Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

"Wait! Envy, let me come with you," Koyuki called out, following Envy as she left the living room, leaving Daniel confined within the protective bubble.

Outside the house, Envy began drawing another magic circle using her own blood. The movements came naturally to her, as she tapped into the dark power of the abyss within her—power she'd claimed from Leviathan, the abyssal lord of the ocean and envy itself.

"Envy, was Daniel cursed by Asmodeus? Is he powerful enough to curse him without him noticing? Even with all those strong defensive enchantments Daniel keeps on himself?" Koyuki asked.

"No, it's not a curse—it's the opposite," Envy answered as she concentrated on completing the intricate hellish magic circle.

"Opposite?" Koyuki thought aloud. "Could it be...a blessing? But why would Asmodeus want to bless Daniel? He's not even one of his worshippers, so why bother?" Koyuki pressed.

Still expanding the magic circle with her spell, Envy replied, "This kind of thing has happened before. When someone or a group does something that benefits a Hell Lord enough to make it worth their while, they'll sometimes grant a blessing first and only reveal themselves later as the benefactor.

"In Daniel's case, I think that's what's happened. He eliminated Satan and subdued Mammon, leaving two abyssal realms leaderless. Asmodeus probably sees the opportunity to claim those realms and considers Daniel a worthy investment."

"I see… Because it's a blessing, Daniel's defensive enchantments wouldn't react—they wouldn't recognize it as a threat. And blessings from Hell Lords often come with certain 'side effects.' That would explain Daniel's awful luck lately," Koyuki concluded.

"No, I've already checked—Asmodeus didn't add any tricks. This is a genuine blessing, no drawbacks. He put everything he had into this, giving Daniel the strongest blessing he could manage. And that's the problem," Envy objected, pausing momentarily before continuing.

"Asmodeus's blessing is called 'Ladies' Man Luck.' It's not just ordinary luck with women. It's the Ladies' Man Luck. Do you know what this means?" Envy asked, still focused on channeling her magic as the magic circle neared completion.

Koyuki shook her head, trying to understand. Would it mean that Daniel would have exceptional luck with women? But Daniel wasn't the type to take just anyone as a partner. He wasn't… that lecherous… was he?

"It means a problem," Envy continued. "Compared to a blessing from a god of love or fertility, which usually affects the destiny of an individual's pre-established partner, this is different. For example, if fate had destined you to be with Danny, a blessing from a love god would only help you fall for him faster, making your relationship smoother and more likely to flourish."

"But Ladies' Man Luck from Asmodeus? That's a whole other matter. As its name implies, this blessing disregards any destined partners and simply finds the easiest targets to connect with Daniel—driven by lust rather than love or harmony. Asmodeus, being the lord of lust, doesn't care about the stability or happiness of a relationship," Envy explained, finishing the hellish magic circle.

"It's that bad?" Koyuki asked with a hint of skepticism.

Envy could only smirk in response. "Just imagine, in the near future, if Lust herself became one of our 'sisters.' Or worse, if that b*tch Susan forced herself on Danny, got pregnant, and dragged him into a relationship out of obligation. Could you handle that?"

The scenarios flashed vividly through Koyuki's mind: having to handle Lust's tantrums and willfulness, Daniel possibly bedridden or monopolized by Lust who would leave no time for anyone else. Or having to call that witch, Susan, 'sister,' dealing with her nonsense...

"No! Absolutely not! Let's go to Asmodeus, beat the sh*t out of him, and make him take his blessing back!" Koyuki growled, her anger and determination spiking at the dreadful possibilities.

"That's the plan." Envy smiled, stepping with Koyuki to the center of the magic circle and beginning to channel another spell.

As the ritual commenced, the hellish runes flared with a fiery red glow, each character blazing against the ground. The air quivered with raw mana, and then the earth beneath them opened into a deep, flaming abyss—a gateway into Asmodeus's abyssal realm.

The two slowly sank into the abyssal chasm until their entire forms were swallowed up, leaving the magic faintly shimmering to maintain the link between the mortal and abyssal realms for their return.

— Asmodeus Abyssal Realm —

In the chamber, various orbs and infernal magic formations were drawn all over, with runes etched into every surface. At the center stood a small circular platform meant specifically for Asmodeus.

This chamber had been specially built for him to absorb offerings from Daniel, but in recent days, something had disrupted the connection. Now, he was working in the chamber alone, trying to understand why the link had suddenly been severed.

To his mind, there was no way the connection could be cut once it had been established. Fundamentally, it was impossible, as the mana connection was based on intangible, untraceable elements like fate and luck—principles that couldn't simply be interrupted. His blessing of luck operated on the same foundation. Even if Daniel knew, cutting the link from his side would create a massive disturbance, and Asmodeus would have detected it. Yet now, the connection had been cut without any warning, leaving him utterly perplexed.

"My lord! My lord!" One of his confidants suddenly called out, pounding urgently on the chamber door.

Asmodeus grunted, irritated. He was in the middle of repairing the chamber, and someone thought it was a good idea to interrupt him when his mood was anything but pleasant.

"What is it!?" he demanded, barely containing his annoyance. If this fool didn't have a good reason to disturb him, he'd turn him into mincemeat on the spot.

"My lord! Le... Leviathan and... Orochi are tearing through our realm, decimating our forces right now!" the confidant stammered, panic-stricken.

"What did you say!? Leviathan and Orochi!? The Yamata no Orochi!? Are you out of your mind!?" Asmodeus barked, but he held back his frustration; before he could blame this minion, he needed to verify the situation.

Asmodeus sank his consciousness, linking himself to the frontline observation tower he had established to monitor and defend his realm. This tower was specifically designed for him to directly observe events and intervene personally if his lackeys faced a threat beyond their meager abilities.

Through the tower's vision, Asmodeus beheld a scene of utter devastation. Two colossal creatures loomed: one flying above, wielding god-like control over life and death for his demon army, each thunderous bolt of calamity splintering his forces.

On the ground—or rather, in the blood-red sea of the abyss—towering tsunamis, high as skyscrapers, surged forward, destroying every defense in their path. Earthquakes fractured the land as the relentless lightning struck down, annihilating his soldiers as though by divine decree.

One of these monstrous beings swam through the blood sea, occasionally rising to the sky. It unleashed a hellish crimson thunderfire from its jaws, obliterating anything in its path. Its thunderous roars alone shattered his defenses, tearing apart his barriers at their very foundation and severing his realm's protective magic as if it were no stronger than a human mage's feeble shield.

"What… what is this? What the hell is this!? Isn't Leviathan supposed to be dead? And Orochi—wasn't it sealed in the mortal realm?" Asmodeus muttered, fear clutching his heart. The scene before him looked like Armageddon itself.

Hell was supposed to be more resilient than the mortal realm, with land and rivers unaffected by magic unless he allowed it. Only two types of power could affect hell's elements: the abyssal energy native to his realm, which could explain Leviathan's influence, or divine power. He recalled that Yamata no Orochi, according to Japanese folklore, was a beast of calamity—and in some tales, even a demon god of punishment and protection. If there was truth in that… could Orochi be a divine beast?

ROOOOOOAAARRR! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Leviathan's roar shattered every facility on the front line as tsunamis surged forward, obliterating the observation tower completely. The blood sea advanced toward the heartland of Asmodeus's abyssal realm, the two calamity beasts charging through with unstoppable momentum.

With his connection to the tower severed, Asmodeus snapped back to his senses.

[Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t—this is bad, very bad!]

Panic seized him. He wasn't confident he could fend off even one of these beasts alone, let alone both. And if Yamata no Orochi indeed carried divine power, just one strike from its calamity thunder would likely cripple him. Two, and his life would be over.

"What do I do? What do I do!?" he muttered in a fit of panic, pacing back and forth. The connection to the observation tower had been severed before he noticed that Koyuki and Envy were controlling the beasts atop their heads, leaving him unaware that negotiation was even an option.

Since Asmodeus mostly kept to himself and rarely bothered with news updates, he also didn't know that Envy had gained full control over Leviathan's powers, effectively making her a Hell Lord in her own right. Nor was he aware that Koyuki had control over five of the eight pieces of Orochi's soul, leaving him utterly in the dark about the negotiation option.