A dark barrier appeared all around Cylix as if made from black flames. The barrier spread out, surrounding Cylix from all sides. Within seconds, Cylix was entrapped in the black barrier.
"He did learn it," Novius commented in the distance, quite amazed. They had taught Gabriel everything that they knew, and which included the spell which needed both of them to be present to cast.
Unfortunately, unlike the other spells, Gabriel hadn't managed to master that last spell since it needed two elements to work at the same time simultaneously.
When there were two people casting that spell, both of them could handle one Element and make the spell succeed, but even that wasn't easy. On the other hand, Gabriel had an extra task that he had to do both things alone, which he kept failing into.
No matter what he tried, he hadn't managed to get the spell working in unison. However, if he could, then that spell was certainly a part of this challenge and didn't go against the Challenge as it was considered a Light spell as well, with some added parts.
Cylix saw the barrier around him which had captured him. He knew he could leave the barrier, but not without giving it some time, and that much time was enough for Gabriel. Escape wasn't worth it since, in the time he could get out of the barrier, everything was going to be over.
Either the spell was going to be completed by that time, or the spell was going to fail, only to be known as a good attempt later on.
Gabriel didn't look like he was in any mood to fail. He hadn't managed to cast this spell before, even though he knew how to. All because his Elements just refused to work at exactly the same time. That was an entirely different thing which even Cylix and Novius didn't know how to help him with.
That was also why they didn't force him to use this spell, knowing it was going to take time. They expected Gabriel to take a few years after leaving this tower to successfully use that spell, but not this time.
The darkness around the barrier wasn't just sealing the physical space but also invading the corporeal space, sealing all teleportation spells inside the barrier.
It was like Gabriel was casting two High Grade Spells at the same time; one was to seal the space, and the other...
Boom-
A powerful explosion took place inside the barrier, filling the entire space in bright light.
The explosion was so powerful that even the barrier of darkness shattered, but it had done its job by then. It had kept Cylix in place for long enough.
Cylix's body flew back, coming in contact with the explosion. For the first time, he was seriously hurt. Quite a lot of his skin was burnt. His shirt was already destroyed, revealing his bleeding chest. Cylix had taken some serious damage.
He wasn't alone though. Just for casting that spell, Gabriel felt like almost fainting. It really was too much for him.
"Can't yet!" he declared, somehow finding some strength to still hold on. He brought the soul healing pill and placed it in his mouth before chasing after Cylix.
He knew he couldn't afford to go down now. He had finally received some upper hand as his spell didn't just hurt Cylix, but it also had another effect... The effect of stunning the enemy, slowing down their thoughts, for a few minutes.
"He succeeded. This kid... Seriously... How is he still standing after all that?" Novius had already been impressed by Gabriel, but this was something different. Gabriel's conviction was what kept him going even after all this.
As soon as Cylix managed to land on the ground, he couldn't even cast a healing spell when he saw Gabriel right next to him.
"Soul Weakening!"
"Aura Submersion."
"Mind Slowdown."
Gabriel cast spells one after another, all of which needed him to be in contact with the enemy, and that's exactly where he was.
At the same time as he cast this spell, he flew up, casting a flight spell, finding only Cylix by his neck, who couldn't move. Cylix's mind was still dazed, and his body was weakened. He couldn't even think that he needed to cast a healing spell on himself.
After flying around ten meters up, Gabriel tossed Cylix on the ground.
Bang ~
Cylix's body crashed on the hard surface. Even though his body was strong enough, just the impact of that fall was still enough to hurt him, creating a crater around him.
This was the time... The opportunity that he was waiting for!
Gabriel appeared right next to Cylix.
"Spear of Light!" he cast another spell, creating a spear purely from the Element of Light. Since he couldn't use a Numen, he could only rely on weapons like this.
He thrust the spear down at Cylix, who was still inside the crater.
Novius closed his eyes. This was the time where his friend was going to get the freedom that he was looking for. Despite all that, he still looked somewhat sad. He couldn't watch his friend die, even though it was a good thing.
A few minutes passed, yet there was no noise, which made Novius frown. He slowly opened his eyes, wondering if everything was over.
"Huh?" As soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed that things were quite different.
The spear was still in Gabriel's hand; however, it wasn't stabbed into Cylix's chest. The tip of the spear was stopped barely an inch away from Cylix's chest. Moreover, it wasn't any spell of Cylix which was stopping Gabriel.
It was Gabriel himself who stopped himself, unable to go through with it.
Gabriel held his spear tightly, stopping it. He could finish this battle if he wanted, but he couldn't get himself to kill Cylix like that.
Cylix also came out of his spell induced daze by now, noticing the tip of the spear right next to his chest. Just a little push, and he was going to be dead.
"Why did you stop?" he asked, still lying inside the crater with the spear right above him. If he even sat up a little, the spear could hit him.
"I have defeated you. This is enough," Gabriel responded, even though the reason behind his hesitation was slightly different.
These people had been like the teachers that he always wanted in his childhood. In such a short time, they had become no less than his friends and family. When he tried to go through with killing Cylix, that slight hesitation stopped him.
