The surroundings of Gabriel and Novius changed. The sun that had just started rising once again disappeared, hiding behind the dark clouds.
The lush green that was filled with life also started disappearing as the area was changed to a barren land made entirely of hard-to-break stones.
Gabriel observed the surroundings, which were similar yet different from his last battle. As the surface here was entirely made of stones, this made this battlefield even harder.
Even though both of them could increase their defense using spells, but their body was still not much different from a human. The way he smacked Cylix on the ground on his previous battlefield, he was sure if he had done that here, at least a few of Cylix's bones would've broken.
This field made the battles even more dangerous with just the terrain itself.
Gabriel started taking off his robe that he had received from the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy.
"You can keep wearing them," Novius informed Gabriel, but Gabriel didn't listen. He kept the robe and everything else in his Spatial Storage before bringing out an ordinary looking shirt.
He didn't take off his rings, but he didn't need to either. Those Numens couldn't activate without his desires, and he wasn't planning on using them, so he didn't need to take them off.
His old attire didn't wait for his permission as it was a Passive Numen which not only increased his defense and speed but also mainly worked to hide his aura.
After changing into his new attire, both of them were ready for the battle. Around ten meters of distance remained between the two as both of them waited for the other person to attack, signaling the start of the battle.
"You can attack first," Gabriel told Novius, sticking to the same strategy as before. The only difference was that this time, he wasn't going to use the same trick attack. If anything, that attack could only work on Cylix and not on Novius.
Novius was a dark mage who was even more alert to his surroundings. If the attack hadn't worked on Cylix, Gabriel was sure it wasn't going to work for him either.
"You really want to be the second to attack, don't you?" Novius asked, noticing the same tactic being used again. "I don't prefer fighting in close range, so even if I attacked first, you can't take advantage of the situation to get close to me. And without that advantage, the first attack does give a person an edge."
"Are you sure you don't want to take the first strike?" Novius asked again, genuinely giving Gabriel some battle advice.
Gabriel stood firm in his stance. "You can attack first."
He knew all the spells of Novius. Just from those spells alone, it was clear that Novius was a long-range warrior who mostly maintained his distance in battle. That knowledge also gave Gabriel some ideas as well.
Based on that knowledge, he was able to decipher the choices of spells that Novius could use.
'He will either use Dark Enlightening or the Night of Destruction. I doubt he will use the Paradise of Darkness so soon. Since it needs Element of Light to cast the Divine Entrapment of Darkness, that's definitely out of the question. So only two options and both leave an opportunity for me to strike...'
Gabriel held the Ancestral Staff of Darkness firmly, letting dark energy flow through his body freely.
Novius could see that Gabriel was genuinely serious about going second.
"If that's what you desire, then let's start. No playing around anymore."
Novius raised his Peak Tier Staff and spoke a few words, "Paradise of Darkness!"
"Huh?"
Paradise of Darkness was the highest tier of spells that Novius had. Gabriel didn't think he was going to use it right at the start of the battle. It was like Novius wanted to end the battle right away!
The biggest flaw of the spell was that it could only be used for a limited time, and if the enemy couldn't be defeated in that time, it was like wasting a lot of energy and weakening yourself for nothing. That's why he didn't expect Novius to use it right now!
Gabriel had also thought about using the same spell, but he knew that he could only keep the Paradise of Darkness for a short time, which was why he wanted to save it for later when it was the right time, but it was clear that Novius didn't think the same.
Gabriel had planned for the other two spells, but with Paradise of Darkness in play, it changed a lot of things.
The Paradise of Darkness could easily change the surroundings to Novius' advantage, thanks to the dark mist that he could control. He couldn't let that happen without preparation of his own.
He needed to protect himself at any cost, at least until this spell's effect lasted. He could also use the Paradise of Darkness, but he knew it was a waste at this time!
If he also cast the Paradise of Darkness, he could certainly protect himself from Novius' attack, but that was a waste of opportunity. His Paradise of Darkness could definitely establish a stalemate between the two, but his Spiritual Energy was weaker due to him being a mid-tier mage.
His spell couldn't last as long as Novius' spell, so it was clear that whatever stalemate he could establish by casting the Paradise of Darkness was going to be broken soon, and that too in favor of Novius.
After his spell broke, he knew he was going to be a lot weakened, and with the same Paradise effect still in place, Novius could easily thrash him. No matter what, he had to face the Paradise of Darkness!
This also brought an idea to him as well. He had once heard a saying that there was an opportunity hidden in every problem, and he could easily see the one which was hidden here.
This was his ticket to win the battle! His ticket to success! If he could last the entire duration of Novius' Domain Spell without losing, then when the spell was over, Novius was also going to be left a lot weakened. If he cast his Paradise of Darkness at that time, victory was guaranteed!
"But surviving the Paradise of Darkness... That is easier said than done."
"First, I need to stay away from that mist!" Gabriel decided on a plan of action, casting a spell of Darkness. "Wings of Flight!"
As soon as he cast the spell, two wings appeared on his back. The wings not only gave him the ability to fly but also increased his speed which he desperately needed.
Unfortunately for him, even as he flew back, he could see the dark mist was just faster, coming closer to him to take him in its dark embrace.
