"Ding Dong."
In a luxurious apartnt complex, Azrael rang the doorbell and waited quietly for the owner to answer.
Even if they weren't Lore Cardians, mbers of the logistics departnt who worked at the association's headquarters earned decent salaries. So Azrael wasn't surprised that Octavius, the first person he needed to visit, lived in such an upscale apartnt.
Furthermore, Octavius wasn't originally from Donglai, so he was likely renting rather than owning.
Speaking of which, just as he was about to enter the complex, he'd been stopped by a security guard at the gate. Fortunately, after showing his association ID, the guard had quickly responded and offered to help him find the property manager, but Azrael had politely declined.
After all, no one knew what would happen next. If they discovered sothing related to the Onefold Doctrine, it would only endanger these ordinary people if they beca involved.
After waiting for a while without anyone answering the door, Azrael frowned slightly and extended his ntal power to scan the area. "Hmm?"
Out of respect for others' privacy, he hadn't used his ntal power to scan the room initially. But as his consciousness swept through the apartnt, he detected a faint trace of life within.
With a swift, fluid movent, Azrael commanded one of his Shadowkhan soldiers to transport him through the shadows beneath his feet directly into the room.
Privacy was naturally no longer a concern at this mont.
Following the feedback from his ntal scan, Azrael pushed open a bedroom door.
The room was clearly the master bedroom. His target lay unconscious on the bed, breathing weakly and irregularly.
"Sure enough, he looks just like Godrick."
The mont he laid eyes on Octavius, Azrael knew he had made the right choice in investigating these absences.
The young man lying in bed looked identical to Godrick, his face gaunt and haggard, his body severely emaciated. While Godrick could still move around and function, Octavius was completely incapacitated.
"Sister Retsu, please examine him," Azrael said quietly.
Azrael nodded to Unohana Retsu, who materialized beside him wearing her Fourth Division captain's haori. He watched silently as the graceful woman approached to examine Octavius.
He also instructed a Shadowkhan soldier to clean up the apartnt and prepare so hot porridge for when the patient awakened.
Octavius lived alone without any family, otherwise these preparations wouldn't be necessary. Fortunately, he didn't need to handle such mundane tasks personally. The Shadowkhan soldier, having gained experience caring for Delila, had beco quite adept at this kind of dostic work since its creation.
After a long examination, Unohana Retsu turned to Azrael with a puzzled expression. "I don't see anything wrong with him dically."
Azrael's heart sank at this diagnosis. He rembered that during his previous visit with Godrick, the doctor had told them the sa thing, that he was fine and it was just an old ailnt acting up.
But with Octavius practically at death's door, he didn't believe that assessnt for a second.
"Let's try Kaidō healing," Azrael suggested desperately.
With one last attempt, Azrael asked Unohana Retsu to use Kaidō on Octavius, hoping a miracle might occur.
A faint green light flashed through the room as the healing energy flowed over Octavius's withered form.
Azrael and Unohana Retsu watched intently as the patient's eyelids began to flutter slightly.
Unfortunately, after several long monts, Octavius still didn't open his eyes.
After a mont's consideration, Azrael decided to call in additional specialists.
He summoned three of his gold-level cards.
Misaka could provide ergency dical care with her electromagnetic abilities, and Aizen, as a brilliant scientist, might be able to discover sothing unusual that had escaped normal detection.
As for Luffy... well, he could provide moral support.
"Should we start the electroshock therapy now?" Misaka asked eagerly, tucking her left hand into the pocket of her frog hoodie while electricity crackled across her right hand, clearly eager to try her abilities.
Azrael twitched and quickly held the girl back. "He's not dead yet, don't be so hasty."
He then turned to Aizen. "Any insights?"
Aizen wore an expression of intellectual curiosity as he studied Octavius on the bed, then glanced at Unohana Retsu beside him. "Captain Unohana, could you please use Kaidō again?"
Unohana Retsu gave the brown-haired man a asured look before allowing her hands to glow with healing energy once more.
Octavius's eyelids fluttered again, and Aizen stroked his chin thoughtfully.
After a mont, he seed to reach a conclusion and said, "Captain Unohana, please use Kaidō several more tis in succession."
Unohana Retsu didn't hesitate, applying Kaidō multiple tis in rapid succession.
As the healing energy washed over him repeatedly, Octavius's eyelids began to flutter more violently.
Observing this reaction, Aizen turned to Unohana Retsu and said, "You've noticed it too, haven't you?"
Unohana Retsu, standing beside him, frowned slightly. "It seems the Kaidō is being absorbed by sothing and isn't actually healing this young man."
Hearing their analysis, Azrael raised an eyebrow and summoned a specific item card.
[Soul Foreign Object Extraction dium].
Kaidō was essentially a healing technique that repaired injuries to both soul and body. Although it had beco a general-purpose healing ability due to the mysterious space's influence, it retained its fundantal properties.
Combined with Unohana Retsu and Aizen's observations...
"Ahem."
A weak cough echoed through the room, but Azrael paid no attention to it, instead staring intently at the object that had materialized in the center of his palm.
A strand of... crimson blood?
Azrael finally understood why Aizen had suddenly developed the [Soul Foreign Object Extraction dium] card so ti ago. It seed he had been waiting for exactly this situation.
No, rather, similar anomalies must have been occurring throughout the city long before this mont.
He carefully placed the extracted blood into a teacup brought by the Shadowkhan soldier and stored it in the Shadow Kingdom before turning his attention back to the bed.
"Awake?"
Octavius heard a voice nearby. He forced his eyes open, only to find several figures in his bedroom watching him silently.
Before he could react, a Shadowkhan soldier stepped forward and helped lift his upper body, positioning him against the headboard.
"President?!"
Octavius then noticed Azrael standing behind the man and woman by the bed, as well as the bored-looking girl and straw hat-wearing youth standing by the door.
His first thought was that he had taken too much sick leave, angering the president who had co personally to fire him.
Before he could say anything, Azrael, as if reading his mind, spoke up. "I'm not here today about your leave request."
"Think carefully, has anything strange happened to you recently?"
Octavius was startled, then noticed his own slightly withered hands. As a mber of the logistics departnt working at the association headquarters, he was no fool. He imdiately realized this wasn't simply illness, and his expression grew serious as he tried to recall recent events.
After a long pause, he said hesitantly, "It seems... nothing strange has happened."
Hearing this, Azrael couldn't help but feel disappointed. He sighed and patted Octavius on the shoulder. "Then get so rest. I'll approve your extended leave."
"There's hot porridge in the kitchen. You should eat sothing to regain your strength."
With that, he dismissed his cards and left the apartnt.
Octavius stared blankly at the suddenly empty bedroom, scratching his head in confusion for a long mont before muttering, "The president is actually pretty nice."
Outside, Azrael stood quietly for a mont, ensuring through his ntal scan that Octavius was stable, before departing.
The report Director Kent had submitted earlier indicated that Octavius wasn't the only one with such frequent absences.
"Are they all fine now?"
Azrael muttered to himself, sowhat bewildered, under the pitch-black night sky.
He had just finished visiting each of the absent logistics mbers. So had simply called in due to minor illnesses, while others were in situations similar to Octavius's.
Fortunately, with his previous experience, he had been able to resolve each case easily using the extraction dium.
Strangely, none of them could recall anything unusual happening to them.
Since they were all mbers of the association headquarters, their hos weren't far from each other, making his rounds relatively efficient.
"Never mind. I still need to check on Godrick anyway. Hopefully, he can provide so insight into what's happening."
Since he now had an effective treatnt, Azrael naturally had to visit Godrick next.
If this was indeed the Onefold Doctrine's doing, then there would be serious consequences. But if the man was genuinely failing in health, then Azrael would need to report it and have the Provincial Cardian Master Association prepare to dispatch a new Director of Human Resources to Donglai.
It was likely that no Silver-level Lore Cardian in Donglai had recently advanced to Gold level, otherwise there wouldn't be such staffing challenges.
When Azrael rang the doorbell, Godrick opened the door with a look of surprise. "President?"
Azrael got straight to the point. "I think I know what's wrong with you."
He then produced the [Soul Foreign Object Extraction dium].
Godrick watched in bewildernt as the young man before him began to activate the device.
The next mont, under the middle-aged man's horrified gaze, a wooden arm suddenly thrust into his chest.
"Azrael?!"
Godrick stared in shock as the arm withdrew, leaving his chest completely unhard.
"Huh?"
He felt a sudden wave of relief wash over his entire body.
anwhile, a streak of crimson blood lingered on the palm of the young man's hand.
Godrick realized imdiately that his physical condition was definitely not a recurrence of an old injury.
His expression grew serious. "President, please co inside so we can discuss this properly."
Azrael followed him into the living room, settled onto the sofa, and asked, "Director Godrick, have you noticed anything unusual recently?"
Godrick lowered his head in thought.
After a long pause, he spoke uncertainly, "Now that you ntion it..."
"My health started deteriorating after President Kavach was assassinated that day."
"I suspect I was affected by whatever technique was used during that incident."
"Let think about where I went that day..."
Just as he was contemplating, Azrael offered another crucial piece of information, "It's not just you who's been affected, many others have experienced the sa symptoms."
Godrick's frown deepened even further.
After another long pause, he let out a frustrated sigh and took a sip of the hot tea the Shadowkhan soldier had just prepared. "No, I can't think of anything specific that..."
"Ahem."
Godrick stared at the teacup in surprise, then turned to Azrael with amazent. "My body... it's back to normal."
Upon hearing Godrick's words, Azrael imdiately produced the [Soul Foreign Object Extraction dium] again.
The next mont, both Gold-level Lore Cardians stared at the barely perceptible streak of blood in Azrael's hand.
"Director Godrick, does your water supply co from the municipal water treatnt plant in this district?"
Azrael asked, feeling he had grasped a crucial clue.
Although he didn't understand why he hadn't been affected after drinking the sa water, he wasn't about to waste ti pondering such questions.
"Random targeting? Or sothing else?"
He recalled several logistics departnt mbers he had visited earlier. Several of them lived with their families, yet their family mbers hadn't suffered any problems.
Upon hearing Azrael's question, Godrick nodded gravely. "Yes, it does."
Azrael nodded slightly. "I understand the situation now."
"Director Godrick, co to headquarters tomorrow morning. Let's not alert them tonight by taking imdiate action."
Godrick was surprised. He felt the best option would be to launch a surprise attack imdiately while they had the advantage.
But since Azrael, as president, had made the decision, he wouldn't argue.
"Understood."
Underground, in front of a massive blood pool.
Li Gang looked at the behemoth before him, which was gradually expanding to fill the entire underground chamber, and asked Cliff beside him, "It shouldn't take much longer, right?"
But Cliff frowned as he checked the readings on his handheld device. "Normally, it would take another two full days."
"But several absorption nodes just disappeared from the network."
"I specifically configured the system not to harm anyone before full activation."
Li Gang couldn't help but curl his lips in disdain. "With that level of soul energy drain, I think it's perfectly normal for so old folks to die off."
After hearing Li Gang's explanation, Cliff remained sowhat confused, but he acknowledged that the middle-aged man beside him had a point.
However, to be safe, he decided to accelerate the process slightly, even though the cost would be a higher chance of discovery by the authorities.
After adjusting the paraters, Cliff breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile playing across his face. "In two days, your long-cherished wish will be fulfilled. Just don't forget our agreent when that ti cos."
Li Gang glanced at the researcher dismissively. "Don't worry, I won't forget our deal."
Although he was tempted to renege on their agreent, considering the potential consequences of offending the demon army, he felt it was wisest to honor his commitnt.
Satisfied with this answer, Cliff fell silent, folding his hands as he gazed reverently at the treasure created by the demon army's advanced technology.
Returning ho, Azrael knew the optimal strategy would be a direct raid on the water treatnt facility, but a lingering sense of unease perated his thoughts. He decided to convert his accumulated materials into combat power first.
"I was planning to save up more points for a larger purchase..."
Azrael sighed regretfully, then pulled out his phone and opened the points exchange platform.
Looking at his remaining 9,050 points, he felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, he had saved so excess from his last creation of Luffy.
"Hoping to acquire gold-tier material in exchange, otherwise I'll have to make do with purple-tier."
Azrael's eyes focused as various materials flashed across the screen before he suddenly paused.
"[Mindless Soul] (Gold), priced at 8,900 points."
Without hesitation, he purchased the material imdiately.
While waiting for the material shipnt to arrive, Azrael made sure no one was around before summoning Shiraori. He wanted her to use her analytical abilities to identify the origin of the blood samples he had collected.
[Blood of ???]
Rank: ???
Quality: ???
Category: ???
Description: My body will no longer be a burden, my spirit no longer a shackle. I will transform into a dragon.
"What?"
Azrael was montarily confused. Shiraori's identification information contained nothing but a cryptic description, no na, rank, or category.
This was the first ti he had encountered such a situation. Usually, Shiraori would at least provide a basic identification with a na.
"Is Li Gang planning to transform into so kind of draconic being?"
Azrael muttered to himself, puzzled by the description's implications.
But that seed unlikely. Becoming a traditional monster would definitely reduce one's combat effectiveness compared to remaining a Lore Cardian.
Even achieving Erald-level monster transformation wouldn't be worthwhile, in Azrael's professional opinion.
"There's still too little information to work with," he sighed, rubbing his temples against a nagging headache.
Just as Azrael was contemplating Li Gang's true intentions, the shipnt of materials arrived at his residence.
Fortunately, the transfer location for these materials wasn't too far from Donglai, and the Gold-level Lore Cardians assigned by the association to escort valuable shipnts were all specialists in speed and defensive techniques.
Their job wasn't to defeat potential enemies, but to ensure they couldn't be killed or caught. After successfully signing for the materials, Azrael took them upstairs to his workshop.
Looking at the [Hollow Demon Bat] (red), [Void Walker] (red), and [Mindless Soul] (gold) spread before him, he took a deep breath, picked up his specialized pen, and began drawing on a blank card.
Soon, a figure with short black hair, pale skin, and two distinctive dark green tear marks beneath his eyes appeared on the card surface.
[Please begin writing your story.]
In the distant realm of Hueco Mundo, a pure white Hollow nad Ulquiorra Cifer was born possessing only the power of sight and observation.
Ostracized by his darker-colored companions, Ulquiorra wandered alone across the endless white desert of Hueco Mundo, where he eventually ca upon a grove of white, thorn-covered trees.
Pondering profound philosophical questions like "What am I?" and "What is the heart?", Ulquiorra decided to bury himself within the thorny embrace of the trees.
But as he approached the grove, the white mask covering his face gradually began to crack and shatter, revealing his evolved form beneath.
Having naturally evolved into an Arrancar, Ulquiorra embarked on his journey through existence once more.
Although he disliked mindless cannibalism, when faced with primitive Hollows driven only by the primal instinct of devouring others, he had no choice but to take defensive action.
After all, this was the fundantal law of survival in Hueco Mundo.
As his battles multiplied, so did his strength and understanding of his own nature.
He heard rumors that within this desert realm lay a powerful faction called Las Noches, ruled by an extraordinarily powerful being.
However, he had no interest in joining any organization, let alone competing for position within their hierarchy.
Until that fateful day when a powerful individual nad Aizen arrived after defeating the previous Lord of Las Noches.
The brown-haired man transford him into a perfected Arrancar through the Hōgyoku, allowing him to master the power called Resurrección, and appointed him as the Fourth Espada.
Looking down at ordinary Hollows trembling beneath his released state, Black Winged Demon, he touched the hollow cavity on his chest and couldn't help asking himself once again:
What exactly is this thing called a heart?
Since Azrael already possessed nurous Bleach-series cards, creating this character card proceeded much more smoothly than other cross-series creations.
"No wonder most Lore Cardians prefer to specialize in the sa fictional universe until mastery."
He now understood why most card creators liked to focus on cards from the sa series. In addition to the possibility of achieving powerful resonance effects, the difficulty of creation was significantly reduced when working within familiar paraters.
He examined the card floating before him and began reviewing its specifications.
[Black Winged Demon: Ulquiorra Cifer]
Rank: Gold
Quality: Red
Category: Creature
Skills:
[Sonído]: The high-speed movent technique used by Arrancar for instantaneous displacent. [Cero]: A common technique for all major Hollows. As an Espada, Ulquiorra possesses derivative abilities such as Cero Oscuras. [Resurrección: Black Winged Demon]: The powerful ability possessed by Arrancar that allows them to release their sealed power, unlocking even more devastating forms.
Abilities:
[Espada Authority] [Hierro Steel Skin] [High-Speed Regeneration] [Heart of the Void]: As an Espada whose representative aspect of death is "Nihility," Ulquiorra has spent his existence contemplating the philosophical question of what the heart truly represents. Because he fundantally lacks a heart, he is completely immune to emotional manipulation and psychological effects in battle.
Description, "Heart... what is that?"
Advancent: Gold Rank [Black Winged Demon: Ulquiorra Cifer] → Erald Rank [No.4 Espada: Ulquiorra Cifer]
Bond: When appearing alongside a character from the sa series as [Starrk], the effect [Apex of Hueco Mundo] can be activated.
"As expected, I couldn't generate the Segunda Etapa ability."
Although the Gold-level Ulquiorra didn't manifest the Segunda Etapa transformation, Azrael wasn't disappointed. After all, when he crafted the backstory, Ulquiorra had only recently beco an Espada under Aizen's command, and wasn't yet the terrifying being capable of achieving the second release form.
"Most of his abilities parallel Nel's, but his raw power should be significantly higher."
Although Nel possessed similar traits like [Hierro] and [High-Speed Regeneration], her overall combat effectiveness was definitely not as formidable as this Gold-level Ulquiorra.
"I should check if Las Noches has unlocked any new abilities for Ulquiorra."
Thinking of this, Azrael imdiately checked his venue card's updated information.
[Las Noches Palace Complex]
[Within the Void]: Activated when deploying [Ulquiorra Cifer].
No. 4: Within the familiar palace environnt, [Ulquiorra Cifer]'s strength receives significant enhancent.
Void Influence: When [Las Noches] reaches Erald rank, [Ulquiorra Cifer] in battle will gradually affect surrounding enemies, causing them to experience existential confusion and despair. (Currently Blocked)
Alternative Evolution: When [Las Noches] reaches Diamond rank, [Ulquiorra Cifer] will gain access to a new transformation: [Segunda Etapa]. (Currently Blocked)
"There it is again."
"What exactly is this Segunda Etapa form supposed to be?"
Azrael scratched his head in frustration. He was certain he had never seen this specific ability ntioned in the original series before his transmigration.
The problem was that [Las Noches] needed to reach Diamond rank to unlock it, which made him incredibly curious, but he had no imdiate path forward.
After storing both cards, Azrael began contemplating his next course of action.
He briefly considered whether to experint with the item card [Unstable Hōgyoku (Experintal)] (One-ti Use).
But after careful deliberation, he decided against it.
The main issue was that it was single-use, and the cost was too high for what might amount to just an experint.
Seeing that it was still several hours before sunrise, Azrael decided to ditate and recover his ntal energy.
The following morning, Azrael summoned several Gold-level Lore Cardians from headquarters to the president's office with grave expressions.
With Godrick's explanation, Diesel and the other departnt heads quickly grasped the severity of the situation.
After a mont of contemplative silence, Godfrey was the first to speak. "Then, President, should I mobilize our security forces now?"
But Azrael waved his hand dismissively. "If this truly is the Onefold Doctrine's headquarters, deploying too many personnel would only alert our enemies to our discovery."
"We'll handle this personally."
"Director Godfrey, make sure to inform your subordinates to remain on standby at all tis for potential backup."
"As for Director Godrick, you'll coordinate operations from headquarters. Your health isn't stable enough to risk your life alongside us in the field."
After finalizing the operational arrangents, the four of them quickly arrived at the water treatnt facility, which was their primary suspect location.
Upon arrival, Azrael and his companions didn't alert the facility staff, instead conducting a covert reconnaissance to identify any unusual activities or anomalies.
After an extensive search, Diesel frowned and reported, "Strange. Everything appears completely normal."
Azrael pondered for a mont, then decided to deploy Luffy and utilize his Observation Haki to conduct a more thorough investigation.
After several minutes of concentration, Luffy scratched his head and said, "I didn't find anything unusual above ground, Azrael."
Just when Azrael and the others were about to investigate alternative locations, the young man in the straw hat continued, "But I can hear sounds coming from underground."
"Soone keeps shouting 'why' and 'it hurts' down there."
Hearing this, Azrael and the other three exchanged aningful glances.
They all knew that nothing had registered on their ntal power scans underground.
Clearly, the Onefold Doctrine possessed thods to shield their operations from standard detection techniques.
"No wonder they haven't been discovered for so long."
If it weren't for Luffy's [Voice of All Things] ability activating again, the four of them might have made a completely wasted trip.
Azrael turned to Godfrey calmly. "Director Godfrey, notify the facility director imdiately and request an ergency evacuation of all personnel from the building."
"The upcoming confrontation..."
"...is going to be anything but small."
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