Although Adrian continued to call himself a "wild dog," Azrael didn't think so.
"Compared to a wild dog, you're clearly an Alpha Wolf, aren't you?"
Setting aside his thoughts, Azrael's cards materialized on the battlefield.
In the guest seats, Lioren glanced at Azrael's impressive array of cards and remarked to Lucian with a knowing smile, "Master Lucian, this Azrael doesn't look like your typical disciple at all. His card system is remarkably complex."
"His strength is truly exceptional. No wonder you haven't interfered with his development."
Lucian remained noncommittal. In truth, he had never interfered with any of his disciples' growth paths, just as he hadn't tried to force Alice into death-related cards despite her natural affinity.
Compared to Lucian's more traditional approach, Alice resembled a Taoist disciple in her unconventional methods.
"Haha, the young ones must forge their own paths to follow. All I can do as an old man is offer a little guidance when needed."
As a Sovereign-level Card Creator, Lioren naturally understood these principles. His earlier comment had been made in jest. "If your disciple continues developing along this trajectory..."
"I believe there's a particular title that might suit him perfectly."
"[Myriad Phenomena]. What do you think, Master Lucian?"
Lucian chuckled softly at the suggestion. "Perhaps it's premature to consider such lofty titles. Azrael is still only a Silver-level Lore Cardian."
Lioren waved his hand dismissively, it had been merely an idle observation.
Lucian was correct. Azrael's current level remained far too low for consideration among the handful of legendary figures at the pinnacle.
On the battlefield, as the referee's whistle pierced the air, Artoria and Nel immediately launched their coordinated assault.
Within seconds, they were engaging Adrian's two remaining mechanical constructs in fierce combat.
However, the robots refused to engage in direct melee confrontation. Igniting their thrusters with brilliant blue flames, they desperately sought to maintain distance from Artoria and her companion.
At that moment, a massive bolt of lightning roared toward the two silicon-based creatures, their metallic forms beginning to scorch with pitch-black flames.
Azrael had long since escaped the predicament of being impoverished and possessing only melee-focused cards.
Under the protective watch of Unohana Retsu and Sasuke, Artoria and Nel once again closed in on the core mechanical unit.
"Moon."
A cold, crystalline light instantly bathed the entire battlefield.
Artoria and Nel remained expressionless, their holy swords and lances attacking the silver-white robot from opposing flanks in perfect synchronization.
"Zizi!"
The milky-white laser attack met an invisible telekinetic barrier, causing scattered beams to pierce the ground harmlessly.
Fubuki had intervened.
Even when [Celestial Phenomenon: Sun, Moon, and Star] activated its "Moon" phase, she had already erected protective telekinetic shields around Artoria and the others.
This explained why the two warriors could attack so recklessly despite facing the enemy's devastating counterfire.
"Stars."
Azrael's eyes narrowed as he heard the flat, mechanical voice announce the final phase. "So it's finally being deployed."
"The ultimate attack method."
Just as the announcement concluded, several massive, pitch-black spheres materialized out of thin air high above the battlefield.
The next moment, all of them became engulfed in flames from atmospheric friction as they plummeted toward the ground with devastating force.
"Space-based kinetic weapons!"
Azrael instantly identified the final attack method within [Celestial Phenomenon: Sun, Moon, and Stars].
Sun represented a miniaturized nuclear device.
Moon functioned as a precision laser weapon system.
Star constituted a space-based kinetic bombardment system. (An: Like an Orbital weapon)
"But is this arena's height sufficient for proper kinetic weapon acceleration?"
Azrael glanced upward at the barrier's highest point.
Clearly, this wasn't nearly high enough for conventional space-based weapons normally deployed from low Earth orbit.
"So they're employing some alternative acceleration method."
"Even though they appear robotic, you can't apply real-world physics to card-based constructs."
Even as he pondered this tactical revelation, the pitch-black spheres had already impacted the battlefield.
The solid, unknown-composition projectiles didn't explode upon impact, but their intense kinetic force sent dirt and debris surging outward like tidal waves, gradually accumulating against the barrier's edges until the entire arena was transformed.
The once-level battlefield now resembled the cratered, desolate surface of the moon.
Fortunately, Azrael's cards weren't sluggish combatants. Although the "Star" bombardment fell at tremendous velocity, it ultimately failed to strike its intended targets.
"Boom!"
A violent explosion suddenly thundered across the arena, causing many spectators to flinch involuntarily.
Adrian had triggered his defense module's self-destruct sequence.
"Defense module, [Force Field: God's Halt] initiating activation."
"Activation complete."
A subtle humming sound echoed throughout the venue as an invisible wave swept across the entire battlefield.
Azrael frowned deeply. "Retsu has actually been classified as a deity?"
"This is..."
Unohana Retsu had been significantly weakened, and Azrael, as her summoner, was acutely aware of this reduction in power.
Well, the Soul Reapers of [Seireitei] are indeed considered divine beings, aren't they? (AN: Shinigami literally means Death God)
In the guest seats, Lucian also regarded Azrael with considerable surprise.
He knew his disciple possessed several death-type cards, but he hadn't anticipated one being classified within the divine category.
Lioren, unaware of these deeper implications, commented with a slightly perplexed expression, "Master Lucian, I take back my earlier words. Young Azrael truly deserves to be your disciple."
Lucian had regained his composure, though for a moment he felt both amused and exasperated by Lioren's observation.
However, something else occurred to him: deities typically belonged to pantheons.
Even monotheistic religions possessed hierarchical structures.
However, the pantheons of monotheistic traditions were usually composed of apostles and prophets rather than multiple gods.
This meant Azrael's card definitely implied something far more complex than a simple custom creation.
Furthermore, his disciple's concept for this card clearly predated their teacher-student relationship, as a similar card, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, had already appeared during the Greenridge Province unified examination.
The two cards were obviously products of the same comprehensive system.
"This brat..."
Lucian thought with a faint smile playing across his features.
On the battlefield, Unohana Retsu remained completely unfazed by her power reduction, simply drawing her zanpakuto with characteristic apathy.
Having just been targeted by the "Star" bombardment, she had already unlocked [Yachiru: Hidden].
Taking a single step forward, she vanished instantly from sight.
The next moment, an invisible blade wreathed in black flames slashed toward the Core Carrier robot with lethal precision.
"Boom!"
An invisible barrier suddenly materialized, blocking Unohana Retsu's devastating blow.
More accurately, it simultaneously deflected the coordinated attacks from Unohana Retsu, Artoria, and Nel.
The already uneven and shattered battlefield suddenly groaned under the tremendous force, and in mere moments, it was reduced to fine dust.
"So it's not merely a specialized anti-divine effect, it also possesses conventional defensive capabilities?" Azrael wasn't surprised that [Force Field: God's Halt] displayed additional functions.
After all, it was designated as a defensive module. If it simply weakened god-type cards, it could have been classified as an aura-effect module instead.
On the battlefield, amidst a burst of brilliant flames, the Core Carrier robot elevated itself into the air, abandoning the devastated ground. Its emotionless mechanical sensors flashed crimson as they scanned the cards arrayed against it.
"Moon."
The Core Carrier once again unleashed the Moon's Judgment, but unfortunately, it proved ineffective against the cards protected by Fubuki's telekinetic shields.
The current situation had evolved into a stalemate where neither side could achieve decisive advantage over the other. If the battle continued in this pattern, Azrael and Adrian could theoretically fight until one of them succumbed to exhaustion.
However, Azrael had no intention of playing defensively, because he possessed a method to penetrate the enemy's defenses.
That method was Artoria's [Caliburn].
The audience in the stands clearly shared this assessment.
"It feels like Azrael's going to claim victory."
"Yeah, as long as that outrageous King Arthur's devastating attack connects, the match is over."
The battle had progressed long enough that rumors identifying Artoria as King Arthur had already spread throughout the audience.
Everyone who initially heard this news reacted with disbelief, but after an officially certified, high-level Lore Cardian confirmed the identification on social media, the only response left was stunned amazement.
After all, a quick search of the Aetherlight Encyclopedia would reveal that King Arthur had always been portrayed as male throughout history.
The average spectator certainly couldn't connect the petite, determined girl fighting so fiercely on the battlefield with the legendary burly, powerful monarch of Camelot.
"What a shame! It looks like Northern University of Science and Technology can only advance this far."
"True, but reaching the finals is already remarkable. No one seriously believed they could actually win, right?"
The vast majority of spectators watching the match were enthusiastically supporting Azrael.
However, the high-level Lore Cardians in the guest seats clearly held different opinions.
"Master Lucian, it appears Azrael is about to face some serious difficulties." Lioren excitedly extended his mental power to scan the floating core carrier in detail.
Hearing this assessment, Lucian remained unmoved, "Azrael said he understands the situation, and I believe in his judgment."
Yuichi couldn't help but shake his head, "Master Lucian certainly has tremendous confidence in his disciple."
Finn muttered under his breath, "I still think Azrael will emerge victorious."
Clearly, the white-bearded elderly master was deliberately refraining from using his mental power to investigate the true situation, preferring to maintain the suspense.
In the arena, Artoria had already raised Excalibur high above her head. As magical power surged into the legendary blade, tiny golden particles gradually began dissipating into the surrounding air.
To ensure Artoria's successful strike, Nel and the others continuously compressed the core carrier's available evasive space through coordinated positioning.
Finally, after an extensive casting period, the massive golden beam had already reached the barrier's upper limit.
The next moment, like a celestial river pouring down from the heavens, a golden torrent slashed toward the core carrier with magnificent destructive force.
Seeing that the core carrier had no possibility of evasion, Unohana Retsu and Nel employed Shunpo and Sonido respectively to escape the blast radius.
[Caliburn] successfully struck the core carrier with devastating impact.
Most people present, including those watching the live television broadcast, waited expectantly for the referee to declare Azrael the winner.
However, even after the brilliant light faded, revealing the now-empty battlefield, the referee remained silent.
Azrael sensed something was fundamentally amiss.
Just like the previous cards [Celestial Phenomenon: Sun, Moon, and Stars] and [Force Field: God's Halt], the core carrier, after being shattered, did not dissipate into particles as would normally occur with destroyed card constructs.
"Azrael, before we began this match, I said this was a confrontation between a stray dog and a genius."
Adrian began speaking in barely more than a whisper.
"Although the stray dog is exhausted, it's determined to keep fighting for its pack companions."
"I imagine even a genius would feel pain from a stray dog's desperate bite."
Azrael listened quietly.
The main issue was that there was nothing he could do at this moment. If this were VIctor, he would have transformed into his symbiote form and engaged Adrian in direct physical combat.
Unfortunately, this was the finals of the national competition, and if he didn't want to face immediate disqualification, he had better not attempt such tactics.
"This is a gift I've prepared for them."
"It's also a surprise for you so-called geniuses."
As he spoke, shimmering cards began fragmenting around Adrian, and countless silver-white components materialized across the battlefield.
The simple young man's face grew increasingly pale, and his body began to sway unsteadily.
His companions attempted to move forward to support him, but he gestured for them to stay back.
Although Adrian appeared to be on the verge of collapse, his eyes burned with frightening intensity.
"Even wild dogs possess fangs."
"[Venue Card: Mechanical Realm]."
As his words finally concluded, the shadow of a massive structure flashed across the arena.
Azrael glimpsed a landscape covered in steel within that fleeting shadow.
The silver-white components that had appeared on the battlefield began converging with mechanical precision.
"Core Module, [Power Reactor: Pack Leader] Beginning activation."
"Activation completed."
"[Final Annihilation Armament Type I] Assembly sequence initiated."
"Assembly completed."
"Current Combat Mode: Total Annihilation."
Accompanied by the cold, mechanical announcements, the massive silver-white robot slowly rose from its kneeling position and opened its blazing crimson optical sensors.
The audience fell into stunned silence upon witnessing this dramatic transformation.
The sudden turn of events left them momentarily speechless.
The veteran Lore Cardians in the guest seats, however, observed Adrian's final trump card with considerable surprise.
While they had anticipated Adrian's core carrier to be more sophisticated than initially apparent, they hadn't expected the young man to achieve this level of tactical deception.
"Those are all single-use cards, aren't they?" Finn looked at Lioren with uncertainty.
Lioren nodded confirmingly. "It must be the effect of that venue card that permits Adrian to maintain so many single-use item cards simultaneously."
"He's invested an absolute fortune for this finals match."
Although Lioren could sense that the single-use cards Adrian had just deployed were only white-green quality, sufficient quantity could certainly produce a dramatic qualitative transformation.
"The situation has become significantly more complex."
Among the high-level Lore Cardians present, Lucian remained the only one who still believed his disciple could achieve ultimate victory.
Azrael, observing the imposing robot on the battlefield, couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Why is he able to maintain so many cards simultaneously?"
"Is it related to that Venue Card, [Mechanical Realm]?"
Unfortunately, Adrian seemed unable to answer his question, so Azrael could only suppress his curiosity for now.
Looking at the giant robot slowly rising to its full height, Azrael suddenly spoke with calm determination. "What you just said was truly moving."
"If I weren't the victim of this 'Friendship and Bonds' speech, I'd probably be somewhat excited myself."
Adrian forced himself to look at Azrael, who remained remarkably composed not far away. The young man didn't display the shock Adrian had expected to see.
It was as if absolutely nothing significant had occurred.
Adrian felt confused by this unexpected reaction.
Azrael remained unaware of Adrian's emotional state and continued speaking to himself, "But it's unfortunate."
"I also possess what you might call a trump card."
"Since you've been insisting that today represents a showdown between a wild dog and a genius..."
"Then I will demonstrate to you now."
"What constitutes true..."
"Despair."
Adrian understood Azrael's words perfectly, then stared at the battlefield in growing bewilderment.
On the field, Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest with an expressionless demeanor, his scarlet hexagram pupils gazing at the distant robot without a trace of emotion.
The next moment, a purple half-giant materialized from the ground, rising to face the silver-white mechanical giant in a confrontation of titans.
"The third power, [Susanoo]."
The power of despair born from hatred, the ultimate ocular technique of the Sharingan, finally manifested on this blue planet.