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

"Good!!"

The moment Matthew made his decision, Wong immediately agreed.

In Wong's heart, Matthew's importance had continued rising, to the point where he was second only to the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, within Kamar-Taj itself.

Once that matter was settled, Wong brought up another issue.

"More and more incidents have been appearing across Earth lately, just as the Ancient One predicted."

"Matthew, we're starting to run short on manpower."

The meaning behind his words was obvious—Wong hoped to receive Matthew's assistance.

In his eyes, they were all on the same side already, so there was no need to stand on ceremony.

"Alright. Reacher, Natasha—you two coordinate with Wong. Deploy the Astartes and Raven warbands. Whenever Wong needs support, you can send the soldiers to assist."

Matthew did not refuse.

The best way to deepen their relationship with the sorcerers was naturally through fighting side by side. Besides, battling enemies beyond humanity was something they should have experienced long ago.

A battlefield forged through blood and fire was where a true warrior was tempered.

"Yes!!"

Reacher and Natasha responded immediately.

"You may go."

Under the astonished gazes of Carter and the others, Matthew opened a portal and sent Reacher's group back to the island base.

From a strategic standpoint, portals were truly invaluable.

The formation of a dedicated magical warbands would also need to accelerate in the future. He couldn't rely solely on himself forever.

But before that, he still needed to solve the issue of energy sources.

Naturally, he had no intention of letting his subordinates become like the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj and sign contracts with the Vishanti.

That was practically working for someone else for free, and Matthew had no interest in taking losses.

Soon afterward, Wong departed as well.

Only Matthew, old Carter, Johnny, and Roxanne remained at the scene.

"What are your plans from here?" Matthew asked.

"I'll take this kid into hiding for a while. He needs time to adapt to his new identity," the old cowboy replied as he glanced toward the distant cemetery. Seeing it completely destroyed, he could not help but sigh helplessly.

The secluded place where he had lived for many years was gone.

He would have to find somewhere new.

And now that he had finally found Johnny, he intended to use the little time he had left to help the young man adapt to becoming a Ghost Rider.

Otherwise, Johnny might still end up being manipulated by Mephisto again.

Fortunately, Mephisto's soul projection had been destroyed, and the ambitious Blackheart had been captured by Matthew and reduced to a prisoner. Carter no longer had to worry much about safety.

"Someone will come deal with this place," Matthew said simply, understanding what the old cowboy was thinking.

Ever since the Ancient One had informed him of Mephisto's location and he traced it here, Matthew had already known this area would inevitably be destroyed.

Fortunately, Wong and the other sorcerers were experienced in handling situations like this. Before the battle began, they had already used magic to transfer away all the buried remains in the cemetery.

It was their way of showing respect to the dead.

Unless absolutely necessary, they always tried to preserve battlefields as much as possible and properly secure the aftermath.

As for the Mirror Dimension spell, they had considered using it beforehand. It worked against Blackheart, but it would have been useless against Mephisto.

At its core, Mirror Dimension magic was a spell designed to drag enemies into the caster's home field, giving the caster a natural advantage. It worked effectively against opponents on the same level or only slightly stronger.

But the gap between Matthew and Mephisto in this area was simply too large.

Not in terms of raw energy, but in magical knowledge and mastery.

Matthew's talent was extraordinary, and his progress in learning magic was astonishingly fast, but in the end, he had studied magic for less than a year.

Meanwhile, how many years had Mephisto lived?

In this regard, the two of them simply weren't on the same level.

If Matthew had tried to activate the Mirror Dimension against Mephisto, Mephisto could have broken it apart on the spot. He might even have seized control of the Mirror Dimension in reverse and turned it against Matthew instead.

As for the cleanup afterward, that would naturally fall to a certain black one-eyed bald director's organization.

The commotion here had been far too massive. There was no way S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't notice it.

But at this point, it no longer mattered.

Matthew's industrial network and the formation of his warbands had already taken shape. His overall momentum was established now, and no one could stop it anymore.

The person most likely to have become an obstacle had originally been the Ancient One herself, yet she had instead become Matthew's strongest supporter.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D., it was no longer something he feared.

Even if Nick Fury went crazy and used that pager to call Carol back to Earth, it still wouldn't change anything.

Matthew's advantage wasn't just his personal strength or the number of people under his command.

He also possessed legitimacy.

The Ancient One herself had effectively designated him as the future leader of humanity's side in maintaining Earth's order. Kamar-Taj had protected Earth far longer than S.H.I.E.L.D. ever had. If Nick Fury really tried to use moral authority to suppress Matthew, he would only be humiliating himself.

And if "Captain Marvel" really returned and learned the full story, that justice-driven woman might very well turn around on the spot and demand to know what exactly Nick Fury thought he was doing.

With all concerns gone, the old cowboy finally left together with Johnny and Roxanne.

The sight of the three of them crowded onto a single horse strangely resembled a family. It looked unexpectedly harmonious.

There was no helping it. Johnny's cool motorcycle had been destroyed during the battle. Wong had only bothered transferring the remains of the dead away earlier; he certainly hadn't gone out of his way to save Johnny's personal property too.

Before leaving, however, the old cowboy handed Matthew something extremely important.

The Contract of San Venganza, containing the souls of three thousand fallen followers of God.

To demons, this thing was an absolute treasure.

Those believers had once been extremely devout saints, only to be corrupted through Mephisto's thousand-year-long schemes. Their souls had become filled with the "ultimate evil," and the terrifying energy produced through that complete reversal was immense.

It was essentially a soul battery.

Any demon who absorbed those souls could rapidly increase their power.

Given enough time, they could even form a powerful army to wage war for them.

At the same time, the contract was also a key capable of opening the gates of Hell.

A top-tier treasure.

Matthew accepted it.

The reason the old cowboy was willing to hand such a dangerous item over to Matthew was simple: Matthew stood in direct opposition to Mephisto.

As long as Matthew remained alive, Mephisto would never be able to reclaim the contract from him.

Its safety was guaranteed.

And considering Matthew's seemingly extraordinary relationship with Kamar-Taj, his credibility was equally unquestionable.

Since that was the case, handing this troublesome hot potato over to Matthew was the best outcome for everyone involved.

Matthew stood where he was, watching the horse carrying the three figures gradually disappear into the night. Then he lowered his head to look at the contract in his hand.

Come to think of it, the corrupted souls inside this thing shouldn't count as demon souls, right?

If the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia recognized them as demonic souls, then he would truly strike it rich.

Matthew immediately checked the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia within his consciousness, only to discover that it showed no reaction at all.

That confirmed his suspicion.

As expected, it only accepted genuine demon souls.

Still, today's gains were already more than enough, so Matthew didn't dwell on it any further. He turned and left as well.

All that remained behind was the devastated cemetery, flattened beyond recognition, waiting for S.H.I.E.L.D. to come clean up the aftermath.

...

In Hell, in the eyes of many humans, it is the embodiment of absolute evil and terror.

And in truth, it is exactly that.

A cross-dimensional abyss painted in molten lava, raging flames, sulfur, and endless suffering.

The sky is eternally dark red, filled with sulfurous smoke and drifting ash. The air is scorching and acrid, as if every breath were swallowing fire itself. Clouds are made of rolling black smoke and fragments of molten rock, occasionally raining down fire or rivers of magma.

Broken continents of black stone and crimson lava stretch endlessly across the land.

Rifts, abyssal chasms, volcanoes, and rivers of molten fire are everywhere.