After acquiring the materials, Azrael immediately prepared to create Nel.
"This time it has to be the same as Unohana," he murmured thoughtfully.
He planned to craft Nel using the same approach he'd employed for Unohana Retsu, writing the latter part of her story first, then filling in her earlier narrative when he advanced her later. After all, Nel's strength was significantly diminished in her child form compared to her true power as an Espada.
After sketching a small green-haired girl wearing a cracked white skull mask on the card template, Azrael entered the mysterious space.
[Please begin crafting your story.]
[Hueco Mundo, a wasteland of eternal night, a paradise for Hollows.]
[Here dwell the Demons known as Hollows.]
[These Hollows naturally gather together to devour one another. When a Hollow consumes hundreds of its kind, it evolves into a Menos Grande.]
To be honest, Azrael had always felt that Hueco Mundo's hierarchy resembled the Abyss Blood War from various fantasy settings. In his opinion, Kubo Tite had likely drawn inspiration from similar sources.
[The Menos Grande are divided into three levels: Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde.]
[Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was among the finest of them, a Vasto Lorde.]
[Of course, that was in the past.]
[Unlike her majestic appearance as the Third Espada among the Ten Espada, Nelliel is now merely a young girl who has lost her memory and remains innocent of the world's cruelties.]
[Only the broken bone mask upon her head silently tells of her past glory.]
[Fortunately, although she has lost most of her power and memory, a starved camel is still larger than a horse, ordinary Hollows cannot harm her.]
[Under the pale moonlight, Nelliel plays hide-and-seek with her loyal subordinates Dondochakka and Pesche, along with her pet Bawabawa, as she does every night.]
[This represents one of her few entertainments.]
[After all, she is kind by nature and dislikes killing. She truly doesn't know what else to do in the desolate expanse of Hueco Mundo.]
[However, during one such game, she and her three companions encountered uninvited guests, the orange-haired Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki and his allies from the World of the Living.]
[After learning of Ichigo Kurosaki's identity, Nel and her Hollow companions chose not to report the intrusion. Instead, they played a game called "Eternal Tag" together.]
[After forming a deep friendship, Ichigo Kurosaki bid farewell to Nel and the others, as he still needed to reach Las Noches to rescue his captured comrades.]
[The kind-hearted Nel thought long and hard before deciding to escort Ichigo Kurosaki to the Night Palace.]
[Although she was merely a young girl at this time and had lost her memories, her power remained formidable.]
[Of course, this was only when compared to other Espada.]
[Nel followed Ichigo and his group all the way to Las Noches, where they decided to split up to cover more ground.]
[In order to catch up with Ichigo Kurosaki, Nel became separated from her three companions.]
[Just as Nel and Ichigo Kurosaki reunited, they were attacked by Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, a former Espada.]
[Faced with the incoming crimson Cero blast, Nel opened her mouth instinctively and absorbed the opponent's attack.]
[The next moment, the scarlet Cero returned toward Dordoni with devastating force.]
[But even as a former Espada, he was still an Espada, and not someone Nel could defeat in her current state.]
[Fortunately, Ichigo Kurosaki underwent Hollowfication in time and defeated their opponent.]
[After the battle ended, Nel used her healing saliva to treat Dordoni's wounds, and the former Espada chose to remain behind to block Hueco Mundo's funeral detachment and buy them time to escape.]
[After parting with Dordoni, Nel and Ichigo Kurosaki encountered their strongest enemy yet.]
[The Fourth Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer.]
[Against Ichigo's full-power assault in his Hollowfied state, Ulquiorra sustained only a minor scratch.]
[Such trivial damage meant nothing to a Hollow of his caliber.]
[Faced with this overwhelming gap in power, both Nel and Ichigo Kurosaki found themselves pushed to their limits.]
[In the end, Ichigo Kurosaki was pierced through the heart by Ulquiorra's attack.]
[However, the battle-crazed Sixth Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, desperate for a proper fight, brought Inoue Orihime to heal Ichigo Kurosaki.]
[The recovered Ichigo engaged Grimmjow in fierce combat.]
[Encouraged by his two allies cheering him on, Ichigo Kurosaki successfully defeated Grimmjow.]
[At that moment, a giant scythe fell from the sky, intending to finish off the fallen Grimmjow.]
[The newcomer was the Fifth Espada, Nnoitra Gilga. At this point, the exhausted Ichigo Kurosaki could not resist him.]
[Soon, Nnoitra discovered Nel's presence.]
[It turned out that Nnoitra was the very culprit who had reduced Nel to her current pathetic state.]
[Nnoitra mocked Ichigo Kurosaki for being deceived by Nel, but Ichigo chose to trust her regardless.]
[After such a long period of companionship, their friendship had become unbreakable.]
[Stimulated by her desire to protect her dear friend, Nel briefly regained her true power.]
[The young child disappeared, and in her place stood the Third Espada, the Antelope Knight Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.]
[Against the restored Nel, Nnoitra proved utterly helpless.]
Azrael estimated Nnoitra's strength level. Without modifications and enhancements, he would probably rate only as Gold-tier. After all, the gap between the Espada rankings could only be described as vast beyond imagination.
[Nnoitra became increasingly frenzied, and Nel's presence before him awakened terrible memories he'd tried to suppress.]
["Declare, Gamuza!"]
[Nel achieved Resurrección before Nnoitra's eyes, her half-human, half-antelope form appearing upon the barren desert.]
[Her double-pointed lance was hurled at Nnoitra with a terrifying whistle.]
[With just one strike, Nnoitra found himself unable to mount any resistance.]
[Seeing this, Nel gripped her double-pointed spear and prepared to advance and end her opponent's life.]
[However, at the critical moment, Nel's spiritual power became exhausted and she reverted to her child form once again.]
[Nnoitra couldn't believe his fortune and fell into ecstatic joy.]
[The shadow of his giant scythe fell, and Nel was about to perish.]
[At that crucial moment, terrifying golden-red flames suddenly erupted and blocked his attack.]
[Standing before Nnoitra were several Shinigami wearing captain's haori.]
[The black-and-red-haired man in the lead was gripping his Zanpakutō and regarding him with cold eyes.]
["Burn away all evil and incinerate everything in your path!"]
["Nichirinmaru!"]
[These were the last words Nnoitra ever heard.]
Having completed this section, Azrael nodded with satisfaction.
The final character to appear was naturally Azrael's first hero, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, whom he had never forgotten. Having Yoriichi make his dramatic entrance at the climax of Nel's story would also make it easier for Azrael to prepare for her future advancement.
After returning to reality, Azrael examined the card floating before him and smiled slightly. "The Hueco Mundo cards are finally taking shape."
"In the future, as long as I create a few more Arrancar, the Shinigami card system will be nearly complete."
Although the Shinigami cards were expensive to create, Azrael didn't consider it a waste. After all, a system powerful enough to produce ultimate finishing moves was something many Lore Cardians could only dream of possessing.
As for the upper limit being only Diamond level? That was still far in the future, and Azrael had the One Piece and One Punch Man card systems as well.
When he truly reached Master level, his mind would be filled with countless possibilities.
Weren't characters like the Disboard God and Jibril incredibly powerful cards to aspire toward?
"The Disboard God should be Sovereign tier," Azrael mused, touching his chin. He'd had the idea of creating that character ever since acquiring the Two-Faced Being material.
But attempting to create such a card at Silver level would be nothing but a pipe dream.
"No point in overthinking it now."
Dismissing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, Azrael refined the card belonging to Nel.
[Young Antelope·Nel]
Rank: Silver
Quality: Red
Category: Biological
Skills:
[Healing Saliva]: Nel's saliva can heal injuries, though the effectiveness is limited.
[Cero]: A standard ability for Menos Grande-class Hollows. Nel fires her Cero from energy accumulated in her mouth.
[Cero Doble]: Nel can absorb energy attacks up to Silver-level Blue quality, then reflect them back at enemies as a Cero blast.
[Resurrección: Gamuza (Incomplete)]: The determination to protect allows Nel to temporarily regain her true power. The duration of Resurrección depends on the Lore Cardian's spiritual energy reserves.
Traits:
[High-Speed Regeneration]: Capable of rapidly restoring body parts except for the head and vital organs.
[Hierro]: An Arrancar's skin is as hard as steel armor and can withstand most attacks.
[Eternal Tag Champion]: When playing the game known as hide-and-seek, Nel's physical capabilities are greatly enhanced.
[Espada]: The pinnacle of Hueco Mundo, elite among Hollows. Automatically generates intimidation effects when facing Hollow-type enemies and significantly increases attack power.
Introduction: The young antelope in distress will one day reclaim her true strength.
Advancement: Silver level [Young Antelope·Nel] → Emerald level [No.3·Nel].
Bonds:
When appearing alongside [Pesche] and related series, activates the [Inseparable Family] effect. When appearing alongside [Kurosaki Ichigo], activates the [Orange-Hair, You're a Good Person] effect.
"Still no Prismatic quality?" This was Azrael's first thought after reviewing the card information. "Does Prismatic quality actually exist?"
"I've never even seen materials of that grade."
After muttering a few complaints, Azrael suppressed his doubts.
"It's just these abilities..."
Azrael frowned slightly as he whispered to himself.
Were Nel's abilities powerful? In Azrael's opinion, not particularly.
Except for [Cero Doble], which showed some promise, her other skills seemed rather standard. Her traits were similarly unremarkable except for [Espada].
He could obtain these same abilities by creating any random Menos Grande card.
As for [Eternal Tag Champion], Azrael couldn't see what practical effect it would have.
Yet the mysterious space had awarded Nel a Red quality rating.
"Unless this [Resurrección: Gamuza (Incomplete)] is extraordinarily powerful."
That was the only possibility, Nel's Resurrección form exceeded normal parameters, elevating the entire card's quality rating.
Azrael's frown relaxed. Since he'd solved the mystery, there was nothing left to worry about.
Unfortunately, his current circumstances weren't suitable for testing Nel's Resurrección form.
"I really should buy a small manor like Senior Sister's," he mused.
Having his own estate would make testing new cards far more convenient.
Fortunately, the materials Azrael had been selling were nearly depleted, giving him time to consider such investments carefully.
Summoning Nel, a green-haired girl instantly materialized above Azrael's head before tumbling down.
Azrael helplessly reached out to catch the child and set her gently on the ground.
Nel immediately hugged Azrael's leg and declared loudly, "Azrael, play with me!"
Azrael's face broke into a doting smile as he reached down to pat Nel's small head, only to have his hand bump against her skull mask.
"I'll take you to play something fun," he promised.
Don't misunderstand, Azrael was referring to video games, not Pokémon battles. After all, engaging in such activities with Nel in her current form would be far too problematic.
"Speaking of Nel after Resurrección..." Azrael's eye twitched. "What am I even thinking?"
Dear readers, please tell me, with centaurs, which end is the front and which is the back?
Master Lucian had returned to Pixar City.
This news spread like wildfire throughout the upper echelons of Pixar's Lore Cardian community.
Most people assumed Master Lucian had returned because of the recent secret realm invasion.
Only a select few knew that Master Lucian had come back for entirely different reasons this time.
For example, Crowley.
He was currently kneeling before an elderly man with white hair and beard.
"Hmph. What did I tell you? Repeat it back to me."
The wooden cane struck the floor with a dull thud.
The old man's voice was like winter's bitter wind, lingering in Crowley's ears without a trace of warmth.
"You told me never to provoke Master Lucian's disciples. Even if I encountered them, I should be respectful and avoid making enemies at all costs."
Crowley remained silent for a long moment before speaking honestly.
"Tsk. So you do remember," the old man sneered. "Then explain to me how you actually behaved."
Crowley raised his head anxiously upon hearing this. "Father, I did follow your instructions initially."
"It's just that Azrael was being, "
The old man cut him off before he could finish. "I've reviewed the surveillance footage. You were the first to attack, weren't you?"
Crowley felt like a duck with its throat constricted, and it took him a long time to answer with difficulty, "Yes."
"Raise your head. Look at me. Tell me what you did wrong!"
Crowley lifted his gaze to meet his father's eyes and stammered, "I... I shouldn't have made an enemy of him."
The old man stared at Crowley with dim eyes, his voice striking Crowley's heart like a pronouncement from the underworld, "Wrong. Your biggest mistake was failing to eliminate your opponent completely."
"Since you chose to take action, you should have cut the grass and torn out the roots."
"Do I really need to teach you this basic principle?"
Crowley looked at his father in astonishment, never expecting to hear such words. "But Father..."
"I know you're concerned about Master Lucian, but since the feud has already been established, why are you still acting timid?" The old man tapped his cane against the floor in frustration.
"Besides, if you had killed everyone present and blamed it on the demons, who would have known the truth?"
"Your mistake is that you're too weak!"
As for the surveillance footage? Well, wasn't it perfectly normal for surveillance equipment to malfunction during demon attacks?
Crowley wanted to argue in his own defense, to explain that his previous battle had left him with only one available Silver-level card that day.
But now any explanation felt like making excuses, so he ultimately chose to remain silent.
"Fine. You may go."
"Yes, Father."
Watching Crowley's retreating figure, the old man rubbed his temples with a growing headache.
He wondered if it was because he'd had a son so late in life that he'd spoiled the boy too much. While his son possessed some cunning, he could hardly be called truly shrewd.
However, the old man didn't take Master Lucian particularly seriously. Given the current political situation, he was confident the other party wouldn't dare to escalate matters publicly.
A gentleman can be deceived through his own methods.
If this were Jin from the Crimson Oath Society, the old man would have immediately packed his belongings and fled back to the capital with his entire family.
"Hmm, this is somewhat troublesome."
"Let's try negotiating for peace first. If that fails..."
He'd simply handle it the same way he'd dealt with Master Lucian's previous two disciples.