Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

Her usual kind and forgiving demeanor was gone. Those who had underestimated her based on her calm and tolerant exterior had made a grave mistake.

Envy was an ancient witch, her spirit hardened by countless wars throughout human history. For her, war, slaughter, and massacre were once unremarkable constants. Her kindness and patience were not signs of weakness but deliberate choices—a fragile tether to the humanity she feared losing entirely if she didn't restrain herself.

The merciless slaughter continued until the last of the mages who had arrived with the man in the owl mask fell. Blood spilled across her body, but Envy frowned as she noticed something peculiar—the blood wasn't human. It was homunculus blood, and it had an unsettling quality, as though something unnatural had been mixed into it.

Wasting no time, Envy charged toward the man in the owl mask. Her claws gleamed menacingly as she prepared to strike down on the flimsy mana shield he had hastily conjured.

But at that moment, Achilles intercepted her, blocking her claws with his shield. The sheer unnatural force of Envy's strike drove Achilles to his knees. He struggled to maintain the distorted shield under the overwhelming pressure. Stay updated with empire

"So persistent!" Envy spat, her voice laced with irritation. She swiftly swiped her left hand, disrupting the shield's foundation and forcing Achilles to lose his balance. A gap in his defense opened, and another claw swipe came slashing toward his chest.

Boom!

The impact sent Achilles flying. If not for his invulnerability to weapons, he would have been cleaved in two. Now, with no one left to defend him, Envy's claws descended upon the man in the owl mask.

Crash! Crack!

Her claws tore into the powerful mana shield, causing it to splinter. Spotting the cracks, Envy raised her arm again and struck with all her might.

Boom!

The shield shattered, and her claws sliced downward, slashing the owl mask in half from the top down. Blood spattered across her body as the mask fell away, revealing the man beneath. Yet, Envy frowned. Something felt off. It had been too easy. This man was supposed to be the mastermind. Why would the one pulling the strings come forward to fight her directly? It didn't make sense.

Meanwhile, Achilles retreated, putting considerable distance between himself and Envy. His grip on his spear tightened as he stood on guard. It was unclear whether he was wary of her… or if he was deliberately trying to stay as far away from her as possible.

Suddenly, a giant black worm burst forth from the corpse of the man in the owl mask. Its lamprey-like mouth gaped wide, lunging toward Envy in an attempt to bite her. However, Envy, well-versed in the tricks of mages, had anticipated such a ploy. She remained vigilant, and with a swift motion, her claws made short work of the creature, killing it on the spot. Green blood splattered across her body.

But then… something felt wrong. Envy's mana and strength suddenly began to drain away. Alarmed, she quickly retreated, flying backward to the top of her castle to put distance between herself and Achilles.

Now she understood why it had been so easy. This was a carefully laid trap by the man in the owl mask. The realization hit her as she pieced it together: the mages' blood was merely a base substance. When mixed with the worm's blood, it activated a potent poison that was now taking effect on her body!

At that moment, Envy's instincts kicked in. She quickly turned, but it was too late. A lasso-like artifact dropped onto her, binding her body and arms. Coupled with the poison sapping her strength, escape was impossible.

The man holding the other end of the lasso emerged from his hiding place, revealing a familiar face—Christopher Ward.

"You! Why? Are you betraying him?" Envy growled, her voice trembling with disbelief and hatred as her sharp gaze locked onto Christopher.

"I owe Mr. Emberweave for saving my life," Christopher began, his tone tinged with reluctance. "But my loyalty is to the Vatican, no matter what. We suspect Mr. EMberweave has control over the anomaly known as The Whispering Hall. That's why this must be done." By the end of his sentence, his eyes reflected firm determination, though the hesitance in his voice lingered.

"Hahaha! Impeccable timing, Father Ward. Thank you for your assistance," a voice interjected from above. It was the man in the owl mask. He dispelled his invisibility spell and stepped forward, revealing that he had been stationed on the roof of the castle for quite some time.

Envy snorted in disdain. "So, this is why the Vatican collaborates with scum like these? Who else is in on this? The Hightower? Does Golden Scale know as well?" she asked, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Lady Envy," Christopher said earnestly, ignoring her mockery. "You should understand that Daniel is too powerful. He's upset many powerful players. Even if he left them alone, they'd still see him as a threat. The list of people who want your husband gone to maintain the status quo is very long—perhaps even longer than the height of the Astral Corp HQ building."

His words were spoken without malice but were unnervingly direct.

"Father Ward, why are you telling her this?" the man in the owl mask asked, suspicion evident in his tone.

Christopher ignored him, continuing his explanation.

Envy narrowed her eyes, noticing the strangeness in Christopher's behavior. His words seemed to divulge too much information—far more than what an enemy gloating in victory might typically reveal. Could it be…?

While she considered his peculiar conduct, Christopher pressed on.

"But enough of that," he said, stepping closer to Envy. "The Vatican needs leverage to negotiate terms with him—particularly concerning The Whispering Hall."

Before he could approach further, a robotic voice emanated from the wristwatch on Envy's arm.

[Detecting unknown substances in the blood system. Detecting muscle strength reduced beyond standard thresholds. Detecting elevated heart rate. Probability of precarious situation: 95.51%. Lady Envy, reinforcements and medical attention are en route. Activating emergency shielding.]

The cold, mechanical voice of Nexus Prime rang out. In an instant, a flash of blue light surrounded Envy as a plasma shield deployed around her, crackling with energy.

Both Envy and Christopher were startled at the situation. Especially Christopher who think that everything is under control now.

He actually doesn't want to hurt Envy, he even tried to help her in his own way and even providing some information that Envy and Daniel might not know, but he still can't help it since this is an order from the Pope himself to capture Envy and use her to force Daniel to reveal where the Whispering Hall is and maybe force him to destroy it so that the anomaly in the world where ghost and vengeful spirit can freely traverse would finally come to an end!

The plasma shield forced Christopher backward as the heat from the plasma immediately burned the lasso and nearly burned Christopher's hand.

At that moment, the sound of something heavy falling from the sky echoed through the air. A fiery object descended rapidly before streaking overhead, executing a strafing run. It unleashed a barrage of anti-mana bullets aimed at both Christopher and the man in the owl mask. Christopher quickly retreated to safety, while the man in the owl mask used earth magic to raise a wall from the roof for protection.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!

The deafening roar of a high-speed rotary cannon filled the air, and the bullets tore through the earth wall as if it were made of paper, Forcing the man in the owl mask to retreat.

Several fiery objects then began descending slowly. Three of them landed in front of Envy, forming a protective barrier around her. As the flames dissipated, the true forms of the objects were revealed—metallic mechs with wings and anti-gravity engines mounted on their backs.

The mechs appeared capable of transformation, judging by their design. Their heads resembled the nose of a fighter jet, sleek and aerodynamic, while their bipedal forms suggested versatility in combat. These advanced machines seemed to have the ability to shift from humanoid mechs to flying aircraft with remarkable efficiency.

The chest of the mech opened, revealing an array of micro-missiles, while its arms displayed twin rotary cannons, still glowing red-hot from their earlier barrage.

At that moment, a blue, fiery beam descended from the sky, striking a clearing not far from the castle.

Boom!

The beam detonated on impact, scorching the ground black and leaving a massive crater the size of a soccer field. The intense heat melted the rocks into molten slag, turned the earth crimson, and fused the sand into glass.

The sheer power of the beam left both Christopher Ward and the man in the owl mask momentarily stunned. It was the first time either of them had witnessed an orbital cannon in action. However, they quickly regained their composure, their shock was only a brief moment. If the so-called orbital cannon can only do this much, teh have a way to guard against it.