Chapter 93: The Survey Corps (Part 1)
"Are you stunned? I can fly," Daniel Davis taunted, waving to the horde of Titans below him from atop his flying skateboard, hovering dozens of meters above the ground. Among the crowd were a few Abnormal Titans.
After dispatching a Titan with his Op-Op Fruit powers, more Titans appeared. To escape their sheer numbers, Daniel swapped places with a Titan using his Op-Op Fruit's ability and took out his flying skateboard to ascend into the sky.
"Good thing I was well-prepared this time; otherwise, it would've been quite a hassle," Daniel mused. Last time he fell from the sky unprepared, so he made sure to cover all bases this time. His Ant-Man suit, although capable of flight, only worked when he was miniaturized. In his normal size, flying was impossible.
He had considered combining Ant-Man and Iron Man's suits for better functionality, but modifications to the Ant-Man suit would complicate its usability.
"If only nanotechnology were available, a Nano Ant-Man suit or a Nano Iron Man suit would be perfect," Daniel thought. Hovering on his skateboard powered by an Arc Reactor, he didn't need to rush anywhere.
"Messing up in Harry's world was a huge mistake," Daniel reflected on his encounter with Dumbledore. He realized he didn't need to confront Dumbledore head-on. Instead, he could've just hidden in the quantum realm, where Dumbledore, no matter how powerful, couldn't reach.
This reminded Daniel of a novel he'd read where the protagonist had a small tower that could merge into the void. Whenever he faced unbeatable foes, he would hide in the tower, becoming undetectable. This tower, if explained scientifically, might have been functioning within the quantum realm.
For Scott and the other Ant-Men, entering the quantum realm was a one-way trip without a specialized quantum tunnel. But for Daniel, he could exit the quantum realm using his portals, bypassing the need for such a tunnel.
Fortunately, the situation in Harry's world turned out well. Although the initial encounter was rough, he gained valuable knowledge from Dumbledore and Grindelwald, especially from Grindelwald. He learned many spells and insights into magical arts, which compensated for his rocky start.
"Why did it have to be this world? There's nothing here I need," Daniel muttered, sitting cross-legged on his skateboard. For him, the Attack on Titan world seemed to lack any useful resources or technologies. The Titan transformation serum didn't appeal to him, especially with its severe reduction in lifespan.
The Nine Titans were becoming obsolete even in their own world, let alone for someone like him. He could easily defeat all Nine Titans without using any advanced technology. A single Incendio spell would suffice to incinerate them all.
If he employed modern technology, it wouldn't just be a Marvel-level world; any technologically advanced society could annihilate the Nine Titans. Even the massive Titans within the walls would be no match for a nuclear strike.
"This world might be a good backup for relocating the magical community," Daniel considered. The Titan world had only recently developed rudimentary airships. Wizards here would be unmatched.
"It could be a backup option," Daniel thought, standing up and observing the scattering Titans below. Holding his wand in his left hand, he descended on his skateboard.
"Incendio," Daniel aimed first at the Abnormal Titans. "Hmm, regular fire spells don't seem effective," he noted as the flames enveloped the Titans but didn't slow their advance. He realized his mistake—Titans lacked pain receptors, and their massive bodies required more than regular fire to be incinerated quickly. Targeting their nape specifically with the fire might work better.
With regular flames proving ineffective, Daniel switched to Fiendfyre. The cursed fire immediately reduced most of the Titans, including those he had previously dissected with his Op-Op Fruit, to ashes.
Daniel left one Abnormal Titan alive, which attempted to leap at him. Abnormal Titans, unlike their regular counterparts, exhibited more erratic and agile movements.
The reason for sparing this Titan was to examine its anatomy. Despite believing this world had little to offer, Daniel was still curious about the origins of Titans. Before his dimensional travel, the story hadn't revealed much about their true origins or the nature of Pure Titans' longevity. While the lifespan of Intelligent Titans was short, Pure Titans seemed to live indefinitely unless killed.
"Room, Slaughterhouse." The Abnormal Titan, though fast, was swiftly dissected by Daniel's Op-Op Fruit ability.
"This isn't a suitable place for research," Daniel noted, glancing around the wilderness. He used magic to secure the Titan's severed parts together and then flew towards a massive forest he had spotted through his binoculars.
"Interesting structure, not quite flesh, more like some other material, maybe similar to dirt or sand. Is this why Titans disintegrate upon death?" Perched atop the tallest and thickest tree in the forest, Daniel conjured a simple platform with magic and began examining the Titan's anatomy.
"An empty shell," Daniel concluded after using his instruments and Op-Op Fruit to investigate. "Pure Titans aren't worth much; I'll need to find an Intelligent Titan or the spinal fluid injector."
"And these cells look a lot like plant cells. Could the Titans' origins be plant-based, like the Sun Ladder or Blood Orchids, but on a grander scale?"
Having extensively studied the Sun Ladder and Blood Orchids, Daniel noticed striking similarities in the cellular structure of the Titan, predominantly plant-like with minimal human characteristics. It resembled sand or dirt, although Daniel's lack of geological expertise left him uncertain.
"If Titans are plant-based, that's remarkable. Only Eldians can transform into Titans, even with spinal fluid injections," Daniel pondered. "To fully understand, I need to find an Intelligent Titan. I wonder what timeline this is in—has Eren's hometown been destroyed?"
After concluding his preliminary examination, Daniel clasped his hands, summoning a golden sword in his right hand, and severed the Pure Titan's nape, killing it.
Pure Titans' true forms had entirely fused with their Titan bodies, leaving no trace of a separate human form in the nape.
"What's this? Strange," Daniel's expression shifted as the Titan's body vanished in a cloud of steam. "It's not merely turning to ashes and integrating into this world; it's as if it disappears into another space. Fascinating."
Daniel observed the Titan's disappearance with his Op-Op Fruit ability, noting the similarities to souls entering a dimensional space.
"It's almost like a soul entering a dimensional space, but these Titans seem to lack souls," he mused. Kamar-Taj's magic had deep insights into souls and dimensional spaces. At his current power level, Daniel could even force a soul out of a body like the Ancient One. Naturally, he could perceive souls if he wished.
Daniel's current abilities allowed him to see things beyond normal human perception, akin to children born with the ability to see spirits. But he preferred not to use this ability casually; no one enjoyed seeing such things regularly.
Thankfully, most souls in the Marvel universe, unless exceptionally persistent, were drawn to Hell or Heaven after death. Harry's world had similar rules, although it being a magical world, some souls lingered longer. Most, however, couldn't interfere with the living world and only rarely had any impact.
For instance, Harry could only see his parents' spirits during his encounters with Voldemort due to Priori Incantatem.
In Kamar-Taj's teachings, every world had a soul dimension that absorbed deceased souls. The nature of these dimensions varied across different worlds. Some, like Marvel's Hell and Heaven, maintained conscious souls. Heaven admitted only the purest souls, unlike Hell, which took in many.
Most soul dimensions, however, did not preserve consciousness. Souls typically became pure energy after death. Yet, there were exceptions where souls retained some consciousness, potentially leading to memories of past lives, often interpreted as past lives in ordinary terms.
Occasionally, individuals were born with vivid past life memories, making them akin to reincarnated or transmigrated beings. Most, however, had vague, unconscious reincarnations.
Human individuality was likely tied to the soul dimension, a mystery even beyond the comprehension of the Ancient One or higher entities. This soul dimension was inaccessible to most, possibly even to the Ancient One herself.
This inaccessibility was why Daniel could traverse dimensions without fear of ending up in Heaven, Hell, or a soul dimension. Even if he wanted to, his current abilities didn't allow for such travel.
"Enough speculation for now. I should focus on mastering dimensional spaces to ensure my survival," Daniel thought, glancing at the remaining Titans below. He turned his attention to the vast forest surrounding him.
The trees were at least ten meters tall and over a meter thick, a rarity in both the Marvel and Harry Potter worlds, where such trees were exceptional. Here, they were commonplace.
"This world might be good for the lumber business. Were these trees designed to combat Titans?" Daniel wondered. The Survey Corps relied heavily on these dense forests to maneuver against Titans. In a regular forest, no matter their skills, they couldn't fight Titans effectively.
"Where to go next? Inside the island or outside?" Daniel contemplated his next move.
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