The effectiveness of Devil Fruits relies not only on the user's physical skills but also on how they develop their powers. Knowledge is crucial in maximizing their potential. For example, Doflamingo's mastery over the String-String Fruit allowed him to unlock healing abilities, and Nico Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit enabled her to create clones, spy, fly, and even summon giant limbs, putting her ahead of many Devil Fruit users.
In the world of One Piece, some incredibly powerful fruits are wasted by their users, such as Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Caesar Clown's Gas-Gas Fruit, Monet's Snow-Snow Fruit, Bruno's Door-Door Fruit, Buggy's Chop-Chop Fruit, and even lesser-known abilities like Rust-Rust or Swamp-Swamp Fruits. The users' poor development limits their potential.
The most wasted of all was undoubtedly the Time-Time Fruit. Spatial abilities are considered supreme, but time manipulation is even rarer. However, the Time-Time Fruit's wielder, Kozuki Toki, used it primarily to send her children into the future to fight Kaido and the Shogun of Wano, Orochi. Given that she had traveled forward from 800 years ago, her ability seemed more like a future-predicting power than true time control.
"Not so easy to kill, huh?" Daniel muttered as he watched Roarke—or rather, Mephisto's incarnation—stand amidst the sea of fire. Though his body appeared skeletal, black and sinister energy began to repair his injuries. The once-molten ground, now blackened and barren, seemed to lose all life as Mephisto's influence spread.
Suddenly, one of Daniel's clones descended to the ground, and the others quickly surrounded it, their hands glowing as they formed golden energy whips. With no resistance, the clone allowed itself to be bound by the energy whips, creating a perplexing scene. Even Roarke, along with the onlookers like Natasha and the others, were baffled by why Daniel's clones were fighting amongst themselves instead of focusing on the enemy.
"Room—Slaughterhouse," Daniel said, ignoring their confusion. With a flick of his hand, he activated his Ope Ope no Mi ability, using spatial displacement to switch places between the clone and Roarke.
The Ope Ope no Mi's spatial replacement is a powerful technique, though it was often used for escape by Law, as seen during his battles against Doflamingo. But Daniel wielded it with far more versatility. Having prepared the bindings beforehand, he switched Roarke with his own clone and used the opportunity to trap the demon lord.
Now tightly bound by multiple energy whips, Roarke's expression changed drastically. In his current, weakened state on Earth, there was no way for him to break free. Sensing his advantage, Daniel conjured the Vishanti's Sacred Sword, a blade shimmering with holy light.
As Roarke watched in horror, Daniel drove the sacred sword through his chest. Unlike Thanos, who had once blocked a similar attack from Doctor Strange, Roarke lacked both the titan's physical resilience and his full power. The blow pierced him easily.
"Mephisto, if you ever want to visit Earth, be my guest. But in your current state, it's better to stay away," Daniel taunted. With those words, he channeled immense energy through the sword, releasing the Bolts of Balthakk—a powerful golden lightning bolt that shot through Roarke, disintegrating him into ashes that scattered across the landscape.
"Is it over?" Natasha and Coulson, still stunned by the quick resolution, approached Daniel. They had struggled in their previous battle against Roarke and couldn't believe how easily Daniel had defeated him.
If Daniel knew what they were thinking, he would've scoffed. While the battle seemed straightforward, it required his full strength. Had he replicated this strategy in the One Piece world, he could likely have taken down an Admiral.
"This was just one of Mephisto's avatars," Daniel replied, annoyed at Natasha's skeptical tone. "Did you expect an epic battle lasting days, with the world shaking apart?"
"So he'll come back?" Coulson asked, frowning.
"For now, he shouldn't pose a problem, but give him some time—he'll try again," Daniel replied thoughtfully.
"Why do these Hell Lords always try to invade Earth?" Natasha grumbled. "Can't they just rule Hell and be content?"
"Maybe they're just bored, looking for entertainment," Daniel speculated.
Mephisto's lifespan stretched into the unknown, far beyond even Odin's. Born as a Hell Lord, Mephisto needed to find ways to pass the time, and meddling in Earth's affairs likely amused him.
Beings like Mephisto, who are innately powerful, have both advantages and drawbacks. On the plus side, they are born with immense strength, without the need for training, like the hidden titans of the Marvel universe. But on the downside, they are bound by severe limitations. Unlike Daniel, who could traverse different worlds freely, Mephisto was constrained.
In many ways, Mephisto is more of a god than even Odin. While Odin might be revered as such, he's essentially an incredibly powerful alien, much like Thanos. The destruction of Thanos' homeworld was understandable—when beings of such immense power live together, even minor conflicts can have catastrophic consequences.
"Though Mephisto won't be back for a while, as long as the Child of the Devil exists, he'll keep trying," Daniel said as they boarded the plane back, discussing the next steps for dealing with Danny, the Child of the Devil.
"Is there no other way to stop this?" Coulson asked, his brow furrowed.
"There's one simple solution—you could just kill the boy," Daniel said bluntly. In the Ancient One's records, there was no mention of sealing methods for a devil child. When she dealt with them in the past, it was straightforward—elimination.
The only reason Danny hadn't awakened his powers yet was due to his age. But once a Child of the Devil matured, they would inevitably wield the power of a demon.
Coulson winced at Daniel's suggestion. "We can't just kill an innocent child. Perhaps the church has other options."
"Church, huh," Daniel said with a knowing smile but chose not to elaborate.
"We'll head to the church's sanctuary then," Coulson said after consulting with Moreau. The church claimed they could perform a ritual to neutralize Danny's power, but it had to take place at their holy site. With Danny's mother, Nadia, and Johnny Blaze joining them, the group headed to Ushac.
When they arrived at the so-called sanctuary, they found it was merely a massive cave. It wasn't the kind of place Daniel would ever want to live, and it was a far cry from the comforts of modern life. After taking a quick look around, Simmons, Fitz, and Skye quickly returned to the plane, unable to tolerate the primitive conditions.
"Why do demons seem so powerful, yet we never see angels? Shouldn't they be intervening?" Skye asked, voicing a question that had been on her mind for some time.
Hearing this, Simmons, Fitz, and Natasha also looked to Daniel, curious for an answer. The recent surge in demonic activity, especially from Mephisto, had left them wondering why heaven remained silent.
"That's because God was banished," Daniel said casually.
"What!?" The group exclaimed in unison, their disbelief palpable. None of them were devout believers, but the idea that God had been exiled was a shock.
"How is that possible? Isn't God supposed to be omnipotent?" Fitz blurted out.
"That's mythology. According to myths, Thor is undefeated, and Loki is a god of fire. But you've met Thor and Loki, haven't you? You know what they're really like," Daniel replied. Thor, the supposedly unstoppable god, was hardly invincible, and Loki, far from being a fire god, was revealed to be a Frost Giant.
"Who could banish God?" Natasha asked after a moment of silence.
"The Sorcerer Supreme," Daniel said quietly.
"Why?" Skye asked, her curiosity piqued.
"To protect humanity," Daniel sighed. If not for his status as the new Sorcerer Supreme, he might never have learned this hidden truth. "Humanity needs to grow on its own. You might see God as good and demons as evil, but in reality, they're just other-dimensional beings with their own agendas. One uses deception, the other uses kindness."
This was the reality in the Marvel universe.
"You all know that Earth is Midgard, one of the Nine Realms, right?" Daniel asked, shifting the conversation.
"So?" Fitz responded.
"Well, ask yourselves this—if you were in charge of a planet, would you let it develop freely without interference?" Daniel continued.
"Of course not," they replied in unison.
"Exactly. The reason Earth has been allowed to evolve independently is because the Sorcerer Supreme fought Odin and forced Asgard to back off," Daniel revealed.
Imagining the other realms under Asgardian rule, Daniel marveled at the Ancient One's foresight. Without her intervention, Earth might have turned out like those other planets, where rebellion against Asgard was frequent due to their oppressive rule.
"Where can we meet this Sorcerer Supreme?" Natasha asked suddenly.
"Are you asking for Fury?" Daniel chuckled, seeing right through her.
"There's no need. The Sorcerer Supreme is gone now, and there's no chance of meeting them. If they were still around
, do you think Mephisto would dare run wild?" Daniel added.
Though Mephisto's antics might seem like mere amusement to him, the Ancient One had kept him in check for centuries. Now that she was gone, Earth's mystical defenses were far weaker.
"Without the Sorcerer Supreme, who will protect Earth?" Skye asked after a moment of reflection.
"That's up to humanity now. Isn't S.H.I.E.L.D. always talking about protecting the world? Now's your time to shine," Daniel said with a smirk, watching them fall into contemplative silence.
His goal in sharing this information was to shirk the responsibilities of being the Sorcerer Supreme. Unlike the Ancient One, he had no desire to carry such a burden.
Meanwhile, Moreau and the church successfully resolved the issues surrounding Danny and Johnny Blaze. Though the Ghost Rider didn't need to intervene, the problem was handled smoothly.
"I guess there was no need for the Spirit of Vengeance to step in," Daniel mused, noting that Johnny Blaze hadn't had a chance to unleash his powers.
As Daniel observed the blossoming relationship between Johnny and Danny's mother, Nadia, he couldn't help but shake his head. The so-called "Devil's Family" seemed to have some interesting dynamics.
Western views on love often embraced passion without restraint. Yet once that passion faded, relationships became much more fragile. Johnny, for instance, seemed to have forgotten his ex, Roxanne, entirely, much like Thor and Jane Foster. At least Sif remained loyal to her feelings.
"Time to see Ada," Daniel thought to himself, departing shortly after saying his goodbyes to Natasha and Coulson. Any further monitoring of Johnny and Danny would be handled by S.H.I.E.L.D. While the church claimed the situation was resolved, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't the type to leave things entirely to chance.
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