The first thing Dean registered was the stench—rotting meat and sulfur, thick enough to coat his tongue. The second thing was the **STATUS SCREEN** blinking violently in his peripheral vision:
**WARNING: [Hell Dimension Detected]**
**HP: 62% → 58% (Passive Corruption Damage)**
**SP: 3300**
**Current Objective: [Survive Until Extraction - 01:59:59]**
Loki let go of his wrist, dusting off his sleeves like they'd just stepped out of a cab instead of a dimensional tear. "Welcome to Mephisto's playground," he said, nodding toward the jagged cliffs of bone looming ahead. "Try not to scream. It amuses him."
Dean's NZT-enhanced mind cataloged the terrain instantly—twisted spires of fused vertebrae, rivers of congealed blood, distant shrieks that didn't sound entirely human. His gun was still in his hand. Three rounds. Useless here. The tablet vibrated:
**RECOMMENDED PURCHASE: [Hellfire Rounds - 500 SP]**
Dean didn't hesitate. The moment he confirmed the transaction, his pistol glowed crimson, the remaining bullets shifting into jagged, rune-carved slugs. The **STATUS SCREEN** updated:
**SP: 3300 → 2800**
**Ammunition Mod: [Hellfire Rounds]**
**Effect: [Bypasses Infernal Resistances]**
Loki raised an eyebrow. "Resourceful."
A guttural laugh echoed from the cliffs. Shadows pooled at their feet, coalescing into a figure draped in a tattered nobleman's coat—too many teeth, too many eyes. Mephisto.
"Ah," the demon crooned, "the God of Lies and his pet mortal." He sniffed the air. "You smell like stolen divinity."
Dean's finger hovered over the trigger. His NZT calculated trajectories—useless. Mephisto wasn't a target; he was the environment.
Loki sighed. "We're passing through."
Mephisto's grin split his face. "Everything in Hell pays a toll."
The ground erupted. Clawed hands dragged at Dean's ankles. He fired—once, twice—hellfire rounds reducing demons to ash. The third shot he saved, aiming straight between Mephisto's eyes.
The demon caught the bullet midair. Crushed it. "Cute."
The **STATUS SCREEN** flashed red:
**WARNING: [Soul Integrity Compromised]**
**Corruption: 12% → 18%**
Loki snapped his fingers. A green sigil flared beneath their feet. "Last chance," he hissed at Dean. "Where now?"
Dean's mind raced. The Tesseract fragment burned in his pocket—useless without the rest. But the tablet... He swiped left. **AVAILABLE WORLDS** pulsed:
**[Hunter x Hunter - 3000 SP]**
Too expensive.
**[Limitless - (Already Acquired)]**
Then—
**[Harry Potter - 1000 SP]**
Dean grinned. "Hogwarts."
Loki blinked. "A school?"
The sigil flared brighter. Mephisto's shriek of rage was the last thing Dean heard before the world inverted.
---
The air smelled like parchment and rain. Dean staggered, his boots sinking into muddy grass. The **STATUS SCREEN** recalibrated:
**Current World: [Earth-1218-HP (Harry Potter Universe)]**
**New Objective: [Locate Elder Wand - 2000 SP]**
**Secondary Objective: [Avoid Ministry Detection - 500 SP]**
Loki wrinkled his nose at the squat castle in the distance. "Charming."
Dean reloaded. "We're here for a stick."
Loki's smile was knives. "Then let's break some wands."
The first spell hit Dean square in the chest—a stunner from the trees. His NZT-enhanced reflexes kicked in; he sidestepped the second. The **STATUS SCREEN** updated:
**WARNING: [Hostile Wizard Detected]**
**Identity: [Alastor Moody (Imposter)]**
Dean's laugh was a bullet in the chamber.
Time to teach magic a lesson.