Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

"Checkmate, Lord Hermes," Vlad declared with a triumphant smirk, his knight poised to deliver the final blow to Hermes' King.

Hermes' eyes narrowed playfully. "Not so fast, Count." He swept his rook across the board from an unexpected angle, delivering a decisive blow to Vlad's knight with a satisfying clang.

Vlad's smug grin faltered, replaced by suspicion. "Hold on a moment," he said, squinting at the board. "That tower wasn't there before. Did you just... cheat, Lord Hermes?"

Hermes let out a mock sigh of offense. "Why, Count Tepes, whatever could make you think such a thing?" A sly glint shone in his eyes.

In truth, Hermes had indeed pulled a fast one on Vlad. With a sleight of hand, he'd transmuted the old tower into sand, incorporating it into the board before reforming it in a position where it would take down Vlad's knight when Vlad wasn't paying attention.

Daniel then opened his eyes, having prepared everything, including the deck he might need if he had to fight his way out of this place. To confirm his suspicions about the situation he faced, there was one last thing he needed to do.

He picked up his phone and dialed Envy, waiting a few seconds before she answered from the other side.

"Yes, dear? What do you need?" Envy's soothing voice sounded through the phone.

"I need your help with something. I'll live stream the current situation for you to see. Please tell me if what I'm facing is some kind of magic, curse, or something entirely different. Or maybe it's part of the Sanctum Sanctorum's mechanisms," Daniel explained.

Envy chuckled, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Go ahead, I'm waiting. Let's see what kind of trouble you've got yourself into that requires a call in the middle of it."

Daniel activated the live function on his phone and pointed the camera towards the Sanctuary canopy defending against the blood rain onslaught.

In Greed's Mansion kitchen, Envy paused mid-stir, her wooden spoon hovering over a simmering pot of Coq au Vin. She watched through the phone, witnessing the crimson rain dissolve harmlessly into motes of light upon contact with the protective barrier. Her eyes narrowed, a flicker of recognition crossing her features as she delved into a well of ancient memories.

Envy's mind drifted back to a forgotten time – a time when she herself had aided in a crusade, fighting alongside the human armies against the forces of Satan.

Back then, a Grand Paladin had sacrificed his life to activate a miracle of light, mirroring the scene playing out before her now. His act of selflessness had repelled Satan's cataclysmic fire, saving the entire army from being consumed and transforming the lush grasslands into a desolate wasteland.

"Hmm... who is Daniel, exactly?" Envy murmured, her brow furrowed in thought as she continued to watch the live feed. "Is he an illegitimate son of a pope, perhaps? Or maybe he hails from a lineage of unknown mages who delve into the secrets of faith-based magic? Could his second Origin Element be somehow tied to Christian lore? Revelation perhaps?

If that's the case, then everything would make sense. It would explain why an Archangel like Michaela serves him..."

She continued watching as Daniel panned the camera toward the blood-stained giant dreamcatcher, made from bones of unknown origin, floating in the air. The live stream then showed her the altar on the horizon. She remembered that altar; it belonged to followers of Olympian gods who sacrificed humans for their deities.

Normally, sacrifices to the Olympian gods didn't require human lives; goats were sufficient. However, in this era of waning faith and shortages in belief towards their pantheon, human sacrifices were chosen to grant the gods more power than mere goats, producing additional mana for those conducting the rituals.

"The blood rain... hm... I think I remember this spell," Envy muttered to herself, deep in thought. "Yes! It's the same spell that Moses used! But on a smaller scale, with added destructive power." The revelation dawned on her; she recalled the spell.

"Daniel! I know what this spell is! It's the Plague of Blood from The Book of Exodus! But on a much smaller scale, allowing for added destructive force. This spell borders on being a miracle, a faith-based magic spell. I bet they can't use it without relying on the power of their Sanctum Sanctorum.

It's highly likely that this spell is connected to some powerful mage's Sanctum Sanctorum," Envy explained to Daniel after identifying the spell.

"Okay, do you know how to destroy or stop it? Preferably safely," Daniel inquired.

"There are two ways: either you destroy whatever relic serves as the conduit for this Sanctum Sanctorum, or you use a large destructive spell or even a nuke to destroy all the ley lines. I'll send you the information on that," Envy responded, then turned toward the living room.

"Michaela, darling," Envy called out, her voice sweet. "Could you fetch me a pen and paper, please? It seems urgent."

Michaela, engrossed in her Korean drama, glanced at Envy with a playful smile. "Can it wait five minutes, Miss Envy? We're just getting to the good part!" she chirped, gesturing towards the television.

Envy's expression remained nonchalant. "Oh, alright, dear. I'll just tell Danny he'll have to wait another five minutes for the enemy Sanctum Sanctorum's weak point, right in the middle of a fight."

Michaela's face instantly drained of color. The implication hit her like a speeding truck. This was a blatant act of defiance against her Lord, the most sacrilegious thing she could imagine!

"No! Absolutely not!" she shrieked, scrambling to her feet. Before Envy could utter another word, Michaela had transformed into her full Archangel form, wings shimmering as she sped towards the kitchen in a blur. Not three seconds passed and she reappeared, pen and paper clutched in her hand.

"Here, Ms. Envy," she pleaded, voice trembling, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please... don't tell my Lord about this..."

Envy received the pen and paper with a sly smile. "Er, darling," she began, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes, "you do realize my phone is on speaker mode, right?" A glint of amusement flickered in her gaze as she witnessed the Archangel on the verge of tears. It was one of Envy's less endearing traits, her penchant for pranking people.

"Waaaaaah! Ms. Envy! You betrayed me! You big meanie!" Michaela wailed, before darting through the kitchen door that led to the backyard and vanishing into the night sky. Envy, unfazed, sauntered towards the doorway.

"Just be back before dinner gets cold, alright?" she called out, a hint of amusement lingering in her voice. The spell she cast ensured only Michaela could hear the playful message.

Later, Michaela returned to the mansion along with Greed, who had persuaded her to stop being salty at Envy. Michaela had gone to Greed's office to vent and complain while watching her favorite Korean drama.

She was still pouting and didn't speak a word to Envy during dinner. However, they returned before the dinner got cold as per Envy's decree. Otherwise, the entire household would have been banned and starving for Envy's exquisite meal if she ever did that.

As for Koyuki and Sylvana, who had just returned from the hospital after visiting Pride who was admitted there, they were confused by the scene where Michaela was pouting at Envy while Envy smiled calmly and nonchalantly enjoyed dinner.

On Danielside, he could only smile wryly after hearing the girls' conversation, but he thanked Envy and quickly hung up after receiving the diagram of the leyline.

[What the hell is this? North... south-west? How am I supposed to calculate the 'point X' from the Modern Solomon magic theory, and what the hell is the theory about the Book of Death?] Daniel thought to himself.

Looking at the leyline patterns drawn by Envy, Daniel realized that someone with a modern mage education would treasure this information, as it pointed out weaknesses in top-notch Sanctum Sanctorum.

However, Daniel wasn't educated in the modern mage teachings of the Hightower Academy. While he possessed knowledge as an archmage, it was from the early Middle Ages when Sanctum Sanctorum were not popular. To be frank, he didn't know jack sh*t about the thing he needs to decipher the leyline.

Daniel glanced at Montgomery, who appeared concerned. He definitely couldn't let Montgomery know that he didn't understand the alien language Envy had used in the diagram.

[Well... blowing up the entire place should work, right?] Daniel thought to himself before delving into his mindscape.

There is a card that he could use after searching in his deck for a moment.

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Card: Cataclysm

Picture: A ray of both darkness and light piercing through the cloudy sky, descending upon a civilization below, shattering it to ruins.

Rarity: Legendary

Type: Spell

Mana Cost: 2 Light, 2 Dark, 4 Non-element.

Description:

Choose two:

- Destroy all Creatures on the field

- Destroy all Artifacts on the field

- Destroy all Enchantments on the field

Flavor text: "The convergence of purity and darkness birthed and breathed its last, bringing an end to the Nephilim civilization and erasing all traces of its existence with the slightest misstep of the caster."

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