Since catching Marcus's subordinates that day, Azrael's recruits from the Crimson Oath Society had also successfully apprehended the Skinner's operatives and Jin's newly contracted men.
True, the Empire's defenses made it difficult for Jin to recruit within Imperial borders, but the old man didn't care whether his operatives were from the Empire of Aetherlight or elsewhere. After all, there were many nations on this planet.
"So Chris has severed ties with them?"
The thought occurred to Azrael almost subconsciously. After all, Chris hadn't been present when Jin and his three accomplices caused their recent troubles, and he hadn't heard from his subordinates about any Fallen Cult members being captured this time.
Still, avoiding a direct confrontation with a master-level Lore Cardian was always preferable.
After briefly finishing his current tasks, Azrael began preparing for the Fourth District Joint Entrance Exam finals.
The young man had been preoccupied with City Within a City matters recently, leaving no time to attend the subsequent matches of the Fourth District Joint Entrance Exam.
However, he still needed to attend today's finals, having previously promised Principal Kang.
Plus, it would provide an excellent opportunity for Shiraori to identify the true origins of Geralt's cards.
Azrael wasn't particularly surprised that Silverbrook High School had advanced to the finals, the school's performance had been consistently strong since his own time there.
Thinking of this, Azrael checked the time and asked Shiraori to lead him to the battlefield.
He should have given a speech or something similar, but he'd delegated that responsibility elsewhere.
The young man had always disliked such formalities and avoided them whenever possible.
Fortunately, in this world where the strongest ruled, no one in Velkairos aside from Lucian could force Azrael's compliance.
Honestly, even a master-level Lore Cardian wouldn't necessarily be able to force him to do anything. After all, if he couldn't win, couldn't he simply retreat?
"President Azrael."
The principals in the arena stood and called out upon seeing him arrive.
Azrael raised a hand, silencing the pleasantries, and said in a casual tone, "Let's get started, everyone."
"Yes, sir."
With the young man's arrival, the curtain officially rose on the Fourth District Joint Exam finals.
Despite the absence of leadership speeches, the opening ceremony still consumed considerable time as the identities of both competing teams required proper introduction.
It was important to remember that Azrael and his colleagues weren't the only ones watching, there were also many ordinary spectators present.
Azrael didn't retract Shiraori, which drew slight glances from the school principals sitting nearby.
High school principals weren't high-ranking Lore Cardians like university presidents. Most were merely Bronze or Silver tier. Some were even Iron tier.
And Shiraori, as a Diamond-tier card, exerted significant pressure on those of lesser rank.
"Why hasn't President Azrael retracted his card? Is he worried something might happen?"
Many people murmured among themselves.
However, with the referee's whistle, everyone's attention shifted to the battle unfolding on the field.
Silverbrook High School, which had advanced to the finals, employed a tactic similar to the strategy Azrael's class had used: two weaker players would trade pieces first, with Geralt finishing the match.
But when Azrael's mental power swept over several high school students in the audience, he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"Bronze-level?"
He sensed that Geralt had already become a Bronze-level Lore Cardian, though he wasn't certain whether the boy had created corresponding cards yet.
"Isn't his promotion speed comparable to mine?"
The young man thought to himself.
Just as he was about to offer a teasing remark to Principal Kang beside him, he suddenly stood, his gaze fixed toward the shore.
Azrael's abrupt action drew everyone's attention. For a moment, the principals looked puzzled, wondering what had prompted his reaction.
Principal Kang was about to ask a question when the young man interrupted him. "Today's competition is over. Please evacuate everyone present immediately."
In such a dangerous world, no principal would be foolish. They had already deduced what was happening from Azrael's words alone.
Their expressions grew grave, and they replied solemnly, "Understood."
BOOM!
The sudden explosion caused Azrael to turn back in surprise, his gaze snapping toward the field.
It was the entrance to the secret realm.
A new secret realm had descended upon Velkairos right before his eyes.
"Azrael."
A faint voice echoed in the young man's ears, cold and measured.
As the words fell, endless darkness suddenly spread from the sky to engulf the ground.
Although Azrael had only recently encountered the voice's owner, he immediately recognized its identity.
With a serious expression, he called out the visitor's name, "Chris!"
The young man had never expected this previously silent master-level Lore Cardian to suddenly attack him.
And the reason was simple.
Antipas, the corrupted cultist of the Ten Evils whom he had slain long ago in the Great British secret realm. Chris was clearly seeking revenge.
"Even the wicked have their own saviors?" Azrael thought with dark amusement.
Though his mind raced through possibilities, in the real world only a moment had passed.
Everyone present still hadn't fully processed what was happening, only instinctively letting out screams of panic.
Azrael didn't hesitate and immediately activated [Fake Karakura Town].
As the massive city's shadow flickered into existence, the chaotic screams around him stopped abruptly.
To protect the lives of those present, he transported everyone into the replica town.
But that alone wasn't enough.
Azrael knew that once he and Chris fought within the city, whether Velkairos would still exist afterward would be questionable at best.
Even if he held back, the collateral damage might extend far beyond just Velkairos.
At that moment, the young man caught sight of the massive secret realm entrance on the battlefield, and a plan suddenly crystallized in his mind.
He placed his hand on Shiraori, and the next instant appeared beside the spatial crack.
"If you want to kill me, follow me inside," Azrael declared, deliberately baiting his opponent.
Before entering the secret realm, he made certain to draw aggro with those provocative words.
The very next breath, darkness thick enough to swallow sunlight suddenly engulfed everything around him.
"Sir, this..."
The man standing beside Chris hesitated, attempting to dissuade his lord from succumbing to such obvious provocation.
But the young master simply waved his hand dismissively. "You go ahead. I'm enough for this."
"After all..."
"This is revenge for Antipas. I won't let myself become trapped in the process."
With this, he turned and glanced toward the sea.
Chris's confidence stemmed from the knowledge that someone else was currently drawing the attention of Velkairos's Sovereign-level Lore Cardian.
The Velkairos Cardian Master Association probably wouldn't have the resources to interfere with his business anytime soon.
If he was fast enough, this secret realm would become Azrael's grave.
Otherwise, he risked becoming trapped inside himself.
But obviously, such a thing couldn't happen. Chris felt he wasn't like Jin, some brutish thug lacking finesse.
He would crush Azrael with overwhelming force.
[Fake Karakura Town]
Everyone stared blankly at the dead silence surrounding them.
In the blink of an eye, they'd been transported from the battlefield to this unfamiliar location.
Fortunately, the principals were quick-witted and rapidly realized this was likely the result of President Azrael's card power.
With that understanding, they immediately began organizing their tasks.
Since this was the finals, all participating high schools had sent students and teachers to observe the matches.
While these Lore Cardians might not be particularly skilled combatants, they were more than sufficient to maintain order in a situation like this.
In the crowd, Geralt swallowed hard as he recalled what had just transpired.
The young man could still smell the scent of death lingering in his memory.
"Is this what high-level Lore Cardians are like?" he thought to himself.
This was the first time he'd witnessed high-level Lore Cardians fighting at such close proximity.
"Can I really become that powerful?"
At this moment, Geralt couldn't help doubting his own potential.
Fortunately, the young man quickly regained his confidence. After all, the past was the past, and the present was the present. For him, being able to embark on the path to transcendence was already an excellent start.
Outside the replica town, Azrael glanced at the dense forest at the secret realm entrance, then chose a direction for Shiraori to lead him.
He wasn't foolish enough to confront a furious master-level Lore Cardian head-on without preparation.
However, just to be safe, the young man left a Shadowkhan at the entrance. If Chris didn't follow within thirty seconds, he would send it out to investigate.
Entering the secret realm had been a desperate gambit. Before entering, Azrael had clearly sensed that fighting had already erupted along the coast of Velkairos.
Not only Dareth, Alice, and the others, but even his own teacher had already taken action.
It was clear that no one in Velkairos could support him at the moment.
Unless he relied on Lord Lioren for assistance.
But thinking of that Sovereign-level Lore Cardian's deteriorating physical condition, Azrael couldn't help pursing his lips.
He was just a master-level opponent. He'd dealt with one before, Jin's direct assault hadn't accomplished anything against him previously, and the same would hold true against Chris this time.
Thinking of this, Azrael breathed a slight sigh of relief, then began pondering another matter.
"How did this secret realm become accessible so conveniently?"
"Did Jin help him arrange this?"
"I just don't know what level of secret realm this is."
Based on the intelligence the young man had previously gathered, Jin shouldn't have been able to open a secret realm so easily. Such conveniences always came with a price.
WHOOSH!
At that moment, several sounds of breaking air suddenly echoed through the woods.
Azrael remained expressionless in the face of the sudden attack.
BANG!
Accompanied by a series of shattering sounds, green liquid sprayed through the air.
"Did you really think I, the Spider Sovereign, couldn't kill you with a glare?" Shiraori's voice rang out smugly.
"Amaterasu!"
Glancing at the little spider beside him who was beginning to cosplay as Sasuke Uchiha, Azrael couldn't help curling his lips in amusement. Then he turned his attention to the culprit who had attacked them.
He frowned slightly as he gazed at the tree trunk corpses on the ground, their green blood flowing like living organisms.
"Treants?" he muttered to himself.
He scanned the forest, now obscured by dense branches and leaves that seemed to shift with malevolent purpose.
Before he could ponder further, a distant roar echoed through the realm.
"WHO DARES?!"
"How dare you kill my children!"
As the voice rumbled, the earth began trembling beneath his feet.
However, Azrael breathed a sigh of relief. "Diamond-level. Not bad."
He had feared there might be a master-level demon residing in this secret realm, but it appeared to contain only Diamond-level threats.
He leaped into the air for a better vantage point.
From his elevated position, a towering treant as tall as a skyscraper stared intently at him with glowing amber eyes.
"Outsiders?!" the treant bellowed.
"I didn't summon you here!"
With those words, thick vines suddenly erupted from the ground and lashed out at Azrael with terrifying speed.
Azrael sighed quietly. For him now, ordinary Diamond-level demons posed minimal threat.
Just as the vines were about to strike the young man, an elderly figure with a long white beard materialized before him, effortlessly blocking the attack with a single hand.
"Blame your weakness to fire," Azrael said, casting a sympathetic glance at the unfortunate treant demon.
Fire-based abilities held inherent advantages against such wooden creatures, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's Ryūjin Jakka was the strongest fire-type Zanpakutō in existence.
Defeating a treant demon of this level would be child's play for the old captain, not to mention the considerable power bonuses Yamamoto received as one of Azrael's cards.
After dispatching Captain Yamamoto to handle the unwise demon, Azrael turned toward Chris, who had appeared in the distance moments ago.
After all this commotion, he could no longer conceal his presence regardless.
Perhaps this had been one of Chris's reasons for allowing him to enter the secret realm in the first place.
"How do you like the cemetery I chose for you?" The Fallen Cult master gestured toward the woods below, speaking with eerie calm. "Of the several options Jin provided me, this most closely resembles the realm where Antipas fell."
"Consider it a memorial to him. You will die here today."
As he spoke, Chris couldn't help but curl his lips into a cold smile.
If it weren't for honoring Antipas's memory, he wouldn't have bothered cooperating with Jin's elaborate scheme.
Hearing this, Azrael's eyes narrowed as he processed the implications. "So Jin orchestrated this."
He had never expected Chris to reveal such critical information so casually. The man likely felt he had already secured victory today.
Then again, anyone would have assumed the young man was doomed in these circumstances.
After all, it was a Diamond-level Lore Cardian versus a master-level opponent.
"Enough talk." Seeing Azrael's lack of reaction, Chris's interest waned. "If you surrender now, I can promise to release those ordinary people unharmed."
The young master's only target today was Azrael. He had no intention of attacking defenseless civilians.
Azrael took a deep breath and spoke with a cold expression, his voice carrying absolute confidence.
"You really think you can defeat me?"
As he finished speaking, an extremely blazing flame suddenly erupted behind the young man, casting dancing shadows across the forest.
Seeing this display, Chris snorted coldly and immediately summoned his own cards.
"Fight to the bitter end, then."