Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

The crack in the shield quickly mended and vanished as if it had never existed, but Albert knew better—the shield was still there, protecting the caster.

Despite the initial surprise, Albert realized that the reality shield Golden Scale had silently cast wasn't as strong as it seemed. If it were, it wouldn't have cracked like glass when struck by an anti-mage bullet.

The anti-mage bullet nullifies mana; if it enters a mage's body, the substance within the bullet infiltrates the mage's mana pathways, rendering them incapable of using or gathering mana.

The crack indicated that the reality shield, which separated the reality in front of and behind the shield, was sustained by the caster's mana rather than by the inherent power of controlling reality itself. This meant that Golden Scale's power was still within a range that Albert could overcome without much trouble.

Golden Scale noticed Albert's eyes analyzing his magic and didn't wait for him to finish. A mage's secrets are their greatest weapon.

Swoosh!

With a wave of his hand, Golden Scale unleashed another reality cut toward Albert. The concrete ground, along with its very essence, was diced into hundreds of precise cuts, extending 100 meters in a straight line.

Albert had no choice but to evade; the attack was impossible to defend against.

He struck the ground with his cane, casting a spell that immediately shattered the earth where Golden Scale stood, but the cracks stopped abruptly one square meter from Golden Scale.

"You're not the first to try and stop me with this useless trick, Lord Worseley," Golden Scale mocked before sending another wave of reality cuts toward Albert.

Slash!

This time, Albert's left arm was severed from the elbow down as the range of the cut expanded in a cone shape, making it difficult for him to evade.

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Blood splattered, but Albert remained ominously calm, as if his arm had not just been severed.

Swoosh! Boom! Swoosh! Boom!

Several more reality cuts were sent toward Albert, and all he could do was run and evade as his blood continued to spill from his wound. His face paled as he lost a significant amount of blood while evading.

"This is the end!" Golden Scale taunted, seeing that Albert seemed to be on his last legs. He gathered mana to unleash another set of reality cuts toward the seemingly exhausted Albert when...

"Arrrgggghghhh!" The scream didn't come from Albert, and no reality cut was released. Instead, it came from Golden Scale, who was now convulsing in pain behind his reality shield.

Albert smirked, his pale face returning to normal as if his weakened state had been nothing more than a ruse. His right hand pressed his cane to the ground, channeling his mana into the blood he had spilled everywhere.

The blood began to move as if it had a mind of its own, forming a specific pattern. Like a well-oiled machine, the blood traced out an eldritch and otherworldly magic circle, filled with indescribable symbols. The blood turned black as the power within the circle surged.

"What... What did you do!? What did you do to me!?" Golden Scale cried out, struggling to suppress the pain tearing through his very being.

"The basic principle in a battle between mages: discern your opponent's magic and Origin Element, then dismantle it," Albert said, taking a sip of the elixir he had taken from his pocket before continuing.

"Haven't you learned all this? Or are mages these days just idiots, only interested in increasing their magic power and overpowering their opponents? Or did you become a Grand Councilor by sheer dumb luck?" Albert sneered, looking at Golden Scale, who was writhing on the ground as indescribable pain tore through his body.

At this moment, Albert's arm began to regenerate. A new left arm appeared, flawless and without any signs of damage. He tested its functionality by repeatedly clenching his hand and moving his arm up and down.

"What... what did you do!?" Golden Scale asked, still confused as to why the magic suddenly affected him. He was certain he had already locked the one-square-meter space around him, separating reality from everything else.

No magic should have been able to touch him! Even a nuclear bomb wouldn't have been able to scratch his reality shield. In fact, with this shield, he could survive ground zero of a nuclear explosion and walk around naked amidst the fallout... so why? Golden Scale couldn't comprehend what had gone wrong, even with all his thinking.

The reason Golden Scale was in this state was due to his own Origin Element: reality. Golden Scale was proud of this fact, as it accentuated his superiority and helped him control others who knew of it, forcing them to acknowledge his dominance.

Albert exploited this by using chaos magic to disrupt Golden Scale's Origin Element, which, in turn, disrupted Golden Scale's very being.

The magic Albert used against Golden Scale would have been practically impossible to deploy in real combat under normal circumstances. But it became possible because Golden Scale had too much confidence in his reality shield, believing it could lock down the reality around him and prevent any disturbance. This overconfidence allowed Albert to use his blood to draw a simple magic circle ritual.

Another factor was Albert's Origin Element 'Chaos', which enabled him to counter and disrupt much of the magic thrown at him by his opponents.

"I'm not a villain in the comic book, Golden Scale. I'm not obliged to explain what I did to you. Now... if you'll excuse me," Albert said with a mocking tone before striking his cane on the ground once again.

"Arrrrrrrrrrgggghhh!!" Golden Scale screamed as the crimson blood light shone on the eldritch magic circle on the ground.

Golden Scale's body began to crack, the fractures spreading across him like a shattered mirror, until he finally collapsed. With a subtle, mirror-like cracking sound, Golden Scale's body was destroyed without a trace and vanished.

But Albert showed no signs of satisfaction in his victory; he knew this was only a temporary triumph. He knew that mages in high positions rarely stayed dead the first time they was killed, especially if that mage was a Grand Councilor. He was certain that Golden Scale would reappear once again.

As for Patriarch Kameni, he observed the battle between Albert and the renowned Golden Scale, though he doubted that the Golden Scale who was just destroyed was the real one. Teleportation is not easily achieved in the modern era where mana is depleted and scarce.

He guessed that the Golden Scale he saw was likely some sort of projection or perhaps a high-quality clone created through a forbidden experiment.

With this in mind, Patriarch Kameni decided to invest a bit more in Daniel's side.

"Mr. Worseley, I have something important to tell you," the Patriarch called out.

Albert turned toward him as the latter continued.

"The Hightower and the Hephaestus Institute have joined forces in research to crack the contract clauses and the lock on the artifacts they purchased from Astral Workshop. They intend to use this against the interests of Astral Workshop."

The news immediately caught Albert's attention. "Do you know how far they've progressed in this project?" Albert asked.

"I don't know the specifics of their progress, but if I had to guess, they've had the first artifact from Astral Workshop and have been working on this project for nearly a year. There should be some significant progress by now," the Patriarch explained.

Hearing this, Albert considered the consequences. Nearly a year... that means they obtained the artifact even before his resurrection. The one responsible for counterintelligence at that time was Maria.

In fact, even if it had been him, he wasn't sure he could have prevented it. Yes, his spies are highly capable, skilled enough to infiltrate nearly any location on Earth. But that's only "nearly," because the most secret places don't even exist on Earth—they're in different pocket dimensions, making them impossible to infiltrate.

Besides, the number of elite infiltrators like Shadow Morph is only about fifty; it's impossible to cover the entire world.

As for the ghosts and spirits working for the Whispering Hall who can cover the entire world, they cannot enter places protected by magical or holy power. For example, Sanctum Sanctorum, churches, holy sites, or even a simple magic barrier.

That's why truly important information often eludes them. Only a stroke of luck or a precise operation could yield information like the kind Patriarch Kameni just shared.

"Thank you, Patriarch. After we confirm this information, you'll be handsomely rewarded," Albert said before excusing himself for the last task.

Albert arrived at a secluded spot somewhere in charred ground near the volcano, after letting his people scout and confirm that there's no one else than him and his people, Albert took out the token Daniel Gave him.

He uses his magic to open a small hole in front of him before tossing the token into that hole and close it.