"Nonsense. We didn't fail. We just let them live. The city is a Numen which was impossible to destroy without putting a significant effort, and we didn't think it was worth it."
"You mean you can destroy it now? Isn't that better? We should be able to catch all the Dark Mages in one stroke!" Joan smirked, realizing that the man was bluffing.
"We definitely can, but we don't have our Leader. We need him to use his Grimoire for it. Without that, it's not possible to do anything inside the City of Abadon."
"If we can't do anything inside the city, then what about outside?" Elora suggested. "We can't attack the city, but Lambard doesn't have any control outside. We all know that it's impossible to Teleport inside the city of Abaddon. So the one way to enter is through the main entrance."
"The Dark Mages will have to take the main route to enter the city. And even if they enter before we get there, they'll have to leave sooner or later, won't they? We can set an ambush."
"Do you think that the new Ruler of Darkness will come himself to sell the artifacts?" Yann asked. "Even if you go by the plan, it's not certain that you'll find him."
"He will definitely come himself. Only he can access the storage realm where he kept the artifacts. If he doesn't come, then he will send another Dark Mage that he trusts. Even if we catch that Dark Mage, he can lead us to their new base. In any case, this is the only option that we have at this point."
"Either we take this opportunity, or we sit idly and allow the Church of Darkness to get stronger until it's ready to attack us openly."
"Fine. We will go with you. We will take part in this plan."
"Not only us, but we would also need more help. And I know just the right person. Do a thing. Go to the City of Abadon. I'll meet you there."
"Where are you going?" The old man asked, watching Elora leave. He couldn't believe that the young girl had just issued him a command.
"I'm going to the Church of Flames. That's the only one that falls on our route. We are going against the Heir of a Grimoire. This might be our last opportunity to catch him. And I don't want to underestimate that guy. The man was able to use the dark flames of his Grimoire. What better person to counter him than the Ruler of Flames."
"With the three Churches working together, we should be able to take him down."
Elora left with the Head Priestesses, not wasting a single moment. She believed the Dark Mage had already left the city, and sooner or later, he was going to be en-route to the city of Abaddon. The faster they were, the faster they could catch him.
Unfortunately, the person they were trying to catch up to hadn't left the city. He didn't even leave his room. While others were trying to catch up to him, Gabriel was sleeping in his room peacefully.
For the first time in the last two days, Gabriel didn't have a nightmare. Instead, he had a really peaceful dream tonight.
In the team, he was lying on massive grasslands. He was the one person here, lying on soft grass, looking at the clouded sky with his hands under his head to give him support.
Everything was so peaceful here that he felt like staying here for an eternity. In the silence, only the rustling of grass against the wind could be heard, which sounded like a melody to him.
However, the silence didn't last for long.
"Are you still angry about that?" He heard a voice. The voice was so sweet, seemingly belonging to a girl.
He tilted his head to his right, where the voice came from. In the distance, he could see a woman running toward him, dressed in a beautiful green gown. The gown was making it troublesome for her to run, slowing her down, but she didn't care.
The woman seemed to be in her early twenties. She had beautiful green hair like that of Nature which was flying with the winds as she ran. Her light green hair matched her gorgeous eyes, which also had green pupils, only having innocence in them.
On the back of her left hand, Gabriel saw a green mark, which he had seen quite a few times recently. It was the mark of the Element of Nature. Was she a Mage of Nature? For some reason, he could feel that she was way more than that... For some reason, he also felt that he had seen that face before. He just couldn't recall it.
The woman had a golden crown on her head, which appeared to be made from some really unique flowers. She also had a necklace around her neck, but the necklace looked quite odd. It was as if it was less of a necklace and more of chains that were attached to a circular golden pendant that hung near her chest.
The woman stopped near Gabriel. She sat beside Gabriel. "You really made me run a lot today. I don't think I've ever run this much. Why do you get angry over such small matters?"
Gabriel looked at the woman in confusion. What small matters was she talking about?
'Just once, I want to have some nice and peaceful dreams. Why do all of them turn out to be so bizarre… Wait a minute... That face...'
It was only now that Gabriel remembered where he had seen that face before.
'It was on the statues in the temple! The face of the Goddess of Nature! Don't tell me; she is the Goddess of Nature? The First Holy Priest of Nature?!'
"Why are you looking at me like that?" The woman asked, noticing Gabriel staring at her like she was a ghost.
