HUUULK!”

“DIE!”

The Demon Hulk, its foot still stomping down, roared with fury as it pressed its full weight onto the figure pinned beneath its massive sole.

Hawk, with more than half his body buried in the earth, was holding up the Hulk’s massive right foot with both hands.

His Cosmo was burning like a supernova.

And in that brilliant fire, the outline of the Phoenix Armor was beginning to form.

Hawk’s arms locked straight. An unimaginable power erupted from him. As the Demon Hulk roared in fury, Hawk slowly pushed himself free from the earth.

The next second...

“HUUUUUUUUUUUULK!!!”

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”

The Hulk’s colossal frame was thrown off balance. It staggered backward and, with a heavy thud, crashed onto the grassland, its enormous ass gouging another massive crater in the earth.

Hawk hovered a few meters above the ground.

He looked like he’d been through hell.

The only thing left of his clothes was a pair of tattered casual pants, torn so badly his black boxers were visible.

Wounds covered every inch of his body.

Under the harsh African sun, the blood that seeped from his wounds shimmered with the light of golden stars.

But—

With every breath Hawk took, with the burning of his Cosmo, the wounds all over his body began to heal and disappear at a visible rate.

In a matter of seconds, though the shredded pants still made him look like a wreck, there was no longer any sign that he had been injured at all.

At the same time.

The Demon Hulk, which had been knocked on its ass, slapped the side of its house-sized head and pushed itself back to its feet.

Its eyes, burning with hellfire, locked onto Hawk, who was now hovering at eye level. It snorted, clouds of hot air blasting from its nostrils.

Their eyes met.

The moment Hawk looked into the Demon Hulk’s blazing eyes, he felt a strange sensation.

It was as if—

Someone was watching him through the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

No.

It’s not a sensation.

Hawk’s expression hardened. For a split second, he had seen him—a man with a goatee, smirking at him from within the flames.

The next second—

The Demon Hulk’s body seemed to freeze. The hellfire in its eyes burned even more intensely, coalescing into the form of a man, his entire being seemingly made of red fire. He had a sinister smile, yet he carried himself with the air of a gentleman.

The man’s image, shimmering in the hellfire of the Demon Hulk’s eyes, met Hawk’s gaze. His voice, hollow, as if echoing from the depths of Hell itself, sounded in Hawk’s ear.

“My name—”

“—is Mephisto.”

“......” Hawk’s eyes narrowed as the demonic words echoed in his ears.

“You’ve been running your mouth about me for some time now. What’s the matter? Now that I’m here, you seem a little frightened.”

Mephisto’s voice was hollow but casual. The tone was like a demonic whisper, but the words themselves sounded like he was just making light conversation.

Hawk hovered in the air, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the image in the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

“So... the Demon Hulk. That was you.”

“Of course.”

Mephisto’s tone was nonchalant. He held up his right hand, seemingly admiring it, then glanced casually at Hawk. “One minute you’re telling me to watch my back, the next you’re telling me to take care of your sister and make sure she doesn’t lose a single hair. I had to come up and see who was trash-talking me from behind.”

Hearing this, a muscle in Hawk’s jaw twitched.

“My sister...”

“She’s fine.”

Mephisto seemed to know what he was going to ask. He smiled. “You sent a message with the Hulk, didn’t you? I received it. Don’t worry. I promise you, as long as you are alive, your sister will be perfectly safe. I certainly won’t give you the chance to fly into a rage and kill me.”

Hawk was silent for a moment.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Mephisto said with a smile, then his tone shifted, his voice becoming as cold and sharp as ice. “I thought you were supposed to be powerful. It seems you can’t even handle a toy I casually threw up here. If this is the extent of your strength, I’m quite curious... what gives you the audacity to threaten me?”

He was never supposed to be able to come to Earth.

But—

Some fool had traded a life for a life. And since he was planning on checking out this Hawk who was always running his mouth, he figured he’d just modify the Hulk that Hawk had killed and toss him back up.

And the result...

This is it?

The Demon Hulk might look impressive, but to a god, he was just a bit more durable than the average mortal.

The Sorcerer Supreme could knock the Hulk’s soul out of his body with a single slap.

What did they think he, the Lord of Hell, the god of his own dimension, could do?

A Dimensional God is still a God.

After his cold pronouncement, Mephisto seemed to sense something and chuckled. “I have to go. You’d better stay alive. As long as you’re alive, I promise I’ll take good care of your sister. But if you die and come to my Hell... hehe...”

As he spoke—

His image dissipated with the swirling hellfire. At the same time, as Mephisto departed, the Demon Hulk began to move again.

It stood for a moment, shaking its head as if in a daze. Then, its eyes locked back onto Hawk, and with a furious roar, it charged. When it was still ten meters away, it swung its massive arms together, as if swatting a fly.

“Hulk... SLASH!”

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH!

The air compressed between the Demon Hulk’s clapping hands shot forward like a blade, tearing up the grassland as it rushed toward Hawk.

Hawk’s figure flickered, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he reappeared behind the Demon Hulk.

The Demon Hulk’s right hand balled into a fist. The instant Hawk appeared behind it, it spun and threw a punch.

Hawk met it with his own right fist.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM—

The earth trembled. A white vapor cone materialized at the point of impact, and the violent shockwave tore up the surrounding grassland once more.

Along with the flying grass and soil, Hawk was sent flying as well, letting out a sharp grunt.

Fuck!

The Demon Hulk got stronger again.

Thrown backward, Hawk saw the black shadow of the monster descending upon him. He flickered in mid-air, righting himself and putting distance between them, his face a mask as he stared at the Demon Hulk.

Just then, within his burning Cosmo, a single ray of golden light was born from the Phoenix Fire.

And then—

More Golden light bloomed.

The Phoenix Armor, at long last, had been forged.

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

Within the Cosmo.

As the Phoenix Fire receded, it was replaced by a golden light so brilliant it illuminated the entire inner universe.

And as the stars of his Cosmo turned, a golden suit of armor, shaped like a phoenix, was born.

It was brilliant, dazzling.

Like a Gold Cloth, the kind only a Gold Saint was worthy to wear.

But...

It wasn't a Gold Cloth. The golden sheen was merely a result of its materials.

As everyone knows, there is no Orichalcum in the Marvel Universe. Hawk had used Vibranium as a substitute, and the natural color of Vibranium was a brilliant, pure gold.

So naturally, the Phoenix Armor he had forged was as golden as a legendary Gold Cloth.

But it was still a Bronze Cloth. It just looked golden.

In short, it was just for show.

...

On the savanna outside Wakanda.

The Demon Hulk, its frame as massive as a mountain, stood on the grassland and looked up at Hawk hovering in the sky. A sneer of disdain and contempt twisted its savage features.

At the same time—

“The game begins. I don’t accept forfeits.”

“Defeat my toy, and I’ll take good care of your sister.”

“Or—”

“Be killed by my toy, and come be a guest in my Hell.”

Mephisto's words echoed in Hawk's ear from the depths of Hell, even though the demon had already vanished.

“I’ll be in Hell soon enough, Mephisto.”

“And I look forward to meeting you there.”

Hawk answered, his face an emotionless mask. He pulled his consciousness from his Cosmo and hovered in the air, his eyes—now swirling with the light of cosmic stars—fixed on the Demon Hulk below.

The next second...

His Cosmo transcended the ethereal. It projected itself into the real Phoenix constellation, using it as a conduit before re-projecting into reality as a phantom image behind Hawk himself.

“BURN, MY COSMO!!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—

Crimson-gold flames erupted from every pore of Hawk’s body without warning. This was no ordinary fire; it was the purest, most intense, and most domineering power of the Phoenix, manifested from the raw energy of his burning Cosmo.

The crimson-gold flames instantly engulfed him, turning him into a furiously burning, humanoid torch.

And in that inferno, the image of a golden phoenix began to emerge.

...

“Ping, ping, ping!”

“Unknown energy signature rising rapidly.”

“Holy shit!”

“Commander, the energy readings are almost on par with the fluctuations we see when Thor appears.”

“My God.”

High above, in the S.H.I.E.L.D command jet, the agents stared at the screen, at the image of Hawk engulfed in the spectral form of a golden phoenix, and cried out in shock as the energy readings went off the charts.

Maria Hill raised a hand, silencing them. She stood at the window of the jet, her eyes fixed on the firebird below as it began to spread its wings.

...

On the ground, the Demon Hulk saw this, and the sneer on its face vanished, replaced by a look of dawning caution.

Amidst the blinding fire and searing heat—

The transformation began.

First, golden greaves and vambraces materialized around his bare legs and arms with a sharp clang of metal. The lines of the vambraces were as sharp as blades, the greaves thick and solid.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A series of rapid, clear metallic impacts rang out.

With a shudder of his arms, two massive, magnificent golden pauldrons, shaped like burning wings, appeared from thin air and snapped heavily into place.

The edges of the pauldrons were sharp, their form wild and untamed, like the most powerful feathers of a phoenix taking flight.

The tip of every golden feather gleamed with a deadly light.

Almost simultaneously, a golden chest plate forged in the roiling flames, its core emblazoned with a brilliant phoenix totem. It pulsed like a living heart, each beat pulling the surrounding flames higher.

The waist armor, a fauld resembling a cascading waterfall of fire, was formed from several thick, flexible plates of metal, their sharp edges swaying with the flickering flames, emitting a low, metallic groan.

Finally—

The crimson flames surged upward, coalescing into a unique, aggressive-looking helmet that formed in an instant of fiery light.

As the visor took shape, Hawk, who had been watching with his eyes narrowed, slowly opened them.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The crimson flames erupted in a final, glorious burst, forming a phantom phoenix of fire that soared into the sky behind Hawk, letting out a cry that echoed throughout the cosmos.

The Phoenix Armor was donned.

...

“Hiss!”

“Holy shit!”

“Jesus Christ.”

“That armor is way more badass than Tony Stark’s.”

In the S.H.I.E.L.D command jet, the agents were completely stunned by the sight of Hawk, now clad in the Phoenix Armor, hovering in the sky.

And on the savanna, the Demon Hulk was completely enraged.

“ROOOOOOOARRRRR!”

The Demon Hulk no longer hesitated. The muscles in its massive arms tightened, and its fingers, like five great pillars, dug deep into the earth below.

Its muscles bulged, the veins beneath its skin popping like massive steel cables. With a furious roar, its arms unleashed a terrifying power, enough to rip the very savanna from the earth.

RUMBLE—

An entire section of the earth—the thick turf, the soil beneath, the tangled network of roots—was torn from the ground by the Demon Hulk’s inhuman strength.

With a surge of its arms, the Demon Hulk hurled the slab of earth—over ten meters in diameter and shockingly thick—at Hawk in the sky.

Hawk didn’t dodge. As the massive projectile came crashing toward him like a meteor, the Phoenix Fire around him roared to life.

The sky burned.

The air warped.

As the Phoenix Fire surged, the massive slab of earth began to incinerate in mid-air, melting away at a visible rate.

The next second, Hawk appeared in front of the Hulk.

One punch.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

As if struck by a freight train, the Demon Hulk’s massive head snapped to the side. It spat out several enormous teeth as its entire body was lifted from the ground and sent flying, crashing onto the savanna.

“Hulk...”

“HURT!”

The Hulk roared as it scrambled to its feet.

But Hawk’s second punch was already on its way.

“Lightning Sonic Fist!”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

A brilliant golden light erupted from Hawk’s fists, each punch a precision-guided missile that slammed into the Hulk’s body.

A massive crater, far deeper and wider than before, was formed in an instant, a pillar of dirt and rock shooting into the sky.

Press the attack. No mercy.

“Lightning—”

Hawk hovered in the impossibly deep crater, listening to the sound of the Demon Hulk’s heartbeat below. He opened his five fingers, his hand aimed down into the pit, and the fiery phantom of the phoenix once again appeared behind him.

The phoenix’s wings spread wide, and the continuously burning energy of his Cosmo gathered in Hawk’s hand.

“...Sonic Fist!!”

“BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!”

A dense storm of phantom fists, burning with the most brilliant fire, shining with the most brilliant golden light, shot from Hawk’s hand and plunged into the crater below.

At the bottom of the pit, the Demon Hulk was like an excavator, driven deeper and deeper into the earth by the relentless barrage.

A second later—

BOOM!

A perfect, circular shockwave erupted from the crater, tearing up the savanna for twenty meters in every direction, the earth and grass peeling back like a carpet.

In that instant, a crater of unprecedented size, as if from a meteor strike, was all that remained.

Hawk stood at the edge of the pit—now over thirty meters in diameter—the three golden tail feathers of his waist armor swaying gently.

He looked down into the depths, his face like stone.

At the bottom, there was only silence.

Shattered earth and roots, and now the rushing water of an underground river, crashed down upon a massive, motionless, humanoid silhouette at the center of the pit.

The Demon Hulk—

Dead.

Hawk let out a short, cold laugh. He looked up, his gaze fixed on an empty point in space.

Having donned the Phoenix Armor and received the full might of the constellation, he could now clearly sense a consciousness that had not yet departed.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was Mephisto.

“Speak.”

“Mephisto.”

Hawk’s gaze fixed on the direction where the consciousness lingered, and he projected his own thoughts toward it. “What’s wrong? Don’t feel like talking anymore?”

Mephisto, whose true form was in his Hell dimension and had only projected his consciousness here through the Demon Hulk, snapped out of his shock. He heard Hawk’s taunt and let out a dry chuckle.

“No wonder you were so confident.”

“But...”

“Your power does not belong to this universe. You are strong, yes. But that is all. You think you can use this borrowed power to make me hand over one of my souls? That’s not enough.”

“It will be.”

Hawk smiled. “When I get to Hell, you’ll see, Mephisto.”

Mephisto said nothing more.

With a gentle breeze, his final wisp of consciousness vanished.

Hawk stood his ground, his eyes fixed on the spot where Mephisto had disappeared.

He knew, of course, that his power had not yet been ‘certified’ by the Marvel Universe.

But Hawk already had a solution.

The Reality Stone.

Once he had the Reality Stone, the moment his Phoenix Constellation manifested in reality would be the moment he became a Gold Saint.