In the weathered confines of his modest apartment at Happy Homes Complex, Azrael sat cross-legged on his bed, scrolling through materials displayed on his phone screen. The familiar glow illuminated his focused expression as he weighed his options.
"Gold-grade Blue [Military Intelligence System]," he murmured, studying the specifications. "It doesn't seem quite suitable."
Azrael had already formulated an answer for the final material needed for this particular card creation. However, after applying his filter criteria, precious few compatible materials appeared in the search results.
"As expected, there are so few materials with integrated systems and interface panels," he sighed, continuing to browse through the offerings on the points exchange platform.
After several minutes of careful examination, one particular material caught his attention and made him pause.
"Gold-grade Purple [Mass-produced Child of the World Auxiliary Panel (Incomplete)]?" His eyebrows rose in surprise. "What kind of bizarre material is this supposed to be?"
Intrigued, Azrael clicked on the detailed specifications and discovered that this unusual material originated from a mysterious secret realm designated as [Failure at the Last Moment].
According to the documented data, nearly every demon inhabiting this secret realm possessed this strange material, though the quality varied significantly between specimens. More intriguingly, the realm itself exhibited an unusual characteristic: extreme fragility.
The same amount of force that might barely scratch the surface in other secret realms or on Earth could cause catastrophic damage within this particular dimensional space. Even a Diamond-level Lore Cardian had accidentally shattered an entire section of this secret realm during routine exploration.
"Why do I feel a sense of déjà vu about this?" Azrael wondered aloud, a nagging familiarity tugging at his thoughts.
"Never mind, I won't dwell on it anymore. This material seems perfectly suited for my needs."
Suppressing his doubts, Azrael immediately spent 4,800 points to purchase the appropriate material.
"Back to being broke again," he muttered with wry humor. Points always seemed to flow through his fingers like water. A single gold-level purple material had effectively transported him back to his pre-wealth state.
Taking a deep breath to center himself, Azrael carefully arranged the three materials he had acquired on his desk.
"Two red-quality materials," he observed with satisfaction. "I hope the finished product justifies this investment."
Calming his mind and steadying his breathing, his slender fingers began to sketch an intricate design on the blank card surface. A delicate white spider gradually took shape, but the vague, ominous black shadow lurking behind it seemed to hint at something far more sinister.
[Please begin to write your story.]
In the 840th year of the Kingdom Calendar, a small, seemingly insignificant spider hatched in a forgotten corner of the upper levels of the Great Elroe Labyrinth. This spider, who would come to be known as Shiraori, possessed vivid memories of her previous existence as a reclusive high school girl named Wakaba Hiiro, who had somehow been reincarnated into this monstrous form.
Perhaps that was the truth of her origins.
But with her current reality already established and the dangerous environment surrounding her on all sides, Shiraori embarked on her own harrowing journey of survival.
Initially, she struggled against every instinct to consume the bizarre creatures that inhabited her new world. The very thought of devouring raw flesh revolted her human sensibilities.
Eventually, however, her fundamental need for survival overcame her reluctance, and she began systematically hunting and consuming various small monsters throughout the labyrinth.
During this process, she made a remarkable discovery: by consuming sufficient quantities of prey, she could earn unique titles that granted her supernatural bonuses and abilities.
At this point in his writing, Azrael realized that what he was describing wasn't actually the legendary [Gluttony] skill. That particular Ruler ability belonged to Shiraori's grandmother figure, the Demon Lord Ariel. Even the adorable Slime King possessed this coveted skill.
It seemed the two had even interacted at some point.
While desperately fighting to survive in the labyrinth's treacherous depths, Shiraori twice encountered Araba, the Earth Dragon who ruled as the absolute overlord of the Great Elroe Labyrinth. Each time, however, due to her relative weakness, she was spared from certain death, whether through the dragon's indifference or some other factor.
These encounters left her burning with resentment and an overwhelming desire to grow stronger.
As a reincarnated being, Shiraori possessed access to a game-like system interface that functioned similarly to role-playing games from her previous world.
She could level up by gaining experience points through combat victories. After successfully annihilating a large colony of aggressive giant apes, Shiraori achieved her first evolution, transforming into a Small Poisonous Spider.
Shortly after this evolutionary milestone, Shiraori acquired one of the most formidable Ruler skills available in this world: Pride.
The power surge from this acquisition drew unwanted attention, and she was subsequently driven deeper into the labyrinth's middle levels by the Earth Dragon Kagna. There, she encountered and successfully defeated a lower-ranked Fire Dragon in brutal combat.
This significant victory provided her with enough experience to achieve her next evolutionary leap, transforming into the rare and feared monster classification known as Scythe Death. This transformation also granted her access to her second Ruler skill: Patience.
Patience possessed an extraordinary special effect known as Nullify, which rendered the user effectively immune to soul-based damage and attacks.
With this defensive capability secured, Shiraori pushed her Detection skill to its absolute maximum level, though the rewards she received were somewhat disappointing.
However, she also gained access to the invaluable unique skill called Parallel Minds, which allowed her to actively split her consciousness into multiple distinct personalities capable of independent multitasking.
Even after maximizing her Appraisal skill through dedicated effort, she found herself complaining about the underwhelming nature of the rewards.
As if responding directly to her complaints, both Identification and Detection were mysteriously integrated into a completely new Ruler skill called Wisdom.
Shiraori was initially horrified by this development, as Wisdom didn't exist among the traditional roster of Ruler skills available through the system.
This undoubtedly indicated that someone, or something, was actively monitoring her progress and had custom-tailored this skill specifically for her benefit.
Fortunately, her naturally optimistic disposition eventually allowed her to accept this unusual situation.
Wisdom proved to be an absolutely game-breaking ability among supernatural skills.
Subsequently, she engaged in fierce combat with Fire Dragon Rendo, who had been severely wounded in a previous encounter with her mother, the Queen Spider. Through tactical superiority and raw determination, she successfully defeated this formidable opponent.
It was at this crucial moment that a mysterious being materialized before her.
Fortunately, someone, apparently communicating through what resembled a mobile phone, explained the situation to this entity and explicitly forbade any interference with Shiraori's development.
Everything that unfolded before her served as definitive confirmation that someone was indeed watching her every move with keen interest.
Later, when Shiraori discovered that she was being negatively affected by the Queen Spider's parasitic skill, she deployed a parallel consciousness generated through her "Parallel Minds" ability to infiltrate and attack the opponent's soul realm directly, while her primary consciousness remained safely hidden and completed another evolutionary transformation.
At this pivotal stage, Shiraori had evolved into the formidable monster classification known as Shadow of Death, and had also mastered the fundamentals of spatial magic manipulation.
The time had finally arrived to seek her long-awaited revenge against the Earth Dragon Araba.
Azrael paused in his writing as the mysterious space around him began emanating a distinct sense of resistance and rejection.
This unmistakable sensation indicated that his card creation process had reached its natural limit and could proceed no further.
"Is Shiraori's power level really that excessive?" he wondered aloud, genuinely puzzled. He had originally planned to document Araba's defeat at her hands.
Now it seemed that particular narrative thread was beyond the current scope of possibility. The Ruler skill Sloth would have to remain unobtained for now.
In a disorienting blur of transition, he found himself back in physical reality. However, the radiant glow emanating from the newly created card made his heart skip several beats.
"No way..." he breathed, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.
Gathering the completed card before him with trembling hands, Azrael began to examine its detailed information with growing excitement.
[Shadow of Death - Shiraori]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Red
Category: Creature
Skills:
[Zana]: Dramatically enhances speed attributes, allowing Shiraori to evade imminent danger through supernatural reflexes and movement. [Spider Race Inherent Skills]: Contains the complete suite of spider-specific abilities, including silk production, venomous fangs, wall-climbing, and enhanced sensory perception. [Ruler - Pride]: Encompasses the derived skills [Abyss Magic] and [Naraku], granting access to dark supernatural forces and shadow manipulation. [Ruler - Patience]: Significantly increases defensive capabilities and, when facing potentially lethal attacks, prevents Shiraori from dying as long as her magical power reserves remain above zero. Contains the derived skills [Nullify] and [Conviction].
Nullify: Grants complete immunity to soul-based damage of Gold rank and below.
Conviction: Inflicts damage proportional to the target's accumulated sins, as determined by universal moral standards.
Note: When Shiraori's mana reserves are completely depleted, the card owner's mental energy is consumed instead.
[Ruler's Wisdom]: A fusion of Appraisal and Detection abilities, enabling Shiraori to uncover comprehensive information about any target. Possesses the derived skills [Magical Extremity] and [Heretic Magic].
Magical Extremity: Allows Shiraori to forcibly cast magical spells regardless of normal casting requirements or limitations.
Heretic Magic: Dramatically enhances the potency and effectiveness of Shiraori's magical attacks.
[Parallel Minds]: Enables Shiraori to actively fragment her consciousness for simultaneous multi-threaded operations and strategic thinking.
Note: Excessive use of this skill may cause the card to enter a state of mental instability or confusion.
Special Traits:
[Aesthetic Correction]: Drawing upon memories of her previous existence as a high school girl, Shiraori subtly enhances her physical appearance. However, only her trusted allies can perceive this beautified form. [Administrator's Observation]: To prevent discovery of her recreational activities by her superiors, the mischievous evil god [D] implanted a random spider monster with fabricated memories from her human identity game. From this point forward, [D] maintains constant surveillance over this spider monster's development and growth. As compensation for this intrusion, Shiraori receives [D]'s direct assistance during specific extraordinary circumstances. [Goddess System]: Utilizing the goddess [Sariel] as its core processing unit, the evil god [D] constructed a planet-wide management system originally designed for [D]'s personal entertainment. Shiraori can accumulate experience points through defeating various creatures, which can then be utilized to reduce the material costs required for card advancement.
Current advancement materials required: Three Emerald-grade materials of blue-quality or higher.
Description: Reincarnated as a spider, so what!
Advancement Path: Iron Rank [Small Poisonous Spider - Shiraori] → Silver Rank [Scythe Death - Shiraori] → Gold Rank [Shadow of Death - Shiraori] → Emerald Rank [Undead Spider Queen - Shiraori] → Diamond Rank [Arachne - Shiraori] → Sovereign Rank [God - Shiraori].
Bond Effects:
When appearing alongside cards from the [Queen Spider] series, activates the [Mother and Daughter] effect.
When appearing alongside cards from the [Vampire - Sophia Keren] series, activates the [Unlucky Reincarnations?] effect.
When appearing alongside cards from the [Demon Lord Ariel] series, activates the [Grandmother's Love] effect.
"This power level is incredible!" Azrael's eyes widened in amazement as he absorbed every detail.
After thoroughly reviewing the card's complete specifications, he couldn't help but recognize that Shiraori represented a perfect combination of statistical power and versatile mechanics.
No wonder the mystical creation space had prevented him from continuing the narrative. While the space had somewhat diminished several of her Ruler abilities to maintain balance, Shiraori remained an exceptionally powerful hexagonal card capable of offense, defense, and escape tactics.
Azrael couldn't identify any significant weaknesses in her current configuration.
However, the most pressing question remained, "Is this actually a colored card?"
The red quality designation now differed substantially from his previous card creations, displaying an array of rainbow hues instead of the standard single-color appearance.
"It shouldn't be, should it?" he mused aloud.
Although the visual state seemed unusual, Azrael's intuition suggested this wasn't quite a colored card, but rather something existing in the liminal space between colored and red classifications.
"But why would that be the case?"
He began analyzing the fundamental differences between Shiraori and his other existing cards.
"Could it be because she's capable of advancement all the way to Sovereign level?"
The most significant distinction between Shiraori and every other card currently in Azrael's possession was her maximum upgrade potential reaching the legendary Sovereign tier.
He couldn't conceive of any other explanation for this phenomenon.
Perhaps Misaka's Gold-level capabilities weren't quite equivalent to top-tier red quality, but several of Azrael's Silver-level cards definitely possessed that potential, yet none had undergone such a dramatic transformation.
"So are colored cards exclusive to Sovereign-tier potential?"
"That would certainly explain the scarcity of information."
Azrael felt as though he'd stumbled upon something truly remarkable. If his theory proved correct, it would explain why he couldn't locate any detailed information about colored cards online, despite the system's unwavering certainty about their existence.
After all, no Sovereign-level Lore Cardian would ever reveal their complete card specifications to the public.
Taking a deep breath to calm his mounting excitement, Azrael refocused on a more immediate concern. "But what exactly does this [Administrator's Observation] trait signify?"
"It can't possibly mean that the actual Evil God [D] is taking action," he reasoned, immediately dismissing the possibility. If the genuine Evil God [D] intervened directly, Earth's continued survival would become highly questionable.
However, lacking any immediate answers, he could only suppress his curiosity for the time being.
Azrael had no intention of summoning Shiraori at his current location. The undercurrents running through Velkairos were far too complex and dangerous, making it inadvisable to reveal such a powerful trump card prematurely.
"I'll wait until I'm back in the provincial capital," he decided pragmatically.
Despite feeling somewhat drained from the intensive card creation process, he was determined to make the journey back to his home base that very evening.
Several hours later, in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the provincial capital, an adorable yet imposing giant spider materialized before Azrael.
This was Shiraori in her current evolutionary form.
Azrael had successfully returned to familiar territory under cover of darkness.
Although Shiraori was classified within the small-to-medium size category for spider monsters, that designation was relative to creatures like the Queen Spider. For ordinary humans, Shiraori represented a super-large arachnid that would never appear under natural circumstances.
Human and spider regarded each other in contemplative silence for several long moments.
Eventually, Shiraori's distinctly feminine voice echoed through the empty factory, "Why."
Azrael blinked in surprise. "What exactly are you asking?"
Just when he thought he might have imagined the communication, Shiraori's compound eyes visibly welled up with glistening tears, "Why are you living so comfortably, Azrael, when we're all supposedly reincarnated individuals?"
"Little Shiraori, I live a precarious existence every single day. The gap between our circumstances is absolutely staggering!"
"It's unfair, it's unfair, it's completely unfair!"
Watching Shiraori dramatically rolling around on the factory floor, Azrael's eye twitched with mild exasperation, "Keep it down. I don't want noise complaints from the neighbors in the middle of the night."
Upon hearing this admonishment, Shiraori instantly ceased her theatrical display and raised her head with obvious pride, "But I have the [Stealth] skill, so no one will detect us, ahahaha!"
Azrael maintained his deadpan expression for a moment, then spoke in a low, warning tone, "If you continue behaving like this, I'll withhold your meals for the next several days."
"I was completely wrong! My pride got the better of me! Please don't hold my momentary lapse against me, Lord Azrael!"
The food-obsessed spider instantly lowered her head in a submissive posture that resembled kneeling.
Seeing her genuine contrition, Azrael sighed and gestured toward several Ghost Soldiers, who promptly placed steaming dishes of carefully prepared food before Shiraori.
"It's actual human cuisine," Shiraori observed with reverent awe as she gazed upon the delicious spread prepared by the skilled Ghost Soldiers. Her expression conveyed the look of someone experiencing salvation. "This flavor... it's absolutely perfect."
"It feels so wonderful not having to consume raw flesh anymore," she continued with visible emotion.
Azrael couldn't resist gently patting Shiraori's back as she began enthusiastically devouring her meal with obvious relish.
After allowing sufficient time for Shiraori to satisfy her appetite, Azrael finally departed to meet his intended contact.
Director Godfrey of the Public Security Bureau looked up as Azrael approached, and his attention was immediately drawn to the enormous, menacing spider monster positioned beside the young man.
"That aura..." Even the typically composed Godfrey couldn't suppress an involuntary gulp of nervousness.
The spider monster was currently emitting a low, threatening hiss that seemed designed as a warning to potential threats.
"Vice President Azrael's new card creation might be in a completely different league, wouldn't it?" Godfrey observed with professional interest.
Azrael had already donned his organizational disguise before this meeting. Ignoring Shiraori's somewhat comedic intimidation display, he asked with calm directness, "I heard that one of our operational bases has been compromised by the Onefold Doctrine?"