After purchasing the [Dark-Winged Bat], Azrael still had 47,690 points remaining in his account.
Since he was on vacation, he encountered no resistance when reporting his need to collect materials from their usual pickup location.
As before, the collection point remained in Hokuto.
After hastily retrieving the materials from Hokuto, Azrael returned to his residence.
In his study, he examined the [Hōgyoku Fusion] attribute listed on Ulquiorra's card and muttered thoughtfully, "Only one material needs to be invested to transform it?"
"So doesn't that mean I don't have to write a story?"
But as he placed the [Dark-Winged Bat] onto Ulquiorra's card, his eye twitched with familiar resignation. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy."
[Please continue to write your story.]
Ulquiorra, having become the 4th Espada, lived a quiet existence in Las Noches until one day he received a mission from Aizen, the master of Hueco Mundo. He traveled to the present world's Karakura Town to observe Ichigo Kurosaki's power and assess the threat he posed to Aizen and the Arrancar army.
However, after observing Ichigo for some time, he concluded that the boy's abilities were nothing particularly noteworthy, and returned to Hueco Mundo to report his findings to Aizen.
When questioned by the other Espada, he declared he would personally handle Ichigo Kurosaki.
A month later, under Aizen's direct orders, Ulquiorra traveled to the real world and captured Ichigo's companion, Orihime Inoue, using her as a hostage to lure Ichigo into Hueco Mundo.
As Aizen had predicted, Ichigo entered Hueco Mundo with his companions in a desperate rescue attempt.
Ulquiorra fulfilled his promise, appearing before Ichigo and effortlessly defeating him.
Shortly after his victory over Ichigo, he discovered that No. 6 Grimmjow had secretly taken the hostage, Orihime, from her prison to heal Ichigo Kurosaki. After confronting Grimmjow, Ulquiorra engaged in battle with him, but due to a moment of carelessness, he was imprisoned by the Negación Bandits.
When he reappeared, Aizen had assigned him to serve as guardian of Las Noches.
Thus, he resumed his battle with Ichigo, who had infiltrated the Palace of the Night. After using his Resurrección, Ichigo could barely withstand Ulquiorra's relentless assault. However, as the battle progressed, Ulquiorra decided to show him what "true despair" truly meant.
He performed his Segunda Etapa, his second release.
He explained it was a form even Aizen-sama had never witnessed.
He then completely overwhelmed Ichigo. However, just as Ulquiorra was about to execute the rest of Ichigo's group, the Soul Reaper transformed into his Hollow form at Orihime's desperate cry.
Ulquiorra was shocked and realized he could not defeat Ichigo in his Full Hollow transformation.
[Finally, due to the irreversible damage to his body, Ulquiorra ultimately turned to dust and dissipated between heaven and earth.]
With the final word, Azrael returned to reality in a trance-like state.
He then retracted the card belonging to Ulquiorra that floated before him, drawing it back into his consciousness.
[No. 4 Ulquiorra Cifer]
Rank: Emerald
Quality: Red
Category: Creature
Skills: [Sonído] [Cero] [Resurrección: Murciélago] [Lanza del Relámpago]
[Segunda Etapa]: Among the Espada, Ulquiorra is the only one capable of achieving a second-stage release. This form is something even Aizen has never witnessed. In this transformation, Ulquiorra's strength is dramatically enhanced across all parameters.
Abilities: [Espada] [Hierro] [High-Speed Regeneration] [Heart of Nothingness]
[Hōgyoku Enhancement]: Although the imperfect Hōgyoku has been torn from his body, traces of its power remain within Ulquiorra. He has become even more powerful and more complete than before.
Introduction: Heart... what is that?
Advancement: Gold-level [Murciélago Ulquiorra Cifer] → Emerald-level [No. 4 Ulquiorra Cifer].
Bond: When appearing with characters from the same series like [Lord of Hueco Mundo, Aizen], the effect [Before Us, None Can Stand] is activated.
When appearing with characters from the same series like [Starrk], the effect [Apex of Hueco Mundo] is activated.
The transformation of Ulquiorra into [No. 4] wasn't drastically different from his previous [Hōgyoku Fusion] form.
He only gained the additional skill [Segunda Etapa], and the [Hōgyoku Fusion] attribute had been changed to [Hōgyoku Enhancement].
Other than that, there were no other visible differences.
Of course, this was merely surface-level observation.
Azrael certainly understood how significantly Ulquiorra would improve with [Segunda Etapa].
If Ulquiorra in his normal Resurrección form still had a considerable gap compared to the previous three Espada, Ulquiorra in his Segunda Etapa form could at least match [No. 3, Tier Harribel]. And this was Ulquiorra from the original storyline.
The current Ulquiorra might even be comparable to [No. 2, Baraggan] and [No. 1, Starrk].
"That should be sufficient. All I need to do now is wait until I have enough points to promote Nel to Emerald rank," Azrael muttered to himself.
Feeling somewhat relieved, he couldn't help but stretch before entering a meditative state to restore his mental strength.
In a certain stronghold, a strange man looked curiously at a seductive woman before him who was eating grapes while being attended by two bone-jointed demons.
"Ruth..."
"You actually came to see me?"
"Is it because of what happened in Sardinia that the military commander asked you to redeem yourself?"
Ruth scoffed disdainfully at the strange man's words. "The war in Sardinia is going badly, and if anyone is to blame, it's those incompetent fools. How could the military commander possibly punish me?"
"I'm only here for my little sweetheart," she said, her slender fingers tracing patterns in the air.
Soon, images of Azrael and Ulquiorra appeared suspended in the space before them.
"Tell your subordinates to keep their eyes open and notify me immediately if there is any news about this person."
With Ruth's strength, she could naturally sense how dangerous Azrael's two emerald-level cards were to emerald-rank demons of the same tier.
They were the type that would undoubtedly be designated high-risk targets should they appear on any battlefield.
As a Diamond-rank member of the demon army, it was no problem for her to locate where these two high-risk cards had first manifested.
And so, she had come here.
However, the strange man understood his colleague's personality well, so he harbored no resentment.
He simply examined Azrael and his cards with professional interest.
"I understand. I'll pass on the instructions. But in exchange, you'll have to assist me here for the time being."
"Deal!"
The strange man then stroked his chin thoughtfully. "The Northern Defense Army should be making their move soon."
"After all, I laid out some bait last time."
"If they take it, they'll definitely be tempted."
The strange man considered his previous fishing operation a resounding success. While it had damaged a small portion of Shibuya's forces, it had also positioned new bait perfectly.
He wondered when the Northern Defense Army would take the hook.
Hearing this, Ruth sneered. "Greck, you're still the same. I suspect even if I hadn't come, you would have requested support from the military commander anyway."
Greck shrugged noncommittally.
"Who knows."
Azrael hadn't seen Wendy again for several days.
He had assumed the woman had gone to the rear to recover from the injuries she had suffered previously.
But when he was notified to gather at the Shibuya camp, he saw her figure once more.
"Wendy?!"
"You didn't leave?"
Azrael asked in a low voice with some surprise.
Wendy was no longer as depressed as during their last meeting. Instead, she smiled and nudged Azrael with her shoulder. "I never said I was leaving."
"Why, can't bear to part with me?"
Looking at Wendy, who had returned to her usual demeanor, Azrael smiled. "I thought you would retire to the rear."
What he said wasn't without basis. After all, Godrick's situation had been similar to Wendy's when they were in Donglai. He just didn't know if Godrick had been injured at Ruth's hands like her.
Hearing Azrael's words, Wendy paused for a moment, then pretended to be angry and hit his shoulder. "What are you talking about!"
"Am I really that old?"
Seeing she was still in the mood for jokes, Azrael set aside his initial worry and deliberately looked her over. "Yeah, a little."
Although Azrael hadn't asked Wendy's age directly, he guessed she was in her thirties.
"Bang, bang!"
Then he was hit twice more.
"Cough."
Just then, a cough interrupted their conversation, silencing the other whispered conversations in the camp.
Commander Kageyami glanced at the Lore Cardians present and said solemnly, "The higher-ups have decided we should conduct a siege operation."
At the mention of a siege, the camp suddenly became so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Although the special nature of Lore Cardians meant they weren't required to personally conduct siege operations, such missions were still the most dangerous assignments for the Northern Defense Army.
Commander Kageyami continued, "The target is right here," pointing to a large demon stronghold on the tactical map before him.
Upon seeing the location, Azrael was startled and immediately exchanged glances with Wendy beside him.
Because the target was the departure point of the convoy they had intercepted previously.
Clearly, the experimental materials they had submitted had yielded significant results.
In the normal world, an army planning a military operation would require extensive preparation time, and at the very least, logistics must be organized first.
But in the extraordinary world, things were different.
Fast deployment was the end of the matter.
"Xin, you stay in the city this time. I'll leave some personnel for you."
"The rest of you must follow me out of the city."
Hearing this, Jacob frowned. "Wouldn't the city be too empty? What if the demon army..."
But before he could finish, Commander Kageyami raised his hand to stop him. "The surrounding military towns will also coordinate with us. The demon army won't have time to counterattack."
Since the bald commander had spoken, Jacob naturally had no objection and nodded silently.
"Go back and prepare. We will launch a surprise attack tonight."
With Commander Kageyami's final words, the Lore Cardians in the tent gradually withdrew.
Azrael also returned to his residence and began preparing for the night's battle.
But what he called preparations was actually just organizing the survival supplies in the Shadow Kingdom, and then he entered into meditation.
However, what he didn't expect was that Jacob would actually come to visit him.
"Big Brother, what brings you here?"
Azrael gestured for a Shadowkhan soldier to prepare hot tea for Jacob, then began teasing him.
The reason he said this was because his senior brother, as the field commander of Shibuya, had always been elusive, and as his junior brother, he rarely had the opportunity to meet him.
However, after hearing Azrael's teasing, Jacob simply took a silent sip of hot tea.
Seeing his expression, Azrael couldn't help but turn serious. "What's wrong, Senior Brother? What happened?"
Jacob, after organizing his thoughts, said, "Junior Brother, I know that new self-protection card you created is very powerful."
"But you'd better stay close to me tonight. I always feel that this plan is too hasty."
"Unfortunately, the order has already been issued, and I can't change it."
Azrael was surprised when he heard this. He had never expected Jacob to come to him to discuss this matter. "I understand."
"I'll be careful."
The young man didn't ask too much about the other person's reasoning. In such a situation, simply agreeing was sufficient.
Besides, protection from a Diamond-level Lore Cardian was a privilege many could only dream of.
Although Azrael felt that his senior brother would definitely protect the other Emerald-level Lore Cardians present, at most he would just be more careful about himself.
Hearing Azrael's words, Jacob couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He had already been terrified the last time the young man in front of him was almost taken away by Ruth. He really didn't know how he would explain to his teacher if something happened to Azrael.
Therefore, this time, Jacob was determined to keep a close eye on him.
He even considered sending Azrael back to the rear, even though the coastal areas weren't particularly peaceful either.
"Then I'll be leaving first. See you tonight."
"Yes."
Time quickly turned to evening.
A large number of Emerald-level and above Lore Cardians had gathered before Shibuya.
However, despite their considerable numbers, there was no movement whatsoever.
Even observers from a distance couldn't detect the Lore Cardians, clearly due to specialized cards concealing their presence.
"Move out!"
With Commander Kageyami's command, the Lore Cardian forces immediately set out toward their target demon stronghold.
Azrael simply followed Jacob silently.
Before long, the demon stronghold they were preparing to attack came into view.
In silence, the Lore Cardians present summoned their cards.
Ulquiorra naturally appeared beside Azrael.
However, Jacob was taken aback when he saw Ulquiorra.
In his eyes, Ulquiorra, now freed from his [Hōgyoku Fusion] form, appeared clad in an Espada uniform, his oppressive presence far less intense than before when he possessed two pairs of jet-black wings.
Jacob's eyes flickered with interest. From his perception, while Ulquiorra's aura seemed weaker than before, the power contained within it far exceeded that of a normal Emerald-level card.
As Azrael's senior, he naturally knew that his junior possessed a series of cards that could significantly enhance their strength through special energies.
"So that previous appearance was after he achieved his release?"
he wondered, somewhat puzzled.
Out of respect for Azrael's privacy, he ultimately remained silent.
Meanwhile, with a vast array of cards manifesting on the battlefield, Azrael and his companions' presence became undetectable among the crowd.
In the distant demon stronghold, now ablaze with alarm fires, deafening sirens wailed.
However, with two Diamond-level players, Commander Kageyami and Jacob, present, the Lore Cardians could simply wait for their Diamond-level cards to breach the demon stronghold's defenses.
After Jacob had deployed most of his cards, he noticed that Azrael beside him had once again transformed into a Kamen Rider.
"Good habit," he couldn't help but praise.
Every Lore Cardian's first priority in wilderness combat was self-protection.
Azrael naturally understood this principle.
Protected by his armor, he would be virtually invulnerable unless facing a Diamond-level demon.
Of course, judging by Ruth's performance last time, the Sacred Blade Armor could easily withstand several casual attacks from a Diamond-level demon.
Azrael could see a group of Diamond-level cards, led by [Sun Chaser Giant Kuafu], approaching the massive demon stronghold.
However, just as [Kuafu] attempted to breach its defenses, several terrifying figures suddenly emerged, blocking his assault.
Azrael's pupils constricted upon seeing one of them.
It was Ruth.
The young man had never expected to encounter such a captivating and dangerous woman here.
And Ruth, naturally, had noticed Azrael's presence.
The corners of her mouth curved into a predatory smile. "I won't let you escape this time."
Hearing this, the Lore Cardians present thought the female demon was merely making idle threats.
But Azrael knew those words were directed specifically at him.
While he was no longer the same person he once was, he remained a bright target for everyone present.