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With the premium materials secured, Russell didn't waste any time getting ready to create his Neliel card. He'd been planning this one for a while, and the red-quality [Man-Eating Antelope] material had opened up possibilities he hadn't even considered.
Same strategy as with Captain Unohana, Russell thought, settling into his workshop. Start with her weakened kid form, then write the story that lets her power up later.
It made sense from a progression standpoint. Neliel's strength was severely nerfed in her child form—creating her at that level would be manageable with his current mental stamina while leaving room for future upgrades.
Russell sketched out the card's art: a small, green-haired girl wearing a cracked white skull mask that covered part of her face. The image had a strange mix of innocence and menace that fit Nel's character perfectly.
With the design finalized, he entered the mysterious crafting space.
[Please begin crafting your story.]
Russell took a deep breath and started weaving Nel's narrative:
[Hueco Mundo. A desolate realm of eternal night, a paradise for evil spirits. Within this wasteland exist creatures called Hollows—spiritual beings that naturally gather to devour each other in an endless cycle of violence. When a Hollow consumes hundreds of its own kind, it evolves into a Great Hollow.]
Honestly, Russell thought while writing the lore, the way Hueco Mundo works reminds me of the Abyss Blood War from D&D. Same vicious hierarchy, same survival-of-the-fittest brutality.
[Great Hollows are divided into three tiers: Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was among the elite—a Vasto Lorde who achieved the rank of 3rd Espada. But that was in the past. Now, Nel is just a little girl who has lost her memory and her power, innocent and oblivious to the world. Only the broken bone mask on her head is a silent testament to her former glory.]
[She spent her days playing hide-and-seek with her loyal subordinates, Dondochakka and Pesche, along with her pet Bawabawa. During one game, her three companions ran into some uninvited guests from the living world: Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends. After learning who he was, Nel and her group chose not to report the intruders. Instead, they played something she called "Infinite Hide-and-Seek" together. A deep friendship formed quickly, but eventually, Ichigo had to say goodbye—he still needed to reach the Las Noches palace to rescue his captured friends. After a lot of internal debate, the kindhearted Nel decided to guide him.]
[Though she appeared as a young girl with limited power, that was only compared to other Espada. She followed Ichigo to Las Noches, where they encountered the former Espada Dordoni. Faced with a scarlet Cero blast, Nel instinctively opened her mouth and absorbed the energy, then fired it right back. But even a former Espada was still an Espada—not someone she could beat in her weakened state. Fortunately, Ichigo's Hollow transformation gave him the strength to win.]
[After parting ways with Dordoni, they met their strongest enemy yet: the 4th Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer. Ichigo's full-power attack barely scratched him. Facing such an overwhelming power gap, they ran for their lives, but ultimately Ichigo was shot through the heart. Only the intervention of the battle-crazed 6th Espada, Grimmjow—who brought the healer Orihime—saved his life. After recovering, Ichigo fought Grimmjow. That's when a giant sickle came slicing down from the sky, aiming to kill the defeated Grimmjow. The attacker was the 5th Espada, Nnoitra—who turned out to be the one responsible for reducing Nel to her current state.]
[Driven by a desperate need to protect her friends, Nel briefly regained her true form. The young antelope vanished, replaced by the 3rd Espada herself—the Antelope Knight, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. Nnoitra stood no chance against her. "Sing, Gamuza," she commanded, her blade transforming as her half-human, half-antelope Resurrección form manifested in the barren desert. A double-headed spear hurtled toward Nnoitra with terrifying force. With just one strike, he was left powerless. However, at the critical moment, Nel's power ran out and she reverted to her child form.]
[Nnoitra's sickle descended toward the helpless girl. Death seemed certain. But at the last second, terrifying golden-red flames erupted, blocking the attack. Several Soul Reapers wearing captain's jackets appeared before Nnoitra. The man in the lead, with distinctive black and red hair, held his blade and stared coldly at the Espada.]
["Destroy all evil spirits and burn everything to ash!"]
["Hirin!"]
[Those were the last words Nnoitra ever heard.]
Russell finished the narrative and nodded, satisfied. Having Yoriichi Tsugikuni show up at the climax served two purposes: it tied Nel's story to his existing cards while setting up future upgrade paths.
Snapping out of the crafting trance, Russell watched the card materialize before him, glowing with that distinctive red quality. "The Hueco Mundo roster is starting to take shape," he murmured with a smile.
He refined the card and examined its specs:
( IMAGE HERE )
[Young Antelope · Neliel] Level: Silver Quality: Red Category: Creature
Skills:
[Healing Saliva]: Neliel's saliva can heal injuries, though the effect is not very potent.
[Cero]: A standard ability for Great Hollows.
[Cero Doble]: Neliel can absorb energy attacks up to the Silver level and fire them back at enemies.
[Resurrección: Gamuza (Incomplete)]: The determination to protect her friends allows Neliel to temporarily regain her true power. The duration depends on the cardmaker's mental stamina.
Traits:
[Hierro]: The Arrancar's skin is tough as steel, capable of withstanding most attacks.
[High-Speed Regeneration]: Can rapidly regenerate body parts except for the head and internal organs.
[King of Infinite Hide-and-Seek]: When playing hide-and-seek, Neliel's physical stamina is massively boosted.
[Espada]: The apex of Hueco Mundo. Automatically intimidates evil spirit-type enemies while greatly boosting attack power against them.
Introduction: A lost young antelope will one day reclaim her power.
Advancement: Silver [Young Antelope · Neliel] → Emerald [No. 3 · Nelliel]
Bonds:
When appearing with the [Pesche] series, activates [Inseparable Family].
When appearing with [Ichigo Kurosaki], activates [You're a Good Person].
Russell stared at the card, his first thought catching him off-guard. "Wait, is 'colored' actually a quality tier?"
He'd seen blue, purple, gold, and red ratings before, but "colored" as its own quality? That was new. After a moment of confusion, he shook his head. Must be some translation quirk in how the system displays things.
"But these abilities..." Russell frowned, analyzing Nel's power set more carefully.
Was she strong? Not really, he figured. Among her skills, only [Cero Doble] stood out as truly impressive. Same with her traits—except for [Espada], most were standard Hollow abilities he could get from creating any generic spirit card. And [King of Infinite Hide-and-Seek] seemed totally useless in a real fight.
Yet the system had rated her red quality. That didn't make sense unless...
Russell's frown relaxed as it dawned on him. "The [Resurrección: Gamuza] form must be incredibly powerful. That's the only explanation."
If her released form's strength was that far above the curve, it would boost the entire card's rating. Mystery solved.
Russell summoned Neliel, curious to meet his newest creation in person.
A small, green-haired girl instantly materialized—on top of his head.
"What the—" Russell reached up, exasperated, and carefully lifted the giggling child, setting her on the ground. She immediately latched onto his leg with surprising strength.
"Russell!" Nel shouted with pure, childlike enthusiasm. "Play with me! Play with me!"
Russell couldn't help but smile at her excitement. He reached down to pat her head, but his hand hit the hard bone mask instead. Right, forgot about that.
"I'll show you something fun," he promised, already thinking about the game console in his living room. Definitely the game console, he thought, and not... other stuff. Nel was a kid right now, after all, which made certain things extremely inappropriate.
Though after her Resurrección... Russell's mind wandered for a split second before he forcibly shut down that train of thought. His eye twitched. What the hell am I even thinking about?
News spread through Northgate's high-level cardmaker circles like wildfire: Blake Whitmore was back in town.
Most people assumed he'd returned because of the recent pocket dimension invasion—it made sense for a Master to check on his home city after a major incident like that. Only a select few knew he'd come back for other reasons entirely.
Wade was one of those few. Which was why he was currently kneeling on the cold marble floor before an old man with white hair and a neatly trimmed beard.
The study was oppressively quiet, the kind of silence that made every breath feel deafening. Expensive furniture cast long shadows in the dim light, and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees whenever Wade's father looked at him.
"Speak." The old man's voice cut through the air like a winter wind. "Tell me what I instructed you to do."
Wade kept his eyes on the floor, his voice barely a whisper. "You told me not to provoke Blake Whitmore's apprentice. That even if I ran into him, I should show respect and avoid making him an enemy."
"And how'd that go for you?" The sneer in his father's voice could have frozen blood.
"Father, I followed your instructions at first!" Wade's desperation leaked through despite his efforts to stay calm. "It's just that Russell is a liar! He—"
"I've reviewed the security footage." The interruption was sharp as a knife. "You attacked first. Correct?"
Wade felt his throat tighten as if someone were strangling him. "...Yes."
"Lift your head." The command wasn't a request. "Look at me. And tell me exactly what you did wrong."
Wade forced his gaze up, meeting his father's cold eyes. "I... I shouldn't have made an enemy of him."
The old man's expression darkened, disappointment etched into every line of his face. When he spoke again, his voice carried the weight of absolute authority and something far more chilling.
"Wrong. Your biggest mistake was not crushing him. Since you'd already made your move, you should have tied up all the loose ends. Do I really need to teach you something so basic?"
Wade stared at his father, shocked, unable to process what he was hearing. "But Father, Blake Whitmore—"
"I know you're worried about Blake Whitmore's reaction," the old man said, cutting him off again. His voice dripped with disappointment. "But the damage is already done. So why are you still being so timid?"
He leaned forward slightly, a movement that somehow made him seem even more menacing. "Besides, if you had killed everyone there and blamed it on demons during the chaos, who would ever know the truth? Your mistake wasn't making an enemy—it's being too weak to finish what you started."
Wade wanted to argue. He wanted to explain that his other cards had been on cooldown that day, that the circumstances were against him, that it wasn't really his fault. But he knew every word would sound like an excuse. His father had no patience for excuses.
"...You may leave," the old man finally said with a dismissive wave.
Wade stood on shaky legs and backed out of the study, feeling his father's gaze burning a hole in his back with every step.
After the door clicked shut, the old man sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. Blake Whitmore wasn't someone to take lightly, but under the circumstances, the Master wouldn't dare escalate things into an open conflict. Too much was at stake, too many eyes watching.
A gentleman can be deceived by his own virtues, the old man thought with cold calculation. If this were Regent Jin from the Spirit Begging Society, I'd pack up my entire family and run back to the capital immediately. But Blake? Blake can be managed.
"Still, this is a problem," he muttered to himself, drumming his fingers on the armrest. "Try to make peace first. Offer some decent compensation, smooth things over..."
His fingers stopped. His eyes took on a harder glint.
"And if that doesn't work..."
Then we handle this the same way we handled Blake Whitmore's previous two apprentices.
The thought brought a cold smile to his face. Problems could always be solved. It was just a matter of finding the right approach.
(End of this chapter)
Plz THROW POWER STONES