Deep beneath the earth, in a cavernous underground chamber, the air hung thick with the metallic stench of blood. The oppressive darkness was broken only by the crimson glow emanating from a vast pool of coagulated gore.
Li Gang stood at the edge of this macabre reservoir, his cold gaze fixed upon the young man suspended in mid-air by chains forged from crystallized blood. The crimson bonds pulsed with malevolent energy, keeping their captive trapped in the center of the grotesque pool.
After observing the scene for several long moments, Li Gang released a quiet sigh and turned toward his companion. "How many more do we need?"
Cliff, impeccably dressed in a pristine white laboratory coat despite the grisly surroundings, adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses without looking up from the tablet in his hands. "Two additional sacrifices."
"Have we secured the agreements we discussed?"
Li Gang nodded with grim satisfaction. "Those sea demons have committed to disrupting the city, that should provide us with one sacrifice."
"And the final offering?"
"By then," Li Gang's lips curved into a cold smile, "we won't need to remain hidden any longer."
The middle-aged cultist had been meticulously preparing for this pivotal moment for years. Finally, the day of reaping his carefully sown rewards was approaching.
If it weren't for Lannide's unexpected death and the relentless pursuit by the Association's investigators, his grand design would have reached completion long ago. The thought of these setbacks ignited a surge of barely contained fury within Li Gang's chest.
Nearby, Cliff cast a subtle, calculating glance at his red-robed partner, his lips curling into an almost imperceptible smirk.
As a Level 1 Researcher for the Demon Army, Cliff remained completely indifferent to whether this particular operation succeeded or failed. His sole concern lay in collecting comprehensive experimental data for his ongoing research.
Although the Minister had expressed skepticism about this project's viability, the Demon Army had only invested one Level 2 researcher thus far, hardly a catastrophic loss compared to other initiatives.
Fortunately, Li Gang had proven to be an excellent test subject. Otherwise, this entire endeavor would have been abandoned months ago.
As for those deceased limb-replacing demons scattered throughout previous battles, they had served their purpose as expendable materials.
Dismissing these practical considerations, Cliff casually inquired, "When did you arrange the timeline for today's operation?"
Li Gang turned, his face shrouded in shadow, his expression unreadable in the dim crimson light. "Today."
Cliff felt a moment of genuine surprise, then spoke with a hint of professional concern, "Exercise caution. Avoid capture by the Association at all costs."
The Demon Army researcher's words weren't motivated by camaraderie, he simply couldn't afford to lose such a valuable experimental subject and be left to manage this complex operation alone.
Hearing this warning, Li Gang offered no response. He simply vanished from the underground chamber in a swirl of dark energy.
As his presence faded, the young man suspended above the blood pool slowly opened his eyes.
The crimson sea beneath him began to churn violently, countless deformed corpses breaking the surface amid the roiling waves.
As the disturbance intensified, Cliff, still standing beside the pool, released an exasperated sigh. "Can't you remain quiet for just a few more hours?"
"You clearly volunteered to assist your father before this experiment began."
He manipulated the controls on his device, and the suspended figure gradually closed his eyes once more. The pool returned to its ominous stillness.
If anyone had been able to observe the young man closely at that moment, they would have noticed that his features were no longer entirely human, they had begun to resemble those of a dragon.
"Wake up!"
"Wake up!"
A distant voice pierced through the haze of unconsciousness, reaching the ears of a young Bronze-level Lore Cardian. He struggled to open his eyes, only to be greeted by towering flames and smoke that blotted out the sky.
While he was still trying to process the devastating scene before him, a tremendous force suddenly hurled him through the air.
"BOOM!"
Raging infernos consumed the entire street, and the terrified screams of ordinary civilians pierced his eardrums like needles.
Gradually, his memories returned.
Earlier today, during his routine patrol, he had spotted someone who matched a description from the Association's most wanted list.
After sending a message to his superiors, he had stealthily followed the suspect through the city streets.
He had managed to trail them successfully, avoiding detection through careful positioning and timing.
However, what the young Lore Cardian hadn't considered was that the individuals on the warrant were all Gold-level threats. How could a mere Bronze-level operative like himself possibly remain hidden from beings of such power?
Eventually, his target had entered a dilapidated hotel under his watchful surveillance.
"Going to a hotel in broad daylight?" he had muttered to himself, wondering if demons also harbored such mundane desires. He had positioned himself outside the building to wait for backup from the Association.
Soon enough, reinforcements had arrived, a team from the nearby Association branch, led by a Silver-level Lore Cardian.
However, just as he was briefing them on the situation, a devastating explosion had sent the entire hotel flying skyward in a shower of debris and flame.
The impact had knocked him unconscious temporarily.
Now, awakening to this hellscape, he found the Silver-level Lore Cardian who had come to assist standing beside him, his face etched with grim determination.
"Are you still able to move?" the senior operative asked tersely.
"If so, begin evacuating the surrounding civilians immediately."
Two of his subordinates, colleagues with whom he worked daily, had been critically injured in the explosion. Anyone would have looked devastated under such circumstances.
Hearing the order, the young man, though disoriented, managed to respond, "Yes, sir!"
Naturally, the Association couldn't ignore such a massive disturbance. Nearby Lore Cardians rushed to the scene from all directions.
Without need for coordination, they spontaneously began organizing the evacuation of surrounding civilians.
Soon, only the Association's Lore Cardians remained in the danger zone.
Several Silver-level operatives gathered together, debating whether they should enter the destroyed hotel, the apparent epicenter of the explosion, to investigate further.
Their argument was cut short when Azrael arrived.
"President," everyone bowed respectfully upon seeing him approach.
Azrael raised his hand to forestall their formalities, then calmly asked, "What's the situation?"
After listening to the first Silver-rank Lore Cardian's detailed report, his expression grew noticeably darker.
Something felt wrong about this entire scenario.
"Where are those cultists from the Onefold Doctrine?"
Azrael reasoned that if this were indeed the Onefold Doctrine's handiwork, their optimal moment to strike would have been just before his arrival.
But the current scene resembled nothing more than a disaster-stricken cityscape, as if a mere accidental gas explosion had occurred.
Moreover, Azrael's enhanced mental abilities detected no immediate supernatural threats in the vicinity.
To investigate properly, he decided to send Aizen to examine the ruins of the hotel.
The gentle scraping of the brown-haired man's polished shoes against the fine gravel continued to reach everyone's ears, each footstep heightening their already frayed nerves.
However, nothing happened as Aizen approached the burning, devastated structure.
Everyone felt a wave of relief, believing it had been merely a false alarm.
But suddenly, Aizen stopped in his tracks and used Flash Step to return instantly to Azrael's side.
"How perceptive! I suppose that's all we can expect."
The unexpected male voice made Azrael's expression harden, and he immediately prepared to retreat.
But it was already too late.
Indistinct figures materialized from nowhere, surrounding the assembled Lore Cardians in a perfect circle.
Then, a massive azure cube instantly enveloped Azrael.
At the same time, Diesel and his companions arrived at the scene.
Seeing Azrael trapped within the unknown energy construct, their faces displayed a mixture of shock and anxiety.
Just as they prepared to break through the mysterious barrier, a momentary spatial distortion transported Azrael to an entirely unfamiliar location.
"It's unfortunate you were the only one here!"
Azrael looked toward the source of the voice and saw Dick and Menia, the two demons who had previously served under Li Gang.
Besides these familiar adversaries, something else immediately caught his attention: the massive spatial rift behind them.
A vast interdimensional tear loomed ominously, occasionally rippling with strange vibrations.
"Secret Realm," Azrael concluded, having roughly deduced where he'd been transported.
This was the hidden realm the Association had been desperately searching for.
Seeing Azrael's continued silence, Dick assumed the young man was paralyzed by fear. "Tsk, I spent considerable time and resources preparing that massive explosion, and you're the only one it managed to attract?"
Hearing this confirmation, Menia beside him curled her lips in displeasure. "If I were making the decisions, we should have just let Li Gang go on a killing spree. You insisted on this elaborate explosion, wasting so much valuable material in the process."
Dick scratched his head guiltily and defended his strategy, "Don't criticize the plan! Didn't Li Gang specifically say he was the Association's top fighter? The approach wasn't unreasonable."
From their casual conversation, Azrael quickly deduced the broader situation.
The demons in this secret realm had orchestrated a terrorist attack in the city, specifically designed to attract the Association's most powerful operatives.
Then, using specialized spatial manipulation, they would isolate these fighters and defeat them individually.
Unfortunately for them, it was Azrael they had chosen to transport.
Azrael's expression grew colder as he asked in a low, dangerous voice, "Do you really believe you have me defeated?"
Dick, seemingly finding something immensely amusing in the question, burst into raucous laughter.
What a ridiculous notion! He had invested so much material helping the Onefold Doctrine conceal their presence, even sacrificing his most valuable teleportation device, all to secure a guaranteed victory over the Association's Gold-ranked warriors.
The human standing before him still displayed such arrogance, it was truly laughable.
If they actually allowed him to escape, Dick would be too ashamed to face the Overlord.
With this thought motivating him, Dick grinned wickedly and replied mockingly, "So what if we do?"
At that moment, countless demons abandoned their concealment, revealing themselves with frenzied eyes fixed hungrily upon Azrael.
Glancing at the demons surrounding him, Azrael spoke in a cryptic tone, "You only transported me."
With those words, Misaka, Aizen, and Luffy instantly materialized to his left.
When they saw Luffy, both Dick and Menia were visibly stunned, the young man in the straw hat had not appeared in any intelligence Li Gang had provided them.
But the next moment, their expressions shifted from confusion to absolute bewilderment.
"I really don't know whether you should consider yourselves lucky or unlucky."
As Azrael's voice faded, Shiraori, Frieren, and Zoro appeared to his right.
For the first time, all of Azrael's Gold-level cards had appeared together as a complete battle formation.
Looking at the six figures standing or crouching nearby with their distinctly different expressions and postures, Dick and Menia stood slack-jawed, momentarily speechless.
They had immediately recognized the three cards that appeared second.
"What the hell did Li Gang tell us?!" they whispered in growing panic.