Gabriel was informed that he was going to be fighting Axion first, and it was going to be a one-on-one battle. That did make the battle a bit easier for him since he only had to focus on one enemy, but when that one enemy was the future Head of the Church of Light, that much advantage didn't mean much.
"One more thing..." Cylix said, bringing Gabriel's attention back to him. "The battle will last until you defeat the opponent or you are defeated."
"If you want, you can give up on the battle in the middle by just saying the words. We will stop the battle. And I would suggest you don't ignore that advice. Instead of being seriously hurt or even dying, it's better to give up at the right time. That way, you can save some energy for the next battle."
"Next battle?" Gabriel didn't understand what they meant by the next battle. If he gave up, didn't that mean he lost the battle? Why would there be a subsequent battle in that case?
"Yeah, next battle. After this battle, don't you have to fight Qin? To be able to fight us, you need to win at least one of your two battles. So even if you lost the first battle, you could have a second chance with Qin," Novius explained.
"Is it the same with you? I need to defeat one of you as well?" If that was the pattern, that meant he could get an extra chance with his final battles as well.
That did change the equation since it meant that he needed to make a long-term plan on how much of his strength he wanted to reserve for the coming battles.
"Hah, if only you were that lucky," Cylix chuckled. "You'll be fighting both of us at the same time, and we won't go easy. And you need to defeat the both of us to be able to go to the next floor."
"Anyway, that is enough of an explanation. We won't keep your opponent waiting. You two can start the battle after we are gone."
Cylix and Novius disappeared into thin air after telling Gabriel everything he needed to know.
The two returned back to the Throne Room, where they were initially seated.
The two sat back on their thrones, getting comfortable. At the same time, the Tower created something akin to a portal that was showing Gabriel's battlefield in the middle of the hall, showing the two contenders.
"What do you think? Can he succeed?" Cylix asked, resting one leg above the other as he moved back a bit.
"I don't know at this point," Novius responded. "At the start, when I saw him, I thought he was just a weak mage who managed to get here thanks to his Summon and his peculiar Element, but maybe there's more to him..."
"I agree." Cylix agreed with his friend. "His Talent and Spiritual Strength is quite strong... Possibly the strongest I've ever come across, but his magical strength doesn't hold up to the same mark at this point. I guess he is just too young at this point."
"He needs more time to grow to his full potential," he further stated. "That's why I told him to leave and take some time before coming back again. But he... He seems quite determined. And I must say, it's the ones with an undefeatable determination that are often able to pull off the miracles. So he might actually surprise us."
The entire hall was so silent. Only the words of Cylix and Novius could be heard as they discussed things amongst themselves. An opportunity like this came after a long time, after all.
"I really hope so... I really want to be free of this godforsaken place." Novius sighed. "I hope he is able to pull off the miracle somehow and defeat us..."
Even though the two looked like they were too strict on Gabriel, in reality, they were also rooting for Gabriel. They wanted him to succeed, no matter how unlikely it was for him to.
Cylix and Novius were known to the world to be the first people who found this Tower, with only a rare few knowing the reality.
They also entered the tower after finding it. Moreover, on the ninety-ninth floor, they also faced something similar to what Gabriel was facing now.
When the two of them reached the ninety-ninth floor, they were also faced with two Guardians of this floor. To get to the next floor, they had to defeat the Two Guardians of this Floor.
The Two Guardians were none other than the last two people who had cleared this floor before Cylix and Novius. They had also left behind a fraction of their conscience and knowledge.
As Cylix and Novius were both in different realms inside the Tower, each of them had to fight both the Guardians. Moreover, surprisingly they both managed to defeat the two Guardians before them, finally clearing this floor!
After Cylix and Novius defeated the two Guardians, they were given an opportunity by the Tower to leave behind their conscience and take over the Guardian position for the next generation.
At the time, Cylix and Novius didn't think much about it and accepted it before going to the next floor, making two new Guardians in their image with their memories and knowledge, thinking it was good.
Ever since then, a new version of theirs was created, which had all their memories and personality up to that period in time.
While real Cylix and Novius roamed freely in the outside world after leaving this tower and ultimately embraced their deaths, these two were trapped here for an eternity, waiting for someone who was going to defeat them and take their place so they could also be free of these shackles.
After over a hundred years, they were still waiting for the people who could defeat them next. Unfortunately, even though there were challengers who did manage to reach this floor, none of them were able to defeat them.
Moreover, Cylix and Novius had great self-respect, which didn't allow them to lose intentionally either. They had to fight properly if it was a battle.
They really hoped that Gabriel could defeat them and take their place here with the Infernal King. However, first, he needed to defeat his initial challengers to prove if he even had enough strength for them to get their hopes up.
The two looked at the battlefield from the throne room, really curious to see how the battle was going to unfold. So far, they had some positive opinions of Gabriel, but only in the battle were they going to see if this guy actually had a chance as they hadn't seen him fight before.
