Azrael's heart skipped a beat as he stared into those unnatural pupils, their crimson glow seeming to pierce straight through him. He braced himself for the inevitable mental assault, waiting for that familiar sensation of foreign thoughts attempting to invade his mind.
However, to his complete surprise, nothing happened.
"You..." Ming stood across the darkened street, his brow furrowed deeply as his strange gaze fixed on Azrael with visible confusion. "Something's wrong with you. Why can't I see into your heart?"
Hearing those words, Azrael's mind raced as he formed a quick hypothesis. Either Pride had blocked the demon's vision, preventing him from seeing Azrael's true nature, or it was because Azrael was a time traveler from another world entirely.
Azrael strongly favored the first possibility. After all, while Pride might appear to be nothing more than a living biological suit, it was actually a sentient being with its own consciousness, it simply lacked conventional emotions. What Ming was probably seeing was Pride that enveloped Azrael rather than Azrael himself.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Azrael secretly instructed Fubuki to use her telekinetic powers to separate his four teammates, pulling them away from each other to prevent whatever was about to unfold.
Meanwhile, the other four members of his team had already begun undergoing an unknown transformation under the influence of Ming's blood-red gaze.
"First! First! First! First!" Oliver kept muttering the same word with increasing paranoia, his eyes taking on a fanatical gleam.
Azrael felt a chill run down his spine as he watched. It was clear that Oliver had been influenced by the demon's power, though something seemed peculiar about the effect.
As Azrael continued to observe, Oliver's expression grew increasingly enthusiastic and devoted. "Only under Azrael's brilliant leadership can Pixar University reclaim its rightful championship glory!"
"...?"
Azrael paused, momentarily speechless. How had this guy suddenly become his most devoted follower? While Azrael had certainly hinted at leadership aspirations before, it had never reached this extreme level of reverence.
Fortunately, the influence didn't seem particularly negative in nature, so Azrael decided to ignore Oliver for the moment and focus on the others.
Beside Oliver, Choi-Gyu had clasped her hands to her face, pink hearts practically blooming in her eyes as she stared at him with obvious infatuation. "Brother Oliver! Brother Oliver! Brother Oliver! I like you! I like you so much!"
"???"
Azrael felt completely bewildered. What exactly was happening to his teammates?
But something even more disturbing was yet to come.
Under the demon's malevolent gaze, Jea-Min had already removed her black-framed glasses. Her face flushed bright red as she began to bend and twist her body in an inappropriate manner. "Well, that's right... Look at me more! Please, just look at me!"
As her body trembled with obvious arousal, the color of Jea-Min's pants visibly darkened with moisture.
"Are there any normal people left in the Pixar University Battle Club?" Azrael groaned internally, surveying the bizarre scene before him.
Looking at his three affected teammates, one had become a religious fanatic devoted to his cause, another had transformed into a love-struck admirer, and the third had become... well, a complete exhibitionist displaying herself publicly.
"I'm starting to feel like I don't fit in with this group because I'm not disturbed enough," Azrael muttered under his breath, then turned his attention to the last remaining member of his team.
Sun-Myun kept his head lowered, his expression hidden in shadow and impossible to read.
"Oliver... Azrael..." Sun-Myun's voice emerged as a low, bitter whisper.
"It's all your fault."
"Choi-Gyu should be mine! The Pixar University Battle Club should be mine! You all deserve to die!"
Sun-Myun suddenly raised his head, revealing a face twisted with jealousy and burning resentment as venomous words poured from his mouth.
Azrael's eyes grew cold as ice, but he didn't waste time responding to Sun-Myun's outburst. Instead, he looked directly across the street at Ming. "If I kill you, they'll return to normal, won't they?"
"You're all complete freaks," Ming exclaimed with obvious shock, as if he'd witnessed something truly startling. "But surely you don't think my eyes are limited to just this basic ability, do you?"
Azrael ignored Ming's taunting words and immediately summoned Artoria to attack with her golden sword.
As for Sun-Myun, who was clearly acting completely out of character under the demon's influence, Azrael used Unohana to restrain him before he could cause any damage.
However, Sun-Myun was also a skilled Lore Cardian, and now, under the influence of his corrupted will, his summoned cards began to turn against Azrael in rebellion.
"Tsk, you can't seriously expect me to fight all of these enemies alone, can you?" Azrael muttered as he quickly assessed the chaotic battlefield situation.
Just as he finished speaking, several bizarre and terrifying creatures materialized out of thin air around his three affected teammates, but notably not around the traitorous Sun-Myun.
"Why did we lose? Why did we lose?" A monster with a vaguely slicked-back hairstyle moaned fearfully, its form twisted by despair.
"Don't abandon me! Please don't leave me alone!" A sobbing voice emanated from a golden-haired creature's distorted mouth.
"Don't look at me! Stop staring!" A sharp, anguished scream escaped from a slender, pale, naked figure that cowered in shame.
"So you can materialize people's deepest fears as well?" Azrael quickly identified Ming's secondary supernatural ability.
Oliver was afraid of losing and failing to achieve his goals. Choi-Gyu was terrified that Oliver wouldn't return her feelings. Jea-Min was probably afraid of having her contrasting public and private natures discovered by others.
"But why isn't there a fear-manifestation around Sun-Myun? Has he already completely betrayed us?" Azrael looked coldly at Sun-Myun, whose eyes still burned with resentment and hatred. "Then there's no need for me to hold back anymore."
Just as his three teammates began facing their respective materialized fears in their altered mental states, Artoria had already reached Ming's position with supernatural speed.
The Golden Sword of Victory, its blade concealed by Fubuki's invisible telekinetic wind barrier, slashed toward Ming with tremendous force and deadly intent.
A mocking smile played across Ming's lips as a scarlet longsword instantly formed in his right hand to meet the attack.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew everywhere as the two supernatural blades collided. The tremendous impact from Artoria's strike drove Ming's feet deep into the concrete pavement. "Damn it! I really hate you Lore Cardians and your annoying tricks!"
Ming snarled in obvious irritation. His right eye flashed with malevolent power, and a massive blood-red energy blast gathered in his left hand before slashing toward Artoria with devastating force.
Artoria managed to sidestep the attack with her enhanced reflexes, but the immense destructive force behind the energy blast sent her flying backward nonetheless.
"Whoosh!"
The massive blood-red energy wave swept through the surrounding area completely unimpeded, instantly splitting a previously intact house cleanly in two as if it were made of paper.
"Thank goodness I enhanced Artoria with the Silver Arm earlier, otherwise she would have been seriously injured by that attack," Azrael thought grimly as his heart sank. The demon's raw power was clearly beyond anything he had initially anticipated.
"Let Nel deal with Sun-Myun first, then we'll go support Artoria," Azrael made his decision without hesitation.
A faint crimson spiritual energy surged into the night sky, causing all the materialized demons to pause in their tracks with obvious unease.
"Declare, Gamuza."
As Nel completed her release into Resurrección form, a look of genuine fear crossed Sun-Myun's face. As someone who had witnessed Nel's true power in action before, he naturally understood exactly what this transformation meant for his chances of survival.
In the blink of an eye, Nel appeared directly in front of the terrified Sun-Myun with supernatural speed.
However, Sun-Myun was still a key member of the Pixar University Battle Club. While he certainly couldn't defeat Azrael in a fair fight, he could definitely hold off Nel for at least a short period with his summoned cards.
Completely overwhelmed by jealousy and resentment, Sun-Myun desperately used his own cards to block Nel's relentless advance.
But Azrael didn't pay any further attention to that particular confrontation. It was simply a matter of whether Nel would need one minute or three minutes to finish Sun-Myun off completely.
After glancing at Oliver and the other two affected teammates and confirming they could still handle their materialized fears for the moment, Azrael turned his full attention back to Ming.
Ming was now observing the chaotic battle scene with a noticeably grim expression. The overall strength of these foreign invaders had honestly exceeded his most optimistic expectations by a significant margin.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't have required much effort for his terrifying mental abilities to completely overwhelm and destroy their original targets.
At least, that was exactly how it had always worked in their home dimension before.
"Could it be that the Eye of the Heart is simply no match for these otherworldly Lore Cardians?!" Ming thought with growing disbelief and mounting panic. "No! I absolutely cannot accept this reality!"
He refused to accept this humiliating possibility. After all, such a crushing defeat would mean that all his efforts and sacrifices up to this point had been nothing more than an elaborate joke.
But Ming failed to consider one crucial fact: if the Eye of the Heart could truly suppress and control Lore Cardians as effectively as he believed, then the legendary Master Heart wouldn't have perished in the first place.
"Let me show you the true, ultimate power of the Eye of the Heart!" Ming declared with mounting desperation.
A blinding crimson light suddenly burst forth from Ming's right eye with incredible intensity.
In the blink of an eye, a massive humanoid figure formed entirely from blood-red energy materialized and stood tall on the devastated ground, towering over the battlefield.
"Behold Master Maxim's perfect form! What do you think of this power?!" Ming's voice, now somewhat frantic and unhinged, rang out from somewhere within the towering giant.
This was the most powerful and terrifying image stored within his mind, the legendary form of Master Maxim, which was supposedly even more powerful than the famous Master Xin himself! If it weren't for the unexpected intervention of the mysterious Supreme Being, Master Xin would have been completely unable to transform Master Maxim into spiritual nourishment.
Azrael stared up at the blood-red giant with a genuinely serious expression. "This is going to be significantly more difficult than I anticipated."
Just as he was frantically thinking of an effective countermeasure, Sun-Myun, who was currently being chased and systematically beaten by Nel, suddenly shouted a warning. "Master Ming, be careful! Azrael has one incredibly powerful attack that can break through any defensive limit!" He paused to dodge another devastating lance strike. "But he can only use it once per battle!"
Before Sun-Myun could finish revealing all of Azrael's tactical secrets, Nel's whistling lance instantly pierced clean through his body with a wet, final sound.
Azrael glanced coldly at Sun-Myun's unconscious form now lying motionless on the ground. "He's completely and utterly betrayed us."
Although Sun-Myun had just exposed Azrael's most powerful trump card, Azrael remained outwardly calm and composed. Even if he couldn't ultimately defeat this particular demon through direct combat, he could still escape with his remaining teammates if absolutely necessary. However, Oliver and the others would likely be in serious danger if he chose that option.
"Hahahahaha!" Ming burst into maniacal laughter at Sun-Myun's treacherous revelation.
"How absolutely hilarious! They're clearly the weak ones, yet they harbor such deep, burning hatred for those who are strong! This is pure comedy!"
Nel silently withdrew her bloodied lance from Sun-Myun's motionless body and took careful aim at the massive blood-red giant looming over them.
The next moment, her double-headed lance, wrapped in faint crimson spiritual energy, was hurled directly at their enormous opponent with devastating force.
The supernatural weapon, traveling well beyond the speed of sound, struck the giant's chest area almost instantaneously.
Unfortunately, the blood-red giant's movements proved to be far more agile than its massive, bulky appearance initially suggested.
The moment Nel released her weapon, the giant's enormous right hand had already moved to block the lance's predicted trajectory.
Nel's whistling lance, after piercing completely through the blood-red giant's massive right hand, continued its path and embedded itself deeply into the creature's chest cavity.
"What a shame! You were just a little bit short of a killing blow!" Ming's taunting voice echoed mockingly through the night air.
The giant immediately clasped both of its enormous palms together and brought them down toward Azrael's position like a massive, deadly sword.
The scarlet energy blade, piercing straight through the clouds above, pressed downward with completely unstoppable momentum like the legendary sword of Damocles itself.
Fubuki bit her rosy lips in concentration, channeling her telekinetic powers at maximum output to create a defensive barrier.
The invisible psychic barrier collided violently with the descending scarlet blade, creating a sound like a massive saw hitting reinforced metal as energy scattered wildly in all directions, leaving terrifying trails of destruction everywhere.
"Impressive! You actually managed to block my attack!" The giant's thunderous voice echoed through the devastated town with obvious surprise.
"But what exactly do you plan to do about my next strike?"
However, just as Ming was preparing to repeat his devastating attack, a brilliant golden torrent suddenly descended from the dark sky above and slashed directly toward the blood-red giant.
"So this is what Sun-Myun called a powerful blow capable of breaking through any upper limit defense?!" Ming roared with sudden understanding.
"If I hadn't received that warning, I actually might have fallen to this attack!"
"But did you really think I would be defenseless against it now?!"
Beside Azrael, Artoria stood with her face noticeably pale from spiritual energy expenditure as she removed Fubuki's Wind King's Barrier from her weapon.
Azrael had employed the exact same tactical combination he'd successfully used against Crowley, using Nel's frontal assault to distract the enemy's attention while Fubuki provided concealment for Artoria to charge and release her Golden Sword of Victory.
Unfortunately, the presence of a traitor had leaked this crucial tactical information to their enemy.
Two earth-shaking attacks of immense power collided directly before everyone's eyes with devastating results.
Every person present on the battlefield, including the materialized demons, paused their individual conflicts to stare in awe and terror.
The entire town was suddenly bathed in a brilliant mixture of gold and blood-red light. The ground trembled violently beneath their feet, and fierce winds whipped up at the center of the massive collision point.
After several moments of intense, grinding collision, everything fell into an ominous silence, but then a deafening roar erupted across the landscape.
Violent tremors continued to shake the earth, lingering for what felt like an eternity before gradually fading into stillness.
As the blinding light finally dissipated into the night air, everyone could once again see the situation clearly.
A bottomless crater had formed at the center of the two colliding attacks, and the surrounding town had been reduced to complete ruins and rubble.
Azrael's heart sank as he observed that the blood-red giant was still standing completely intact, though its crimson glow had dimmed considerably from the tremendous energy expenditure.
"I should really thank your treacherous companion," Ming said with a hint of genuine fear creeping into his voice. "If I hadn't been properly prepared for that attack, even I in my current enhanced state would have perished from its incredible power."
Blocking out Ming's disgusting, taunting words, Azrael began seriously considering the possibility of retreating with his three remaining teammates. But the next moment, a message from Artoria through their mental link startled him with unexpected hope.
Azrael decided to trust his summoned card's judgment completely.
"If it weren't for that worthless piece of trash, how could you possibly have won this battle!" An unexpected voice suddenly broke from Azrael's mouth, speaking words of apparent despair and surrender.
But to Ming's ears, this sounded exactly like heavenly music confirming his total victory. "Yes! This is the true power of the Eye of the Heart!"
"Surrender completely to the absolute power of a god!"
A double-headed lance responded immediately to this apparent surrender by flying directly at Ming once again.
This time, Ming didn't even attempt to block Nel's weapon, allowing the lance to pierce straight through his chest. Although the wound began healing almost immediately afterward, Azrael couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction at the sight.
"As expected, Artoria's intuition was absolutely correct," Azrael thought with growing confidence.
Even as he continued his apparent breakdown, talking about surrender and defeat, his summoned cards launched coordinated attacks designed to hinder the blood-red giant's movements and create openings.
However, Ming ignored these relatively minor distractions and began concentrating his power for what would clearly be his final, devastating attack.
A terrifying wave of destructive energy emanated from the giant's massive hands with apocalyptic intensity.
The gathering crimson light seemed to silently predict the final, doom-laden outcome awaiting Azrael and his companions.
At this critical moment, a petite figure in gleaming white armor suddenly leaped directly toward the blood-red giant's chest with suicidal bravery.
In Azrael's enhanced perception, the golden light gathering in her hand was absolutely dazzling to behold.
"Hahaha! You tiny toothpick! Are you seriously trying to make me laugh myself to death?!" Ming burst into wild, dismissive laughter, not even bothering to stop Artoria's seemingly futile attack.
Rather than being concerned about getting stabbed by what appeared to be a toothpick, Ming was far more focused on ensuring his next devastating attack would obliterate these annoying Lore Cardians without leaving them any possible burial place!
The golden light, appearing pitifully tiny compared to the giant's massive size, pierced directly into the center of the colossal creature's chest.
Seeing this apparently ineffective attack, Azrael suddenly stopped his act of talking about surrender and defeat.
Ming, however, simply assumed Azrael had finally given up and accepted his inevitable doom.
But in the very next moment, it seemed as if both male and female voices intertwined and rang clearly in everyone's ears across the battlefield.
"Flash of Light, Silver Arm!"
A brilliant golden beam of light suddenly burst outward and completely engulfed the entire upper body of the blood-red giant, triggering a massive, violent explosion of all the energy that had been condensed in Ming's hands.
Thick smoke covering the entire sky blocked everyone's sight of the aftermath.
Only Azrael displayed a confident, knowing smile as he surveyed the devastation. "We won."
In his enhanced spiritual perception, he could clearly sense that all the terrifying materialized creatures beside Oliver and the others had completely disappeared.
However, Azrael also felt a chill of fear run down his spine. If Sun-Myun hadn't known the specific details about the Silver Arm's true capabilities, Ming might have continued the battle defensively and never allowed Artoria to get close enough for the finishing blow.
As the thick smoke gradually dissipated on the wind, the blood-red giant that had originally stood tall and seemingly invincible had completely disappeared without a trace, leaving only a single eyeball flashing with strange, otherworldly light.
The arrogant Ming had vanished from this world without even managing to speak a single final word.
"Is this actually rare crafting material?" Azrael was genuinely startled when he saw the mysterious eyeball. He had initially thought this secret realm training mission would yield absolutely nothing of value, but he'd unexpectedly managed to obtain what appeared to be an extremely valuable item.
"But there are more pressing matters to deal with right now."
After confirming that his Shadowkhan had retrieved the mysterious eye, Azrael looked expressionlessly at Sun-Myun, who still lay unconscious on the ground nearby.
If it weren't for this completely worthless traitor's interference, Azrael wouldn't have had to fight nearly as hard as he did.
As a professional Lore Cardian, Sun-Myun naturally possessed the means to heal and repair his damaged body. Having just emerged from his unconscious state, he looked up with pale terror at Azrael, whose face was shrouded in ominous shadow.
Remembering exactly what he had done during the battle, Sun-Myun trembled like a leaf in a hurricane. He forced what he hoped was a convincing smile and said, "Azrael, you really can't blame me for what happened just now. I was completely being controlled by that demon's power."
Black and red tentacles gradually began spreading across Sun-Myun's trembling body as Azrael spoke softly, "People always have to pay the price for their actions, don't they?"
Just as Azrael was about to send Sun-Myun to his well-deserved death, a familiar voice called out from behind him. "Azrael, wait a moment."
Azrael paused his execution and asked in a puzzled tone, "What's the problem? Are you actually going to plead for his life?"