Chapter 37 37: Mephisto’s Empty Threats
"Heh~"
Matthew dismissed Mephisto's words with a scoff.
He did not doubt Mephisto's strength. To bear the name of Satan in Hell meant standing among the highest-tier demon lords, ranked at the very top within the Skyfather level.
His standing was undeniably high.
But a high standing did not mean he held the same status on Earth.
In fact, he didn't dare come to Earth freely at all.
The magical barriers of the three Sanctums on Earth would severely weaken Mephisto even if his true body managed to descend.
At the same time, he simply didn't dare to come.
There was a reason Mephisto always relied on energy projections, clones, or proxies to operate stealthily on Earth: he feared two individuals.
One was the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One. The other was the All-Father of Asgard—Odin.
The latter was a threat because Earth—Midgard—was one of the Nine Realms, essentially territory under Asgardian rule.
While Mephisto was strong, Odin was a monster.
During his prime, Odin had led the Asgardian legions across the entire universe, thrashing countless races; it was only later that he cultivated a more reserved and low-profile nature.
But being low-profile didn't mean Odin had grown weak.
On the contrary, as time passed, Odin only became more terrifying.
The Odinforce grew stronger over time, and that power wasn't entirely controllable. In his later years, even Odin's body began to struggle to contain it.
In the end, he had no choice but to rely on the Odinsleep to stabilize himself.
Given Mephisto's cautious nature, he would never dare let his true body descend to Earth so easily.
He feared being noticed by Odin—if it came to a fight, Mephisto might not last even a minute.
Aside from Odin, there was also the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One.
Odin, at least, ruled another realm—but Earth was the Ancient One's home ground.
As its Guardian, her duty was to suppress multidimensional threats, including Hell.
If someone merely sneaked onto Earth, she might not bother to intervene.
But if they acted recklessly, the bald sorceress was not one to be taken lightly—she dealt with all threats equally and without hesitation.
So Matthew understood very well—and Mephisto understood as well—that those earlier words were nothing more than bluster.
On Earth, without his true body, Mephisto's energy projection alone was nowhere near enough to suppress Matthew.
That was why, even after guessing Mephisto's identity, Matthew still believed he held the advantage. Earth was truly his home ground.
This battle had yielded tremendous gains.
Although he had failed to destroy that projection of Mephisto's consciousness and allowed him to escape—
This high-intensity fight had greatly accelerated his growth.
His physique had improved significantly. He had grasped advanced applications of Armament Haki, including Emission (Ryuo) and Internal Destruction. His Observation Haki had also advanced, and he had essentially mastered Conqueror's Coating.
His use of the Six Powers in combat had become more refined, along with his control over muscle and force.
He believed it wouldn't be long before he could comprehend the advanced technique of the Six Powers—Life Return (Seimei Kikan).
At its core, it was the embodiment of physical consciousness.
By using the mind to fully control every part of the body, it enabled rapid digestion, control over hair as a weapon, optimization of bodily form, extraordinary regeneration, and near-limitless stamina.
It was the strongest kind of "body cheat," capable of producing a qualitative leap in combat power while pushing survivability to the maximum.
He had provoked a demon king—and it didn't matter much—but in exchange, he had gained a significant boost in strength. Matthew was in a fairly good mood.
At that moment, a voice came through his earpiece.
"BOSS?"
"Neagley?"
"Well, finally connected. There was signal interference just now and the communication was cut off. What happened over there?"
Neagley remained calm.
If it had been anyone else losing signal during a mission, she would have been anxious. But since the executor was their boss, she wasn't worried at all.
She knew exactly what level of strength their boss had.
With that ability to control light alone, even if he ran into an opponent he couldn't beat, escaping wouldn't be a problem.
"I ran into a Demon King. Just had a fight with him."
"Uh… literally?"
"Pretty much."
"Alright… looks like Earth is becoming harder and harder to understand. Our people will arrive at the target point in ten minutes. The agents over there are converging on your location—they probably heard the commotion. Should we have our Secretary-General suppress it?"
"No need. Let them investigate."
"OK."
As the call ended, Matthew knew the battle had caused quite a stir.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were stationed in the surrounding areas; it would be strange if they hadn't noticed.
He turned his head to look at the girl watching from the distant hill. His form suddenly transformed into a golden beam of light and flew over.
In the blink of an eye, golden particles erupted in front of Needy. Matthew's figure appeared, giving the girl a significant fright.
"Cool~~"
Ignoring Jennifer's excited voice in her head, Needy stared blankly at Matthew, blinking a few times, unsure of what to say.
"You probably aren't suited for an ordinary life anymore. So—do you want to come with me?"
Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Matthew gave her the choice directly.
Needy was not weak.
Within his Observation Haki, her presence was much stronger than that of an ordinary human. While he had never seen someone like Captain America, Steve Rogers, she was likely even stronger than that level of super soldier.
More importantly, she wasn't a purely physical enhancer—she was more of a psychic-type ability user.
Similar to the demonic power that once possessed Jennifer.
There might be some connection between the two. As for what it was, Matthew intended to look into it later.
Needy didn't know what Matthew was thinking. Upon hearing his invitation, she nodded immediately without hesitation.
"Okay, I'll follow you, sir."
"Call me Boss, or just Matthew."
"Let's go."
Matthew lifted her up and turned into a golden beam of light, flying into the distance.
Half an hour later—
A convoy of SUVs arrived on the highway. The lead vehicle stopped, and as the door opened, a middle-aged white man in a suit stepped out.
Looking at the ruined highway ahead—filled with dense cracks and craters, especially the massive bottomless pit in front—his expression was filled with shock.
"What happened here?"
"Agent Coulson, headquarters reports that surveillance satellites in this area were jammed about an hour ago. Attempts to restore the signal have failed."
An agent behind him stepped forward to report.
Coulson frowned.
"Man-made?"
"Uncertain. But it doesn't seem like intentional jamming. If it were, we wouldn't be unable to restore it."
After thinking for a moment, Coulson immediately issued orders.
"Tell all agents to tighten the perimeter. Deploy surrounding surveillance satellites and search for footage within a 100-kilometer radius during this time window."
"You mean...?"
"This level of destruction is beyond that girl's capability. There must be someone else involved. We need to figure out what happened first. Seal off the area and report to headquarters. Have them send a team for inspection."
"Yes, sir."