Azrael had suspected the Fallen Cult harbored ulterior motives in sealing this secret realm but hadn't expected them to surface under such circumstances. Of course, it was equally possible that they had been using stealth tactics to track his group from the beginning.
Their divisive strategy clearly stemmed from their long-held assumption that Leon and he operated with conflicting agendas. Now, having been successfully provoked, Leon eagerly sought battle against Azrael.
Once all three combatants were defeated, the Fallen Cult could sweep in and claim the spoils. However, this plan presumed that Leon and David truly possessed the strength to match Azrael in combat.
"Really?" Azrael pressed his palm against his forehead in exasperation before positioning himself to shield Amina. He couldn't afford to fight while protecting a child; his Sacred Blade Armor had formidable defensive capabilities, but sustaining close-quarters combat with such a burden would be challenging.
Unlike Azrael, who remained composed, the others stared in stunned silence toward Ulquiorra's position. An overwhelming spiritual pressure emanated from the Arrancar, dense and suffocating like the crushing depths of an ocean.
Everyone felt an invisible force constricting their throats, making each breath a struggle. They had never imagined that Azrael had such a devastating ace up his sleeve. Had Ulquiorra revealed his current form earlier, this battle would have concluded long ago.
The Fallen Cult members simply couldn't—and wouldn't dare—intervene to reap any benefits.
Leon was the most astonished of all. First, he stared at Ulquiorra in bewilderment; then, he fixed Azrael with an expression of complete disbelief. "You?!"
The brown-haired royal felt his earlier suspicions had been entirely justified. As his voice rang out, a luminous spear blasted toward Azrael's position.
As a Lore Cardian, Leon was well aware of his profession's inherent vulnerabilities. Despite being filled with shock and rage, his summoned cards seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
Unfortunately for him, Azrael didn't react at all; the spear had already stopped mere inches from his face.
Ulquiorra had intercepted it.
The weapon remained motionless within his dark palm before flying back at twice its original velocity. A shrill whistling sound rang in Leon's ears like the tolling bells of damnation itself.
To Leon, Ulquiorra appeared as nothing less than a demon risen from the depths of hell as he executed this devastating counterattack.
"Return," Leon commanded, obviously straining.
Fortunately, Ulquiorra lacked the mystical ability to permanently seize weapons. He had simply used overwhelming physical force to redirect the spear. Therefore, the projectile remained under the control of Leon's summoned card.
The spear trembled violently as it came to an abrupt halt just before Leon's face. Before he could react, however, Ulquiorra materialized directly in front of him.
CRACK!
With a bone-deep impact, Leon and his protective card were both launched through the air like discarded rag dolls.
Ulquiorra chose not to pursue his advantage, instead pivoting to grasp the obsidian Bible that had attacked from behind with deadly intent.
Creak!
Unlike their previous evenly matched encounter, the metallic tome produced ominous crackling sounds this time as Ulquiorra applied steady pressure.
David's pupils contracted as he attempted to immediately recall his weapon. Unfortunately for the priest...
CRASH!
The next moment, he watched his Bible shatter into countless fragments before a pitch-black hand pressed firmly against his chest.
BOOM!
The blonde man was propelled into the distance like a cannonball, raising a cloud of dust, and then fell ominously silent.
Several Fallen Cult members stared blankly at Ulquiorra, realizing the situation had spiraled completely beyond their control. The current circumstances were the complete opposite of their carefully orchestrated plan.
"Fellow believers," the black-robed figures began, but Azrael had no patience for further manipulation.
Leon's cards hadn't dissipated yet, and hostile forces still surrounded them. However, the young Lore Cardian wasn't prepared to fight Leon to the death; after all, they harbored no deep-seated grudges.
Compared to Leon, the Fallen Cult members orchestrating this confrontation from a distance were clearly more deserving of his wrath.
As a pale green spiritual lance materialized in Ulquiorra's grasp, several cultists felt as though Death's scythe had already found their throats.
"What is that thing?" Just as these thoughts flashed through their minds, they saw Ulquiorra hurl the Lanza del Relámpago in their direction.
The world seemed to fall silent. Several Fallen Cult members watched helplessly as the Lightning Lance descended upon them and was consumed by a sudden eruption of spiritual energy.
Ignoring the distant explosion, Ulquiorra casually dispersed Leon's remaining cards with another lance and charged toward Adam with lethal intent.
This was, naturally, Azrael's direct command. He had no way of knowing whether the Fallen Cult would receive reinforcements. While Ulquiorra currently dominated the battlefield, he would be overpowered by an army of Emerald-tier Lore Cardians.
After all, Azrael was only an Emerald-level practitioner, unable to sustain Ulquiorra's high-intensity combat indefinitely.
"Kill Adams, secure the materials, then retreat immediately."
Having spent considerable time observing the conflict, Azrael had deduced the type of materials that Adams and his legendary weapons would yield upon defeat. They were likely exactly what he needed.
Even if not, several additional high-quality Emerald-grade materials wouldn't be amiss. After fighting for so long, he deserved compensation; Azrael refused to work without proper reward.
Meanwhile, Adams, who had been taking advantage of the internal strife to recover his strength, saw the dark figure charging toward him, and his expression shifted dramatically.
From his brief observations, Adams realized that this entity completely outclassed him in combat capability.
With a desperate roar, he merged his two sword auras, unleashing a devastating slash toward Ulquiorra.
However, Ulquiorra simply shifted slightly, allowing the attack to strike his left arm while maintaining his forward momentum.
The sword beam carved across Ulquiorra's body, leaving a deep gash that extended far into the ground behind him.
Seeing his attack land successfully, Adams's face lit up with hope briefly. Just as he began entertaining the absurd notion that he might actually defeat this terrifying opponent, he watched Ulquiorra's severed arm regenerate at an incredible rate and return to its original state within moments.
Witnessing this impossible recovery, Adams's mind froze, and his entire body was locked in stunned paralysis. In their world, no one possessed such devastating regenerative abilities.
While Adams remained trapped in shock, Ulquiorra appeared before him. With a casual flick of his index finger, the demon lord's already battered armor exploded into fragments.
"Cero Oscuras."
A pitch-black energy beam then tore a massive hole through Adams's chest cavity.
Despite this grievous injury, Adams somehow survived the assault.
Cough! He spat out a mouthful of crimson blood as streams of starlight began to fill the gaping wound in his torso.
"You've pushed me to this extent!" Adams declared through gritted teeth. But Ulquiorra seized his head and slammed it into the ground with overwhelming force.
CRASH!
The earth instantly shattered into countless pieces beneath the tremendous impact.
In the distance, Leon's cards maintained their protective formation around their unconscious master. They watched Ulquiorra's battle with Adams with solemn expressions.
The brown-haired royal had already lost consciousness, so the summoned entities weren't prepared to act rashly. After all, they had witnessed the devastating attack on the Fallen Cult members firsthand.
They didn't understand why their master's suspected ally would attack both the Fallen Cult and Adams, so the cards decided to observe rather than intervene. If they provoked this enemy and he launched another attack like the one that had just annihilated the cultists, they would be powerless to defend themselves.
The dust gradually settled, and Adams reappeared before everyone's eyes. However, compared to his earlier imposing presence, he now appeared utterly miserable, his body covered in wounds of every size and description.
"I want you dead!" With a final, desperate roar, Adams began striking his twin swords against each other with frantic intensity.
In an instant, a magnificent sword beam erupted, piercing toward Ulquiorra with all of Adams's remaining power.
Facing this final, desperate assault, Ulquiorra remained expressionless as he formed another Lightning Lance in his pale hand.
The two attacks, completely mismatched in terms of power, collided with devastating force.
BOOM!
The resulting shockwave engulfed everything in the immediate vicinity and spread outward in expanding ripples of destruction.
Seeing this, Leon's cards immediately retreated with their unconscious master and David, who was also unconscious.
Azrael had already taken shelter well in advance of the collision.
Several moments later, the destructive wave finally dissipated, revealing Adam in his death throes.
Ulquiorra couldn't have emerged completely unscathed from such a powerful attack. Using the Lightning Lance at such close range would inevitably affect him as well.
However, under the influence of his high-speed regeneration, the numerous wounds covering his body were rapidly healing. With his characteristically emotionless expression, Ulquiorra approached Adams, delivered a final strike with his spiritual lance, grasped the demon's corpse with one hand, and clutched both legendary swords with the other. Then, he returned to Azrael's side.
Unconcerned with Leon's cards, who continued to observe him warily from a distance, Azrael cast a cold gaze toward the mountaintop in the distance.
Rather than finishing off Leon and David, he decided that reaching the summit and claiming whatever materials awaited there would be the most beneficial course of action.
Such actions would likely earn Leon's lasting enmity, but Azrael felt no particular concern. After all, the other party had initiated hostilities, and he had been forced to retaliate in self-defense. If anyone should worry about creating lasting grudges, it should be Leon, who now had cause to fear offending Azrael.
However, noting that Leon's cards had refrained from taking advantage of Ulquiorra's clash with Adams to attack him, Azrael ultimately decided against launching another Lightning Lance in their direction.
Without further delay, Azrael led Ulquiorra toward the mountaintop. His immense, emerald-level mental power swept the surrounding area like sophisticated radar.
Soon, he detected something unusual in the center of the massive, circular structure atop the mountain.
Upon reaching his destination, he spotted the material floating serenely in midair.
Emerald-level Venue Material [Noble Royal City] (Red).