Marvel: Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit.

As the commotion subsided and the dust slowly settled, a scene of utter chaos was revealed.

The ground, stretching for thousands of meters, was in ruins, riddled with cracks and craters of varying sizes. The surrounding trees and vegetation had been uprooted, and some areas of the ground were scorched black.

Many of the hills on both sides of the highway have been leveled and blasted, making the area much more open.

Matthew paused in mid-air, looking down.

Flames faintly burned within the cracks, and the old man stood on a relatively intact patch of ground within one of the cracks.

The energy collision just now clearly didn't harm him.

Their gaze shifted from the old man to the flames burning in the crack at his feet.

He could sense that it was no ordinary flame; the temperature was not only very high, but it also had other effects. At least his instincts told him not to get involved.

"A remarkable ability. Your physique is quite unique; you can control the energy of light, which is somewhat similar to those birdmen."

Matthew was watching the flames, and the old man noticed them too, not holding back his praise.

In fact, he almost failed to block the beam of light energy that Matthew had just unleashed. It was a highly concentrated beam of light energy that had been compressed, and its power was astonishing.

Strangely, the old man did not sense any source of light energy from Matthew.

On the contrary, one can switch freely between physical body and light energy.

Unlike his own pure energy projection, his body was merely a wisp of consciousness and energy avatar, a fake flesh and blood created using projection magic.

There will be no bleeding and no pain.

His body is so unusual; no wonder that greedy ogre Nahuma both coveted and loathed Matthew's body.

That's why his interest in Matthew grew stronger and stronger, from a mere collectible to a complete desire to possess the man's body and soul.

To forge him into a warrior who belongs only to him.

With that thought, the old man floated up, maintaining the same height as Matthew.

"Are you interested in it?"

The old man gently raised his hand, and a wisp of flame floated up from the crack in the ground and landed in his palm.

"It seems capable of scorching the soul; the only thing I can think of is hellfire." Matthew's pupils reflected the flickering flames in his palm, and he looked at the old man after speaking: "This kind of thing is not something an ordinary demon can control."

"Didn't you already guess who I am?"

"Controlling hellfire, fond of trading with humans, and a demon king—there's only one in legend: Mephisto," Matthew gave his answer, his eyes gleaming.

Based on these clues, even without information about past life memories, it's not difficult to guess Mephisto's identity.

"Even though they guessed my identity, they still maintain this high fighting spirit. What strange humans."

Mephisto was surprised that the little guy in front of him, who had clearly guessed his identity, was not afraid at all, but instead became even more eager to try.

What does that mean?

Did they really see him as prey?

What does Mephisto represent?

In mythology, religion, and folklore, he is synonymous with power and terror, ruling over hell and countless demons.

As it turned out, this reputation seemed to have no effect whatsoever in front of Matthew.

Since that's the case, then he'll have to make this little guy understand the meaning of the name Mephisto.

Come on~

Mephisto extinguished the hellfire in his palm, and gestured with his fingers to signal Matthew that he could attack, with a superior air of looking down on him.

The dismissive attitude did not anger Matthew.

Instead, he grinned, and the fire burning in his heart grew even stronger.

"I'm starting to like you, Mephisto."

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped his right foot, and a shockwave exploded in the air, propelling Matthew toward Mephisto.

With his right fist clenched, a jet-black sheen illuminated the fist as it hurtled toward Mephisto.

He did not choose the Glint-Glint Fruit again.

Mephisto saw through Matthew's fighting intentions and swung his walking stick with immense force.

A punch and a stick collided, creating a shockwave in mid-air.

That wasn't all. Matthew unleashed a torrent of attacks, his fists crackling with Armament Haki, while Mephisto countered just as fiercely.

In an instant, continuous shockwaves erupted in mid-air.

A series of booming sounds, like thunder, resounded throughout.

If the start of the battle was more like a test, then the current fight between Matthew and Mephisto is like dancing on a knife's edge.

There is no magic, no energy attacks from the Glint-Glint Fruit, but only the purest form of close combat.

Mephisto, as the demon king of Hell, is not someone who only plays with magic or souls. On the contrary, he has lived for countless years, growing and fighting step by step in Hell, and finally bearing the name of Satan.

They have extremely rich practical experience and skills.

From the moment Matthew started the match, he almost immediately fell into a disadvantage in this aspect.

Without a doubt, Matthew is very well-rounded, proficient in all three types of Haki, especially Observation Haki, which allows him to anticipate the enemy's next move—a bug-level ability in actual combat.

There are also six styles.

As a top-tier fighter in the One Piece world, Matthew's physical skills, honed to the point of transcending human limits, allow him to achieve a level of precision in controlling the exertion of force in the human body.

But this doesn't mean Matthew is invincible in actual combat.

On the contrary, what he lacks is combat experience at his level.

In previous battles, he had simply overwhelmed opponents with sheer numerical superiority.

This is his weakness.

This is why Matthew craves intense battles; even knowing the old man is Mephisto, his fighting spirit remains high.

The Glint-Glint Fruit undoubtedly provides him with a huge boost in battle.

However, over-reliance on fruit abilities can actually hinder growth.

For example, why did Admiral Zephyr say that Kizaru relied too much on his Devil Fruit ability?

Zephyr doesn't look down on Devil Fruits.

Many of his students also possess Devil Fruit abilities, but he emphasizes that they shouldn't rely on them, because real combat is the best catalyst for growth.

Every punch that lands hard, every dangerous fight, every injury is the best way to temper one's body, will, and dominance.

Matthew can indeed rely on the Glint-Glint Fruit to fight Mephisto.

Even Matthew, with his Glint-Glint Fruit, could defeat Mephisto's energy projection, but so what?

Winning would only allow him to develop a deeper understanding of the Glint-Glint Fruit.

What he truly wants is to explore and grow within himself. Only when he becomes stronger will the Glint-Glint Fruit provide a greater boost to his combat power.

Matthew knew that only this kind of real, hard-hitting combat could make his body stronger.

It allows for faster mastery of Observation Haki, faster mastery of Armament Haki with more applications, and even the mastery of advanced forms of Conqueror's Haki, such as Conqueror's Haki Entanglement.

In short, the beauty of numbers is true beauty.