Fox Nine was completely desperate, trying every possible remedy in her arsenal. She knew that even if her subordinates couldn't match an opponent she herself couldn't defeat, she had to buy time somehow.
What other options did she have? She didn't want to die, that was all.
The demon fox tumbled backward through the air, her remaining subordinates terrified but obediently blocking Azrael's path.
Most of the demons realized they wouldn't survive the day. After all, with their master in such a wretched state, their resistance was like an egg striking stone.
"You, "
They tried to threaten the approaching figure, only to be cleaved in two by a sudden slash of black spiritual energy.
The surviving demons in the rear stared at the infernal scene before them, felt their legs give out, and collapsed to the ground in terror.
In response, Azrael simply passed them by with his cards and said casually, "Get out of the way."
He didn't have time to waste. He had no idea what was happening back in the Empire.
He hadn't received any messages since Lucian had sent those two earlier transmissions.
By then, Fox Nine had already fled a considerable distance, but the wounded demon fox clearly couldn't match Azrael's speed.
Within moments, she felt the chilling aura of death closing in behind her again.
"I can't die yet," she thought desperately, turning to face Azrael with her ferocious maw open to beg for mercy.
Unfortunately, when she tried to speak, nothing came out.
It wasn't that she didn't know what to say. Rather,
"Zero!?" Fox Nine mentally called out in shock, suddenly realizing she'd lost control of her own body again.
She could clearly sense that the other soul within her had seized control once more.
Zero, who had remained silent since seeing through the illusion that he'd never truly escaped Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, said calmly, "Pleading for mercy is useless."
"I'll give it my all."
He wasn't prepared to discuss matters with Fox Nine. After all, Zero had already set his mission objective when he first appeared, his words were simply a way to stop the demon fox from holding him back.
Ultimately, the giant fox was still the original owner of this body. Even if Zero burned through everything to regain control, maintaining it would be difficult if she didn't cooperate.
But Fox Nine was now completely focused on begging for mercy, so of course she wouldn't listen to Zero.
"Give me back my body, Zero!" the demon fox shrieked internally.
Seeing that the fox was completely unable to communicate, Zero blocked out her voice.
Sensing a change in the demon's aura, Azrael tilted his head slightly. "Another transformation?"
Then, with a glance, he signaled Aizen and the others to move in and finish it.
Struggling to fend off attacks from all sides, Zero said calmly, "Mission: Delay."
"Genjutsu doesn't matter."
Even now, Zero couldn't confirm whether he was still trapped in Aizen's illusion. Everything that had happened before had left him with lingering self-doubt.
But none of that mattered to him anymore.
As long as he was still engaged in battle and Azrael was still present, his only task was to buy as much time as possible.
This was why he had initially allowed Fox Nine to escape to her lair.
Azrael certainly understood Zero's intention, but he knew there was no point in rushing. It would be better to quickly defeat the opponent before returning to the Empire.
Kurosaki Ichigo's Mugetsu state was almost over. Since he hadn't engaged in much combat before entering the transformation, it had lasted unusually long this time.
When the slash that dyed the secret realm in stark black and white struck true, Zero's controlled Fox Nine was reduced to a single tail.
It must be said that the demon fox's vitality was truly tenacious. If this had been Tempest, he would have perished long ago.
But on another level, if Tempest were here, he wouldn't have suffered such severe damage from Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu in the first place.
Meanwhile, Fox Nine's inner voice had shifted from curses to desperate pleas.
The demon was truly terrified. She now hated herself for getting involved in the battle between City Within a City and the Empire. She should have stayed here as the tyrant of her small kingdom.
Even so, Zero continued to battle Azrael's cards relentlessly.
Realizing that words alone wouldn't stop the experimental demon, Fox Nine raged internally, desperately fighting for control of the body with all her might.
As mentioned earlier, while Zero could currently control the body, if the original owner didn't cooperate, it would be extremely difficult for him to maintain dominance.
Furthermore, the great fox was now determined to reclaim what was rightfully hers.
As the internal struggle intensified, Azrael and his cards noticed that the besieged demon fox's movements occasionally became erratic and uncoordinated.
This, in turn, quickly led to Fox Nine's body sustaining several new wounds.
As if realizing the situation was hopeless, Zero sighed softly and gave up his resistance, allowing Fox Nine to regain control.
The great fox's face filled with uncontrollable ecstasy as she opened her mouth to shout, "I surren, "
Before she could even finish the word, several devastating slashes had already torn through her body.
Having only just regained control, Fox Nine was completely defenseless against these attacks.
She looked down at the massive streaks of blood carved across her body. Disbelief crossed her ferocious vulpine features. "What...?"
Boom,
The fox's massive body collapsed to the ground, sending plumes of smoke and dust billowing into the air.
Fox Nine was dead. This demon vixen, who had lived for countless years, had perished because of her own desperate longing for life.
A blurry figure slowly appeared above the lifeless fox's head. Looking down at the demon's large, lifeless pupils, Zero muttered softly, "Foolish fox."
His creators had always called him a fool, and now it seemed the description fit perfectly.
Zero stared at the dead Fox Nine for a moment before looking up at Azrael, who stood warily in the distance. "Is this still an illusion?"
Azrael stared at him coldly, neither moving nor speaking.
Seeing this, Zero's blurry form began to flicker and fade.
But he remained silent until the moment he vanished completely into thin air, leaving behind only a single, meaningless syllable drifting away on the wind.
"Huh."
The artificial creation finally left this not-so-fake world, harboring doubts about reality until the very end.
Azrael's tense posture relaxed at this sight.
He had successfully killed Fox Nine without paying a terrible price, meaning he could return to the Empire without excessive worry.
As for Korea and this small nation occupied by demons... he'd have to deal with them after the Empire's situation was resolved.
Azrael approached Fox Nine's corpse and leaned over to retrieve the Master-level ingredient she had dropped: [Disaster Fox] (Red).
"With this, I'll have all the ingredients for Naruto," he murmured to himself. "I'll just have to wait until I reach Master level myself."
Azrael now possessed all three ingredients needed to craft the Naruto card. It was a shame no miraculous breakthrough had occurred, otherwise, he could have finished crafting Naruto before returning to the Empire.
Just as Azrael prepared to depart for Velkairos, a familiar throbbing sensation washed over him.
He stopped short, looking behind him in surprise. "No way..."
Azrael had never expected to find the final piece of the puzzle here, of all places.
This coincidence made him pause and reconsider.
Once or twice could be attributed to coincidence, but so many times? It couldn't still be mere chance.
At that moment, a faint whisper drifted into his ears, barely audible, yet unmistakable.
"Go. You'll eventually know all the answers."
Azrael's expression darkened as he registered the sound.
He had always detested riddlers and their cryptic games. Fortunately, the day he'd learn the truth seemed to be approaching rapidly.
For now, all he had to do was accept this gift.
Then return to the Empire to resolve the current crisis.
With this thought, Azrael turned and headed toward the strangely familiar sensation.
Velkairos.
The once clear sky was now overcast with thick, roiling clouds forming a vast vortex, rumbling with thunder.
Raging waves pounded against the rocky shore, creating a deafening cacophony.
Lucian frowned at the apocalyptic scene before him and whispered to his assistant, "Notify the surrounding cities to begin evacuation procedures."
"Also, place all cities nationwide under martial law."
The old man had lived long enough to understand that the scene before him couldn't be caused by simple meteorological factors.
Without a doubt, the cause of all this was his old rival, Jin.
"Sure enough, the Korea incident is connected to that old bastard," Lucian sighed softly.
Fortunately, Velkairos had been largely abandoned due to the previous incident, so he no longer had to worry about mass civilian evacuations.
Not long after, Fujimaru appeared beside him. "Master Lucian, how is the situation?"
Lucian wasn't surprised by her appearance. After all, without the Demon Army threatening the northern border, the former Northern Defense Army's combat power had been largely freed up.
The situation was actually much better than before.
If not for the problems in Korea, at least.
"I've sent messages to Azrael and the others, but there's been no response yet," Lucian said, a hint of worry crossing his weathered brows.
Hearing this, Fujimaru pursed her lips and whispered, "Lord Lioren's health is deteriorating rapidly. I'm afraid..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but the old man knew exactly what she meant.
Simply put, if today's battle with Jin and his allies was truly the final confrontation, then Lord Lioren might be making his last stand.
"The Empire has overcome such difficulties before. Don't worry too much, Fujimaru," Lucian said, offering simple comfort.
After briefly reassuring the Master-level Lore Cardian, Lucian fell silent, his gaze fixed on the two secret realms in the distance where demons were constantly pouring forth.
Meanwhile, on the turbulent sea, Jin looked sullenly toward the distant city of Velkairos, where numerous Lore Cardians were stationed in defensive positions. He muttered angrily, "If those useless demon soldiers hadn't perished so quickly, the Empire wouldn't have had so many troops available to defend this place."
After calming himself briefly, he turned to the two Master-level demons beside him and said, "I've done what I promised you."
"Don't forget your promise."
The two demons exchanged a meaningful glance, then grinned with rows of sharp teeth. "Of course. We'll always remember President Jin's... generous assistance."
"But it's almost time. Shouldn't we begin?"
Hearing this, Jin glanced down at his communication device. After confirming that the Korea operation was proceeding on schedule, he nodded curtly. "Very well. Let's proceed."
With those words, the restless demon army on the sea surged forward toward Velkairos like a tsunami of claws and fangs.
However, the Master-level combatants, led by Jin, remained motionless.
Marcus asked with apparent confusion, rubbing his stomach, "Are we not going?"
"I'm feeling rather hungry," he added with a disturbing grin.
In response to the black man's question, Jin replied with a frown, "Marcus, when I said we can start, I didn't mean what you're thinking."
"...?"
Marcus looked stunned and instinctively opened his mouth to respond, but the sudden movement of the chains binding him interrupted his words.
"This shouldn't have been necessary," Jin sighed with what sounded like genuine regret. "If you want to blame someone, blame the Empire for reacting too quickly."
Even Marcus, however dense he might appear, realized that the men before him were plotting to harm him.
He immediately began to struggle.
Like Tempest, Marcus was a Lore Cardian specializing in close combat, so as his movements grew more intense, the noise grew correspondingly louder.
However, with a metallic creaking sound, the chains only tightened around him further.
At that moment, the contract, which had appeared in Jin's right hand seemingly from nowhere, began to slowly burn with an eerie flame.
"Fortunately, I had a backup plan," Jin muttered. "Otherwise, I'd be in serious trouble."
Seeing this development, Marcus suddenly stopped moving, seemingly giving up his struggle entirely.
Jin paid no attention to the change, focused on the burning contract.
Just as the contract was about to burn out completely, Marcus, who had been motionless, suddenly laughed. His white teeth gleamed coldly against his dark face. "President Jin..."
"Do you really think I'm stupid?"
The strange smile on the black man's face, coupled with his pointed words, gave Jin an immediate sense of foreboding.
But before he could even raise a question, the chains binding Marcus began to break apart with sharp metallic snaps.
Casually pulling off the broken restraints, the black man stretched his body with deliberate slowness. He then licked his lips while staring at Jin with predatory hunger. "Your contract..."
"Was delicious."
As he finished speaking, Jin's face paled dramatically, and he coughed up blood. "How is that possible!?"
The old man's contract had backfired catastrophically, and the one paying the price had shifted from Marcus to him.
At that moment, all the Master-level beings present watched the scene with cold, calculating eyes, eager to see what Jin would do next.
To them, whether Marcus or Jin paid the price was utterly irrelevant.
As long as the third secret realm could be successfully opened, everything would be acceptable.
"President Jin, your contract should still be valid, correct?" one of the Master-level demons asked with false concern.
"So, are you going to be my enemy, or...?"
At this, Marcus gave Jin a meaningful, mocking look.
Hearing this veiled threat, Jin glanced at the three demons observing him, then glared at Marcus with a grim expression. "Good. Very good."
"You've put on quite the performance."
Once again, the situation had spiraled beyond the old man's control. Last time, it had been Azrael. This time, it was Marcus.
The two betrayals made him feel like a clown performing for an audience that despised him.
But at this critical juncture, what choice did he have?
Jin forced the resentment blazing in his eyes to retreat beneath a mask of cold calculation. Contracts began to spontaneously combust around him in waves of sickly green flame.
At the same time, whether in Australia or Europe, members of the Fallen Cult who had signed Jin's command contracts began bleeding from every orifice before collapsing dead.
Without a doubt, these Lore Cardians who had signed Jin's contracts became the old man's scapegoats, their lives sacrificed to pay the price that should have been his.
Seeing this mass sacrifice, Marcus relaxed his combat-ready posture slightly and said with a predatory grin, "It seems President Jin has made the right choice after all."