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

No ruler could tolerate any form of challenge or provocation.

Previously, Mephisto's misjudgment had only made him angry, and he still greatly coveted Matthew.

But now, Mephisto was beginning to lose patience.

It wasn't just Matthew's verbal provocations.

It was also the challenge posed by his terrifying growth rate.

For the first time, Mephisto felt pressure.

At this moment, killing intent had already risen in his heart.

Just one Ancient One had been enough to keep him from setting foot on Earth.

Just like Dormammu, he absolutely did not want another Ancient One appearing on Earth.

And unlike that old woman, Ancient One—

Matthew had youth as an enormous advantage.

At the same time, his physique was far stronger than hers, and the ceiling of his potential was frighteningly high.

A gifted genius either had to be controlled by him—

Or die.

Mephisto made what he believed was the most reasonable decision.

He chose the latter.

Matthew's coat fluttered wildly in the wind. Through the wall of Hellfire, he "saw" Mephisto's rising killing intent and, instead of flinching, he smiled.

The old monster had finally become completely furious.

Matthew liked seeing him like this.

A serious Mephisto was the best kind of Mephisto.

Although Matthew's original goal was to use Mephisto's soul to light up the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, he also wanted to improve himself through battle.

The brief clash just now had already made his blood boil.

He needed greater pressure.

Since Mephisto had revealed his killing intent, Matthew no longer needed to provoke him with words.

Buzz!!

Matthew raised both hands before his chest, palms facing each other in a lifting motion.

Golden light gathered in his palms, forming a golden circular mirror.

Although the mirror was made of energy, its structure was incredibly refined, with magical runes visible along its edges.

In the next instant, the golden mirror shone brilliantly, and a beam of golden light erupted from it.

The compressed beam of light energy pierced straight through the wall of Hellfire, forcibly blasting open a passage.

At the same time, Matthew's body exploded into countless golden particles of light and merged into the beam.

In the blink of an eye, the foremost light had already shot before Mephisto and rapidly recombined into human form.

Matthew's fist, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, descended upon Mephisto like a raging storm.

The second round had begun!

And this time, the battle became incomparably brutal.

Mephisto displayed astonishing combat experience along with supreme mastery over black magic and energy manipulation.

He summoned storms of Hellfire, constantly compressing Matthew's movement space and restricting the battlefield, weakening the speed advantage of Matthew's Glint-Glint Fruit.

The gentleman's cane in his hand split apart into a flaming whip. Not only did it contain flames capable of burning the soul, but it was also infused with black magic that corroded the mind and flesh.

Illusion manipulation, mental shocks, and all kinds of techniques were combined and used with incredible skill.

Matthew instantly experienced just how terrifying a demon lord became once he truly got serious.

The rhythm of the battle was immediately seized by Mephisto.

Fortunately, Matthew was no pushover either.

After several months of study and refinement at Kamar-Taj, combined with his Glint-Glint Fruit abilities, his magical attainments had advanced by leaps and bounds.

His mastery of white magic was enough to counter Mephisto's black magic.

Combined with the Three Types of Haki, the Six Powers, the Glint-Glint Fruit, and everything else in his arsenal, Matthew managed to withstand Mephisto's relentless assault and gradually began adapting to it.

This was growth.

The shockwaves from the battle completely destroyed the cemetery and spread outward in all directions. Hellfire raged wildly, golden light rained across the sky like a storm, and black-and-red lightning illuminated the night in dazzling colors.

The entire scene looked incomparably magnificent.

And beneath that magnificence—

Was destruction and death.

...

On the hilltop, Reacher, Natasha, and Neagley watched the battle intently.

Violent winds swept around them, while the magical runes engraved onto their armor and red trench coats glowed with golden light, forming invisible barriers that blocked the impact.

Even so, the ground shook violently beneath them.

The three of them could still stand firm.

But Johnny and Roxanne were another matter entirely. If they hadn't been holding onto Carter's powerful horse, they probably would have already been blown who-knows-where.

"So this is the level Boss has reached now…"

Neagley kept both hands in her trench coat pockets. Reflected in her eyes were the colorful lights and the two constantly clashing figures.

The usual carefree look on her face was gone, replaced only by seriousness and burning excitement.

Only now did she truly realize how powerful Matthew was.

And just how enormous the gap between them had become.

A nearly hopeless gap.

Without even considering the energy manipulation or black-and-white magic, just their physical movement speed alone was already beyond anything she could compare to.

The naked eye couldn't even keep up with them.

And this was only aerial combat.

If they fought on the ground, it would be even harder to follow.

"No wonder Boss brought us here," Natasha said softly as she brushed aside her wine-red hair.

A miniature camera hung from the chest of her coat, faithfully recording every detail of the battle.

Her exquisite face was filled with both amazement and longing.

Back then, all she wanted was to escape the Red Room.

But now, what she desired was strength.

And to follow Matthew to witness a broader world.

"We're still far from enough," Reacher said, the calmest among them, though his eyes burned just as brightly. "You've all read the Books of Dimensions. Compared to his true body, the current Mephisto is weaker by countless times."

"Hey, Boss is growing stronger, and so are we," Neagley replied, elbowing Reacher in the armor with a couple of crisp thuds. "Trust him, and trust ourselves. One day, we'll reach that level too."

"Exactly. Pressure is the best nourishment for growth," Natasha agreed.

Mephisto was already terrifyingly powerful.

And this was only an energy projection.

Then what kind of monster was his true body in Hell?

An ordinary person would probably despair just thinking about it.

But they wouldn't.

They were the Astartes and Raven warbands personally built by Matthew with his own effort and dedication.

Cowardice and retreat had no place among them.

If loyalty was their creed—

Then courage and fearlessness were the foundation beneath it.

The conversation between the three drew both admiration and surprise from Carter.

At the same time, he found himself reevaluating just what kind of monsters these people were.

Just how had that human boy managed to cultivate such outstanding warriors?

And from what Reacher had said about being a warband commander, there were probably many more soldiers like them.

With this kind of unity and confidence, led by such an exceptional leader, Carter believed these people were destined to shine brilliantly in the future.

He even found himself wanting to laugh as he looked toward Mephisto, who was still fiercely battling Matthew in the distance.

"Mephisto… you miscalculated. In the future, there will definitely be people capable of standing against you. Earth will no longer be the same place where you can do whatever you want."