"There is no third option for you. At least until I decide to give you a third option," Lira reminded Gabriel. "Don't forget. You are in my Domain. Here, I am the only god."
"So tell me. Where is my Ancestral Staff of Darkness?" she asked, asked.
From her expressions, it was evident that she was quite upset with Gabriel. Even though Gabriel had a reason of his own for trying to bind the Ancestral Staff of Darkness to him, for her, it was no less than him trying to steal something from her, which she had been after for a long time.
Lira couldn't believe it! She picked up Gabriel when he was nothing! She was the one who taught him most of the things about this world. She was also the one who took him to Lombard. It was because of her that this naive kid even knew about Numens in the first place!
"I did so much for you! Without me, you would've been completely ignorant about the working of this world. You would've been captured by the Church of Light within one week. It's because of me you're still alive! And you dared to steal from me?"
What hurt Lira even more was that she genuinely didn't see it coming. Even initially, when she helped Gabriel, she looked at him as a helper. Even though Gabriel talked about being equal, for her, he was too weak. He wasn't worth being her equal since he was only a Novice Mage when she was already an advanced mage.
Even with them both having a Grimoire, his actual strength was too weak. For her, he was like a subordinate who owed his life to her! He was supposed to help her, no matter what! And even that weak subordinate dared to cheat her?
"Lira," Gabriel could see that Lira was quite upset, but he also felt that she was talking to him like he was lower than her. And it didn't seem like she considered him weaker in strength only.
"Listen to me. Let me leave. I'm not going to keep your Ancestral Staff. I am going to give it to you in the end," Gabriel explained, trying to maintain his calm.
"In the end, the staff was going to be returned to you. It is just a safety mechanism. After I bind the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, I'll give it to you to use it. It's not as if I can use the Ancestral Staff of Darkness without an Element of Darkness in any case, can I?"
Gabriel genuinely had no use of the Ancestral Staff of Darkness. He didn't own any spells of the Element of Darkness that he needed to amplify, so it was just an ordinary piece of stick for him.
It only became a useful magical staff in the hands of Lira, so what greed could he have in controlling the Ancestral Staff of Darkness? The only benefit that came with it was that he could prevent Lira from using that staff to attack him. That was all.
"Gabriel, I won't repeat myself. Tell me where the staff is?!"
"Even if I tell you, you think you can get to it?" Gabriel scoffed. If she wasn't going to listen to the voice of reasoning, he was going to tell her in a language that she understood... The language of threats that she was using.
"As you gave me two options, let me give you two as well!" Gabriel let out. If threats worked, he had better threats. The worst Lira could do was keep him here until he escaped, thanks to his High Tier spell.
On the contrary, Lira had much more to lose if she didn't get the Ancestral Staff of Darkness which was her dream. Not only were the Churches going to be on her trail without resting, but Lambard also wasn't going to help her. She had no choice but to give in if she actually wanted to avoid the worst.
"Either you let me leave this place, and I'll bring the Ancestral Staff to you after I'm done with it, or you keep me here. But in the latter case, you're never going to find the Ancestral Staff even if I tell you where it is!"
"You are threatening me?" Lira laughed in anger. "You! A kid! You think you can threaten me when you're in my domain?"
The group of two, which initially looked like it was a group of partners that were going to be together in the goal of reestablishing the Church of Darkness, was now falling apart.
Lira flicked her fingers. Following her movement, it was as if a mysterious power was acting up on Gabriel, which sent his body flying in the distance.
The mysterious force of darkness didn't just send Gabriel flying, but it also left thousands of wounds all over Gabriel's soul! He felt each of those wounds.
The wounds of the body were painful, but the wounds of the soul? They were even more painful as they even made Gabriel groan in pain.
Gabriel landed in the distance. There was no blood around him as these were the wounds of the soul, but each of those wounds was worse than a thousand physical cuts.
Gabriel couldn't even stand up as another attack came in his direction from the other side, sending his body flying again.
More cuts appeared over his body as he roared in pain. His body landed on the dark floor.
"Why are you yelling?" Lira asked, acting as if she had no idea why Gabriel had roared.
Gabriel's soul was seriously hurt as the darkness was hurting his soul, and he couldn't do anything. He had tried casting his spells when he was first attacked, but he realized that he was unable to cast his spells here for some reason.
"This is just the beginning, and you're already on the verge of breaking?" Lira asked, stepping closer to Gabriel.
With each step she took toward Gabriel, Gabriel felt as if more and more weight was acting up on his body, keeping him pressed down.
