My Deck Is Made Up Of OP Anime Characters

On the field, Sasha stared at the figure in front of her with a look of undisguised alarm. Azrael had used Luffy over and over again in the round-robin battles over the past two days, establishing a clear pattern that she had relied on to formulate her strategy.

Now, suddenly faced with a completely unfamiliar card, she wasn't stupid enough to miss the obvious implication. Azrael had deliberately saved this trump card for their final confrontation, which meant it was specifically designed to counter her ghost-type advantages.

Taking a deep breath, Sasha made the only tactical decision available to her. She summoned all of her remaining cards at once, her face immediately paling from the mental strain of maintaining multiple manifestations. For a student who had only been practicing meditation for three months, this level of effort pushed her abilities to the absolute limit.

Not everyone possessed Azrael's freakish mental reserves.

But at this crucial moment, she had no better options. Her expression hardened with desperate determination as she prepared for what might be her final gambit. "Whether it's victory or defeat, we must fight to find out."

Azrael watched her all-or-nothing approach with analytical calm. "You're determined enough, I'll give you that," he acknowledged with a slight nod. "But if you want to take a risk, you need the capital to make that risk worthwhile."

Before Sasha could answer, Yoriichi's voice carried over the battlefield with quiet authority.

"Bakudō #4: Hainawa."

Golden light suddenly erupted through the air as ethereal ropes materialized around Sasha's Black Iron level support cards, binding them with supernatural force. The bonds pulsed with spiritual energy, effectively neutralizing their numerical advantage in a single decisive move.

In the next instant, Yoriichi completely disappeared from his position.

Sasha's pupils constricted in shock as she spun around to find the black-robed figure standing directly behind her primary spirit card. "What is this? Some kind of spatial manipulation ability?"

She had no knowledge of Shunpo techniques, so when she saw Yoriichi's instantaneous movement, she naturally assumed that it was some kind of spatial power. The speed was simply beyond normal comprehension.

In the elevated stands, university representatives leaned forward with intense interest, their conversations creating a buzz of analytical commentary.

"Impressive tactical awareness," one professor murmured in approval. "He has maximized his mobility advantage through clever positioning."

"Though he seems limited to straight-line movement," another added with academic precision. "Still, the timing of the execution is impeccable."

The assembled academics had the experience to recognize the general principles behind Yoriichi's Shunpo, clearly not true spatial manipulation, but rather an advanced application of high-speed movement techniques. Their professional assessment was both accurate and appreciative of Azrael's strategic thinking.

Before Sasha could adjust her tactics, Yoriichi drew the Zanpakutō from his waist in one fluid motion. Steel sang through the air as the blade sliced precise arcs, and the ghost card before him disintegrated into dissipating fragments under the relentless sword dance.

With his advancement to Bronze, Yoriichi's legendary swordsmanship had gradually returned to its original, utterly incomprehensible mastery. Each strike carried the weight of a perfected technique honed over a lifetime.

"Impossible!" Sasha's voice cracked with disbelief, the sound cutting through the suddenly silent arena.

She had never imagined that her bronze-level spirit, her pride and main weapon, would be so easily destroyed without even putting up any meaningful resistance.

Unfortunately, her spirit being was fundamentally inferior to Yoriichi's [Soul Reaper] trait from the very beginning. Perhaps high-ranking underworld messengers or divine spirits might have immunity to such effects, but a nameless spirit had no chance against the power of a true reaper.

Yurek's jaw dropped so far in the audience section that someone could have stuffed a whole egg into his gaping mouth. "Azrael won that fast?" he managed to stammer.

He had expected a grueling, back-and-forth battle that would push both competitors to their limits before Azrael could claim a hard-fought victory. This instantaneous annihilation defied all of his assumptions about Bronze-level combat.

Beside him, Gabi watched the scene with knowing calm, her analytical mind already processing the implications. "Just as I suspected, a map specifically designed to target souls."

She had immediately recognized the tactical brilliance. The match was over faster than most people could drink a glass of water.

When the referee's whistle broke the shocked silence and his voice declared Azrael the victor, the arena erupted into chaos. Surprised shouts and excited conversations created a cacophony of noise as spectators struggled to process what they had just witnessed.

Azrael had already established himself as something of a celebrity among the student body, which naturally drew large crowds to watch his fights. But this level of dominance exceeded even the most optimistic expectations.

"You're still completely absurd, Azrael," Nick muttered from his position in the stands, his voice mixing admiration with competitive fire. As he thought about his own newly designed cards, however, determination blazed in his eyes. "But I won't lose to you this time."

The other Bronze-level students around him wore similar expressions of concern mixed with analytical focus. The battle had ended far too quickly for them to gather any meaningful information about Azrael's capabilities, a tactical disadvantage that would haunt their own preparation efforts.

Meanwhile, the university representatives continued their hushed discussions, studying Yoriichi, whom Azrael had not yet released from the field.

"It definitely seems to be from an underworld pantheon," one scholar remarked thoughtfully.

"The aesthetics suggest that possibility, but I don't recognize this particular deity," another replied with academic caution.

"Could be from a foreign mythology, or perhaps an original creation," suggested a third, to nods of agreement from his colleagues.

Their speculation was entirely reasonable, given the available evidence. In their understanding, legitimate gods typically had well-defined divine responsibilities and domains. Underworld deities controlled death and soul guidance, thunder gods controlled storms and lightning, and so on. The concept of a purely power-based deity without specific cosmic roles seemed to them to be more in line with cultivation fantasy than traditional mythology.

From their perspective, Yoriichi clearly possessed specialized effectiveness against soul-based entities, a rare and valuable trait that not every card could claim. What they didn't realize was that within the Soul Society's hierarchy, individual Soul Reapers were merely the most basic operational units. The true power lay with the Captain-level Shinigami and beyond.

Had they understood the full scope of this power structure, their eyes might have literally fallen out of their sockets in shock. Fortunately for their peace of mind, ordinary Soul Reaper members like Yoriichi's current manifestation possessed relatively modest fighting skills compared to the legendary captains.

Azrael dismissed Yoriichi back to his mental space and walked towards the rest area with a satisfied serenity. His part of today's competition was over, and the remaining matches had no direct relevance for his advancement.

With the completion of the final round of his five-person group, the main competition phase was essentially over. The list of the thirty-two finalists was now officially set.

Aside from Nick, whom Azrael knew personally, the rest of the list consisted entirely of students he had only come across in Fredrika's intelligence files, plus several complete dark horses who had unexpectedly emerged from the preliminary chaos.

This development did not concern Azrael much. He was absolutely confident that no opponent could withstand the combined pressure of Luffy's Gear Third techniques and Yoriichi's Utakai release. If someone truly possessed that level of power, Azrael would gracefully accept defeat rather than risk exposing his deeper secrets.

After all, Zoro and Mark 3 had to remain hidden to preserve his Crimson Oath Society cover identity. Those assets were far too valuable to waste on academic competitions.

"It seems my current arsenal isn't quite enough," Azrael mused quietly.

While he possessed several Bronze-level cards, his dual-identity constraints meant that each persona could only use a limited selection without arousing suspicion. The situation would become even more complex if he needed to create additional cover identities in the future.

Logically, Zoro should not have been used for the Iron Man persona at all, given his bond with Luffy. But circumstances had forced this tactical compromise when Azrael unexpectedly joined the Crimson Oath Society for the first time.

"At least Zoro only showed up once in that role," Azrael consoled himself.

With Lian's careful manipulation of the flow of information, the people of Velkairos had largely forgotten the Iron Man incident. Most people couldn't even remember basic details like how many swords the mysterious swordsman had wielded.

"Still not entirely sure," he admitted. "I should look for ways to create a similar type of map that could replace Zoro in future missions."

If that proved impossible, he'd either have to continue risking Zoro's exposure or develop another member of the Straw Hat Pirates crew. The bond effects were simply too powerful to give up lightly.

"If I'm going to build around Bonds anyway, there's no need to maximize the strength of individual cards," Azrael reasoned.

His previous life's experience with tactical games had taught him that low-cost cards were often used primarily to activate powerful synergy effects, rather than to dominate through individual merit. Given his exceptional mental reserves, a quantity-oriented approach might prove more effective than concentrating everything on a few elite cards.

The "Pinduoduo Lineup" strategy had potential, using several weaker cards to trigger devastating combination effects.

"I'll consider my options after the Provincial Examination," he decided.

"If I choose Pixar University, there should be substantial subsidies available."

It would be shocking if the top students in this year's Greenridge Province Unified Examination didn't receive scholarships and other rewards. Normal universities would surely offer attractive packages to secure enrollment commitments from such promising talents.

"The knockout rounds have been announced," Nick said quietly, his words pulling Azrael out of his strategic contemplation.

Azrael looked up at the giant screen and quickly found his name among the tournament pairings.

Azrael (Silverbrook High School) vs. Vali (Pixar University Affiliated High School)

The matchup was immediately recognizable, as Vali had featured prominently in Fredrika's intelligence files. According to her research, his primary card was the Bronze level [Maojiang], although the quality level was unknown.

This should prove to be more interesting than the complete mismatch he'd just experienced with Sasha. Finally, Azrael would face an opponent who might actually require him to demonstrate some serious technique.

The elimination rounds promised to be far more challenging than anything the main event had to offer. The single elimination format meant there was no room for tactical mistakes or holding trump cards for later rounds. Each match would require maximum effort and strategic precision.

As Azrael studied the bracket structure, mapping out potential paths to advancement and likely opponents, he felt a familiar rush of competitive anticipation. The real tournament was about to begin.