A crisp doorbell interrupted Azrael's thoughts. He opened the door and signed for the package, relief washing over him as he glanced at the [Chaos Royal Court] (Red) material in his hands.
Since the shipment had arrived in Mazong, the heart of Qilu, he hadn't needed to cross cities to retrieve it, a small mercy that saved him considerable time.
Entering his study, Azrael immediately summoned [Las Noches].
Looking at the venue card floating before him, he took a deep breath and tossed [Chaos Royal Court] into it.
With a dazzling flash of light, [Las Noches] officially advanced to Emerald rank.
Unlike [Seireitei], which had no cards available immediately after its promotion, the Emerald-rank Ulquiorra was now perfectly suited to maximize [Las Noches'] capabilities.
"I just don't know the specific effects of [Sacrifice] and [Nothingness] yet," Azrael muttered to himself, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Besides, Nel is currently Silver rank, so [Sacrifice] doesn't seem particularly useful at the moment."
After spending 140,000 points, he still had 33,860 points remaining. With the materials he'd obtained from this mission, he could upgrade several other cards soon.
Of the materials he possessed, [Red Blade Madman] was intended for Yoriichi or Zoro, [Red Blood of the Undying] for Shiraori, and [Red Sheep Knight] for Nel.
Unfortunately, the three materials he'd obtained from this mission didn't match any of those needs.
"I still need to find someone to trade with," he said, intending to prioritize Nel's advancement.
After all, Nel could trigger her bond with Ulquiorra and maximize the use of [Las Noches]. However, even if he exchanged his remaining points for a red-quality material, there would still be one missing.
With so much invested already, Azrael wasn't about to settle for half-measures.
After a moment's deliberation, he pulled out his phone and contacted [AAA Material Wholesale Mr. Wolfgang], whom he'd added to his contacts long ago. He'd been introduced through his senior sister, Alice, during his time in Pixar.
However, after the national competition, Azrael had left for Donglai to take up his post. Furthermore, he'd become aware of Wolfgang's imperial background, so he'd deliberately reduced their interactions.
[Azrael: Are you there, Mr. Wolfgang? I have some Emerald-grade materials that need to be sold.]
Elsewhere, upon seeing the message from Azrael, the rotund man lounging in his chair was taken aback.
He'd previously attempted to recruit Azrael at the behest of someone within the imperial court, so naturally, he'd sensed something had shifted.
For example, after the young man left for Donglai, his superiors had ordered him to cease contact.
[Mr. Wolfgang, AAA Material Wholesale: How could I not be available when Mr. Azrael needs me? It's my honor to have such close contact with a genius like you.]
He started with a flattering message. Now that Azrael was Emerald-grade, he was indeed considered a major figure in the Lore Cardian world.
In response to Mr. Wolfgang's compliment, Azrael simply replied with a neutral expression.
[Azrael: That's good. I'll be back in Pixar today and I'll see you then.]
[Mr. Wolfgang, AAA Material Wholesale: Very well, then I shall await your presence, Lord Azrael.]
Unconsciously, Mr. Wolfgang's form of address had changed from "classmate" to "lord."
After replying, he narrowed his eyes, already narrowed by the pressure of excess weight, and murmured, "No one visits without a reason."
After a moment, he picked up his phone again and sent a message to someone.
A long pause followed before he felt a vibration and quickly checked his phone. As he read, Mr. Wolfgang's expression gradually became thoughtful.
In Pixar, at Alice's home, Azrael slumped casually on the sofa.
Alice placed a cup of hot tea in front of him. "Do you need my help?"
Hearing this, Azrael straightened up instantly.
He had chosen to contact Mr. Wolfgang in part because he planned to return to Pixar to discuss matters concerning the court with Alice beforehand.
But he hadn't expected his senior sister to inquire directly about his purpose without even asking for details.
Alice clearly understood that Azrael wouldn't visit without reason at this time. The Mobile Force wasn't some idle department, after all.
It was only because the previous mission had been so demanding that the Cardian Master Association had given Azrael and his team a few days of leave.
On a different note, Azrael didn't want Alice to clash with the imperial court anytime soon, given that their teacher, Lucian, hadn't returned yet. He couldn't afford to get ahead of the situation, so he decided to wait and observe.
With this in mind, Azrael quickly shared the information he'd gathered from the Crimson Oath Society.
After hearing his account, a rare hint of worry crossed the usually expressionless woman's face.
Then, she whispered, "The Mizuno family used it."
Azrael was momentarily stunned, but then he remembered Alice's hasty departure from their residence when Magnus had attempted to assassinate him long ago.
Now, it seemed the Mizuno family had attempted to use the same technology to descend into the secret realm, but ultimately, it remained unclear whether it had been a bluff or whether his senior sister's intervention had prevented a tragedy.
Alice certainly hadn't realized it was the Mizuno family's doing at the time.
"One more score to settle," Azrael said grimly, mentally adding the imperial court and the Crimson Oath Society to his list of enemies marked for death.
He finished the remaining tea in his cup and stood up. "Then I'll be leaving first, Senior Sister."
This time, he was on a tight schedule with heavy workload. Besides checking in with Alice, he also had to meet Mr. Wolfgang.
Seeing this, Alice simply pursed her rosy lips and said nothing, clearly reluctant to see Azrael leave.
But she ultimately didn't try to persuade him to stay.
Leaving Alice's house, Azrael couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He then returned home to check on Amina, who was agonizing over her homework, and then headed for Mr. Wolfgang's office.
Before long, he met Mr. Wolfgang, who hadn't changed much from before.
Azrael was the first to speak. "Long time no see, Mr. Wolfgang. I'm sorry to trouble you this time."
"Well, it's business, not a problem at all." Mr. Wolfgang waved his hand dismissively. "I can see that you're a very busy man, Mr. Azrael, so I won't waste time on pleasantries."
"What type of materials do you want to exchange this time?"
Upon hearing this, Azrael took out [Cyborg Assassin] (Gold), [Magical Path: Saint of a Hundred Aspects] (Red), and [Star-Removing: Sword of Evolution] (Red), prepared to replace all three materials with ones that better suited his needs.
Mr. Wolfgang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw the three packets of high-quality Emerald-grade materials.
If the young man across from him had obtained these materials himself from demons, then his current strength would undoubtedly be considered top-tier even among Emerald-grade Lore Cardians.
However, he quickly concealed his surprise and simply smiled. "You are indeed Master Lucian's disciple."
"I will not charge you a handling fee for this transaction, Lord Azrael. Consider it a courtesy after our long acquaintance. How about that?"
Hearing this, Azrael instinctively wanted to refuse.
But then he thought about the Imperial Court behind Wolfgang, which had taken drastic measures against him. He might as well take advantage of this opportunity.
Just as he was about to accept, he swallowed the words and instead took out three more packets of lower-quality Emerald-grade materials as handling fees.
Azrael actually possessed quite a bit of low-quality materials. He had acquired many during his time with the Northern Defense Army but hadn't used them all, leaving them stored in the Shadow Kingdom.
He did this out of concern that the imperial court might possess a card with powers similar to Jin's [Hermes]. Accepting their goodwill would simply be giving them leverage.
Even though the probability was small, Azrael had to remain on guard.
Seeing this, Mr. Wolfgang said nothing further. "Since Lord Azrael doesn't need it, then forget it."
"Here are the materials I have available. Take a look yourself."
He handed Azrael the tablet on the table.
Azrael immediately began browsing through it.
Mr. Wolfgang's business was substantial, so naturally, the company's software was top-notch. If it weren't for the inability to purchase with points and the relatively limited selection of materials, Azrael would have almost mistaken it for the association's points platform.
After entering his filter criteria, Azrael quickly selected the materials he needed: [Force of Reversal] (Red), [Ruthless King] (Red), and [Flange Thunder Sword] (Gold).
"That's all," Azrael said, placing the tablet back down.
Mr. Wolfgang glanced at the materials, his gaze shifting slightly. "I'll have someone fetch them now. Lord Azrael, please wait here for a moment."
Before long, the three materials Azrael needed were placed before him.
"Deal done. I won't bother you any further, Mr. Wolfgang."
He stood up, gave a polite smile to the mountain of flesh before him, and then turned and left the office.
Behind him, Mr. Wolfgang silently watched the young man's back, half his face shrouded in shadow, his thoughts unreadable.
At this moment, Azrael arrived outside the company, glanced back at the building behind him, and muttered, "Surprisingly, nothing strange happened."
Indeed, he had contacted Mr. Wolfgang not only because he was in Pixar, but also to secretly observe whether the court's recent actions had affected someone like him.
His conclusion at this point was: No visible changes.
But the absence of any unusual behavior was itself the biggest anomaly.
After the incident in Donglai, Azrael knew he and certain factions in the court were at an impasse, with no chance of reconciliation. The other party would have to be insane to continue trying to recruit him.
Unless there were multiple factions within the court competing against each other, but he'd never been able to discern that clearly.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he vanished using Sonído.
In Mazong, Azrael sat in his study, scrolling through his phone.
Now that he had gathered two sets of materials for Nel, it was time to trade points for the final piece.
"[Eternal Wandering Soul] (Red), priced at 26,000 points."
"That's it."
Since Mazong didn't have the right materials in stock, he had to retrieve them from another city. Fortunately, this time, the city wasn't too far away.
Before long, he returned to his study.
Looking at the [Force of Reversal] (Red), [Eternal Wandering Soul] (Red), and [Sheep Knight] (Red) laid out before him, Azrael concentrated his mind and entwined his spiritual power around them.
[Please continue to write your story.]
Nel had long been a member of the Espada, and there's a good chance she was among the first to join Aizen's army.
However, despite being the 3rd Espada, she was often challenged by the 8th Espada, Nnoitra, who discriminated against her because of her female status and pacifistic nature.
Las Noches was ultimately a place where strength reigned supreme, and so Nel had battled Nnoitra many times.
Nnoitra clearly couldn't overcome the gap between the 8th and 3rd ranks, and was consistently defeated by Nel.
But Nel, adhering to the principle that "warriors must have honorable reasons for their battles," refused to kill him despite his provocations.
Filled with resentment and humiliation, Nnoitra allied with Szayelaporro Granz, who had fallen from his former Espada position at the time, and secretly ambushed Nel. They used an explosive to distract her by injuring her subordinates, Pesche and Dondochakka, then removed their masks.
When Nel confronted them to protect her Fracción, Nnoitra's sneak attack damaged her Hollow mask, leaving her severely wounded and reduced to the form of a child with amnesia.
At the end of the incident, Pesche and Dondochakka concealed their identities as her subordinates and fled Las Noches with the amnesiac young Nel, wandering the deserts of Hueco Mundo.
After the card was crafted, Azrael couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, with a moment's focus, he returned to the real world.
Looking at Nel's card floating before him, his heart remained calm and steady.
Calmly retrieving the shimmering card, Azrael began to carefully examine the information.
[No. 3: Nel]
Rank: Emerald
Quality: Red
Category: Creature
Skills:
[Healing Holy Water] [Hollow Flash] [Hollow Flash Double] [Resurrección: Gamuza]
Abilities:
[Espada Authority] [Hierro] [High-Speed Regeneration] [Infinite Hide and Seek Champion]
[Sacrificial Resolve]: The No. 3 card's aspect of death is sacrifice. When Nel dies in battle, all remaining cards on the field receive significant power enhancement.
Description: The former 3rd Espada, bearer of the aspect of death known as "Sacrifice." Despite her immense power, she refused to kill weaker opponents and fought only for honorable reasons, to protect those dear to her heart.
Advancement: Silver-level [Young Antelope: Nel] → Emerald-level [No. 3: Nel].
Bond:
When deployed with [Pesche] and other Fracción series cards, the effect [Family Members, Undivided in Life and Death] is activated.
When deployed with [Ichigo Kurosaki], the effect [Yellow Hair, You Are a Good Person] is activated.
When deployed with [Coyote Starrk] and other Espada series cards, the effect [Apex of Hueco Mundo] is activated.
Activated Bond: [Apex of Hueco Mundo] (2/10)
Bond Effect: As the pinnacle of Hueco Mundo, the Espada possess control over lower-level Hollows. When this effect is triggered, the Espada can summon their own subordinates during battle.
Note: The death of Nel's subordinates triggers [Sacrificial Resolve], transferring their power to Nel.
Note: Since Ulquiorra has no subordinates, this will significantly modify his bond abilities.
After reviewing Nel's information, Azrael breathed a sigh of relief.
If he were to comment, it would be that he wouldn't be so helpless against Luster again.
[Yachiru Unohana] plus [Seireitei], [Ulquiorra], [Nel] plus [Las Noches], and [Artoria].
With so many powerful Emerald-tier cards, he felt he might even have a chance at a proper exchange with Luster, rather than being left crippled and unable to fight back like last time.
"That way, I should have reasonable self-preservation," Azrael sighed as a message about his next mission arrived on his phone.
In Mazong, in an ordinary residential building, three men sat solemnly around a dining table.
At this moment, one of the figures suddenly spoke up. "Sir, isn't it somewhat blatant for us to assassinate the target like this?"
Upon hearing this, the leader said in a deep voice, "Don't overthink it. The other party's strength is increasing too rapidly. The family head and his advisors simply don't want to delay any further."
"It just so happens that we've discovered information about that person's next mission. We can attempt to intercept and eliminate him then."
"But if the operation gets exposed, remember to blame it on the Demon Army."
"They've been making quite a disturbance in Qilu recently, and that person has a grudge against the Demon Army. I'm confident there won't be any evidence linking back to us."
Upon hearing this, the other two nodded silently.
After a moment, the leader's phone suddenly lit up. He glanced at it, then crushed it with a single blow. "The target has been confirmed. It's time to act."
"Yes, sir!"