A biting wind swirled across the frozen wasteland, quickly blanketing the devastated landscape with a thin layer of snow.
Tempest took a deep breath, trying to ease her exhaustion with the icy air.
After a brutal battle with Azrael's cards, the demon army commander's strength had declined significantly.
If anyone had told Tempest before this engagement that she would expend so much energy fighting a Diamond-tier Lore Cardian, she would have dismissed the notion as absurd.
Unfortunately, reality had proven otherwise.
After recovering some strength, Tempest prepared to support her four colleagues in their battles.
However, just as she turned to leave, a familiar presence suddenly materialized behind her.
BOOM!
Caught completely off guard, Tempest crashed into the frozen ground like a meteor.
The sudden attack made everyone present freeze in shock.
Several demon commanders stared wide-eyed as if witnessing a ghost, their expressions twitching involuntarily. "What is that?!"
They had already recognized the newcomer.
"How is that possible?!"
No two leaves are exactly alike, and certainly no two cards are identical.
But now, the demon commanders saw something that defied all logic.
The blonde youth card that had vanished at Tempest's hands stood before them once more.
And there was more.
Amidst the demons' stunned gazes, cards like Luffy, Yamamoto Shigekuni, and Hashirama Senju, all of whom should have been destroyed long ago, reappeared on the battlefield, fully restored.
"???"
This scene was unprecedented, even in the military commanders' long lives.
"Is this an illusion?"
The demon army desperately hoped the spectacle before them was nothing more than a conjured trick.
If everything was real, then Tempest was in grave danger.
They refused to believe it. They dared not.
"How on earth did they accomplish this?"
The demon commanders were utterly baffled.
Meanwhile, Master Tempest and the other allied Lore Cardians were equally astonished.
They had never heard of a card that could actually reset the cooldowns of other cards.
Indeed, several of the top Lore Cardians present immediately realized all of this was caused by the newly revealed card.
Noticing the horrified and curious gazes of Catherine and Nikolay, Master Tempest gave a wry smile and spread his remaining right hand in a helpless gesture.
He meant he didn't know either.
Of course, the middle-aged man known as the "Fighting God" couldn't possibly know. After all, Uchiha Madara was Azrael's latest creation, and no sane Lore Cardian would publicly reveal such a devastating trump card.
Even if Master Tempest knew the details of the "Outer Path: Samsara Rebirth Technique," he would do everything in his power to conceal it for Azrael's sake.
Unaware of the allied Lore Cardians' complex emotions, Catherine forced herself to remain calm. A contemptuous smile played across her lips as she gazed indifferently at the four distant demon commanders. "It seems today is your day of reckoning."
Upon hearing this, the four demons exchanged grim glances, silently discussing their predicament.
They had been waiting for Tempest's reinforcements, but judging by the current situation, the Storm Lord might be in mortal danger herself.
So should they flee?
Elsewhere, a sudden surge of wind erupted from where Tempest had fallen, dispersing the surrounding smoke and dust.
Soon, the somewhat disheveled woman reappeared, but the demon commander had no time to concern herself with her distant colleagues.
Tempest ignored the searing pain in her back, standing expressionlessly on the cracked ground as she gazed at the cards hovering in the air above.
"I see."
It was only then that she finally understood the meaning of the black-haired man's earlier sneer.
"You've actually reached this level."
Tempest closed her eyes and sighed softly.
She knew she might not survive today's battle.
But who could have imagined such terrifying power could reside within a Diamond-tier card?
Tempest thought she hadn't underestimated her opponent. Facing Azrael, she had given her all.
Unfortunately, she had been outmatched.
Every time she thought victory was within her grasp, the Diamond-tier Lore Cardian would produce some truly incredible surprise.
First, he confronted a Master-tier being with a swarm of Diamond-tier cards. Then he crafted a card with powerful bond abilities on the battlefield itself. Finally, he used this card to completely overturn the situation.
With this thought, Tempest opened her eyes, looked at Azrael, who had appeared out of nowhere in the distance, and opened her mouth to speak.
But the cards, led by Ichigo Kurosaki, gave her no respite. They immediately launched a coordinated assault on the Master-tier demon.
Facing the onslaught from all sides, Tempest remained composed, commanding fierce winds to repel the attacks.
However, her gradual deterioration revealed that the once invincible Storm Lord was beginning to falter.
WHOOSH!
After forcibly converging a tornado and driving back the attacking cards, Tempest gasped for air.
She twitched her lips and spoke with some difficulty. "I've almost forgotten how many years it has been since I've been this close to death."
Her emotionless voice drifted away on the wind.
Azrael's eyes flickered at this, but he remained silent, hidden within the shadows.
Seeing this, a flicker of disappointment crossed Tempest's eyes.
She sighed softly. "How cautious."
"It's not unfair that I lost to you." Tempest paused, then changed the subject. "But if you think I'll surrender so easily, you're gravely mistaken."
As soon as she finished speaking, an endless storm converged upon her position.
It was clear Tempest was prepared for a desperate final stand.
As for escape? That was an option she had never considered.
Even if she managed to flee today, what about the future?
Judging by her opponent's terrifying talent, the day he ascended to Master tier would be the day their clan faced annihilation.
In that case, it would be better to try forcing a mutual kill while she still had the strength.
Unfortunately, Tempest didn't know that several of her colleagues were already plotting their own escape routes.
Faced with this situation, Azrael simply shook his head and immediately had Shiraori take him back into hiding.
He wasn't foolish enough to approach Tempest at this critical moment. Who knew what other devastating tricks the demon commander had prepared?
The battle resumed.
Azrael's cards weren't prepared to engage Tempest in direct confrontation. After all, anyone with a modicum of tactical sense could see the demon was willing to trade her life for theirs.
Powerful wind blades streaked across the sky, leaving massive scars on the frozen wasteland.
Such a terrifying display caused the Diamond-tier demons watching from afar to tremble in fear.
The Corrupted Demon swallowed hard, lowering his voice to his colleague beside him. "Do you think Lord Tempest is going to..."
"Stop!" Earl Mirror quickly interrupted him. "Don't be such a pessimist."
"If Lord Tempest is defeated, we will surely suffer as well!"
Upon hearing this, the Corrupted Demon slapped himself and repeatedly said, "Yes, yes, you're right."
He fell silent, internally debating whether he should flee while he still could.
After a moment, Earl Mirror asked hesitantly, "Do you think that guy used the materials from that old immortal to craft the card?"
He was referring to the King of the Living Dead.
The Diamond-tier demons had naturally noticed Uchiha Madara's appearance and realized he was likely a new card crafted on the spot by the Diamond-tier Lore Cardian.
Considering that the man had risked serious injury to kill Sean before escaping, it was highly likely that the King of the Living Dead's materials were involved.
"..." The Corrupted Demon opened his mouth nervously. "It can't be such a coincidence, right?"
The situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse since that new card's appearance, a fact obvious to all the demons present.
If Azrael's acquisition of Sean's materials truly led to the creation of this card, wouldn't that imply they, the very demons who had allowed Sean to be killed, were also responsible?
The Corrupted Demon wouldn't dare accept such blame.
But even though they were reluctant to admit it, the Diamond-tier demons knew in their hearts this was most likely the truth.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
Meanwhile, the battle between Azrael's cards and Tempest was drawing to its conclusion.
Ichigo Kurosaki stood in mid-air, Tensa Zangetsu in hand, his face calm as he gazed at the wounded demon across from him.
He knew his opponent was at her limit, and one final push would be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Coincidentally, his Final Getsuga Tenshō form was running out of time as well.
But the more critical the moment, the more caution was warranted.
After all, a cornered beast fights most fiercely, and a warrior's counterattack before death is the most ferocious.
Seeing the momentary pause in the assault, Tempest glanced at the cards that had surrounded her.
Directly ahead was the blonde youth who had left that horrific scar on her chest.
To her left stood the sturdy, white-bearded elder radiating an aura of endless flames.
To her right was the young man in the straw hat, his laughter punctuating the battle like this was all some grand joke.
Behind her loomed the Ninja God, watching her intently from atop his towering wooden Buddha.
Beyond them lay a host of subordinate cards, both near and far, supporting the four primary combatants.
All of them should have been defeated by her already.
All of this was the fault of the black-haired man with the cracked mask.
Thinking of this, Tempest sighed with a sense of profound loss. "I'm powerless to resist."
"You're not going to show yourself?"
No one answered.
Azrael, lurking in the shadows, watched the demon's performance with a cold, calculating gaze.
Whether sincere or feigned, he wouldn't reveal himself until she was dead.
Seeing this, Tempest suppressed her previous vulnerability. Her voice turned as cold as an eternal glacier. "Cautious enough."
"Heh."
"You're so arrogant! You're about to witness the death of the Storm Lord!"
Her eyes filled with indifference, as if her previous display of weakness had been nothing but an act.
Of course it was!
How could a terrifying being like her, accustomed to life and death, holding power over the lives of billions, possibly show such pathetic emotion?
She now felt only anger at her own insufficient strength, and beyond that, genuine admiration for Azrael's capabilities.
As for fear of death? That useless emotion had been discarded long before Tempest embarked on her path of slaughter.
"The next move will determine the outcome."
She slowly extended her right hand.
Just as she had done against Hashirama's mighty wooden Buddha, she once again restrained the boundless storm in the sky, condensing it into a single point.
To unleash this final attack, Tempest staked everything, past, present, and future.
After witnessing the devastating power of the Lance of the End, Ichigo Kurosaki and the others naturally wouldn't sit idly by and watch it take shape.
"Top Buddha!"
Hashirama Senju immediately unleashed his most powerful technique.
BOOM BOOM BOOM, !
Amidst the relentless bombardment, Tempest was slammed deep into the ground in the blink of an eye.
However, Hashirama frowned.
The Top Buddha hadn't connected.
All his massive fists, poised to strike Tempest, were shredded by the concentrated winds swirling around her hands.
Seeing this, Ichigo Kurosaki didn't hesitate any longer and immediately unleashed his ultimate attack.
"Mugetsu!"
Sensing a life-threatening strike about to land, Tempest immediately released the Lance of the End.
Instantly, a pale concentrated wind howled forth.
However, this time it lacked the devastating momentum of her previous attacks against Madara and Hashirama.
The massive pitch-black slashing wave collided with the Lance of the End, and the resulting shockwave instantly reduced the surrounding ground to fine dust.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Finally, after a prolonged stalemate, the Lance of the End was split in two, the divided winds roaring off into the distance and carving two deep furrows in the frozen earth.
However, as payment for this victory, Mugetsu also vanished into thin air, its power completely spent.
Seeing this, Tempest sighed with deep regret.
She regretted that her attack wasn't at its absolute strongest. After all, she had initially diverted some of her power to defend against the Buddha overhead, then had been forced to release the technique prematurely in the face of a life-threatening crisis.
But she had done her best.
The only thing to blame was the sheer, terrifying power of this Diamond-tier Lore Cardian.
With this thought, a hint of peace crossed Tempest's previously stoic face.
Just then, an aged voice suddenly rang out. "Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin!"
As Yamamoto Shigekuni finished his declaration, a swift slash, imperceptible even to trained eyes, struck Tempest's body.
SWISH!
As the blade passed through her, most of Tempest's body instantly disintegrated into nothingness, reduced to ash.
She died without even leaving final words.
Watching Tempest's bisected corpse fall powerlessly to the ground, the battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Only the cold wind continued to howl, as if weeping for the fallen Storm Lord.
At this moment, whether demon or Lore Cardian, whether Diamond-tier or Master-tier, they all stared at the demon army commander's corpse in the distance with blank expressions.
It was only at this moment that everyone truly realized, someone with a Diamond-tier body had genuinely defeated a being powerful even among Master-tier existences.
"..."
"Tempest!?"