"It's settled. I'll be leaving now."
Just as a touching scene of father-daughter affection was about to unfold in the Great Hall, a voice interrupted, somewhat inopportunely.
Adele was the first to break free from her emotions upon hearing this. She looked at Azrael and asked respectfully, "Aren't you planning to stay a while longer?"
Azrael waved his hand slightly and replied casually, "Those demons of the Submissive Faction are no longer a threat. There's nothing here that requires my attention."
"Once you've completely unified this secret realm, we can discuss cooperation."
Due to the extinction of the World Consciousness in the secret realm, the situation between the Submissive Faction and the Resistance was currently polarized.
Azrael believed that even without the Empire's intervention, the Resistance could handle the secret realm's affairs.
Given that, it would be better to give his newfound kin some respect and let them handle the situation themselves.
As for cooperation, it had already been agreed upon.
Azrael was in charge of the Empire, while Adele had clearly been a leader of the Resistance when alive, not to mention her current ascension as World Consciousness.
Therefore, all that remained was finalizing a few details for the Empire to gain a powerful ally.
Adele naturally understood the key points and nodded. "As you say."
"Then I won't bother you any more."
Having reached a consensus, Azrael vanished without a moment's delay.
After his departure, the hall fell silent.
After a moment, Argyle turned to his daughter and asked, "Adele..."
"Tell me about your experiences these past few years."
Adele's smile faded slightly, and after a long silence, she recounted her experiences to the four Masters present.
However, the gray-haired woman omitted many of the details, as she'd been asleep for most of the time. She focused on recent events instead.
Adele made no secret of her transformation into a strange being akin to World Consciousness, nor did she hide Azrael's true identity.
After hearing her description, the four Masters of the Resistance gaped in surprise, at a loss for words.
They hadn't expected the outsider to be so formidable, having managed to annihilate the World Consciousness behind the Submissive Faction.
Thinking of the Soul King standing beside Azrael, they couldn't help but feel a surge of relief.
They were once again grateful for their decision to fight to the end.
After a moment's silence, Argyle suppressed his shock and said to his comrades, who had fought alongside him for many years, "Let's call it a day. Everyone, go back and rest."
"We'll discuss the Submissive Faction tomorrow."
Hearing this, the other three Masters of the Resistance nodded in understanding, knowing their old friend wanted to have a proper conversation with his daughter.
Silence soon fell over the Great Hall, with only the gray-haired woman's statue in the center, watching silently.
Elsewhere, after leaving the Great Hall, Azrael headed for the entrance to the secret realm.
But his expression was no longer as calm as before.
Or rather, after learning the true nature of the secret realm he found himself in, the young man felt a subtle unease.
He wondered why the [World-Devouring Disaster] would send such a clearly unstable secret realm onto Earth.
There were only two possible scenarios for this: either He hadn't noticed, or He had become impatient. The first possibility was clearly unrealistic.
"Tsk..."
"Is the situation getting worse?"
Azrael's heart unknowingly fell under a cloud of gloom. He prepared to find another opportunity to converse with Earth's World Consciousness.
While he was pondering, he arrived at the entrance to the secret realm.
Stepping through, he was instantly back on the familiar Earth.
Then, a vast army of Empire Lore Cardians came into view, including Tempest, who had recently evacuated.
Seeing Azrael unharmed, the elegant middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief.
He stepped forward and said with concern, "Azrael, I'm glad you're okay."
"How's the situation inside now?"
Azrael shook his head slightly. "The problem has been basically resolved."
He then briefly recounted what had happened, not shying away from mentioning Adele's identity. After all, if the Empire were to engage with this secret realm in the future, they would inevitably have to deal with her.
Such a special being deserved due respect.
After carefully listening to the account, Tempest's heart sank.
The situation in this secret realm was more complex than he had imagined.
Of course, the most exaggerated thing was that even with this, Azrael had been able to resolve the problem.
Even if he claimed that the demise of the World Consciousness was only possible thanks to Adele's cooperation, such talk was just for show. Tempest knew that as a Master-level Lore Cardian, he certainly couldn't accomplish that feat.
Unaware of Tempest's thoughts, Azrael calmly expressed his opinion, "Once the situation stabilizes, the Resistance will probably contact us."
"So it's best to come up with a charter as soon as possible."
Tempest had regained his composure by then and nodded. "Of course. I'll urge my subordinates to complete this task as quickly as possible after returning to the Empire."
After dealing with the suddenly appearing secret realm, the demon-related issues within the small nation were largely resolved, leaving only scattered demons and secret realms to be dealt with.
While the demons were dealt with, the Empire's real challenge had just begun: how to correct the mindset of the people of this land.
However, these matters didn't concern Azrael much, so he returned to the Empire.
After recounting the events in detail to his teacher, Azrael was granted a few days' leave.
Although, given his current status, a vacation wasn't particularly important.
"I can't stop for even a moment."
Azrael sighed silently in his study, closing his eyes and preparing to enter his Lore Cardian space.
Thanks to the 'friendly assistance' from the secret realm's World Consciousness, he could now directly create [The Lion King].
Just as Azrael was about to enter the Lore Cardian space, a message suddenly flashed through his mind.
Earth's World Consciousness wanted to meet with him.
Unlike the last time he was forced to meet, this time Azrael could refuse.
But he wasn't about to refuse, as he had something to discuss as well.
Thinking this, Azrael opened his eyes and found himself back in the pure white space he'd been in before. The World Consciousness still held the same appearance of "truth."
Before Earth's World Consciousness could speak, Azrael recounted everything that had recently transpired in the secret realm, including Adele's existence.
The pure white figure listened in silence, then spoke, "This is hard on you."
"I'll contact her later."
Seeing that "It" had its own plans, Azrael didn't say anything further, only asking another question, "Have the attacks of the [World-Devouring Disaster] been getting more frenzied recently?"
Upon hearing this, Earth's World Consciousness stood up and turned its back to Azrael.
With its movement, the pure white space instantly collapsed, dissolving into a starry sky.
"I've come to you today for this very matter."
"The war should be almost over."
Hearing this, Azrael froze. He hadn't expected the situation to become so dire.
Fortunately, the next words from Earth's World Consciousness slightly dispelled the gloom that had enveloped Azrael's heart.
"[World-Devouring Disaster] is in slightly better condition than I am, but I should be able to hold out for a few more years."
For a World, a few years could indeed pass very quickly.
By that measure, Earth's World Consciousness's prediction that the war was almost over was indeed correct.
Unfortunately, most of the creatures on Earth probably had no idea that the struggle that had raged for centuries would finally come to a close.
Azrael calmed himself and asked, "The enemy probably doesn't have many cards left, right?"
"Is there still a chance?"
This was obvious. After all, if [World-Devouring Disaster] was able to handle it with ease, there would be no need to launch a secret realm it didn't fully control onto Earth's battlefield. To have done this meant being driven to desperation.
In response to Azrael's question, Earth's World Consciousness turned, its faceless white form fixed on him. "Of course there is. If anyone can break through to Sovereign-level during this period, there's still hope."
A few years was neither long nor short.
If it were just Sovereign-level, Azrael would have been quite confident.
But above Sovereign-level, he had only ever met Earth's World Consciousness.
Ignoring Azrael's silence, the white figure didn't dwell on the topic, simply continuing, "But if it truly comes to a point of no return..."
"I'll do my best to hold back the [World-Devouring Disaster], and then you can just take your people and flee. The farther the better."
Hearing this, Azrael couldn't help but curl his lips.
He hadn't expected things to escalate so suddenly to the point of wandering the cosmos.
In a sense, it truly was.
"I'll do my best."
However, Azrael didn't think running away was a good option. Putting aside whether he could cross the stars, after defeating Earth, the [World-Devouring Disaster] would most likely not let him go.
Therefore, the best outcome would surely be for him or someone on Earth to break through to Sovereign-level.
"Nothing else? If nothing else, I'm leaving now."
Seeing that Earth's World Consciousness had stopped talking, Azrael scratched his cheek.
"Yes."
He had called Azrael here today to discuss this matter. He hadn't expected that the newly emerged young man would have directly guessed that the current situation was dire, saving Him the trouble of explaining it.
Seeing this, Azrael returned to his Lore Cardian space.
The war was still a few years away, and before then, he had to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
Sovereign-level was still a long way off, so he'd start by creating the Lion King.