Marvel: Sign-In System – Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit

And so, Blackheart found himself on the receiving end of a "just" group beating.

To his shock and fury, Blackheart discovered that these humans were utterly shameless in combat. Not only were they monstrously strong, but the armor worn by the warriors—and the red trench coats worn by the female fighters—as well as their gauntlets, were all engraved with special magical runes.

Those runes allowed them to inflict maximum damage on Blackheart.

If it had only been physical attacks, Blackheart had ten thousand ways to negate them. Ten thousand.

But now, that ability was useless.

Most importantly, Blackheart realized he couldn't even escape anymore.

The surrounding space had been locked down. From the magical aura, Blackheart instantly recognized it as the work of those sorcerers from Kamar-Taj.

He had been set up yet again.

Blackheart was both enraged and getting beaten at the same time, while the warriors of the Astartes and Raven warbands were overflowing with excitement, attacking with ruthless force.

There was no other reason.

They had been holding it in for too long.

Ever since receiving the Super Soldier serum and arriving at the South Pacific island base, their lives had consisted of nothing but training, studying, training, and more studying in an endless cycle.

Sure, the visible improvement and growth were addicting.

But it had gone on for too long, especially after Matthew created the gravity magic training zone. Every single day, they had to endure terrifying pressure training that affected their bones, organs, and even their cells.

After growing stronger, none of them really knew how far their strength had advanced.

The logistics team performed full-body examinations every week and provided detailed data, but data was still just data. Nothing compared to real combat. Nothing made things clearer.

To put it simply, they just wanted an outlet.

And with Blackheart acting as an immortal punching bag, they didn't need to worry about holding back or accidentally killing him. So the warriors of both warbands let loose completely, using every technique they had learned on Blackheart as practice.

As a result, under the dumbfounded gazes of Carter, Johnny, and Roxanne, Blackheart was kicked around like a ball by over a dozen warriors.

For a while, Blackheart's screams and furious roars echoed nonstop.

It was brutal!

Is this the legendary son of the Demon Lord? Since when did Earth become so terrifying?

Johnny and Roxanne couldn't help shivering, but at the same time, they suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of security.

So Earth actually had protectors like these?

Then what was there to be afraid of?

Especially Roxanne. Her eyes practically glowed green as she stared fixedly at Natasha, Neagley, and Reacher. She looked like she wanted to rush over for an interview while also touching the armor Reacher was wearing.

It looked way too cool.

"Wow…"

Even the well-traveled Carter couldn't help opening his mouth in amazement, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Every time Blackheart got punched, it felt as satisfying to him as drinking an ice-cold beer on a summer day.

"Son, please tell your soldiers not to hold back. He's the Son of the Devil—he has an immortal nature," Carter quickly said to Reacher after snapping out of it.

He was genuinely afraid Blackheart might escape.

"Don't worry, old man. Those guys definitely won't go easy on him," Neagley replied with an amused glance in that direction.

Actually, Neagley's hands were itching a little too.

But the composure expected of someone in a leadership position made her suppress the urge and turn her attention toward the cemetery instead.

Compared to what was happening with Blackheart, the battle between their boss and Mephisto was far more spectacular.

Endless black-and-red lightning exploded across the sky, while raging crimson seas of fire collided and churned violently. Dense golden pillars of light burst from the ground from time to time, shooting straight into the heavens.

In just a short amount of time, the entire cemetery had already been completely destroyed.

Fortunately, before the battle broke out, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj had already moved all the remains. Otherwise, even those laid to rest here would have been reduced to nothing.

Boom!!

While Neagley was still lost in thought, the cemetery split apart.

Literally split into two halves.

From the bottomless crack, towering Hellfire erupted, splitting the world in two.

It also forced Mephisto and Matthew apart.

Standing in the sky, Mephisto stared across the wall of Hellfire at Matthew. Although he still maintained his composed appearance on the surface, enormous waves were surging in his heart.

Something felt very wrong to Mephisto.

More than wrong—it was absurd.

He had always been watching Earth and knew clearly that the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu, had recently gone almost insane trying to keep Ancient One occupied.

That was why the energy projection he sent this time was far stronger than before.

In terms of raw power alone, he was many times stronger than when he first met Matthew.

Yet now, facing Matthew, the fight had become unexpectedly difficult.

He even had the faint feeling that he was being pushed into a disadvantage.

Matthew had grown far too much since their first meeting.

His improvement was exponential.

Not just in physical strength, but in combat experience as well. Most impressive of all was his control over energy.

Previously, Matthew had already been powerful, but aside from that unique ability to turn willpower into a weapon, his use of energy had actually been rather crude.

After all, Mephisto stood on an entirely different dimensional level.

But now Matthew had completely transformed. He had learned magic and fully integrated it into his abilities, using it skillfully in actual combat.

Because of that, Mephisto had suffered quite a few losses after being caught off guard.

This human boy's growth rate was becoming unreasonable.

For the first time, the burning greed in Mephisto's heart faded, replaced instead by a trace of unease.

The moment Mephisto showed that hint of vulnerability, Matthew—whose Observation Haki was focused to the maximum—sensed it immediately.

Even if it was only the slightest crack.

It was enough to prove that Mephisto's steady emotions had faltered.

"Mephisto, can even you feel fear?" Matthew stood high in the sky as well, his voice echoing in Mephisto's ears.

The instant his words fell, a massive black-and-red bolt of lightning tore across the heavens with a deafening roar.

Hellfire flickered across Matthew's face.

Especially those eyes—dyed crimson by the surging force of Conqueror's Haki.

Under that gaze, even Mephisto, the lofty ruler of Hell, found himself shaken for a brief moment.

"You've become far too arrogant, child."

Mephisto could no longer maintain the dignity on his face. His aged expression turned extremely grim.

Again and again, his authority and dominion had been challenged.

Whether in the human world or in Hell, challenging authority was an extremely serious matter.

Especially in the latter.

In a world where the strong devoured the weak, when did a ruler truly begin to lose power?

Not at the moment of death.

But from the moment their authority began to be challenged.

That was when cracks first appeared in their rule.

...

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