News of an internal Battle Club duel spread through the Card Making Department like wildfire. Word traveled from classroom to corridor with the infectious excitement that only accompanied truly rare events within Pixar University's academic hierarchy.
The mountaintop training ground, recently restored to pristine condition after Azrael and Kevaugn's devastating encounter, now overflowed with eager spectators. Students clustered around the platform's edges, their voices creating a constant buzz of anticipation that filled the mountain air.
"Internal conflicts among the main members are incredibly rare," one student observed with obvious excitement. "When was the last time we witnessed something like this?"
"Has to be when Jea-Min joined the Battle Club last year," another replied, craning his neck to get a better view of the combat area.
Listening to the animated discussions swirling around him, Azrael raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. So Oliver isn't specifically targeting me. Perhaps I was overthinking the situation after all.
But then what exactly is his purpose here?
Suppressing his lingering doubts, Azrael directed his attention toward the opposite side of the training ground. Oliver stood engaged in animated conversation with the other three main members, their body language suggesting the casual camaraderie of long-established colleagues.
"I can't shake the feeling that I'm being deliberately excluded," Azrael muttered under his breath, watching their obvious familiarity. The observation stung slightly, though he understood the dynamics at play. After all, he'd only joined the Battle Club a few days ago, hardly enough time to build genuine relationships with his new teammates.
Still, the visual reminder of his outsider status was harder to ignore than he'd anticipated.
After a moment's consideration, Azrael summoned both Artoria and Unohana Retsu to his side. However, he discretely communicated to Artoria that she should avoid using Caliburn during this encounter. This was merely a sparring match with no real stakes, exposing his ultimate technique would serve no strategic purpose while potentially revealing crucial intelligence to future opponents.
Across the battlefield, Oliver responded by manifesting his own cards with practiced efficiency.
"As expected, he's thinking along the same lines," Azrael observed as he studied his opponent's tactical choice.
According to information Harold had shared previously, Oliver possessed at least three Silver-level cards within his roster. However, he'd only summoned two entities to match Azrael's deployment, a display of sporting consideration that suggested this truly was intended as fair competition rather than overwhelming dominance.
Azrael had never encountered Oliver's cards in previous encounters, making this his first opportunity to assess their capabilities directly.
"They appear to be self-created cards, similar to my own approach," he noted with professional interest.
While he couldn't gauge their specific strength yet, Oliver's acknowledged leadership position among the main members suggested his cards possessed considerable power and sophistication.
The moment Oliver's entities fully materialized, dark shadows began spreading across the training ground like spilled ink. The inky darkness flowed outward from their position with supernatural fluidity, threatening to engulf the entire combat area within moments.
Artoria's eyes narrowed as she observed this environmental manipulation, her tactical instincts immediately recognizing the strategic implications. With a light stomp of her enhanced right foot, she channeled the combined power of her dragon bloodline and concentrated magical energy directly into the mountain peak beneath them.
The ground in front of Artoria exploded into massive chunks of fractured stone and pulverized rock, the tremendous force creating spider-web cracks that radiated outward like a miniature earthquake. The display of raw physical power sent visible tremors through the observation platforms.
Chisaki released a weary sigh from his position on the sidelines. "I'm going to get another lecture from the maintenance department," he muttered with resigned acceptance. "But there's nothing I can do about it, this is simply the reality of Silver-level combat."
The instructor understood that as long as the combatants avoided actually collapsing the mountain entirely, their current level of environmental destruction remained within acceptable parameters. Compared to some previous encounters he'd supervised, this qualified as remarkably restrained conflict.
Unfortunately, Artoria's impressive counter-demonstration had no measurable effect on the spreading darkness. The shadows continued their inexorable advance across the battlefield like living liquid, seemingly unimpressed by her display of destructive capability.
Oliver's two cards presented an intriguing combination, one appeared to be a humanoid figure wreathed in shadow, while the other resembled some form of serpentine dragon hybrid. The darkness currently flooding the training ground originated from beneath the shadowy humanoid's feet, suggesting it served as the source of this environmental manipulation.
Recognizing the tactical disadvantage of allowing her opponents to establish complete environmental control, Artoria immediately launched herself toward Oliver's position with explosive speed. Her enhanced physiology carried her across the intervening distance in a blur of white and silver armor.
However, before she could close to melee range, Unohana Retsu's voice carried clearly across the battlefield as she began a rapid incantation.
"The thundering chariot, the cracks of the spinning wheel, this thing has light, and it is divided into six," she chanted with precise timing, spiritual energy building around her position with visible intensity. "Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
Unohana naturally had no intention of allowing Artoria to face two opponents simultaneously without support. While she refrained from activating her [Yachiru: Dormant] transformation, this encounter didn't warrant such overwhelming measures, she could still provide crucial tactical assistance through her mastery of Kidō techniques.
Oliver's expression showed obvious approval at her tactical decision, confirming that he'd researched Unohana's capabilities beforehand and understood the wisdom of maintaining safe distance from her position.
"A reasonable strategic choice," Chisaki observed with satisfaction from the sidelines. If Oliver had attempted a direct assault on Unohana's position, the instructor would have questioned whether his student had been paying any attention during their tactical instruction sessions.
In the center of the battlefield, six golden bars of concentrated spiritual energy materialized around the shadowy humanoid figure, binding it in place with supernatural restraint. The binding technique's radiance provided stark contrast against the spreading darkness.
Artoria's eyes focused with predatory intensity as she raised the training sword in her hands, golden light beginning to gather along its edge. The improvised weapon might lack Caliburn's legendary power, but enhanced by her [Mana Burst] technique, it possessed cutting force that could cleave through most defensive measures.
Her enhanced blade descended toward the immobilized shadow figure with devastating precision and speed.
However, the moment before impact, her target simply melted into the ground like black mud, flowing away from the binding technique and Artoria's strike with fluid grace. The shadowy entity had somehow transformed into liquid darkness that merged seamlessly with the spreading environmental effect.
Faced with this unexpected development, Artoria's expression remained perfectly calm despite the tactical surprise. Her enhanced physical capabilities allowed her to redirect her momentum mid-attack, powerful leg muscles absorbing and redirecting the kinetic energy with supernatural efficiency.
The training ground's stone surface shattered under the tremendous force as Artoria pivoted toward the serpentine dragon creature that represented Oliver's second card.
The dragon-like entity released a piercing shriek before launching itself skyward with powerful wing beats, clearly seeking to exploit its aerial mobility advantage against the ground-bound knight.
Artoria prepared to pursue her airborne opponent when the shadows covering the battlefield suddenly surged toward her position like a malevolent tsunami. The darkness rose in towering waves that threatened to engulf her entirely, animated by supernatural malice that transformed the environmental effect into a direct weapon.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū!"
Unohana's urgent voice cut through the chaos as she deployed emergency defensive measures. The massive transparent barrier materialized directly behind Artoria's position, its crystalline surface gleaming with spiritual resilience.
The towering wall of spiritual energy intercepted the shadow tsunami before it could reach its target, though the hastily constructed defense clearly struggled against the overwhelming assault. Without the benefit of full incantation, even Unohana's advanced techniques possessed limited duration against sustained attack.
After deflecting the initial wave of darkness, visible cracks began spreading across the barrier's surface. The improvised Kidō technique shattered moments later, fragmenting into glittering particles that dispersed into the mountain air.
Artoria had used those precious seconds to carve a path through the dark waves with her enhanced sword, creating a corridor of clear space through which she retreated to Unohana's side. Without access to Caliburn's devastating techniques, she lacked effective methods for engaging aerial opponents at long range.
Unohana noted the tiny wounds that now marked Artoria's previously flawless features, evidence of contact with the hostile shadow material during her fighting withdrawal. Her hand flickered with gentle healing light as she touched the knight's injured cheek, employing Kaidō techniques to restore her companion's condition.
Under the medical Kidō's influence, Artoria's face soon returned to its previous pristine state, showing no evidence of the recent damage.
Oliver observed this healing demonstration with obvious interest, his voice carrying to the other main members positioned nearby. "Student Azrael's card actually possesses advanced healing capabilities. I hadn't expected such versatility."
He'd originally intended this encounter purely as strength assessment, but now found himself gaining valuable intelligence about tactical options that could dramatically enhance their team's strategic flexibility. The healing factor alone opened up numerous possibilities for national competition scenarios.
Jea-Min and the others nodded approvingly. If they could rely on consistent healing support, their tactical approaches could become far more aggressive and comprehensive than their current conservative strategies allowed.
More importantly, according to Kevaugn's private briefings, the gentle-appearing medical specialist actually possessed terrifying close-combat capabilities that completely contradicted her supportive appearance. This information remained exclusive to Pixar University's Battle Club, potentially providing devastating surprise advantages against opponents during inter-school competitions.
The battle continued as dark shadows writhed across the ground with serpentine fluidity while storm clouds gradually accumulated overhead. Oliver's environmental manipulation was clearly building toward some form of climactic technique.
"I see the pattern now," Azrael muttered with growing understanding. "One card provides containment and harassment while the other establishes favorable environmental conditions."
If Oliver possessed a third card as the intelligence suggested, it would likely serve as his primary offensive weapon. However, he'd chosen not to deploy that final asset during this encounter, perhaps out of sporting consideration, or possibly because his current two cards lacked the necessary binding effects to trigger advanced combination techniques.
After weighing his options, Azrael decided this situation warranted revealing some of his own capabilities. The demonstration would serve multiple purposes, testing his new venue card's effectiveness while providing his teammates with better understanding of his strategic assets.
As his consciousness focused with deliberate intent, an enormous circular shadow began manifesting behind Unohana Retsu's position. The spectral outline of a massive architectural complex slowly materialized, its traditional Japanese aesthetic and imposing scale creating an aura of ancient authority that dominated the entire battlefield.
The venue card [Soul Society] made its debut before the eyes of this world's inhabitants, and the assembled spectators could only stare in stunned amazement at the impossible vision towering above them.
Even Chisaki's experienced composure cracked as he processed what he was witnessing. Venue cards represented legendary artifacts that most Lore Lore Cardians never encountered throughout their entire careers. To see one manifested by a freshman student defied every assumption about normal advancement patterns.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
With the enhancement provided by Soul Society's [Gotei 13] attribute, the massive lightning technique that erupted from Unohana's position possessed power that dwarfed her previous displays. The brilliant electrical discharge roared upward from ground to sky with the fury of divine judgment, instantly tearing through the accumulated storm clouds with devastating force.
The concentrated lightning carved a massive crater in the dark overcast, allowing golden sunset rays to pierce through the shattered weather and illuminate the battlefield below. The environmental manipulation that Oliver had spent precious minutes establishing was obliterated in a single overwhelming assault.
Oliver finally recovered from his shock enough to speak, though his voice carried undertones of amazement that he couldn't quite suppress. "A venue card?!" he called out across the training ground, the question echoing off the mountain peaks. "You actually possess a venue card?!"
The implications were staggering. Venue cards represented the pinnacle of strategic resources, artifacts so rare and powerful that their possession marked their wielders as truly exceptional talents. For a freshman to control such capabilities suggested potential that transcended normal classification systems entirely.
Around the observation platforms, the assembled students erupted into excited whispers and awed speculation. They were witnessing something unprecedented in Pixar University's recent history, the emergence of a prodigy whose abilities might reshape their understanding of what was possible at their level.
Oliver's tactical assessment underwent immediate revision as he processed this revelation. Whatever plans he'd developed for this encounter would need dramatic adjustment to account for venue-enhanced techniques. The power differential had just shifted dramatically in Azrael's favor.
But rather than discouragement, Oliver's expression showed growing excitement. If this represented the caliber of talent joining their Battle Club, the upcoming national competition had just become far more promising than anyone had dared hope.
The real battle was about to begin, and both combatants now understood they were facing opponents worthy of their absolute best efforts.