At the East Laika Association headquarters, in the president's office.
"Diesel, do you think he was responsible?"
President Kavach asked with a troubled expression, addressing the director of the Secret Realm Office.
Hearing this, Diesel hesitated for a moment before speaking uncertainly. "Judging from the motive, it certainly seems like President Azrael's doing, but..."
"President Azrael probably doesn't have a card that can control someone's suicide, right?"
The square-faced middle-aged man remembered that the young vice president at the time probably only had a card that could control lightning, a power that was far from mind control.
After all, a railgun isn't about mental manipulation.
While the brown-haired man in the secret realm seemed to have been able to do it, the timing didn't match.
Kavach remained noncommittal. "Who knows if he has such a card hidden away?"
"Besides, with his talent, it wouldn't be surprising if he could achieve this with a Silver-level card, right?"
Diesel remained silent.
Indeed, with Azrael's demonstrated talent, possessing a Silver-level card capable of controlling a Silver-level Lore Cardian wasn't anything to be astonished about.
"Even if he did it, then what?" Diesel asked, his voice deep as he pointed out the key issue. "That woman's identity was also shady. You didn't tell me before."
"Even if I asked you to investigate now, would you dare?"
He was now somewhat furious. Initially, before Azrael arrived, Kavach had introduced Autumn to him as an ordinary person.
He had simply assumed Kavach and his backers were using a honey trap.
Driven by his desire for the position of Vice President, Diesel impulsively agreed and allowed his son to play along.
However, after Autumn's death, he noticed something was amiss.
Both he and his son, Ace, had been subtly influenced by that woman.
As a Gold-level Lore Cardian, he was doing relatively well; at least he could still harbor resentment towards her.
But Ace was different. While Autumn was alive, he had been her complete lackey.
Diesel was no fool; after her death, he immediately discovered that she was also a Lore Cardian.
Kavach was speechless for a moment, unsure what to say.
"Forget it." A hint of disappointment flashed in Diesel's eyes. "Compared to President Azrael, I truly don't have the ability to take over as Vice President."
"I'll leave the rest of the story to you alone."
Kavach was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't heard Diesel's words clearly, but then his tone grew colder. "You don't think you can stay out of this at this point, do you?"
But Diesel simply waved his hand, pushed open the door, and left the president's office.
Appointments above the director level at the headquarters of a city association weren't decided by the local president; the president only had the power of recommendation. Therefore, he didn't need to worry about Kavach trying to sabotage him.
As the door to the president's office closed, Kavach sat silently in his office chair.
A moment passed.
"Bang!"
The ceramic cup was violently swept off the table.
"Diesel," Kavach's face darkened. "Very good."
"You all like to go against me."
"If that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He pulled out his phone, about to send a message to someone.
But just then, there was a knock on the office door.
Kavach placed his phone face down on the table and said expressionlessly, "Come in."
The door opened, and his secretary entered.
"President, Vice President Azrael and Director Godfrey have been fighting a demon from the Onefold Doctrine in the Ludong District."
"The surveillance footage from the vicinity of the battle site has been transferred to your computer," the secretary said respectfully, glancing at the ceramic cup on the floor. Then, bending down, he picked it up and placed it on the table.
"I understand. Please leave."
The secretary bowed slightly and withdrew.
Soon, a cleaner arrived at the president's office to clean up the water stains on the floor.
The only sounds in the office were the battle sounds from the computer.
As the cleaner finished cleaning and closed the door, the video ended, and silence fell upon the room.
"..."
"Can't wait any longer."
Kavach picked up his phone and sent the unsent message.
Azrael and Godfrey hurried back to the association's headquarters.
With such a commotion, they had to explain the situation to President Kavach.
They arrived at the president's office, and before they could knock, they heard Kavach's voice from inside.
"President Azrael and Director Godfrey, right? Come in."
Pushing open the door, Azrael saw Kavach holding the mouse and scrolling on the computer.
However, the reflection from the glass revealed what Kavach was browsing.
Anyway, it was not work content.
However, Azrael was too lazy to expose him and just talked about what happened today.
However, until he finished his story, Kavach was still browsing the information on the screen.
"President?"
Hearing Azrael's call, Kavach's attention was drawn back to reality.
"Oh, oh, I already knew the situation."
"Today, thanks to President Azrael and Director Godfrey, otherwise the Onefold Doctrine might cause trouble again."
"Anything else?"
Azrael was silent for a moment, "No."
"Thank you for your hard work. Go back and rest early."
Seeing that Kavach had ordered them to leave, Azrael and Godfrey did not stay any longer.
After leaving the president's office, the two looked at each other and saw the helplessness and confusion in each other's eyes.
"Director Godfrey, go back and rest. We're lucky you're here today, otherwise we might not have found the Onefold Doctrine's hideout so easily."
Azrael was speaking the truth. Although the middle-aged man with the expressionless face before him was a spy for the Crimson Oath Society, he wasn't actually doing his job shadily. In fact, he was much more conscientious than the president, Kavach.
This made it hard for him to tell who the real traitor was.
"Thank you for your hard work, President Azrael. I'll be leaving now," Godfrey bowed slightly and turned to leave.
After watching the director of the Public Security Office leave, Azrael glanced out the window. It was almost dusk.
"Off duty! This day is so much more tiring than when I was at school." Azrael sat down on a chair pulled out by the Shadowkhan behind him and rubbed his brow wearily. "Let's go back and have Sister Retsu give us a massage."
Unohana Retsu, as the captain of the healing squad, was naturally well versed in how to relieve fatigue.
As the young man sank into shadow, the corridor became deserted once again.
For a while, Azrael's routine returned to normal.
No demonic invasions, no unrest from the Onefold Doctrine; everything seemed peaceful.
He generally worked during the day, and at night he went out with Godfrey to recruit new members for the Crimson Oath Society.
The results were quite encouraging; many destabilizing factors in society were now under reliable supervision.
Well, supervision by the Crimson Oath Society.
However, after this period of intense recruitment, the contracts Memphis had previously given Azrael were few and far between.
After saving a few contracts as a precaution, Azrael suspended the Crimson Oath Society's summer enrollment.
That night, Azrael sat in his study, the bright light casting a brilliant glow on the materials before him.
"[Grand Mage of the Cursed Heart School of Magic], [Heart of Longing], [Ever-Knowing Immortal Seed]."
"Let's begin."
Azrael calmed his mind, picked up his brush, and began sketching on the blank material.
Soon, a white elf girl with twin tails appeared on the card.
"Come."
[Please begin writing your story.]
On this continent, there exist beings called the Demon Clan. From the moment they appeared, they harbored boundless malice towards all living beings.
One night a thousand years ago, an unknown village was attacked by demons. The young elf girl, Frieren, witnessed the deaths of her fellow villagers. In that critical moment, she was saved by the great human magician, Flamme.
Later, seeking revenge against the demons, Frieren became Flamme's apprentice.
Flamme, one of the most powerful magicians, possessed unfathomable power, a disciple of Serie, a figure beneath the gods.
Under Flamme's guidance, Frieren successfully became a powerful magician.
Like her teacher, she spent her life restraining her magical powers to deceive the demons, who prided themselves on strength.
However, this tactic of playing the pig to eat the tiger proved dangerous when she encountered a monster even more powerful than the tiger itself.
After her teacher Flamme's death, Frieren encountered the Seven Sages of Destruction, the strongest of the demons.
In the Golden Land, Macht.
Frieren was defeated, but fortunately, she survived.
From then on, she lived a secluded life in a forest. The peaceful days were shattered with the arrival of the brave warrior named Himmel.
At the young man's urging, Frieren joined their expedition against the Demon King.
Before setting out, the kingdom's king generously provided them with ten copper coins.
As Frieren and her companions embarked on their journey, the Southern Hero, who had previously invited Frieren, single-handedly faced the Seven Sages of Destruction.
He successfully defeated three of them but perished alongside the omniscient Solitär, who shared his vision.
It's undeniable that Frieren, a great wizard, was truly formidable, mastering everything from powerful offensive magic to everyday magic like growing a flower field.
Furthermore, out of her hatred for the demons, she slaughtered the most demons of anyone.
Gradually, the name "Frieren the Slayer" spread among the demons.
However, the process was obviously not smooth sailing. Frieren and her companions had no effective solution to the killing magic of the corrupted sage Qual, and she was the only one who could seal it.
However, Frieren's magic analysis ability was extremely powerful. With her help, the Continental Magic Association successfully mastered Qual's killing magic and its defensive magic.
As time passed, the Hero Party's strength gradually grew.
They successively defeated Aura the Guillotine and Lügner, among the Seven Sages of Destruction, as well as another unknown Seven Sage of Destruction.
At the end of the story, the Hero Party successfully defeated the Demon King.
After returning to the capital to accept their reward, Frieren bid farewell to her companions and once again embarked on a solo journey to collect magic.
"Success!"
With the crafting complete, Azrael returned to reality from the mysterious dimension in a trance.
Looking at the card floating before him, he couldn't help but smile.
"Now, no matter which identity you choose, you'll be able to fight."
Previously, the Crimson Oath Society had only one card, Shiraori, making it somewhat limited.
After all, Shiraori had to split her time between caring for the card's owner and engaging in combat with powerful enemies.
Although this wasn't a big deal for Shiraori, who possessed [[Parallel Minds]], Azrael put away Frieren's card and began to review its information.
[Millennium Magician: Frieren]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Red
Category: Creature
Skills:
[Combat Magic]: Includes, but is not limited to, combat magic, including killing magic, defensive magic, Hellfire magic, and Destruction Thunder magic.
[Daily Magic]: Frieren has collected non-combat magic during her long journeys, which may be useful in daily life.
[Magic Analysis]: Frieren can analyze magic she encounters over a period of time, with a chance of successfully reproducing it.
Abilities:
[Immortal Species]: As an elf, Frieren possesses a long lifespan, and therefore possesses vastly superior magical power compared to humans.
[Mimic Lover]: Frieren cannot resist the allure of Mimics, and will be involuntarily drawn to them upon encountering them. However, Mimics cannot harm Frieren.
[Frieren the Slayer]: As the one who has destroyed the most demons, Frieren is nicknamed "the Slayer." When facing demons, Frieren's attack power is greatly increased.
[Last Archmage]: Frieren is the last Archmage of this generation, following her predecessor, Serie. The power of her magic is comprehensively enhanced compared to that of ordinary mages.
Description: I'm so glad to be able to adventure with you.
Bond:
When appearing with [Serie] and other series, the [Archmage] effect is activated.
When appearing with [Himmel] and other series, the [Hero Party] effect is activated.
"Not bad."
Although Frieren looked like a glass cannon, her defensive magic, derived from deconstructing killing magic, was actually quite powerful.
Her magic was actually quite comprehensive, encompassing attack, detection, and defense. She even had spells for conjuring hot tea and shaved ice.
It seemed that Misaka's title as the Azrael family's beverage queen was about to be ceded.
While the two cards Azrael possessed as a member of the Crimson Oath Society were both magical combat cards, Shiraori wasn't strictly a ranged card.
With the defense and recovery provided by [Ruler: Patience], combined with the speed of [Ruler: Wisdom], Shiraori was also quite capable in close combat.
"But can [Magic Analysis] analyze Shiraori's magic?"
After pondering for a moment, Azrael decided to test it.
He summoned Shiraori, and a wave of energy flashed, bringing him back to the abandoned factory.
After a mental scan to ensure the area was clear, Azrael summoned Frieren.
The white-haired elf appeared before the young man with a blank expression.
Before Azrael could say anything, Shiraori exclaimed, "Hey, it's an elf! How wonderful!"
"Shiraori wants to be reincarnated into a race that looks like a real person!"
At this point, Shiraori hadn't yet discovered that the elves in her world were the culprits causing the world's impending destruction. As a former shut-in, she naturally yearned for this race of handsome men and beautiful women.
"Spider," Frieren glanced at the white spider in front of her, then turned to Azrael. "Let's begin."
Frieren and Shiraori naturally understood why Azrael had summoned them.
"Hey, look! It's Shiraori's magic show!"
Shiraori raised her forelimbs and waved them around like a superstar.
Immediately, small magic circles formed above her head.
Frieren's expression grew serious at the sight of magic she had never seen in her long life.
She used her magic to carefully sense and analyze the magic Shiraori unleashed.
A moment later...
"Dark Spear."
As the white-haired elf girl calmly pronounced the spell's name, a pitch-black spear instantly shot out from the tip of her staff.
"It actually works!" Azrael was shocked. He hadn't had much faith in Frieren's ability to successfully analyze Shiraori's magic.
After all, the two magic systems belonged to completely different frameworks.
But unexpectedly, it actually worked.
"So..."
"Doesn't that mean any quasi-magic ability could work?"
Azrael rubbed his chin. While it might be difficult to pull off in actual combat, at least it had a chance of success.
Then, Shiraori and Frieren experimented with other magic.
The final result was that Frieren could learn magic that didn't involve Ruler skills, such as Abyssal Magic and Spatial Magic.
Azrael wasn't surprised that she couldn't learn Ruler skills. Shiraori's ability wasn't magic; it was more like the underlying code of her planet. After all, the entire planetary system was handcrafted by the Evil God D.
Frieren, having learned a new spell, smiled. "Azrael, I'm happy to learn new magic."
Azrael smiled and patted her white head.
Frieren puffed her cheeks slightly and reached out to take Azrael's hand.
Just as Azrael was about to say something, he frowned and looked eastward from the abandoned factory.
The factory had been chosen to conceal its location, close to the coastline.
Now, the spiritual power he released detected some strange things moving along the coast.