A realm of intertwined darkness and light stretched endlessly before them, faintly tinged with pale blue luminescence.
The World Consciousness that had appeared before the Empire's Lore Cardians now knelt upon the ground, wailing uncontrollably.
"Adele!"
"Adele!!"
"After all these years, why haven't you died yet?"
Pitch-black lines gradually climbed across the World Consciousness's form, and countless chaotic thoughts began assaulting its sea of consciousness.
"Better to die standing than live kneeling. Revenge, revenge, revenge."
This creed had been etched into the very souls of all Resistance fighters.
At that moment, the illusory figure of a gray-haired woman materialized behind the World Consciousness.
She gazed at the entity, now covered in pitch-black lines, and released a soft sigh. "After all these years, you and I have become one."
"You won't die..."
"So how can I?"
"But it's all thanks to that outsider. If he hadn't slaughtered so many members of the Submissive faction, I probably wouldn't have regained consciousness."
The gray-haired woman raised her right hand slightly, watching pale blue light flash through the lines of her palm. A faint smile curved her lips.
Upon hearing mention of its kind, the World Consciousness suddenly raised its head and roared like a wounded beast. "It's all him!"
"It's all him!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Rage mingled with fear, swelling within the World Consciousness's body.
At that moment, a voice suddenly echoed throughout the space.
"If you want to kill me, you're welcome to try."
It was Azrael.
He had appeared in this space, exclusive to the secret realm's World Consciousness, at some unknown moment.
Upon seeing Azrael, the already frantic World Consciousness's face flashed with disbelief. "You..."
"How could you possibly be here?!"
Then something struck him, and he suddenly turned to glare at the gray-haired woman's shadow behind him. "You did this!"
"Adele!"
Ignoring the already frantic World Consciousness, Adele's shadow slowly drifted to Azrael's side.
"I never thought such a being as yourself existed in this world."
The gray-haired woman saw through Azrael's true nature with a single glance. It was the first time she'd encountered a World Consciousness roaming freely as a young man.
Hearing this, Azrael shook his head slightly. "I didn't expect you to survive either, Miss Adele."
"And..."
After the Soul King had successfully infected a small portion of the secret realm at the entrance, he'd discovered that his fellow consciousness was in far worse condition than anticipated.
For one thing, Azrael's devastating slaughter within the Submissive faction's territory had weakened them considerably.
For another, the gray-haired woman's lingering power was constantly eroding the World Consciousness.
Now, the two had achieved a strange symbiotic relationship.
Adele wasn't truly a living being so much as a world consciousness representing the will of the Resistance.
It was only because of the previously overwhelming power of the Submissive faction that she'd remained dormant, relying solely on her own strength to resist the secret realm's consciousness.
This was also why the secret realm's consciousness couldn't extend its tentacles into the Resistance's territory.
"What are you going to do now, sir?" Adele said softly, looking at the secret realm's world consciousness still kneeling on the ground. "If you decide to erase it, I will help you restrain it."
Hearing this, Azrael looked at her in surprise. "You should know that if you do that, you will also dissipate, right?"
"It doesn't matter. That's the fate I deserved long ago."
Adele spoke frankly, a hint of relief crossing her face.
But Azrael wasn't going to do that.
Just as he was about to speak, the secret realm's world consciousness across from him slowly stood up, its form flickering unstably.
"I..."
"We..."
"We just want to survive. Is that wrong?"
At this moment, the voices of countless men, women, and children mingled together, echoing endlessly throughout the space.
Hearing this, Azrael looked at the ever-shifting World Consciousness and said calmly, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to live."
"But begging for mercy from Him? Do you think you still control your own lives?"
As soon as these words left his mouth, the voice that had been echoing within the space suddenly stopped.
Azrael lost interest in continuing the conversation.
He felt that his kind had gone mad, completely devoid of the rationality expected of a World Consciousness.
But this was also normal. After all, a normal World Consciousness would be swayed by the creatures of its world.
Just as so many surrenderists had existed in this secret realm before, the World Consciousness had immediately knelt before the [World-Devouring Disaster].
The presence of the Resistance had allowed Adele, who should have died, to survive.
It was only a solitary individual like Azrael who didn't have these worries and could maintain his sense of self.
Suppressing his swirling thoughts, Azrael turned and looked at the Soul King beside him.
Without need for words, the powerful card named Adnyeus stepped forward, and pale blue spiritual energy instantly swept across the space.
At the same time, as Adele closed her eyes slightly, the dark lines on the World Consciousness's body gradually faded.
A moment later, the gray-haired woman, already prepared for death, suddenly opened her eyes in surprise. "What are you doing?"
Having achieved a symbiotic relationship with the World Consciousness, she naturally understood what Azrael was doing.
It wasn't erasure, but separation.
The man beside Adele was attempting to rescue her.
Azrael's expression remained calm as he said evenly, "Cooperate with me fully, Adele."
The young man's confidence in this endeavor naturally stemmed from the Soul King.
For a Soul King who had accomplished the feat of separating worlds, simply separating two entangled consciousnesses wasn't a difficult task, especially with one of the two cooperating.
Furthermore, the other was incredibly weak.
While not entirely effortless, it was certainly quite manageable.
As the pale blue spiritual pressure grew stronger, a hint of pain crossed Adele's face.
However, Azrael didn't have time to dwell on her discomfort.
He had a crucial thought: Could world consciousnesses drop materials?
With the intention of giving it a try, he approached the now-silent secret realm world consciousness and tentatively extended his right hand.
Immediately, the young man began wrapping his power around the world consciousness, as if extracting material.
A long time later, when the Soul King announced the separation was complete, Azrael instantly began his own action.
Soon, vast surges of power flooded into his body, a process that only ceased when the secret realm's consciousness dissipated into the void.
"It actually works."
Azrael felt almost breathless at this point. He hadn't expected his sudden inspiration to actually succeed.
"I finally understand why the Earth's World Consciousness enjoys this kind of sustenance."
"It's amazing that it was willing to spit me out."
It had to be said that the process just now was truly intoxicating. Azrael could barely restrain himself.
Mm... even more satisfying than winning a Pokémon battle.
At least, that's how he felt.
"But the materials dropped by this World Consciousness are..."
"A pleasant surprise."
Feeling the immense power within his Lore Cardian space, Azrael's expression shifted to one of pleasant surprise.
[Master-level Universal Materials] (300%).
As the name suggested, Azrael could push any three items in his paper card plan to 100%.
Or, he could push a single item to 300%.
Actually, 300% wasn't much, considering it was just materials dropped by a World Consciousness.
Azrael wasn't surprised by this. After all, he'd captured so many demons in the Submissive faction's territory, and his own kind was clearly not at their peak.
Adding Adele's assistance, Azrael was already quite surprised to have obtained 300% power.
On the other hand, if the opponent hadn't been in such poor condition, he wouldn't have been able to destroy them.
"It's a pity there aren't many secret realm consciousnesses for me to absorb. Otherwise, why would I be worrying about materials?"
With so many secret realms on Earth, the vast majority of their world consciousnesses had already vanished. Something like this was practically impossible for Azrael to encounter again.
As Azrael examined his newfound power, Adele gradually steadied her breathing.
She gazed at Azrael, a complex expression crossing her face.
Honestly, even if she died, the gray-haired woman wouldn't have any complaints. She would only feel relieved.
After all, she'd already died once.
But who wants to die when they can live?
After a brief silence, Adele said solemnly, "From now on, as long as you're willing to fight that demon, your will is my will."
The resounding voice instantly brought Azrael back to reality.
He glanced at Adele, feeling something was amiss.
Even though his goal was to gain an ally for Earth, Azrael, unsure how to respond, chose to ignore the topic. "Your father is still alive. Do you want to go out with us?"
"Okay."
Hearing the long-lost word "father," Adele pursed her lips.
Seeing her reaction, Azrael couldn't help but recall Argyle's intense excitement upon seeing something strange happen to his daughter's statue before he'd entered this dimension.
He'd almost feared the man would lash out.
But clearly, such a thing wouldn't happen to a Master-level warrior.
With a fleeting thought, Azrael was instantly back in the Great Hall of the Resistance capital.
Upon spotting the young man, Argyle immediately approached him. "Master Azrael..."
"How's it going?"
He hesitated to ask about his daughter directly.
Hearing this, Azrael pointed behind him and said, "General, ask her yourself."
At the same moment, a voice echoed from behind Argyle.
"Father."
Hearing this voice, which had already grown hazy in his memory, Argyle froze in his tracks. After a moment, he slowly turned around, movements somewhat stiff.
Then he saw his daughter looking at him with a guilty expression.
"Adele..."
"Lady Adele!?"
At this moment, not only Argyle, but also the other three Masters of the Resistance faction, upon seeing the gray-haired woman, felt their hearts surge with boundless joy.