Time's Up, Joker.

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-Michael's P.O.V-

He could see me. That makes hiding unnecessary.

"Thank you."

I revealed myself, shimmering into view and gently floated down onto the floor.

The air in Mephisto's throne chamber was thick with a malevolence that pressed down on me, daring me to falter.

It was like standing beneath a tidal wave of crushing, primordial power that would swallow me whole if I showed the slightest weakness.

I clenched my jaw, keeping my focus on my environmental shields. Funneling every ounce of fear into my yellow ring in a bid to keep my cool. While also recharging the expended charge, most of it spent holding back the weight of his sheer presence.

The Rider, usually a constant thrum in my head, was suspiciously quiet. But I could feel its hatred simmering just beneath the surface.

It held an intense loathing for the red-skinned devil seated atop his ebony throne, jagged edges of blackened bones weaving together to form a symbol of absolute authority.

Gotta say, he had style.

Mephisto's eyes gleamed, studying me like a snake sizing up its prey.

His lips curled into a mocking smile before he chuckled softly. "Relax, mortal," he said, voice smooth but laced with condescension.

With a snap of his fingers, a normal looking chair appeared behind me. A part of me was disappointed. I'd been hoping for one made of bones too.

That said, I didn't hesitate.

I returned his smile, playing the game, and lowered myself into the seat.

But mentally, I commanded the ring to begin scanning the room for the exact position of the fixed space-the one constant in this hellish realm. My plan to escape hinged on finding it.

The ring obeyed, but before it could fully complete the scan, Mephisto's eyes narrowed.

Uh-oh.

He waved his hand lazily, blocking the ring's efforts. I felt the pushback from his presence.

"Rude," The HellLord mused eyes drawn to my finger, "to exert one's authority in the presence of Authority itself. Your ring has peculiar abilities for a Ghost Rider."

"Apologies," I said, dipping my head in mock reverence. "But I'm not like other Ghost Riders."

His smile didn't reach his eyes.

"That was your one and only chance at impertinence, human. Next time, I'll have you strung on your intenstines, hanging over a fire pit." His words were casual, but the threat was all too real.

I forced a smirk, despite the knot of fear tightening in my gut. The ring's charge went up by 16% at that.

"I don't take well to threats, and you should be prepared to lose a limb or two in the process."

Somehow my voice stayed steady as I responded.

Internally, I was a mess. My brain screamed at me to run, to kneel, to do anything but provoke the Lord of Hell.

But I was well aware that Mephisto was the master of deception, and if he got even a whiff of my terror, I was done.

I commanded the ring to devour the emotion, to bury it deep until I could face him without shaking.

Mephisto leaned back, his posture casual, but his gaze still sharp.

"Interesting," he said, almost to himself. "You're not afraid. You should be. I am the literal King of Hell, the Morningstar, Lucifer himself. Here, I am God, and with a single thought, I could strip the Rider from your soul and let my demons tear you apart."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You do live up to your reputation, I'll give you that—always the deceiver."

His eyes darkened, but he allowed me to continue.

"The reason I'm not afraid is simple," I said. "You can't take the Rider from me. You tried the second I stepped into your throne room. You reached out, intending to rip it from my soul, but something blocked you, didn't it?"

I leaned forward, feeling a rush of confidence. "That was the Rider. Its presence snuffed out your power like a candle. That's the only reason you're entertaining this little chat. You can't take what isn't yours, Mephisto."

Mephisto's lips curled into a sneer.

"Zadkiel."

He spat the name like a curse.

His entire demeanor shifted, the mask of civility dropping away.

His eyes burned with Hellfire as he glared at me. "The will of the fallen archangel may shield you, but don't think for a second you're safe. I could still crush you like the insect you are."

Without warning, The entire throne room exploded around us.

The walls crumbled to dust, the floor disintegrating beneath my feet, causing me to levitate.

It was almost too much to believe. How in the span of a second, the massive Castle that had left me awed was now nothing but dust and rubble beneath us.

Maybe...maybe I shouldn't have made him mad.

To my front, Mephisto's throne hovered in the air, untouched. He crossed his legs and interlocked his hands together, creating a pose that made him seem like the President of some large company.

The shadows around him were swept away in a blaze. And his aura intensified to the point I started sweating.

That wasn't all.

His form ignited in red Hellfire, so hot that it made the Rider's flames feel like a candle in comparison.

I felt my environmental shield burn away, the heat burning my uniform and scorching my skin from a distance.

Fuck this. With my survival on the line, I decided to attack first.

I gritted my teeth and conjured a dozen Cryo-Guns, copied from the designs of the modified weapons Mr. Freeze made for Black Mask. After that battle, I took one of them.

Now I'm glad I did. Too bad I hadn't thought of using it on Batman Rider. I had stashed it at Serina's place and at that time was in a hurry.

But now, a dozen of them would see some action.

The constructs blazed into existence, unleashing a barrage of freezing energy at Mephisto.

The ice evaporated before it even reached him.

"You think your little ring can save you?" Mephisto yawned, bored at the failed attack. "The ring is a curiosity, nothing more. Use the Rider's power, or you stand no chance."

"I don't need the Ghost Rider to beat you," I growled, forcing myself to stand tall despite the burning pain. "All I need is my WILL."

In an instant, I transformed. Pale green light enveloped me, and the Cryo-Guns fused into a massive Cryo-Cannon.

The colossal weapon hummed with power as it fired a deep blue concentrated beam of freezing energy straight at Mephisto.

The cold ice encased him, freezing him to his throne. While hundreds of degrees colder than before, I knew it wouldn't hold for long.

Cracks were already spreading across the surface of the frozen Hellfire.

I turned to my left hand, focusing on the ring.

"You find the Fixed Space yet?"

(Negative. Too much enemy interference)

Fuck.

("What about the other thing? Have you finished analyzing the soul I absorbed?") I asked, referring to the sorcerer whose soul had been consumed by the Hope-Eater before coming here.

He'd possessed a Sling Ring, and I needed to replicate its function for the actual 'Escape'. That meant accessing his memories to understand how the artifact worked.

(Analysis at 90%), the ring responded. (You need to buy more time)

Not what I wanted to hear either.

"You've got 30 seconds," I hissed, just as Mephisto shattered the ice, his cloak of flames roaring back to life.

He sneered at me. "I'm going to pry that ring from your charred corpse and keep it as a souvenir."

'Never.'

My hand subconsciously tightened.

"Come and try," I shot back, bracing myself.

Unexpectedly, he teleported off his throne and appeared right in front of me, his hand wrapping around my throat in an instant.

I wasn't ready for the Pain that shot through me as he gripped my left hand and, with a vicious tug, tore the Lantern ring along with my finger off.

A spray of blood jutted off my exposed knuckle.

"Fuucck! You f- fucking ripped out my finger! Asshole."

I collapsed onto an invisible air platform of Mephisto's making, grunting in pain while clutching my bleeding hand, no longer clad in the fear aura of the Yellow Lantern.

With a glare of hate, I looked up to find Mephisto studying my ring, curiosity flickering across his demonic face.

And then the ring dissolved into dust.

"A deception?" he muttered in a deep low voice, clearly caught off guard.

I chuckled through the pain."Fooled ya."

The entire time, I'd been planning this.

I knew he'd focus on the ring, so I'd hidden the real one on my toe.

The fake was a decoy, meant to bring him off the throne— which I suspected was the Fixed Space I needed to exploit.

Before Mephisto could react, I summoned a Hope-Eater, the interdimensional construct devouring the Hell Lord in a flash.

I could feel Mephisto's immense power tearing at the edges of the Hope-Eater, threatening to break free.

So I summoned another Hope-Eater to swallow the first one. Then another. And another.

By the time I reached eight, I could breathe a little easier.

But I wasn't fooling myself. I'd gotten lucky. Mephisto's arrogance had played right into my hands. I knew it wouldn't last.

The rumble of approaching wings caught my attention.

I looked up to see Mephisto's demon army closing in, led by Astaroth, their commander.

Time was running out. Quickly, I approached the ominous Throne, which seemed to be rooted in space.

A casual scan with the ring confirmed I was right. The throne was the fixed point in the entire realm.

Meaning space was stable enough here, to attempt to create a way out. The only thing missing was the 'How'

Fortunately, my luck was good, as at that same instance, the ring chimed in, completing its analysis.

(Sling Ring data integrated, but results may be unstable due to unknown energy source.)

Good, I had the 'How'.

"I'll take my chances," I muttered, using the blueprint sent to my mind by the ring, and constructing a Sling Ring around two of my right fingers.

But without magic, it was just another piece of transportation trinket. This is where the Rider aspect comes in.

'Hope this works.'

I tapped into and infused the Ring with the Rider's flames, essentially turning it into a HellRide.

Immediately, the Sling Ring construct shimmered and changed, taking the form of a skull ring, blue Hellfire glowing in its eyes.

"Fuck yes. It worked..."

I muttered in disbelief.

Following the sorcerer's memories, I then drew a circle in the air, and with a flash of blue flames, a portal opened.

On the other side, I saw a misty mountain, far from the reach of Hell.

(Impossible...)

The ring's AI surprised me by sputtering in disbelief.

I smirked. "You didn't know? My riding skill is SSS rank. But my bullshit level is Ex rank."

With that, I stepped through the portal, leaving Hell and Mephisto's Throne behind me.

Still wish I could have taken it with me. But something told me the realm would have collapsed if I had.