An invisible terror seized Jacques' heart like a vise, squeezing the air from his lungs.
Moonlight carved sharp shadows across the scene, etching an unmistakable silhouette into his vision, a figure that haunted Demon Army briefings and operational reports.
The man responsible for Ruth's death. One of the few humans the Lord Military Commander himself considered a legitimate threat.
No matter how much Jacques had disparaged this Azrael before their meeting, he couldn't deny the cold facts documented in military intelligence.
"Since you recognize me, it seems I've found the right target." A gentle voice drifted through the night, but the murderous intent beneath those words sent frost crawling up Jacques' spine.
Thud.
A pale, inhuman hand punched clean through his chest.
Ulquiorra casually discarded the lifeless corpse and turned his emotionless gaze toward the remaining Emerald-level demon and limb-jointing demon, both frozen in defensive stances.
Azrael raised an eyebrow. "Still alive?"
"Interesting."
The reactions of the Onefold Doctrine members confirmed his suspicion, the young man Ulquiorra had just killed hadn't truly died.
Of course, a researcher dispatched by the Demon Army's central command couldn't be incompetent, especially one who doubled as a Lore Cardian. Jacques had contingencies. He had to.
Azrael had recognized Jacques the moment he'd laid eyes on him, matching the face to intelligence reports from Northern Guard briefings.
He turned to the burly man beside him. "Pierre, deal with the small fry."
"Leave this one to me."
Pierre didn't hesitate. "Got it. Be careful, brother."
Though they'd only worked together briefly, their previous encounter in Ande City had proven Azrael more than capable of handling these Onefold Doctrine bastards. Pierre trusted his partner's judgment.
With a nod, he left to engage the lesser threats, leaving Azrael alone with the remaining demons.
Strange silence descended. The Emerald-level demon and his limb-jointing companion exchanged uncertain glances.
They'd already deduced the newcomer's identity from Azrael's distinctive features, but none of them had anticipated encountering such overwhelming force in this remote corner of Gaza.
Even Lady Ruth had fallen to these hands, a Diamond-level commander reduced to intelligence reports and cautionary tales.
Defeating them on their own strength? That wasn't putting it mildly, it was outright impossible.
Even so, the Onefold Doctrine members present refused to retreat.
Surprise flickered across Azrael's eyes. "Your leader abandoned you, and you still want to fight?"
He'd never expected such resolution from demon cultists. Fanatics, perhaps, but this felt different. Calculated.
Of course, there was another possibility.
"Or..." Azrael's gaze sharpened. "What hidden card are you hiding?"
He didn't wait for their expressions to confirm his suspicion. With a casual wave, he commanded his summoned cards to attack.
At that precise moment, the abandoned hospital trembled violently.
Dilapidated staircases shed clouds of dust and debris. Walls weakened by rain erosion began crumbling under some tremendous force emanating from below.
The sudden tremor didn't catch Azrael off guard. He simply sighed with weary resignation. "Here we go again."
Having experienced the nightmare in Donglai, he'd anticipated the possibility of another large-scale Onefold Doctrine monstrosity before arriving in Gaza. Preparation didn't make witnessing it any less disturbing.
A terrifying aura erupted from underground, and Azrael's expression hardened.
"Diamond-level?"
"No... something's wrong with this presence."
He could detect the subtle wrongness differentiating this aura from genuine Diamond-level power. It felt corrupt. Unstable. Artificial.
Before he could analyze further, the source revealed itself.
BOOM.
An immense hand, caked with mud and something far worse, exploded through the earth's surface.
Azrael's pupils contracted, his face darkening like storm clouds. "Onefold Doctrine..."
"I really underestimated you bastards."
His reaction stemmed from recognizing the hand's composition.
Human corpses. Dozens upon dozens of human corpses fused together, their faces frozen in final moments of terror and agony.
The next moment, a colossal figure struggled upright from its earthen grave.
Azrael observed with cold fury. The giant's entire body matched the hand's grotesque construction, a massive amalgamation of Empire citizens, their bodies twisted and merged into a perverse mockery of life.
"How do you like Experiment Number Three?" A voice dripping with malice echoed through the darkness.
Azrael turned to see Jacques perched atop the corpse giant's shoulder, arms folded, wearing an expression of smug satisfaction.
Jacques continued, his tone mocking. "I don't know whether to call you lucky or cursed, but it's remarkably rare for us to produce such a stable experiment."
"Of course, I must thank your Empire of Aetherlight for its generosity in providing such excellent materials for my research."
He watched Azrael expectantly, clearly hoping to witness rage distorting those composed features.
Disappointingly for Jacques, he saw only cold calculation.
Azrael had lost all interest in verbal exchanges. At this point, nothing he said would resurrect the dead. Although he hadn't caused this atrocity, he wasn't some emotionless machine either. Witnessing such casual evil stirred something dark and violent in his chest.
So he simply uttered three cold words:
"Kill him."
Ulquiorra moved instantly, launching a spirit spear.
Whoosh.
The piercing whistle of displaced air arrived only after the emerald-green javelin had already reached Jacques' position.
But Jacques showed no panic facing Ulquiorra's attack. He simply stood there with infuriating calm.
The spirit spear stopped abruptly, seized mid-flight by two grotesquely thick fingers that grasped it like a toothpick. The corpse-faces forming those fingers contorted with fresh agony, clearly suffering from Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure.
Azrael's expression darkened. The opponent's current strength exceeded his initial calculations by a considerable margin.
After leaving Unohana Retsu and Nelliel to handle the remaining Emerald-level Onefold Doctrine members, Artoria and Ulquiorra rushed toward the corpse giant.
Pierre appeared beside Azrael moments later. As an Emerald-level Lore Cardian, he couldn't possibly have missed the disturbance.
Gazing at the grotesque corpse giant looming before them, his face grew heavy. "Brother, looks like we're in serious trouble today."
As Azrael's partner, Pierre was thoroughly familiar with his illustrious combat record. He also knew the previous elimination of Ruth had only succeeded because of backing from a Diamond-level Lore Cardian.
Azrael alone clearly couldn't replicate that feat, not against something this powerful.
After brief consideration, Pierre spoke with grim determination. "Brother, I'll create an opening for you. You need to hold the enemy here at all costs."
Retreat wasn't an option.
He'd suggested tactical withdrawal in the previous secret realm because abandoning that dimension wouldn't have affected Ande City. But circumstances here were entirely different.
If he and Azrael retreated now, Gaza would be left completely vulnerable to devastation.
Considering Azrael's previous record of severely injuring a Diamond-level opponent, Pierre decided to provide support and create the right opportunity for another miracle.
Then something unexpected caught his attention.
Watching countless figures blocking Azrael's two cards, Pierre's eyes widened. "Are those... cards?"
In his enhanced perception, all those figures registered unmistakably as summoned cards.
But such numbers clearly exceeded any single Lore Cardian's capabilities. Even Master-level summoners had limits.
Seeing the confusion on both their faces, Jacques spoke with arrogant satisfaction. "Did you really think I was inferior to that pathetic Cliff?!"
"Whatever Cliff accomplished, I can replicate!"
"And I can do it better than he ever dreamed."
Azrael remained silent for a moment before sighing. "I thought you had something genuinely impressive."
"If that's all you can manage, then you'd better prepare to die."
Jacques initially appeared surprised, then burst into derisive laughter. "What ridiculous bluffing!"
"Quack, "
His laughter strangled mid-syllable, like a duck with its throat suddenly seized.
Dark energy erupted from Ulquiorra's pale figure, surging into the night sky in a pillar of overwhelming spiritual pressure.
Howling winds instantly scattered the surrounding dust and debris, forcing everyone to shield their faces.
Watching Ulquiorra's complete transformation, Jacques swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
He now understood roughly which cards Azrael had deployed against Ruth during their battle.
What he didn't realize was that Ulquiorra had become exponentially stronger since that encounter.
[Segunda Etapa] + [Fragmented Hōgyoku Fusion] + [Peak of Hueco Mundo] + [King of Perfection].
With these combined card abilities augmenting his base form, Ulquiorra's power had skyrocketed beyond linear progression. He could now effortlessly defeat three copies of his former self simultaneously.
Then an unassuming pale-green spirit spear shot forward, sinking into the swarm of summoned cards with deceptive simplicity.
BOOM.
Hubert knew Azrael and Pierre had departed late into the night, claiming to have discovered a lead on the Onefold Doctrine's base of operations.
However, because she needed to coordinate with the president of the Gaza Cardian Master Association, who was currently engaged with the mysterious invasion force, she hadn't accompanied them. Instead, she'd sent several subordinates for tactical support.
In an Emerald-level battle, though, the Association's primarily Bronze and Silver-level Lore Cardians wouldn't contribute much beyond reconnaissance and evacuation support.
I wonder how they're managing...
Honestly, Hubert sincerely hoped the two could locate the Onefold Doctrine's base and eliminate it completely.
After all, those half-human monstrosities had plagued Gaza like an infected wound for days now, festering despite their best efforts.
The thought momentarily distracted her from the mountain of administrative work demanding attention.
Just as she was about to tackle the accumulated bureaucratic backlog to distract herself from worry, a terrifying aura suddenly washed over her position.
"Diamond-level?!"
Her face paled. She shot to her feet, immediately orienting toward the source of that overwhelming presence.
If memory served, that direction matched exactly where Azrael and Pierre had gone to investigate.
"How could there be a Diamond-level Onefold Doctrine operative hidden in the city?" She muttered in disbelief, momentarily overwhelmed by the implications.
If she'd known Diamond-level threats lurked in Gaza, she would have explicitly documented them in her mission report. There was no way she'd have approved sending only two Emerald-level Lore Cardians, no matter how talented, against such opposition.
But Hubert quickly gathered herself. She rapidly issued evacuation orders to nearby districts and headed directly toward the source of that menacing aura.
As she drew closer, her expression darkened progressively.
With an Emerald-level Lore Cardian's enhanced vision, she could clearly distinguish the creature emanating that Diamond-level presence.
A massive corpse giant.
More critically, Hubert recognized the remains of several Lore Cardians affiliated with the Association within its grotesque construction. Colleagues. Friends. People she'd worked alongside for years.
Before she could properly process her horror and fury, an equally terrifying aura suddenly spread across the battlefield.
"A second Diamond-level presence?!"
The Vice President of the Gaza Cardian Master Association found herself momentarily speechless, unable to articulate the chaotic emotions flooding her mind.
She'd never anticipated two Diamond-level entities manifesting in a relatively minor city like Gaza.
Then a dark-green beam of spiritual energy engulfed her entire field of vision, painting the night sky in shades of destruction.
Abandoned Hospital
Pierre stood beside Azrael, still processing what he'd witnessed. Though he'd known of Ulquiorra's extraordinary capabilities, no matter how many times he witnessed that power, it remained deeply impressive.
More importantly,
Why does this card feel even stronger than before?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Azrael gazed intently into the smoke from Lanza del Relámpago's detonation.
"You survived?"
He could sense the Corpse Giant hadn't been obliterated by Ulquiorra's attack. Damaged, certainly. But not destroyed.
Of course, what Azrael sensed, Pierre sensed as well.
"I was terrified! Thought I was finished for certain!"
A theatrical voice echoed from within the settling smoke.
It was Jacques.
As visibility gradually returned, the intact Demon Army researcher appeared before them. However, the Corpse Giant beneath him bore extensive wounds, entire sections of its grotesque body composition had been vaporized, leaving gaping holes exposing deeper layers of fused corpses.
Clearly, withstanding Lanza del Relámpago had cost the construct dearly.
"Just kidding." Jacques' face twisted into an exaggerated grin, as if mocking their inability to finish him immediately.
Seeing this display, Azrael considered silently. Should I have Artoria release Excalibur?
The abomination before him shouldn't be able to withstand the Holy Sword with seven restraints released. The fully unleashed Excalibur had severely wounded Ruth, after all.
As if sensing Azrael's internal deliberation, Jacques scratched his cheek with mock apology. "Sorry, sorry."
"To prevent you from using that particular attack again..."
His face shifted to pure malice.
"You wouldn't want ordinary civilians in the city caught in your destructive blast, would you?"
Azrael's eyes flickered with cold understanding.
Without anyone noticing, Jacques and the Corpse Giant had repositioned themselves. Gaza now lay directly behind them, hostages by positioning alone.
Can't release Excalibur now unless I force him away from that direction...
Or have Unohana Retsu use Bankai to trap him first.
Unfortunately, because the souls stored in Soul Society had been completely depleted during the Ande City secret realm battle, even if Unohana Retsu deployed her full Bankai power, she probably couldn't maintain containment for long.
Just as Azrael calculated his options, Jacques suddenly charged toward Gaza with the Corpse Giant in tow.
Azrael immediately understood his opponent's intention. "He's trying to escape!"
It matched the pattern from East Lakecliffe perfectly, after completing experiments and collecting data, Jacques had abandoned Li Gang without hesitation and vanished into the chaos.
No doubt Jacques intended the same calculated retreat this time.
Without time for deeper analysis, Azrael made an instinctive decision.
An enormous pale palace materialized in the night sky, its architecture unmistakable and imposing.
It was Las Noches, the Hollow Night Palace.