"Hey, have you had breakfast yet?"
Early that morning, a burly man with a friendly smile greeted another young man in front of the Qilu Cardian Master Association headquarters.
These two were, of course, Azrael and his future partner within the Qilu Cardian Master Association.
Hearing the man's polite question, Azrael nodded. "Master Pierre, I've already eaten."
"Good. Today's going to be demanding work," Pierre replied, scratching his head thoughtfully. "I didn't expect it would be you, though. Strange how fate works."
The reasoning was natural, the two had met before.
This man was Pierre, who had previously supported operations in Donglai alongside Diesel and the others.
Azrael hadn't expected the Qilu Cardian Master Association to assign him to a team with Pierre, presumably because they had previously worked together during the Li Gang incident.
"This mission is in Ande. Two Emerald-level secret realms have appeared there. The city's manpower is almost completely exhausted, so they've requested reinforcements."
Pierre briefly explained the mission parameters.
Azrael had naturally received the relevant intelligence earlier. "Have they provided any specific information about the current situation?"
Hearing this, Pierre shook his head slightly. "When they initially requested help, they reported a secret realm had begun its invasion, but there's been no communication since then."
"I don't know what the specific situation is now."
With that, the two fell silent, both understanding the implications.
But there was no time to waste deliberating. Azrael and Pierre quickly steeled themselves for action.
"Let's go."
With those words, the two disappeared from their position in a blur of motion.
Ande City.
A middle-aged man with a grim expression gazed out at the ruins that had consumed a small section of his city.
At that moment, a young man rushed toward him urgently. "President Constantine, the casualties in the Association have been preliminarily counted."
"Most of our Gold-level Lore Cardians were injured, and the Vice President was also seriously wounded."
The assistant paused, clearly hesitant, but finally gritted his teeth and continued. "President, perhaps we should consider a strategic withdrawal?"
"Otherwise, if those demons attack again, I'm afraid the Ande Cardian Master Association will be crippled beyond recovery."
However, after hearing the young man's suggestion, President Constantine looked at him with stern intensity. "If we abandon our posts, what happens to the civilians trapped in the occupied areas?"
"This responsibility originally belonged to our Cardian Master Association."
The young assistant fell silent for a long moment before whispering bitterly, "But the Imperial forces have already withdrawn."
"I really don't know if this Empire of Aetherlight belongs to them or to us."
Before he could finish his complaint, Constantine stopped him with a harsh look. "Watch your words!"
Then the president sighed heavily. "They are them, we are us."
"Besides, I've already requested reinforcements from headquarters. I believe Emerald-level Lore Cardians will arrive soon to support us."
The young assistant showed no visible reaction to this optimistic assessment.
He was well aware of Qilu's current situation. Most of headquarters' personnel had been dispersed throughout the territory to combat the spreading threats.
Their mobile forces were already stretched impossibly thin.
Ande had no idea when their turn for reinforcements would actually arrive.
"Boom!"
Just as the president and his assistant were lost in troubled thoughts, a violent explosion suddenly erupted, and the ground began shaking with alarming intensity.
Constantine's expression changed drastically. "They're attacking the barrier I've established around the perimeter!"
Without hesitation, he barked orders at the young assistant. "Send all remaining Gold-rank and above Lore Cardians with me immediately!"
With that command, he rushed toward the distant ruins.
Though the young assistant harbored internal reservations about this suicidal decision, he ultimately followed the president's orders with resignation.
Meanwhile, Azrael and Pierre were racing toward Ande at supernatural speeds.
"Master Pierre, what's the typical reward for completing missions like ours?"
Azrael asked after a moment's hesitation.
He was coveting the venue materials available at headquarters.
Upon hearing this question, Pierre responded without turning back. "Our minimum reward for each mission is twenty thousand points, though the exact amount depends on the mission's difficulty and completion quality."
"But don't worry about that. I'm an expert at writing reports, and I guarantee you'll receive substantial points."
Azrael's eyes lit up when he heard the guaranteed twenty thousand points.
With that amount, he'd finally have enough to purchase the [Chaos Royal Court], assuming the venue material hadn't already been sold to someone else.
Azrael's desire to reach Ande and complete the mission intensified dramatically.
As the two conversed, Ande gradually materialized in the distance.
However, after observing the city's current state, both men's expressions darkened considerably.
"Tsk!"
Azrael immediately summoned his Emerald-level cards and transformed into Kamen Rider Zi-O, his armor materializing around him in a brilliant flash of light.
Pierre, standing nearby, glanced at the young man with genuine surprise etched across his weathered features.
If he remembered correctly, the last time they'd met in Donglai, Azrael had possessed only one Emerald-level card, hadn't he?
It had been such a short time, and including the armor-type equipment card, he now commanded four Emerald-level cards simultaneously.
Feeling the sudden surge of overwhelming power radiating from beside him, Pierre couldn't help but swallow nervously. "Good grief! No wonder President Vladimir told me not to worry too much about this assignment."
Only now did he truly understand why Vladimir had been so confident about Azrael's capabilities and survival prospects.
Despite his astonishment, Pierre subconsciously summoned his own cards in response.
The next moment, their assembled forces surged toward Ande like avenging angels.
Elsewhere in the devastated city, President Constantine and his remaining forces struggled desperately against the relentless demon assault from the secret realm.
"President," a pale, trembling Gold-level Lore Cardian gasped weakly. "I can't maintain this much longer."
Before he could finish his warning, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, clearly unconscious from severe mental energy depletion.
President Constantine didn't need to issue orders; someone immediately stepped forward and carried the fallen Lore Cardian away from the front lines.
"Two cards remaining," Constantine muttered grimly.
He began silently calculating how long his depleted strength would last against the demon horde.
The answer was painfully clear: at most, another hour before complete collapse.
Just as he contemplated their increasingly desperate situation, a pale green meteor suddenly plummeted from the distant sky, crashing directly into the ruined heart of the city with tremendous impact.
"What's that?!"
President Constantine's pupils constricted as he sensed an overwhelming presence, one that radiated genuine danger even to his experienced senses.
But that wasn't all. As the pale green meteor plunged into the urban wasteland, several equally formidable auras followed in its wake, converging on the demon-infested zone.
"Emerald-level Lore Cardians! The reinforcements from headquarters have finally arrived!"
President Constantine's heart overflowed with profound relief.
He understood immediately that, regardless of what happened next, they would at least survive this critical stage of the crisis.
After allowing himself this moment of psychological release, accumulated fatigue washed over him like an overwhelming tide threatening to drag him under.
At that precise moment, a calm, confident voice reached his ears.
"Thank you for your perseverance, President Constantine. Leave the rest to us."
Turning with effort, he saw two men approaching with professional smiles that somehow managed to be both reassuring and determined.
"Qilu Cardian Master Association Mobile Unit."
"Azrael."
"Pierre."
After arriving in Ande, Azrael and Pierre briefly introduced themselves before preparing to assume command of on-site operations.
They could both clearly see that President Constantine of Ande was operating on his absolute last reserves of strength and mental energy.
However, Constantine stopped them with an urgent gesture. "Gentlemen, the two Emerald-level secret realms that manifested in the city are located in the same general area, so our current strategy has been containment rather than confrontation."
"It would be best to maintain this defensive posture for now, at least until the Lore Cardians in the city have recovered sufficiently before we discuss actually clearing the secret realms."
Hearing this cautious assessment, Azrael and Pierre exchanged a meaningful glance. "We understand, President Constantine. Don't worry, we won't act recklessly."
Of course, they had no intention of charging blindly into unexplored Emerald-level secret realms without proper reconnaissance.
Moreover, Constantine had mentioned that the two secret realms were positioned dangerously close to each other, and nobody knew what coordinated threats might lurk within their mysterious depths.
However, Azrael personally disagreed with Constantine's suggested strategy of merely driving the demons back into their portals.
Rather than temporary containment, he intended complete extermination of the immediate threat.
But there was no need to voice these tactical differences to the exhausted president at this moment.
"My lord, there are still some insignificant humans hiding in those structures. Do you want me to harvest their lives for your amusement?"
A short, grotesque demon whispered obsequiously to an elegantly-dressed young demon in the ruins of Ande City.
He gestured toward the shattered residential buildings in the distance with obvious anticipation.
The demons could naturally sense the presence of these cowering survivors, and the short demon particularly enjoyed watching helpless prey struggle futilely in his grasp before their inevitable deaths.
However, the demon he addressed as "my lord" waved his hand dismissively. "Ignore them for now. Let's deal with those irritating pests outside the perimeter first."
"You can indulge yourself afterward to your heart's content."
Hearing this permission, the short demon's face twisted into a sycophantic smile. "With Lord Jhon taking direct action, everything will naturally proceed smoothly."
Hearing his subordinate's flattering words, Jhon merely nodded with aristocratic indifference before turning to deal with the troublesome obstacles preventing their full invasion.
Just then, a terrifying pale green meteor suddenly descended from the sky in the distance, creating a massive impact crater.
"If I recall correctly..."
"Isn't that Lord Etrigan's designated territory?"
The short demon muttered unconsciously, a gloating expression spreading across his malformed features, completely oblivious to the increasingly solemn look darkening Jhon's aristocratic countenance.
"Lord Etrigan..."
"Swish!"
With a brilliant flash of cold steel, Jhon was instantly positioned far from the short demon's location.
Looking back at his subordinate's body, now severed cleanly in two perfect halves, his expression grew dangerously dark. "Tsk, this is troublesome!"
A cold, raven-haired woman materialized before him, wielding an elegant blade with deadly purpose and supernatural grace.
Jhon instinctively understood that this formidable being had been summoned by those pathetic humans outside using their strange card-based powers.
Feeling the faint but unmistakable aura of sharpness radiating from her presence and testing his supernatural defenses, he glanced imperceptibly at the residential buildings concealing cowering survivors in the distance.
Since victory through honorable combat seemed increasingly uncertain, he didn't mind employing more pragmatic, if distasteful, tactical approaches. He calculated that the woman confronting him wouldn't simply stand by and allow him to systematically slaughter helpless civilians.
At that moment, two female figures within the targeted residential building, one adult, one child, were covering their mouths tightly with trembling hands, their faces frozen in absolute terror as they watched the tense standoff unfolding through their shattered window.
The oppressively solemn atmosphere seemed to physically strangle their hearts, making their bodies stiffen involuntarily with primal fear.
Just when they believed this unbearable tension would continue indefinitely, they watched in mounting horror as the male demon who had appeared first suddenly rushed directly toward their building with predatory intent.
However, faster than the demon's supernatural charge was a female voice utterly devoid of emotion or mercy.
"Bankai: Minazuki."
As those words echoed across the battlefield with absolute authority, the original ruins vanished completely, replaced instantaneously by an otherworldly dimension constructed entirely of crimson liquid.
Jhon involuntarily stopped his charge and looked around in complete bewilderment at the transformed landscape. "What in the hell is happening?!"