Besides being a first-level researcher in the Demon Army, Jacques was also an Emerald-level Lore Cardian.
Yes, he was a legitimate human being.
However, the region where he'd been born had already fallen under Demon Army occupation years ago.
Therefore, he felt no sense of belonging to the Empire of Aetherlight. After all, the Demon Army had provided him with food, clothing, and even the materials necessary to become a Lore Cardian from childhood.
All of this treatment reached its peak after he demonstrated his talent as a researcher.
Jacques knew that if this world perished, he would be left destitute and powerless.
But he didn't care. The Demon Army had already promised him conversion into one of their own, a transformation that would grant him true immortality and power beyond human limitations.
He therefore considered the ideas of his older uncles, aunts, and cousins, who still harbored foolish hopes that the Empire would one day reclaim their homeland, to be utterly ridiculous.
What a joke! If that ever happened, he'd eat ten tons of rotting flesh.
Jacques had even secretly reported some of his elders for colluding with the Northern Defense Army, hoping to destroy everything he'd worked so hard to achieve through careful manipulation and deceit.
Of course, no one knew he was responsible for those disappearances. He'd always feigned loyalty to the Empire in front of his family members.
This wasn't to maintain relationships, but simply to monitor whether any of his relatives, including his own parents, were secretly collaborating with the Empire's forces.
"Carry it away."
Jacques spoke casually to the limb-removing demon standing nearby, wiping the blood from his hands with clinical detachment. He gestured toward the fresh corpse on the operating table, another failed experiment, another nameless victim.
He instructed his subordinates to clean the operating room thoroughly before departing, hanging his blood-stained white coat on the wall with practiced ease. Stretching his stiff muscles, he muttered to himself, "What tedious work."
"I really want to return to the main army."
He recalled the intelligence he'd received not long ago from his contacts at headquarters.
"That fool Cliff was captured by the Northern Guard."
"And how could Lord Ruth fall to an Emerald-level Lore Cardian? It's incredible..."
Jacques struggled to find words adequate to describe such incompetence.
He couldn't help but curl his lips contemptuously at the memory of the reports about that person's appearance, some upstart named Azrael who'd caused considerable disruption.
What about this Azrael and his companions? In the end, they still fled in disgrace under the might of the Lord Military Commander.
If it were him conducting operations, he would never have been so careless or reckless.
Thinking of this, he asked an Onefold Doctrine member beside him, "What's the situation in the city now? Is the Association still hunting us?"
The cultist bowed his head respectfully and replied, "Your Excellency, the Association's forces are preoccupied dealing with the invading demons from the secret realm, so they haven't paid any attention to us recently."
"Is that so?" Jacques nodded thoughtfully, a malicious smile spreading across his pale features. "Then let's acquire some fresh experimental materials. We're running dangerously low on what we captured earlier."
"Yes, my lord!"
Despite the assassination attempt en route, Azrael and Pierre arrived in Gaza without further incident.
After presenting their credentials to the staff at the Gaza Cardian Master Association headquarters, a weary-looking female Emerald-level Lore Cardian hurried over to greet them.
"Master Azrael, Master Pierre, please forgive the delay in receiving you properly."
"I'm Hubert, Vice President of the Gaza Cardian Master Association."
Azrael and Pierre could clearly sense the oppressive atmosphere permeating Gaza upon entering the city's boundaries. They could even observe occasional plumes of black smoke rising ominously from the southern district.
Judging from the current conditions, Gaza was only marginally better off than Ande City had been during its crisis.
However, with two mobile unit teams consecutively held up by complications, the situation within the city was definitely more complex and dangerous than surface observations suggested.
"President Huo, you're too kind. This is an urgent matter, so let's dispense with formalities. Please explain the current situation first."
Azrael's direct approach cut through Hubert's attempted pleasantries.
The woman gave a wry smile, then turned and led the two visitors toward the reception room. "I appreciate your directness."
"The secret realm to the south has been completely breached, and demons are flooding into our territory."
"If it were merely an ordinary Emerald-level secret realm, we wouldn't be struggling so desperately. The primary problem is the sheer number of Emerald-level creatures emerging from the breach."
Azrael and Pierre had already reviewed Gaza's situation from their mission intelligence before departing, so this information wasn't entirely surprising.
However, the briefing had only mentioned that an Emerald-level secret realm had recently manifested near the city, and that the Onefold Doctrine had been covertly causing disruptions that hindered the previous two mobile unit teams.
Now, after hearing additional details about the secret realm's complications, Azrael wasn't shocked. Combined with the intelligence Gulan had provided during interrogation, he suspected such problematic secret realms would only increase in frequency across the world in the coming months.
After all, other worlds could also produce specialized professions similar to Lore Cardians, such as Modelers, Mechanics, and Dimensional Architects.
"Right now, the Association has allocated nearly all available resources to combating the invading demons," Hubert continued, exhaustion evident in her voice. "We're requesting assistance from headquarters primarily because we desperately need your help dealing with the Onefold Doctrine operatives within the city."
Hearing this explanation, Azrael understood the strategic reasoning behind his assignment. Headquarters had dispatched their specific team to Gaza despite other units being available precisely because of his unique experience.
First, he'd dismantled the Onefold Doctrine's operations in Donglai, then distinguished himself with the Northern Defense Army. This mobile unit was probably singular in its cult-hunting expertise.
With this realization, Azrael asked casually, "Has the Onefold Doctrine made any significant moves recently?"
Upon hearing this question, Hubert shook her head slightly. "It's been almost half a month since their last major operation, and they haven't caused any obvious trouble during this period."
"However, every time they do surface, they abduct numerous ordinary civilians and low-level Lore Cardians. If this pattern continues..."
Gaza was already gripped by panic due to the secret realm invasion, and the Onefold Doctrine's predatory activities were undoubtedly pouring fuel on those flames of fear.
After absorbing the specific details of Gaza's current predicament, Azrael and Pierre exchanged knowing glances before nodding in agreement. "Understood. Leave it to us."
However, despite his confident response, Azrael didn't actually possess any superior tactical solution beyond waiting for the enemy to reveal vulnerabilities through their operations.
Of course, Azrael also had the option of consulting the Crimson Oath Society members stationed in Gaza for potential intelligence leads.
As an illegal underground organization, those who excelled at operating in shadows would likely have valuable insights into the Onefold Doctrine's covert activities.
Late that night, Azrael sat cross-legged on his bed, manipulating his secure communication device with practiced ease.
As one of the most powerful Lore Cardians currently stationed in Gaza, he didn't need to worry about exposing his connection to the Crimson Oath Society.
Even if someone observed him using the device, they would simply assume it was his unique item card rather than recognizing its true nature.
[Six: Provide me with all available intelligence regarding the Onefold Doctrine's operations in Gaza.]
[Ronald: Master Six?!]
Elsewhere in the city, an unremarkable middle-aged man nearly dropped his device in shock upon receiving the message.
He'd never dreamed that such a prominent figure within the Society would contact him directly.
Recovering from his surprise, he quickly compiled and transmitted all the intelligence he'd recently gathered concerning the Onefold Doctrine's activities.
[Six: Tell no one about this communication. Understood?]
After using Jin's specialized contract to establish a binding oath of silence, Azrael began reviewing the information Ronald had provided.
Within minutes, he deactivated his device, murmuring thoughtfully to himself, "An abandoned hospital?"
Ronald's intelligence revealed that a low-level Lore Cardian under his supervision lived near an abandoned medical facility in Gaza's eastern district. The operative had noticed sporadic disappearances occurring in that specific area recently.
Initially, considering the newly discovered Emerald-level secret realm was positioned to the south, they'd assumed these disappearances were simply ordinary citizens fleeing their homes due to justified fear of demonic incursions.
After all, such evacuation incidents occurred frequently throughout Gaza's various districts and were hardly remarkable under current circumstances.
This assumption was one of the primary reasons the Association had been unable to locate any trace of Onefold Doctrine operations despite their efforts.
Distracted by the immediate threat of the secret realm breach, they'd had no resources available for thorough investigation of secondary concerns like missing persons.
However, the low-level Lore Cardian eventually discovered this assessment was dangerously incorrect.
Although the cult operated with extreme discretion, after observing patterns for several weeks, even someone of limited perception would recognize something suspicious was occurring.
As expected, the operative eventually discovered unmistakable traces of limb-jointing demons at several disappearance sites, the Onefold Doctrine's signature creatures.
"Whether this intelligence proves accurate or not, Pierre and I should investigate personally first."
Azrael's decision made, he immediately proceeded to the adjacent room to rouse Pierre from his meditation practice.
"Let's move, Pierre. I've acquired a promising lead."
"...What?"
The burly man, freshly awakened from deep meditation, appeared momentarily bewildered but ultimately didn't question Azrael's source. He obediently followed his partner toward the eastern district.
Even if Pierre had inquired, Azrael would have simply attributed the intelligence to his card abilities, a convenient excuse that had served him well previously.
In the eerie, decaying abandoned hospital, Jacques sat bored in a worn office chair within the former director's office.
Before him stood several demons and the distinctive limb-jointing demons favored by Onefold Doctrine researchers.
"Master Jacques, we've successfully recaptured the escaped subjects. Would you like to personally inspect their condition?"
Jacques waved his hand dismissively. "Unnecessary. Simply sort them according to their designated labels so I can utilize them for upcoming experiments."
"By the way, how's Subject Number Three's stability progressing?"
He'd been dispatched to this backwater location by the Demon Army for a specific experimental protocol, and truthfully, he harbored no complaints about the assignment.
After all, he felt no moral qualms about experimenting on Empire citizens, and the operations would simultaneously create chaos behind the Northern Defense Army's lines, diverting their attention and resources. What wasn't there to appreciate about such an arrangement?
He wasn't alone in this perspective, every researcher assigned to rear-echelon disruption operations shared similar pragmatic attitudes.
Moreover, the various research missions each scientist conducted shared only one common characteristic: none had achieved complete success yet.
After all, every genuinely successful experiment represented a valuable asset to the Demon Army, and command would never risk such treasures being captured or destroyed by Empire forces through careless deployment.
Hearing Jacques' inquiry, a demon stepped forward respectfully. "My lord, Experiment Number Three's condition has stabilized significantly. The previous violent episodes have become increasingly rare."
Just as Jacques prepared to issue further instructions, he suddenly glanced sharply toward the window. "Hmm?"
A sudden, overwhelming aura of power brazenly announced its presence in the pitch-black night beyond the hospital walls.
"Tsk, exposed already?"
Jacques clicked his tongue in annoyance, then glanced at the Onefold Doctrine members assembled before him, who were instinctively bracing for imminent danger. "Release all the experimental subjects immediately."
"I'll personally stop, "
He hadn't completed his declaration when a slender, pale hand pierced effortlessly through the reinforced wall and grasped his head with crushing force.
"Stop what, exactly?"
Jacques could barely discern the intruder's features through the gaps between those iron-grip fingers.
It was a young man surrounded by several hovering cards that radiated palpable power.
Jacques' pupils constricted in recognition as he observed the young man's face, clearly illuminated by moonlight streaming through the shattered wall.
"Oh? It seems you recognize me."
Azrael's voice carried cold amusement as his grip tightened fractionally.
"That certainly makes this conversation more efficient."