As Edley finished speaking, a pitch-black humanoid robot materialized behind him.
[Final Assassin's Armament: Shinigami Supay].
This was one of the cards he'd created upon first reaching Sovereign tier. While not as formidable as his [Supreme Mecha God: Quetzalcoatl], it was more than sufficient to deal with the young man in the distance.
Several of his Master-tier cards manifested alongside it.
However, these weren't the entirety of Edley's arsenal, the majority of his cards remained stationed in Antarctica, suppressing the secret realms there.
"I apologize, Master Azrael." A confident smile crossed Edley's face. "For the sake of my cause, I must ask for your death. After all, I need your head to quell the anger of my country."
Azrael wasn't particularly surprised by Edley's words. His reason for attacking was precisely what he'd suspected.
While fighting a Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian wouldn't be easy, Azrael was prepared.
With a flick of his mind, the Soul King appeared on the battlefield.
The Soul King, previously on cooldown, had finally recovered, which was precisely why Azrael had chosen today.
Without further ado, the cards immediately engaged in battle.
Both Azrael and Edley knew that in a Lore Cardian duel, the best strategy was to prioritize eliminating the opponent's main body.
They both acted on that principle.
At that moment, Azrael felt a sudden, piercing threat from behind and spun abruptly, swinging his holy sword.
It was useless.
The pitch-black humanoid robot, like an intangible cloud of dark mist, ignored Azrael's attack entirely. With a sharp, corrosive hiss, white smoke erupted from Azrael's holy blade armor.
His pupils contracted at the sight. So strong.
As expected, Lore Cardians who reach Sovereign tier are all formidable, Azrael thought as he retreated.
But the Shinigami Supay wouldn't let him escape so easily. The pitch-black mist clung to his heels like a persistent shadow.
Then a wall of pale blue spiritual pressure formed before Azrael, blocking Edley's Sovereign-tier card.
It was the Soul King.
Not only him, nearly all of Azrael's cards chose to fall back on defense. After all, they couldn't afford carelessness against Sovereign-tier cards.
"It seems the tide is turning in my favor, Master Azrael," Edley's voice echoed again, as if he'd already secured victory.
However, Azrael recognized this as an attempt to disrupt his emotions and expose weaknesses, so he didn't bother replying.
Besides...
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the field, and a golden meteor struck Edley's position in the blink of an eye.
It was Tempest.
Following closely behind were Lucian and Fujimaru.
At this moment, the four Master-tier Lore Cardians of the Empire of Aetherlight gathered in this sea area.
"Azrael, are you all right?" Lucian appeared beside him in a flash, asking with concern.
Hearing this, Azrael shook his head. They'd only just exchanged a few moments, and he'd taken no real damage. But if the fight continued, it was hard to say what would happen.
As the smoke from Tempest's attack gradually dissipated, Edley reappeared before the four of them.
Facing the full force of the [Fighting God], Edley remained unscathed.
A pitch-black mist enveloped the Indo-American Federation's Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian, forming a sturdy barrier.
The [White Crown] glanced at Azrael and the other three, a sudden smile breaking across his face. "Oh my."
"This is getting a little tricky," he said, though Edley displayed not a trace of concern.
Even though he now faced four opponents, he didn't expect to lose.
After all, Lord Lioren's final blow had crippled several Master-tier Lore Cardians, while Edley remained in perfect condition.
"Edley, if you retreat now, we can pretend nothing happened," Lucian spoke.
If possible, it would be best to avoid battle with a Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian.
Upon hearing his words, however, Edley sneered. "Master Lucian, do you think I'm a fool?"
"After something like this, do you think there's any room for maneuver between us?" He gestured toward the armored Azrael beside him.
Edley knew better than anyone present, save Azrael himself, the potential within the young man.
He wouldn't let the tiger return to the mountains.
Even if he had to summon the Supreme Mecha God, he would strangle Azrael right here.
Edley's refusal didn't surprise Lucian.
He was merely testing the waters. If the other party was foolish enough to retreat, that would be ideal. Otherwise, it would simply prolong the battle.
It cost nothing, so why not try?
As both sides stopped talking, the battle resumed.
However, with the support of Lucian and the other two, Azrael's pressure was greatly reduced.
But anyone who thought they could defeat Edley this way would be gravely mistaken.
A blanket of pitch-black fog enveloped the sea. All creatures exposed to it began to flicker, like avatars freezing.
"Command: delete!" a cold, emotionless voice echoed through the minds of all creatures.
Many weaker entities vanished from this world in the blink of an eye. The more powerful cards, however, were forced to devote most of their energy to resisting this strange force.
"Tsk. It feels even tougher than dealing with the Skinner," Azrael muttered.
He felt that each of Earth's four Sovereign-tier Lore Cardians was more formidable than the last.
Fortunately, he wasn't a pushover either.
And he had a rough idea of how to deal with Edley.
With this in mind, Naruto and Sasuke understood and dove into the sea, beginning to conceal their tracks.
Edley naturally noticed their movements. "Trying to ambush me?"
"Master Azrael, don't try such tricks!"
Before he finished speaking, two attacks erupted from the seabed, striking at him from both sides.
At the same time, Tornado increased the output of her psychic power to its maximum.
With telekinesis powerful enough to rip apart a continent, the sea was instantly split in two.
Even Edley couldn't afford to be careless against an attack of this magnitude.
However, as he ordered [Shinigami Supay] to block the assault, he keenly realized something: Azrael was wide open, protected only by his holy blade armor.
Countless thoughts flashed through Edley's mind, but in the end, he decided to play it safe.
He could certainly choose to trade injury for death, but the risk was too great, especially since Azrael wasn't the only one on the scene.
Wait. Wait a little longer, Edley narrowed his eyes slightly, using one of his Master-tier cards to block the incoming [Terrible Tornado]. Wait until he's completely helpless, then strike.
Azrael, seeing Edley merely blocking the attacks of Tornado and the other two, couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.
Trapped.
The next moment, Tornado clutched her head in agony.
This was undoubtedly Edley's doing. As a Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian, he certainly wouldn't be outmatched by Azrael's cards.
Seeing Tornado's power plummet, Azrael sighed inwardly. If she were a supporting character, she'd probably go berserk right now. What a shame.
However, supporting characters' powers weren't likely to be as exaggerated as Tornado's.
Meanwhile, Lucian and the other two certainly couldn't stand by and watch Azrael fight Edley alone. However, unlike Azrael's connection, their cards, facing the suppression of [Shinigami Supay], had been reduced to their lowest effectiveness.
Supporting from the sidelines was manageable, but in a one-on-one fight, they would have perished countless times.
"This isn't sustainable," Lucian and the other two thought, glancing at Azrael and trying to read his expression.
Unfortunately, Azrael was clad in his holy blade armor, making his expression invisible to outsiders.
As the battle dragged on, most of Azrael's cards were dead or wounded. Even the Soul King had dissipated.
But then, Uchiha Madara appeared beside Azrael.
To prevent Edley from instantly killing him, Azrael hadn't summoned Uchiha Madara since the start of the battle, not until he needed to reset his card cooldowns.
"Outer Path: Samsara Rebirth Technique!"
As soon as Uchiha Madara appeared, he quickly formed hand seals.
Edley naturally realized what Azrael was about to do, but it was too late to stop him.
A few breaths later, the previously depleted lower-tier cards reappeared on the battlefield.
Seeing this, Edley frowned.
The battle had consumed him considerably, as he still needed to maintain the [Supreme Mecha God] to suppress the Antarctic secret realms.
Gazing at the cards charging at him once again, Edley's eyes flickered. Should I summon Quetzalcoatl?
He had to make a decision: continue the greedy two-front war, or gamble all his strength on a single decisive blow.
But before he could decide, he saw Azrael make his move again.
Glancing at the exhausted faces of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, Edley instantly recognized this unprecedented opportunity.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his [Shinigami Supay] with all his might.
With a whirlwind of corrosion, the sacred blade armor on Azrael's body began to show signs of wear.
Seeing this, Edley's eyes lit up, knowing the battle had reached its final moments.
Unlike him, Lucian and the other two had hints of anxiety on their faces. "Azrael!"
They tried to rush to his aid but were blocked by Edley's cards.
The next second, as everyone watched, Azrael's armor suddenly shattered, revealing his true form. Pitch-black mist immediately enveloped him.
A moment later, Azrael's body slumped weakly toward the surface, seemingly lifeless.
Seeing this, Edley couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Finally solved."
"Master Azrael... You are truly the strongest Master-tier Lore Cardian I've ever encountered."
The Indo-American Federation Lore Cardian, feeling victorious, relaxed his tense nerves slightly.
However, he soon noticed something amiss.
Azrael was dead, so why did his cards still exist?
Edley instantly realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
Two figures, one orange and one purple, suddenly emerged from the seabed and approached the Sovereign-tier Lore Cardian.
"Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei!"
Amidst a cacophony of roars, a massive white figure with spiral eyes on its forehead appeared behind Edley, clasping its palms together.
Edley's eyes widened in disbelief. "My cards?!"
"My cards!!"
"How is this possible?!"
He sensed that his connection to the cards had been inexplicably severed.
Simultaneously, the forms of Edley's cards on the battlefield began to flicker, as if their power had been cut off.
Before Lucian and the other two could comprehend what was happening, a massive pitch-black sphere engulfed Edley whole.
"No!!!"
Amidst a shrill roar, countless massive rocks descended from the seabed toward the pitch-black sphere.
"???"
The three Master-tier Lore Cardians stared blankly at the scene before them.
But they soon realized this was likely Azrael's doing.
Just then, Azrael, resembling a skeleton, appeared beside them.
"Azrael!" Lucian and the other two instinctively called out. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It seems Edley was fooled after all," Azrael shrugged, his tone relaxed.
The reason he'd survived the Shinigami Supay's attack was naturally thanks to the spider's immortality ability.
Perhaps because he hadn't used this ability since reaching Master tier, neither Lucian nor Edley had remembered that he'd once survived attacks from Master-tier Lore Cardians while still at Diamond tier.
Even as he spoke, the pitch-black sphere, constantly absorbing rocks, rose higher and higher in the air, gradually drifting away from Earth and into low orbit.
Gazing at the massive sphere clearly visible in the sky, Azrael breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd been genuinely worried that the sudden addition of a satellite would cause tidal disturbances on Earth, but now it seemed everything was fine.
"But Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei can actually sever the connection between a Lore Cardian and their cards? I didn't expect that."
The scene that just occurred undoubtedly revealed to Azrael that this combination technique of Naruto and Sasuke was a special counter against Lore Cardians. Unfortunately, it could only be used once, unless the seal was lifted and the power of the Six Paths reclaimed.
But no matter what, from now on, Edley would be like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, living in loneliness.
Only when Azrael was promoted to Sovereign tier and had sufficient confidence would it be possible to release him and deal with him properly.
At this moment, the enormous sphere that sealed Edley hung like a bright moon above low-Earth orbit, silently gazing at the land below.